How to Fix the Cracks in Microsoft Windows

I’ve been using Microsoft Windows 3.0 daily since it was released about two months ago. The software, which adds a graphical user interface to IBM and compatible PCs, has greatly boosted my productivity.

However, I’ve found some areas where I think Windows is weak. Fortunately, some of the problems can be solved by using add-on software utility programs that help manage files and programs.

I reviewed Windows 3.0 when it was released in May. It makes programs easier to use. Instead of MS-DOS’ cryptic “C” prompt, Windows users see icons and pull-down menus. An icon is a small picture that graphically represents a program or file. Programs run in a graphical mode so that what you see on the screen is pretty much what you’ll get on paper.

What’s more, Windows allows you to run several programs at a time, each in its own window, or area on the screen. Data can easily be copied from one program to another. Windows requires an IBM compatible equipped with a hard disk, a graphics display and an Intel 80286, 80386 or i486 central processing unit.

Although I like Windows, I found myself frustrated by its program manager and file manager. The program manager is the first screen you see when you start Windows. It is used to launch, or run, application programs. To its credit, program manager is easy to learn and very attractive. Programs are represented by icons instead of words, as they are in regular MS-DOS. To launch a program, you simply click on its icon. If you add new programs, it’s easy to add new icons. To help you remain organized, icons can be grouped into separate windows. When you get Windows, the program manager automatically creates groups for the programs already on your hard disk.

Program manager doesn’t allow you to display the names of your files. For that you have to go to a separate program called the file manager. The file manager lists programs and data files by name and allows you to sort them alphabetically, by date last modified, by size or by type of file.

Taken together, program manager and file manager get the job done. But switching between them is inconvenient and sometimes time-consuming.

Fortunately, there is an alternative, but it doesn’t come with Windows. Command Post, from Seattle-based Wilson WindowWare, is only one of many handy Windows utility programs that run simultaneously with Windows. Command Post is a separate program that provides most of the functions of both the program manager and file manager. It displays the names of all your files and allows you to copy, move, delete, rename or otherwise manipulate any files on your disk.

Command Post doesn’t display icons to represent your programs. But it does let you design your own pull-down menus that can be used to run software, load data files or switch between programs that are already running. I’m now using Command Post instead of the program manager and file manager. I miss the program manager’s pretty icons, but I appreciate the flexibility of Command Post’s custom menus. Icons are great if you have just a few programs, but as my software library grows, so does my frustration at having to hunt around to find the right icon.

The only serious drawback to Command Post is that it is much harder to set up and modify than program manager. Program manager lets you add icons by pointing and clicking with your mouse. Modifying Command Post menus requires that you use a text editor to enter programming codes into a script. The codes, which are more or less in English, are not unlike the types of commands that users enter in MS-DOS batch files or high-level programming languages such as Basic.

Fortunately, the program comes preconfigured with some starter menus, including one menu that lets you run the basic programs that come with the Windows package. The initial menus get you started and provide examples that you can copy when you’re ready to create or modify your own menus. I’m not a programmer but I’m familiar with the basic concepts, so it only took me a couple of hours to be comfortable with Command Post. Now, when I run Windows, I get my own customized menu system that allows me to select any program I want to run.

What’s more, the program allows you to write codes that give it even greater intelligence. I have a lot of memory in my 386-based PC, so it’s possible for me to run several programs at the same time. That way, if I’m temporarily finished with a program but plan to use it later, I’ll just leave it running and switch to another program. Later, if I want to run the other program again, I just select it from the Command Post menu.

Thanks to a couple of extra lines of code I entered when I set up the menu, Command Post is intelligent enough to check to see if the program is in memory. If it is in memory, it just switches to it. If not, it loads it in from the disk. Program manager and most other programming launching utilities aren’t so clever. They either load in another copy of the program (which wastes times and memory) or give you an error message saying that the program is already running.

Command Post can also be configured to arrange the windows on your screen. My Windows “desktop,” or screen configuration, can become just as messy as my real desk. Command Post helps me tidy it up.

It costs very little to see if Command Post is for you. It is distributed as “shareware,” which means that you can legally obtain a free copy of the program from a friend, user group or an on-line computer bulletin board.

If you like the program, you send the publisher a $49.95 registration fee. For that you get a printed users manual and a secret code that turns off a rather pesky reminder that periodically nudges you to send in your money.

You can also order an evaluation copy of the program (complete with printed documentation) directly from the company for $10. You can later register the program by paying an additional $39.95. Wilson WindowWare can be reached at (800) 762-8383 or (206) 937-9335. Its fax number is (206) 935-7129. Visa and MasterCard orders are accepted. Command Post will not run unless you own Microsoft Windows.

I’m also using Tempo, another Windows utility program. It’s a so-called macro program that allows users to assign any command or sequence of key strokes or mouse movements to any key, including the PC’s function keys.

It’s a great time-saver for frequently used commands. You can configure Tempo so that a single key will launch a program. As with Command Post, it is intelligent enough to determine if the program is in memory and, if so, switch to it. It also has branching capabilities that allow it to perform different functions, depending upon the data it encounters.

Tempo costs $99.95 and can be ordered from Affinity Microsystems of Boulder, Colo., at (800) 376-6771 or (303) 442-4840. I recommend Tempo but suggest that you first try Recorder, a similar but far less powerful program that comes free with Windows.

Computer File welcomes readers’ comments but regrets that the authors cannot respond individually to letters. Write to Lawrence J. Magid, P.O. Box 620477, Woodside, Calif. 94062, or contact the L. Magid account on the MCI electronic mail system.