MKWINOS/2

An OS/2 program to create a Program Manager Desktop Equivalent folder on your OS/2 Desktop and, for OS/2 full pack systems, merge your Windows entities into WIN-OS/2.

Description
MKWINOS/2 is a commercial OS/2 program that will create the equivalent of your Windows Program Manager object as an OS/2 Desktop folder named "Program Manager Desktop Equivalent". All of the Windows group objects along with all of the program entries within each group object are also created as OS/2 objects within the Program Manager Desktop Equivalent.

Running the MKWINOS/2 main program creates a REXX program, MKWINRUN, which you run to actually build the OS/2 objects. You can alter the contents of the MKWINRUN program and it can be rerun as desired. A sample of MKWINRUN (51K) can be viewed or downloaded. It may also be obtained via anonymous FTP from  if you are using a Web browser that doesn't support direct FTP access.

Each OS/2 folder (the Desktop folder along with the group folders) will be the same size and in the same relative screen position as they were on your Windows system. Each .GRP folder will contain the same Windows programs as the original with each program setup as an WIN-OS/2 object. The characteristics for each OS/2 program object include the default settings established for your system with the OS/2 WIN-OS2 Setup facility and adjusted for the particular program with the settings found in MKWINOS2.DBX - an updated version of the DATABASE.TXT file provided with OS/2.

<-- Windows   MKWINOS/2 -->

Creating OS/2 objects to mirror your Windows Program Manager is all that is required of MKWINOS/2 on an OS/2 "Without WIN-OS2" system. This includes the Warp "red box" and OS/2 2.1 For Windows (referred to here as WOW). With WOW, nothing in your Windows directory is altered.

MKWINOS/2 performs many other functions for OS/2 full pack systems with WIN-OS2 support. These systems include Warp "blue box", Warp Connect, Warp Server, OS/2 2.1, and 2.11 (referred to here as FP). The program MKWINOS2.BAK is provided to create a backup repository of your \WINOS2 directory and all subordinate directories. The R-WINOS2.CMD file is created to restore your WINOS2 directory if required.

MKWINOS/2 is significantly different from the Add Programs or Migrate Programs facility in OS/2 since it creates program objects for just those applications that you had setup under Windows. MKWINOS/2 does not search your drives looking for possible candidates. Also, any previously created OS/2 Windows-related objects remain unchanged and can be removed at your discretion. Beyond simply creating OS/2 objects, MKWINOS/2 merges Windows files and properties into WINOS2 on an OS/2 fullpack system. A backup facility is provided to allow restoration of the WINOS2 files and directories in the event that it is necessary.

Windows group folders that are open when MKWINOS/2 is run receive special attention on Warp. An option is provided at the end of MKWINRUN to shadow these folder and program objects to the OS/2 Startup folder. A positive user reply is required to effect this Startup folder update. If you chose to select the option of adding these objects to the OS/2 Startup folder, they are also immediately opened on the OS/2 system.

MKWINOS/2 Report file
MKWINOS/2 creates a MKWINOS2.RPT report file that details all of the Windows group and program items it processed along with itemizing any unused or "dead" items it finds in your Windows .INI files. The report file also lists all of the unresolved Windows paths and files that were found along with any ambiguous WIN-OS2 settings that could not be resolved for a particular Windows program.

MKWINOS/2 has an optional debugging log facility. The debugging facility will be permanently enabled for the initial release of MKWINOS/2. Otherwise, this debugging facility would be activated by the presence of either -d or /d on the command line. Enabling the debugging facility, intended primarily for support use, results in the file MKWINOS2.LOG being created. Previous MKWINOS2.LOG files are overwritten.

Downloading MKWINOS/2
If your Web browser supports direct FTP selection, you can download the current version of MKWINOS/2 (mkwinos2.zip - 406K). Your viewer will prompt you for the file's destination. The .ZIP file can be decompressed with either PKUNZIP or UNZIP.

Previewing the README
You can view the MKWINOS/2 Read Me file in HTML format.

Enabling the demo version of MKWINOS/2
The production version of MKWINOS/2 is simply the demo version that has been enabled by purchasing and providing an enabling key as the first line of the MKWINOS2.KEY file. The only restriction imposed in the demo version is that program objects are created for only the Accessories, Main, and Startup folders when no MKWINOS/2 key is present.