9 Remote Drop to DOS

Enables you to drop to DOS from remote. Once in DOS you can run standard DOS commands or other DOS applications.

Inevitably there will be a time when you are calling into your system from remote and realize that you need to drop to DOS and do a little maintenance. When you incur a situation like this, you realize just how handy the 9 command is to have around. With this command you can drop to DOS and run other programs. PCBoard allows maximum flexibility by running a batch file called REMOTE.SYS to drop you to DOS.

For the most reliable remote DOS access, you need to use a third-party program. This program should be able to redirect your screen displays. At the very least, it should be able to handle all text mode applications.

DOORWAY is a program written by Tri-Mark Engineering that will handle just about any 80×25 text mode program. It will redirect the text mode screen to the remote user using the popular ANSI escape codes. A sample REMOTE.SYS using DOORWAY might look like this:

set box=no
doorway com1 /s:.\ /v:d^O /o: /k:v0 /c:dos
set box=
c:
cd \pcb
board

Two things should be noted about the above example. If you are using a serial port other than COM1 then you will have to make the appropriate change to reference the port you are using. In addition, the last two lines of this example return you back to your PCBoard subdirectory and then execute BOARD.BAT to reload PCBoard. It is essential that you return back to your PCBoard subdirectory before you execute BOARD.BAT. Verify that you change to the appropriate drive and subdirectory.

When you drop to DOS, you may load one of your maintenance programs such as PCBFiler or PCBSetup. Most likely your communications program will intercept all of the cursor movement and function keys. Check your communications program to see if it supports what most call DOORWAY mode. This mode in communications programs will allow them to pass the cursor key movements and function keys to the remote system.