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|A |6Helpware |A ^1Key Expander Generator |Aͺ |6Helpware |A
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^Cby
^CDavid Leithauser


    There are many commands or phrases that most of us find ourselves typing
 repeatedly on the computer.  One example is common DOS commands, such as DIR
 or BASIC.  Another example is our own names or addresses, which we often put
 in our correspondence.  It would be convenient to be able to type long phrases
 or commands by pressing a single key.  There are programs that allow this, but
 most are memory-resident and take up quite a bit of space.

     The Key Expander Generator (KEG) is a fairly large program that will
 generate a very small stand-alone machine-language program called a Key
 Expander.  This stand-alone program causes a single key (called a Hot Key)
 to generate a string of characters of your choosing.  The Key Expander is a
 Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program.  This means that when you run the
 program from DOS, it returns you immediately to DOS without any visible
 effect.

     You can use the KEG to make as many Key Expander programs as you like.
 Each program will cause one particular keystroke to produce a string of
 characters.  You can load as many of these Key Expander programs into memory
 as you need.  Each one takes about 150 bytes.  The exact size depends on the
 size of the message you want output.


^CUsing the Key Expander Generator

 ^1Toggle Key^0

     When you first run KEG, you will be asked to enter a Toggle Key.  The
 Toggle Key allows you to activate/deactivate the TSR you are creating.  Press
 the desired key, such as F1.  You may also hold down the Alt, the Shift, or
 the Ctrl key while pressing the desired key.

 ^1Hot Key^0

     Next you should enter the Hot Key (again, you may hold down the Alt, the
 Shift, or the Ctrl key along with the desired key).  The Hot Key is used as
 the keystroke that causes the Key Expander to output its message.

 ^1Message^0

     After you have pressed the desired Hot Key, the computer will ask you to
 input the message that you want output when the Hot Key is pressed.  Type the
 message as you normally would, with a few exceptions.  A message can be up to
 three lines long.  You can use the backspace to delete characters you have
 typed, but you cannot use the cursor keys to move within the message.  You can
 include the carriage return in your message.  You may even include it several
 times.  The computer will show a double left arrow to indicate a carriage
 return, but will not advance to the next line.  This is done to allow easier
 editing with the backspace key.

     When you finish inputting the message, hold down the Alt key and press
 F10.  Incidentally, this is the only extended character you can use when
 entering the message.  Pressing any other extended character key will cause
 the computer to beep and reject the key.

 ^1Key Expander Name^0

     After you input the message, the computer will ask you to input the name
 for the Key Expander program.  You may enter any drive specifier and legal
 filename, a total of ten letters.  Since the computer will add the COM
 extension, do not include an extension.

     Once you input the name, the computer will do some computations for a few
 seconds, then save the file on disk.  It will then ask if you want to create
 another Key Expander program.  If you press Y, the whole process will repeat.
 If you do create several Key Expanders, be sure to give each one a different
 name.

 ^1Batch File^0

     When you respond that you do not want to create any more Key Expander
 programs, the KEG program will ask if you would like to create a batch file to
 load all the TSR programs that you generated this session.  (It only does this
 if you have created more than one Key Expander program. )  If you press Y, the
 computer will ask for the name of the batch file.  Input any name up to eight
 letters.  The KEG will create the batch file and then return to DOS.  Using
 the Key Expander programs and this batch file are explained below.

 ^1Exit Key^0

    The keystroke Cntrl-End will exit the program at any time.  You will be
 asked to verify whether you really want to quit.


^CUsing the Key Expanders

 ^1Loading Key Expanders^0

     To load a Key Expander, just type its name at the DOS prompt.  Remember,
 each Key Expander programs one key to deliver a specific message.  You will
 probably want to load several Key Expanders.  The easiest way to do this is to
 create a batch file.  You can have the KEG program create this batch file (as
 explained above), or you can create your own.  For example, if your Key
 Expander programs were called KEY1.COM, KEY2.COM, and KEY3.COM, you could
 create a batch file that said KEY1.COM KEY2.COM KEY3.COM

     You could also create several different batch files for several different
 applications.  For example, you might have several Key Expander programs that
 you like to use when you are word processing.  You might have several
 different Key Expanders that you use from DOS for file handling.  You could
 create one batch file called WPKEYS.BAT that loaded all the Key Expanders you
 use while word processing.  You could then have another called DOSKEYS.BAT
 that loaded all the Key Expanders you use when you are working in DOS.  When
 the KEG program creates the batch file, the batch file will load all the
 programs created during that run of the KEG.  If you want other Key Expander
 programs included in the batch file, you must create your own batch file.  See
 your DOS manual for instructions.

 ^1Special Feature^0

     When a Key Expander is first loaded into memory it is in an active state.
 In other words, if you press the Hot Key, the text associated with that Hot
 Key will be output.  When a program you wish to run uses the keystroke you
 assigned as your Hot Key, you can press the Toggle key to deactivate the Key
 Expander before running that program.   Once you have finished using the
 program, press the Toggle Key again and the Key Expander will be activated!

     If you create several Key Expanders that you use as a group, you can
 assign the same Toggle Key to all them.  When the Toggle Key is pressed all
 the Key Expanders will be activated/deactivated as a unit.

 ^1Possible Conflicts^0

     Some programs may not be able to accept the output from the Key Expander
 programs.  The Key Expanders work with the characters from the keyboard input
 queue.  A few programs bypass this and read keyboard scans, so they may not
 receive the output from the Key Expander.  Other programs may not be able to
 accept the characters as fast as the Key Expander delivers them.  I have found
 a few programs that can accept anything except a carriage return from the key
 expander.  Most programs, however, have no trouble using the Key Expander
 output.

    Since there is no room to save files on Big Blue Disk, we suggest you don't
 create any programs while inside the menu.

    To run this program outside ^1Big Blue Disk^0, type:  ^1KEG^0.


DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FKEG.EXE
