Using the .INI File
Some settings in the .INI file are initialized when you install CMD.EXE,
so you will probably have a CMD.INI file even if you didn't create one
yourself.
CMD.EXE primary shells search for the .INI file in three places:
* If there is an "@d:\path\inifile" option on the startup
command line, the command processor will use the path and file
name specified there, and will not look elsewhere. See
Starting CMD.EXE for details.
* If there is no .INI file name on the startup command line, the
search proceeds to the same directory where the command
processor program file (CMD.EXE.EXE) is stored. This is the
"normal" location for the .INI file. CMD.EXE determines this
directory automatically.
* If the .INI file is not found in the directory where the
program file is stored, a final check is made in the root
directory of the boot drive.
When CMD.EXE is loaded as a secondary shell, it does not search for the
.INI file. Instead, it retrieves the primary shell's .INI file data,
processes the [Secondary] section of the original .INI file if necessary
(see .INI File Sections), and then processes any "@d:\path\inifile"
option on the secondary shell command line (see Starting CMD.EXE). You
can override this behavior with the NextINIFile directive.
Secondary shells automatically inherit the configuration settings
currently in effect in the previous shell. If values have been changed
by SETDOS since the primary shell started, the current values will be
passed to the secondary shell. If the previous shell's .INI file had a
[Secondary] section, it will then be read and processed (see .INI File
Sections. If not, the previous shell's settings will remain in effect.
For example, you might set BatchEcho to Yes in the .INI file, to enable
batch file echo. If you then use SETDOS /V0 to turn off batch file
echoing in the primary shell, then any secondary shells will inherit the
SETDOS setting, rather than the original value from the .INI file; i.e.,
batch files in the secondary shell will default to no echo.
If you want to force secondary shells to start with a specific value for
a particular directive, regardless of any changes made with SETDOS in a
previous shell, repeat the directive in the [Secondary] section of the
.INI file.
The SETDOS command can override several of the .INI file directives. For
example, the cursor shape used by CMD.EXE can be adjusted either with the
CursorIns and CursorOver directives or the SETDOS /S command. The
correspondence between SETDOS options and .INI directives is noted with
each directive, and under each option of the SETDOS command.
When the command processor detects an error while processing the .INI
file, it displays an error message and prompts you to press a key to
continue processing the file. This allows you to note any errors before
the startup process continues. The directive in error will retain its
previous or default value. Only the most catastrophic errors (like a
disk read failure) will terminate processing of the remainder of the .INI
file. If you don't want a pause after each error, use a "PauseOnError =
No" directive at the beginning of the .INI file.
If you need to test different values for an .INI directive without
repeatedly editing the .INI file, use the OPTION command or see the
INIQuery directive.
Created using Inf-PHP v.2 (c) 2003 Yuri Prokushev
Created using Inf-HTML v.0.9b (c) 1995 Peter Childs