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| Dealing with Batch Files in Win95 SUMMARY: Integrate Windows 95 DOS batch files better with the operating system's look-and-feel.
Windows 95 is here, and so DOS is dead. It had a good life, but there is now no more use with DOS because Win95 is its own operating system and has no need of the command-line features of DOS except for older applications.
OOPS...although you have surely heard the above statements made, they are completely wrong. Why? Windows 95 is not a 100% true operating system, but like Win3.1, it is an operating system shell that resides on top of Dos7 (why else would changes made in the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files affect Windows 95)? This, however, can be used to your advantage.
When running DOS sessions under Windows 3.1, running windows applications was impossible without the help of exterior utilities. With Windows 95, however, this limitation has been removed, and now any Windows 95 program can be launched from the command prompt. Instead of releasing Windows 95 from its grasp, DOS has been integrated even tighter with its GUI cousin.
MalekTips provides you with many tips on how to take advantage of this integration, including general batch file tips and batch file tips for virtually all versions of Windows. For now, however, here is a tip for accessing batch files under Windows 95 so they more integrate with the Windows 95 look-and-feel.
1. Right mouse-click on the batch file you wish to run, and choose Properties.
2. You will be brought to the standard MS-DOS properties box. Click on the "Program" tab.
3. Check "Close on Exit". This makes sure the batch file fully exits when it is complete.
4. Click on the "Run:" pull-down, and choose "Minimize." Now, when this batch file executes, it will no longer show a DOS session - most people will think it is a Windows 95 program!
5. Next, change the caption to whatever you wish, and perhaps change the icon.
6. Click OK to save the changes.
You now have a shortcut to the batch file that, when executed, runs and exits just like any other Windows 95 program, keeping its source, a DOS batch file, practically a secret.
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