PROBLEM
Wordstar 5.5 (WS.EXE) is on the DOS search path (E:\EDIT) but the overlay files are in a source subdirectory with all the other Wordstar 5.5 ancillary files
(E:\EDIT\WS55), that is not on the DOS search path.
When the executable WS.EXE is invoked from the command line (e.g.,
'C:\>WS') the program first loads, can't find its overlay files, then
unloads.
WSCHANGE has been used to set the default path to '\EDIT\WS55, and the
drive letter to 'E:'. But this isn't working, and examination of the
file search requests using DOS INT21H calls using IOLOG.COM shows that
Wordstar is searching only the directories in the DOS PATH and not the
path(s) defined in DEFPTH for the overlay files. This means that the
alternate default paths are not being invoked for the search, for some
reason.
SOLUTION
The solution turns out to be a setting on the WSCHANGE menu structure
that I overlooked.
WSCHANGE Main Menu
C Computer
D Wordstar Files Menu #1
A Define default search path DEFPTH
--> here are 9 alternative paths (e.g., \EDIT\WS55)
B Reassign drive and path for all Wordstar files
--> here is the solution
Above, under option C\D\B Reassign drive and path for all Wordstar
files, you enter a drive letter (e.g., 'e') and press enter (or just
'enter' if no change), and then a submenu appears. This submenu is what
I overlooked or misunderstood, and allows the user to select as the
program search path either the DOS path or one of the 9 alternative
paths defined in C\D\A above, as shown below:
A Use DOS path
B Use default path 1
C Use default path 2
...
J Use default path 9
When the user makes one of these selections, the selection is indicated
by a number in parentheses after the affected files that are displayed
on Wordstar Files Menu #1. '0' is DOS path, '1' is default path 1, '2'
is default path 2, and so forth. Below shows the display for when the
DOS path (option A above) is selected, indicated by the '0' in
parentheses after the file name:
E:WSMSGS.OVR(0)
E:WSINDEX.XCL(0)
E:WSSHORT.OVR(0)
E:WSHELP.OVR(0)
E:WSSTYLE.OVR(0)
The reason one would have the overlay files in a separate directory
would be to reduce the number of directory entries DOS has to search to
find a file. Putting WS.EXE on the main search path then allows WS to
hook to its overlay files without burdening DOS with extraneous files to
search.
On the other hand, the drive letter for the overlay files is hard-coded
now. This is a problem if the system is a multi-boot or multi-FAT
system in which the drive letter assignments are changed or bumped
depending on the operating system loaded (using System Commander, for
instance). The search path drive letters can be easily adjusted to
account for the differing drive letter assignments, but Wordstar cannot.
For this reason I've changed my setup to have the full Wordstar 5.5 file
direcory on the main DOS search path, so that Wordstar can find its
overlay files when the drive letter changes.
-- Roy Zider