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SETDOS - Set the CMD.EXE configuration

 
 Purpose:    Display or set the CMD.EXE configuration. 
             
 Format:     SETDOS [/A? /B? /C? /D? /E? /Fn.n /G?? /I+|- command /L? /M? 
             /N? /P? /R? /S?:? /U? /V? /X[+|-]n /Y?] 
             
             /B(right background)            /N(o clobber) 
             /C(ompound)                     /P(arameter character) 
             /D(escriptions)                 /R(ows) 
             /E(scape character)             /S(hape of cursor) 
             /F(ormat for @EVAL)             /U(pper case) 
             /G (numeric separators)         /V(erbose) 
             /I(nternal commands)            /X (expansion, special 
                                             characters) 
             /L(ine)                         /Y (debug batch file) 
             /M(ode for editing)             
 
 Usage 
 SETDOS allows you to customize certain aspects of CMD.EXE to suit your 
 personal tastes or the configuration of your system.  Each of these 
 options is described below. 
 You can display the value of all SETDOS options by entering the SETDOS 
 command with no parameters. 
 Most of the SETDOS options can be initialized when CMD.EXE executes the 
 configuration directives in CMD.INI, and can also be set on the Command 
 Line 1, Command Line 2, Options 1, or Options 2 pages of the OPTION 
 dialogs.  The name of the corresponding directive is listed with each 
 option below; if none is listed, that option cannot be set with OPTION or 
 from the .INI file.  You can also define the SETDOS options in your 
 AUTOEXEC.BAT, 4START, or other startup file (see Automatic Batch Files), 
 in aliases, or at the command line. 
 Secondary shells automatically inherit most configuration settings 
 currently in effect in the previous shell.  If values have been changed 
 by SETDOS since CMD.EXE started, the new values will be passed to the 
 secondary shell. 
 SETDOS /I settings are not inherited by secondary shells.  If you want to 
 use SETDOS /I- to disable commands in all shells, place the SETDOS 
 command(s) in your 4START file, which is executed when any shell starts. 
 Options 
    /B:     (Bright background) This option determines whether CMD.EXE 
            configures your video adapter for blinking text (/B0, the 
            default) or bright background colors (/B1), or leave the video 
            bright / blink configuration unchanged (/B2).  See Colors and 
            Color Names for a detailed discussion of this option.  Also 
            see the BrightBG directive. 
            
    /C:     (Compound character) This option sets the character used for 
            separating multiple commands on the same line.  The default is 
            the ampersand [&].  You cannot use any of the redirection 
            characters (| > <), or the blank, tab, comma, or equal sign as 
            the command separator.  The command separator is saved by 
            SETLOCAL and restored by ENDLOCAL.  This example changes the 
            separator to a tilde [˜]: 

            
                    [c:\] setdos /c˜
            
            
            If you want to share batch files or aliases among 4DOS, 
            CMD.EXE, 4NT, and Take Command, see the %+ variable, which 
            retrieves the current command separator, and Special Character 
            Compatibility for details on using compatible command 
            separators for all the products you use.  Also see the 
            CommandSep directive. 
            
    /D:     (Descriptions) This option controls whether file processing 
            commands like COPY, DEL, MOVE, and REN process file 
            descriptions along with the files they belong to.  /D1 turns 
            description processing on, which is the default.  /D0 turns 
            description processing off.  Also see the Descriptions 
            directive. 
            You can also use /D to set the name of the hidden file in each 
            directory that contains file descriptions.  To do so, follow 
            /D with the filename in quotes: 

            
                    [c:\] setdos /d"files.bbs"
            
            
            Use this option with caution because changing the name of the 
            description file will make it difficult to transfer file 
            descriptions to another system.  This option is provided for 
            bulletin board system operators and others who have special 
            needs. 
            Also see the DescriptionName directive. 
            
    /E:     (Escape character) This option sets the character used to 
            suppress the normal meaning of the following character.  Any 
            character following the escape character will be passed 
            unmodified to the command.  The default escape character is a 
            caret [^].  You cannot use any of the redirection characters 
            (| > <) or the blank, tab, comma, or equal sign as the escape 
            character.  The escape character is saved by SETLOCAL and 
            restored by ENDLOCAL.  Certain characters (b, c, e, f, k, n, 
            q, r, s, and t) have special meanings when immediately 
            preceded by the escape character. 
            If you want to share batch files or aliases among 4DOS, 
            CMD.EXE, 4NT, and Take Command, see the %= variable, which 
            retrieves the current escape character, and Special Character 
            Compatibility for details on using compatible escape 
            characters for all the products you use.  Also see the 
            EscapeChar directive. 
            
    /F:     (Format for @EVAL) This option lets you set default decimal 
            precision for the @EVAL variable function. The maximum 
            precision is 16 digits to the left of the decimal point and 8 
            digits to the right of the decimal point. The general form of 
            this option is /Fx.y, where x sets the minimum number of 
            digits to the right of the decimal place and y sets the 
            maximum number of digits.  You can use =x,y instead of =x.y if 
            the comma is your decimal separator.  Both values can range 
            from 0 to 8; if x is greater than y, it is ignored.  You can 
            specify either or both values:  /F2.5, /F2, and /F.5 are all 
            valid entries. 
            See @EVAL if you want to set the precision for a single 
            computation. 
            Also see the EvalMax and EvalMin directives. 
            
    /G:     (Numeric separators) This option sets the decimal and 
            thousands separator characters.  The format is /Gxy where x is 
            the new decimal separator and y is the new thousands 
            separator.  Both characters must be included.  The only valid 
            settings are /G., (period is the decimal separator, comma is 
            the thousands separator); /G,. (the reverse); or /G0 to remove 
            any custom setting and use the default separators associated 
            with your current country code (this is the default). 
            The decimal separator is used for @EVAL, numeric IF and IFF 
            tests, version numbers, and other similar uses.  The thousands 
            separator is used for numeric output, and is skipped when 
            performing calculations in @EVAL. 
            
    /I:     (Internal) This option allows you to disable or enable 
            internal commands.  To disable a command, precede the command 
            name with a minus [-].  To re-enable a command, precede it 
            with a plus [+].  For example, to disable the internal LIST 
            command to force CMD.EXE to use an external command: 

            
                    [c:\] setdos /i-list
            
            
            
    /L:     (Line) This option controls how CMD.EXE gets its input from 
            the command line.  /L0 tells CMD.EXE to use character input 
            (the default).  /L1 tells it to use line input (like CMD.EXE 
            ).  /L1 will disable command-line editing, history recall, 
            filename completion, and the directory history window, and 
            will reduce the CMD.EXE input length limit from 1023 
            characters to 255 characters.  It should only be used if it is 
            needed for compatibility with a specific program.  If you have 
            a program that requires line input, you can use the following 
            line in an alias or batch file to change the line input option 
            just for that single program: 

            
                    setdos /L1 & program %& & setdos /L0
            
            
            See README.DOC for information on programs which require this 
            option.  Also see the LineInput directive. 
            
    /M:     (Mode) This option controls the initial line editing mode.  To 
            start in overstrike mode at the beginning of each command 
            line, use /M0 (the default).  To start in insert mode, use 
            /M1.  Also see the EditMode directive. 
            
    /N:     (No clobber) This option controls output redirection).  /N0 
            means existing files will be overwritten by output redirection 
            (with >) and that appending (with >>) does not require the 
            file to exist already.  This is the default.  /N1 means 
            existing files may not be overwritten by output redirection, 
            and that when appending the output file must exist.  A /N1 
            setting can be overridden with the [!] character.  If you use 
            /N1, you may have problems with a few unusual programs that 
            shell out to run a command with redirection, and expect to be 
            able to overwrite an existing file.  Also see the NoClobber 
            directive. 
            
    /P:     (Parameter character) This option sets the character used 
            after a percent sign to specify all or all remaining 
            command-line arguments in a batch file or alias (e.g., %& or 
            %n&.  The default is the dollar sign [$].  The parameter 
            character is saved by SETLOCAL and restored by ENDLOCAL. 
            If you want to share batch files or aliases among 4DOS, 
            CMD.EXE, 4NT, and Take Command, see Special Character 
            Compatibility for details on selecting compatible parameter 
            characters for all the products you use.  Also see the 
            ParameterChar directive. 
            
    /R:     (Rows) This option sets the number of screen rows used by the 
            video display.  Normally CMD.EXE detects the screen size, but 
            if you have a non-standard display you may need to set it 
            explicitly.  This option does not affect screen scrolling 
            (which is controlled by your video driver).  It also does not 
            set the screen size; it is used only to specify the screen 
            height for LIST, SELECT, paged output options (i.e., TYPE /P), 
            and error checking in the screen output commands.  Also see 
            the ScreenRows directive. 
            
    /S:     (Shape) This option sets the cursor shape.  The format is 
            /So:i where o is the cursor size for overstrike mode and i is 
            the cursor size for insert mode.  The size is entered as a 
            percentage of the total character height.  The default values 
            are 10:100 (a 10% underscore cursor for overstrike mode, and a 
            100% block cursor for insert mode).  Because of the way video 
            drivers remap the cursor shape, you may not get a smooth 
            progression in the cursor size from 0% - 100%.  To disable the 
            cursor, enter /S0:0. 
            If either value is -1, CMD.EXE will not attempt to modify the 
            cursor shape at all.  You can use this feature to give another 
            program full control of the cursor shape.  You can retrieve 
            the current cursor shape values with the %_CI and %_CO 
            internal variables. 
            Also see the CursorOver and CursorIns directives. 
            
    /U:     (Upper) This option controls the default case (upper or lower) 
            for file and directory names displayed by internal commands 
            like COPY and DIR.  /U0 displays file names in lower case (the 
            default).  /U1 displays file names in the traditional upper 
            case.  The /U setting is ignored for HPFS filenames.  HPFS 
            names are always displayed in the case in which they are 
            stored. 
            Also see the UpperCase directive. 
            
    /V:     (Verbose) This option controls the default for command echoing 
            in batch files.  /V0 disables echoing of batch file commands 
            unless ECHO is explicitly set ON.  /V1, the default setting, 
            enables echoing of batch file commands unless ECHO is 
            explicitly set OFF.  Also see the BatchEcho directive. 
            /V2 forces echoing of all batch file commands, even if ECHO is 
            set OFF or the line begins with an "@".  This allows you to 
            turn echoing on for a batch file without editing the batch 
            file and removing the ECHO OFF command(s) within it.  /V2 is 
            intended for debugging, and can be set with SETDOS, but not 
            with the OPTION command or the BatchEcho directive in CMD.INI. 
            
            For more information on batch file debugging see Debugging 
            Batch Files and /Y below. 
            
    /X[+|-]n:
            ( eXpansionandspecialcharacters 
            )
            This
            optionenablesanddisablesaliasandenvironmentvariableexpansion 
            ,
            and
            controls
            whether
            specialcharactershavetheirusualmeaningoraretreatedastext .  It
            is
            most
            often
            used
            in
            batchfilestoprocesstextstringswhichmaycontainspecialcharacters 
            .
            The features enabled or disabled by /X are numbered.  All 
            features are enabled when CMD.EXE starts, and you can 
            re-enable all features at any time by using /X0.  To disable a 
            particular feature, use /X-n, where n is the feature number 
            from the list below.  To re-enable the feature, use /X+n.  To 
            enable or disable multiple individual features, list their 
            numbers in sequence after the + or - (e.g. /X-345 to disable 
            features 3, 4, and 5). 
            The features are: 
            
           1    All alias expansion. 
           2    Nested alias expansion only. 
           3    All variable expansion (environment variables and batch 
                and alias parameters). 
           4    Nested variable expansion only. 
           5    Multiple commands, conditional commands, and piping. 
           6    Redirection. 
           7    Quoting (double quotes and back quotes) and square 
                brackets. 
           8    Escape character. 
 
 If nested alias expansion is disabled, the first alias of a command is 
 expanded but any aliases it invokes are not expanded.  If nested variable 
 expansion is disabled, each variable is expanded once, but variables 
 containing the names of other variables are not expanded further. 
 For example, to disable all features except alias expansion while you are 
 processing a text file containing special characters: 

 
         setdos /x-35678
         ... [perform text processing here]
         setdos /x0
 
 
 /Y:(debug batch file) /Y1 enables the built-in batch file debugger.  The 
 debuggger allows you to "single-step" through a batch file line by line, 
 with the file displayed in a popup window as it executes.  For complete 
 details on using the debugger see Debugging Batch Files (this topic also 
 covers additional debugging techniques which do not require stepping 
 through each line individually). 
 To start the debugger, insert a SETDOS /Y1 command at the beginning of 
 the portion of the batch file you want to debug, and a SETDOS /Y0 command 
 at the end. 
 You cannot use the batch debugger with REXX files or EXTPROC files.  It 
 can only be used with normal CMD.EXE batch files. 
 You can also invoke SETDOS /Y1 from the prompt, but because the debugger 
 is automatically turned off whenever the command processor returns to the 
 prompt, you must enter the SETDOS command and the batch file name on the 
 same line.  For example: 

 
         [c:\] setdos /y1 & mybatch.btm
 
 

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