Bypassing the ABS Main Menu

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If desired, you can bypass the ABS main menu and create separate Windows icons/shortcuts to run individual ABS programs or functions. The ABS Program Listing contains a list and descriptions of each ABS executable program. When setting up Windows shortcuts, these are the programs to specify in the “Command Line” or “Target” field when you desire to run a single program separately, bypassing the ABS main menu.

Download ABSFILES.PDF for a complete list all ABS programs to determine which program relates to which function. For assistance, contact Keystone Systems.

The steps for this procedure are shown below. Our example illustrates creating a shortcut for the Inventory Receipts program in Windows 98 (the procedure is the same for other versions of Windows). The ABS software has been installed on network drive K, and the user is going to run from their local drive C.

1) Decide which program/function you want to set up a shortcut for, then refer to the ABS Program Listing for the program name. In our example, the Inventory Receipts program name is WINVR.EXE.

2) Decide on a unique folder name, under \ABS, where the user will execute the program from (i.e., C:\ABS\RECEIPTS). This folder can be local or on the network, but must not already exist.

3) Activate Windows Explorer and create the folder name decided upon in Step #2:

Close or minimize Windows Explorer and return to the Windows desktop.

4) In an open area on the desktop, click on the right mouse button and select “NEW SHORTCUT” from the menu options:

The ABS.INI file must first be created. Therefore, you want the shortcut to initially run “WABSINI.EXE”. This program will be in the \TASK folder, on the drive where ABS was installed. If this drive is known, enter [drive]:\TASK\WABSINI.EXE, or click on “Browse” to locate and select “WABSINI.EXE”. In our example, the ABS software was installed on network drive K:

Click on “Next” to continue. You can name the shortcut whatever function you intend to end up running. In our example, this is “ABS Inventory Receipts”:

Click on “Finish” to create the shortcut and return to the Windows desktop. You should now have a shortcut similar to this:

5) Highlight this icon, click on the right mouse button and select “Properties” from the menu options. The “Shortcut” tab should be similar to the example shown below:

IMPORTANT: The next step is critical, and must be followed. The “Start In” folder must be changed to reflect the folder you created in Step #3 (i.e., C:\ABS\RECEIPTS). This folder must be unique from every other ABS shortcut's “Start In” folder. The folder must be one other than \TASK and must be unique for each ABS user). You may also want to set the “Run” field to “Maximized”.

Next, click on the “Change Icon” button and the following message will appear:

Click on “OK” and the “Change Icon” dialog will appear. In the “File name” field, enter [drive]:\TASK\ABS.ICO and click on “OK”. The ABS icon will appear in the “Current icon” field, as shown below:

Click on “OK” again to select the icon and return to the “SHORTCUT” properties. The shortcut should now look similar to the following example:

Click on “OK” to save the properties and return to the desktop.

6) Next, launch the icon to create the ABS.INI file. The following message will be displayed:

Click on “OK” to continue, and the following dialog will be displayed:

Refer to “Creating the ABS.INI File” for complete details on setting the values in this file.

7) After the ABS.INI file has been created, highlight the icon again, click on the right mouse button and select “Properties”. You can now enter the ABS program name you want to run in the “Target” field. The final shortcut should look similar to the following:

REMINDER: Multiple shortcuts can be created to bypass the ABS main menu. However, each shortcut must have a different working folder (“Start in” area) specified. You cannot run more than one (1) ABS program at a time in the same working folder without encountering problems.