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DISK FILER Version 2.9 QUICK29.DOC by Steve Brown April 10, 1992 PlaneWrap Software Copyright (C) 1992 A Diskette and Hard Drive Cataloging System with a Different Concept QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: i TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page # ===== ==== = Table of Contents i License/Warranty/Legals 1 Introduction 2 Installation 3 Some Simple Guides 4 Quick Overview Text 5 Ending 9 QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 1 *** LICENSE/WARRANTY/LEGALS *** ======================= If you are using a shareware copy you are allowed to use Disk Filer for a trial period of 30 days. After 30 days you are required to Register Disk Filer for $17.50 in U. S. currency. The registration will entitle you to 1 free upgrade when it is released. Also after the 1 free upgrade you will be entitled to upgrade thereafter for 1/2 the current registration fee. You must send the date and time of the "DF.EXE" file along with registration in order to be entitled to a free upgrade. You will find a registration form at the end of this documentation, if this is a shareware version of Disk Filer. If you are a registered user of Disk Filer, and shareware users alike, you are then granted usage according to the following, in which use of software constitutes agreement. Disk Filer is distributed for use strictly as is with NO warranty of any kind, written or implied or otherwise. This program has been tested to work as described in the documentation, but in no way means it will work in all situations or for a certain specific purpose. I am not responsible or liable for any damages in any way from inuse, misuse, failure or damage to equipment or possible infringement consequentially or inconsequentially, directly or indirectly. I also am not liable or responsible for any loss of profit, or any other monetary matters which may have been or is incurred in the use of this product. With the above said and done; Enjoy Disk Filer and know where your files are using the Different Concept System! QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 2 *** INTRODUCTION *** ============ Disk Filer is a diskette and hard drive filing or cataloging system using an ASCII format. You will find Disk Filer (DF) to be a straight forward work horse type of program. I at this release, which is the 4th release of DF, have not written code for pulldown menus as a method for selecting a procedure of the program. I believe you will find that DF has been well thought out to work well, with speed, efficiency, and without crashing or freezing up your computer if you follow these instructions. Generally I've found that when you receive a module error, it's because you have forgotten to do a little preceding step before doing a main procedure. An example of this would be: forgetting to make a new Storage File before starting to file a disk. DF has many features and will handle all of your information needs about where your program, or data or other files are located, or if you even have them providing you have cataloged all your disks. You may find some features not as complete as other cataloging programs, but it's done for your Safety in the end. There is usually a Caution or Warning statement put on screen for a brief moment explaining a safeguard for you. An example would be: by warning you not to replace a volume label of a program disk because it is used by the installation program as an identifier, thus renaming the volume label would cause your installation program to not work. It would be hard to relabel this disk if it happened to be the original disks because of not knowing the proper label. I believe you will find DF to be a valuable product to have as one of your regular use programs. Now let's learn a little more about its abilities and how to do them after we cover the installation process. QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 3 *** INSTALLATION *** ============ The best way I have found to use Disk Filer is by placing it in it's own subdirectory, "\dskfiler" (which is mandatory), and then putting a few of the files in a subdirectory which is already in your path statement. The names of the files to be placed in the subdirectory in your path are: PPT.EXE, SCRN??.COM, CAPSLOCK.COM, ASK.COM. Another way is to use the install program , and then either put the "dskfiler" subdirectory in the path statement or don't. A point to REMEMBER; you must use only the "Dskfiler" (without the quote marks) name as the subdirectory name when using on drives C:, D:, E:. Floppy Disk Users; you need to use the install program or copy all the decompressed files from a disk to your working copy disk and then place the following files from your DOS disk on it as well. They are: MORE.COM, CHKDSK.EXE, LABEL.COM, COMMAND.COM, FIND.COM. DF will work on drives A thru E for both storage and filing. Disk Filer is at its best when you also use another shareware program called: LIST by Vernon D. Buerg. If you wish you can rename your Editor to L.COM or L.EXE if you wish to use it in place of LIST. DF does not need to be set up for what kind of drives you have or any of your PC's configuration. It operates without needing to know video type, drives, CPU speed or type, or any other generally required setup information. DF will need 256K of RAM and DOS 2.x or higher. QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 4 *** SOME SIMPLE GUIDES *** ==== ====== ====== Some common things to remember while using DF. Remember to only press the space bar when it says "press any key", press the space bar. At some screens which pause a moment for you to read a message or inform you of something can be quickly bypassed by pressing the space bar. Likewise, if you want to hold a message or statement for a little longer press your keyboard "pause key", then press the Enter key to continue when through. Some questions such as: the one asking if you want to run a directory of the disk your about to file, can be quickly bypassed by pressing Enter. I will refer to the term "Enter", to mean to press the Return key, or the Carriage Return key, after typing in a response to a prompt. Also I have used the term "Select" to mean to type the letter(s) between the "<>" signs, or when a letter(s) is enclosed within quotes ("A"), and then press the Enter key. I believe that pressing the Enter in a wrong place has been coded so as to either inform you of the error or return you to the Main Menu of the procedure you were doing. This documentation (Quick29.doc) is meant to give you a quick overall basic understanding of Disk Filer. For more detailed information you may wish to print and read the file "DSKFIL29.DOC". I have not fully decided whether I will continue these two document files or rewrite the entire documentation into one larger file. Therefore, there may be an interim release of Disk Filer version 2.9 documentation released on the Prevail BBS as mentioned in the "Readme29.1st" file. QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 5 *** QUICK OVERVIEW TEXT *** ===== ======== ==== This documentation is written in content for the registered version of Disk Filer (DF). Some Side Notes: Disk Filer of the shareware version has an opening screen explaining shareware and the registration fee and an address. There is also a few procedures within DF that remind you to register DF. Other than the above mentioned exceptions, DF, the shareware and registered versions will work according to the documentations. From the main opening screen you will go, after a short pause, to the drives selection setup menu. DF will support for both storage and filing of drives A thru E. It is not advised to setup in installation for drive C:, then have Disk Filer use E: drive as storage. These other drive options are for advanced use as described in dskfil29.doc, and also to allow for DF to use drives above C: drive. To select the proper drives you simply have to remember to put the first letter as the Storage drive and the seconnd letter for the drive to be Filed. For Example: to store on C: drive and file A: drive, you would type at the prompt: CA and press Enter. You will then proceed to the diskette Main Menu. If you were to type "CC" you would then go to the Hard Drive Main Menu. Both Menus are basically the same for procedure selection except there is a few procedures NOT used in the Hard Drive Menu. Though the Menus appear the same, they are two different aspects in the work they perform. The similarity is for ease of use. I'll cover the main differences of the Hard Drive Menu and procedures now, and then cover the Diskette Menu procedures which will also work correspondingly the same for the Hard Drive Menu. DO REMEMBER to do ALL hard drive work within Hard Drive Menu and ALL Diskette work within the Diskette Menu. The Hard Drive Menu and sub menus are different in 7 ways. The ID# is referred to as; Hard Drive Date Identifier (HDDI) and is only 7 characters. The HDDI is usually used as in the following example: C920410 ,which is broken down as follows. "C" to denote the drive being filed, 92 to denote the Year, 04 to denote the Month and 10 to denote the Day. This is if you want to follow the international date format, but you can use any date format you want. The only requirement is the first character be an alpha character, (a letter, like A, B, E, X, Z, etc.). When using the deletion procedure there is no alarm sounded to let you know that an HDDI was deleted. The screen does change color and a flashing message does appear to substantiate that the HDDI did exist and is being deleted. The "PI" feature is NOT used within the Hard Drive Menu at all. To help remind you of wich procedure you were doing there is a different type of screen saver used, but basically they work the same. QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 6 The Add Menu is different in that it does not allow for repeat, but sends you back to the Main Hard Drive Menu. This is done because you will need to use the "R" feature before doing another hard drive. Some of the screens use a different color combination to help remind you that you are doing the hard drive procedures. Now we will continue to describe the procedures within the Main and sub Menus of the diskette Main Menu. First, you will be reminded to use DF in UPPERCASE (capslock key is turned on and off for you by DF). When you are using DF for the first time you will need to select <N> to make a new storage file (SF). To begin Filing or cataloging your diskettes you will need to place the diskette you wish to file in the drive that you chose at the drives setup menu. the density of the diskette for either 3.5 inch or 5.25 inch diskettes has no effect on DF. After selecting <A> to add the files of a diskette to the storage file, you will need to have a permanent ID# marked on the diskette. Remember this ID# is unique to that diskette until it is destroyed. You can use any identification number (ID#) you wish to use within the 8 character format. The method I use is as follows: PRG3#001 or PRG5-002. The first three letters denote the category, PRG to mean a program is on the diskette. I'll take a moment here to briefly mention a few of the other 3 letter abbreviations for categories I use: SHW = shareware, DLD = downloads, BKP = backups, DAT = data disk, GPH = graphics, MSC = miscellaneous, UTL = utilities, GAM = games, TXT = text, TST = test files or programs, DSK = disk (general), and PRG = program(s). The number 3 or 5 is to denote; 3 = 3.5 inch diskette and the 5 = 5.25 inch diskette. The "#" denotes a high density diskette and the "-" is to denote a low density diskette. Then the 3 digits from zero to 999, or for a total of 1000 diskettes can be placed in any one category. You must use the preceding zeros just like in the examples. After selecting <A> you are now in the "ID# and Storage Unit Screen". You will be prompted to take a preview, you can type "N" and press Enter, or simply press Enter to go to the next prompt. If you press Enter at the next prompt you will return to the Main Menu. The next prompt, which is the second prompt in this menu, will ask for an ID#, which you can use your own method or do as explained earlier. Next you will be asked where this diskette is being kept or stored, which is termed as storage unit of the diskette. An example would be: "DFSU 35 DATA" or "DATA STOR BOX". There is a 15 character limit, which ends at the screens' edge. The fourth and fifth prompts are if you wish to comment what is on this diskette your about to file. The comment can be about whatever you wish to state about the diskette. There is two comment lines which you will be prompted for individually, and each can be only about 60 characters per line. If you exceed this limit, which is denoted by a broken vertical line, your storage file will contain garbage. If you type "N" at the fourth prompt you will not put a comment about this diskette in the storage file, and thusly will save more QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 7 bytes from being added to the storage file. After you have answered the prompts DF will make a check for any duplicates and if none exists will add the diskettes' information to the storage file. If there is a duplicate, an error meassage will come on the screen and you will need to re-enter a new ID#. After the information is added to the Storage File (SF) a message will display briefly to remind you to mark the diskette with the ID# which it displays. If you want to retain this ID# display, press the pause key on your keyboard, and then when finished press Enter to resume using DF. When done adding diskettes to the SF simply press Enter at the second prompt and you will return to the Main Menu. If you wish to delete an ID# then select <D> at the Main Menu prompt and press Enter. Then type in the 8 character ID# you wish to delete. DF will check and if present and matches exactly to what you typed in will change screen color, flash it's deleting the ID#, and sound your PCs' speaker while DF is actually deleting the specified ID#. If none of the flashing happens, then the ID# you typed was either not present or did not exactly match what is in the SF. You can use the View Menu to see what your mistake, or review what the ID# actually is, by using either the DOS method <VS> or the List program method <VL>. If you select the <S> option you will shell out to DOS with a reminder to type "EXIT" to return to Disk Filer. You can just press Enter to return to the Main Menu. If you wish to update a diskettes' contents to the storage file, simply delete the ID#, then place that diskette into the proper drive and select <A> to re-add the diskette to the SF again. Sometimes you may have a reason to put a descriptive Volume Label to a diskettes' volume label. If this is true, then with caution, you can select the <V> feature to either give the diskette a volume label, or to rename the volume label. There maybe times when you will even want to remove the volume label completely. Do use Caution when renaming or removing a volume label that a program has placed, for it is used by programmers to identify a diskette for installation and other procedures. When you have finished adding diskettes to the SF you will want to record what you have done. This is accompolished by using the <PI> procedure. If new, answer "Y" to the first question, and then you will need to type "0" and make a new data file. Then type "1" and you will be individually prompted to fill in the 3 letter category, the highest or last number used in that category, the size, the density, and the date you filed the diskettes. You will do this for each category. If all is correct, then answer "Y" at the last prompt. Later you can type "2" to search for any category. The data will continuously scroll up the screen at a moderate pace so you can use the pause key to stop the scrolling and jot down the needed information. Then you can continue Adding diskettes where you left off from the last time you used DF. To continue the scrolling, just press Enter. By typing "3" you can use the delete feature. This will only QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 8 remove the contents and put a place holder in but not entirely remove the record. To remove the record will be a pack procedure which will be in a later version of DF. Type "4" to return to the Main Menu. For a brief set of referenced help instructions simply select <H> and press Enter. At the top will be a list area of help with a reference number. For example: RF3. Then just press the space bar until you get to the reference area you want. To see what your storage and data files are doing for size, select <L> and you can view these files. It is recommended to not let these files get over 300K for an AT computer, or can be 500K for an 80386 computer or higher. They can be larger but it will slow down the speed at which a search or Add or other procedure can be done. To search for needed information select <S> and then type in what your looking for and then press Enter. For example: say your looking for some graphics, like those of the "PCX" format. Type PCX and press Enter, and you will be given an option to print this search if desired, then the results will come on either the screen or the printer. If nothing shows then either you haven't filed the diskette or you don't have such graphics. The search feature is where all your work pays off. When a storage file gets to approximately 300K you will need to change it out and start a new SF. To change filename for future reference select the <CF> feature. When in the Change Filename Menu after pressing the space bar you will be presented with 9 options A thru I. When you select "A" you will see a listing of the files in the Disk Filer subdirectory and then be prompted for no less than a 6 to 8 character filename and be sure to include the extension. Then you will be prompted of a number to ADD to the filename. For Example: DLABEL.DTA ,when a new one is made is changed to DLABEL00.DTA. If I ADD 12 to it, it will become DLABEL12.DTA. If I add another number, say 10, then it will be ADDED to the 12 already there and become, DLABEL22.DTA. When you select "B" you will COPY a filename back to the original, with no numbers or anything in the 7th and 8th character positions. This will keep your stored file as well and will copy the first original file to one numbered; ??????49.DTA or whatever it happens to be. If you select "C" you will quit and go directly to the DOS prompt. When you select "D" you will run a listing of the files within the subdirectory only. Selecting "E" will let you shell out to DOS, again with a reminder to type "EXIT" to return to DF. When using the "F" procedure do be cautious for that will rename a numbered file to the original and destroy the numbered file completely. Using the "G" feature allows you, after a listing, to type in the file you want to delete and then CF will do it by using DOS for you. When you are done you can return to the Main Menu you came from by selecting "H" for diskette Main Menu, and "I" for the hard drive Main Menu. Whenever you need to use another drive to file diskettes or another hard drive you will need to use the <R> procedure which QUICK29.DOC Disk Filer, A Different Concept! Page: 9 will return you to the drives setup Menu. You can then type your new drive letters (2 only) and then press Enter. You can in an advanced need use the <MD> procedure to make a new subdirectory, which should be used only on a computer system with multiple hard drives, and want to have the SF of each drive stored on that drive. For those of you who are Floppy users will not have a need to use the <MD> feature. If one would desire a complete or even a partial printout of your storage file you can do so by selecting <P>. The complete printout is a DOS dump of your SF to your printer. The partial printout is done via the List program, or your editor if you so substituted. When you have finished using DF it is always a good idea to back up your data to another diskette which can be done by selecting <B>. You will have a choice as to which drive to copy your storage files to. Remember this backup will copy ALL files with extensions of, DTA, to your back up diskette. After you have backed up your data you can quit Disk Filer by selecting <Q> from the Main Menu. If you choose to not leave DF and know your going to return after a break or whatever calls you away, you can use the screen saver feature by selecting <S>. You can choose to leave yourself a one line message or press Enter and go directly to the screen saver. To return to the Main Menu just type "Q" and you will instantly return without having to press the Enter key. *** ENDING *** ====== For the Last Minute Findings and Problems Solved and the History of Disk Filer read the file; DSKFIL29.DOC. Thanks for reading this documentation and trying out Disk Filer version 2.9. The ASCII Filing System with a Different Concept! Disk Filer 2.9 Registration Form Please fill out all of the needed information as it pertains to you. Do be sure to include the Date and Time of the DF.EXE file. DATE:_______________ Send to: Steve Brown DF.EXE Date: 835 1/2 South A Street Arkansas City, Kansas 67005 ____________________ DF.EXE Time: DF.EXE File Size:____________ ____________________ Your Name:_______________________________________________________ Your Address:____________________________________________________ Company Name:____________________________________________________________ Company Address:_________________________________________________________ City:_________________________________________ State:____________ Zipcode:_________________________ Phone:_________________________ FAX Phone:_____________________________ ================================================================= Please circle the diskette density you need: 360K 1.2Meg 720K 1.44Meg ================================================================= Yes, send me _____ Copy(s) of Disk Filer @ $17.50 ° each in the diskette format I have circled above. (U.S. Funds) Total:_______ ================================================================= From a Scale of 1 to 10, 10 being best, how would you rate Disk Filer compared to other Cataloging programs you have tried. _____ ================================================================= Comments or Suggestions:_________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ ° You must purchase a copy of Disk Filer for each Computer you intend to use Disk Filer on. Company accounts please write. THANK YOU for your purchase of Disk Filer version 2.9.