qbasic(CMD) 19 June 1992 qbasic(CMD) Name qbasic - read instructions written in Basic and interpret them into executable code Syntax qbasic [/b] [/editor] [/g] [/h] [/mbf] [/nohi] [[/run] [drive:][path]filename] Description The qbasic program provides a complete environment for programming in the Basic language. qbasic includes extensive online Help. For more infor- mation about using qbasic, press Enter immediately after starting qbasic or press F1 any time while running qbasic. Parameter [drive:][path]filename Specifies the location and name of the file to load when qbasic starts. Switches /b Displays qbasic in black and white if you have a color monitor. /editor Invokes MS-DOS Editor, a full-screen text editor. /g Provides the fastest update of a CGA monitor. /h Displays the maximum number of display lines possible on your screen. /mbf Converts the built-in functions MKS$, MKD$, CVS, and CVD to MKSMBF$, MKDMBF$, CVSMBF, and CVDMBF, respectively. /nohi Allows the use of a monitor that does not support high-intensity video. Do not use this switch with COMPAQ laptop computers. /run Runs the specified Basic program before displaying it. You must specify a filename. Notes Cannot use MS-DOS editor if MS-DOS qbasic is not present To use MS-DOS Editor, you must have the QBASIC.EXE file in the current directory or in your search path or in the same directory as the EDIT.COM file. If you delete QBASIC.EXE to save space on your hard disk, you can- not use MS-DOS Editor. Running consecutive basic programs You can run consecutive Basic programs from a batch file by using the Basic system statement and the qbasic command with the /run switch. A system statement returns control to MS-DOS after a Basic program has run, instead of returning to qbasic. This allows you to run more than one Basic program from a batch file without having to intervene. Converting a GW-BASIC program to run in qbasic For a basic program that helps convert GW-BASIC programs to qbasic, see the file REMLINE.BAS (included with qbasic). Display of shortcut keys Some monitors may not support the display of shortcut keys by default. If your monitor does not display shortcut keys, use the /b switch (for CGA monitors) and the /nohi switch (for systems that do not support bold characters).