REXX Syscreateobject tips and techniques

This file contains 4 pieces of information:
 * 1) Large block of text containing information that pertains to the subject.(TEXT INFORMATION)
 * 2) Sample Rexx code to create a folder and program objects in the folder (FOLDER.CMD)
 * 3) Sample Rexx code to create shadows of objects. (SHADOW.CMD)
 * 4) Sample Rexx code to create a folder, then program object in the folder, then place a shadow of the program object on the desktop. (FLDSHAD.CMD)

=Using the REXXUTIL SysCreateObject function= Using V2's REXXUTIL SysCreateObject function one can create various objects; like folders, programs, and shadow objects using Rexx. This section for the most part includes parameter information which was gathered together from various sources of information.
 * Michael Lamb MIKELAMB(KGNVMC)
 * Workstation Technical Support
 * Kingston NY

Help information regarding the SysCreateObject function of REXXUTIL

 * Function: SysCreateObject
 * Syntax: result = SysCreateObject(classname, title, location <,setup>)
 * classname
 * The name of the object class.
 * title
 * The object title.
 * location
 * The object location. This can be specified as either a descriptive path (for example, OS/2 System Folder\System Configuration) or a file system path (for example, C:\bin\mytools).
 * setup
 * A WinCreateObject setup string.


 * result
 * The return code from WinCreateObject. This returns 1 (TRUE) if the object was created and 0 (FALSE) if the object was not created.


 * Purpose
 * Create a new instance of an object class.

If one views the *.RC files located in your bootdrive:\OS2 directory you can learn a lot about the various INI settings and folder structure. Review INI.RC and INISYS.RC files, they are used to create your OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI files.
 * Interesting INI information:

SysCreateObject / WinCreateObject
The various fields of the SysCreateObject call map closely with the WinCreateObject call.  /***************************************************************************/ /* This WinCreateObject function creates an instance of object class      */ /* pszClassName, with title pszTitle, and places the icon and title in the */ /* location referred to by pszLocation. */ /***************************************************************************/ PSZ     pszClassName; PSZ     pszTitle; PSZ     pszSetupString; PSZ     pszLocation;       /* Folder location */ ULONG   ulFlags;           /* Creation flags */ HOBJECT Success;           /* Success indicator */ Success = WinCreateObject(pszClassName,            pszTitle, pszSetupString,             pszLocation, ulFlags); 
 * 1) define INCL_WINWORKPLACE
 * 2) include 

Putting it all together
The SysCreateObject parameters are now explained in more detail. (As I understand them...)

Remember Syntax: result = SysCreateObject(classname, title, location <,setup>)


 * classname
 * A registered object class defined to the system. Of particular interest are the WPFolder/WPProgram/WPShadow classes. Note using the sample Rexx code included in the SysQueryClassList function help screen one can list all of the registered classes:

call SysQueryClassList "list." do i = 1 to list.0 say 'Class' i 'is' list.i end   The Desktop.     The Startup folder.    The System folder.     The Templates folder.    The System Setup folder.      The Information folder.    The Drives folder.   The hidden folder.
 * title: Easy one, the objects title you want to use.
 * location: You can see above what the online Help information has in regards to this field. However by looking at the INI.RC file one can see a use of other "locations", such as . If this is used as a location then your object will reside on the WorkPlace Shell desktop. If you are creating a folder or program object you should make sure you use the setup string option and give that folder a unique OBJECTID. We'll see how this works later.
 * HINTS: Here are some predefined object ids of system folders. Also if you are thinking of placing an object in the Startup Folder , make it a shadow of the object.
 * setup: This field needs the most explaining, and required the most "snooping". The setupstring field contains a series of "keyname=value" pairs separated by semi-colons that change the behavior of an object. Each object class documents its keynames and the parameters it expects to see.
 * ALL parameters have safe defaults, so it is never necessary to pass unnecessary parameters to an object.


 * Below are both WPFolder and WPProgram setup string parameters. Their various key names, values and a short description follow each item. The < > item is there to give you an idea of what settings "page" you would find this information on.

 KEYNAME     VALUE           Description - <> ICONVIEW    NONFLOWED       Set icon view to non-flowed FLOWED         Set icon view to flowed NOLINES        Set icon view to non-grid <> WORKAREA    YES             Make the folder a Workarea folder <<Window>> VIEWBUTTON  HIDE            Views of this object will have a hide button as opposed to a minimize button. MINIMIZE       Views of this object will have a minimize button as opposed to a hide button. MINWIN      HIDE            Views of this object will hide when their minimize button is selected. VIEWER         Views of this object will minimize to the minimized window viewer when their minimize button is selected. DESKTOP        Views of this object will minimize to the Desktop when their minimize button is selected. CONCURRENTVIEW YES          New views of this object will be created every time the user selects open. NO             Open views of this object will resurface when the user selects open. <<General>> ICONFILE    filename        This sets the object's icon. ICONRESOURCE id,module      This sets the object's icon. 'id' is the identity of an icon resource in the 'module' dynamic link library (DLL). ICONPOS     x,y             This sets the object's initial icon position. The x and y values represent the position in                            the object's folder in percentage coordinates. TEMPLATE    YES             Creates object as a template. NO             Resets objects template property. </PRE>
 * WPFolder setup string parms***
 * WPFolder setup string parms***

 KEYNAME     VALUE           Description - <<Program>> EXENAME     filename        Sets the name of the program PARAMETERS  params          Sets the parameters list, which may include substitution characters STARTUPDIR  pathname        Sets the working directory - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<Sessions>> PROGTYPE    FULLSCREEN      Sets the session type to OS/2 full screen WINDOWABLEVIO  Sets the session type to OS/2 windowed VDM            Sets the session type to DOS full screen WINDOWEDVDM    Sets the session type to DOS windowed PM             Sets the session type to PM             WIN             Sets the session type to WIN-OS2 Fullscreen WINDOWEDWIN    Sets the session type to WIN-OS2 windowed SEPARATEWIN    Sets the session type to WIN-OS2 windowed, separate session. MINIMIZED   YES             Start program minimized MAXIMIZED   YES             Start program maximized NOAUTOCLOSE YES             Leaves the window open upon program termination. NO             Closes the window when the program terminates. -DOS Settings- (To change these values you use SET keyname=) (Example:  SET DOS_FILES=45; (Also for some use values of 1 for ON, 0 for off) (Example:   SET COM_HOLD=1;     (on, default is off) List of DOS Setting fields COM_HOLD DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION DOS_BREAK DOS_DEVICE DOS_FCBS DOS_FCBS_KEEP DOS_FILES DOS_HIGH DOS_LASTDRIVE DOS_RMSIZE DOS_SHELL DOS_STARTUP_DRIVE DOS_UMB DOS_VERSION DPMI_DOS_API DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT DPMI_NETWORK_BUFF_SIZE DPMI_DOS_API EMS_FRAME_LOCATION EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION EMS_LOW_OS_MAP_REGION EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT HW_NOSOUND HW_ROM_TO_RAM HW_TIMER IDLE_SECONDS IDLE_SENSITIVITY KBD_ALTHOME_BYPASS KBD_BUFFER_EXTEND KBD_RATE_LOCK MEM_INCLUDE_REGIONS MEM_EXCLUDE_REGIONS MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS PRINT_TIMEOUT VIDEO_FASTPASTE VIDEO_MODE_RESTRICTION VIDEO_ONDEMAND_MEMORY VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION VIDEO_SWITCH_NOTIFICATION VIDEO_WINDOW_REFRESH VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP XMS_HANDLES XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT XMS_MINIMUM_HMA - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<Association>> ASSOCFILTER filters         Sets the filename filter for files associated to this program. Multiple filters are separated by commas. ASSOCTYPE   type            Sets the type of files associated to this program. Multiple filters are separated by commas. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<Window>> MINWIN      HIDE            Views of this object will hide when their minimize button is selected. VIEWER         Views of this object will minimize to the minimized window viewer when their minimize button is selected. DESKTOP        Views of this object will minimize to the Desktop when their minimize button is selected. CONCURRENTVIEW YES          New views of this object will be created every time the user selects open. NO             Open views of this object will resurface when the user selects open. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<General>> ICONFILE    filename        This sets the object's icon. ICONRESOURCE id,module      This sets the object's icon. 'id' is the identity of an icon resource in the 'module' dynamic link library (DLL). ICONPOS     x,y             This sets the object's initial icon position. The x and y values represent the position in                            the object's folder in percentage coordinates. TEMPLATE    YES             Creates object as a template. NO             Resets objects template property. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <<Misc>> OBJECTID             This sets the object's identity. The object id will stay with the object even if it is                            moved or renamed. An object id is any unique string preceded with a '<' and terminated with a '>'. HELPPANEL   id              This sets the object's default help panel. HELPLIBRARY filename        This sets the help library. OPEN        SETTINGS        Open settings view when object is created. DEFAULT        Open default view when object is created. NODELETE    YES             Will not allow you to delete the object. NOCOPY      YES             Will not allow you to make a copy. NOMOVE      YES             Will not allow you to move the object to another folder, will create shadow on a move. NODRAG      YES             Will not allow you to drag the object. NOLINK      YES             Will not allow you to create a shadow link. NOSHADOW    YES             Will not allow you to create a shadow link. NORENAME    YES             Will not allow you to rename the object. NOPRINT     YES             Will not allow you to print it. NOTVISIBLE  YES             Will not display the object. - </PRE>
 * WPProgram setup string parms***
 * WPProgram setup string parms***
 * IMPORTANT NOTE: Always make sure your setup string ends with a semi-colon!

Good Luck....

=REXX CMD SAMPLES=

FOLDER.CMD
</PRE> /* FOLDER.CMD: Sample code using REXXUTIL's SysCreateObject function   */ /* Builds a folder on the DeskTop and places some program objects in it.*/ /* Mike Lamb: MIKELAMB/KGNVMC                                          */ /* Load REXXUTIL */ call rxfuncadd sysloadfuncs, rexxutil, sysloadfuncs call sysloadfuncs /* The basic call is listed next. */ /* result = SysCreateObject(classname, title, location, setup)            */ call SysCls Say '';Say 'Using REXXUTILs to Add a Folder and Program Objects...' Say ;Say 'Press Y to add Test Folder to Desktop...';Say ; parse upper value SysGetKey('NOECHO') with key If key<>'Y' Then Exit /* All of the routines pass parameters to a subroutine to perform the call */ classname='WPFolder' title='Test Folder' location='<WP_DESKTOP>' setup='OBJECTID=<TEST_FOLDER>;' Call BldObj Say '';Say 'Now go and open up the folder, currently no items are there.' Say 'Press ENTER and we will add a few program objects...' key=SysGetKey Say 'Place a program object into the folder...';Say ''; classname='WPProgram' title='SYSLEVEL-FULLSCR' location='<TEST_FOLDER>' setup='PROGTYPE=FULLSCREEN;EXENAME=\OS2\SYSLEVEL.EXE;OBJECTID=<TEST_SYSL>;' Call BldObj classname='WPProgram' title='CHKDSK-PM' location='<TEST_FOLDER>' setup='MINIMIZED=YES;PROGTYPE=PM;EXENAME=\OS2\PMCHKDSK.EXE;OBJECTID=<TEST_PMCK>;' Call BldObj classname='WPProgram' title='SYSLEVEL-VIO' location='<TEST_FOLDER>' setup='PROGTYPE=WINDOWABLEVIO;EXENAME=\OS2\SYSLEVEL.EXE;OBJECTID=<TEST_SYSLVIO>;' Call BldObj classname='WPProgram' title='MEM-Fullscreen' location='<TEST_FOLDER>' setup='PROGTYPE=VDM;EXENAME=\OS2\MDOS\MEM.EXE;PARAMETERS=/?;NOAUTOCLOSE=YES;OBJECTID=<TEST_MEMFUL>;' Call BldObj classname='WPProgram' title='MEM-WindowVDM' location='<TEST_FOLDER>' setup='PROGTYPE=WINDOWEDVDM;EXENAME=\OS2\MDOS\MEM.EXE;PARAMETERS=/?;NOAUTOCLOSE=YES;OBJECTID=<TEST_MEMWIN>;' Call BldObj Say '';Say 'All done, to remove objects drag to shredder...' Exit /* Build Object */ BldObj: call charout ,'Building: 'title result = SysCreateObject(classname, title, location, setup) If result=1 Then call charout ,'... Object created!' Else            call charout ,'...   Not created! Return code='result Say ''; Return </PRE>

SHADOW.CMD
 /* SHADOW.CMD: Sample code using REXXUTIL's SysCreateObject function   */ /* Builds shadows on the DeskTop and Startup Folder                    */ /* Mike Lamb: MIKELAMB/KGNVMC                                          */ call rxfuncadd sysloadfuncs, rexxutil, sysloadfuncs call sysloadfuncs Call SysCls Say '';Say 'Using REXXUTILs to Add Shadow Objects...' /* The titles and objectid's are found from the \OS2\INI.RC file */ Say '';Say 'First lets place some items on the Desktop...' title='Enhanced Editor'; objid='<WP_EPM>'  ; loc='<WP_DESKTOP>'; call AddShad title='OS/2 Window'   ; objid='<WP_OS2WIN>'; loc='<WP_DESKTOP>'; call AddShad title='System Clock'  ; objid='<WP_CLOCK>' ; loc='<WP_DESKTOP>'; call AddShad Say '';Say 'Now lets place an item in the Startup Folder...' title='System Clock'  ; objid='<WP_CLOCK>' ; loc='<WP_START>'  ; call AddShad Say '';Say 'All done, to remove objects drag to shredder...' Exit AddShad: Say '';Say 'Press Y to add shadow object: 'title' to 'loc parse upper value SysGetKey('NOECHO') with key

If key='Y' Then Do  result=SysCreateObject('WPShadow', title, loc, 'SHADOWID='objid) If result=1 Then Say 'Object created' Else            Say 'Not created, return code='result End Return </PRE>

FLDSHAD.CMD
 /* FLDSHAD.CMD: Sample code using REXXUTIL's SysCreateObject function  */ /* Builds a folder on the DeskTop places a program object in it then   */ /* places a shadow of the program object on the DeskTop. */ /* Mike Lamb: MIKELAMB/KGNVMC                                          */ /* Load REXXUTIL */ call rxfuncadd sysloadfuncs, rexxutil, sysloadfuncs call sysloadfuncs /* The basic call is listed next. */ /* result = SysCreateObject(classname, title, location, setup)            */ call SysCls Say '';Say 'Using REXXUTILs to Add Folder/Program/Shadow Objects...' Say ;Say 'Press Y to add Test Folder to Desktop...';Say ; parse upper value SysGetKey('NOECHO') with key If key<>'Y' Then Exit classname='WPFolder' title='Test Folder' location='<WP_DESKTOP>' setup='OBJECTID=<TEST2_FOLDER>;' Call BldObj Say ;Say 'Press Y to place a program object into the folder...';Say ; parse upper value SysGetKey('NOECHO') with key If key<>'Y' Then Exit classname='WPProgram' title='SYSLEVEL-VIO' location='<TEST2_FOLDER>' setup='PROGTYPE=WINDOWABLEVIO;EXENAME=\OS2\SYSLEVEL.EXE;OBJECTID=<TEST2_SYSLVIO>;' Call BldObj Say ;Say 'Press Y to place a shadow of the program object on the Desktop...';Say ; parse upper value SysGetKey('NOECHO') with key If key<>'Y' Then Exit classname='WPShadow' title='SYSLEVEL-VIO' location='<WP_DESKTOP>' setup='SHADOWID=<TEST2_SYSLVIO>;' Call BldObj Say '';Say 'All done, to remove objects drag to shredder...' Exit /* Build Object */ BldObj: call charout ,'Building: 'title result = SysCreateObject(classname, title, location, setup) If result=1 Then call charout ,'... Object created!' Else            call charout ,'...   Not created! Return code='result Say ''; Return </PRE>