[Ham-Computers] RE: DOS Windows Size in W98SE/W95B

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

John,

Shortcuts to DOS/Command prompts generally have an associated "PIF" file.  The PIF is what tells Windows how to handle a text-based (DOS) program.  This includes the default font size as well as memory management and other functions.

It sounds like the "MS-DOS prompt" shortcut in your Office toolbar is set to run in a "maximized" window by default.  In Win98, IIRC, the "Maximized" view creates a window that's 80 characters wide (columns) by the full length of the screeen vertically (rows).  The overall size is dependent on the font type and size selected.  When you hit the "restore" button, you're restoring the MS-DOS prompt to it's "native" size of 80x25 (cols by rows).

In order to change the default behaviour of running in "maximzed" mode, you'll need to edit the PIF that's associated with the shortcut in the Office shortcut bar.  Let me put on my thinking cap here as I don't have Win98 handy...hmmm, actually, I do have a virtual 98 session handy...but it doesn't have the Office shortcut bar.  I'll explain how to create/modify the shortcut PIF, but you might need to find where the PIF for the Office bar shortcut is stored.

Let's start by creating a shortcut to MS-DOS.  Right-click on the desktop -> New -> Shortcut.  In the "Create Shortcut" wizard, type in "command" (no quotes) as the "Command line", then press "Next".  The next box should default the shortcut name to "MS-DOS Prompt".  You can keep it or change it - then press "Finish".

You should now have a new shortcut to MS-DOS on your desktop.  Right-click on the shortcut -> Properties.  You're now in what *was* the old PIF Editor (Win31 days).  It was integrated into the shell in Win9x.  On the "Program" tab, you'll see some of the settings for running this shortcut.  The "Run" box near the bottom dictates whether the MS-DOS Prompt will run as a "Normal window" (80x25), "Maximized" (80 x screen height), or "Minimized" (in the task bar).  Try each one and start the shortcut to see how each one affects the MS-DOS Prompt.  I would recommend "Normal window" for most purposes as it can be "re-sized" easily.

The "Font" tab allows you to chose what font to use for the "Windowed" MS-DOS Prompt.  If you select "Auto", it will chose the font size based on your Normal MS-DOS Prompt window size (more on this later).  If you chose an X by Y font size, then the MS-DOS Prompt will be "fixed" to using that font size and the MS-DOS window will be sized according to the font.  

So let's try some font settings.  Set the shortcut to "Normal window" and the font size to "Auto".  Then start the shortcut.  The window should start as a normal window that partially fills the screen.  "Grab" the bottom corner of the window with the cursor and drag it diagonally down and to the right.  If you have your screen set to at least 800x600, you'll notice that the size of the window changes as you move the bottom right corner.  This is the auto font-size in action - the font will change based on the size of the window.  Here's something to remember...if you resize the window, the size is saved when you close the MS-DOS prompt.  So the next time you start the *SAME* shortcut, it will be at the same window size.

OK, let's now pick a "fixed" font size.  Change the shortcut so it uses the 5x8 font size, then start the shortcut.  Notice that the window is pretty small as the font size is small (5 pixels by 8 pixels).  Now try to "grab" and resize the window - notice that it may resize the width, but it adds scroll bars - this is because you've "fixed" the font size and Windows won't let you re-size the contents of the window.

OK, what about "maximized" MS-DOS prompts.  If the font is set to "Auto", "Maximize" just uses the largest font size available to make an 80 column window that fits the width of the display.  The number of rows is depending on how many can fit on the screeen (top to bottom).  If the font size is set to a "fixed" size, then the maximized window will be in the font size selected - 80 columns across by so many rows down.  Notice that if you try to manually resize the "maximized" window by "grabbing" an edge or corner, it won't resize the window.  As far as windows is concerned, you've "Maximized" the window and it won't allow you to resize it (short of changing the font size).

For reference, I believe the PIF file was integrated with the shortcut in Win9x, so if you modify the settings, the shortcut itself is updated.  However, actual PIF files are still valid in Win9x for compatibility (BTW, PIF is a carryover from Win31).

So, to summarize:

 - You can't manually "resize" a "maximized" MS-DOS Prompt window.  
 - You can't resize the contents of a "fixed" font size MS-DOS Prompt window.
 - You *can* resize the window of an "auto" font size MS-DOS Prompt window.
 - Font (and other MS-DOS based) settings are stored in the Shortcut/PIF file.
 - My recollection of Win9x settings is fading quickly <g>.

Hopefully, there's enough info here to help you figure out what's going on.  In my opinion, your Office toolbar MS-DOS shortcut is set to run at "maximized".  You'll need to change this to "Normal" to get the behaviour you want.  Try looking for the shortcut here:

  c:\program files\msoffice\office\toolbars

IIRC, Office 97 might have installed in the root, so chop off the "Program files" part.


73,

  - Aaron, NN6O


-----Original Message-----
From: ham-computers-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:ham-computers-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of jandlmiller at bellsouth.net
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 8:14 AM
To: ham-computers at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Ham-Computers] DOS Windows Size in W98SE/W95B

This may or may not be related to Robert Downs' post on Sat 26 May 2007 and Aaron's response on Tue 29 May 2007. 

In Win98SE (or also in W95B) I have a question about changing the physical size of the DOS window.  To be sure we are all on the same page, here is what I see:

1. Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt opens the DOS window on top of Windows Desktop.  On my screen the DOS window in which the Command Prompt (C:\>)is located probably consumes 70-80 percent of the total screen area.  On the toolbar at the top, at far left is the Font windows with a drop-down arrow.  The Font in my window says "Auto."  There are seven buttons to the right of the d-d arrow the last of which is the capital A button.  (Most of us know that the button with four red arrows that I've dubbed the "button of death" causes a full-screen that can be reset only with ALT-ENTER.)  At the far right and above this tool bar are the three familiar buttons, and on this 70-80 percent window they say, on my screen, Minimize - Restore - Close.

2. When I select the middle (Restore) button the DOS window becomes smaller.  Perhaps 40-50 per cent of the total screen area is consumed.

How do I increase or decrease the total screen size, should I want to do so?  I am reluctant to attempt the sizing arrows because of 3. below.

3. This one may be an unresolved bug issue in Win98SE and/or in the Office 97 Pro toolbar.  Note the difference from the description in 2 above:

Striking the MS-DOS button on the Office 97 Pro toolbar, located vertically along the right side of my screen, causes the DOS window to appear on top of Windows Desktop.  On my screen the DOS window in which the Command Prompt (C:\>)is located probably consumes 70-80 percent of the total screen area.  On the toolbar at the top, at far left is the Font windows with a drop-down arrow.  The Font in my window says "Auto."  There are seven buttons to the right of the d-d arrow the last of which is the capital A button.  At the far right and above this tool bar are the three familiar buttons, and on this 70-80 percent window they say, on my screen, Minimize - Restore - Close.

When I select the middle (Restore) button the DOS window becomes smaller.  Perhaps 20-30 per cent of the total screen area is consumed.  I am sure I have forced the smaller size by using the sizing arrows, but I do not know how to recover to a larger physical size window that I would see when selecting the Restore button.

When I return to the Desktop and once again use Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt, I can repeat exactly what is described above.  The second window size, using Restore, is larger when using Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt than it is when using the Office97 Pro toolbar.

Once answer, I suppose, is to totally uninstall Office 97 Pro then reinstall it.

Any ideas?

John W0IKT