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SCO Shell provides two top level menu items to enable you to run other programs; Utility and Application. In general, a utility is a small program that provides you with some useful information about the computer or allows you to do a particular task. For example, a utility might tell you who else is logged on, or where a file with a given name is stored. Applications are larger programs (such as word processors, spreadsheets or databases) that you interact with in depth. SCO Shell comes with three applications; the electronic mail program described in the Mail and Messaging Guide, a calculator (see ``Using the Calculator'') , and a calendar (see ``Using the Calendar'' for details).
For an explanation of how to run a utility or application, see ``What utilities are available'' and ``What applications are available'' respectively. (Alternatively, select the Application or Utility main menu items, select the program you want to run, and press <Enter>.)
You can issue commands from SCO Shell if you are familiar with this way of running programs. Type an exclamation mark (!) then enter your command and press <Enter>. When the program has completed, SCO Shell will resume.
When you run an application or utility, you interact with the program instead of SCO Shell. The SCO Shell waits until the program you have invoked finishes before accepting any more commands; consequently, if you run an application that does not follow the standard SCO Shell keystrokes (such as a word processor from another company, or the text editor vi), you may find yourself in unfamiliar territory until you quit the application. A golden rule, that you should follow before running an unfamiliar application, is to look up how to leave the program and make a note of it. Otherwise you may have difficulty returning to the SCO Shell.