SKULIKOW%UWF.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu ( stan kulikowski ii) (08/02/90)
i write programs with user interfaces that employ the ANSI.SYS device
driver. inevitably i give a program to a colleague whose system has some
other device driver installed, so my programs look like garbage on his
monitor. i have tried to explain to him how to look in his config.sys but
this task is beyond his computer useage.
my programs need to determine which device driver is in the environment to
control the monitor... if it isn't ANSI.SYS, then remove it, install ANSI.SYS
so my code can do its thing, then reinstall the previous driver before
program termination.
i have been poking around simtel20 <msdos.screen> without success, looking
for some demo source code which can help. can anyone send me some? TP 5.5
preferred, C (turbo or zortech) acceptable.
stan
. skulikow@UWF.bitnet
===
close your eyes, my darling, or three of them at least
--- -- old venusian lullabybobb@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Bob Beauchaine) (08/02/90)
In article <24040@adm.BRL.MIL> SKULIKOW%UWF.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu ( stan kulikowski ii) writes: > > i write programs with user interfaces that employ the ANSI.SYS device >driver. inevitably i give a program to a colleague whose system has some >other device driver installed, so my programs look like garbage on his > > my programs need to determine which device driver is in the environment to >control the monitor... if it isn't ANSI.SYS, then remove it, install ANSI.SYS >so my code can do its thing, then reinstall the previous driver before >program termination. > PC Magazine has a utility called ansi.com, a TSR that replaces the ansi.sys device driver. Ansi.com has all the utility of ansi.sys, plus some, and can be temporarily turned or completely uninstalled when no longer required. Ansi.com can be downloaded from Compuserve, or the source code copied royalty free from the issue of PC-Magazine in which it appeared. Sorry, I don't know which issue, but it is within the last two years. You want to remove another device driver and install ansi.sys. I think that this will be *very* difficult unless the device driver was specifically written to be un-installed. A discussion of device drivers is beyond the scope of this group, but I refer you to "The MS-DOS Papers" by the Waite Group for a very in depth discussion. As a pseudo-solution, I would suggest looking in the contents of the config.sys and autoexec.bat files, since a monitor device driver is likely to be loaded by either of these files a boot. If you don't find ansi.sys, you can install ansi.com before your program is run. Don't, however, have both installed at the same time. Bob