MS-DOS Window Remains on Screen After Application Is Finished (122514)

SYMPTOMS

When you are running an MS-DOS-based application from an icon in Windows 95, the MS-DOS window remains open with the text "Finished - <Application Name>" appearing on the title bar after the application has finished executing.

CAUSE

The MS-DOS window remains open so that you can see any messages, such as errors, that may be generated by the MS-DOS-based application. This window appears for any MS-DOS-based application that generates output.

RESOLUTION

You can change the program properties for the MS-DOS-based application so that it closes on exit. To do this:

Use the right (secondary) mouse button to click the icon for the MS-DOS-based application.
Click Properties.
Click the Program tab.
Click Close On Exit to select that option.
Click OK to accept the settings.

The MS-DOS-based application window should now close after the application has finished executing. You must change this setting for each MS-DOS-based application individually--there is no way to set this option globally.

Note, however, that you can set this option globally for all MS-DOS-based programs that do not already have their own PIF (program information file). To do this, create a default PIF with the setting listed above. For information about creating a default PIF, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

131877 How to Create Default PIF for MS-DOS-Based Programs

MORE INFORMATION

If you are running a batch file, you can close the MS-DOS window by adding the following lines to the end of the batch file:

   echo off
   cls