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Double clicking on the form or pressing Alt-A displays an about message on the scratchpad. The scratchpad is how error messages are displayed. If it isn’t working then a message box is used instead.
The Tab key switches between the list box and the text box only, for the convenience of those who like to use the keyboard rather than a mouse.
This contains a list of the files and short cuts in the Tools subfolder. Files without an extension are ignored. Ini files are listed without an extension. The user must ensure that the files are (or contain) valid commands.
Pressing the F1 key will display help on the selected tool, if it is available. Help may be provided by an ini file (see below) or by a text file in the ToolHelp subfolder. Such a file must have the exactly the same name displayed in the tools list and may be a rich or plain text format, i.e. ShowArgs.exe.rtx or ShowArgs.exe.txt. Most console applications will display help when called with no arguments or a '/?', such as Microsoft's xcopy.exe and Robocopy.exe. These can form the basis of a help file.
This is a rich text box. You can enter and edit all most anything you like. There is a selection bar on the left for selecting whole lines with the cursor. It accepts copy & paste and drag & drop from Windows Explorer and other sources. When running a tool, all the text is combined into a single line with new line characters replaced by spaces. If any text is selected (high lighted) then only the selected text is used.
Any file specifications that have embedded spaces must be enclosed in quotation marks. Toolbox will do this automatically where possible but you must take final responsibility.
Checking this option runs the tool with a command prompt in its own window (command or DOS box). This is not always necessary but it is required for:
Input and output redirection.
File associations.
Short cuts.
This option is only available if cmd.exe has been checked. Checking this option keeps the command box open at the end of a run so that you can read the output. If it is unchecked the command box will close immediately your application ends.
This is used to display progress and short error messages. If a message is too long, then it is displayed in the scratchpad as well.
Clicking here reloads the list if you want to add or remove tools without restarting Toolbox.
Clicking here copies the arguments from an ini file to the text box. They can then be amended as required.
Clicking here generates a file name with an absolute address based on the Tmp folder. The name will that displayed for the selected tool, including its extension, but with an extra extension '.txt' added.
If a help file is present, clicking here displays it. Such a file must be called index.htm or ToolboxHelp with an .rtx or .txt file and they are selected in that order of priority. If it is index.htm file Toolbox will use the default browser. Text files will be displayed in a scratchpad. Toolbox is supplied with both index.htm and ToolboxHelp.rtf. It is a simple help system but if you find it unclear it is simple to change it.
Clicking here opens a MDI form with a rich text box. It can be used to store text and displaying error messages and help files. Details are described separately.
Clicking here goes through exactly the same processes as running a tool, but instead of calling the Shell function it displays the argument it would have sent in the status box.
Clicking here processes the arguments and builds the string required to run the selected tool via the Shell function. On completion it displays the tool run and its PID in the status box.
Clicking here closes Toolbox immediately, without any messages or prompts.