Contents |
Effect
Changes the number of characters per line on the screen in text mode.
Can also change the number of lines per screen since COMMAND2.COM 2.40.
The screen will be cleared and the cursor moved to the top left corner in the process.
Syntaxes
- MODE <Width> <Lines>
- MODE <Width>,<Lines>
The last parameter is optional. If you use the second syntax, do not put a comma if no parameters are behind.
Parameters
<Width> is a number between 1 and 80 to specify the number of characters per line you want to have in text mode. The highest value depends on the screen mode currently used and the type of MSX used.
In most cases, MSX-DOS 1 / MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor will start in screen 0 or 1, but the screen mode can optionally be set with SCREEN or CALL KANJI in MSX-BASIC before switching to the DOS environment.
| SCREEN | MSX type | Columns |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | MSX1 (*) | 1-40 |
| MSX2 and higher (*) | 1-80 | |
| 1 | MSX1 and higher | 1-32 |
| 9 | Korean MSX2 | 1-80 |
| KANJI0 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 26-64 |
| KANJI1 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 26-80 |
| KANJI2 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 26-64 |
| KANJI3 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 26-80 |
(*) Special case: the Yamaha CX5MII and CX5MII/128 are MSX1 computers with an additional ROM allowing to use the 80 column text mode.
In most cases:
- If you use a number that is lower than 33 with the MODE command, the computer will switch to screen 1
- If you use a number that is higher than 32 with the MODE command, the computer will switch to screen 0
Exception: No switch to another screen If you use this command in a Kanji screen mode on MSX2+ or Turbo R, but the width
- will be automatically fixed to 26 if the entered number is lower than 26
- will be automatically limited to 64 in Kanji modes 0 and 2 if the entered number is higher than 64
<Lines> is a number between 1 and 26 to specify the number of lines per screen. This parameter is available only since COMMAND2.COM 2.40.
Notes:
- only 24 lines are visible on the screen when you use screen 0, 1, 9, kanji mode 2 or 3
- only 13 lines are visible on the screen when you use kanji mode 0 or 1
- MSX-DOS 2 does not automatically change the screen mode to display the other lines.
Width default values
The default values according the MSX when launching MSX-DOS from MSX-BASIC if you don't have used WIDTH in MSX-BASIC before going to the DOS environment.
| SCREEN | Machines | Default width |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Ascii One Chip MSX (improved) | 80 |
| Ascii One Chip MSX (original) | 40 | |
| Brazilian Ciel and Sharp machines | 39 | |
| Most Brazilian Gradiente machines | 40 | |
| Most European machines | 37 | |
| Japanese, Korean and Russian machines | 39 | |
| 1 | All machines | 29 |
| 9 | Korean MSX2 computers | 80 (even if WIDTH used before) |
| Korean MSX2 consoles | 29 (takes the width of previous text mode) | |
| KANJI0 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 29 (takes the width of previous text mode until the limit possible) |
| KANJI1 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 39 (takes the width of previous text mode until the limit possible) |
| KANJI2 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 29 (takes the width of previous text mode until the limit possible) |
| KANJI3 | Japanese MSX2+ and higher | 39 (takes the width of previous text mode until the limit possible) |
Examples
Under MSX-DOS 1 and higher
A>MODE 80
Under MSX-DOS 2 with COMMAND2.COM 2.40 and higher
A>MODE 40 15
Related to
Compatibility
MSX-DOS 1 with COMMAND.COM, MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor with COMMAND2.COM v2.20 and higher