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START - Start a program in another session
Purpose: Start a program in another session or window.
Format: START ["program title "] [/B[G] /C /DOS[=optfile ] /F[G] /FS
/I /ICON=iconfile /INV /K /L /LA /LD /LH /MAX /MIN /N /PGM
progname /PM /POS=x,y,width,height /WAIT /WIN /WIN3[=optfile
] /WIN3S[=optfile ]] [command ]
program title : Title to appear on title bar.
optfile : Option settings file.
iconfile : Name of icon (.ICO ) file.
progname : Program name (not the session name).
path : Startup directory.
command : Command to be executed.
/B[G] (background session) /LH (local history list)
/C(lose when done) /MAX(imized)
/DOS (DOS session) /MIN(imized)
/F[G] (foreground session) /N(o command processor)
/FS (full screen) /PGM (program name)
/I(nherit environment) /PM (PM application)
/ICON (.ICO file) /POS(ition of window)
/INV(isible) /WAIT (for session to finish)
/K(eep when done) /WIN(dowed session)
/L(ocal lists) /WIN3 (Windows enhanced mode)
/LA (local aliases) /WIN3S (Windows standard
mode)
/LD (local dir history)
See also: DETACH.
Usage
START is used to begin a new OS/2 session, and optionally run a program
in that session. If you use START with no parameters, it will begin a
new command-line session. If you add a command, START will begin a new
session or window and execute that command.
The program title, if it is included, will appear on the title bar, and
on the Presentation Manager window list. The program title must be
enclosed in quotation marks and cannot exceed 60 characters. If the
program title is omitted, the program name will be used as the title.
START always assumes that the first quoted string on the command line is
the program title; if there is a second quoted string it is assumed to be
the command. As a result, if the name of the program you are starting is
a long filename containing whitespace (and must therefore be quoted), you
cannot simply place it on the command line. If you do, as the first
quoted string it will be interpreted as the program title, not the
command. To address this, use the /PGM switch to indicate explicitly
that the quoted string is the program name, or include a title before the
program name. For example, to start the program "C:\Program
Files\Proc.Exe" you could use either of the first two commands below, but
the third command would not work:
[c:\] start /PGM "C:\Program Files\Proc.Exe"
[c:\] start "test" "C:\Program Files\Proc.Exe"
[c:\] start "C:\Program Files\Proc.Exe"
START offers a large number of switches to control the session you start.
In most cases you need only a few switches to accomplish what you want.
The list below summarizes the most commonly used START options, and how
you can use them to control the way a session is started:
/MAX, /MIN, and /POS allow you to start a character-mode windowed
session in a maximized window, a minimized window, or a window
with a specified position and size. The default is to let the
operating environment choose the position and size of the window.
/C allows you to close the session when the command is finished
(the default for DOS and OS/2 Presentation Manager sessions); /K
allows you to keep the session open and go to a prompt (the
default for OS/2 character mode sessions).
/BG and /FG allow you to start the session in the background(does
not respond to keystrokes until selected) or foreground (responds
to keystrokes until deselected). /FG is the default if /DOS, /FS,
/WIN, or /PM is used; otherwise, /BG is the default.
/FS and /WIN control whether a character-mode session is started
in full-screen or windowed mode. The default is to start a
session of the same type as the current session, if the
application can be run in such a session.
START determines the application type automatically and starts the
session in the appropriate mode.
START gives you some flexibility in determining the session mode. For
example, if the command is the name of a batch file (either a .BTM or
.CMD file), you can use the /FS or /WIN options to run the batch file as
part of a new session in either full-screen or windowed mode.
However, you cannot start a session in a mode that is inappropriate for
the application type. A DOS application cannot be run as part of a
Presentation Manager session, for example, even if you use the /PM
switch. Invalid or conflicting options will be ignored. CMD.EXE will
always attempt to run the command in the appropriate type of session.
If the program is a DOS application or .BAT file, CMD.EXE will start a
new DOS session to run it. The DOS session will close itself
automatically as soon as the program or batch file ends, unless /K is
used. If you want the session to wait for a keystroke before it closes
itself, you can use this syntax (assuming 4DOS is your command processor
for OS/2 DOS sessions:
[c:\] start /DOS command ^^ pause
(Because the caret [^] is the default CMD.EXE escape character, two
carets must be used in order to pass one on to 4DOS as a command
separator.)
If you want to start a DOS command-line session in OS/2, you can use the
command:
[c:\] start /DOS
You can specify settings for DOS and Windows sessions by using a settings
options file, and loading it with the /DOS=, /WIN3=, or /WIN3S= option.
This allows you to start DOS and Windows sessions with specific settings
without creating a desktop object and modifying the settings manually.
Before using this capability you should read the description of it under
/DOS= (below) very carefully, since errors in the settings file can
occasionally hang your system.
Options
/BG: (BackGround session) The session is started as a
background session. /BG may be abbreviated to /B.
/C: (Close) The session or window is closed when the
application ends.
/DOS[=filename]:
( DOSsession )StartaDOSsession .
If you include the =filename, OS/2 will load DOS settings
from the specified file. When you use /DOS you can also
alter the DOS settings for a session with environment
variables of the form DosSetting.name=value, without using
a settings file.
Starting a session with specific DOS settings is an
undocumented feature which was implemented within OS/2
with little error checking. It is included in START
because it substantially eases a complex task, but you
must experiment carefully to ensure that the settings you
select will work properly on the systems on which you plan
to use them. Incorrect settings may be ignored, but they
may also hang your session or stop the entire system. Be
sure your experiments are not conducted while critical
tasks are in process.
Each line in the file must have a name, an equal sign [=],
and a value. The names are those shown in OS/2's DOS
Settings dialog box. Do not use spaces on either side of
the equal sign.
The names in the DOS Settings dialog box will vary
depending on the device drivers and other settings in your
CONFIG.SYS file, though many are available on all systems.
You must ensure that the names you use are valid for the
systems on which you use them. For example, if you
replace IBM's COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS with different
communications drivers, the COM_ settings will probably
not be valid for the new drivers. If you have a settings
file which contains settings defined by a particular
driver, and use it on a system where the corresponding
driver is not loaded, the results are undefined.
The values in your settings file must be numeric for
settings which show a numeric value under DOS Settings
(e.g., DOS_FILES=30), and must be text strings for
settings shown with a string (e.g., DOS_SHELL=C:\4DOS.COM
C:\4DOS /P). Strings should be entered without trailing
blanks. For values shown as multiple choice on the DOS
Settings page you must specify a numeric value, typically
0 for Off and 1 for On (e.g., DOS_HIGH=1). Items with
choices other than Off and On may use different values, or
may not work at all; experimentation is usually required
to find out what works. Attempting to use strings for
choice items (e.g., DOS_HIGH=ON) will not work, and can
hang your system. This is due to the internal operation
of OS/2, and is not a problem in CMD.EXE.
A typical DOS settings file might look like this:
DOS_FILES=30
DOS_HIGH=1
DOS_SHELL=C:\4DOS\4DOS.COM C:\4DOS /P
MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS=0
VIDEO_FASTPASTE=1
You can include comments in a settings file by beginning
any line with a colon [:].
When you use /DOS you can also alter the DOS settings for
a session with environment variables, without using a DOS
settings file. When the =filename portion of the switch
is not used, OS/2 will scan the environment looking for
variables of the form DosSetting.name=value. Each such
variable entry will be used to set the DOS setting with
the specified name to the specified value. All of the
cautions and restrictions given above for settings stored
in a file apply equally to settings stored in environment
variables.
Settings stored in environment variables are "global" and
apply to all sessions started with START /DOS, except when
an explicit settings file is specified with =filename.
/FG: (ForeGround session) Start the session as the foreground
session. /FG may be abbreviated to /F.
/FS: (Full Screen) Start the session as a full-screen session.
/I: (Inherit environment) Inherit the default environment
specified in CONFIG.SYS, if any, rather than the current
environment.
/ICON=filename :
Usethespecifiediconfile . Ifyoudon ' tuse/ ICON
,thedisplayediconwillbetheonefoundorassignedbyOS / 2 .
/INV: (Invisible) Start the session or window as invisible. No
icon will appear and the session will only be accessible
through the Task Manager or Window List.
/K: (Keep session or window at end) The session or window
continues after the application program ends. Use the
EXIT command to end the session.
/L: (Local lists) Start CMD.EXE with local alias, history, and
directory history lists. This option combines the effects
of /LA, /LD, and /LH (below).
/LA: (Local Alias list) Start CMD.EXE with a local alias
list.See ALIAS for information on local and global
aliases.
/LD: (Local Directory history) Start CMD.EXE with a local
directory history list. See Local and Global Directory
History for more information.
/LH: (Local History list) Start CMD.EXE with a local history
list. See Command History and Recall for information on
local and global history lists.
/MAX: (Maximized) Start the session or window maximized.
/MIN: (Minimized) Start the session or window minimized.
/N: (No command processor) Start an OS/2 program directly,
without a command processor. The command cannot be an
internal command or batch file. This is the default for
PM applications.
/PGM: (Program name) The string following this option is the
program name. If you do not use /PGM, the first quoted
string on the line will be used as the session and task
list title, and not as the program name.
/PM: (Presentation Manager) Start a program in the Presentation
Manager session.
/POS: (Position) Start the window at the specified screen
position. The syntax is /POS=x, y, width, height where
the values are specified in pixels or pels. x and y refer
to the position of the top left corner of the window
relative to the bottom left corner of the screen.
/WAIT: Wait for the new session or window to finish before
continuing. Cannot be used with /WIN3 or /WIN3S.
/WIN: (Windowed) Start the session in a window.
/WIN3[=filename]:
( Windowsenhancedmode )Runtheprograminanenhanced -
modeWindows3 . xsession . Thesessionwillrunseamless(
ontheOS / 2desktop ) . TostartaWindowsapplicationinfull -
screenmode ,use/ FSratherthan/ WIN3 . You
can
include
an
equal
sign
and
the
name
of
an
options
filetosetoptionsforthespecificsessionandapplication( see/
DOS =abovefordetails ) .
/WIN3S[=filename]:
( Windowsstandardmode )Equivalentto/ WIN3
,butrunstheprograminstandardmoderatherthanenhancedmode .
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