Nnansi. Com- enhanced ms-dos ansi console Driver For ega/vga displays Note: ms-dos and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Pc/XT, Pc/AT, and ps/2 are trademarks of ibm corporation. 4Dos is a trademark of J. P

NNANSI.COM-- Enhanced MS-DOS ANSI Console Driver For EGA/VGA Displays Note: MS-DOS and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. PC/XT, PC/AT, and PS/2 are trademarks of IBM Corporation. 4DOS is a trademark of J.P. Software. MKS Toolkit is a trademark of Mortice Kern Systems Inc. PROCOMM is a trademark of Datastorm Technologies, Inc. Typing Tutor IV is a trademark of Kriya Systems, Inc. Desqview and QEMM are trademarks of Quarterdeck. 386MAX is a trademark of Qualitas. Manufacturers' names are the trademarks of their respective manufacturers. That should take care of everyone. Documentation for version 5/93. This version of NNANSI contains the following improvements over NNANSI version 1/93: 1. Improved support of DOS/V, the Japanese version of MS/DOS. (thanks, Akira Kikuchi!) 2. BIOS Only configuration for use with speech synthesizers for the visually impaired, and in BBS applications using Doorway (tm). This mode is much slower, but allows operation of programs that require printing via the BIOS to work properly. 3. Corrected source code error when extended keyboard not used. 4. A few enhancements made in some display card definitions. IMPORTANT NOTE: the compiled NNANSI.COM is intended for 80286 or later systems with "AT" style (12 function key) keyboards and VGA displays. You will need to recompile on systems that don't meet this requirement. *********INTRODUCTION NNANSI.COM (version 5/93) is an improved version of NANSI.SYS (version 2.2), by Daniel Kegel, which is in turn such an improvement over ANSI.SYS that *no one* should be without one of these. If you are using ANSI.SYS, be aware that either of these drivers will offer greatly improved performance and functionality over your current driver. Current users of NANSI.SYS with EGA or VGA displays (and other enhanced ANSI.SYS drivers) will notice still greater performance and functionality in NNANSI.SYS. Even if you don't use an ANSI.SYS driver, you will achieve major performance benefits. (Note that there will be no performance benefits for programs that write directly to the display). A short list of improvements of NANSI.SYS (version 3.0) over ANSI.SYS: 1. Intrinsic 43 or 50 line support (MS-DOS 4.0 now has this). 2. Some additional text mode escape sequences: Insert Lines, Delete Lines, Insert Characters, Delete Characters. 3. Greater to *much* greater performance. 4. Supports higher resolutions, both text and graphic modes. 5. Graphic mode cursor 6. Special configuration that uses the BIOS only for display. A short list of improvements of NNANSI.COM (version 5/93) over NANSI.SYS: 1. Additional escape sequences: erase to start/end of display, insert/delete lines in graphic modes, added Set Graphic Rendition codes (and properly working reverse video, underline, and invisible modes). Accurate ANSI escape sequence parsing 2. Graphic cursor support is better, and can be disabled. 3. Intrinsic support for both 43 and 50 line modes on a VGA. The prompt command can be used to maintain 43 or 50 line display modes. 40 column support for 43 and 50 line modes. 4. Faster text mode performance; *much* faster scrolling (when in "fast mode"). 5. Much faster performance in 640x350 to 800x600 16 color graphic modes. Every ANSI control sequence (except insert/delete characters and blink) work in these modes as well. 6. Readily configured for enhanced graphic and text modes of various display cards. Support for several popular cards are provided. 7. Blink in 16 color graphics modes (up to 800x600) will exclusive-OR characters. 8. Support for MS-DOS V4.0 and later MODE commands, and properly clears the display in enhanced modes using command.com's CLS. 9. Driver can be loaded as TSR from the command line. 10. Desqview aware. 11. Supports Japanese DOS/V On the other hand, NANSI is smaller, and works with MDA as distributed. **********************LICENSE REQUIREMENTS Daniel Kegel is the author of NANSI.SYS, of which this is a derived work. I, Tom Almy, think enough of his efforts and programming skills that I used NANSI.SYS as a base for NNANSI.COM. NANSI.SYS version 2.2 came with sources and free distribution for personal or educational use, but prohibits commercial use. I have an agreement with Mr. Kegel to license NNANSI.COM in accordance with his newest NANSI.SYS license arrangement: "If you use this program for education or at home, you are encouraged to send a US$10 donation to the author. If you use it for business purposes, you are required to purchase a right-to-use license by sending US$10 to the author." Send contributions/user fees to: Daniel Kegel 535 E. Mendocino St Altadena, CA 91001 You can also reach him at his internet address: [e-mail] Everyone wins with this arrangement! * Commercial users can now legally use NNANSI.COM * Personal users can show their gratitude. * Daniel Kegel can make a little money for his efforts. * I won't feel guilty for "ripping off" his work. I place no restrictions on my modifications to NANSI.SYS. I neither request nor will I accept any contributions for my work on this program. I made these modifications as part of an effort to understand the workings of DOS device drivers and the EGA/VGA display. On the other hand, I do like to hear from users, satisfied or (even) not satisfied. I M P O R T A N T >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Please, if you have problems, check the PROBLEMS section of this document before contacting me. Greater than 90% of the problem reports I receive are answered in this section. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< My address is: [e-mail] (Internet) or Tom Almy 17830 SW Shasta Trail Tualatin, OR 97062 I also now run a BBS at (503)-620-0307, 1200-9600 (v.32) bps If you must use the postal service. Enclose a stamped, self- addressed envelope if you desire a reply. *********DISTRIBUTED FILES The distribution has the following files: readme.1st - READ THIS FIRST nnansi.com - Driver, with compilation options set as shown - in the file CONFIG.INC nnansi.doc - this file howto.doc - explaination about the different ways to write to the display gcon.bat - turns graphic cursor on gcoff.bat - turns graphic cursor off fast.bat - turns fast mode on slow.bat - turns fast mode off biosw.bat - turns ANSI bios write_tty on nobiosw.bat - turns ANSI bios write_tty off 25.bat - set 80x25 text mode 43.bat - set 80x43 text mode 50.bat - set 80x50 text mode (VGA only) run.bat - load NNANSI TSR as full function driver norun.bat - unload NNANSI TSR when loaded as full function driver dtest.exe - Performance testing program for ANSI drivers stat.com - Print out information about display status makefile - for Don Kneller's NDMAKE nnansi.asm - The source file config.inc - Configuration selections (part of source) drivers.inc - Display specific macros (part of source) *********INSTALLATION NOTE: If you have an MDA (Monochrome or Hercules display adapter) you will need to reassemble NNANSI first. You will also need to reassemble if you are using DOS/V, an 8088 processor, an EGA display, or an original 84 key keyboard. You will probably want to reassemble to configure for your specific display card (if it is an "Enhanced" card), will not be using Desqview, are using a DOS prior to version 4.0, or otherwise want other defaults. NNANSI installs just like ANSI.SYS (or NANSI.SYS), it is a device driver that you specify in your CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=NNANSI.COM If you are using code pages, place this command before the DEVICE=DISPLAY.SYS command, otherwise code pages will not work. You can also load NNANSI as a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program instead. To do this, add the following lines to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: NNANSI D CTTY CON If you wish to load the driver as a TSR in Desqview or Windows, see the section on "NNANSI as a TSR". You cannot use the D option, and the CTTY command is not needed but the driver will have limited features. If NNANSI is the last TSR loaded, it can then be removed. See the section "NNANSI as a TSR" for the special technique necessary to remove NNANSI. For optimum performance, run fast.bat and biosw.bat, but if applications have trouble with either of these, you will have to revert back to slower operating modes (read section "FAST MODE"). While the supplied compiled driver is suitable for most installations, you can get better results by customizing the driver for your display card. To do this you will need an assembler, such as Borland Turbo Assembler, a text editor, and (optionally) Don Kneller's NDMAKE program. I understand that Borland's MAKE will also work. Some people have asked why I don't have command line options for the driver or a separate configuring program but require the user to use an assembler. The reasons: 1. These make the driver larger and possibly slower than it needs to be. If you insist on a full-featured display driver try FANSI-CONSOLE. 2. I feel that users who are sophisticated enough to be able to utilize NNANSI either have an assembler or have access to one. This is not a program for novices. 3. I'm lazy. I'm not interested. I've got other things to do (which pay). All options are specified in the file CONFIG.INC. Edit that file and make changes as appropriate. These descriptions assume the initial default settings: DOSV (FALSE) Set true to use with DOS/V. This option will eliminate some of NNANSI's performance improvements. It forces the setting of no EGA, no cheap_pc, and DESQVIEW. Insert character and delete character ANSI commands will not function. Assumes a display card capable of handling DOS/V V-text. BIOS_ONLY (FALSE) Set true for applications which require screen writes through the BIOS. This option will eliminate most of NNANSI's performance improvements. It forces the settings of no fast29, no bios_write_tty, and DESQVIEW. In general, no other display hardware selection should be made since this driver is intended for standard EGA/VGA text modes only. VEGA, PARADISE, STBVGA... (all FALSE) Set only one of these TRUE to match your enhanced EGA/VGA display card. If you have a card not on the list and experience problems with either blotches in enhanced text mode or poor performance (unsettable background colors is a clue) in graphics modes CONTACT THE AUTHOR. VGA (TRUE) If you have an EGA display, set this to FALSE. You might also want to set this to FALSE if you have a VGA and are used to the ESC [=43h sequence giving 50 line mode. EGA (FALSE) If you have an EGA, set this to TRUE. MONO (FALSE) Must be TRUE if you have a Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) or Hercules card either as your sole display or in addition to a color display controller. If you don't, leave this FALSE as it both hurts performance and enlarges the driver. You cannot use an MDA with Desqview and NNANSI at the same time. TSR (set on tasm command line) If TRUE, compiles TSR/DRIVER COM file version, otherwise compiles DRIVER only, SYS file version. DESQVIEW (TRUE) If TRUE, and TSR is TRUE, compiles DESQVIEW awareness code. If you don't intend to use DESQVIEW you should set this to FALSE. VESA (FALSE) Set TRUE if you have a VESA compatible display card BIOS. You will also need to have a particular display specified for best results. VESA has been successfully tested with a Diamond Speedstar card (TSENG4000 set TRUE) and using Diamond's VESA BIOS extension, and with a Diamond Steath with built in VESA support. When using built in VESA, there seems to be a problem in selecting graphics modes via their VESA mode numbers. BAD_ERASE (FALSE, except if TSENG4000 selected) Set to true if erase to end of line and erase to start/end of screen erase the wrong portion of the display cheap_pc (FALSE) Set to FALSE for "PC/AT" and "PS/2" class machines which have 80186 or greater processors. ext_keybd (TRUE) Set to TRUE for "PC/AT" and "PS/2" class machines with 101+ key keyboards (the kind with 12 function keys and separate cursor keys from the numeric pad). key_redef (FALSE) Set to TRUE if you use key redefinition. There are Trojan Horse programs that take advantage of this feature, and most people don't use it anyway, so the default is FALSE. init_buffer_size (256) Enlarge if you use key redefinition and don't have enough room. quick_char (TRUE) Faster graphics display in 16 color modes, at cost of much extra code since this involves added display routines. Must be TRUE if gbackground is also TRUE. fast29 (TRUE) Makes int29 display calls (used by DOS) 15% faster at a cost of about 100 bytes. bios_write_tty (TRUE) The write tty BIOS call is taken over. It will now perform faster and understand ANSI escape sequences. This latter feature can be a mixed blessing. This feature can be disabled at runtime if it is assembled in. gbackground (TRUE) Enables setting of non-black background color in 16 color graphic modes (640x350 to 800x600 resolutions). If set to TRUE, quick_char must also be set to TRUE. If this feature is not desired, it is possible (depending on the system) to get greater performance by defining both gbackground and quick_char FALSE. This will also save quite a bit of code. Experiment and see for yourself. dos4 (TRUE) Under MS/PC DOS version 4.0 (and 5.0) allows command.com and mode.com to recognize NNANSI as an ANSI driver. If you are using older DOS versions, you can define this to be FALSE. initgc (FALSE) Graphic mode cursor is initially off. You can turn it on/off with a control sequence. initfast (FALSE) Fast scroll mode is initially off. This also means that multiple page support is initially on. You can turn it on/off with a control sequence, and there are other work-arounds as well. initbiosw (FALSE) ANSI bios write_tty is initially off. You can turn it on/off with a control sequence. You can then either use the supplied makefile to generate a new nnansi.sys/nnansi.com or assemble manually as shown (Borland tools illustrated): tasm /m5 /DTSR=0 nnansi (Use /m5 for version 2.0 or later) tlink nnansi,nnansi.sys/m/t (generates nnansi.sys for config.sys) tasm /m5 /DTSR=1 nnansi tlink nnansi,nnansi.bin/m/t (generates nnansi.com for config.sys rename nnansi.bin nnansi.com or TSR use) The .sys driver offers no advantages other than it takes less memory while loading (this might be a consideration with some high memory management programs). For this reason, a .sys version is no longer distributed. IMPORTANT NOTE FOR USERS OF BORLAND TURBO ASSEMBLER V3.0: There is a bug in this version which causes the assembler to hang when assembling the sys version of NNANSI. The solution is to only build the com version. The bug is fixed with V3.1. NOTE FOR MICROSOFT MASM USERS: With the Microsoft assembler, you will need to make some changes to the source to avoid the branch out of range errors, and you will need to use the exe2bin program to convert the linker generated exe file into a binary image file, which you then have to rename to NNANSI.SYS or NNANSI.COM. To correct the branch out of range, you will need to replace the conditional branch with an conditional branch of the opposite sense around an unconditional branch to the same destination. Example: jne foo ; original statement, now "out of range" becomes: je new_label jmp foo new_label: You will also need to delete the first few lines in NNANSI.ASM, which are directives for the Borland Assembler. **************NNANSI AS A TSR** NNANSI can now be loaded as a TSR in two modes, limited and full. If you intend to use NNANSI as a TSR, such as in a Desqview window, or for temporary use, please read this section carefully. To load NNANSI in full driver mode, execute the following two commands (or execute run.bat): nnansi d ctty con This will load the driver such as it runs identically to NNANSI loaded as a driver in CONFIG.SYS. This means that not only does it take control of several interrupt vectors, the driver is also linked into the DOS driver chain. The CTTY command is necessary to force command.com to "reopen" its console interface to use the NNANSI driver. This method must not be used within a multitasking environment such as Microsoft Windows or Desqview, because the relinking of the driver chain corrupts system integrity. However it may be used to load NNANSI before running Windows. In the Desqview case, a batch file can be used to unload NNANSI, run Desqview, and then reload NNANSI when finished. Within each DOS window in Windows or Desqview, the limited version of the NNANSI TSR can be loaded (described below). The copy of NNANSI should be unloaded before closing the DOS window. NNANSI in full driver mode can be unloaded using the following procedure providing it is the last TSR loaded, you are not "shelled out" of a program, are running the same instance of COMMAND.COM, and did not load NNANSI "high" using QEMM, 386/MAX, or DOS 5.0. From a batch file, execute: @echo off nnansi u ctty con The ctty command must be executed immediately after the NNANSI command, otherwise the system may "crash". The batch file norun.bat is provided to unload NNANSI. Note that full driver mode NANNSI must be uninstalled using NNANSI, and not with a TSR management program. Such programs are incapable of unchaining NNANSI from the device driver list. -------------------- NNANSI also has a limited TSR mode. In this mode the driver is not linked into the DOS driver chain. To load NNANSI in limited mode execute: nnansi In limited mode the device status report will not function, nor will keyboard key reassignment. The DOS MODE command will not change the number of display lines either. Also the performance improvement for RAW mode (which gives NNANSI its greatest performance) will not be available. You can unload NNANSI which has been loaded in limited mode by executing: nnansi u The limited TSR mode driver can be used in a Microsoft Windows or Desqview window without problems. You can also uninstall the limited mode driver with a TSR management program. **************HOW MUCH PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT IS THERE? I have performed considerable testing on an EVEREX 25Mhz 80386 machine with a Video 7 (Headland) Fastwrite VGA display controller (and its BIOS), under both DOS 3.3 and 4.0. Your results will probably vary, and BIOS performance without NNANSI will also improve if the EGA/VGA BIOS is copied to RAM as supported by some vendors and also possible with QEMM or 386/MAX on 80386 based systems. Performance is proportional to roughly independent factors, writing speed and scrolling speed. Writing speed is the rate at which characters can be drawn on the display without the display scrolling. Scrolling speed is the rate at which the display can scroll (no new characters are drawn). Writing speed tends to be independent of display mode (except graphic modes are slower), while scrolling speed tends to be proportional to the number of character positions on the display (except for NNANSI fast mode, which is independent of screen size). When using ANSI.SYS rather than no driver at all, there is roughly a 2.3x degradation in performance for writing. Scrolling performance improves 44% when DOS 4.0 ANSI driver is used, but remains unchanged with the DOS 3.3 driver. Compared to no driver, NANSI.SYS (3.0) is 3x to 3.5x faster for writing, and is roughly 45x faster when writing using DOS in RAW mode. It is roughly 2x faster scrolling. Compared to the no driver or other ANSI drivers, NNANSI is 4x faster in BIOS TTY write calls. Compared to NANSI.SYS it is 2x faster in INT29 calls, 73% faster in DOS write calls, but there is no speedup in RAW mode. When fast mode is used, scrolling is 15x to 25x faster. This means that text mode programs that take advantage of RAW mode and buffering can display 100 times faster with NNANSI (and without scrolling, NANSI) over ANSI.SYS. It works out to about 420,000 characters per second with my fast machine. NNANSI also has speedups for 16 color graphic modes with resolutions between 640x350 and 800x600. With the graphic cursor turned on, the TTY BIOS call is about 10% slower than the standard BIOS call (which doesn't display a cursor), but other output calls are 2.5x to 3.5x faster than that of NANSI.SYS. Turning the graphics cursor off roughly doubles the writing speed of all modes but RAW. **************FAST MODE **READ THIS!!** To get maximum speed, NNANSI has what I call Fast Mode. In text mode, there is more display memory than there are character on the display. Normally, the BIOS supports display "pages" that you can switch among. Changing the display page changes the region of the display memory that is sent to the display. Fast Mode uses the same technique (changing the starting location of the viewable memory region) to scroll the display upwards. Programs that make use of multiple display pages and scroll the display require that fast mode be turned off. Many debugging programs use two pages to maintain separate debugging and application displays. Some of the programs will still work in fast mode if they have a "swap screens" option ("-ds" for Borland Turbo Debugger, for instance). A number of programs that directly access the display don't work if starting address has changed. These programs may not work properly in fast mode (or for that matter in display pages other than the first). NNANSI tries its best to work with these programs by resetting the display start location if any program does the "get display mode" or "scroll/clear display" BIOS calls. These calls are typically done by potentially offending applications when they start. As long as the display never scrolls under NNANSI control everything will work fine. A typical problem occurs in programs that have DOS or "shell escape" commands. If the DOS sub-shell (invocation of COMMAND.COM) causes the display to scroll, then upon exiting the sub-shell the display will be ruined. The solution to this problem (other than not using fast mode) is to clear the screen just before exiting the sub-shell. Please note that Windows 3.0 in Enhanced Mode has problems with DOS applications running in a window using NNANSI's fast mode. You will need to run Windows with NNANSI in slow mode. Some offending programs can be "fixed" by invoking them from a batch file (or alias if you use MKS Toolkit, 4DOS, ANARKEY...) which first clears the screen. Or you can use a batch file which turns off fast mode, then turn fast mode back on again after program execution. Example: echo ^[[=98l offendingpgm %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 echo ^[[=98h Where "^[" is the escape (code 27) character. Batch programs have been provided to enable (fast.bat) and disable (slow.bat) fast mode. NNANSI can also speed up programs that use BIOS calls for writing characters. NNANSI adds the ANSI features to such calls, which can cause problems with some applications. This feature is turned off by default, but can be enabled via an ANSI sequence or by executing the supplied batch file biosw.bat. The feature can be disabled with nobiosw.bat. ******************WRITING PROGRAMS FOR BEST PERFORMANCE To get best performance in programs you write, you must put the display in RAW mode, and buffer output. In assembler, you can set raw mode with the following sequence (adapt this for other languages): mov ax,4400h ; get device status mov bx, 1 ; of device 1 (standard output) int 21h xor dh, dh ; clear upper byte mov saved_state, dx ; save it for later mov ax, 4401h ; set new status or dl, 20h ; with raw bit set int 21h Reset raw mode before terminating the application: mov ax, 4401h ; set status to original values mov bx, 1 mov dx, saved_state int 21h There is a fixed amount of overhead (and it is high) for each DOS call. Therefore you should buffer up write requests into a single call. With the C language, you can use the setvbuf() call to set a large buffer size. Even if you don't follow this advice, you will get a major performance improvement over ANSI.SYS (or no device driver at all). Programs using RAW mode and buffering easily beat the performance of the supposedly high speed console drivers supplied in Turbo C and Microsoft C. And by using ANSI control sequences your programs can be made portable to other systems! *****************TYPICAL PROBLEMS ALSO READ THE SECTION "FAST MODE" SYSTEM CRASHES UPON BOOTING, OR DISPLAY BADLY CORRUPTED EVEN IN STANDARD 80x25 TEXT MODE. You have assembled NNANSI with cheap_pc set to FALSE on an 8088 based system, or you are trying to use NNANSI on an MDA or Hercules Graphics equipped system without reassembling with MONO equal TRUE. This can also happen if you are using DOS/V with NNANSI not compiled for DOS/V operation. KEYBOARD IS "LOCKED" You have set ext_keybd TRUE when you have an original style (10 function key) keyboard, or a BIOS that does not support the extended keyboard. ON A VGA, SETTING 43 LINE MODE GIVES 43 LINES, WHEN IT GAVE 50 WITH AN OLDER VERSION OF NNANSI.SYS OR WITH NANSI.SYS This is correct. There is now a new setting for 50 line mode. If you require that 43 line mode give 50 lines, recompile the system with VGA set to FALSE. I USED AN EARLIER VERSION OF NNANSI, AND NOW I FIND THAT NNANSI IS MUCH SLOWER THAN BEFORE The defaults have changed. You now have to run FAST and BIOSW for fastest operation. I USED AN EARLIER VERSION OF NNANSI, AND NOW FIND MY DISPLAY INEXPLICABLY CHANGING MODES The commands for graphic cursor, fast mode, and line wrap are more restrictive. Use the new batch files for fast, slow, gcon, and gcoff, and change any code of your own appropriately. ON A VGA, SETTING 50 LINE MODE CAUSES VERY STRANGE BEHAVIOR Two possibilities. Your display adapter is really an EGA, or you have compiled NNANSI with VGA set to FALSE. In the latter case, you can get 50 line mode by setting 43 line mode, while in the former case you can't get 50 line mode at all. ON A VGA, AFTER LEAVING 43/50 LINE MODE THE CURSOR IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHARACTER BLOCK Recompile the driver with EGA set to FALSE. ON AN EGA, THE CURSOR DISAPPEARS IN 43 LINE MODE WHEN RUNNING SOME APPLICATIONS There is nothing you can do, as this is caused by an error in the design of the EGA BIOS. IN 43/50 LINE MODE, THE DOS CLS COMMAND ONLY CLEARS THE FIRST 25 LINES OF THE DISPLAY (DOS 4.0) Reassemble with "dos4 EQU TRUE", as it is in the distribution NNANSI driver. DISPLAY SHOWS UGLY BLOCKS AT THE START AND END OF EACH LINE OR PERFORMANCE SLOWS GREATLY IN EXTENDED (GREATER THAN 80X25) TEXT MODES Your display controller sets the display mode byte in the BIOS to some value other than "3". You can either set the byte (at location 40:49h) back to 3 after setting the display mode, or configure NNANSI to know about these special modes. This problem is typical for most cards, it seems. There may already be a proper configuration for your display in CONFIG.INC. DISPLAY IS NOTICEABLY SLOWER WRITING OR CANNOT SWITCH BACKGROUND COLORS IN EXTENDED (GREATER THAN 640x480, OR 640x350 EGA) GRAPHIC MODES In 256 color modes or 1024x768 modes, the background color cannot be changed. In other modes, you will need to configure NNANSI for your display card. Look for a proper configuration in CONFIG.INC. DISPLAY GOES BLANK WHEN STARTING AN APPLICATION. DISPLAY SHIFTED PARTLY OFF SCREEN WHEN STARTING AN APPLICATION. DISPLAY DISAPPEARS DURING EXECUTION OF A APPLICATION. First try clearing the screen before execution. If that doesn't work, leave fast mode (see preceding section on FAST MODE). FUNNY BLOTCHES OCCASIONALLY APPEAR AT VARIOUS POINTS IN A GRAPHIC APPLICATION This is the graphics cursor. You can disable it either by reconfiguring the driver, or by sending the control sequence to disable the graphics cursor. A batch file, GCOFF.BAT, has been provided for this purpose. TEXT DISPLAY IS MESSED UP, POSSIBLY CHANGING COLORS IN UNUSUAL PLACES. This has been observed with programs using the BIOS for writing to the display, and not expecting the ANSI translation (or the conversion of the TAB character into spaces instead of a special graphic). Execute NOBIOSW.BAT to turn the ANSI translation off for these programs. PROCOMM and Typing Tutor IV have this problem. CANNOT SET VESA STANDARD EXTENDED DISPLAY MODES You must compile the driver with VESA defined as TRUE, and then must request a mode 128 less than that really desired. There are also problems with boards having built-in VESA support without using a software VESA driver; for these boards you will need to set the display mode using the mode changing software supplied by the vendor. THE MODE COMMAND DOES NOT CHANGE THE NUMBER OF DISPLAY LINES The mode command does not function if NNANSI is loaded as a limited TSR -- install as a full TSR or as a device driver. Also, you might need to reassemble with "dos4 EQU TRUE", as it is in the distribution NNANSI driver. A TSR OR REMOTE OPERATION PROGRAM DOES NOT WORK WITH NNANSI BUT DOES WITH ANSI NNANSI is incompatible with programs that expect the ANSI driver to write to the display using BIOS calls. I recommend the use of the program ANSI.COM, from PC Magazine, for these uses. I USE 4DOS AND CANNOT ALIAS F11 AND F12 You need to recompile with ext_keybd set to TRUE. THE KEYBOARD REASSIGNMENT COMMAND DOES NOT SEEM TO BE WORKING By default it is disabled to prevent "ANSI BOMBS". You will need to recompile with key_redef set to TRUE. *****************NNANSI COMMAND SEQUENCES Command sequences start with the escape character (code 27, referred to in this section as ESC). NNANSI buffers up the sequence until it has a command to execute. If the sequence is not a valid command, the entire sequence is passed to the display. All command sequences have the following format: ESC [ param1; param2; ...; paramN cmdchar where ESC is the escape character [ is the left bracket character. param are ascii decimal numbers or quoted strings. cmdchar is the command character No spaces are allowed within the command. Missing arguments are defaulted to "1" unless otherwise specified (SGR, ED, and IBMKKR). Quoted strings may use either single or double quote characters as delimiters. Each character inside the quoted string is converted to a numeric parameter. Quoted strings are only useful for the questionable Keyboard Key Reassignment command. CURSOR POSITIONING COMMANDS NAME DESCRIPTION COMMAND CUP cursor position ESC[y;xH HVP cursor position ESC[y;xf Either of these set the cursor position. CUP should be used since HVP has other connotations not implemented in NNANSI (or ANSI.SYS). The origin (in the upper left corner) is x=1, y=1. CUU cursor up ESC[nA CUD cursor down ESC[nB n = # of lines to move. You cannot move beyond the edge of the display. CUF cursor forward ESC[nC CUB cursor backward ESC[nD n = # of columns to move. You cannot move beyond the edge of the display. DSR Device Status Report ESC[6n Find out cursor position. The driver responds with a cursor position report (CPR) of the form "ESC[y;xR" followed by a carriage return, as if typed at the keyboard. SCP Save Cursor Position ESC[s RCP Restore Cursor Position ESC[u Cannot be nested. EDITING COMMANDS NAME DESCRIPTION COMMAND ED Erase in Display ESC[nJ n=0 or missing: Erase to end of screen (not in ANSI.SYS) n=1: erase to start of screen (not in ANSI.SYS) n=2: erase entire screen, and home cursor Note: there is a bug in ANSI.SYS that performs function 2 regardless of the value of n. This bug is not repeated in NNANSI because of the extra functionality provided. Everybody's "ANSI.SYS" homes the cursor, which the standard does not call for, and NNANSI keeps up that tradition. EL Erase in Line ESC[K Erases from cursor to end of line. IL Insert Lines ESC[nL Inserts n blank lines at the line containing the cursor. While the cursor line moves down, the cursor position is unchanged. Not in ANSI.SYS. DL Delete Lines ESC[nM Deletes n lines, starting at the line containing the cursor. The cursor is not moved. Not in ANSI.SYS ICH Insert Characters ESC[n@ Inserts n blank characters at cursor position. The cursor does not move. Not in ANSI.SYS. Does not work in graphic modes. DCH Delete Characters ESC[nP Deletes n characters at the cursor. The cursor does not move. Not in ANSI.SYS. Does not work in graphic modes. SET GRAPHIC RENDITION COMMAND NAME DESCRIPTION COMMAND SGR Set Graphics Rendition ESC[n;n;...nm The Set Graphics Rendition command is used to select foreground and background colors or attributes. When you use multiple parameters, they are executed in sequence, and the effects are cumulative. You can set all colors and attributes in any text mode. In 16 color graphic modes between 640x350 and 800x600 pixels you can set all colors and attributes except for blink. "Blink" becomes exclusive-OR character mode (very useful!). You can set foreground colors, blink, and bold, only, in other 16 color modes. Setting colors does not work correctly for other color modes -- make sure display is in the normal white on black mode before changing to these modes. When a Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) is used, foreground and background colors other than black and white should not be set. The MDA also ignores the underscore and bold attributes while in reverse video. If no arguments are given, a single "0" argument is assumed. If multiple arguments are given, missing arguments are taken to be "0". Code Value 0 All attributes off (normal white on black) 1 Bold 2 Dim (not Bold) 4 Underscore (emulated via blue foreground in CGA/EGA/VGA) 5 Blink (or EXOR -- see above) 7 Reverse Video (improved implementation over ANSI) 8 Invisible (improved operation -- foreground color forced to background color, other attributes suppressed) 22 Cancel Bold 24 Cancel Underline (white foreground) 25 Cancel Blink 27 Cancel Reverse video 28 Cancel Invisible 30-37 foreground black/red/green/yellow/blue/magenta/cyan/white 40-47 background black/red/green/yellow/blue/magenta/cyan/white Codes 2, 22, 24, 25, 27, and 28 are not in ANSI.SYS. SET DISPLAY MODE COMMAND NAME DESCRIPTION COMMAND SM Set Mode ESC[=nh RM Reset Mode ESC[=nl The set and reset mode commands are identical in this context. The BIOS supports many video modes. The code given for the AL register to the BIOS set mode command is used as the parameter to this set mode command. That means that extended modes that are settable in this manner can use this command. As an example, with the Diamond Speedstar, the command ESC[=34h will set 132 column by 44 row mode. Display cards that use other techniques to change display mode are left as an exercise to the user, but if you can get the card into an extended mode, NNANSI can used it (possibly with a configuration change, though). VESA Display Cards: To set VESA modes, select a mode 128 less than the desired mode number. For instance, for 132x43 text mode, select mode 138 (rather than 266). Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA): These commands are ignored when the MDA is in use. In the graphic modes, the cursor can be simulated with a blob (the character produced with character code 22). Mode Code Value 0,1 text 40x25 16 color 2,3 text 80x25 16 color 4,5 graphics 320x200 4 color 6 graphics 640x200 Black & White 7 cursor wrap (see SET DISPLAY ATTRIBUTES, below) 13 graphics 320x200 16 color, VGA only 14 graphics 640x200 16 color, VGA only 16 graphics 640x350 16 color, VGA only 17 graphics 640x480 Black & White, VGA only 18 graphics 640x480 16 color, VGA only 19 graphics 300x200 256 color, VGA only 43 43 line mode for modes 0-3 (Not in ANSI.SYS) 50 50 line mode for modes 0-3 (VGA only, not in ANSI.SYS) n When not in above list, sets mode n. (Not in ANSI.SYS) The modes marked as VGA only are not supported by ANSI.SYS that comes with version 3.3 MS-DOS or earlier. The 43 line and 50 line support reprograms the display to use smaller characters. You must be in mode 3 (80x25) or 1 (40x25) for this command to work. Set any other mode to leave 43/50 line mode. Unlike early version of NNANSI and other drivers, reselecting the same line number mode (mode 3 (or 1), 43, or 50) will not cause the display to clear. This makes it possible to put a 43 (or 50) line command within the dos prompt to force this mode upon entering or returning to DOS. For example, you can have 43 line mode automatically selected at the DOS prompt by issuing this command: prompt $e[=43h$p$g Unlike earlier versions of NNANSI, and NANSI.SYS, setting 43 line mode on a VGA will give 43 (not 50) lines. You must use the explicit 50 line mode command to get 50 lines on a VGA. If you would rather have compatibility with these other, earlier drivers, recompile the driver with VGA set to FALSE. Under MS/PC DOS Version 4.0 (and later), the number of lines can also be set using the MODE command. For instance, to set 43 line mode under DOS 4.0, issue the command: mode con lines=43 Note that in older versions of NNANSI, and NANSI.SYS, the use of the = character in the command was optional, and a ? could be used instead. That is not true for this version. SET DISPLAY ATTRIBUTES NAME DESCRIPTION COMMAND SM Set Mode ESC[?nh RM Reset Mode ESC[?nl Valid attributes that can be set and reset: 7 Cursor Wrap When false, cursor sticks at end of line, rather than wrapping 97 ANSI Bios When true, calls of the bios write_tty function will be processed by NNANSI, allowing processing of ANSI escape sequences. When false, processing will not occur. Some programs will not work properly if set to true. 98 Fast Scroll When true (fast mode) the starting display location is changed for fast scrolling, which can cause problems for some programs. When false, the starting location does not change and the multi-page support is enabled. 99 Graphic cursor When true the cursor is displayed in graphic modes. Some programs produce ghost cursors when set to true. Batch files are supplied to change attributes 97, 98, and 99. Note that the Fast Scroll attribute does not apply to the Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA). Also note that in older versions of NNANSI, and NANSI.SYS, the use of the ? character in the command was optional, and an = could be used instead. That is not true for this version. Because some Microsoft documentation claims that the = character can be used for Cursor Wrap, NNANSI still supports that bug. KEYBOARD REASSIGNMENT COMMAND This command is absent by default. You must recompile to enable this command. Use of this feature is not recommended. NAME DESCRIPTION COMMAND IBMKKR Keyboard Key Reassign ESC[param;param;...;param p If no parameters are given, all keys are reset. This is not true for ANSI.SYS. The first parameter is the key to reassign. IBM function keys take the first two parameters, where the first parameter is 0. The remaining parameters are the keystrokes to substitute. Extended keys are supported -- they have 224 as the first parameter and the scan code as the second. Unassigned extended characters are automatically mapped to their non-extended counterparts. Normally a string is used rather than numeric arguments. See your DOS manual for the chart of keycodes. For example, to have F5 do a DIR command, you would execute ESC[0;63;"DIR";13p To restore the key to its original function, assign it its original codes: ESC[0;63;0;63p ******************************THE END****************************