MACREX on Windows XP

We have been using MACREX v7.18 on Windows XP (Home Edition) for about a month. It works fine, but there are a few differences from Windows 2000 or 98.

1     Screen height and width settings

Introduction

If the screen height or width is set so that the MACREX window exceeds the size of the screen, Windows XP will reduce it to fit the screen and insert scroll bars, even though the window is maximized. For example, if the screen font is set to 10 x 18 points, the screen width is set to 80 in MACREX and the screen resolution is set to 800 x 600 by Windows, a scroll bar will appear at the bottom of the MACREX window, and a few characters on the right hand end of a long entry will not be visible unless it is scrolled. This is because 10 (the character width) times 80 (the number of characters across the screen requires 800 pixels thus taking up the entire screen width. The borders of the window take up a few more pixels, so Windows narrows the area visible for text slightly in order to be able to display the entire window. The same thing applies if the screen height required by the font and MACREX settings exceeds the size of the screen.

The solution is either to reduce the screen font width or to increase the screen resolution. Increasing the screen resolution is normally preferable because it will normally allow you to have a more readable display. MACREX will not permit a screen width of less than 80 characters despite the current option N on the MACREX Options Menu suggesting that a minimum of 40 can be used.

Reducing the screen font width:

  1. Click the top left hand corner of the MACREX window to pull down the control menu, select "Properties"
  2. Select the "Font" tab
  3. Select a narrower font, eg 8 x 12.  You may well find it worth while to choose "Lucida Console" (14 point has the best legibility) - this is a far more legible font than the default "Raster font".  Choose Lucida from the dialog box just below the "window preview" window on the left hand side of the screen. 
  4. Click "OK" and you will be asked whether to "Apply properties to current window" or "Modify the shortcut that started this window". Choose the first option initially, but when you are confident you have it right you can go back and choose the second to make the new screen font stick on future occasions.
  5. Maximize the size of your MACREX window.  Do this either by dragging the bottom and right margins of the window as far as they will go, or by clicking the "maximize" button immediately to the left of the small cross at the top right hand corner of the window.

Increasing the screen resolution:

The control panel on Windows XP can be set to either of two views. These are "Category View" and "Classic View" In the instructions below, black text applies to either view, blue text applies to Category View and green text applies to Classic View.

  1. Click "Start" then "Control panel"
  2. Double click the "Display" icon or click on Appearance and themes
  3. Click the "Settings" tab or click on Change the screen resolution
  4. Towards the bottom left hand side of the dialogue there is a slider control with the current screen resolution shown underneath it. Drag the slider to the right using the mouse to a higher resolution (eg 1024 x 768) and, providing the screen looks OK, confirm that you want to keep these settings.

2    How to set up a command prompt with a path to the MACREX home directory.

Introduction

You do not seem to be able to set up a path on Windows XP by editing the AUTOEXEC.BAT in the way that has been possible on all previous versions of Windows. However, if you like working from the command prompt, you can do so although the procedure is slightly more complicated.

  1. Make your own batch file called, for example, MYPATH.BAT, containing the single line  SET PATH= %PATH%;C:\MACNT.  This is assuming that you have installed MACREX in C:\MACNT. The file should be saved as a DOS text file - using Notepad will do this automatically.
  2. Right click on "Start"
  3. Select "Open"
  4. Double click "Programs"
  5. Double click "Accessories".
  6. Right click the "Command Prompt" Icon
  7. Select "Create Shortcut" from the drop down menu. This will create another icon called "Command Prompt (2)".
  8. Drag "Command Prompt (2)" on to an open area of the desktop
  9. Right click "Command Prompt (2)" and select "Properties" from the drop down menu.
    Under the "Shortcut" tab there will be a line labelled "Target:" which reads something like
    10.

    %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe

Click with the mouse to position the cursor at the end of this line and add a space and then the following text to the line

        /K C:\MACNT\MYPATH.BAT

so that it reads

    %SystemRoot%\system32\cmd.exe /K C:MACNT\MYPATH.BAT

Be sure to get the spaces in the right two places and no additional spaces. The two spaces needed in this line are after .exe and after /K.  Now you can use this new icon to open your command prompt. You can check whether the new path is in place by typing SET<RETURN> from the command prompt.

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Last updated by Hilary and Drusilla Calvert, 12 January 2002