MS DOS Command: MENUITEM

Reference from Microsoft MS-DOS cmd help

Description

Defines an item on the startup menu. You can use this command only within a menu block in your CONFIG.SYS file. You can have up to nine menu items per menu.

The startup menu is a list of choices that appears when you start your computer. You define a startup menu by using special CONFIG.SYS commands. Each item on the menu corresponds to a set of CONFIG.SYS commands called a "configuration block." A startup menu makes it possible to start your computer with a variety of configurations. For more information about defining multiple configurations, see the chapter "Configuring Your System" in the MS-DOS User's Guide.

Syntax

MENUITEM=blockname[,menu_text]

Parameters

blockname

Specifies the name of the associated configuration block. The block must be defined elsewhere in the CONFIG.SYS file. If the menu item is selected from the startup menu, MS-DOS carries out the commands in the associated configuration block, as well as any commands at the beginning of the CONFIG.SYS file and any commands in configuration blocks with the [common] header. If MS-DOS cannot find a block with the specified name, the item does not appear on the startup menu. The block name can be up to 70 characters long and can contain most printable characters. It cannot include spaces, backslashes (\), forward slashes (/), commas, semicolons (;), equal signs (=), or square brackets ([ and ]).

menu_text

Specifies the text you want MS-DOS to display for this menu item. If you don't specify any menu text, MS-DOS displays the block name as the menu item. The menu text can be up to 70 characters long and can contain any characters you want.

Related Commands

The MENUITEM command is one of six special CONFIG.SYS commands for defining startup menus and multiple configurations. The other menu-definition commands are:

• The MENUDEFAULT command, which specifies the default menu item.
• The MENUCOLOR command, which defines the color of the menu's text and screen background.
• The SUBMENU command, which defines a submenu.
• The NUMLOCK command, which specifies the state of the NUM LOCK key when the startup menu appears. (Although NUMLOCK can be used anywhere in the CONFIG.SYS file, it is especially useful when defining a startup menu.)
• The INCLUDE command, which includes the contents of one configuration block in another. This command cannot be included in a menu block.

For an overview of the procedure for defining multiple configurations, see the topic Commands for Defining Multiple Configurations

Remarks

Defining menu blocks

A menu block is a set of menu-definition commands that begins with a block header--the name of the block enclosed in square brackets. To have a startup menu, your CONFIG.SYS file must contain a menu block that has the [menu] block header.

You can use the SUBMENU command to define submenus. Each submenu has its own menu block, which can be named anything you want.

A menu block must contain at least one MENUITEM or SUBMENU command.

Number of items on the startup menu

MS-DOS displays the menu items in the order they appear in the menu block and numbers them automatically. The first menu item is always number 1 on the menu; there can be up to nine items. If you need to define more than nine menu items, use the SUBMENU command.

Examples

The following [menu] block defines a startup menu with two items, Apples and Oranges:

[menu]

menuitem=Apples

menuitem=Oranges

When MS-DOS starts, the menu will appear as follows:

MS-DOS Startup Menu

===================

 

1. Apples

2. Oranges

 

Enter a choice: 1

The following [MENU] block defines a startup menu with three items and specifies menu text for each item:

[menu]

menuitem=base_config,Base configuration only

menuitem=full_config,Normal configuration

menuitem=net_config,Normal configuration with network

In this example, the first item corresponds to the [base_config] configuration block, the second to the [full_config] block, and the third to the [net_config] block. When MS-DOS starts, it displays the following menu:

MS-DOS Startup Menu

===================

 

1. Base configuration only

2. Normal configuration

3. Normal configuration with network

 

Enter a choice: 1