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                                   ECHO.COM                                   

             Size (recs) CRC   Version    Author/Latest Issue      Disk
ECHO.3OM       1k (8)    C51D  1.3        Gene Pizzetta 11/90      Z3COM6
ECHO.4OM       2k (12)   769B  1.3        Gene Pizzetta 11/90      Z3COM6
ECHO.COM       1k (8)    C0FE  1.3        Gene Pizzetta 11/90      Z3COM6

  1- Usage  2- Printer Output  3- Configuration  4- Notes  5- Examples of Use 

   ECHO  allows  text entered at the command line to be typed  to  the  screen
without  the  operating system acting on it.   This is useful  for  displaying
messages from aliases and between commands of a multiple command line.

   ECHO  also provides a convenient way of sending escape sequences to the CRT
or printer.   ECHO uses direct  BIOS calls without  any character translation,
except as noted below.   Virtually any  ASCII  character  can  be sent because
several escape  sequences  allow  sending characters that cannot ordinarily be
entered on the command line.  Vs 1.0 (3/22/84) by R. Conn.
:1
    Usage   ECHO {text}

   If no text is given,  no characters are echoed.   (Except that when printer
output is selected, a CR,LF pair is sent at the end of the line).

Text may contain the following escape sequences:

     ^c   Send character c as a control character.  For example, 
          "^Z" sends a control-Z.
     %P   Send following characters to printer.
     %C   Send following characters to console.  (This is usually 
          the default, but ECHO can be configured to default to 
          printer output.)
     %>   Send following characters in lower-case.
     %<   Send following characters in upper-case.  (This is 
          usually the default, but ECHO can be configured to 
          default to lower-case.)
     %^   Send a caret character.
     %D   Send a delete (rubout) character.
     %S   Send a semi-colon character.
     %%   Send a percent character.

   If two slashes are the first two  non-space characters on the command line,
a usage message will be  displayed.   You can  begin the text display with two 
slashes by merely preceding them with the per-cent sign escape character:
     ECHO %// THIS LINE BEGINS WITH TWO SLASHES

   A semi-colon on the  command  line  signals  the  end  of  a command to the 
command processor,  so  ECHO's text  string  cannot  contain  one.   Use  "%S"
instead; it will be replaced with a semi-colon on output.

   If the "%" escape character is followed by "C", "P", "D", "S", "<", or ">",
the appropriate action will be taken,  otherwise the following character  will
merely be echoed as is.
:2
 Printer Output 

   Printer output varies slightly from console output.

   If a  form  feed is sent  during  printer  output ("^L"),  ECHO will send a
carriage return and line feed first, then the form feed character.

   If a text  string  ends  while  ECHO is in  printer  output  mode,  a final
carriage return and linefeed will be added to the string.   (In console mode a
carriage return and line  feed is  sent by the  CPR  instead.)   If  you would
rather not have  a  CR/LF pair  sent to  the  printer,  put the console output
escape sequence ("%C") at  the end of the string.   For instance,  to reset an
Epson printer without spacing the paper up a line:

     ECHO %P^[@^M%C

This sequence sends ESC and "@", followed by a carriage return ("^M"), but not 
a final carriage return/line feed because output is redirected to the console.
:3
 Configuration 

   Although no configuration is necessary,  two  defaults can be changed using
ZCNFG and the ECHOnn.CFG configuration file.  If you do not change the name of 
the CFG file,  ZCNFG will always be  able to  find it,  even if you change the
name of ECHO.

   Normally ECHO defaults to sending  upper-case characters,  but ZCNFG can be
used to set the default to lower-case.   Also, output normally defaults to the
console, but ECHO can be configured to default to the printer.
:4
 ECHO Notes - 1/1 

   a. Vs 1.3 updates (11/25/90, Gene Pizzetta):
      - Fixed a bug that could cause a crash under certain circumstances if no
        text string was given on the command line.  
      - Added %D escape sequence that  sends  a  DEL (RUB) character, the only
        character ECHO could not send.  
      - Converted code to Zilog.
      
   b. Vs 1.2 updates (10/21/90, Gene Pizzetta):
      - I got tired of my aliases not working whenever I got rid of my RCP for
        more memory.   So I decided to make the transient ECHO compatible with
        Carson Wilson's Z34RCP.  Code mostly his, modified as necessary.  
      - The dollar sign ($) for printer output no longer works.  
      - One additional escape sequence has been added:   %S sends a semi-colon
        to printer or screen; there was no other way to send one.  
      - Now properly requires *two* slashes for the help message.  
      - Added type-3 safety header.  
      - Added type-4 version.  
      - Configurable with ZCNFG.
 ECHO Notes - 2/2 

   c. Vs 1.1 updates (09/22/87, Cameron Cotrill):
      - Code from RCPECHO in z33 applied to ECHO10, resulting in a type 3 
        transient echo that knows case.
:5
 Examples of Use 

   a. ECHO hello, world

      - sends text "HELLO, WORLD" to console 

   b. ECHO Assembling;m80 =$1;^E
              if input;echo Linking;l80 /P:100,$1,A:SYSLIB/S,$1/N,/E;fi

      - a single multiple command line will print the informative messages 
        "ASSEMBLING" and "LINKING" during the respective commands

   c. ECHO ^Z

      - clears CRT screen (on terminal where ^Z clears the screen)

   d. ECHO $^L

      - form feeds printer (assuming printer responds to form feed char)
