Configuring ANSIPLUS

Changes to the startup configuration for ANSIPLUS are made with the NEWAPLUS utility program. All changes that you make with the NEWAPLUS.exe program will take effect only after you restart your computer.

All startup configuration changes made by NEWAPLUS (except for the ANSIPLUS loading option) are installed by changing tables in the ANSIPLUS driver file. Because of this, some anti-virus and disk compression software may complain that the driver file or the system configuration has been altered after you have used NEWAPLUS. Just ignore this complaint.

You run NEWAPLUS with a command of the form:

NEWAPLUS <target>

Initial Colors

Palette Definition

Border Color

Version

ANSIPLUS 4.00 or later lets you select between two device drivers: the full driver ("ANSIPLUS"), and a reduced capability driver ("ANSIPLSR"). The only advantage of the reduced capability driver is that it requires about 35 percent less memory after it is loaded. To save this memory, five ANSIPLUS features are removed: scroll-back, copy/paste, direct output to video RAM in graphics mode, graphics mode text treatments, and monochrome VGA emulation on a color VGA.

Loading Option

ANSIPLUS can be loaded into memory up to seven different ways, depending on your computer's capabilities and what is contained in CONFIG.sys. These loading options allow you to control ANSIPLUS's requirements for each type of system memory: low memory below 640K, XMS upper memory blocks from 640K to 1M (UMB memory), high memory from 1M to 1M+64K (HMA), or EMS expanded memory.

Usage of low memory may not be the only consideration when deciding how to load ANSIPLUS. The following gives further information about each loading option:

• Load to Low Memory: ANSIPLUS can be loaded into low memory below 640K. This is the default. The following CONFIG.sys command loads ANSIPLUS to low memory:

  DEVICE=ANSIPLUS.exe

• Load Code to Upper Memory Blocks: ANSIPLUS can load itself into upper memory blocks. At load time, the driver can divide itself into two sections: pure code totaling 13K to 29K depending on driver version and available upper memory, and other code/data totaling 5K to 11K. The code can then be placed in XMS upper memory blocks (from 640K to 1M), leaving only 5K to 11K in low memory. Under DOS 5.0 or later, this option should work whether DOS=UMB appears in CONFIG.sys or not. The following CONFIG.sys command loads ANSIPLUS into the XMS upper memory blocks:

  DEVICE=ANSIPLUS.exe /U

• Load Code to HMA High Memory: ANSIPLUS can load its code into the high memory addressed just above 1 megabyte (the "HMA"). Under DOS 5.0 to 6.22, with the DOS=HIGH line in CONFIG.sys, ANSIPLUS shares this memory with DOS; if DOS=HIGH is not used, but an XMS driver is installed, the HMA is obtained from the XMS driver; or, for earlier DOS versions or systems not using an XMS driver, the HMA is taken in the same manner as the VDISK.sys driver allocates extended memory. When ANSIPLUS is loaded into the HMA, certain (antique) programs that assume memory addresses over one megabyte will "wrap around" to addresses starting at zero may not operate correctly. If you experience any problems, load ANSIPLUS into XMS upper memory blocks, expanded memory or low memory instead. The following CONFIG.sys command will load ANSIPLUS into the high memory area:

  DEVICE=ANSIPLUS.exe /H

• Load Code to EMS Expanded Memory: ANSIPLUS can load its code into expanded memory (EMS) which conforms to LIM (Lotus-Intel-Microsoft) Specification 4.0, eliminating the need for up to 29K of scarce UMB, HMA or low memory resources. However, this loading method is not recommended unless you really need to free up the extra memory.

Executing in EMS carries a performance penalty because the EMS pages must be mapped and restored each time ANSIPLUS needs to execute in EMS, and this can be especially noticeable under Windows. And because expanded memory may be shared with other programs, drivers or TSRs, there is a chance of a software interaction that may prevent an application from running, keep Windows from loading, or cause the system to fail. (For example, Version 6 of 386MAX will refuse to let Windows start in 386 Enhanced mode when ANSIPLUS is running in EMS. This limitation does not exist for the EMM386 or QEMM386 memory managers.) If you experience any problems using ANSIPLUS in EMS, do not use the feature. Load ANSIPLUS into XMS upper memory, the HMA, or low memory instead.   The following CONFIG.sys command will load ANSIPLUS into expanded memory:
  DEVICE=ANSIPLUS.exe /E

• Load Driver High to Upper Memory Blocks: ANSIPLUS can be loaded high by DEVICEHIGH or equivalent. The following CONFIG.sys command will load ANSIPLUS high using EMM386:

  DEVICEHIGH=ANSIPLUS.exe

• Load Driver High, Code to HMA Memory: ANSIPLUS can be loaded high, and then its code can be placed in HMA. This requires only 11K of XMS upper memory after ANSIPLUS has completed its initialization (5K for the reduced driver). However, upper memory space for the entire driver must be available when it is first loaded:

  DEVICEHIGH=ANSIPLUS.exe /H

• Load Driver High, Code to EMS Memory: ANSIPLUS can be loaded high, and then its code can be placed in EMS:

  DEVICEHIGH=ANSIPLUS.exe /E

Keyboard

Keyboard Buffer Size: By default, ANSIPLUS increases the keyboard buffer capacity to 128 characters, which should hold at least as much as most users can type ahead accurately. To expand the computer’s keyboard buffer capacity, an extension buffer is retained within ANSIPLUS, and whenever the ROM BIOS buffer has space available for keys held in the ANSIPLUS buffer, they are moved into the standard ROM BIOS buffer. You configure this buffer by specifying the total number of keys to be buffered.

Key Repeat or "Typematic" Rate: The keyboard repeat rate determines how fast keys will be generated when a key is held down and not lifted. For systems with enhanced keyboards, ANSIPLUS lets this rate be configured anywhere from 2 to 300 characters per second. For most applications, an ANSIPLUS repeat rate setting greater than 30 characters per second will take precedence over the keyboard repeat rate set by other programs, such as the DOS MODE program. Because of imprecise timing under Windows, however, this feature is disabled when Windows is running. If desired, it may also be disabled entirely to use the standard rate.

Keyboard Typematic Delay: The keyboard typematic delay, which determines how long a key must be held down before repeated keys will start to be generated, is also configurable. ANSIPLUS accepts four settings from 250 ms to 1000 ms.

Enable Sticky Shift Keys: ANSIPLUS supports sticky shift keys for one handed or mouth stick typists. When this feature is enabled, if the user strikes a Shift, Ctrl or Alt key once, it will remain "on" until the next normal key is struck, and then will be reset. If one of these shift keys is pressed twice, it will be locked on for all subsequent keystrokes until hit a third time to turn it off.

Allow Zero Key to Repeat: Some "point-of-sale" keyboards include special "00" or "000" keys for entry of multiple zeros, but generate the zeros without simulating the lifting of the key between the characters. Because ANSIPLUS will normally suppress repeated digits, the multiple-zero keys on these keyboards will enter only a single zero. A configurable feature is provided to allow repeated zeros when using such keyboards.

• Unlock Caps Lock with Shift/Letter: Normally, the Caps Lock key locks the alphabetic keys in upper case, and when a shift key is held down, letters are entered in lower case. This continues until Caps Lock is pressed again to unlock the Caps, and can often be confusing if you forget that Caps were locked. ANSIPLUS has an option to have Shift +alphabetic keys cause the Caps to unlock, much like a typewriter releases its shift lock whenever a shift key is pressed.
 
• Relock Caps Lock with Carriage Return : In many cases, when Caps Lock has been released by a Shift +alphabetic key combination, mixed upper and lower case characters are needed for only a single entry, and Caps Lock should be reinstated thereafter. ANIPLUS includes an option to turn Caps Lock back on again when the Enter key is pressed after Caps were unlocked by a Shift +alphabetic key, thus restoring Caps Lock on completion of an "entry."
 
• Generate Ctrl+Break on Ctrl+C : For those users who find it more convenient to break out of programs with the Ctrl+C key combination than with Ctrl+Break, ANSIPLUS has an option to generate a keyboard break whenever Ctrl+C is entered.
 
• Non-destructive Input Reads Last Key in Buffer: The "Non-Destructive" read function of DOS’s device driver reads an input key from the keyboard unofficially just to see what it is, allowing it to really be read later. This function is used to see what has been typed, and to read it or flush the keyboard buffer only if it matches some criterion (such as Escape or Ctrl+C ). Because the standard DOS keyboard driver always looks at the first key in the buffer, if it doesn’t meet the criterion, no matter what is typed later will not be checked. ANSIPLUS gets around this with an option to return the last key from the buffer instead of the first.
 
• Enable Key Stacking: Key stacking can be disabled to use another key stacking driver (for example, NDOS KEYSTACK.sys), or when typing files that contain unknown ANSI escape sequences that might execute undesired commands. When disabled, a warning tone will sound on any attempt to stack keys by ANSI escape sequence.
 
• "/K" Command Tail Switch: Like the MS-DOS ANSI.sys driver, ANSIPLUS supports the "/K" command tail switch when the driver is installed.  This option disables the driver's recognition of enhanced (101-key) keyboards, and forces it to assume that an 84-key keyboard is in use.

Assigning Keys

• Enable ANSI Key Reassignment: ANSIPLUS has the ability to translate single keystrokes to full commands or other pre-determined key sequences. This feature is called key reassignment, and it can be enabled or disabled without affecting the contents of the key reassignment tables stored within the ANSIPLUS device driver.
 
• Apply Key Reassignment at BIOS Int 16h Level: Ordinarily, key reassignment applies only to input keys requested from DOS, so programs that bypass DOS and use BIOS Interrupt 16h for keyboard input will not have any keys reassigned. This is usually desirable, since major applications generally have built-in assumptions about the meaning of function and Alt keys, and these should be operative. An ANSIPLUS feature is provided for those cases when you want to reassign keys for applications that bypass DOS and use Int 16h for keyboard input.
 
• Prevent ANSI Key Reassignment Redefinition: ANSIPLUS can also prevent ANSI key reassignment redefinition. This can be useful before trying ANSI files that contain unknown ANSI sequences that might redefine keys to execute undesired commands. A warning tone (like the theme from "Dragnet") will sound whenever an attempt to redefine a key reassignment is detected. If this feature is enabled by either the NEWAPLUS or SETAPLUS utility program, SETAPLUS must be used to disable it. It cannot be disabled by an escape sequence alone unless it was originally enabled by one.
 
• Key Reassignment Table Size: The space allocated for storing ANSI keystroke reassignments may also be configured. Each key reassignment requires approximately four bytes plus the length of the reassignment. You configure the total table size in bytes. If key reassignments will be saved and restored with the PUSHKEYS.com and POPKEYS.com programs, be sure that the storage space is large enough to hold all saved key reassignments plus any current reassignments. Unused space in the ANSIPLUS key reassignment table is made available to the ANSIPLUS clipboard, so you can also increase clipboard capacity by increasing the key reassignment table size.

Tone Definition

• ANSIPLUS Ctrl+G Beep Tone Generator: The ANSIPLUS driver includes a timer-interrupt controlled Ctrl+G beep tone generator that lets the beep tone be finished in parallel with subsequent processing. Multiple beeps are ignored if a tone is currently being output, so programs cannot be slowed down by a rapid series of beeps. The tone generator is used for both standard DOS console output and BIOS Int 10h Write TTY calls. If the tone generator is disabled, the original DOS beep tone will be used.
 
• Allow ANSIPLUS Beep Tone Under Windows: When Windows 3 is running in 386 mode, and a DOS program running in the background outputs a Ctrl+G, the background program’s virtual 8086 may not be running fast enough to accurately time the tone. Because of this, the tone can drag out and sound strange. Disabling ANSIPLUS tone generation under Windows restores the original Windows sound driver, but makes the tone frequency and duration non-configurable.
 
• Beep Tone Limit: The beep tone definition is stored in a table in the ANSIPLUS driver that requires four bytes per frequency and duration. You can configure the size of this table by specifying the maximum number of notes allowed in the beep.

Color Control

• Install ANSIPLUS Colors on Mode Sets: The ANSIPLUS driver ordinarily traps all video mode changes and installs the palette and/or DAC colors of the user’s, or of ANSIPLUS’s default color scheme. Applications that set their own palettes will continue to do so, but those that do not will use the installed color choices. If this feature is disabled, the VGA/EGA controller manufacturer’s colors (the "OEM" colors) will be loaded when the video mode changes.
 
• Load Colors on DOS 256-Color Mode Sets: Some 256-color DOS applications assume that the OEM 256-color palette has been loaded when the 256-color mode was selected, and never define the colors that they will use. A feature is provided to disable ANSIPLUS color loading for DOS 256-color modes if you are running such an application.
 
• Load Colors on Windows 256-Color Mode Sets: Some 256-color drivers for Windows apparently assume that the OEM 256-color palette has been loaded when the 256-color mode was selected, and never define the colors that Windows will use. Because of this, ANSIPLUS normally does not load its default colors when a 256-color mode is selected under Windows. However, a separate feature is provided to allow this if desired.
 
• Enable Text Mode Background Colors and Disable Blink: In color text modes, the VGA and EGA allow either sixteen background colors with no blinking foreground text, or eight background colors with foreground text that may or may not blink. In monochrome text mode 07h, when blinking is disabled there are three backgrounds possible: black, gray or white, and with blinking enabled there are two: black and gray. If blinking is disabled, ANSIPLUS will display sixteen (or three) background colors, and when it is enabled, you will see only eight (or two) background colors.
 
• Highlight Echoed Keys: ANSIPLUS highlights user-typed keys when they are displayed on the screen, giving a clear visual separation of typed entries from computer output. Over dark backgrounds, the key is shown in white, and over light backgrounds it is shown in black. If this feature is not wanted, it can be disabled.
 
• Emulate VGA Monochrome Monitor: Because application developers with VGA color monitors sometimes need to see how their systems will look when run with a VGA monochrome monitor, ANSIPLUS provides emulation of monochrome monitor VGA on a color monitor. In normal operation, this feature should be disabled.
 
• Wait for Retrace Before Setting Palette: When the VGA/EGA video controller does not allow setting a palette register unless a vertical retrace is in progress, or when "snow" or other problems occur during palette color changes, ANSIPLUS provides an option to wait for a vertical retrace whenever setting a palette register. Otherwise, this feature should remain disabled.

Display Control

• Enable Screen Saver (Blanker): The ANSIPLUS screen saver blanks the VGA/EGA screen after several minutes of screen, keyboard and mouse inactivity. The screen is brought back by any keystroke, including shift keys, or, if a mouse is connected, by moving it or pressing a button. The screen saver is automatically disabled when not in full screen DOS sessions under OS/2 or Windows, in DESQview, and when games or other programs that change the timer are running, and it does not interfere with any known programs. However, if this feature is not desired, it can be turned off.
 
• Screen Saver Blanking Time: The time of inactivity before the screen goes blank is configurable between one and thirty minutes.
 
• Use Alternative Method for Blanking VGA Screen: The ANSIPLUS screen blanking technique, which sets the VGA sequencer clock mode register, apparently is incompatible with a few VGA controllers (eg., Cirrus Logic GD610/20). For such controllers, a special feature is provided to select an alternative (EGA compatible) method which blanks the screen using the attribute controller instead.
 
• Use VESA power management in screen saver: The ANSIPLUS screen saver can reduce the power consumed by your monitor if both your video controller BIOS and monitor support VESA power management. When the VESA power management feature is enabled, after the screen has been blank for 5 minutes the monitor will be placed in standby mode. After 10 minutes, it will change to "suspend" mode, and after 15 minutes the monitor will be turned off.
 
• Read Key Controller Scan Codes in Screen Saver: As a "last resort" test for system activity, the screen saver can read scan codes from the keyboard controller at port 60h. This test should only be needed when you are running an application that completely takes over all keyboard interrupts and directly controls the screen display as well. On some computers, enabling this feature can interfere with processing of the arrow and page up/down keys on enhanced keyboards, or with a PS/2 type mouse, so the feature should be disabled unless it is really needed to keep the screen saver from blanking the screen when a specific application is run.
 
• Use MS Mouse Int 33h Polling in Screen Saver: During periods of keyboard inactivity, ANSIPLUS’s screen saver uses MS mouse Int 33h calls to test the status of the mouse. In the unlikely event these calls interfere with the mouse driver, they can be disabled.
 
• Use PS/2 Int 74h Mouse Events in Screen Saver: On the IBM PS/2, the mouse is usually connected to the pointing device port, and mouse activity will cause interrupts on the Mouse Event interrupt number 74h, so ANSIPLUS monitors this interrupt to unblank the screen. If this interrupt is used for another purpose, this feature should be disabled.
 
• Generate Pseudo-Cursor in Graphics Modes: The DOS console drivers do not show a cursor on the screen when using a graphics mode. ANSIPLUS can display a pseudo-cursor when keyed entries are requested by DOS in a graphics mode. If this feature is desired, it can be enabled. If it interferes with the appearance of a graphics mode program, it should be left disabled.
 
• Generate Pseudo-Cursor in 256-Color Modes: Because almost all applications that use 256-color graphics modes assume that DOS does not place a cursor on the screen, the ANSIPLUS pseudo-cursor is normally disabled when in a 256-color mode. If desired, you can enable the cursor.
 
• Trap ANSI Escape Sequences in BIOS Write TTY: Programs that write screen output using ROM BIOS Int 10h Function 14 (Write TTY) ordinarily cannot use ANSI Escape sequences for screen control. ANSIPLUS includes a feature to allow this.
 
• Driver Context Save Area: ANSIPLUS contains an internal storage area for saving and restoring driver context information (rows and columns, colors, display modes, etc.). The default size allows 25 items to be saved, but this can be configured to a larger value if needed.

Screen Scroll-Back

• Screen Scroll-Back: As lines are scrolled off the top of the screen, the ANSIPLUS driver can save them for later viewing. This viewing is called screen scroll-back. Most of the time this is a very useful and unobtrusive feature, but if it is undesired, or if storage of the saved lines in either expanded memory (EMS) or unused portions of the video RAM is found to interfere with something, it can be disabled.
 
• Use Expanded Memory for DOS Scroll-Back: Ordinarily, when ANSIPLUS is initialized by DOS, it will try to allocate 64K of expanded memory (LIM EMS 4.0) for scroll-back. When EMS is used for scroll-back, storage capacity will be about 1,000 lines, and the scroll-back data will be preserved as long as the computer is on. (If the ANSIPLUS code was loaded into EMS, it will share the same 64K area as scroll-back, reducing capacity by 40 percent.) If EMS memory is unavailable, then scroll-back will be stored in unused portions of the video RAM instead, cutting capacity to about 500 lines, which will be lost every time the display mode changes. A configurable feature is provided that can prevent DOS EMS memory from being allocated for scroll-back and force any scroll-back data to reside in video RAM.
 
• Use Expanded Memory for Windows Scroll-Back: Under Windows, when a 386 Enhanced Mode DOS session starts, ANSIPLUS will try to allocate 64K of private expanded memory (EMS) for scroll-back (48K if ANSIPLUS code was loaded into EMS). If the EMS is not available (for example, if the Windows PIF file for the application does not provide expanded memory), then video RAM will be used for scroll-back instead. ANSIPLUS provides a configurable feature that can prevent Windows EMS from being allocated for scroll-back and force any Windows DOS session scroll-back to reside in video RAM. This is not recommended, however, because scroll-back in video RAM under Windows is not reliable when used with many Windows video drivers.
 
• Allow Video RAM for Windows Scroll-Back: The recommended location for scroll-back data under Windows is expanded memory (EMS). When EMS memory cannot be used, if you want to use scroll-back under Windows, you must enable a feature that allows using video RAM for scroll-back instead. When running DOS applications in 386 Enhanced Mode, Windows will not maintain a full 32K of text mode RAM unless the Windows PIF file specifies "High Graphics" and "Retain Video Memory," and even then some Windows 3.1 video drivers (eg., 256-color ET-4000) will not work correctly when video RAM outside the visible screen is accessed, resulting in loss of scroll-back text or incomplete updating of the screen. You therefore should exercise caution before relying on this feature.
 
• Preserve Scroll-Back Data Using XMS or HMA Memory: Another feature only applies when video RAM is used to hold scroll-back data. On systems with extended memory and either a suitable XMS driver such as HIMEM.sys or QEMM, or ANSIPLUS loaded into the High Memory Area (HMA), ANSIPLUS can allocate 32K of XMS or HMA memory to preserve scroll-back data when changing video display modes or when running graphics applications (including Windows). DOS sessions under Windows 3.1 can also use XMS memory for this purpose if they have access to at least 32K of extra XMS memory (See PIF Editor in the Windows User’s Guide). If ANSIPLUS is loaded into the HMA and does not share this area with DOS, then ANSIPLUS will preserve scroll-back using HMA, except when Windows is running; otherwise, XMS memory will be used. Because calls to some XMS drivers may require a lot of stack space, this feature should be disabled if you have reliability problems during display mode changes. And because the feature is now rarely needed, if it is disabled at system startup, the code to perform its function will be deleted from the driver (saving 650 bytes), and the feature will not operate.
 
• Capture Lines Scrolled by BIOS Call: ANSIPLUS captures for scroll-back all standard DOS output that is scrolled off the top of the screen or cleared from the screen. An option is provided to capture full lines scrolled off the top by BIOS calls, as well as screens not containing DOS output, which are cleared by BIOS call. Under Windows 3.1, when a DOS session is running in a window, some Windows video drivers (for example, the Microsoft Windows 3.1 VGA driver) trap BIOS scrolling calls completely and do not pass them through to the DOS virtual 8086, making it impossible for ANSIPLUS to reliably capture lines scrolled by BIOS call when Windows is running.
 
• Save All Erased Pages: Every time that video page 0 (the normal video page for all DOS output) is cleared, the first through last non-blank lines on the screen (plus one above and below) are captured for scroll-back. When the second and higher video pages are cleared, they will not be saved unless lines have been scrolled off the top. An option is provided to capture the higher video pages too when they are cleared.
 
• Capture Lines Scrolled From Subscreen Regions: To simplify writing or adapting applications, ANSIPLUS has the ability to restrict DOS, ANSI and BIOS screen output to user-defined scrolling regions or "windows." Because scrolling regions are generally used within applications, when a subscreen scrolling region is in effect, lines scrolled off the top of the region are not usually captured for scroll-back. An option is provided to capture such lines.
 
• Protect Second Video Page From Scroll-Back: When EMS memory is not used for scroll-back, ANSIPLUS stores captured screen lines in unused parts of the video RAM, with usage based on whether a display page has ever been selected for display. Almost all text mode applications select a page before filling it with text, so ANSIPLUS should generally know what is used and what isn’t. However, a few applications, such as the Norton Utilities Version 7, appear to use the second video page without ever selecting it to save the original contents of the screen as the program starts up. This action will wipe out any scroll-back data in the second page, and when the original screen is cleared by the program, scroll-back lines may be stored into the saved screen, causing gibberish to be restored to the screen when the program terminates. To address this problem, a configurable feature is provided to protect the second video page from scroll-back storage. However, when this feature is enabled, storage capacity for scroll-back will be reduced by one page.

Other

• Allow Scroll Lock Key to Freeze Screen: ANSIPLUS uses the Scroll-Lock key as a hot key for freezing fast screen output and for activating screen scroll-back. If these features are not desired, or to run those few applications that use Scroll-Lock for other purposes, the ANSIPLUS Scroll-Lock key can be disabled. However, before you completely disable ANSIPLUS’s Scroll-Lock key, try the Alt+Scroll-Lock combination instead (see next option).
 
• Require Alt for Scroll-Lock: An alternative hot key is Alt+Scroll-Lock. If this key is enabled, the Alt key must be pressed simultaneously with the Scroll-Lock key to cause the ANSIPLUS Scroll-Lock function to be activated. If it is disabled, the Scroll-Lock key will function with or without any other simultaneous key.
 
• Enable Smooth Scrolling: Smooth scrolling can gradually move the entire screen’s text up so it can be read while it moves. This feature can also be toggled on and off by the Shift+Scroll Lock key combination. Smooth scrolling will appear unacceptably choppy on computers with lower powered CPUs and/or video controllers that cannot move a full screen of text in the video RAM completely during a vertical retrace. If this occurs, the feature should not be used.
 
• Allow Smooth Scrolling Under Windows: Because scrolling performance is reduced when Windows is running, smooth scrolling under Windows may appear jerky even though it works correctly under DOS. Smooth scrolling also may interfere with many Windows video display drivers when the DOS session is run in a window, not full screen. For example, the 256-color drivers for the Tseng ET4000 may leave undrawn black areas on the screen when scrolling occurs in a window while smooth scrolling is active. Because of these problems, smooth scrolling is disabled by default under Windows, and is kept disabled unless the VWFD.386 Windows virtual device driver (VxD) is installed.
 
• Smooth Scrolling Rate: The smooth scrolling rate is configurable. The rate is expressed in scan lines per vertical retrace, and may range from 1 to 8. You should select your scrolling rate carefully, because scrolling will not be completely smooth if the rate does not divide evenly into the number of scan lines per character.
 
• Speed Up Smooth Scroll When Delaying Computer: Because it takes time to smoothly scroll the screen, smooth scrolling of large amounts of screen output can significantly delay the computer. An option is provided to increase the scrolling rate when the smooth scrolling operation is taking a significant proportion of the computer’s time. This can help, for example, to prevent data overruns when smooth scrolling is used with a communications program that scrolls the entire screen.
 
• Use BIOS Calls for Text Scrolling: ANSIPLUS normally handles all text mode scrolling itself directly in the video display RAM. This may confuse some other device drivers or TSRs that are installed and need to know when the screen is being scrolled. In such cases, a feature can be enabled to cause BIOS calls for screen scrolling.
 
• Allow 32-bit block moves for text scrolling: On 80386 or later systems, 32-bit block moves can be used for faster text mode scrolling. Unfortunately, a few video controllers cannot handle this properly, so this feature must disabled by default. If scrolling and scroll-back work reliably with 32-bit scrolling enabled in an experiment on your system, this feature should be permanently enabled using the NEWAPLUS program.
 
• Require Scroll Lock for Full Screen Mouse Copy/Paste: In full screen operation, ANSIPLUS should automatically detect whether the current running program is using the mouse, and not try to take over the mouse for copy and paste. In case this mouse activity detection logic fails, and ANSIPLUS interferes with a program’s mouse usage, a configurable feature is provided to correct the problem by keeping ANSIPLUS from taking over the mouse unless the screen has been frozen by the Scroll-Lock key.

This feature affects only standard DOS and full screen Windows or OS/2 sessions, because ANSIPLUS always requires that Scroll Lock be on before it takes over the mouse in windowed OS/2 or Windows sessions or in DESQview windows. This keeps the mouse from being activated as you move it from window to window or just leave the cursor sitting over an ANSIPLUS DOS window.
 
• Suppress NUL Output Characters: For some applications (eg., programs converted from mini-computers to the personal computer), it may be desirable to suppress the ASCII NUL character (decimal 0) when it is output to the console. ANSIPLUS has a configurable feature that permits this.
 
• Lock Screen Size BIOS Variables: When ANSIPLUS creates a subscreen region, it changes the BIOS variables for screen size so that programs that make well-behaved BIOS calls for screen output will be able to adapt to the reduced screen size.  However, certain other programs, such as pcAnywhere remote control, may become confused when they use these screen dimensions to transfer data directly to the remote screen.  An ANSIPLUS feature allows you to lock the true screen size into the BIOS variables if you are using both subscreen regions and such a program.

© Copyright 2000-2007, Kristofer Sweger. All rights reserved.	Rev. 10/16/07