and to JEAN PARROT!!

 JB> And rightfully so, the batch file is just a way to offload the 
 JB> teadium. The BBS you log into, is likely run by a bunch of batch 
 JB> files. Once you can follow their flow and decision making, it can
 JB> be  very simple to understand.

it only takes time and a mind that can follow the dots ;)

 JB> I know you aren't interested in being a terminal jockey, I was just
 JB> hoping to show how simple it can be. Believe me, if an idiot like 
 JB> myself can toy around with it, a *cat* should be able to too.  
 JB> With the plug-and-go GUI, there is little need to understand it,
 JB> but  I still run BW from a batch file, just to take care of the
 JB> messy bits  of changing my location on the hard drive, and if I'm
 JB> at the CLI, I  just type "bw " and I'm in business.

FWIW: the above is why i'm really replying to this message and hopeing that
Jean will see it to...

you can create a .BAT file and put it in the properties of the shortcut
icon that you click on to run BW rather than opening a CLI and typing it in
manually... many of the programs i run are actually executed from .BAT
files that set up certain things before firing up the desired program...
the only things that really need to be known are the full path and name of
the .BAT file and what contents you want in the .BAT file...

for example: instead of c:\bw\bw.exe
         you might have c:\belfry\loadbw.bat

         c:\belfry\loadbw.bat might contain the following...

         {at}echo off
         echo.
         echo saving old replies
         copy c:\upload\*.rep c:\bw\oldreps
         echo.
         echo loading BlueWave
         cd\bw
         bw
         echo.
         echo exiting bw and closing down
         exit


hope this helps...

)\/(ark