	Program usage documentation for the Free-DOS MODE program

	(c) Copyright 1994-1995 by K. Heidenstrom.

	Modified:

	KH.19941231.001  (MODE 1.0.0)  First version
	KH.19950116.002  (MODE 1.0.2)  Added switchar documentation
	KH.19950520.003  (MODE 1.0.3)  No changes to functionality
	KH.19950805.004  (MODE 1.0.4)  Added modifier (shift-state) stuff


1.  LEGAL

	This program is Copyright 1994-1995 by K. Heidenstrom.	It was
	written specifically for the Free-DOS project.	The author may
	be reached at kheidens@actrix.gen.nz on the Internet or by snail
	mail: K. Heidenstrom c/- P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand.

	This program is free software.	You may redistribute the source and
	executable and/or modify the program under the terms of the GNU
	General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
	either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

	This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
	but is provided "as-is", without any warranty of any kind, including
	the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular
	purpose.  In no event will the author be liable for any damages of
	any kind related to the use of this program.  See the GNU General
	Public License for more details.

	You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
	along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
	Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

2.  FUNCTION AND USAGE SYNTAX

	The MODE program performs six separate functions, which are
	described separately below.

2.1.  SET VIDEO MODE AND NUMBER OF SCREEN LINES

	MODE allows the video mode to be set to one of five modes.  The
	syntax is:

	MODE Videomode[,Lines]

	The modes are:

	MONO	Monochrome mode, as used with the MDA and Hercules adapter
		cards, and also emulated on EGA and VGA cards.	This mode
		is the only mode which has the ability to underline
		characters on the screen by default.  This mode cannot be
		selected on the CGA video card.

	BW40	40-column color-suppressed mode.  This mode is specific to
		the CGA adapter, and gives a display of 40 columns by 25
		lines.	The color information of the composite video signal
		from the CGA card is turned off, so that the display is in
		black and white on a composite color monitor, with sixteen
		shades of grey.
		If this mode is selected on an EGA or VGA card, or a CGA card
		that is not connected to a television set or a composite color
		monitor, it will appear the same as the CO40 mode (i.e. the
		color will not be suppressed).	This mode cannot be selected
		on MDA and Hercules video cards.

	BW80	80-column color-suppressed mode.  This mode is also specific
		to the CGA adapter and is the same as BW40 except that there
		are 80 columns.
		If this mode is selected on an EGA or VGA card, or a CGA card
		that is not connected to a television set or a composite color
		monitor, it will appear the same as the CO40 mode (i.e. the
		color will not be suppressed).	This mode cannot be selected
		on MDA and Hercules video cards.

	CO40	40-column color mode.  This mode gives 40 columns by 25 lines
		color display.	It is supported by CGA, EGA, and VGA adapters
		but not by MDA and Hercules cards.

	CO80	80-column color mode.  This mode gives an 80 column by 25 line
		display and is the normal display mode for CGA, EGA and VGA
		cards.	It is not supported by MDA and Hercules cards.	On EGA
		cards, this mode also supports a 43-line variant, and on VGA
		cards, the 43-line variant and a 50-line variant are supported.

		The 43-line and 50-line modes can be selected by specifying
		",43" or ",50" after the CO80 on the MODE command line.  If
		this parameter is not specified, the default of 25 lines will
		be used.

	Once set, the video mode will remain in effect until changed by
	a MODE command or by a program.  The video mode is not locked
	permanently - programs are free to change video modes as they
	require.

2.2.  CONFIGURE SERIAL PORT PARAMETERS

	MODE allows the communication parameters of a serial port to be
	configured.  The syntax is:

	MODE COMn:r,p,d,s

	n	Specifies which serial port is to be configured, in the range
		1 to 4.  If the serial port does not exist, MODE will report
		an error.

	r	Specifies the baud rate in bits per second.  Values are:
		50, 110, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 14400,
		19200, 28800, 38400, 57600, and 115200.

		1200, 2400, 4800, and 9600 may be abbreviated to 12, 24,
		48 and 96 respectively.  14400, 19200, 28800, 38400, and
		57600 may be abbreviated to their first two or three digits.
		115200 may be abbreviated to 115 or 1152.

	p	Specifies the type of parity generated and checked on
		the data bytes.  Values are:

		E = Even parity
		O = Odd parity
		N = No parity

	d	Specifies the number of data bits that will be transmitted
		and received.  The allowable values are 5, 6, 7, and 8.

	s	Specifies the number of stop bits that will be transmitted
		and expected.  This may be 1 or 2.  If 2 stop bits are
		used in conjunction with 5 data bits, the serial port will
		actually generate and check 1 1/2 stop bits.

	Once set, the serial port parameters will remain in effect until
	changed by a MODE command or by a program.  The serial port settings
	are not locked permanently - programs are free to change them as
	they require.

2.3.  PARALLEL PORT REDIRECTION AND INFINITE RETRIES

	MODE allows parallel (LPT) port output to be redirected to a serial
	(COM) port, to NUL (i.e. nothing), and also can retry indefinitely
	if the peripheral fails to respond.

	These functions are performed by the resident portion of MODE, which
	will be automatically installed if necessary when the function is
	requested.

	The syntax is:

	MODE LPTn:P		Infinite timeout on parallel port
	MODE LPTn:=COMx		Redirect printer output to COM port
	MODE LPTn:=NUL:		Redirect printer output to NUL
	MODE LPTn:		Remove redirection and infinite timeout

	The LPTn:P function specifies infinite retries on timeout.  If
	this is enabled, MODE will retry continuously if the printer
	fails to respond.  If this is not enabled, and the printer fails
	to respond within a certain length of time (typically about half
	a minute), a write fault error will be reported.

	The LPTn:=COMx and LPTn:=NUL: functions specify redirection of
	printer output.  Any parallel port (whether it exists or not) may
	be redirected to any existing serial port, or to NUL.  More than
	one parallel port may be redirected to the same serial port or
	to NUL.  These functions are useful if you have a serial printer,
	or if you have no printer and want to avoid locking up the computer
	if a program attempts to print to a nonexistent printer.

	The LPTn: function removes any redirection and infinite timeout
	that may be configured for the specified port, and returns it to
	normal operation.

2.4.  HARD DISK PARK FUNCTIONS

	MODE will park the hard disk or hard disks (only the first two
	physical hard disks in the system), either immediately, or after
	the disk has been idle for a period of time.

	The timed park function is performed by the resident portion of MODE,
	which will be automatically installed if necessary when the function
	is requested.

	The syntax is:

	MODE PARK			Park now
	MODE PARK,minutes[:seconds]	Park after hard disk has been idle

	The PARK function parks the hard disk(s) immediately and waits for
	you to switch off the computer.  You can also press Ctrl-C to quit
	and return to DOS.

	The PARK,minutes[:seconds] function causes the hard disk(s) to be
	parked after a certain period of inactivity, which may be up to
	50 minutes.  If you have two physical hard disks, they are both
	handled separately.

	Once set, you can change the time period by executing the command
	again with a different time value.  The timed park function cannot
	be turned off - you must reboot to remove it.

	These functions are generally only useful for older machines.
	Modern hard drives park themselves automatically when switched
	off.

2.5.  TYPEMATIC FUNCTIONS

	MODE allows the typematic (auto-repeat) initial repeat delay and
	repeat rate parameters to be set, and optionally locked.

	The typematic lock function is performed by the resident portion of
	MODE, which will be automatically installed if necessary when the
	function is requested.

	The syntax is:

	MODE DELAY=d RATE=r		Set typematic parameters
	MODE DELAY=d RATE=r LOCK	Set and lock typematic parameters

	d	Specifies the initial delay, the range is 1 to 4 and the
		delay is between 1/4 second (1) and one second (4).

	r	Specifies the auto-repeat rate.  The range is 1 to 32 and
		the rate is between two repeats per second (1) and 30 repeats
		per second (32).

	LOCK	Specifies that the typematic parameters should be locked.
		Once this is done, the typematic parameters may be changed
		by runing MODE again, but cannot be changed by most other
		programs.  This can be useful, as some programs will change
		the typematic parameters without your permission.  It is
		not completely foolproof, however, and there are several
		things that a program could do which will defeat the locking
		feature of MODE.

	Note that both DELAY and REPEAT must be specified for these functions.

	MODE does not attempt to confirm that typematic setting is available
	on the machine.  I tried to do this using int 15h function 0C0h and
	int 16h function 9 but it seems that these are not fully supported
	by enough machines to be a reliable indicator.	MODE will accept all
	typematic commands, whether or not the machine actually supports them.

2.6.  SWITCHAR FUNCTIONS

	MODE can display and set the DOS switch character (switchar).
	The default switchar is the forward slash, '/'.  The switchar is the
	character that is used to indicate the start of an option switch, e.g.
	the /P switch to the DIR command.  Typically, the switchar may be
	changed to '-'.  The switchar is an undocumented DOS feature that is
	properly supported by few programs.

	The syntax is:

	MODE SWITCHAR			Display current switchar
	MODE SWITCHAR=x			Set switchar to character
	MODE SWITCHAR=n			Set switchar to ASCII value n

	The SWITCHAR parameter by itself causes MODE to display the current
	switchar.  The SWITCHAR= usage sets the switchar.  The new switchar
	may be specified as a character (e.g. 'MODE SWITCHAR=/') or as a
	number (e.g. 'MODE SWITCHAR=45').

2.7.  MODIFIER (SHIFT STATE) FUNCTIONS

	MODE can change the three sticky shift-states (caps lock, numlock,
	and scroll lock).  This function should not be used on machines with
	original PC or XT keyboards, because the indicator LEDs on these
	keyboards cannot be controlled from the computer, and will become
	out of step with the computer's shift-states.  MODE does not detect
	these machines, however.  On ATs and later machines, there is no
	problem.

	The parameter syntax for this command consists of the following
	options:

		CAPSLOCK=ON	CAPSLOCK=OFF
		NUMLOCK=ON	NUMLOCK=OFF
		SCRLOCK=ON	SCRLOCK=OFF

	Any non-conflicting and non-duplicated combinations of these options
	is allowed.  Also, SCRLOCK can be expanded to SCROLLLOCK.

3.  GENERAL

	Parameters to MODE are not case sensitive.

	MODE can only process one command on each invocation.  If you
	want to redirect several LPT ports, you must use a separate
	MODE command for each.	Commands of different types cannot be
	combined on the command line.

	Error messages are always sent to StdErr, which is not redirected
	by the DOS output redirection facilities.  Informational messages
	are sent to standard output, and may be redirected to NUL: for
	'quiet' operation.

	Errorlevels returned by MODE are as follows:

	0	No error
	115	Serial port does not exist (either for COMn: or LPTn:=COMx)
	117	No hard disk(s) found to park
	118	Specified video mode is not supported on this machine
	162	Insufficient memory (MODE requires about 6K of memory)
	241	Parameter out of range (e.g. time value, LPT port number etc)
	242	Cannot have 43-line or 50-line modes with modes other than CO80
	243	Unknown baud rate
	244	Must specify both DELAY= and RATE= for typematic setting
	246	More than one command or command type was given
	255	Incorrect usage syntax (all usage syntax errors)

	MODE is a TSR program.	If required, MODE will install part of itself
	resident in the computer's memory.  This resident portion performs
	printer redirection and timeout handling, automatic parking of the
	hard drive, and locking of the typematic parameters, and cannot be
	removed without rebooting (unless the public domain MARK and RELEASE
	programs are used).  If additional resident functions are required
	and the resident portion is installed, MODE will enable those
	functions in the resident portion rather than installing another
	resident portion.

	Because MODE is a TSR, it may be incompatible with applications
	or other TSRs you may be using.  If problems occur, try to establish
	which programs are conflicting.  It may be possible to avoid the
	problem by installing the programs in a different order.

	If you find a bug in MODE, please inform the author.  The contact
	details are given in section 1 of this document and in the source
	code.

4.  USAGE EXAMPLES

	Here is a sample of MODE's usage in AUTOEXEC.BAT, demonstrating all
	features:

	mode co80,43			>nul:
	mode com1:96,n,8,1		>nul:
	mode com2:19,n,8,1		>nul:
	mode com3:24,n,8,1		>nul:
	mode lpt1:=com2			>nul:
	mode lpt1:p			>nul:
	mode lpt2:=nul:			>nul:
	mode lpt3:=nul:			>nul:
	mode park,0:30			>nul:
	mode delay=1 rate=32 lock	>nul:
	mode switchar=-			>nul:
	mode numlock=off		>nul:

	This sequence firsts selects 43-line color display mode, then
	configures the serial port parameters for COM1, COM2 and COM3
	(9600, 19200, and 2400 bps respectively, with no parity, eight
	data bits and one stop bit).  These serial port parameters are
	not locked permanently, and another MODE command or another
	program may change these at any time.
	Then, LPT1 output is redirected to COM2, so anything that is
	printed to LPT1 will be sent out COM2 instead, at 19200 bps
	(for example, to a serial laser printer), and LPT2 and LPT3
	are redirected to NUL so that anything that is sent to them
	will go nowhere.
	Then a timed hard disk park is installed, which will park the
	hard disk(s) after 30 seconds of no hard disk activity.
	Finally, the shortest delay and fastest rate for the keyboard
	typematic function is selected and locked, and the DOS switchar
	is set to a hyphen ('-').

				   ----//----
