howto create/modify PIF files?

[rudi]

Searching the autoit3 help and the forum here I couldn't find anything upon editing / creating PIF files.

Did I simply miss it?

Regards, Rudi.

[whim]

This is a question that will make most AutoIt'ers extremely suspicious.

Why ? Read up here:

http://filext.com/file-extension/PIF

And No, AutoIt provides no functions to edit them (AFAIK)

[rudi]

This is a question that will make most AutoIt'ers extremely suspicious.

Why ?

Because I didn't tell the whole story?

OK, what do I want to do:

This is an old DOS application. It can only handle SFN, not LFN, and I want to start it from whereever it currently is.

Modifying the ini like text files this App reads in at startup to get it's own paths (SFN paths) I solved using IniRead and other Ini* functions.

But using run("MyOldDos.EXE",...)

1.) can't start the program successfully

2.) a "@SW_MAXIMIZE" will only maximize the window (GUI window mode) and doesn't switch to fullscreen mode.

So let me ask more precisely:

Can I start a DOS program from autoit specifying all the params that can be specified in a PIF file?

How to start a DOS program from autoit in full screen mode?

Thanks for your answer,

Rudi.

Edited February 8, 2008 by rudi

[whim]

Straight from the helpfile for Run:

To run DOS (console) commands, try Run(@ComSpec & " /c " & 'commandName', "", @SW_HIDE)

edit: to maximize you could try to Send an Alt+Enter to the DOSBox.

Edited February 8, 2008 by whim

[rudi]

Straight from the helpfile for Run:

edit: to maximize you could try to Send an Alt+Enter to the DOSBox.

Yes, I know.

But how to specify all the memory settings done in a PIF (conv. RAM, XMS, EMS, Environment)?

And the Keys that shall not be served by windows for that app? (ALT+TAB, ALT+SPACE, ALT+PRNT,...)

Disable Screensaver while the DOS EXE is the active application?

Don't let the DOS app recognize it's running under Windows in a DOS BOX?

That's all things I honestly don't know how to define except by a PIF...

Regards, Rudi.

[rudi]

I just wondered if the PIF structure might be that simple that I could aim to figure out how to create one using Autoit3 on my own.

Well, it's not really a simple file structure:

http://www.smsoft.ru/en/pifdoc.htm

Looks I'm the only one asking for that outdated stuff?

Regards, Rudi.

[whim]

Well, now that you know how complex PIFs are, it will be easier to

understand why most people would run 'difficult' DOS programs

under straight DOS or in a virtual machine.

[rudi]

Well, now that you know how complex PIFs are, it will be easier to

understand why most people would run 'difficult' DOS programs

under straight DOS or in a virtual machine.

Well, this is a DOS program I want to run from a USB pen drive from whatever computer I'm sitting at.

Might be some Windows DLL could be abused to tell "Make a PIF with these Parameters pointing to that DOS Executable" ?

In Win98SE for example, when you drag-drop a .BAT file and choose "Create a Link" in deed a .PIF is created pointing to that .BAT file.

In Windows 2000 and above the same action is creating a normal file link, but anyways, there might be some DLL call solving this?

Regards, Rudi.