It seems obligitory for all sites to toss in a "Tips and Tricks" article somewhere on their site. Here's ours. These are mainly gleaned from all the other resources with a couple of original ones added. This document will be continuously updated as new tips are found.

AUTOMATING UNZIP.EXE

Put UNZIP.EXE somewhere in your path. (already in path by default in eCS 1.0)

Create a program object for UNZIP.EXE

In the parameters space in the properties of the program object put "%* -d%**N" (minus the quotes)

On the association page add the association to *.zip files.

Now when you double click on a ZIP file a subdirectory with the same name as the ZIP file is created and all the files are extracted to that directory.

DOING THE SAME THING WITH RAR COMRESSION

Put RAR.EXE somewhere in your path.

Create a program object for RAR.EXE

In the parameters space in the properties of the program object put "x %* %**N\" (minus the quotes)

On the association page add the association to *.rar files.

Now when you double click on a RAR file a subdirectory with the same name as the RAR archive is created and all the files are extracted to that directory.

QUICK RENAMING OF A FILE

The most convenient way to rename a file in eCS is to hold down the alt key then left click on the file. The file name will go into edit mode and you can rename it. When done just click anywhere but on the file you were renaming (just don't hit enter or have a two line file name).

ADDING COLOR TO YOUR eCS COMMAND PROMPTS (WINDOW AND FULL SCREEN)

Add the following statement to your CONFIG.SYS file:

SET PROMPT=$e[31;40m$e[1m[$p]$e[0m

This will give you a more colorful command prompt (red).

For a green prompt, try:

SET PROMPT=$e[32;40m$e[1m[$P]$e[0m

STOP THE OPERATING SYSTEM FROM NAGGING THAT A DRIVE ISN'T READY

Add this line to your CONFIG.SYS file:

AUTOFAIL=YES
SUPPRESSPOPUPS=C: (or whatever your boot drive letter is)

AUTOMATICALLY RESTART THE SYSTEM WHEN A TRAP OR INTERNAL PROCESSING ERROR OCCURS

Add this line to your config.sys file: 

REIPL=ON

If the machine crashes, istead of sitting there at a trap message it wil rebbot. Handy for web servers you need up at all times.

FORCE THE "DIR" COMMAND TO DISPLAY DIRECTORIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, WITH THE SUBDIRECTORIES LISTED FIRST

Edit your CONFIG.SYS file so that SET DIRCMD looks like this:

SET DIRCMD=/O:GN

If you don't run DOS/Windows TCP/IP programs, then you can remove the DOS TCP/IP support. 

The relevant lines in CONFIG.SYS are:

REM DEVICE=C:\tcpip\bin\vdostcp.vdd
REM DEVICE=C:\tcpip\bin\vdostcp.sys
REM RUN=C:\tcpip\bin\VDOSCTL.EXE

HOW TO RESTORE A DAMAGED CONFIG.SYS FILE FROM A BACKUP COPY.

 In eComStation, Serenity provides an archive feature which can be activated by opening your Desktop settings, click on the Archive Tab, and then click on "Create archive at every system restart" With this feature activated, you can simply press Alt+F1 at boot and be presented with a menu which will allow you to boot with an alternate (backup) config.sys file. See your user documentation for details.

CHANGE THE APPEARANCE OF THE eCOMCENTER CLOCK

This is in eComStation by default, so I guess it's more of an eCS tip to say you can remove this line for a more plain clock.

Edit your CONFIG.SYS file and add the line:

SET SCUSEPRETTYCLOCK=ON

This produces an attractive clock (black background with green numbers).

DISPLAY LIST OF ACTIVE PROCESSES

Edit your CONFIG.SYS file and add the line

SET KILLFEATUREENABLED=ON

Reboot the computer, then press the CONTROL key and click on the Window List icon in the eComCenter using the left mouse-button. This will display all of the active processes and allows you to kill processes if you so desire.

AUTOMATIC MENUS FOR THE WARP CENTER

Add the following statement to your CONFIG.SYS file to enable automatic pull-down menus from the eComCenter (a la Win95):

SET MENUSFOLLOWPOINTER=ON

Reboot the computer and you're ready.

UNDELETING FILES

OS/2 provides the means to UNDELETE files at the eCS command line (a little known trick that many users overlook). To do this, you must first edit the CONFIG.SYS file which comes with a DELDIR statement that is REMarked out (commented out), thereby disabling it; such as:

REM SET DELDIR=C:\DELETE,512;D:\DELETE,512;E:\DELETE,512;

Simply remove the "REM" statement, so that it now appears as:

SET DELDIR=C:\DELETE,512;D:\DELETE,512;E:\DELETE,512;

Next, create a DELETE directory (MD DELETE) on each drive that you want to use this feature on. In the example above, drives C, D, and E are listed.

Instructions: After you have deleted a file (by accident or by purpose), simply go to the eCS command line (window or full screen) and the directory where the file was deleted and type the UNDELETE command; for example:

C:\UNDELETE (file name)

The computer will then prompt you to confirm your undelete of the file. For more information on this feature, type at the eCS command line: HELP UNDELETE

SIZING eCS WINDOWS

Have you ever wanted an eCS window to be sized to a certain dimension (height and width) upon launch (start)? Or have you ever wanted to have the window maximized or positioned to a certain area on the screen at time of launch? The secret to this is the SHIFT key.

To size an eCS window, launch the window then hold the shift key down; use the mouse sizing frame to size the window, then release the shift key. The next time you launch an eCS window it will be sized accordingly.

To maximize the window, perform the same type of operation: launch the eCS window, hold the shift key down, maximize the window, and release the shift key. To position the maximized window: hold the shift key down, click on the title-bar and drag the window to where you want it positioned, then release the shift key.

To negate the window move/sizing, simply press Shift + right-click the mouse on the windows Maximize box (upper right hand corner). NOTE: This only works on eCS Window command prompts.

DISPLAYING THE eCOMCENTER

If your desktop becomes cluttered and you can't easily see and access the eComCenter (due to windows covering it), to bring it foreground, simply double-click on any "free" space on the eCS desktop.

CONCATENATING FILES

To concatenate a set of files (add one file to another and another, etc.), go to the eCS command line (full screen or window) and use the COPY command along with the plus (+) and equal (=) operators to string
files together. For example:

COPY FILE_1.TXT + FILE_2.TXT + FILE_3.TXT = FILE_4.TXT

In the example above, the first three files will remain unchanged. The last file (FILE_4.TXT) can either be a new file (created by the command) or an existing file that is appended.

MOUSE BUTTON TAP TO COPY/PASTE TO/FROM eCS CLIPBOARD

A convenient technique for performing the copy/paste functions with nothing more than the two mouse buttons:

Using the left mouse button, select text or graphic then tap the right mouse button. This copies the selected text or graphic to the
clipboard.

Position the cursor accordingly with the right mouse button and tap the left button. This then performs a paste from the clipboard.

This technique works for most text/graphic windows in native eCS programs, including the EPM Enhanced Editor, DeScribe, Lotus Word Pro & Freelance, Netscape, or in an eCS Window or Full Screen. Surprisingly, it does not work in the eCS System Editor.