Running Remote Communication Applications with Windows NT (102372)

SUMMARY

Many remote communication applications (such as PC Anywhere and Commute) have problems substituting keyboard input with data received over the communications port. The following steps provide an example of custom setup for these types of applications:

1. Create a custom CONFIG.NT file by copying the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG.NT file to the application directory and adding DosOnly and EchoConfig. The DosOnly command prevents Windows NT from running 32-bit applications from a 16-bit COMMAND.COM prompt; this prevents handshaking confusion due to delays in serial communications. The EchoConfig command turns on the virtual keyboard devices early enough to interact with terminate-and-stay- resident (TSR) programs loaded during processing of the AUTOEXEC.NT file.
2. Create a custom AUTOEXEC.NT file by copying the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT file to the application directory and adding commands to start the TSR portions of the application. For example:

         cd \appdir
         app.exe

3. Using PIF Editor, create a custom program information file (PIF) file for the application in the application directory. Fill in the appropriate PIF fields according to the needs of the application. For example:
   • Program FileName: COMMAND.COM (because the applications are TSRs)
   • Allow Fast Paste: disable (clear)
   • Startup Directory: <application directory>