Telephony Software Associates, Inc. TBOS Tester User Notes

Note Two:
Installing TBOS Tester on a WindowsNT system

Summary:  TBOS Tester can be used on host computers equipped with WindowsNT, but requires some manual installation steps that are automatic with Win9x or DOS systems.  These steps are the subject of this note.  A PDF of this note may be downloaded from the TBOS.net document download center.

As might befit a legacy protocol like TBOS, TBOS Tester is a DOS application that runs well under Windows 3.x, Windows 95/98, and Windows NT. TBOS Tester's installation utility detects Win9x and automatically adjusts the installation procedure to accommodate Windows. It does not currently detect WinNT, so a few manual adjustments are necessary to complete the installation process in an NT environment. This note generally describes those adjustments; please contact TSA on (919) 553-8267 or email tsa@tbos.net if you need assistance with this or any aspect of TBOS Tester.


1. To install TBOS Tester into an NT environment, begin by accessing the command prompt. Run the installation utility according to the instructions for DOS, as described in Chapter Two of the TBOS Tester User's Manual. This will create the \TBOS directory and various subdirectories, copy the files from the distribution diskette and decompress them.

2. TBOS Tester uses three "environment variables" to direct the program to the various subdirectories used for help, configuration and log files. These are set in DOS and Win9x by running a "batch file" before the main TBOS Tester program is invoked. WinNT requires you to specify environment variables as system properties. To do this, return to the desktop and right-click on the host computer icon (generally labeled "My Computer", though this name may have been changed). Select "Properties" from the pop-up menu. Click on the tab marked "environment" and a window similar to Figure One should appear.


WinNT set environment window  

Figure One: System properties/environment window

3. Type in TBOS Tester's three environment variables and their values .   These are listed in the following table and should be entered in the "Variable:" and "Value:" fields near the bottom of the window. Click the "Set" button after each variable/value pair has been typed in. The variables will be added to the list of "User variables". The values assume TBOS Tester has been installed into the standard directory on the c: drive (c:\TBOS).

Variable
Value
TCFG
c:\tbos\configs
THLP
c:\tbos\help
TLOG
c:\tbos\logs

After the last variable and value has been set, click "Apply" and then "Okay" to close the properties window.

4. Now create a shortcut to TBOS Tester .   From your desktop using any of the various methods of shortcut creation. Be sure to use the main TBOS Tester program ("tbosv4.exe") as the shortcut target. An MSDOS icon labeled "Shortcut to tbosv4.exe" should be placed on the desktop. Right-click on this icon and open the "Properties" dialog box. Click the "Program" tab and then the "change icon" button. Click "browse" and navigate to the c:\tbos directory. A file named tbos.dll should be present; select it and then click on "Apply". After a few moments the MSDOS icon should be replaced by the TBOS Tester icon. The label ("Shortcut to tbosv4.exe") can be changed if desired to something shorter by left-clicking once on the label text. The text should be highlighted; now key in the desired icon label (e.g. "TBOS Tester"). Press <Enter> to apply the change.

5. Test the installation by double clicking on the TBOS Tester icon. If the installation is correct a window should open displaying TBOS Tester's opening screen (including the Registered User and serial number for this copy of the program) in white on blue. Press any key to proceed to the next screen, the alarm grid for Display One. If you receive error messages such as "error opening tbos.pro" and "error opening tbos.cfg" the environment variables have not been correctly set. Contact TSA for assistance.

6. Other options :  you can toggle between a window display and a full screen display (for TBOS Tester or any other DOS application) by pressing <Alt-Enter>. You can also adjust the window size (font), whether the program opens in a window or as a full screen, and whether the TBOS window automatically closes when the program is terminated. Each of these adjustments can be made from the properties dialog box. Right-click on the TBOS desktop icon, select "Properties" and then the appropriate tabs to access the adjustments.

7. You can also run TBOS Tester from the command prompt instead of using the desktop shortcut. This method is preferred should you need to use any of the command line options discussed at the beginning of Chapter Nine of the TBOS Tester User's Manual. The environment variables should already be set if steps 2 and 3 above have been completed. Simply change to the c:\tbos directory and then run the main program by typing "tbosv4" at the command prompt (plus any desired command line options). If the environment variables have not been set, first type "setenvc" at the command prompt to run the batch file that sets the variables. Then run the main TBOSv4 executable. Note that command line options that are regularly used can be incorporated into the properties of the desktop icon, if desired.


Thank you for using TBOS Tester. Please contact TSA on (919) 553-8267 at any time or email tsa@tbos.net if you need assistance installing or operating TBOS Tester. Additional resources can be accessed from http://www.tbos.net.

 

Telephony Software Associates, Inc.

4701 Willowtree Lane
Clayton, NC 27520
United States of America

(919) 553-TBOS [553-8267]
fax: (919) 553-9095
tsa@tbos.net

This page last updated 1 August 1999.