Two column disk directory with SpartaDOS (or any DOS?)

[Gunstar]

I seem to recall, many years ago, being able to display the contents of a disk directory in two columns on the screen, and I pushed a key to continue to the next page. So with large directories it doesn't all just scroll by before you can even see most of it. I know there are also ways I used to use with just one column, but it would stop at the bottom of the screen and wait for a key press to continue.

 

I think I was using SpartDOS 3.2(x) at the time, though it could have been another 2.5 compatible DOS. It might have been a built-in command/utility with SpartaDOS or whatever 2.5 type DOS I was using at the time or it may have been a software disk utility that was loaded. It might have even been some program I originally typed in out of a magazine and used with a DOS.

 

Does anyone know if this is something SpartaDOS (hopefully X included) can do or if there is/are a utility(s) for accomplishing this? I've been searching my SDX 4.7 user manual to no avail. I can't even find if there is an addition to the SDX "dir" command like a slash or something that causes it to stop and wait for a key press. Of course I haven't experimented with that yet either to see if I can discover/remember it. So I'll be looking into any addition to the "dir" command after I post this...

 

Yeah, it's been a while since I really messed with DOS's and directories. I've been using basically just autorun disks/atr's and SIO2PC loaders and FAT loaders for quite a few years and have forgotten how to do stuff through Atari DOS's anymore. But I'm finally really setting up my MyIDE cart for HDD support after just using it for the FAT loader for years basically.. But I want to get back into using HDD directories and DOS's as I'm getting into programming on the Atari. Right now I'm in the process of learning/relearning SpartaDOS to set-up my system to bootstrap the way I want for use with learning to program and development.

 

My plan is to start doing everything on my Atari and lose the umbilical cord to the PC. If my programming really takes off, I might start using the PC again for serious development with Altirra and all the other development tools on the PC for the 8-bit, but for starters I'm going completely old school with all learning languages and all programming, including programming utilities and tools, all on the Atari, with only a modern CF HDD solution and extended memory/OS's to help.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Gunstar

[flashjazzcat]

Page 60 of the manual: /W and /P switches.

[Gunstar]

cool, thanks yet again!

 

I don't know how I missed it, I read through the dump and echo command sections that are right next to it! I blame it on the PDF reader, I probably scrolled right past it...even though I wasn't looking specifically for dir commands at the time...

Edited October 31, 2018 by Gunstar

[Gunstar]

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout' baby! And not only two, but four columns in con 64 mode. Now I just have to move the SDX toolkit into the right directory so I can add con 80 mode to my Config.sys file and get multiple columns with details and time stamps too!

[_The Doctor__]

CON 64 always a good choice

[Kyle22]

Same as MS-DOS. /w /p

[_The Doctor__]

if you are going to include 80 column there is a specific order to follow to keep everything happy and memory normal. That means pay close attention to the manual. I posted it somewhere at one time, or pointed to it... I forget which...

[+Nezgar]

The main loss is the RAM consumed by the 8K screenbuffer, which is lower MEMTOP, so should not conflict with much at MEMLO? CON 80 using RC_GR8 driver. Then BASIC takes it's own 8K of address space... with all that BASIC ?FRE(0) returns 26924, vs 34282 with a stock SDX banked boot, and 37902 with no DOS.

 

Edit: hmm CON64.SYS / CON 64 seems to leave a little less - 25277. And CON.SYS loads after RC_GR8.SYS for 80cols.

 

RC_GR8 in 80cols can insert/delete/scroll lines faster than CON64, due to use of display list shifting instead of memory copying in CON64...

[Gunstar]

if you are going to include 80 column there is a specific order to follow to keep everything happy and memory normal. That means pay close attention to the manual. I posted it somewhere at one time, or pointed to it... I forget which...

Yeah, I already read up on all that; first something like RC_GR8.sys then con.sys then con64.sys then ramdisk after that or it screws that up, if using one...

[Gunstar]

The main loss is the RAM consumed by the 8K screenbuffer, which is lower MEMTOP, so should not conflict with much at MEMLO? CON 80 using RC_GR8 driver. Then BASIC takes it's own 8K of address space... with all that BASIC ?FRE(0) returns 26924, vs 34282 with a stock SDX banked boot, and 37902 with no DOS.

 

Edit: hmm CON 64 seems to leave a little less - 25277.

Nothing to worry about when you have 256K internal or 576K external of total ram, and 512K sram on a cartridge that can also be used for programming space...though I'll actually be using TBXL and Basic XE and Action! and MAC/65 from flash/sram on the MyIDE 2 cart. I'm actually going to remove my internal BASIC eprom and put and 8K game rom eprom there instead...I should have done that in the first place since I never use Atari BASIC...

Edited October 31, 2018 by Gunstar