DOS programs have slow typing response in command prompt window

[jim]

Run any older style DOS program through the command prompt
window on XP and print appears on the screen annoyingly
behind the time you type it, i.e., you type about 3 or 4
keystrokes before you see anything and when screen output
does appear, all 3 or 4 strokes appear at once, and so
forth. Same DOS programs did not do this through the DOS
prompt window on 95 or 98. Interestingly, if you run
command prompt window in full-screen (e.g., hit alt-enter)
this phenonenon goes away and you see the smooth
instantaneous screen output you're supposed to. Why? How
can this be remedied?

 

[Michael R. McKenney]

Jim:

I have the exact same problem. I am a certified medical
transcriptionist and still use WP5.1 for DOS as my main "work horse."
(It is the best word processing system ever written for my profession).
At any rate, I do have many Windows-based programs such as medical
dictionary, medical specialty word books, Rx drug books, etc. that I use
and usually "toggle" back and forth between WP 5.1 for DOS and the
windows programs. It would be much easier if I could just leave the WP
in a window and not have to make it in command prompt full screen. I am
able to make the size of the command prompt window for WP 5.1 a decent
size but as you say, there is about a 3 or 4 keystroke delay. If you
every do find an answer for this, please eMail me, and I will do the
same for you.

Thanks!

Michael McKenney, CMT
Milwaukee, WI

 

[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 20:46:24 -0800, "jim"

Run any older style DOS program through the command prompt
window on XP and print appears on the screen annoyingly
behind the time you type it, i.e., you type about 3 or 4
keystrokes before you see anything and when screen output
does appear, all 3 or 4 strokes appear at once, and so
forth. Same DOS programs did not do this through the DOS
prompt window on 95 or 98. Interestingly, if you run
command prompt window in full-screen (e.g., hit alt-enter)
this phenonenon goes away and you see the smooth
instantaneous screen output you're supposed to. Why? How
can this be remedied?

Screen handling is very different when the text-mode application is
windowed, compared to run in full-screen mode.

In full-screen mode, the display is set to the expected text mode and
text is written directly to display memory, as nature intended. NT
does not "editorialize" this, so the characters you see will be from
the SVGA card's own OEM character set.

When windowed, NT intercepts the text stream and takes over the
display thereof; each character is rendered in a Windows font, and
this is done using the ANSI character set.

The latter is inherently slow, but just how slow may depend on a
couple of things; the SVGA display card's Windows drivers, and the
efficiency (or lack thereof) in the way the program does the screen
writes. What was efficient when running natively may be less so when
emulated, i.e. some patterns of calls may inflict a greater overhead
in the emulation process.

For example, there may be an overhead when starting and ending the
output of a text string to the display. If text is displayed in
bursts by the application, this overhead is applied once per string.
But if the app displays one character at a time, the overhead may be
applied for each character as a separate output operation.

You may find raster fonts faster than TrueType, FWIW.

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[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

On Sun, 01 Feb 2004 15:21:41 -0600, "Michael R. McKenney"

I have the exact same problem. I am a certified medical
transcriptionist and still use WP5.1 for DOS as my main "work horse."
(It is the best word processing system ever written for my profession).

What's your profession, cryptopgraphy? <g>

Nah, IKWYM; WP prolly has the power to manage often-used oddball text
as macro-expanded keywords etc. without being dumb enough to auto-run
macros so you have to disable the feature for same attachment
handling. But sheesh, you needed WP's training and hand-holding
support to get past their bizzarre choice of hotkeys!

At any rate, I do have many Windows-based programs such as medical
dictionary, medical specialty word books, Rx drug books, etc. that I use
and usually "toggle" back and forth between WP 5.1 for DOS and the
windows programs. It would be much easier if I could just leave the WP
in a window and not have to make it in command prompt full screen.

Yes; one of the problems I had with that was mouse movement; the
scaling of this does not "mesh" with Windows or work properly unless I
went to full-screen mode.

I am able to make the size of the command prompt window for
WP 5.1 a decent size but as you say, there is about a 3 or 4
keystroke delay.

I don't type that fast, but I can see for someone who has logged the
hours required to master WP 5.1, this is very likely to be a problem -
and macros that expand text will make it worse.

If you every do find an answer for this, please eMail me,

....and post here...

and I will do the same for you.

I have a feeling the answer will lie in one or both of:
- .pif property settings, e.g. raster vs. TrueType fonts etc.
- SVGA card chipsets and drivers

These days, SVGA cards are orientated towards 3D games, games, games,
and sometimes they have become weaker to dysfunctional in
bread-and-butter SVGA - especially support for text modes.

So some indication of which modern SVGA cards suck least would help.

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