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Re: Revised installer for XyWin



Edward,

You have cleared most of the points I was uncertain about.
Am I right in assuming that C:\OTVDM\C and c:\otvdm\Windows are hardcoded in the OTVDM source? (I have not read the source, I am just a happy camper who uses the application).
The flexibility of putting applications anywhere is, of course, a good 
thing and part of seamless integration.
As to command.com, I am not trying to go beyond DOS as Carl is fond of 
doing. Normally XyWin starts a persistent DOS session out of the box 
(from the menu "Run DOS"), like in your Win31DOSBox, but here it is not 
the case. If I rename Start.exe to command.com, I get a syntax screen 
when I "run DOS".
Best regards,

Kari Eveli
LEXITEC Book Publishing (Finland)
lexitec@xxxxxxxxxx

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Edward Mendelson wrote:
Kari,

First, there is no reason to put anything inside the C:\OTVDM folder (except perhaps the program used in the dosemu= line in otvdm.ini, but you can put that program anywhere, and use a full path in the dosemu= line in otvdm.ini). The point of otvdm is that 16-bit Windows applications act as much as possible like 32- and 64-bit applications, so you can put them anywhere on your disk, just as you can with modern Windows applications. I use drive E:\ for DOS and 16-bit Windows applications, so I have XyWin in E:\XyWin.

I probably wouldn't want to put a 16-bit program in a directory with a long file name (like C:\PROGRAM FILES (x86)) because I don't want to see something like C:\PROGRA~1 in the program's file dialogs, but otherwise, it's probably easiest to put the 16-bit program's folder inside a root folder, as in E:\XYWIN, or, if you prefer a limited number of folders in the root folder, perhaps in a folder named something like C:\WINAPPS\XYWIN.

Again, there is no logical reason to put the XyWin directory structure inside C:\OTVDM, but if you have chosen to put it there, it makes no difference where you decide to put it. With otvdm, it doesn't matter at all where you put a 16-bit application; if the application tries to write to C:\autoexec.bat, otvdm will trick it into writing to C:\OTVDM\C\autoexec.bat. If the application tries to write an INI file to the Windows directory, otvdm will trick it into writing the file to c:\otvdm\Windows (this is what happens when I run WordPerfect for Windows 5.2 from E:\WPWIN52).

I think it's probably simpler and safer not to put any applications into C:\OTVDM, but if you've already set up the application there, and it works, there's no strong reason to change it now.

Next, about running a persistent command.com: Have you tried Carl's suggestion to rename Wengier's START.EXE as COMMAND.COM and use that for the dosemu= line in otvdm.ini? Following that suggestion, I can run this

DOS/nv/z cmd

and open a command window that stays open. Is that what you're looking for?