Microsoft KB Archive/81360

= MS-DOS EDIT and QBASIC Command Line Switches =

Article ID: 81360

Article Last Modified on 11/16/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0a
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.2 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.21 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.22 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q81360



SUMMARY
This article describes the command line switches you can use to enhance or modify the performance of the MS-DOS Editor and QBasic utilities.



MORE INFORMATION
Editor is a full screen text editor. QBasic is a program that reads instructions written in Basic and interprets them into executable computer code.

The EDIT command starts Editor from the command prompt. QBASIC starts the QBasic Interpreter from the command prompt. Both Editor and QBasic may be executed with a switch or combination of switches to enhance or modify their performance. The following is a description of the switches available and how they affect Editor and QBasic:    Switch   Description --  ---

/B      Displays Editor or QBasic in black and white. This switch should be used to run Editor or QBasic on a monochrome monitor with a color graphics card. If the Editor or           QBasic pull-down menus do not show the short cut keys on a            CGA monitor, then use the /B switch when starting Editor or QBasic.

/G      Use this switch with a CGA monitor to provide the fastest screen updating.

/H      Use this switch to display the maximum number of lines on            the screen that the monitor supports.

/NOHI   Editor and QBasic are designed for 16 color monitors, but this switch allows Editor or QBasic to function on an           eight color monitor. If Editor or QBasic pull-down menus do not show the short cut keys on a system that does not support bold characters, use the /NOHI switch when starting Editor or QBasic. The following switches may be used only with QBasic:   Switch     Description --    ---

/EDITOR   Invokes Editor.

/MBF      Converts the built-in functions MKS$,MKD$,CVS$, and CVD to MKSMBF$, MKDMBF$, CVSMBF, and CVDMBF, respectively.

/RUN      Runs a specified Basic program before displaying it. To start Editor with the /NOHI switch, type the following command at the command prompt:

edit /nohi

To start QBasic and run the program MYPROG.BAS, type the following at the command prompt:

qbasic /run myprog.bas

Reference(s):

&quot;MS-DOS User's Guide and Reference,&quot; versions 5.0 and 5.0a, pages 459, 547

Additional query words: 6.22 5.00 5.00a 6.00 6.20 EDIT.COM QBASIC.EXE

Keywords: KB81360

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