Below are the steps for the special installation of DOSBox. This installation will allow you to enter and exit Score, Scorlas, Page, etc. directly from the native CMD window of XP, Vista, or Windows7. This in turn will allow you to run 32-bit utilities such as Editscor at the resulting prompt, something that is not possible when using DOSBox standardly. It also solves most speed issues in Score when run in DOSBox.
This configuration does *NOT* have the special Windows drop-down menus that Juergen illustrated in his YouTube videos (SCORE with menus!). Those enhancements are available at Juergen's site www.scorbox.com. The configuration on this page, however, is the basis of that configuration, and will solve most other problems associated with running Score within DOSBox, regardless of the operating system in use.
My aim is to provide a configuration that works on all systems, so please let me know if you encounter any problems.
Download this ZIP file: http://home.comcast.net/~tom.brodhead/AADBOX.ZIP
Don't unzip just yet--that comes in step 5, below.
Obtain and install version 0.74 of DOSBox, which is FREE: www.dosbox.com
DOSBox by default will install in C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.74 ; I have mine in C:\DOSBox-0.74 ...Please make note of where you've installed it.
Create a subdirectory named AADBOX off of your main Score directory.
If you're using Score 3.11, the main Score directory is typically C:\SCORE; in that case, create C:\SCORE\AADBOX
If you're using Scor4, the main Score directory is typically C:\SCOR4; in that case, create C:\SCOR4\AADBOX
Edit your PATH statement to include BOTH the location of DOSBox and your AADBOX directories.
Note: This is a procedure that is valid for accessing the PATH in XP. Vista and Windows7 may require a slightly different procedure.
Examples: If you installed DOSBox in its default location and you've created AADBOX off of C:\SCORE, then your path should end with:
...C:\Whatever\Comes\Last;C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.74;C:\Score\AADBOX
If you installed DOSBox in C:\DOSBox-0.74 and you've created AADBOX off of C:\SCOR4, then your path should end with:
...C:\Whatever\Comes\Last;C:\DOSBox-0.74;C:\Scor4\AADBOX
etc.
Move the AADBOX.ZIP file (downloaded in Step 1 above) to your AADBOX directory.
Unzip AADBOX in that directory; it should now contain:
Your AADBOX directory should always contain these files. When DOSBox is in use, some additional, temporary files will be created in this directory that will be deleted automatically when the DOSBox session is closed.
Open DB.BAT in a text editor.
Scroll down about 35 lines, and you should see this section:
setlocal
set DBDIR=c:\score\aadbox
set DBPATH=c:\score;c:\lib;c:\scor4;c:\scor4\lib
The line that begins with set DBDIR= should state the location of your AADBOX directory. Edit it so that it does.
The line that begins with set DBPATH= should list the location of your Score executables and symbol library. Edit it so that it does.
Save DB.BAT and exit.
If SCORE and the various directories specified in Step 6 above are *not* on your C drive, you need to edit both the LAUNCH.TOM and LAUNCH.SC4 files in the AADBOX directory.
At the bottom of both LAUNCH files you will find this entry:
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
@echo off
mount c c:\
c:
SET dircmd=/w /p
The MOUNT statement (mount c c:\) and the drive change command that follows it (c:) should indicate the drive letter where your SCORE directories are located. If they are on your D: drive, then the two lines should appear this way:
mount d d:\
d:
Likewise, if your SCORE directories are on your Z drive, the two lines should appear this way:
mount z z:\
z:
etc.
This edit should be performed in the [autoexec] section of both LAUNCH.TOM and LAUNCH.SCR.
Create a dedicated desktop shortcut to a SMALL (i.e. standard, non-full-screen) CMD window. This will be a DEDICATED CMD Window for launching DOSBox. Always open this CMD window for launching Score/Page/Scorlas/etc. within DOSBox:
Note: This is a procedure that is valid in XP. Vista and Windows7 may require a slightly different procedure.
Open the CMD window created in Step 8. Navigate to a directory containing Score files you'd like to edit by using the CD command.
Now, if you're using Score 3.11, enter the following at the prompt:
db score
If you're using Scor4, enter the following at the prompt:
db scor4
In either case, the Score program should launch. (If it doesn't, review the steps above. If it still doesn't, contact me.)
When you exit Score, you should exit directly to the same CMD Window from which you launched Score.
To launch Scorlas, enter:
db scorlas
To launch Page4, enter:
db page4
In general, to launch any of the Score program EXE's, just enter DB, a space, and then the name of the program in question.
To force SCORE/SCOR4 to open a specific file immediately upon executing, state the filename after SCORE/SCOR4, like this:
db scor4 myfile
(Up to 8 command-line parameters may be stated after the program name.)
If you execute DB.BAT without specifying a program name, it will display the following help screen:
This batch file executes any DOS utility using DOSBox.
Syntax:
DB [ProgramName] [Parameters]
For example, executing:
db score
...will execute SCORE 3.11 in a DOSBox session, and:
db scor4 x.mus
...will open the file X.MUS in SCOR4 in a DOSBox session
There are a maximum of 8 parameters that may be specified following the name of the program.
If you'd like a larger DOSBox window, open LAUNCH.TOM and LAUNCH.SC4. In each file, about 24 lines down you should find this paragraph:
# For a larger window size, try 1600x900
windowresolution=1024x768
#windowresolution=1600x900
The # sign delimits a comment in DOSBox configuration file. Put # in front of the "windowresolution=1024x768" line and remove the # at the front of the "#windowresolution=1600x900" line, so that the paragraph looks like this:
# For a larger window size, try 1600x900
#windowresolution=1024x768
windowresolution=1600x900
Save LAUNCH.TOM and LAUNCH.SC4 and close.
The default DB.BAT positions the DOSBox window approximately at the upper left hand corner of the screen. If you would like to position it elsewhere, you only need to edit one line in the DB.BAT file.
Open DB.BAT and look for the line that states:
start position DOSBox/10/10
This executes POSITION.EXE in a separate window and forces it to look for any window that appears within 3 seconds that has "DOSBox" as its title bar text. It then moves that window to position x=10, y=10 (where x=0, y=0 are the upper left hand corner of the screen, an inversion of the standard x-y Cartesian grid.) Edit the "10/10" to whatever x-y position you desire and save DB.BAT. (Make sure that your coordinates are separated with a forward slash /, not a hyphen - .)
Happy DOSBoxing!
Please let me know about your successes and/or failures with this method. I will try to refine it where I can.
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For more information, write to Tom Brodhead at tom.brodhead@comcast.net
This page last updated 20 February 2012
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