Version 2.0g I still had complaints about people seeing Echo Off in the Autoexec Bat file, so now if you have a DOS higher than 3.2, it will start with @Echo off. If you are using DOS 5.0, A DOS=HIGH,NOUMB line will be appended to the bottom of the Autoexec.bat file, and you will have to put a DOS=LOW (and/ or a DOS=UMB) in the configurations you need them in. Menu.Ctl will control the flags. If you are using DRDOS, Menu.Ctl will now work with it as well as MSDOS. I've changed the way I load configurations, so you will be able to run AutoCon with less memory, and there is no longer a 6K or 2K limit on the Autoexec and Config fields. Each configuration now has the names of the files that the field is written to. (I've had several requests for this one.) The help screen colors are now installable. The MENU.CTL interface has been rewritten to show up more distinctly when booting. I had several complaints that it was easy to miss. It will now put up some distinctive boxex, and show up in color if you have a color monitor. The colors are installable from AutoCon. Each configuration now has the names of the files that the field is written to. (I've had several requests for this one.) You can tell AutoCon not to restore the screen on exit (eliminates the need for AutoConx.exe. Version 2.0e (mainly bug fix) In Single mode if the Enviornment name wasn't set (AltE in the editor) AutoCon could get the wrong cache 'Flush' information. This is fixed, but I highly reccommend setting the Autocon Environment variable if you are using Single mode. If an external editor were being used, and the Autocon or Config field size got too large, the AutoCon.Dat file could get messed up - fixed. Several people have complained that 4K and 2K is not large enough for the Autoexec and Config fields, so I'm pushing the size up to 6K and 4K. Please note that this adds 4K/configuration to AutoCon's memory requirements. There are two extra EXE files on the BBS. AutoCons.exe will still use 4K and 2K for those needing the smaller memory requirements. AutoConx.exe will not restore the screen when it exits. Try this if you lose the cursor or the screen blanks out when you exit (I've had two complaints about this). Version 2.0d (bug fix) If AutoCon followed an "ECHO OFF" and a "CLS" statement in a batch file, the screen could get slightly messed up - fixed. Version 2.0c (bug fix) The user modified colors were getting lost if a reboot was performed from the command line - fixed. Version 2.0b (bug fix) MENU.CTL had a problem with the name of the eighth configuration, which is now fixed. It also had a tendency to leave menu choice 2 in the hi-lite mode, also fixed. Several people complained about seeing the Errorlevel statements in the AUTOEXEC.BAT during the boot process. AUTOEXEC.BAT files will now start with ECHO OFF as the first statement if you choose the MENU.CTL option. Version 2.0 would allow you to choose more than the eight default configurations. This is no longer allowed. Version 2.0 had a problem writing the AUTOEXEC.BAT file for the Menu mode if the Autoexec fields didn't end in a Carriage Return. This is now fixed. Version 2.0 I'm jumping the version number from 1.4 to 2.0 for this release. The reason is that AutoCon's capability has changed so much in this release that I think it warrants a Major revision number change. The major change is the inclusion of two new files. These are MENU.CTL and MENUNUM.COM. Menu.Ctl is a device driver that can disable commands in the CONFIG.SYS file. MenuNum.Com is a file that will ask the portion of Menu.Ctl that stays resident which configuration was chosen, and set the DOS ERRORLEVEL to that number. This allows setting up menu choices in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to match the choice made from the CONFIG.SYS file. Together these two files allow you to choose a system configuration from a menu of configurations during the boot process itself. AutoCon will handle all of the interface details to these two commands for you, and allow you to return to a "Normal" system configuration in just a couple of keystrokes. This will allow you to run programs like "Optimize" from Quarterdeck. There is a pull-down menu system available on the main screen. Each item on the menu has a context sensitive help entry. This should make it very easy to get AutoCon up and running the first time, and allow you to look up those commands you can't remember the keystrokes for. There are two new command line options. If you enter AutoCon / on the command line, a window of your configurations will pop up asking you to choose which configuration you wish to use to reboot the system. This is equivalent to the "AutoCon , except that AutoCon lets you choose the name from a pick list. The second new command is AutoCon /@ where is the name shown on the main screen for each configuration. If the name matches the configuration that was used for the boot process, the DOS errorlevel will be set to 1. It will be set to 0 otherwise. For this function to work correctly, you need to boot up with Menu.Ctl, or assure that each Autoexec field has the correct name assigned with a SET command. See the new "Put Name in Environment" editor function defined below. The internal editor has a few new capabilities. In order to access most them you will have to edit your keystrokes (using the F6 key). The block operations are no longer constrained to full lines. The default keys for reformating were removed. You may reassign them. "Search Function" (default assigned to ^Q^F) allows you to search the text for a specified string of text. The string is active for the entire AutoCon session, and will be the same across records. "Search/Replace Function" (default assigned to ^Q^A) allows you to search the text for a specified string of text, and relpace it with another string of text. You will be asked to confirm the replacement. "Repeat Search Function" (default assigned to ^L) This will repeat the last Search, or Search/Replace that was performed. The informations is retained during the AutoCon session, and will be the same across records. "Install Editor Keys" (default assigned to F6) allows you to change the editor keys during an edit session. "Put Name in Environment" (default assigned to AltE) will put a SET command in your edit field. This will guarantee that the configuration you are editing has its name placed correctly in the environment. AutoCon will use this name for various command line functions. "Change (Text - AltF6, Block - AltF7, Control Char - AltF8) Attribute" will allow you to change the keys that call up the editor color installation windows. "View Last Dos Screen" (default assigned to AltV) allows you to see the DOS screen as it was when AutoCOn was started. Could be useful if the reason your changing a configuration is shown there. By March 1, 1991 I will have a support BBS in place operating 24 hours a day. The number will be (916) 623 4455. Version 1.4 One of the WhatsNews has to do with me, I am now a member of the ASP (Association of ShareWare Professionals). The rest of the WhatsNews all concern changes (and additions) to the program. You now have the option to use the built in editor to edit the Autoexec and Config fields, or to install an external editor to do the job. will pop up a window for you to enter an external editor's file name. The Path will be checked for the entered file name, and if found, it will be used to edit the Autoexec and Config fields in the future. For more info, see the "Installing External Editor" section of AUTOCON.DOC. From the command line, typing will check the Autoexec and Config fields of the current configuration record against the file contents of the current Configuration files (usually C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and C:\CONFIG.SYS). The results of the comparison will be shown on the screen. SPECIAL NOTE! - the configuration will need to have been saved with the 1.4 version of AUTOCON. From the command line, typing will update the Autoexec and Config fields of the current configuration record from the file contents of the current Configuration files (usually C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and C:\CONFIG.SYS). You might want to be a little careful with this one. The internal editor has a few new capabilities. In order to access them, you will probably have to edit your keystrokes (using the key). The new commands are "Split Line", "Cut the marked block", and "Paste the last Cut block". These commands will be a little more convenient than the current "Write marked block" and "Read marked block" file commands. "Split Line" (default assigned to key) splits the current line at the cursor, leaving the cursor where it is, and moving the rest of the line down to the next line. "Cut the marked block" (default assigned to key combination) will put the current marked block into a text buffer. "Paste the last Cut block" (default assigned to

key combination) will paste the contents of the cut buffer to the current cursor location. This command can be used to move the data in the same record, or across records. After a cUt, the data will stay in the buffer until a new cUt is performed, or AUTOCON is exited. Formerly the editor only recognized a ' ' (space) as a word mark (for , , , etc.). This has been enhanced to also recognize the following characters as word marks : '/', ';', and '='. Line length was increased to 254 for those long path names (and any other long lines needed). This necessitated removing the word-wrap capability while editing the Autoexec and Config fields (I don't think this will be a hardship, you probably don't want to word-wrap the lines in your Autoexec and Config files anyway). Word-wrap is still used in the Notes field, but please don't enter a line longer than 127 characters in there. A couple of functions were also added to the Interactive Mode. will pop-up a pick list of the current configuration records, and allow you to select one. The contents of the Autoexec and Config fields of the selected configuration record will be copied to the current configuration record. Be careful with this one, there is NO "Undo" command. You can always use ESC to get out of the pick list without doing a copy. will now show the Dos screen as it was when Autocon was started. will check the Autoexec and Config fields of the current configuration record against the contents of the current configuration files (C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and C:\CONFIG.SYS, unless you have changed them with or keys). SPECIAL NOTE! - the configuration will need to have been saved with the 1.4 version of AUTOCON. All of the color changes now show up instantly (you previously had to wait till the next time Autocon was executed to see some of the color changes). ESC is no longer accepted as a "Yes" answer (there were a lot of complaints on this one). A "Yes" answer now requires a or key (accept default). There are a few cosmetic changes on the screens (all in response to comments by users). I won't take the space to list each one. There are a couple more entrys on the help screen, and (I hope) the entries are arranged in a little more logical fashion. UltraVision : Autocon is now UltraVision "Aware". Autocon will detect if UltraVision is installed and active. If it is, Autocon will use UltraVision to switch modes, and restore screens (in other words, Autocon won't mess up your screen). Windows Problems : After spending a very unproductive day on the phone with Microsoft, I decided to add another boot type option to Autocon. Several people use Autocon to reconfigure in and out of Windows. When Windows is running in 386 enhanced mode, a software boot (usually) doesn't work. Microsoft's recommendation : "Never reboot while running Windows". They say that this may trash hard disks and worse (I'm not sure what could be "worse" than trashing a hard disk). I don't know about you, but I've had to reboot out of Windows several times. I know it's probably not a good idea, but there are times it should be quite safe (and times when it is forced upon us). Anyway, they say that is no way they are aware of to ensure that a software reboot will work. Therefore : You may now select (N)one as an alternate boot type (using the key). If you select (N)one, Autocon will now reconfigure the files, but will not attempt a reboot. Now you may run Autocon under Windows, and after the system files are reconfigured, you can hit the dreaded CtrlAltDel key combination. By the way, I'm not much of an artist, so if someone (out of the goodness of their hearts) designs a nice Icon for Autocon, I would appreciate them sending me a copy. A potentially nasty bug was squashed. Since I never received a complaint on this one, I assume that I was the only one "bit". If your current configuration record was the last one, and you deleted it, Autocon tried to find it again the next time it was started. This could lead to bizarre behavior (a messed up pointer for those technical people). If the current record number is larger than the max record number, it will now be adjusted (with appropriate warning message). It will still be pointing to the wrong record, but it will behave in a known fashion. ______________________________________________________________________ Version 1.3a There are a few bug fixes, and a couple of enhancements in this version. If you used F2 to save changes in the previous versions, when you hit ESC to exit it would issue a warning that the changes were about to be lost, this has been corrected. AUTOCON will now attempt to detect and restore the EGA/VGA (45/50) small character mode upon exit. After updating the configuration with 1.3a, when AUTOCON is started in the interactive mode, it will default to the configuration used in the last update. On the command line if you type the name of the current configuration will be displayed (Note: you must have saved a configuration with V1.3a first). If you are in the full screen entry mode, hitting will update the Autoexec and Config fields in the current record from the current AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. This saves going into each of the two fields and doing a <^KR> . From the command line, typing AUTOCON followed by a / and the name of a configuration (e.g. ) will cause that configuration to have it's Autoexec and Config fields updated from the current AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. There was a bug in V1.3 that caused AUTOCON to have a problem with reading files that were not terminated with ^Z. If you got an "Edit Buffer Full" message when you tried to edit a field that you know wasn't too big, then you were bitten by this bug. This is fixed in 1.3a. If you were in one of the fields and issued an <^KW> (block save) and didn't have a marked block, you were not given an error message in previous versions. This is fixed in 1.3a. The help screen displayed in a color change window was the one for changing the editor keystrokes. This is fixed in 1.3a. ______________________________________________________________________ Version 1.3 There are several changes in this version. If you have added several extra configurations that you no longer need, the key will delete the current configuration (you can't delete record one, nor can you go below five records). You can change the keystrokes used by the built in editor. Hitting the key in the main menu will pop up a key editor which will allow changing the actions of all of the control keys used in the editor. You can change the colors used by AUTOCON. Hitting the key in combination with the function keys will allow customization of most of the colors. The use of each key is detailed in the pop-up help. The DAT file format for 1.3 is quite different than the one for 1.2. The white space has been eliminated, and as a consequence it is significantly smaller (mine are about 1/4 the previous size). The first time you run 1.3 it will change the format, and the DAT file will no longer be compatible with 1.2. You may want to make a copy of AUTOCON.DAT (just to be on the safe side) before running 1.3. ______________________________________________________________________ Version 1.2d keeps current file attributes A request was made to update the Autoexec and Config files, but to not change their current attributes (system, read only, hidden, etc.). Therefore AUTOCON now reads the current file attributes of Autoexec.Bat and Config.Sys before updating them, and restores the attributes after the update. ______________________________________________________________________ Version 1.2c adds a boot type select. Some computers have trouble with the warm boot that AUTOCON was originally configured with. These seem to mainly be machines with large hard disks, and a large hard disk manager. The key now allows you to change the boot type from warm to cold to get around this problem. ______________________________________________________________________ Version 1.2a is a bug fix. AUTOCON didn't recognize more than three configurations from the command line. Version 1.2 is a bug fix. When you attempted to read in your old configuration files to the AUTOEXEC and CONFIG fields, it always defaulted to C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT an C:\CONFIG.SYS no matter what files you had selected. The read file option now works correctly. ______________________________________________________________________ Version 1.1 charges are as follows. 1. AUTOCON now does a Reboot when a reconfiguration is done from the command line. 2. AUTOCON now handles up to 50 configurations (originally only 5). 3. You can now read any file into an AUTOEXEC or CONFIG edit field (allows you to use your old configurations). 4. The On-line Help has been updated/enhanced. 5. The Doc file has been enhanced (left out a few things the first time). 6. Allows you the choice of a Reboot when reconfiguring in the data entry mode. 7. Hopefully a better choice of colors on an LCD screen. If you have an LCD, you need to have your mode set to BW80 (2).