Copyright: ashampoo
Citation: ashampoo


ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- Getting Started
I. ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- Getting Started

Welcome to ZipMan 99 DELUXE! This program is a system extension for Windows® 95/98* that makes working with files in compressed archives as easy as using the Windows® Explorer!

The first section of this help file introduces the basic functions and operation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE. To help you get the most out of this powerful program please do take the time to study both this chapter and the following sections carefully. You will find that it is really worth the effort, and you'll be surprised just how much ZipMan can do for you.

I.1. Introduction

I.2. Installing ZipMan 99 DELUXE

I.3. ZipMan 99 DELUXE Nuts and Bolts

a) Virtual directories for easy and efficient access to archives

b) The ZipMan virtual device driver (VxD)

c) Configuring ZipMan 99 DELUXE for your individual needs

d) Application examples -- understanding ZipMan 99 DELUXE in 5 easy steps

I.4. Uninstalling ZipMan 99 DELUXE

I.5. Support

*Important: ZipMan 99 DELUXE does not run under Windows® NT!


Introduction

I.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- Getting Started

I.1. Introduction

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is a system extension for Windows® 95/98 that gives you direct access to the files stored in compressed files, which are generally known as "archives". ZipMan 99 DELUXE is fully integrated in Windows® 95/98, giving you direct and efficient access to the contents of archives, both in the Windows® Explorer and in at the DOS prompt. You can compress and extract archives, display their contents and even open and execute files directly from the archives without unpacking them first. In fact, ZipMan enables you to work with the contents of archives in almost exactly the same way as files in ordinary folders.

ZipMan 99 DELUXE supports all the following standard archive formats:

- ARJ archives with the .arj extension

- LHA archives with the .lzh extension

- RAR archives with the .rar extension

- TAR archives with the .tar extension

- TGZ archives with the .tgz extension

- ZIP archives with the .zip extension

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE can create self-extracting archives in ARJ, LHA, RAR and ZIP formats. (Useful for sending compressed data to people who don't have the necessary programs to extract archives.)

- You can also use ZipMan 99 DELUXE to split large ZIP archives and "span" them across multiple data media (e.g. floppy disks). These "multi-volume" or "spanned" archives can then be extracted from the floppies or recombined into a single archive later. (Useful for mailing larger amounts of data that won't fit on one floppy.)

Important notes: Password-protected archives and nested archives (archives stored in other archives) are not supported. When ZipMan 99 DELUXE generates or modifies RAR archives they are automatically stored in the RAR 1.55 non-solid format. Solid format RAR archives can only be read, they cannot be modified or written with ZipMan 99 DELUXE.

To get the most out of ZipMan 99 DELUXE please study this guide carefully and familiarize yourself with the operation of the program. In addition to the program functions, which are illustrated with practical examples, the guide also includes detailed descriptions and solutions for typical problems that you may encounter in various situations. So please do take the time to read the entire guide at least once -- it really will help you to use ZipMan 99 DELUXE to the full.

Support is available at the following addresses:

Fax:	+49 (0)441 93379 79
Support:	http://www.ashampoo.com/support
Website:	http://www.ashampoo.com


Installing ZipMan 99 DELUXE

I.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- Getting Started

I.2. Installing ZipMan 99 DELUXE

Important! You must complete the entire installation procedure described below before you can use ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- you can't just copy the program files into a folder and then run it. The files that enable ZipMan 99 DELUXE to access archives directly as though they were directories have to be copied to specific locations and configured to integrate the program in Windows®, and this work is performed by the installation program.

To install ZipMan 99 DELUXE on your computer under Windows® 95/98, first locate the folder containing the ZipMan distribution files and then execute the file SETUP.EXE. The installation program will then interactively guide you through the individual installation steps. Please proceed as follows:

Installing from a floppy disk or CD-ROM

Insert the floppy disk or CD containing the ZipMan 99 DELUXE distribution files in the appropriate drive and then select Run in the Windows® 95/98 Start menu. Then type the path of the file SETUP.EXE in the Run dialog box. For example, if the ZipMan 99 DELUXE distribution files are on a CD in drive D: you would enter:

D:\SETUP.EXE

Then and press Enter or click on OK to start the installation program. (Note: If the ZipMan 99 DELUXE files are in a different directory or a subdirectory on the CD-ROM you must enter the entire path.)

Rebooting Windows® 95/98 to complete the installation

When the installation procedure is complete Windows® 95/98 must be shut down and rebooted to initialize and activate the system extensions installed by ZipMan 99 DELUXE. When the system comes up again you will have direct access the archive file types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE. If you look at the right hand end of taskbar at the bottom of the screen you will now see the ZipManicon. This icon indicates the current status of ZipMan 99 DELUXE and enables you to configure its settings at any time, including enabling/disabling access to the contents of archives for individual application programs and folders.


ZipMan 99 DELUXE Nuts and Bolts

I.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- Getting Started

I.3. ZipMan 99 DELUXE Nuts and Bolts

ZipMan 99 DELUXE was created with two basic objectives: To enable a) simpler and b) more efficient access to the contents of archive files. This has been achieved with a number of different technologies that are explained in this chapter. Please read the following sections carefully; they will help you to gain a better understanding of how ZipMan 99 DELUXE works, and this will make it much easier to use the program effectively.

a) Virtual directories for easy and efficient access to archives

b) The ZipMan virtual device driver (VxD)

c) Configuring ZipMan 99 DELUXE for your individual needs

d) Application examples -- understanding ZipMan 99 DELUXE in 5 easy steps


Virtual directories for easy and efficient access to archives

I.3.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE Nuts and Bolts

a) Virtual directories for easy and efficient access to archives

ZipMan 99 DELUXE adds "virtual directories" to the Windows® 95/98 file system. These virtual directories make accessing archive files much faster and easier. When you look in a folder containing an archive file you will now see a new subfolder, in addition to the archive file itself. This subfolder, which looks just like any other folder, represents the corresponding archive and enables you to access the archive and its contents in almost exactly the same way as a normal folder.

For example, if the folder C:\Data contains an archive called Texts.zip you will find the following two entries in the directory for C:\Data:

The virtual directory:	Texts.zip.dir
The archive file:	Texts.zip

ZipMan 99 DELUXE creates an additional "virtual directory" for every archive file to enable you to access the archive contents directly.

Whenever you access the virtual directory Texts.zip.dir you are actually accessing the archive file Texts.zip. For example, if you double-click on the virtual directory Texts.zip.dir to display its contents what you then see is actually the contents of the archive Texts.zip, and when you copy a file from the virtual directory Texts.zip.dir the corresponding file from the archive Texts.zip is automatically extracted and copied to the specified location.

To display the contents of an archive just select the virtual directory entry created for it by ZipMan 99 DELUXE.

Virtual directories have a special additional extension to help you distinguish them from ordinary folders. This extension also identifies the archive type. When long filenames are displayed the standard extension is in the format xyz.dir, where xyz is the standard extension identifying the archivetype. In applications that only display short filenames, such as Windows® 3.x programs or the DOS prompt, the extension .x~d is added to the archive filename, where "x" identifies the archive type. For example, archive files called Data.xyz would be displayed as the following virtual directories with long filenames:

- Data.arj.dir  for the ARJ archive Data.arj

- Data.lzh.dir for the LHA archive Data.lzh

- Data.rar.dir  for the RAR archive Data.rar

- Data.tar.dir for the TAR archive Data.tar

- Data.tgz.dir for the TGZ archive Data.tgz

- Data.zip.dir for the ZIP archive Data.zip

With short filenames you will see the following virtual directories:

- Data.a~d for the ARJ archive Data.arj

- Data.l~d for the LHA archive Data.lzh

- Data.r~d for the RAR archive Data.rar

- Data.t~d for the TAR archive Data.tar

- Data.g~d for the TGZ archive Data.tgz

- Data.z~d for the ZIP archive Data.zip

Note: The extension .xyz.dir is the default long filename setting for virtual directories when ZipMan 99DELUXE is installed. However, if you prefer you can change the ZipMan 99 DELUXE settings so that the short filename extension .x~d is also used in long filename displays.

Important:

To avoid misunderstandings and possible archive handling problems with ZipMan 99 DELUXE please make sure that there are no "genuine" directories on your system with any of the extensions listed above. Genuine directories with these extensions are automatically hidden on drives and in folders for which ZipMan 99 DELUXE archive support is activated. This means that you will not be able to see these directories at all so long as ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active.

As soon as you deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- either globally or for the specific drive, directory or situation -- you willbe able to see the directories again. However, sooneror later you will probably confuse them with archives and we think you will agree that this alone is reason enough not to use these extensions for genuine directories.


The ZipMan virtual device driver (VxD)

I.3.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE Nuts and Bolts

b) The ZipMan virtual device driver (VxD)

So how does ZipMan 99 DELUXE trick completely separate programs (like the Windows® Explorer or the DOS prompt) into "believing" that archives are actually folders? This is achieved by means of a so-called "virtual device driver" (VxD), which is integrated in Windows® 95/98 when ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed. This VxD performs the following basic tasks:

1. As soon as you access the contents of a directory, for example by opening a folder with the Windows® Explorer to display its contents, the ZipMan 99 DELUXE VxD returns an additional, virtualdirectory for every archive file in the folder. As far as the programs accessing the directory contents are concerned -- for example the Windows® Explorer -- there is no difference between "genuine" folders and the virtual directories generated and displayed for archives. The Explorer doesn't "know" that the virtual directory is in reality only a mirror image of the contents of an archive file.

2. Temporary files are used to make accessing archive contents as fast and efficient as possible. As soon as you open a file in an archive or load it into anapplication program ZipMan 99 DELUXE automatically extracts the entire contents of the archive into a temporary directory. All subsequent accesses to the archive contents are then actually made directly to the extracted files, which is much faster than extracting the file every time you access it. As soon as the application with which you are accessing the archive contents closes the file ZipMan 99 DELUXE then automatically deletes the corresponding temporary file.

Important! It is possible that you may encounter problems with the display of virtual directories in some situations and with some application programs. These problems are caused by the fact that these virtual directories are not really genuine directories. ZipMan 99 DELUXE uses a number of effective protective devices to help prevent such problems. These devices are explained in detail in the following chapters, which you should study carefully in order to be able to get the most out of ZipMan 99 DELUXE. You will also find detailed information on typical problems and their solutions in the section Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them.


Configuring ZipMan 99 DELUXE for your individual needs

I.3.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE Nuts and Bolts

c) Configuring ZipMan 99 DELUXE for your individual needs

ZipMan 99 DELUXE can be configured extensively to adapt it to your personal needs and the different tasks you want to perform with archive files. All the settings can be accessed directly via the The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon. To display the settings dialog box, right-click on the taskbar icon and select Preferences in the pop-up menu displayed.

The sections below provide a brief introduction to the various features that you can configure with the ZipMan 99 DELUXE preferences. The individual options are described in more detail in the chapters on the specific functions (see the links in the texts below). For a complete description of all the ZipMan 99 DELUXE settings please refer to III. The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences.

Supported archive types (Archives tab)

You can select the specific archive types for which you want to activate ZipMan99 DELUXE's archive support, and you can also specify the format of the file extensions to be used to identify the virtual directories displayed for the archive files. By default all the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (ZIP, LZH, ARJ, RAR, TAR and TGZ) are activated for read-only mode on all local drives. The corresponding virtual directories are identified with the extensions zip.dir, lzh.dir, arj.dir and so on. For more details please see Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

Activating archive support for specific directories (Directories tab)

You can activate access to the content of archives individually for every drive and every directory on your system, specifying read-only, read/write or no access (i.e. disable). By default the ZipMan 99 DELUXE installation program activates read-only access for all local drives, and access to network drives is deactivated. For further details please refer to Activating and Deactivating Directories.

Deactivating archive support for specific programs (Programs tab)

You can deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE archive access support both globally and for individual programs (by default or dynamically in specific situations) if you know that you are going to perform operations that are incompatible with virtual directories. Backup programs are a typical example of the type of applications for which archive support should generally be deactivated; among other things, if ZipManger's archive support is enabled they will create two backup copies of the archive contents, once as a directory and once as an archive file. For further details please refer to Default Deactivation for Specific Programs, Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs, 'Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99DELUXE' and Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them.

Creating temporary backups of archives before modification (General and Backups tabs)

If you want to activate read/write access to allow modification of files in archives you can configure ZipMan 99 DELUXE to automatically create temporary backup copies of archives opened for writing before the contents of the archive are actually modified. Then, if a modified archive cannot be rewritten correctly (for example because of a system crash) you can recover it later from the backup copy. The temporary backup copy is deleted automatically as soon as the archive file is written correctly. For further details please refer to Temporary Backups.

Directory for temporary files (General tab)

By default the temporary files created by ZipMan 99 DELUXE are stored in the standard Windows® temporary directory (usually C:\WINDOWS\TEMP). The amount of space needed for these temporary files depends on the size of your archive files and the application programs you use to access them.

Please always remember that in the worst-case scenario you will need enough space to accommodate the entire contents of the archive file in decompressed form. In addition to this you may also need space to accommodate the automatic temporary backup copies of archives that are created when you activate write access for archive contents (see Temporary Backups).

A warning is displayed as soon as the available space for temporary files falls below a specific limit (default: 16MB). If this happens you have several options: You can close the archive that is currently open, make more space on the directory for temporary files (e.g. by deleting files you don't need) or by selecting a directory on another drive for the temporary files. For further details please refer to the section Directory for temporary files.


Application examples -- understanding ZipMan 99 DELUXE in 5 easy steps

I.3.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE Nuts and Bolts

d) Application examples -- understanding ZipMan 99 DELUXE in 5 easy steps

The following example illustrates what happens when you access the contents of an archive to give you a direct experience of how ZipMan 99 DELUXE works. The behavior of ZipMan 99 DELUXE in other situations is pretty much the sameas that described in this example. For other examples illustrating the many different tasks you can perform with ZipMan please refer to II. Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE.

Note: The following example assumes that you are using ZipMan 99 DELUXE with the default settings. If you have already reconfigured ZipMan for your own personal requirements some directories and filename extensions may be different from the ones shown here. For details on configuring ZipMan 99 DELUXE please refer to III. The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences.

The starting situation:

A ZIP archive called Texts.zip containing a series of text files is stored on drive D:. You decide that you want to view one of these files with the Windows® 95/98 Quick View feature.

Step 1: Locating the archive in the Explorer directory

When you open the Windows® Explorer and display the contents of drive C: you will find a folder called Texts.zip.dir. This is the virtual directory that represents the contentsof the ZIP archive Texts.zip. The Explorer window could look something like this:

Step 2: Displaying the contents of the archive

When you click on the folder Texts.zip.dir in the directory tree the contents of the ZIP archiveare displayed in the right hand Explorer window, just as if it were a normal directory.

Note: If you open the archive file itself (Texts.zip) a new Explorer window will automatically be opened with the contents of the archive.

Step 3: Opening a file in an archive

Right-clicking on one of the files in the folder Texts.zip.dir displays a pop-up menu with the commands supported for the selected file type. If you installed the Quick View accessory when you installed Windows® this menu will also include the Quick View option for text files. If you click on the Quick View entry in the pop-up menu the file will be opened and displayed with the Quick View application.

As far as the Quick View application is concerned, the file is a normal file in a normal folder. In fact, however, ZipMan 99 DELUXE is performing the following operations in the background: As soon as Quick View tries to open the bitmap file in the virtual directory Texts.zip.dir, ZipMan 99 DELUXE extracts the contents of the file to the temporary directory. When Quick View reads data from the file the data are actually being supplied by ZipMan 99 DELUXE. The blue arrow in the The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon indicates that an archive is currently open for read access.

When you close Quick View the displayed file is also closed and the associated temporary file is automatically deleted from ZipMan 99 DELUXE's temp directory. The two white arrows in the The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon indicate that no archives are currently open for reading or writing.

Step 4: Extracting files from an archive

To extract individual files or entire subdirectories from an archive, first select the files you want to extract -- for example the bitmap files in the virtual directory pics.zip.dir. Then right-click on one of the selected entries and select the Extract option in the pop-up menu.

This displays the Extract dialog box. Enter the path of the directory where you wish to extract the files, then click on Extract to start the extraction process.

Step 5: Compressing files and adding them to an archive

You can also compress files and add them to an archive directly. To do this just mark the files you want to add to the archive in an Explorer directory window, right-click on one of the selected files and select the Compress option in the pop-up menu displayed.

The Compress dialog is then displayed. Enter the path and name of the archive to which you wish to add the selected files and/or directories, then click on the Compress button to compress and add the files.

Notes: If you enter a target archive that does not yet exist a new archive file will be created automatically. The archive type is determined by the filename extension. You can use any of the following supported extensions to create a new archive withZipMan 99 DELUXE:

- .arj	to create an ARJ archive

- .lzh 	to create an LHA archive

- .rar	to create a RAR archive

- .tar	to create a TAR archive

- .tgz 	to create a TGZ archive

- .zip	to create a ZIP archive

Important: If you enter any other extension, or no extension, ZipMan 99 DELUXE will simply create a normal directory and copy the source files to the new directory without compression!


Uninstalling ZipMan 99 DELUXE

I.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- Getting Started

I.4. Uninstalling ZipMan 99 DELUXE

Important! If you decide you want to completely remove ZipMan 99 DELUXE from your system please DON'T just delete the program files and directory! When ZipMan is installed it is integrated into your Windows® 95/98 configuration and you must use one of the deinstallation routines described below in order to remove it properly (i.e. together with the associated program entries in the Windows® registry and the ZipMan 99 DELUXE system files in the system directories):

Removing ZipMan 99 DELUXE with Add/Remove Programs in the Windows® Control Panel

Open the Control Panel (Start -- Settings -- Control Panel), select the Add/Remove Programs icon and then activate the Install/Uninstall tab in the dialog box displayed.

The list box at the bottom of the dialog contains the names of all the applications for which uninstall information has been recorded. Select the ZipMan 99 DELUXE entry by left-clicking on it, then click on the Add/Remove button.

Note: If there is no ZipMan 99 DELUXE entry in the list this means that it was not possible to correctly record the uninstall information when the program was installed. If this happens simply use ZipMan's own uninstall routine described below, which can be found in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE program group in the Start menu.

Removing the program with ZipMan 99 DELUXE's own uninstall routine

When ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed a new program group with a number of program icons is added to the Windows® Start menu -- by default this group is called ZipMan 99 DELUXE. To remove ZipMan 99 DELUXE from your computer open this program group, start the Uninstall ZipMan 99 DELUXE program and follow the directions displayed on the screen.


Support

I.  ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- Getting Started

I.5. Support

Support for ZipMan 99 DELUXE is available at the following addresses:

Fax:	+49 (0)441 93379 79
Support:	http://www.ashampoo.com/support
Website:	http://www.ashampoo.com


Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE
II. Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

This chapter describes the various tasks you can perform with ZipMan 99 DELUXE, illustrating the various functions with practical examples. In addition to this the chapter also contains a detailed section on possible problems and how you to avoid them.

II.1. Displaying Archive Contents

II.2. Extracting Archive Contents

II.3. Compressing Files and Directories

II.4. Opening Files in Archives

II.5. Loading Files from Archives

II.6. Installing Applications from Archives

II.7. Modifying Files in Archives

II.8. Creating an Empty Archive

II.9. Handling Archives at the MS-DOS® Prompt

II.10. Creating Self-extracting Archives

II.11. Creating Multi-Volume ZIP Archives

II.12. Restoring Multi-Volume ZIP Archives

II.13. The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon

a) Status Information in the Taskbar

b) Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE

c) Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs

II.14. Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

a) Write Access to Archive Files

b) Backup Programs

c) Uninstallers, Access Logs, Indexing Programs and Similar Applications

d) Copying Virtual Directories with Other Applications

e) Deleting Virtual Directories with Other Applications

f) ZipMan 99 DELUXE and Network Drives

g) Case-Sensitive File Systems

h) Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions

i) Nested Archives


Displaying Archive Contents

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.1. Displaying Archive Contents

With ZipMan 99 DELUXE you can display the contents of archives in exactly the same way as the files in normal Windows® folders.

Displaying the contents of an archive in an open Explorer window:

Step 1:  When you open an Explorer directory window containing an archive file or files you will see two entries for each archive: the archive file itself (e.g. Texts.zip) and the virtual directory generated for the archive by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (e.g. Texts.zip.dir). These virtual directories are identified by the additional extension .dir, which is appended to the standard file extension identifying the archive type. By default, access support is activated for all the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (ZIP, LZH, ARJ, RAR, TAR and TGZ). Their virtual directories are identified by the extensions .zip.dir, .lzh.dir, .arj.dir and so on. For details on selecting archive types and archive file extensions please refer to Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

ZipMan 99 DELUXE creates an additional "virtual directory" for every archive file to enable you to access the archive contents directly.

Step 2: Select the archive whose contents you wish to display in the Explorer directory tree.

To display the contents of an archive just select the virtual directory entry created for it by ZipMan 99 DELUXE.

Opening a new Explorer window with the contents of an archive:

Step 1: Open the folder containing the archive file whose contents you want to display in an Explorer window.

Step 2:  Open the archive file (not the virtual directory) by right-clicking on the file entry (e.g. Texts.zip, not Texts.zip.dir) and selecting Open in the pop-up menu. (If you do this with the virtual directory the contents will simply be displayed in the same Explorer window.)

Note: Opening a new Explorer window with the contents of an archive file only works with archive file types registered with ZipMan 99 DELUXE. All the supported types are normally registered by default whenZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed. You can change the archive type registrations at any time with the settings in the Archives tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences (accessed by right-clicking on the 'TheZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon' and selecting Preferences).


Extracting Archive Contents

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.2. Extracting Archive Contents

Extracting the contents of an archive with the Windows® Explorer:

Step 1: Display the contents of the archive in the Explorer by selecting its virtual directory entry in the directory tree:

Step 2: Select the entries (files and/or folders) in the archive that you want to extract.

Step 3: Right-click on one of the selected entries and select Extract in the pop-up menu.

Note: To unpack the entire contents of the archive just right-click on the archive file or its virtual directory and select Extract from the pop-up menu.

Step 4: This displays the Extract dialog box. Enter the path of the directory where you wish to extract the files, then click on Extract to start the extraction process.


Compressing Files and Directories

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.3. Compressing Files and Directories

Compressing files and/or directories with the Windows® Explorer:

Step 1: Open an Explorer window and display the files and/or folders that you want to compress.

Step 2: Select the items you want to compress.

Step 3: Right-click on one of the selected entries and select Compress from the pop-up menu.

Step 4: The Compress dialog is then displayed. Enter the path and name of the archive to which you wish to add the selected files and/or directories, then click on the Compress button to compress and add the files.

Notes: If you enter a target archive that does not yet exist a new archive file will be created automatically. The archive type is determined by the filename extension. You can use any of the following supported extensions to create a new archive withZipMan 99 DELUXE:

- .arj	to create an ARJ archive

- .lzh 	to create an LHA archive

- .rar	to create a RAR archive

- .tar	to create a TAR archive

- .tgz 	to create a TGZ archive

- .zip	to create a ZIP archive

Important: If you enter any other extension, or no extension, ZipMan 99 DELUXE will simply create a normal directory and copy the source files to the new directory without compression!


Opening Files in Archives

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.4. Opening Files in Archives

You can open files in archives just like any other files in normal folders. For example, to open a text file in an archive proceed as follows:

Step 1: Display the contents of the archive in an Explorer window by selecting the archive's virtual directory entry (the folder icon with the .dir extension) in the directory tree.

Step 2: Right-click on the text file you want to open and select Open from the pop-up menu.

Notes:

You can also access files in archives with the other pop-up menu options. However, remember that the application you activate with the menu option must have access to ZipMan 99 DELUXE's virtual directories. For example, if you want to delete a file in an archive read/write access must be activated for the content of archives in the directory in which the archive file is stored.

By default, ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed with read-only access for the contents of archives on all local drives. If you need write access to files in archives, for example to delete files, you can activate it by following the directions in Activating and Deactivating Directories. When write access is enabled please always observe the safety precautions described in Write Access to Archive Files.


Loading Files from Archives

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.5. Loading Files from Archives

ZipMan 99 DELUXE enables you to load files from archive files just as though they were ordinary files in normal folders. For example, to load a text file from an archive into an editor or word processor, proceed as follows:

Step 1: Select the application's file open option (this will normally be Open in the File menu) and display the contents of the archive by opening its virtual directory (the folder with the .dir extension). The illustration below shows the standard Open dialog box of Windows® 95; the dialog boxes of other applications may look different.

Step 2: Select the file you want to load, then select Open.

Notes: Please remember that the application you use to load a file from an archive must have access to ZipMan 99 DELUXE's virtual directories. By default, ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed with read-only access for the contents of archives on all local drives. If the application you are using needs write access to files in archives you can activate it by following the directions in Activating and Deactivating Directories. When write access is enabled please always observe the safety precautions described in Write Access to Archive Files.


Installing Applications from Archives

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.6. Installing Applications from Archives

Introduction:

One of the most common uses for archives is the distribution of application programs via the Internet, mailbox systems or shareware CD-ROMs. When ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support is activated on your system you no longer need to decompress archive files to install the applications they contain.

You can install applications directly from archives, just as though the files they contain were in a normal folder.

Step 1: Display the contents of the archive by selecting the archive's virtual folder in the Explorer directory.

Step 2: Right-click on the entry of the application's installation program (normally Setup or Install) and select Open in the pop-up menu.


Modifying Files in Archives

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.7. Modifying Files in Archives

Introduction:

By default, ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed with read-only access for the contents of archives on all local drives. In order to be able to modify files in archives you must firstactivate write access for the contents of archives for the directories containing the archives in question. To do this follow the directions in Activating and Deactivating Directories. When write access is enabled please always observe the safety precautions described in Write Access to Archive Files.

When write access is enabled you can modify files in archives in exactly the same way as files in ordinary folders. For example, to edit a text file in an archive proceed as follows:

Step 1: Start the application program you want to use to edit the file, select the application's file open option to load the file (this will normally be Open in the File menu) and display the contents of the archive by opening its virtual directory (the folder with the .dir extension). The illustration below shows the standard Open dialog box of Windows® 95; the dialog boxes of other applications may look different.

Step 2: Select the file you want to load, then select Open.

Step 3: Edit the file.

Step 4: To save your work select the application's save option (normally Save in the File menu) to save the file.

Data Loss Hazard Warning!

Some applications keep files open for write access all the time while you are editing them and insome circumstances this can lead to data loss when you are working on files in archives. If the application itself or the entire system crashes it may not be possible to close the file correctly, which can corrupt the data both in the file you are editing and in all other files in the same archive. In the worst-case scenario the entire archive may become corrupt, making it impossible to extract any data from it.

To be on the safe side it is thus generally advisable to extract files into a normal folder before editing them. Then you can edit the file and copy the edited version back to the archive when you are finished.

For maximum security it's also a good idea to leave ZipMan 99 DELUXE's temporary backup feature activated at all times. Then ZipMan automatically creates temporary backups of archives before they are modified. This feature is activated by default and should only be deactivated if you only use archives to store unimportant data or data that you can replace easily. For further details please refer to Temporary Backups.


Creating an Empty Archive

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.8. Creating an Empty Archive

Introduction:

By default, ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed with read-only access to the contents of archives on all local drives. Before you can create a new empty archive you must activate write access for the content of archives for the directories in which you wish to create new empty archives with ZipMan 99 DELUXE. Follow the instructions in Activating and Deactivating Directories. When write access is enabled please always observe the safety precautions described in Write Access to Archive Files.

Note: Please note that you don't need to create an empty archive if you only want to add files to a new archive. Just follow the directions in Compressing Files and Directories. Ifthe archive you specify doesn't exist it will be created automatically. If you compress files with the Windows® Explorer using this method it is also not necessary to activate write access to the contents of archives for the directories containing the archives.

Creating a new empty archive is basically just the same as creating a normal folder. When you create a new folder and give it a name with one of the extensions that ZipMan 99 DELUXE uses for archives, an archive of the corresponding type is created automatically. Also, if you rename a normal folder and give it a ZipMan archive extension the directory will automatically be replaced by an empty archive.

Note: By default all the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (ZIP, LZH, ARJ, RAR, TAR and TGZ) are activated. The corresponding virtual directories are identified by the extensions .zip.dir, .lzh.dir, .arj.dir and so on. The following discussion assumes that these default extensions are activated. For further details on selecting and activating archive types and their extensions please refer to Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

Creating a new empty archive with Windows® Explorer:

Step 1: Open the folder in which you want to create the new archive in the Windows® Explorer.

Step 2: Right-click in the folder contents window and select New / Folder in the pop-up menu to create a new folder.

Step 3: Give the name empty folder a name with one of the following extensions used by ZipMan 99 DELUXE for archives. The type of archive generated is chosen automatically on the basis of the extension you enter:

- .arj.dir	to create an ARJ archive

- .lzh.dir 	to create an LHA archive

- .rar.dir	to create a RAR archive

- .tar.dir	to create a TAR archive

- .tgz.dir 	to create a TGZ archive

- .zip.dir	to create a ZIP archive


Handling Archives at the MS-DOS® Prompt

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.9. Handling Archives at the MS-DOS® Prompt

When you display directories in MS-DOS® windows the virtual directories that ZipMan 99 DELUXE displays for archive files look just like ordinary directories. These virtual directories can be identified by their extensions. If you use the defaultZipMan 99 DELUXE settings these extensions have the format .xyz.dir when long filenames are activated (.zip.dir for ZIP archives, .arj.dir' for ARJ archives and so on), and the format .x~d when only short filenames are displayed (.z~d for ZIP archives, .a~d for ARJ archives and so on).

You can use the standard DOS commands on the virtual directories displayed for the archives:

Step 1: At the DOS prompt, use the DOS command cd to make a virtual directory the current directory.

Step 2: Use the DOS command dir to display the contents of the virtual directory (which is really the contents of the archive file).

Step 3: Use the DOS command copy to copy a file from the virtual directory to another directory (this automatically extracts the file from the archive).

Notes: Please remember that many DOS commands require activation of write access in ZipMan 99 DELUXE for the directories containing the archive files. By default, ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed with read-only access for the contents of archives on all local drives. If you want to execute commands that require write access (e.g. del) you must activate write access. Please follow the instructions in Activating and Deactivating Directories. When write access is enabled please always observe the safety precautions described in Write Access to Archive Files.


Creating Self-extracting Archives

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.10. Creating Self-extracting Archives

Self-extracting archives are archives that canbe "started" just like a normal program -- when you start them they automatically extract their own contents and store the files in uncompressed form. ZipMan 99 DELUXE can create self-extracting archives for Windows® 95/98 in ZIP, RAR, LHA and ARJ formats.

Note: You cannot create a self-extracting archive directly. You must always first create a normal archive file and then convert it to a self-extracting archive. If you need to create an archive first follow the directions in Compressing Files and Directories. Afterwards you can then convert the archive to a self-extracting archive as follows:

Step 1: Start the Windows® Explorer and open the folder containing the archive file that you want to convert into a self-extracting archive.

Step 2: Right-click on the archive file and select the option Self-Extracting Archive in the pop-up menu. (Note: This is only possible with ZIP, RAR, LHA and ARJ archives, which are identified by the extensions .zip, .rar, .lzh and .arj.)

Step 3: The Create Self-Extracting Archive dialog is displayed. Enter the path and filename for the self-extracting archive and then select Create to create the archive.


Creating Multi-Volume ZIP Archives

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.11. Creating Multi-Volume ZIP Archives

With ZipMan 99 DELUXE you can split large ZIP archives into several parts and store them on several floppy disks. These split archives are referred to as "multi-volume" or "spanned" archives, because they "span" several disks. To create a multi-volume archive proceed as follows:

Step 1: Start the Windows® Explorer and open the folder containing the ZIP archive you want to span and write to several floppy disks.

Step 2: Right-click on the ZIP archive file and select the option Create Multi-Volume in the pop-up menu. (Note: The file must be a ZIP format archive with the .zip extension.)

Step 3: The Create Multi-Volume Archive dialog box is displayed. Enter the path and filename for the multi-volume archive.

Important: You can only write the target file to the root directory of a floppy drive (e.g. A:\ or B:\) . The target file must have the extension .zip.

You also have the following options when you split a ZIP archive to create a multi-volume archive:

- Write volume labels

When you activate this check box a new volume label with a sequential number is automatically written to each floppy used to store the multi-volume archive. If you then activate the Check volume labels option when you restore the ZIP archive later the program will check the order of the floppies on the basis of the volume label numbers, displaying an error message if you insert the wrong disk.

Note: If you don't activate the volume labels function when you create the multi-volume archive and/or don't check the volume labels when restoring the archive, ZipMan 99 DELUXE will not be able to register that the disks were inserted in the wrong order until the last disk is inserted. If this happens you will have to repeat the entire procedure all over again. For more details see Restoring Multi-Volume ZIP Archives.

- Delete existing files on target disks

Check this box if you want the program to automatically delete all existing files on the target floppies before writing the multi-volume ZIP archive.

Step 4: Insert the first floppy for the multi-volume ZIP archive in the disk drive and select Create. The first part of the archive will then be written to the floppy. When the floppy is full a prompt will be displayed asking you to insert the next disk. This process will be repeated until the entire multi-volume archive has been written to floppies.

Important! Multi-volume archives can only be read and restored in their entirety. The files on the individual floppies are not valid ZIP archives and you cannot extract any data from them! For details on restoring the entire multi-volume archive please see Restoring Multi-Volume ZIP Archives.


Restoring Multi-Volume ZIP Archives

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.12. Restoring Multi-Volume ZIP Archives

A multi-volume or "spanned" ZIP archive is a ZIP archive that has been split up and stored on several floppy disks. (For more details see Creating Multi-Volume ZIP Archives.) Multi-volume archives can only be read and restored in their entirety. The files on the individual floppies are not valid ZIP archives and you cannotextract any data from them!

To extract the contents of a multi-volume archive you must first restore the original, single-file ZIP archive from the contents of the floppies. To do this proceed as follows:

Step 1: Insert the floppy containing the first part of the multi-volume ZIP archive in the disk drive and open the drive in the Windows® Explorer.

Step 2: Right-click on the entry for the first part of the multi-volume ZIP archive and select the option Restore Multi-Volume in the pop-up menu. (This only works with multi-volume ZIP archive files with the extension .zip).

Step 3: The Restore Multi-Volume Archive dialog is displayed. Enter the target path and filename you want to use for the restored archive. Important: The filename you enter must have the extension .zip.

The following option is also supported when restoring ZIP archive files from multi-volume archives:

- Check volume labels

If the option Write volume labels was set when you created the multi-volume ZIP archive each floppy in the archive set has a sequentially numbered volume label.  If you activate the Check volume labels check box (see above) the program checks the volume labels and displays an error message if you insert the wrong floppy.

Note: If you don't activate the volume labels function when you create the multi-volume archive and/or don't check the volume labels when restoring the archive, ZipMan 99 DELUXE will not be able to register that the disks were inserted in the wrong order until the last disk is inserted. If this happens you will have to repeat the entire procedure all over again. For more details see Creating Multi-Volume ZIP Archives.

Step 4: Select Restore to start restoring the multi-volume ZIP archive. After the data has been read from the current disk you will be prompted to insert the next disk. This procedure will be repeated until all the disks have been read and the archive has been restored completely.


The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.13. The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon

The ZipMan 99 DELUXE taskbar icon (in the Systray at the right hand end of the taskbar) changes its appearance to indicate the program's current status. It can also be used to activate or deactivate access to the content of archive files, either globally or for individual drives, directories and applications, and for configuring the ZipMan settings to suit your personal needs.

a) Status Information in the Taskbar

b) Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE

c) Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs


Status Information in the Taskbar

II.13.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon

a) Status Information in the Taskbar

The appearance of the The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon provides the following information about the current status of ZipMan 99 DELUXE:

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active but no archives are currently open for read or write access.

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is deactivated globally and no archives are open.

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active and archives are currently open for read access.

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is deactivated globally but archives are still open for read access.

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active and archives are currently open for write access.

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is deactivated globally but archives are still open for write access.


Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.13.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon

b) Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE

You can check the current status of ZipMan 99 DELUXE at any time just by looking at the The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon (at the right hand end of the taskbar, normally at the bottom of the screen):

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is currently active.

- ZipMan 99 DELUXE is currently deactivated.

A single left-click on the taskbar icon reverses the current status of ZipMan 99 DELUXE -- i.e. globally activates or deactivates access to archives.

Notes:

1. With some applications you may have to update the application's directory view manually or re-read the directory from the disk to display/hide ZipMan 99 DELUXE's virtual directories after activating or deactivating archive access.

2. If an application has files open in an archive when you globally deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE the archive in question will remain open and accesses to the open files by the application will be permitted. However, attempts to access other virtual directories or to open other files in the open archive will be refused. As soon as all files in the open archive have been closed by your application ZipMan 99 DELUXE will automatically close the corresponding archive file.


Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs

II.13.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon

c) Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs

The The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon gives you direct access to the ZipMan preferences with which you can dynamically activate and deactivate access to the contents of archives for specific application programs.

Notes:

It is generally advisable to deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support in specific situations or for specific programs when there is a possibility that ZipMan's double display of archives (once as a file and once as a virtual directory) may cause problems. Always remember that other applications cannot distinguish ZipMan 99 DELUXE's virtual directories from normal Windows® folders. In certain circumstances this fact can hamper efficiency or cause confusion or conflicts.

Backup programs are a typical example of the type of application for which archive support should generally be deactivated; among other things, if ZipManger's archive support is enabled they will create two backup copies of the archive contents, once as a directory and once as an archive file. For further detailson programs for which archive support should generally be deactivated please refer to Default Deactivation for Specific Programs and Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them.

Changing the access status of specific application programs

To reverse the current activation status of an application program -- i.e. to activate or deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE archive access for the program -- position the mouse pointer over the The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon, hold down the right mouse button and drag the icon away from the taskbar. A small double traffic light icon with an arrow will then be displayed beneath the mouse pointer. This icon indicates how the access status of the application you point to will change when you release the button:

- When you right-drag the ZipMan 99 DELUXE icon over the window of a program for which archive support is currently active the mouse pointer icon shows a green traffic light changing to red (indicated by the arrow). Releasing the mouse button while the pointer is over the application window will then deactivate archive access for the application.

- When you right-drag the ZipMan 99 DELUXE icon over the window of a program for which archive support is currently disabled the mouse pointer icon shows a red traffic light changing to green. Releasing the mouse button while the pointer is over the application window will activate archive access for the application.


Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

II.  Using ZipMan 99 DELUXE

II.14. Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

One of the biggest advantages of ZipMan 99 DELUXE is that it enables you to access the contents of archive files directly with your normal application programs. The virtual directories that ZipMan 99 DELUXE displays for archives make archive files andtheir contents look and behave like ordinary Windows® folders for other applications.

However, in certain circumstances this technology can also cause problems and unnecessary operations. This is because virtual directories are not actually real directories, and because for every virtual directory there is also a file -- the real archive file -- whose contents are identical to the contents of the virtual directory.

The following sections describe some of the typical situations and programs that can cause such problems. Generally, it is advisable to disable ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support in these situations and for these applications. If you don't, please always proceed with care and awareness and make absolutely sure that you really want to and are able to process archives in the current situation.

a) Write Access to Archive Files

b) Backup Programs

c) Uninstallers, Access Logs, Indexing Programs and Similar Applications

d) Copying Virtual Directories with Other Applications

e) Deleting Virtual Directories with Other Applications

f) ZipMan 99 DELUXE and Network Drives

g) Case-Sensitive File Systems

h) Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions

i) Nested Archives


Write Access to Archive Files

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

a) Write Access to Archive Files

ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support enables you to access and process files in archives directly with many different application programs. For applications, the virtual directories that ZipMan 99 DELUXE  displays for archive files are exactly the same as ordinary Windows® folders. This means that you can load files from virtual directories (i.e. from the archives) and edit them directly, just like files in any other folder.

However, loading a file from an archive and keeping it open for write access for a long time -- for example for a long editing session -- does involve an element of risk. Please always observe the following precautions to minimize unnecessary risks and ensure that your data is kept as safe as possible:

To make access to your files as efficient as possible ZipMan 99 DELUXE generally keeps archives open as long as any program is using a file in the archive. This means that when you open a file for write access the entire archive is also kept open for write access all the time that the file is open. The changed data and the internal structure of the archive only written after all the files in the archive have been closed and no further accesses to the archive have been registered for at least 2 seconds.

In theory, keeping files open for long periods is not a problem. However, if you experience a crash, a power failure or a reset while files are open for write access these files cannot be closed properly and it is then possible to lose the entire contents of the file. If you are working on afile opened directly from an archive you can lose the entire contents of the archive, as the archive is actually just one file.

How long the application you use to access archive files keeps the files open for write access depends entirely on the applicationitself. For example, if you just copy the contents of an archive every file is closed as soon as its contents have been copied. When the last file has been copied ZipMan 99 DELUXE waits for 2 seconds and then automatically updates the archive and closes it too.

However, if you load a file from an archive directly into your word processor the file may remain open for the entire duration of your editing session. In fact, the word processor may even create some additional files which are also kept open. This means that the entire archive is also kept open, with the risk of all the possible negative consequences described above.

Please note that the risks described here are not something special or unusual that only occurs with ZipMan 99 DELUXE. For example, if you create an archive with another compression program and experience a system crash while the archive is still open it is very unlikely that the archive will be intact when you reboot your computer. The situation is exactly the same when you useZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access feature to edit a file in an archive directly. Effectively, you are just reading and re-writing an archive. The only difference is that while you are editing a file the archive remains open for much longer than when you are generating it, and the chances that you may experience a crash or some other problem that can corrupt the archive are thus correspondingly higher.

To be on the safe side it is thus generally advisable to extract files into a normal folder before editing them. Then you can edit the file and copy the edited version back to the archive when you are finished.

For maximum security it's also a good idea to leave ZipMan 99 DELUXE's temporary backup feature activated at all times. Then ZipMan automatically creates temporary backups of archives before they are modified. This feature is activated by default and should only be deactivated if you only use archives to store unimportant data or data that you can replace easily. For further details please refer to Temporary Backups.


Backup Programs

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

b) Backup Programs

The virtual directories that ZipMan 99 DELUXE displays for archive files can be a pitfall for backup programs. Only ZipMan can tell the difference between these directories and normal directories -- for all other programs they behave just like ordinary Windows® folders. This means that backup programs "see" two objects when they look at an archive: An ordinary folder, for example data.zip.dir, plus a separate archive file called data.zip. This "double vision" can cause problems for backup programs in the following situations:

When backing up drives

When a backup program backs up a drive on which ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active any archives on the drive will be backed up twice, once as a directory and once as an archive file. Furthermore, virtual directories are backed up as normal folders, which means that they take up just as much space as the uncompressed contents of the corresponding archive. In addition to this, the actual archive files are also saved as normal files.

When restoring backups

What happens when you restore a backup depends on whether ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active on the target system or drive, and, if so, in what mode.

If ZipMan 99 DELUXE is not present on the system where the backup is being restored the archive data will be restored twice, once as a normal directory and once as the corresponding archive file.

If ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active with write access disabled on the target drive you will get error messages when the backup program tries to restore the(virtual) directories because ZipMan 99 DELUXE will not permit write access to the corresponding archive files.

If both read and write access are enabled the data will also be restored twice and recompressed into the archive by ZipMan.

How to avoid these problems with backup programs

The simplest solution is to disable archive access support for your backup program(s), either by default or, at the very least, before creating and restoring backups.  For details on disabling archive access for programs see Default Deactivation for Specific Programs and Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs.

Alternatively you can also deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE globally before creating and restoring backups. Of course, the disadvantage of this approach is that you have to remember to do it! For a detailed discussion of global deactivation see Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE.


Uninstallers, Access Logs, Indexing Programs and Similar Applications

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

c) Uninstallers, Access Logs, Indexing Programs and Similar Applications

When ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access is activated you can experience problems with applications that read the complete directory structure of a drive, either in specific situations or at regular intervals. For all programs except ZipMan 99 DELUXE the virtual directories that ZipMan generates for archives are identical to ordinary Windows® folders. This means that ordinary applications automatically treat virtual directories as ordinary folders, and there are some situations where this is not desirable.

Uninstallers

Uninstallers often read the entire directory structure of your drives in order to identify redundant files and duplicates. If they do this while ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active all archives stored on the drives are automatically opened and read, which takes much longer than just reading a directory. If the uninstaller also checks the contents of the files it has to unpack large amounts of data, which takes even more time and also uses up alot of temporary storage space.

Furthermore, the results of such checks should be treated with caution. Be particularly careful with uninstallers that automatically delete what they "believe" to be redundant files and duplicates. If these files are actually in archives they are probably neither duplicates nor redundant and you definitely won't want them to be deleted! In fact, deleting them may actually be impossible or lead to other more or less serious problems.

Access logs

These programs try to identify files that are not accessed or changed for a long time. If they run while ZipMan 99 DELUXE is active this generally consumes more time and processor resources, just like uninstallers when they read directories and check files.In addition to this the results produced when access logs are used on archive files are generally not really very meaningful because archives are usually used as compact storage for files that are not needed often.

Indexing programs

These programs index the directory entries and sometimes also the contents of specific classes of files to allow certain applications (e.g. word processors) to locate and open the files more quickly. If ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support is active when these programs generate or update their indexes the program may have to unpack large numbers of files stored in your archives, which can make the indexing process take considerably longer than normal.

How to avoid these problems

It's best to disable archive support for uninstallers, access logs, indexing programs and all other applications that search through the entire contents of your drives in specific situations or at regular intervals. Since these programs often activate automatically in the background without interventionby the user it's generally advisable to deactivate archive support permanently for each of these programs. (For details on how to do this see Default Deactivation for Specific Programs.)

If the programs do not activate automatically, i.e. if they haveto be started explicitly by the user, you can also disable ZipMan 99 DELUXE manually directly before performing the search operations. (For details on this see Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE and Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs.)


Copying Virtual Directories with Other Applications

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

d) Copying Virtual Directories with Other Applications

For other programs the virtual directories that ZipMan 99 DELUXE displays for archive files look and behave like normal Windows® folders. This can sometimes lead to unexpected effects when you copy virtual directories, as they are not actually "real" directories.

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is fully integrated in the Windows® Explorer and you will not experience the problems described below when you use the Explorer to copy and move files and folders. However, other file managers may copy files twice or fail to perform the copy operation correctly.

For example, let's assume you have a folder called Test containing an archive file called data.zip on drive C:. If you try to copy this folder from drive C: to drive D: you can experience the scenarios described below:

Note: By default all the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (ZIP, LZH, ARJ, RAR, TAR and TGZ) are activated for read-only mode on all local drives. The corresponding virtual directories are identified with the extensions zip.dir, lzh.dir, arj.dir and so on. The following discussion assumes that these default extensions are activated. For more details please see Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

Scenario 1

Write access is activated for the contents of archives on the target drive, and read or read/write access is activated for archives on the source drive. The program you are using to copy the directory will "see" the following contents on drive C:

Contents of the folder Test:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

When you copy the contents of Test from drive C: to drive D: the copy program first copies the file data.zip. As soon as this file has been copied the following contents of Test immediately appear on drive D: (remember, archive support is activated on D:!):

Contents of the folder Test on target drive D:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

When the copy program then attempts to copy the (virtual) directory data.zip.dir to D: you may get an overwrite warning message because a directory with that name already exists -- it was created automatically by ZipMan 99 DELUXE as soon as the file data.zip was written. If you then continue with the copy procedure the copy program will copy all the files from the folder data.zip.dir on the source drive to data.zip.dir on the target drive. This means that all the files will be extracted from the source archive and then recompressed and rewritten to the target drive. This is a pointless waste of time, of course, because all the files already exist in the file data.zip, which has already been copied.

Scenario 2

Read-only access is activated on the target drive, and read or read/write access is activated on the source drive. Again, the copy program "sees" the following contents on drive C:

Contents of the folder Test:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

Again, when you copy the contents of Test from drive C: to drive D: the copy program first copies the file data.zip. As soon as this file has been copied the following contents of Test immediately appear on drive D:

Contents of the folder Test on target drive D:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

Once again, when the copy program then attempts to copy the (virtual) directory data.zip.dir to D: you may get an overwrite warning message because a directory with that name already exists -- it was created automatically by ZipMan 99 DELUXE as soon as the file data.zip was written. If you then continue with the copy procedure you will get a series of error messages because read-only archive support is activated on the target drive and ZipMan 99 DELUXE does not permit the program to copy the contents of data.zip.dir from drive C: to drive D: -- when write access is disabled you are not permitted to modify archive files or copy files to virtual directories like data.zip.dir.

Scenario 3

ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support is completely disabled on the target drive, and read or read/write archive support is activated on the source drive. Here too, the copy program "sees" the following contents on drive C:

Contents of the folder Test:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

When you copy the folder Test from drive C: to drive D: the file data.zip is copied first. The folder on the target drive D: then has the following contents:

Contents of the folder Test:

The file data.zip

What then happens when the copy program then attempts to copy the (virtual)  directory data.zip.dir from C: to D: depends on the current settings of ZipMan 99 DELUXE. If the option Prevent creation of directories with archive extensions is active (this is the default setting when ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed) ZipManwill automatically prevent the creation of a genuine directory/folder called data.zip.dir and the copy procedure will be aborted with an error message.

However, if prevention of the creation of directories with archive extensions is disabled the copy program will create a genuine (!) folder on the target drive and the contents of the virtual directory (i.e. the contents of the archive file) will be extracted from C: to the new, genuinefolder on drive D:. When the process is complete the contents of drive D: will be as follows:

Contents of the folder Test on target drive D:

The file data.zip

The (genuine) directory data.zip.dir

This means that you now have an archive file called data.zip and a genuine folder called data.zip.dir that contains the entire contents of data.zip in uncompressed form. The contents of data.zip and data.zip.dir on the target drive are completely independent from each other, although this is naturally not outwardly clear -- for a ZipMan 99 DELUXE user they look like an archive andits virtual directory.

As this example graphically illustrates, it's always advisable to activate the Prevent creation of directories with archive extensions option. For more details on this issue and the problems and misunderstandings that can arise when genuine directories with archive extensions exist please see Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions.

How to avoid these problems

There are two basic solutions: Either use the Windows® Explorer to copy archives or deactivate archive support for the programs that you want to use to copy files, folders and archives. When archive support is disabled the programs will only "see" the actual archive files and not the virtual directories, thus preventing all the problems described above. For details on deactivating ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support for individual programs or in specific situations see Default Deactivation for Specific Programs, Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs and Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE


Deleting Virtual Directories with Other Applications

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

e) Deleting Virtual Directories with Other Applications

For other programs the virtual directories which ZipMan 99 DELUXE displays for archive files look like normal Windows® folders. Under certain circumstances this can cause spurious error messages when you try to delete virtual directories or directories containing archive files with other applications. The following scenarios are possible:

Deleting virtual directories

Only ZipMan 99 DELUXE is able to tell the difference between virtual directories and normal folders. When another application deletes a virtual directory it will thus first delete the contents of the directory, i.e. it will delete every file in the archive individually. In addition to being inefficient -- it would be much quicker to simply delete the archive file -- deleting the files in the archive is only possible if write access to the content of archives is enabled.

Note: This situation cannot arise if you use the Windows® Explorer because ZipMan 99 DELUXE is seamlessly integrated in the Explorer. When you delete a virtual directory with the Explorer the entire archive is deleted automatically and efficiently.

Deleting a virtual directory and its corresponding archive simultaneously

When you select two objects for deletion they are not really deleted simultaneously; one or the other is always deleted first, in this case either the virtual directory or its corresponding archive file. The problem is, when the application then tries to delete the second object it no longer exists, because the archive file and the virtual directory are inextricably linked by ZipMan 99 DELUXE. This results in an error message informing you that the application cannot find the specified entry.

Deleting folders that contain archives

In this situation what happens depends on the program you use to delete the folder. If the application just systematically deletes the entries in the archive one after an other you will not experience anyproblems. However, if it first generates a list of the entries to be deleted and then processes the list you may get spurious error messages. If the archive file is deleted first the virtual directory "disappears";and if the virtual directory is deleted first the corresponding archive file also ceases to exist. In both cases the application program will expect to find a directory entry that no longer exists.

Note: These problems are alleviated somewhat when the option Suppress error messages for file deletion in non-existent archives is activated in ZipMan 99 DELUXE's preferences (this is the default setting whenZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed). Then when a program tries to delete a file in a virtual directory that no longer exists no error code is returned to the operating system; instead, the error code is replaced with a standard confirmation that the file deletion operation was successful.

How to avoid these problems

There are two basic solutions: Either use the Windows® Explorer to delete archivesor deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support for the applications you want to use for deleting files, folders and archives. The application will then only "see" archive files and no virtual directories, thus preventing the problems described above from arising.

For details on deactivating ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support for individual programs or in specific situations see Default Deactivation for Specific Programs, Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs and Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE.


ZipMan 99 DELUXE and Network Drives

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

f) ZipMan 99 DELUXE and Network Drives

Introduction:

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is an extension for Windows® 95/98 and has only been thoroughly tested on Windows® 95/98 systems. The following discussion refers only to Windows® 95/98 peer-to-peer networks, i.e. networks in which several Windows® 95/98 systems are connected using the standard network support integrated in the Windows® 95/98 operating system. If you use ZipMan 99 DELUXE on a computer that is connected to a network including other systems (e.g. Windows® NT computers or machines running Novell® Netware or Unix systems) you will probably experience limited functionality or unpredictable behavior with ZipMan 99 DELUXE when accessing network drives.

If a shared folder -- i.e. a folder that is visible and accessible on the network -- contains archive files the virtual directories displayed by ZipMan 99 DELUXE will also be visible on the network. Other computersaccessing the foldervia the network will "see" the virtual directories and will be able to access them just as if they were normal folders. Applications and users working at other computers have no way of telling that these folders are actually just virtual images of the contents of archive files.

The following scenarios are possible, depending on whether ZipMan 99 DELUXE is running on both computers involved or only on one of them:

Notes:

1. In the following discussion the computer on which the shared folder is stored is referred to as the server and the other computer accessing the shared folder is referred to as the client. Of course, in a peer-to-peer network all computers actually have the same status and they can all act as both servers and clients depending on the specific situation. The terms server and client are used here because it makes the specific situation easier to describe. Even so, please do remember that every computer in the network can have the role of both client and server.

2. By default all the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (ZIP, LZH, ARJ, RAR, TAR and TGZ) are activated for read-only mode on all local drives. The corresponding virtual directories are identified with the extensions zip.dir, lzh.dir, arj.dir and so on.The following discussion assumes that these default extensions are activated on all the computers involved. For more details please see Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is only active on the client computer

In this scenario the virtual directories are only displayed on the client computer and not on the server. When you use the network to access a folder on another computer containing archive files you will see the additional directory entries with the xyz.dir extensions, via which you can directly access the contents of the archives.

IMPORTANT WARNING: Please remember that in this situation the temporary files that are created when you extract or modify archives are always stored on the client computer. This means that you need a reliable network connection, particularly for modifying the contents of archives via the network; the remote computer must function reliably as a server and must be fully available without interruption. If the network link is interrupted while you are modifyingan archive, before the data is written back to the archive file, then there is no way to close the archive properly!

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is only active on the server computer

In this scenario ZipMan 99 DELUXE's virtual directories are already displayed on the server computer and they are thus fully visible to client computers as normal folders. Whether or not files stored in archives on the server computer can be modified by clients depends on the current settings of ZipMan 99 DELUXE on theserver computer.

Please always remember that users on client computers may not have any idea that folders with the extension xyz.dir they see on the network are actually virtual directories. Nor do they know that these virtual directories are mirror imagesof the contents of archive files, and that modifying files in these directories actually modifies an archive file on the server computer.

In some circumstances problems can arise when virtual directories (and possibly also the associated archive files) are copied from the server to the client computer. After the copy operation there are then two copies of the data on the client -- one copy in a genuine folder and one copy in the form of the archive file. On the client machine thesetwo copies are completely independent of one another; any changes made to the contents of the genuine folder are then (of course) not mirrored in the archive file.

If ZipMan 99 DELUXE is then installed on the client machine all the genuine folders with standard archive extensions (created by the copy operations) will automatically be hidden. At the same time, ZipMan 99 DELUXE will also display new virtual directories (with the same names as the real folders that are now hidden) for the archive files, if they are still present.

This scenario can lead to some very confusing and contradictory situations. For a more detailed discussion of this topic and the associated problems please see Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions.

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed on both the client and the server computer

In this scenario the virtual directories displayed on the server machine are also visible on the network as normal folders. On the client machine ZipMan 99 DELUXE will hide these virtual directories and display its own virtual directories, which it will generate automatically for the archive files found on the server machine.

This sounds more complicated than it actually is. The following example will help to make it a little clearer:

Let's assume that you have a genuine folder called Test on the server computer, containing an archive file called data.zip. The directory structure on the server will then look like this:

Contents of the folder Test on the server:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

The client computer has no way of telling whether the directories listed on the server are real folders or virtual directories. What the client "sees" is thus this:

Contents of the folder Test as seen by the client:

The file data.zip

The folder data.zip.dir

On the client machine ZipMan 99 DELUXE naturally wants to create a virtual directory for the file data.zip, which it automatically identifies as an archive. The existing directory data.zip.dir, which ZipMan must assume is genuine, is thus automatically hidden (this is standard procedure for genuine folders with archive extensions) and a new virtual directory is displayed for the archive file. The result is the following directory structure on the client machine:

Contents of the folder Test on the client:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

As you can see, despite the seeming complexity of the background process the result is a mirror image of the genuine directory structure on the server. What the client machine sees is an archive file called data.zip and a virtual directory called data.zip.dir associated with this archive file, which corresponds precisely to the actual situation.

Important Note: This scenario does have one feature that is very important to remember, however. Read-only and read/write access to the archive contents on the server are now determined by the ZipMan 99 DELUXE settings on the client machine, not the server settings!

Please observe the following basic rules in order to avoid problems when using ZipMan 99 DELUXE in a network environment:

1. Inform all users with access to the network that folders with the extension .xyz.dir are actually virtual directories linked to archive files, and that the presence and functionality of these directories depends on the installation and settings of ZipMan 99 DELUXE on the individual computers involved.

2. Please plan the deployment of ZipMan 99 DELUXE in a network environment carefully. Decide which computers you are going to install ZipMan 99 DELUXE on and the type of access you want to allow for archive contents, and who should be responsible for configuring ZipMan 99 DELUXE for network use.

3. Make absolutely sure that the same extensions are used for virtual directories on all computers connected to the network -- i.e. either .xyz.dir or .x~d. This is critical -- if different machines use different extensions the users may see two virtual directories for each archive file and it is very likely that this will cause problems and/or confusion. For details on selecting and setting archive extensions please see Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

4. Ideally, all computers in the network should only be permitted read-only access to archives. If this is not possible you should at least implement a carefully planned access control strategy for the folders in which you want to or must permit read/write access. For details on doing this please see Activating and Deactivating Directories.

5. Take all necessary steps to prevent the presence or creation of genuinefolders with the extensions reserved by ZipMan 99 DELUXE for virtual directories. Among other things, this means that ZipMan 99 DELUXE should be installed on all computers in the network with the option Prevent creation of directories with archive extensions enabled. For more details on this topic please see Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions.


Case-Sensitive File Systems

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

g) Case-Sensitive File Systems

The Windows® 95/98 file system is a so-called "case-preserving" file system. This means that if you use upper and lower case characters when you create or rename files and folders the system records the names exactly as you enter them, "preserving" the case. The file and folder names can then be displayed exactly as entered, for example in directory listings. However, when you enter the name of a file to access it (e.g. to load a file) you don't have to enter the correct upper and lower case letters. Entering test.doc, TEST.DOC and TeSt.DoC will all load exactly the same file. By the same token, this also means that you can't have one file called TEST.DOC and another file called test.doc in the same folder.

In other operating systems, for example Unix and Unix derivatives like Linux, case-sensitive file systems are the general standard. Case-sensitive means that the case of file and directory names is always important. You must always enter filenames exactly as recorded to access a specific file, and it's quite possible to have one file called TEST.DOC and another called test.doc and yet another called tEsT.Doc, all in the same directory.

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is an extension for Windows® 95/98 and has only been thoroughly tested on Windows® 95/98 systems.This applies in particular for deployment in networks. If you use ZipMan 99 DELUXE on computers with access to case-sensitive file systems (e.g. in the same network with Unix or Linux computers) you will probably experience limited functionality or unpredictable behavior with ZipMan 99 DELUXE when accessing these network drives.


Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

h) Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions

The virtual directories that ZipMan 99 DELUXE displays for archive files are identified by means of their characteristic extensions. By default all the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (ZIP, LZH, ARJ, RAR, TAR and TGZ) are activated on all local drives. The corresponding virtual directories are identified with the extensions zip.dir, lzh.dir, arj.dir and so on for long filenames and the extensions .z~d, .l~d, .a~d and so on for short filenames. For more details please see Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

If a folder for which ZipMan 99 DELUXE archive support is enabled contains genuine folders with the extensions that ZipMan currently uses to identify virtual directories, these genuine folders will automatically be hidden and thus made invisible to the user -- irrespective of whether there is an archive stored in that location or not. This means that you can always be sure that folders with the extensions .xyz.dir or .x~d are virtual directories and that a corresponding archive file exists -- provided, of course, that archive support is enabled for the folder in which the virtual directory is displayed.

Important! To prevent confusion and misleading situations you should take steps to ensure that there are no genuine folders on your system with the extensions that ZipMan 99 DELUXE uses for its virtual directories. If you have any directories with names like this we strongly advise that you rename them before using ZipMan 99 DELUXE.

If you're not sure whether a folder on your computer with the extension .xyz.dir or .x~d is a virtual directory or a genuine folder just deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support temporarily (see Global Activation/Deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE.) and redisplay the contents of the folder containing the entry you want to check. If you are using the Windows® Explorer press F5 to refresh the directory contents. If the folder with the archive extension is still displayed then you can be sure that it is a genuine folder and not a virtual directory.

Note: Folders with the extension .xyz.dir on network drives running ZipMan 99 DELUXE  may still be virtual directories,even if ZipMan's archive support is disabled on the local computer. In this scenario these virtual directories are generated and displayed by the "server", i.e. the remote computer that you are accessing. If the option Hide virtual directories on network drives for deactivated programs is enabled in ZipMan 99 DELUXE's preferences (this is the default setting following installation) then directories with extensions in the format xyz.dir and x~d are automatically hidden on network drives when ZipMan 99 DELUXE is deactivated on the local computer.

Under certain circumstances it is also possible to create genuine folders with the extensions reserved for virtual directories with ZipMan 99 DELUXE itself. For example, this can happen when you copy a virtual directory into a folder for which ZipMan 99 DELUXE archive support is disabled. To prevent this, just make sure that the option Prevent creation of directories with archive extensions is enabled in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE preferences (this is the default setting following installation). ZipMan 99 DELUXE will then always prevent the creation of genuine directories with archive extensions, irrespective of whether archive support is enabled or disabled.

There is also a second way to inadvertently create genuine directories with the extensions reserved for ZipMan 99 DELUXE's virtual directories: By copying a virtual directory to a network drive on a computer where ZipMan 99 DELUXE is not installed. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent this other than by being aware that it is possible. If you decide to install ZipMan 99 DELUXE on this computer later on it is also important to remember to rename all genuine folders with these reserved extensions before starting the installation.


Nested Archives

II.14.  Typical Problems and How to Avoid Them

i) Nested Archives

The current version of ZipMan 99 DELUXE doesn't support nested archives -- i.e. archives stored within other archives -- with virtual directories. If you want to access the contents of an archive file stored as a file within another archive file you must first extract the nested archive from the archive in which it is stored.

Please observe the following warnings and procedures if you need to compress folders that contain archive files -- which automatically leads to the creation of nested archives.

IMPORTANT WARNING:

When compressing folders containing archives always use the Compress command added to the Windows® Explorer pop-up menus by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (see Compressing Files and Directories) -- don't try to do this with another program or file manager!

The Compress command is fully integrated in ZipMan 99 DELUXE and ensures that only the archive file itself is copied when you copy archives into other archives. If you try to copy folders containing archives into another archive with other filemanagers you will copy both the archive file and the associated virtual directory, which can lead to the situation described below.

Note: By default all the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE (ZIP, LZH, ARJ, RAR, TAR and TGZ) are activated. Thecorresponding virtual directories are identified by the extensions .zip.dir, .lzh.dir, .arj.dir and so on. The following discussion assumes that these default extensions are activated. For further details on selecting and activating archive types and their extensions please refer to Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions.

A cautionary example of what can happen when you try to copy archives into virtual directories (i.e. to copy archives into other archives)

Let's assume that you have a folder called Test containing an archive file called data.zip that you want to add to another archive, called backup.zip. Using a third-party file manager (i.e. not the Windows® Explorer) you copy the folder Test into the virtual directory backup.zip.dir. The directory structure for the source files for this operation looks like this:

Contents of the folder Test:

The file data.zip

The (virtual) directory data.zip.dir

After completion of the copy operation the contents of the target directory backup.zip.dir (i.e. the target archive backup.zip) will look like this:

Contents of the (virtual) directory backup.zip.dir:

The folder Test, containing

The file data.zip

The (genuine) folder data.zip.dir

This means that you now have two copies of the contents ofthe archive data.zip, one in the form of the archive file itself and one in the form of the folder data.zip.dir. Since the current version ofZipMan 99 DELUXE doesn't provide virtual directory support for archives nested within archives the virtual directory data.zip.dir has been converted into a genuine folder and added to the archive file backup.zip.

Note: If the option Prevent creation of directories with archive extensions is enabled in ZipMan 99 DELUXE's preferences (this is the default setting following installation) thesystem will not permit the generation of the folder data.zip.dir in the archivebackup.zip.


The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences
III. The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences

ZipMan 99 DELUXE is fully configurable -- you can modify and adjust a wide range of settings and options to adapt the program and its behavior to your personal needs and the way you use archives. To display the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog box right-click on the The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon and select Preferences in the pop-up menu displayed.

The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog box is organized in six tabs with settings and options in the following categories:

III.1. General Preferences

III.2. Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions

III.3. Activating and Deactivating Directories

III.4. Default Deactivation for Specific Programs

III.5. Compatibility

III.6. Temporary Backups


General Preferences

III.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences

III.1. General Preferences

The General tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog contains the following settings and options that affect the general behavior of ZipMan 99 DELUXE:

Deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE globally at Windows startup

Back up archives before modifying

Directory for temporary files

Warn when free disk space drops below xx MB

Compression

Hot keys


Deactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE globally at Windows startup

If you select this check box ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access support will always be globally disabled when you boot Windows.

Default setting: Not selected

Note: To reactivate ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support when this option is enabled right-click on the 'The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Taskbar Icon' and select the Active option in the pop-up menu.


Back up archives before modifying

When this check box is selected ZipMan 99 DELUXE automatically creates temporary backup copies of archives before they are modified.

Default setting: Selected

Note: The backup copies are created in the temporary files directory and are automatically deleted as soon as modification of thearchive has been completed successfully. If an archive cannot be rewritten correctly following modification (e.g. because of a power failure or a system crash) you will find a list of the available backups on the Backups tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog when you reboot Windows®.


Directory for temporary files

This field allows you to enter the path of the folder where you want ZipMan 99 DELUXE to store its temporary files. To search for the folder just click on the Browse button.

Default setting: The standard Windows® temporary directory, normally C:\WINDOWS\TEMP'

Note: Please remember that the drive containing the selected directory must have enough free space to store the entire contents of the largest archive you will access in decompressed format. In addition to this you will also need space for ZipMan 99 DELUXE's automatic temporary backups if you want to modify archives as well as just reading them.


Warn when free disk space drops below xx MB

This parameter defines the minimum amount of space that must be available for storing temporary files. A warning is displayed automatically as soon as disk space drops below this level while you are using archives.

Default setting: 16MB

IMPORTANT: When a message warning that available space has dropped below the limit appears please close all open archives immediately. Alternatively, you can also delete files you don't need to make more space available on the temporary files drive or change the temporary files directory setting to a directory on another drive with more free space available.

WARNING: ZipMan 99 DELUXE cannot process archives properly if no space is available for the creation of temporary files. If archives are open for write access when this happens it may not be possible to close them correctly, which can lead to data loss!


Compression

The radio buttons Fast, Normal and Maximum set the degree of compression used when ZipMan 99 DELUXE creates or modifies archives. Fast compression creates slightly larger archives but works fastest. Maximum compression generates the smallest possible archives but requires slightly more processor time to get its work done. Normal compression is a good compromise between archive size and processor load.

Default setting: Fast


Hot Keys

These fields enable you to enter and change the hot key combinations you can use to control ZipMan 99 DELUXE directly via the keyboard. You can enter combinations for global activation/deactivation of ZipMan 99 DELUXE, for activating/deactivating archive support for specific programs and for displaying the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog box.

Note: Choose key combinations that are not used by other applications. To delete existing combinations just press the delete key (DEL) in the corresponding entry field.


Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions

III.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences

III.2. Selecting Archive Types and Directory Extensions

The Archives tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog contains options with which you can specify the archive types supported by ZipMan 99 DELUXE and which extensions you want to use for the virtual directories displayed for archive files. In addition to this you can also specifiy whether you want ZipMan 99 DELUXE to be registered as the standard application for accessing archive files.

Activating and deactivating archive types

Registering archive file types with ZipMan 99 DELUXE

Canceling archive file type registrations

The .x~d extension format for virtual directories

The .xyz.dir extension format for virtual directories

Setting the Hidden attribute for virtual directories


Activating and deactivating archive types

ZipMan 99 DELUXE supports all the following standard archive formats:

- ARJ archives with the .arj extension

- LHA archives with the .lzh extension

- RAR archives with the .rar extension

- TAR archives with the .tar extension

- TGZ archives with the .tgz extension

- ZIP archives with the .zip extension

To deactivate support for an archive type select its entry in the Archive Type column and activate the Deactivated check box.

Note: When an archive type is deactivated no virtual directories will be displayed for this type and you can no longer compress and extract archives of this type with the Windows® Explorer.

To re-activate an archive type just select its entry and click in the Deactivated check box again to clear the check mark.

Important notes: Password-protected archives and archives within archives (nested archives) are not supported. When ZipMan 99 DELUXE generates or modifies RAR archives they are stored in the RAR 1.55 non-solid format. Solid RAR archives can only be read, they cannot be modified or written with ZipMan 99 DELUXE.


Registering archive file types with ZipMan 99 DELUXE

Click on Register with ZipMan 99 DELUXE to register ZipMan 99 DELUXE as the standard application for the file types .arj, .lzh, .rar, .tar, .tgz and .zip.

Note: When ZipMan 99 DELUXE is registered as the standard application for archives and you open a file of one of the above types (e.g. by double-clicking on the filename in an Explorer window or by right-clicking and selecting Open in the file's pop-up menu) ZipMan 99 DELUXE is activated automatically, displaying an Explorer window with the contents of the archive.


Canceling archive file type registrations

Click on Cancel Registration to cancel the registration of ZipMan 99 DELUXE as the standard application for the file types .arj, .lzh, .rar, .tar, .tgz and .zip.

Note: When you cancel ZipMan 99 DELUXE's file registrations each file type is reassigned the registration it had before you registered it with ZipMan. If the file type was unregistered before it will become unregistered again. If the file types are not currently registered with ZipMan 99 DELUXE selecting Cancel Registration has no effect.


The .x~d extension format for virtual directories

Select the .x~d radio button if you want ZipMan 99 DELUXE to also use the .x~d format extensions to identify virtual directories when long filenames are active. Virtual directories with the following extensions will then be displayed for the individual archive types:

- 'Data.a~d' für das ARJ-Archiv 'Data.arj'

- Data.a~d for the ARJ archive Data.arj

- Data.l~d for the LHA archive Data.lzh

- Data.r~d for the RAR archive Data.rar

- Data.t~d for the TAR archive Data.tar

- Data.g~d for the TGZ archive Data.tgz

- Data.z~d for the ZIP archive Data.zip

Default setting: Not selected


The .xyz.dir extension format for virtual directories

Select the .xyz.dir radio button if you want ZipMan 99 DELUXE to use the .xyz.dir format extensions to identify virtual directories when long filenames are active. Virtual directories with the following extensions will then be displayed for the individual archive types:

- Data.arj.dir  for the ARJ archive Data.arj

- Data.lzh.dir for the LHA archive Data.lzh

- Data.rar.dir  for the RAR archive Data.rar

- Data.tar.dir for the TAR archive Data.tar

- Data.tgz.dir for the TGZ archive Data.tgz

- Data.zip.dir for the ZIP archive Data.zip

Default setting: Selected


Setting the Hidden attribute for virtual directories

Activating the Set hidden attribute check box sets the "hidden" attribute for the virtual directories that ZipMan 99 DELUXE displays for archive files.

Default setting: Not selected

Notes:

If you activate the Do not show hidden files or Do not show hidden or system files option in the Explorer's folder options (View - Folder Options - View tab - Files and Folders - Hidden Files) then the virtual directories generated by ZipMan 99 DELUXE will not be displayed in the Windows® Explorer when the hidden attribute is set.

This mode is useful if you find that virtual directories feature gets in the way and only want to access archives with the Compress and Extract options added to the Explorer's pop-up menus. To display the contents of an archive when the hidden attribute is set just select the Open option from the archive file's pop-up menu.


Activating and Deactivating Directories

III.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences

III.3. Activating and Deactivating Directories

The Directories tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog contains options with which you can set archive access support for specific drives and directories. You have the following three options for each directory:

- Deactivated -- No virtual directories are displayed for archive files. Access to archive contents with ZipMan 99 DELUXE is disabled.

- Read Only -- Virtual directories are displayed for archive files but only read access is permitted to the contents of archives. If you try todelete or modify the contents of an archive via ZipMan 99 DELUXE you will get an error message, in the same way as if you had tried to modify a file on a write-protected drive or a CD-ROM.

- Read/Write -- Virtual directories are displayed for archive files and you have full read and write access to the contents of archives via ZipMan 99 DELUXE.

Notes:

By default ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed with read-only access to the contents of archives for all local drives. This setting doesn't allow write access to existing archives but it does permit you to create archives and add files to them with the Compress command added to the Windows® Explorer's pop-up menu.

If you allow general read/write access to the contents of archives please remember that this also gives all other application programs permission to access the contents of archives via ZipMan 99 DELUXE. If these programs function incorrectly or if you experience a power failure or a system crash while an application has an archive open with write access it will not be possible to close the archive properly and this can cause corruption of the entire contents of the archive and loss of the data. For a detailed discussion of this subject please see Write Access to Archive Files.

When you are activating access support for specific folders you can also choose how far down the directory tree your setting is to take effect. You have three options:

- This Folder and its Subfolders -- The new access support setting applies for the current folder and all its subfolders for which you have not explicitly specified different access settings.

- This folder -- The new access support setting only applies for the current folder. The settings for its subfolders will be determined either by thesettings of any parent folders further up the directory tree, or the settings you have specifically set for the individual subfolders.

- Subfolders Only -- The new access support setting only applies for the subfolders of the current folder for which youhave not explicitly specified different access settings. The settings of the current folder itself are not affected -- they are determined by the settings of any parent folders further up the directory tree.

There are two display modes for viewing and modifying the archive access settings: a hierarchical directory tree mode and a list mode.

Hierarchical Directory Tree Display Mode

This is the default mode displayed when the Display as List box is not checked. In this mode all drives and folders are displayed in the standard hierarchical tree structure similar to that used in the Windows® Explorer.

The current archive access support settings of each folder are displayed in brackets to the right of the folder's directory entry. The appearance of the folder icon to the left of the folder name also indicates the archive access support status for the folder's subfolders, as follows:

- A plain folder -- Archive support is deactivated for this folder and all its subfolders.

- Solid blue circle -- Read-only archive access is activated for this folder and all its subfolders.

- Solid red circle -- Read/write archive access is activated for this folder and all its subfolders.

- Half-solid green circle -- Archive access support is deactivated for this folder and its subfolders. However, the folder also has at least one subfolder for which a different configuration has been explicitly set.

- Half-solid blue circle -- Read-only archive access support is set for this folder andits subfolders. However, the folder also has at least one subfolder for which a different configuration has been explicitly set.

- Half-solid red circle -- Read/write archive access support is set for this folder and its subfolders. However, the folder also has at least one subfolder for which a different configuration has been explicitly set.

- Empty green circle -- Archive access support is deactivated for this folder only. Its subfolders have different access support settings defined either explicitlyor by the settings of parent folders above them in the directory tree.

- Empty blue circle -- Read-only archive access is enabled for the contents of this folder only. Its subfolders have different access support settings defined either explicitly or by the settings of parent folders above them in the directory tree.

- Empty red circle -- Read/write access is enabled for the contents of this folder only. Its subfolders have different access support settings defined either explicitly or by the settings ofparent folders above them in the directory tree.

To change the access configuration of a folder just right-click on the folder's entry in the directory tree and select the appropriate option from the pop-up menu.

Note: Redundant settings are automatically identified and discarded. For example, if you configure a folder and all its subfolders for read-only archive access and then try to explicitly configure one of the subfolders for read-only access the program will simplycancel the configuration setting for the subfolder.

When you make individual archive access changes within the directory hierarchy the changes are displayed in pointed brackets at the place in the tree where you make the change. The first value shows the changed setting for the current directory, and the second value shows the changed setting for its subdirectories. If individual settings are not affected by the changes (i.e. you only change the setting for the current folder or only for its subfolders) the message See Above is displayed for the unaffected setting, indicating that its setting is defined by its parent folders.

The following displays are possible:

<Deactivated, Deactivated> -- Archive access has been disabled at this point in the tree for this folder and its subfolders.

<Deactivated, See Above> -- Archive access has been disabled at this point in the tree for this folder only. The settings for its subfolders are still defined by a parent folder higher up the tree.

<Deactivated, Read-Only> -- Archive access has been disabled at this point in the tree for this folder. Read-only access has been set at this point for all subfolders of this folder.

<Deactivated, Read/Write> -- Archive access has been disabled at this point in the tree for this folder. Read/write access has been set at this point for all subfolders of this folder.

<See Above, Deactivated> -- Archive access has been disabled at this point in the tree for this folders subfolders. The access status of this folder itself is defined by a parent folder.

<See Above, Read-Only> -- Read-only archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder's subfolders. The access status of this folder itself is defined by a parent folder.

<See Above, Read/Write> -- Read/write archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder's subfolders. The access status of this folder itself is defined by a parent folder.

<Read-Only, Deactivated> -- Read-only archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder. Archive access has been disabled at this point in the tree for the folder's subfolders.

<Read-Only, See Above> -- Read-only archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder. The settings for its subfolders are still defined by a parent folder higher up the tree.

<Read-Only, Read-Only> -- Read-only archive access has been activated at this point in the tree both for this folder and its subfolders.

<Read-Only, Read/Write> -- Read-only archive access has been activated at this point in the tree bothfor this folder. Read/write archive access has been activated at this point in the tree forthis folder's subfolders.

<Read/Write, Deactivated> -- Read/write archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder. Archive access has been deactivated at this point in the tree for the folder's subfolders.

<Read/Write, See Above> -- Read/write archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder. The settings for its subfolders are still defined by a parent folder higher up the tree.

<Read/Write, Read-Only> -- Read/write archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder. Read-only archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder's subfolders.

<Read/Write, Read/Write> -- Read/write archive access has been activated at this point in the tree for this folder and its subfolders.

List Display Mode

When you activate the Display as List check box ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access configuration settings for drives and folders is shown in list form. Only directories and drives for which you have explicitly changed the settings are included in the list.

Understanding the list display is quite simple as long as you remember that archive access settings are always inherited down the directory tree unless you explicitly change individual folders' settings. Looking down the directory tree from the top -- the top always being the drive itself -- you will find entries in the list at every point where the archive access settings have been changed.

When ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed read-only access is activated by default for all local drives. As a result, the list only shows one entry for the root level of each drive (e.g. A:, C:, D: and so on). There are no entries for any of the drives' subfolders because they all have the same settings as the root.

Each directory list entry shows two values indicating the changes to the archive access settings at this point in the tree. The first value is the setting for the current folder, the second value the setting for the folder's subfolders. As in directory tree view, if only one value is changed the message See Above is displayed for the other value, indicating that the configuration for this value is still determined by a parent folder higher up in the tree.

The individual list entries are thus exactly the same as the tree branches in the directory tree display (see above for details), using the same folder icons and colored symbols to indicate the configuration settings.

To change the settings for a folder just right-click on its list entry and select the appropriate option from the pop-up menu. To delete an entry from the list, thus canceling its settings, select its entry and then click on the Remove button (or right-click on the entry and select Remove in the pop-up menu.)

You can also add an entry with new settings to the list without switching to directory view. Simply click on the Add Entry button to display the Folder Settings dialog box, where you can display a directory to select the folder and then define its archive access settings.

Note: Redundant settings are automatically identified and discarded. For example, if you configure a folder and all its subfolders for read-only archive access and then try to explicitly configure one of the subfolders for read-only access the program will simply cancel the configuration setting for the subfolder.


Default Deactivation for Specific Programs

III.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences

III.4. Default Deactivation for Specific Programs

The Programs tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog enables you to specify programs for which ZipMan's archive access support is to be deactivated by default.

Introduction:

When ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access is activated you can experience problems with applications that read the complete directory structure of a drive, either in specific situations or at regular intervals. For all programs except ZipMan 99 DELUXE the virtual directories that ZipMan generates for archives are identical to ordinary Windows® folders. This means that ordinary applications automatically treat virtual directories as ordinary folders, and there are some situations where this is not desirable.

For example, backup programs "see" both a normal folder called data.zip.dir (actually a virtual directory) and a file called data.zip, and they will thus back up both these objects independently from one another, redundantly creating two copies of the data. Other applications like uninstallers and indexing programs will often unpack the entire contents of archives every time they analyze the contents of a drive if ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access support is enabled.

For a detailed discussion of these issues please see Backup Programs and Uninstallers, Access Logs, Indexing Programs and Similar Applications.

During the installation process ZipMan 99 DELUXE automatically tries to identify applications on your system for which archive access support should generally be disabled, adding them to the list of programs that are deactivated by default. You can also edit this list manually with the following two options:

Adding applications to the deactivated programs list

Removing applications from the deactivated programs list

Notes:

The algorithm used by ZipMan 99 DELUXE to identify the starting of programs for which archive support is deactivated by default checks both the program's normal long filename and its short MS-DOS® filename in 8/3 character format. When a program is started ZipMan 99 DELUXE immediately checks its name and disables archive access support for the program if its filename matches one of the two versions. Deactivation depends only on the program filename and is independent of the location of the program -- it will thus still work even if you move the program to a different location.

You can also dynamically re-activate archive access support for programs for which it is disabled by default. Using the right mouse button, drag the ZipMan 99 DELUXE taskbar icon across the desktop and drop it on the program window. This automatically changes the archive access setting. For full details see Dynamic Activation/Deactivation for Specific Programs.)


Adding applications to the deactivated programs list

To add an application to the list of programs for which ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access is deactivated by default just select the Add button. This displays the standard Windows® Open dialog with which you can then select the program file you want to add. If you know the path and name of the program's exec file you can also enter them manually, then click on the Open button.


Removing applications from the deactivated programs list

Removing an application from the list of programs for which ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive access is deactivated by default is very simple. Just select the application's entry in the list and click on the Remove button. That's it.


Compatibility

III.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences

III.5. Compatibility

The Compatibility tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog contains options that affect the appearance of the virtual directories displayed for archive files by ZipMan 99 DELUXE. The settings you choose for these options determine how, when and in what situations virtual directories and their contents are visible for other applications.

Set read-only attribute for files in read-only archives

Suppress error messages for file deletion in non-existent archives

Prevent creation of directories with archive extensions

Hide virtual directories on network drives for deactivated programs

Display error message for corrupt archives

Display empty directory for corrupt archives

Display directory with ERROR file for corrupt archives

Monochrome mouse pointer


Set read-only attribute for files in read-only archives

Checking this box makes ZipMan 99 DELUXE automatically set the read-only attribute for files in virtual directories with read-only access.

Default setting: Not selected

Notes:

One advantage of setting the read-only attribute is that some applications (e.g. word processors) then automatically register that modification of the file is not permitted. The disadvantage is that the attribute alsoremains set when you extract or copy files from archives with the Explorer, so that the extracted files also have the read-only attribute.


Suppress error messages for file deletion in non-existent archives

Checking this box suppresses the error messages that are normally generated when a program tries to access a file in a non-existent archive (i.e. in an archive that no longer exists).

Default setting: Selected

Notes:

Setting this option can prevent the unnecessary error messagesthat are generated when you simultaneously delete virtual directories and their corresponding archives. For example, when you delete an archive file its virtual directory "disappears" automatically. If an application program then tries to delete the directory because it was included in the list of objects to be deleted this will normally generate an error message.

This solution isn't perfect, however. Even when the option is set some application programs may still display an error message if they explicitly register that a file marked for deletion no longer exists.


Prevent creation of directories with archive extensions

Checking this box prevents the creation of genuine folders with the extensions reserved by ZipMan 99 DELUXE for its virtual directories. If you then try to create a genuine folder with an extension in the format .xyz.dir or .x~d you will receive an error message.

Default setting: Selected

Warning! To avoid confusion and conflicts it is very important toensure that there are no genuine folders on your system using the extensions reserved for ZipMan 99 DELUXE's virtual directories. For a detailed discussion of this issue and the problems associated with real folders using these extensions see 'Genuine Directories with Archive Extensions'.


Hide virtual directories on network drives for deactivated programs

Check this box to disable display on the network of folders with the .xyz.dir and .x~d extensions reserved for ZipMan 99 DELUXE's archive support functions.

Default setting: Selected

Note: If you don't check this box all folders on a computer running ZipMan 99 DELUXE, including the virtual directories displayed for archive files, will be visible on the network as normal Windows® folders -- i.e. when other computers access the drives containing these directories via the network they will see the virtual directories as ordinary folders, even if ZipMan 99 DELUXE is deactivated on the remote computer (either globally or for the applicationaccessing the network). Selecting the Hide virtual directories on network drives for deactivated programs option makes these folders invisible.


Display error message for corrupt archives

When you select this radio button an error message is displayed when you try to access a corrupt, invalid or damaged archive file.

Default setting: Not selected


Display empty directory for corrupt archives

When you select this radio button an empty virtual directory is displayed when you try to access a corrupt, invalid or damaged archive file.

Default setting: Not selected


Display directory with ERROR file for corrupt archives

When you select this radio button a virtual directory containing a (virtual) file called ERROR is displayed when you try to access a corrupt, invalid or damaged archive file.

Default setting: Selected


Monochrome mouse pointer

This option is useful if your graphics adapter driver doesn't support color mouse pointers. This includes the standard VGA driver used by Windows® 95/98 when you boot the computer in safe mode, and it can also apply when you use a generic driver not optimized for your specific graphics adapter.

Default setting: Not selected

Note: When you drag the ZipMan 99 DELUXE taskbar icon away from the taskbar using the right mouse button a small traffic light symbol is displayed beneath the mouse pointer. This symbol indicates how the archive access status of a program will change when you release the mouse pointer with the traffic lights over the program's window. Use the monochrome mouse pointer if you can't see the traffic light symbol clearly.


Temporary Backups

III.  The ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences

III.6. Temporary Backups

Introduction:

Normally, you will only need read-only access to the contents of archives -- this enables you to create archives and add files to them but prevents programs from modifying the files stored in archives. If you need to enable write access as well to allow direct modification of files in archivesZipMan 99 DELUXE can generate automatic temporary backups of archives opened for write access before the archive contents are modified. As soon as the archive has been written correctly the temporary backup file is deleted automatically. This automatic temporary backup function is enabled by default when ZipMan 99 DELUXE is installed.

Unchecking the Back up archives before modifying box in the General tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog box disables this automatic backup function.

Warning: If you do disable this function, please remember that you can lose the entire contents of an archive if an archive file opened for write access cannot be closed properly  -- even if only one file was open! For a detailed discussion of this issue please see Write Access to Archive Files.

The Backups tab in the ZipMan 99 DELUXE Preferences dialog box displays a list of the automatic backups created for archive files that couldn't be closed properly, forexample because of a system crash, an application error or a power failure.

Note: Even if write access is enabled these backups are only listed if archive files couldn't be closed properly. As soon a write access archive file is closed correctly the backup copy is deleted automatically.

Each backup copy in the list is shown with its creation date, the name and path of the original archive file for which it was generated and the name of the backup copy in the temporary files folder.

The following functions are provided for managing temporary backup files:

Open Archive

Open Backup

Restore Archive

Delete Backup


Open Archive

This option opens an Explorer window with the current contents of the archive for which a backup has been created. Select the entry in the list, then click on Open Archive.

Note: Since temporary backups are normally deleted automatically when a write access archive is closed successfully the presence of a backup copy in the list generally indicates that the original archive was not closed correctly (e.g. because of a system crash or power failure). It is thus quite possible that the original archive isdamaged and cannot be opened.


Open Backup

Clicking on Open Backup opens an Explorer window displaying the contents of the current backup selected in the list.

Note: The temporary backups created by ZipMan 99 DELUXE are copies of write access archives that were probably not closed correctly (e.g. because of a system crash or power failure).These copies are normally deleted automatically as soon as archives open for write access are closed successfully. The presence of backup files thus indicates a problem with the original archive.


Restore Archive

This option automatically restores the original archive from the backup copy. To restore a specific archive just select its entry in the backup list and click on Restore Archive.

Note: The temporary backups created by ZipMan 99 DELUXE are copies of write access archives that were probably not closed correctly (e.g. because of a system crash or power failure). These copies are normally deleted automatically as soon as archives open for write access are closed successfully. The presence of backup files thus indicates a problem with the original archive.


Delete Backup

You can also delete the backup copies of archives -- for example after you have confirmed that the original archive file is still okay. To do this just select the entry in the list and click on Delete Backup.

Note: The temporary backups created by ZipMan 99 DELUXE are copies of write access archives that were probably not closed correctly (e.g. because of a system crash or power failure). These copies are normally deleted automatically as soon as archives open for write access are closed successfully. The presence of backup files thus indicates a problem with the original archive.