1.1 Enabling Filename
Completion
Some UNIX shells perform filename completion
whenever you hit the TAB key. This capability can be enabled for
Windows command shells. First, run the
regedit utility,
with the following sequence of mouse clicks:
Start → Run
Then type
regedit in the dialog box and
click
OK.
Within
regedit, navigate down to one of the
following entries. If you have administrator privileges on your
Windows machine then use:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → SOFTWARE → Microsoft →
Command Processor
If you do
not have administrator privileges
then use:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER → SOFTWARE → Microsoft →
Command Processor
Double click on
CompletionChar and enter the value
9 hex, which is the ASCII code for the TAB key.
Then click on
OK, and exit from
regedit.
From now on, whenever you press the TAB key you will activate
filename completion. Note that this will work in any
new
command windows that you create. It will not work in any command
windows that you had
already created prior to changing
the
CompletionChar entry in
regedit.
1.2 Creating a Shortcut
on the Desktop
When using a command-line based development
tool on a Windows machine, you typically have to set some
environment variables, such as
PATH,
CLASSPATH,
JAVA_HOME, and also set some environment variables that
are specific to the development tool. If you will be using the
same development tool
on a daily basis then it is
probably best to set the relevant environment variables in the
Environment Variables dialog box, which is discussed in
Section
1.3.
However, sometimes you may wish to just experiment with an
evaluation version of a development tool, or perhaps you need to
switch between different development tools (or different versions
of the same tool) on a regular basis. In such cases, it can be
more convenient to create a desktop shortcut that opens a new
command window and automatically runs a batch file to set up
environment variables within that command window. You can create
several such shortcuts—one for each development tool.
First, you should create a batch file that sets whatever
environment variables you want. Use your favorite text editor to
create this file. Make sure that it has a
.bat file
extension. You then create a shortcut on the desktop that, when
activated, launches a new command window and automatically runs
the batch file. Creating such a shortcut is done with a few mouse
clicks. Right click on the desktop and select
New →
Shortcut
This then starts a wizard that guides you through the
process. In the first dialog box of the wizard, type
cmd. This specifies that the shortcut will be for a
command window. Then click on
Next.
In the next dialog box, you must specify a name for the
shortcut. For example, if you will be using this shortcut for
Orbix then you might call it
Orbix shell.
Then click on
Finish. You now have an icon named
Orbix shell on the desktop.
Right click on the shortcut icon. This allows you to change
the
Properties.
Within the properties dialog box, select the
Shortcut tab.
Add
"/k <full-path-to-your-batch file>" to
the
Target field. Also, use the
Start in field
to specify in which directory you want the newly launched command
window to start. You can optionally select some of the other tabs
to modify other properties.
When you are happy, click on
Apply and then
OK.
1.3 Adding Variables to the
Windows Environment
If you will be using the same development
tool on a daily basis then it is probably best to set the
relevant environment variables in the
Environment
Variables dialog box. In Windows NT, you access this dialog
box with the following sequence of mouse clicks:
Start → Settings → Control Panel → System
→ Environment
In Windows 2000, you use a slightly different
sequence of mouse clicks:
Start → Settings → Control Panel → System
→ Advanced → Environment
