
                             4DOS v7.86

                     README.TXT -- October 2008


Greetings, and thanks for trying 4DOS!

This file contains a variety of information you should read before using
4DOS, including:

      Installation Notes
      Files Included with this Version
      Technical Support and Downloads
      Legal Notices
      Build History


INSTALLATION NOTES
------------------

   There are just two steps you need to take to install a downloaded
   copy of 4DOS:

      >> Extract all the files to a new directory (do not use a directory
         you're using for other products, or for a previous version of
         4DOS).

      >> Start 4DOS.  It will "install itself".

   Additional details on these steps are below.  For manual installation
   instructions see the sections with those headings below.

   When installing 4DOS under Windows 95/98 we recommend that you do NOT
   use a "long" directory name.  If you do, you will have to know and use
   the equivalent short name to load 4DOS in CONFIG.SYS; it's easier to
   simply use a short name from the beginning.  (This is not a 4DOS
   limitation.  It's because DOS, which starts before Windows 95/98 and
   loads the primary command processor, cannot handle long file names.
   While 4DOS fully supports long file names, to make DOS work well it
   is best to install 4DOS in a directory with a short name.)

   You can view any of the documentation files on-line, or copy them to
   your printer.  The Introduction and Installation Guide in 4DOS.TXT
   has page breaks, headers and footers; all other documentation files
   are unpaginated ASCII text.


"Self-Installation"

   To begin the installation process, simply run the program file,
   4DOS.COM, from a prompt.  This will automatically start the
   self-installation file _4INST.BTM, which will finish installing
   4DOS on your system.

   _4INST will prompt you for permission before each installation step,
   and no system files will be modified without asking you first.

   When the installation is finished, _4INST renames itself to _4INST.BTX,
   so that it will not be run again.  (If installation terminates
   abnormally, _4INST may not be renamed, and will then run again the
   next time you start the program.)


Manual Installation

   For complete manual installation instructions, see the Introduction
   and Installation Guide in the file INTRO.TXT.  The detailed
   instructions for 4DOS are in Chapter 5.

   If you choose to perform a manual installation you should rename the
   automated installation file, _4INST.BTM (we recommend renaming it to
   _4INST.BTX, which is what the file itself does when it's finished).
   If you don't, it will start automatically the first time you run
   4DOS.


FILES INCLUDED
--------------

   The following files are included with 4DOS 7.86:

         4DOS.COM          4DOS program file
         4HELP.EXE         4DOS help program
         4DOS.HLP          4DOS online help text
         _4INST.BTM        Self-installation batch file
         4DOS.ICO          Icon file for 4DOS under Windows
         BATCOMP.EXE       Batch file compression utility
         EXAMPLES.BTM      Sample batch file demonstrating the use of
                              variable functions and internal variables
         HELPCFG.EXE       Color configuration program for the help
                              system
         INTRO.TXT         ASCII copy of the 4DOS Introduction and
                              Installation Guide
         INSTHELP.EXE      Installation helper used when installing 4DOS
                              under DOS and Windows 95/98
         JP4DOS.INF        Setup file to install 4DOS registry extensions
                              under Windows 95/98
         JPOS2INS.CMD      Installation helper used when installing 4DOS
                              under OS/2
         JP4DOSSC.INF      Setup file to install JP Software program
                              group and shortcuts under Windows 95/98
         KSTACK.COM        Memory-resident program used by the
                              KEYSTACK command
         LICENSE.TXT       License agreement
         OPTION.EXE        Program used by the OPTION command
         README.TXT        This file


TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND DOWNLOADS
-------------------------------

   This version of 4DOS is free and unsupported.  (Existing 4DOS customers
   are still eligible for support by JP Software)

   To download JP Software files, including trial versions of the Windows
   products (4NT and Take Command), visit:

      >> JP Software web site at http://jpsoft.com
      >> JP Software FTP site at  ftp://jpsoft.com


LEGAL STUFF
-----------

Copyright  1988-2004  Rex Conn & JP Software Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
Published by JP Software Inc., P.O. Box 328, Chestertown, MD 21620, USA
phone 410-810-8818, fax 410-810-0026.

4DOS is a registered trademark of JP Software Inc.  JP Software,
jpsoft.com, and all JP Software designs and logos are also trademarks
of JP Software Inc.  Other product and company names are trademarks of
their respective owners.


BUILD HISTORY SINCE VERSION 7.50 BUILD 132 IN REVERSE ORDER
-----------------------------------------------------------

The new builds are developed independently of JP Software by Luchezar
Georgiev in Bulgaria. JP Software is not responsible for any bugs that
these builds may introduce. The user must assume all risks of using them.

Build 186 (Version 7.86) - 6 October 2008:
        Hid LIST cursor
        Added _DST, _MJD, _STZN, _STZO, _TZN, _TZO, _UNIXTIME, _UTCDATE,
          _UTCDATETIME,_UTCHOUR,_UTCISODATE,_UTCMINUTE,_UTCSECOND,_UTCTIME
        Updated help file for the above change and updated "Keywords" page

Build 185 (Version 7.85) - 26 September 2008:
        All date options, arguments and date input can be ISO ordinal date
        _WINTITLE now works also under W9x/ME
        Added _STARTPATH internal variable
        Updated help file for the above changes and updated "Keywords" page

Build 184 (Version 7.84) - 24 September 2008:
        Added stack size monitoring to batch debugger window title
        Added ISO ordinal date format 6 to @AGEDATE, @DATECONV,
          @FILEDATE and @MAKEDATE
        Added _ISORDATE and _WINTICKS internal variables
        Added @DIRSTACK and @SIMILAR functions
        Updated help file for the above changes and corrected DIRS direction

Build 183 (Version 7.83) - 22 September 2008:
        Avoid diskette swap prompt for _READY if B: is a "phantom floppy"
        Added @COMPARE, @LCS and @REVERSE functions
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 182 (Version 7.82) - 19 September 2008:
        Fixed my v7.81 @DATE bug: wrongly used ISO week year to sum days
        SETDOS /C, /E and /P now accept ASCII code as numeric argument
        Added PROMPT $A to show ampersand and $K to show ISO week date
        Added _HDRIVES internal variable
        Added @CEILING, @DRIVETYPE and @FLOOR functions
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 181 (Version 7.81) - 17 September 2008:
        Prevented buffer overflow if @INSERT strings too long
        Made stricter and united all day-of-year/days-since-1980 code
        DATE/TIME prompt date/time separators made country-specific
        Added _CDROMS, _DRIVES, _ISOWYEAR and _READY variables
        Added @DATECONV,@HISTORY,@ISOWYEAR,@SUBST,@UNQUOTES functions
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 180 (Version 7.80) - 14 September 2008:
        INKEY /W no longer loads the CPU in W9x/ME and DesqView
        Added _ININAME and _TICK variables
        Added @COUNT,@ISALNUM,@ISALPHA,@ISASCII,@ISCNTRL,@ISDIGIT,
          @ISPRINT,@ISPUNCT,@ISSPACE and @ISXDIGIT functions
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 179 (Version 7.79) - 11 September 2008:
        Last LIST search text is now default for new search in same mode
        Added _BATCHTYPE, _BDEBUGGER, _CMDSPEC and _V86 variables
        Added @QUOTE and @UNQUOTE functions
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 178 (Version 7.78) - 8 September 2008:
        Fixed my year increment/decrement bug on ISO week date output
        The keystroke terminating DELAY /B is no longer shown
        Non-repeated seed value period increased from 1 month to 1 year
        Added _TSC and _CPUSPEED variables
        Added TIMER /Q(uiet) option
        TIMER accuracy improved from 55 to 10 ms but on 8086-286 or OS/2
        Accuracy of DELAY /M improved from 55 to 1 ms (32 ms under OS/2)
        Updated and amended help file for DELAY, TIMER, _TSC, _CPUSPEED

Build 177 (Version 7.77) - 31 August 2008:
        All date options, arguments and date input can now be ISO week date
        Added ISO week date format 5 to @AGEDATE, @FILEDATE, @MAKEDATE
        Added _ISOWDATE internal variable
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 176 (Version 7.76) - 29 August 2008:
        Added MOD as an equivalent to the %% operator of @EVAL
        Added @ISODOWI,@ISOWEEK functions and _ISODOWI,_ISOWEEK variables
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 175 (Version 7.75) - 24 August 2008:
        GOSUB variables containing the switch character are now accepted
        Prompt is now on the first, not the second row after screen cleared
        Added SET /E option (set local environment too if /M also specified)
        Added @AVERAGE function and _SYSREQ variable
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 174 (Version 7.74) - 12 August 2008:
        History log no longer contains the line "AUTOEXEC"
        Added @FILEREADB function
        If length = -1, @FILEWRITEB input data is series of ASCII values
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 173 (Version 7.73) - 4 August 2008:
        Correct extended memory size even if > 64M in MEMORY and @EXTENDED
        (NOTE: It's size of all extended memory regardless of XMS managers.)
        Added @SMBSTR function
        Updated help file for the above changes

_4INST Change on 23 July 2008
        Allowed installation in 4DOS 7.65+ where _DOS is not always "DOS".

4HELP Change on 16 July 2008
        Maximum number of cross-references per topic set to 512 (was 128).

Build 172 (Version 7.72) - 15 July 2008:
        SETDOS /W now works under MS-DOS/PC DOS 5.0+ and W9x/ME
        Replaced the @RANDOM LCG with Xorshift7 (period = 2^256-1)
        Added @LTRIM, @RTRIM and @TRUNCATE functions
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 171 (Version 7.71) - 10 July 2008:
        Fixed a bug in LIST search results highlighting, obvious in hex mode
        Enabled SETDOS /X[+|-]9 to enable / disable user-defined functions
        Added _EDITMODE and _EXPANSION variables
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 170 (Version 7.70) - 9 July 2008:
        Fixed a bug in LIST where bottom line repeats on 1-line scroll down
          if a higher line ended at the right margin (DOS text files only)
        Fixed a LIST header percentage display overflow bug for big files
        Holding Shift with F or Ctrl-F in LIST now matches search case
        Added a /N (line numbers) option to LIST
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 169 (Version 7.69) - 4 July 2008:
        Fixed the title of the reverse find (Ctrl-F) window in LIST
        Added @SHA1 function and _STDIN, _STDOUT and _STDERR variables
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 168 (Version 7.68) - 1 July 2008:
        _CPU now set to processor brand string if supported by the CPU
        REBOOT /P now works in W9x/ME even if PM APM interface engaged
        Update help file for the above changes, added a W9x/ME warning

Build 167 (Version 7.67) - 29 June 2008:
        TYPE without /L, /P or redirection now shows UNIX text files right
        REBOOT now works under OS/2, Windows 9x/ME and QEMM Stealth ROM
        Added _EXECSTR internal variable
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 166 (Version 7.66) - 23 June 2008:
        Warm REBOOT now honours EMM's Int 19h "hook" or jumps to F000:E05B
        SHIFT switch character no longer hard-coded to '/'
        _DOS now available also with 4DOS /C

Build 165 (Version 7.65) - 11 June 2008:
        The Shell sort of directories replaced with the much faster heapsort
        Internal variable _DOS now reflects actual running operating system
        Added _LALT, _LCTRL, _RALT, _RCTRL internal variables
        Updated help file for the above changes

4HELP Changes on 31 May 2008
        In VESA text video-modes with over 80 columns, BP7 no longer resets
        the video-mode on start or blanks the screen on exit (invoked by F1).

Build 164 (Version 7.64) - 26 May 2008:
        If the string has a leading separator, the word or field index is
           negative and its absolute value is equal to the number of words
           (fields), @WORD and @FIELD no longer return the whole string
        @WORD[S], @FIELD[S] no longer ignore leading space(s) in string
        TOUCH /R or /T now set file seconds properly without halving them
        LIST now shows also seconds and 4-digit year in its file info box
        Added EQC (case-sensitive) comparison operator
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 163 (Version 7.63) - 3 May 2008:
        If EditMode is not Init*, cursor shape is now reset on hitting Enter
        "Warm" REBOOT in DOS now also pulses RESET pin on ATs (still "warm")
        If InstallPath is not set, OPTION can now invoke 4HELP

Build 162 (Version 7.62) - 23 April 2008:
        The prompt after a CLS now goes to the first, not the second line
        As in COMMAND.COM, /K now suppresses the signon messages like /C
        (NOTE: As IO.SYS 7.x appends "/D /K AUTOEXEC" or "/K NETSTART" to
        the SHELL= line, add a colon after the "K" to "mute" the signon.)

Build 161 (Version 7.61) - 28 January 2008:
        Correctly show the minor version number of OS/2 Warp 4.x
        Correctly show X-DOS version and avoid NLS separator corruption in it
        Recognise Wendin-DOS (but unfortunately 4DOS crashes in it)

Build 160 (Version 7.60) - 28 December 2007:
        Auto-completion and SELECT now support filenames containing backquotes
        HEAD/TAIL /V option header now always starts on new line if /C used
        Return value of @FILEWRITE now equals the number of bytes written

Build 159 (Version 7.59) - 27 October 2007:
        Wildcard matches include all LFNs containing bracket characters ([])
        Added @MD5 function for files using the RSA algorithm from RFC 1321
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 158 (Version 7.58) - 15 September 2007:
        Direct screen output now works in monochrome video modes too
        Amended sign-on message with information about 4DOS patches
        Re-enabled the MOVE /W(ipe) option

Build 157 (Version 7.57) - 27 July 2007:
        Auto-completion of file names with many dots works in DOSLFN as in W9x
        Creation / access times can now be TOUCHed in DOSLFN, not only in W9x
        SELECT /X now works in DOSLFN too, not only in W9x
        Fixed possible pointer underflow if @WORD and @FIELD count backwards
        @WORD and @FIELD no longer return whole string if it has leading space
        Added @FIELDS function
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 156 (Version 7.56) - 25 June 2007:
        Show zero creation or access times in DOSLFN the same way as in W9x
        Added _DATETIME and _MONTHF variables
        Added @AGEDATE and @MONTHF functions
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 155 (Version 7.55) - 14 May 2007:
        Show correct CD/DVD-ROM disk space in raw DOS; fixes DIR in PC DOS 7.1
        Avoid false detection of MS-DOS 7 (MSDOS7 variable) in case of FreeDOS
        DIR /2 /X in Windows now looks like in DOS and doesn't reach column 80
        VER /R now displays also build date

Build 154 (Version 7.54) - 20 April 2007:
        Added message.* to global header dependency
        Added high-level @EMS function code (was missing in original sources)
        Added _ALT,_CAPSLOCK,_CTRL,_LSHIFT,_NUMLOCK,_RSHIFT,_SCROLLLOCK,_SHIFT
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 153 (Version 7.53) - 15 February 2007:
        Recognise LZ-DOS, RXDOS, DOS-ROM and S/DOS
        The "Marked" message of SELECT no longer shifts even on largest files
        8.3 file size over 1 GB no longer misaligns DIR, TREE or SELECT output
        Updated help for the above (maximal non-wrap description size now 39)

Build 152 (Version 7.52) - 4 February 2007:
        Correctly process the "invalid disk change" code during critical error
        Irrelevant error codes in critical error converted to "general failure"
        Added a /L(ine offset) option to LIST
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 151 (Version 7.51) - 31 January 2007:
        For Novell DOS and DR-DOS 7.x-8.0, show the right DOS version
        For hard errors, show operation and drive; accept only allowed actions
        DOS error messages amended and edited to clarify and remove duplicates
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 150 - 25 January 2007:
        Fixed the "Lock violation on COPY from remote drive without SHARE" bug
        Worked around a bug (in MSVCRT?!) leaving high byte of _doserrno != 0
        VER_MINOR = VER_BUILD - 100 from now on (version 7.51 = build 151)

Build 149 - 18 January 2007:
        Fixed the "DIR [PATH] finds no files in DOS LFN volumes" bug
        An * instead of *.* default wildcard is now used for DOS LFN volumes
        FFIND /U (summary only) option can now be evaluated by @EXECSTR
        FFIND and LIST search can now be interrupted with Ctrl-C

4HELP Changes on 15 January 2007
        4HELP now supports mouse wheel (As for 4DOS, a driver that supports
        wheel is needed, e.g. Cute Mouse 2.x; the W9x driver does NOT support
        wheel for the DOS mouse API.)

Build 148 - 10 January 2007:
        LIST, SELECT and command history window now support mouse wheel
        (NOTE: A driver that supports wheel is needed, e.g. Cute Mouse 2.x+)
        The right mouse button now exits LIST and SELECT

Build 147 - 8 January 2007:
        Fixed command line buffer overflow when repeatedly pressing F12
        Added hexadecimal output option to @EVAL
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 146 - 7 January 2007:
        Fixed command line buffer overflow and path search name underflow bug
        Added new @CWD and @CWDS functions
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 145 - 6 January 2007:
        @READY now equals the inverted "no disk in drive" bit for CD-ROMs
        Added new EJECTMEDIA and CLOSETRAY commands
        Updated help file for the above change

Build 144 - 30 December 2006:
        Added a /V(erbose) option to TYPE to show a header for each file
        Added a /P(ower off) option to REBOOT to shut the system down
        REBOOT now flushes SMARTDRV cache before reboot or power off
        Updated help file for the above changes

Build 143 - 29 December 2006:
        /P page prompts are now overwritten like DR-/PTS-DOS COMMAND.COM
        Restored DOS version 2.x compatibility of 4DOS.COM, lost in v6
        4DOS.COM now aborts on attempt to run it in DOS version 1.x

Build 142 - 26 December 2006:
        Restored 8086/8088 (PC/XT, Pravetz-16, etc.) compatibility, lost in v6
        Added compatibility information about CADStar PCB in the help file
        Added @SERIAL function; help file updated for it too

Build 141 - 24 December 2006:
        Added GB units to file size ranges, @DISK* and @FILESIZE functions
        DIR /4 now shows size of files over 1 GB with precision of 0.1 GB
        Added information about the above features in the help file

Build 140 - 22 December 2006:
        For Pentium 4 and up, _CPU now returns 786
        Removed the @READY warning from 4DOS.HLP and added 786 info to it
        Added build.h dependency for expand, removed shareware dependencies

Build 139 - 21 December 2006:
        Recognise Datalight ROM-DOS
        Can now load in upper memory in PTS-DOS
        @READY now works properly in PTS-DOS

Build 138 - 19 December 2006:
        @READY now works more reliably with CD-ROM drives
        Removed unused modules "batcomp" and "parspath" from 4DOS.LNK
        INTVER = VER_BUILD again, now OPTION.EXE patched on each build

Build 137 - 17 December 2006:
        Re-enabled _4INST.BTM (self-installer) support
        Added the installer files from version 6.02 (1999) to the archive
        4DOS.HLP replaced by extended and updated version by Charles Dye

Build 136 - 15 December 2006:
        Process the DR-DOS F5/F8 startup keystrokes too
        Fixed the "%* affected by the SHIFT command" bug
        Removed the unused (non-4DOS and shareware) error messages

Build 135 - 13 December 2006:
        No longer mistake DR-DOS 7.0x for Novell DOS
        Recognise PC DOS, FreeDOS, PTS-DOS and DR-DOS 7.03
        Fixed the "DIR /F and DIR /B /S disable colourisation" bug

Build 134 - 9 December 2006:
        Batch debugger now refuses to load batch files over the 64 KB size limit
        Fixed the "total @FILESIZE roll-over at 4 GB" bug
        Fixed the "DESCRIBE loses third-party info" bug

Build 133 - 7 December 2006:
        Properly show FAT32 drive space in MS/PC/LZ/EDR/PTS/ROM/FreeDOS
        Properly show free XMS memory in the MEMORY command if > 64 MB
        Re-enabled the /Y single-stepping option that was disabled in 2003
        Fixed the "SET /M not upper-casing master environment variables" bug
        Fixed the "RD not removing hidden and system sub-directories" bug
        Fixed the C4018 "signed/unsigned mismatch" C compiler warnings
        Reverted INTVER from 131 to 130 to make OPTION compatible
