Sorry, got busy.

On Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 2:22:50 AM UTC-6, R.Wieser wrote:
I seldom use ALT-ENTER. I however do use ALT-TAB to
switch between the (full-screen) DOS prompt and the GUI ...

This reveal blows apart some prior advice. I was not aware you were doing windows WITH a full screen console minimized and pressing ALT key in combination with TAB now too...

Keyboard buffers exist on many platforms, you perhaps didn't spend any time on an Atari 8 bit or others of that ilk where each system's keyboard had the buffer set up and used in a vast array of foibles. Often when the OS has been loaded with custom software that uses a different technique than the maker to capture key presses, the keyboard buffer can be filled with presses not intended to be sent when the software has finished and run it's course. And at that point here come the last 5 keys or none of them or just one depending on make and model. Windows OS uses a keyboard buffer too, different from DOS most likely and to get into full screen mode with the 'set for it' full screen setting it is pressing it's own ALT-ENTER combo for you. Windows remembers this key press because it's in the buffer. Perhaps, perhaps not if they foresaw this issue and piddled with the buffer such that it doesn't show there at all. How can I know now what they did, how they did it so many years ago? Perhaps the ALT key is being stored after you press TAB and I can't know this either.

Upon exit then, DOS mode should clear that keypress for you, but only that one and most likely only if it's really there and again only if it's stacked correctly and not out of phase with any other buffered key press. Your trips into the GUI via ALT-TAB are blowing the order of the buffer stack such that it can't possibly wind up right. We can't even be sure of which one is blown.

You don't need to preload the windows keyboard buffer with this
ALT button press which may be the root cause of the issue.

I'm not sure what you mean here ... Preloading ? How ? I'm not aware of
that (and than, what about the TAB key I also need to press ?).


Excellent example of phase issues, I'm talking about one method and you are talking about a different method only revealed to me after my 2nd round of suggestions has confused you because you didn't let me know your methods in detail. So my advice can't possibly be correct and in order to follow, you have to go back and see where I'm speaking to an issue that isn't yours. Do that to the windows keyboard buffer and you have your problem complete with intermittent aspect too.

I suffer issues with windows only use of ALT-TAB as is, it's kind of a crap shoot and I only win sometimes. Combine that with firefox's inane approach to 'TAB winders is way more better than a new winder' where they confuse the order of open windows purposely to 'encourage' the use of their built in TABs insanity and I want to shoot somebody sometimes.

Earlier you asked for where are the settings if there are any?

I was aiming for GUI settings (as there the problem is most pronounced), but
I'm open to any help I can get. :-)


The issue appears to be two fold at the very least. You want ALTless function in windows with AND without the full screen console minimized. I suspect one simple solution doesn't exist for both uses. I was suggesting a one shot only method and just like fighting indians you can't use your last bullet on anybody else except yourself. That idea then can't possibly work out well.


I'm not sure I'm really a power-user. Its just that some stuff just seems
to work easier in a CLI than in a GUI. *Especially* when you have some
"dump output" you want to view/capture into a file.


In my vernacular you are, it doesn't mean a buddha like knowledge of all things comparable to and 2nd only to God himself, it just means you do that often. End of definition.


If I'm not mistaken NONE of the BIOS calls can be ignored in that manner

I'm afraid you're mistaken. You just have to make sure that you do not
have both active at the same time, as that most likely will cause clashes..
:-)

Sorry, then by definition it's not a legal BIOS call and no software you are likely to be using does illegal direct access as examples given. You can't sell hacks commercially, virus software is looking for these hacks. And principally to the point -- HACKS don't count by definition. DOS is using only proper and legal BIOS calls, until you load DeBug and use it to hack your way around for example. Windows also follows the rules. And those are the rules.

The BIOS is not capable of multitasking anything.


pretty sure now it's just the settings/method you are using

I'm all ears ! ... but are you sure about that ? A sometimes(!)-sticky
key being caused by a setting ?


Do you ever recall such a sticky key checkbox? I don't.


Now I only need to come up with a method to, in a DOS environment, check the
keys current status ...


Good luck finding both DOS keyboard buffer and windows buffer, really seems to be the only way that could work is to clear pending and present key presses on both. DOS for sure had it's keyboard buffer far in advance of the existence of windows and the 32 bit protected mode crowd when they showed up to play would insist on their own keyboard buffer, thus my belief that there will be two buffers to deal with.


Thanks for the suggestions.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

Certainly. If you find a solution please get back with it as it's going to be more than I know about now. Last thought is perhaps an ALT press monitor? Something that would alter it's icon color to indicate ALT has been pressed and/or is a pending key press? Vb script can be running in the background doing this one and only job - perhaps, I'm not entirely fluent in that to say for sure. ALT-TAB would be different than just ALT as a reminder. And this is a rather poor workaround as it still leaves you pressing ALT anyway which was the workaround you don't want.

Of course I can't find my own send_keys examples as they are on another computer not accessible at the moment. Main help came from the help file from vbs 5.6 itself.
Not a whole lot out there still intact, but I did find these two still working.
http://www.billsway.com/vbspage/
http://computerperformance.co.uk/