Contents Screen
Netscape Cache Browser Help

Welcome to the Netscape Cache Browser

version 1.0

08/15/95

Copyright © 1995, Michelangelo Policarpo

internet: mpolik@mutinanet.shiny.it

Fidonet: 2:332/503.3

This powerful tool allows you to browse, view and recover all the resources cached on disk by Netscape.

Its use is quite simple, just select a Netscape cache FAT file (index) and refresh the resource list to use all the resources cached by Netscape. You can then view a resource in list, export it (or a selection) to the destination directory or get informations about it.

All the available commands can be accessed using the standard menu system or the mouse-driven toolbar.


Selecting an index

 Changing the reference index for the cached resources list allows you to browse different caches for different Netscape installations on the same PC.

This command pops up a new window for the selection of the desired file. If no index is selected, NCB searches it in  the directory currently used by Netscape. To update the list, you must then refresh it.


Refreshing the cached resources list

 If the Auto reload option is not enabled, you need to manually refresh the contents of the cached resources list with this command at startup or after you selected a new index.

You may however need to refresh the list whenever you want to align its contents to the disk cache (after starting or closing Netscape).

The progress of the operation is displayed in the meter panel.


The cached resources list
Cached resources list

This list shows, when refreshed, all the resources referenced by the selected cache index. You can view them, or export to a destination.

See Selecting resources to learn how NCB lets you select the resources in this list.


Viewing the focused resource

 When the cached resources list has been refreshed (either manually, with the Refresh list command, or automatically, if the Auto reload option is selected), you can directly focus one of the resources and view it by double-clicking the item, or pressing Enter.

Due to the unavailability of a freeware VCL component or VBX, the view option for JPEG files is not yet implemented (the View focused resource button is disabled).


Exporting resources

 When the cached resources list has been refreshed, all the selected resources referenced by the current cache index can be exported to the chosen destination.

If a resource with the same DOS name has already been exported to that destination, a new file will be created for the new resource.


The destination panel
Destination

This panel can be used to specify the directory in which all the resources referenced by the selected cache index can be exported with the export command. You can also create new directories with the Create subdirectory button.


Informations about NCB

 This command pops up a dialog with all the informations about the making of NCB.


Current cache index

The status line displays the currently selected cache index. This can be changed selecting another cache index.


Main menu

Here follows the description of all the menus.

File menu

Edit menu

Select menu

View menu

Options menu

Help menu

If you are using the mouse, you can find useful shorcuts on the toolbar.


File menu

Items available:

Select index

Refresh list

Back to main menu


Edit menu

Items available:

Export selected

Create subdirectory

Back to main menu


Select menu

Selections available:

All resources

Gif resources

Jpeg resources

Xbm resources

Html resources

Txt resources

Any other resource

Back to main menu


View menu

Items available:

Resource

Info on selected

Back to main menu


Options menu

Items available:

Auto reload

Back to main menu


Help menu

Items available:

Contents

About

Back to main menu


Creating subdirectories

With this command you can create new subdirectories on the fly, to better manage any exported resource. When requested, the button changes to an input line and the destination directory will be the new one entered.


Enter a new subdirectory name

In this input box you can specify a new subdirectory name. This will be created as a child of the current directory specified in the destination panel.


Auto reload option

When this option is selected, each time you start NCB or select a new index, the cached resources list is automatically refreshed.


Getting informations for selected resources

 There are a lot of informations available about the resources, including internet source and cached resource status. You can get these informations for any number of selected resources.

To access the informations panel you can also use the popup menu, obtained with a right click on the cached resources list


Selecting resources

You can select a sequence of items dragging the mouse over the list and pressing the left button together with the shift key. To select non consecutive items, you only need to hold down the Ctrl key while clicking each item.

NCB also provides an easy way to select all the resources of the same type in the cached resources list: here we have buttons for the most common file formats, to select all the resources in list, or to select any other entry.

The progress of the operation on selection is displayed in the meter panel.


Meter indicator

This panel shows the completion percentage of the current operation. It is actually active when you are refreshing the cache index or when you requested an extended selection for the cached resources list.


The toolbar
Toolbar

Here is the description of the toolbar.

 Select the cache index

 Refresh the cached resources list

 View the focused resource

 Get informations for the selected resources

 Export the selected resources to the destination directory

 Show credits for the program

 Show NCB help

If you are using the keyboard, you can even get help on the menu system