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"WFU" The Wagner Files Utility Version 1.0 USER REFERENCE (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems All Rights Reserved (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page i QUICK NOTES FOR THOSE WHO HATE TO READ MANUALS Getting out: Don't you hate it when you bring up a new program only to find out that you don't know how to get out except to boot? Press the ESC key to exit. Invocation: A>WFU [drive] The name of the program is WFU. It may be invoked with or without a drive designator. If invoked without a drive designator, the current logged drive is used. Description: WFU is a utility for managing large capacity disk drives that utilize the hierarchical file structure of MS-DOS version 2 and up. Environment: WFU runs on an IBM PC/XT/AT or 100% compatible with MS-DOS version 2 and above. Usage: The function keys are used to execute the most used functions. Hold down the ALT key while pressing any function key for a brief explanation of what each key does. Use the arrow keys, HOME, END, PGUP, PGDN, CONTROL-HOME, CONTROL-LEFT ARROW, to move around the screen. Go slow and watch what's happening on the screen. If you can't figure it out, then read the appropriate portion of this manual. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page USER SUPPORT........................................1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION................3 WHAT YOU SEE........................................5 WHAT YOU CAN DO READ DIRECTORY OF ANOTHER DRIVE.............8 REFRESH DIRECTORY IN MEMORY.................8 CHANGE WILDCARD SPECIFICATION...............8 SEARCH FOR A FILE OR GROUP OF FILES.........8 SWAP SOURCE AND DESTINATION WINDOWS.........8 PRINT A SINGLE FILE.........................9 PRINT MULTIPLE FILES........................9 EDIT FILES..................................9 EXECUTE A PROGRAM...........................10 MAKE A DIRECTORY............................10 REMOVE A DIRECTORY..........................10 MARK/UNMARK SINGLE FILE.....................10 MARK MULTIPLE FILES.........................11 UNMARK MULTIPLE FILES.......................11 COPY MARKED FILES...........................11 COPY ALL FILES MATCHING WILDCARD............11 MOVE MARKED FILES...........................12 TOGGLE BETWEEN WINDOWS AND SCREENS..........12 PEEK AT A FILE..............................12 VIEW STATISTICS.............................12 SORT FILES..................................12 ERASE MARKED FILES..........................13 ERASE ALL FILES MATCHING WILDCARD...........13 EXIT THE PROGRAM............................13 FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS.................................14 TIPS AND POINTERS...................................15 CUSTOMIZATION.......................................16 (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 1 USER SUPPORT This program is "user supported." That does NOT mean public domain. We retain all rights. What it does mean is that this is an experiment in marketing. If you are uncomfortable with "shrink wrap" agreements, copy protection, and a price that more represents advertising costs than development costs, then user supported software is the only reasonable altern- ative. We signify our trust in the user community by offering our product for sale in this manner. We hope you respond in kind. WFU is not copy protected. In fact you are encouraged to make evaluation copies for your friends. After all, if you can't try it, how do you know if you like it? If, after evaluation, you find the program useful to you and wish to own a copy, send $29.95 and the serial number of your evaluation copy to: Wagner Systems POB 455 Prairie Grove, AR 72753 We will then consider you a registered user with the following advantages: 1. You will be sent the current version of the program. 2. Your new copy will contain a serial number unique to you. When a new user registers with your serial number, we will send you a check for 10% of the amount they sent us. 3. You will receive three quarterly newsletters with usage tips, fixes, and notices of enhancements. 4. You may upgrade to a new release for $15. 5. You've paid a dollar for a dollar's worth of value. Fair feels good. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 2 IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO REGISTER If you decide not to register, please do not tamper with the copyright notice or documentation. Pass all four original files on to new users so they can make a complete evaluation. Be sure to mark all evaluation diskettes that you may make with the copyright notice: (C) COPYRIGHT 1986 BY WAGNER SYSTEMS. MAKING COPIES Registered owners are allowed to make as many copies for archival purposes as desired. Only a registered owner may make an archival copy. If you are not a registered owner, then all copies you make are considered evaluation copies. Whether or not you are a regis- tered owner, any copies that leave your possession are considered evaluation copies and therefore the property of WAGNER SYSTEMS. (Of course, you own the diskette itself, it's only the program that we claim rights to.) (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 1. IBM PC/XT/AT or compatible. 2. 128k of memory. 3. One diskette drive. 4. Monochrome or Color Graphics Adapter. 5. 80 column display. 6. MS-DOS version 2 or above. EVALUATION DISKETTE CONTENTS 1. WFU.EXE - the executable program. 2. WFU.DOC - this document. 3. WFU.TXT - miscellaneous text used by program. 4. README - startup instructions. INSTALLATION No special installation is required. Invoke from diskette or copy to any hard disk directory where DOS, using the PATH statement, can find it. The file WFU.TXT is provided for those of us who compulsively read cereal boxes. It contains merely a collection of quotes that are randomly selected for display on the logo screen to keep you enter- tained while reading a directory structure. It is searched for first in the path specified in the SET WFU command, then the MS-DOS PATH is searched, and finally the root. Let us know if this feature is desirable or merely distracting. Additional magazines will be made available for use when this one grows tedious. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 4 CAUTIONS Do not swap diskettes on a drive that WFU has accessed unless you immediately refresh the directory in memory. WFU can handle the directories of up to six physical drives, but currently cannot reliably detect if a diskette has been swapped during a session. Be careful when invoking another program with the F1 or F2 keys. If the invoked program is ill behaved alone it remains ill behaved when invoked by WFU and can, by messing with the memory space used by WFU, cause WFU to behave badly. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems Page 5 WHAT YOU SEE WFU displays three separate screens at various times: 1. The DOS screen - This is the scrolling screen you see when using DOS normally. WFU will print each command executed on this screen for you, just as if you had typed the commands yourself. WFU will flip to this screen automatically when it needs to. You can look at it at any time by pressing CONTROL-F6. You may want to use I/O redirection to capture this screen to a disk file or your printer. 2. The LOGO screen - This screen is displayed any time that a drive's directory structure is being read. You will see it on start-up and when you have entered a new drive specifier. You may also look at it at any time by pressing SHIFT-F6. 3. The WFU screen - This is the main screen. Your commands are only active while this screen is showing. The screen is divided into windows. a. The SOURCE DIRECTORY window - This window shows a graphic representation of the hierarchical file directory structure of the drive that will be used in all operations, in particular as the source in a copy or move operation. b. The FILES window - This window has two sizes. When the program starts up, the smaller of the two, called the FILES NAMES window, is displayed between the SOURCE DIRECTORY window and DESTINATION DIRECTORY window, described below. The FILES DETAIL window, the larger of the two, overlays the DESTINATION DIRECTORY window and has columns for file name, file size, creation date, and attributes. Each of the two FILES windows show a listing of files in the current source directory. The current source directory is the directory indicated by a bright or dull bar cursor in the SOURCE DIRECTORY window. See figures 1 and 2 below. c. The DESTINATION DIRECTORY window - This window is identical to the SOURCE DIRECTORY window except that it may contain the tree structure for a different drive. d. The SOURCE PATH window - This window is just above the SOURCE DIRECTORY window. It normally displays the path of the current source directory. It is also used for specifying a new source drive. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 6 WHAT YOU SEE (cont.) e. The FILESPEC window - This window is just above the FILES window. It displays the current wildcard specification. It is also used to enter a new wildcard specification. f. The DESTINATION PATH window - This window is just above the DESTINATION DIRECTORY window. It normally displays the path of the current destination directory. It is also used for specifying a new destination drive. Figure 1 +===========================+=================+===============================+ | SOURCE PATH | FILESPEC | DESTINATION PATH | +---------------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SOURCE DIRECTORY | FILES NAME | DESTINATION DIRECTORY | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +===========================+=================+===============================+ Figure 2 +===========================+=================================================+ | SOURCE PATH | FILESPEC | +---------------------------+-------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | SOURCE DIRECTORY | FILES DETAIL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +===========================+=================================================+ (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 7 WHAT YOU SEE (cont.) CURSOR MOVEMENT BAR CURSOR Each of the three list windows has its own bar cursor for selecting a specific directory or file for action. Only one of the three windows is active at a time. When active the bar cursor is bright reverse. When not active the bar cursor is a dull pattern of dots. Scrolling may only take place in an active window. The bar cursor is moved up by pressing the UP ARROW key. The bar cursor is moved down by pressing the DOWN ARROW key. When a list of directories or files extends beyond the borders of a window, then the message "[nnn More]" will appear on the upper and/or lower border to indicate that part of the list is not visible. The additional list items may be scrolled into the window using the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys. A whole windowful at a time may be scrolled by using the PGUP and PGDN keys. To position the window over the top or bottom of a list use the HOME and/or END keys. To move between the three list windows, use the LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW keys. To move to an upper window press CONTROL-HOME. CHARACTER CURSOR Each of the three small upper windows, when active, will contain a blinking block character cursor, indicating that the program is waiting on a character to be entered by you. When the character cursor is in either of the PATH windows, then you should enter a single character drive designator or press RETURN if you've changed your mind. If the character cursor is in the FILESPEC window, then the program is waiting for you to enter a new wildcard filespec. Press RETURN to default back to the wildcard *.*. The character cursor is also used while inputting a new directory name. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 8 WHAT YOU CAN DO READ DIRECTORY OF ANOTHER DRIVE - CONTROL-HOME WFU initially uses the single logged drive or command line drive as both the source and destination drive. However, if your activity is not limited to that drive, as when you must copy files from one drive to another, then you must read in the directory structure of the subsequent drive. To do this, insure that the bar cursor is in either the SOURCE DIRECTORY or DESTINATION DIRECTORY window and press CONTROL-HOME. Then either the SOURCE PATH or DESTINATION PATH window, whichever is appropriate, becomes the active window with a blinking character cursor. At this point enter a drive letter A thru F. See also SWAP SOURCE AND DESTINATION below. REFFRESH DIRECTORY IN MEMORY - CONTROL-HOME Same as READ DIRECTORY OF ANOTHER DRIVE above, except you enter the same drive designator. Do this whenever you swap diskettes while in WFU. CHANGE WILDCARD SPECIFICATION - CONTROL-HOME WFU initially uses *.* as the wildcard specification. You may change this at any time by insuring that the FILES NAME or FILES DETAIL window is the active window, and then pressing CONTROL-HOME. At this point, a blinking block cursor will appear in the FILESPEC window. Enter a new wildcard spec here. To change the spec back to the default *.* simply press RETURN. SEARCH FOR A FILE OR GROUP OF FILES - CONTROL-HOME This is really not a separate function, but is really the same as CHANGE WILDCARD SPECIFICATION above. It is mentioned under a separate name to draw attention to the fact that searching is a by-product of changing the wildcard spec. Notice that if the wildcard spec is anything other than *.* then a mark will appear beside every directory entry that contains a file or files matching the wildcard spec. Keep in mind that the wildcard spec itself does not have to contain any wildcard characters at all and may in fact be a specific file name. SWAP SOURCE AND DESTINATION WINDOW DRIVES - CONTROL-LEFT ARROW If you wish to change which drive is the source drive and which drive is the destination drive, then press the CONTROL and left arrow keys simultaneously. Because, when swapping, the bar cursor positions are not changed, this is a convenient way to look at what files are in the dest- ination directory also. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 9 WHAT YOU CAN DO (cont.) PRINT A SINGLE FILE: F1 Press F1 to print the file at the cursor. The default print program is PRINT.COM usually supplied with MS-DOS. You will then be presented with a print command template in a small window with a blinking block character cursor. You may then enter any command line arguments used by the print program or simply press RETURN if no arguments are needed. The WFU program may, at your option, use a different print program than the default. To change the default, see CUSTOMIZATION, page 16. PRINT MULTIPLE FILES: SHIFT-F1 Press SHIFT-F1 to print MARKED files. Only the files in the current source directory selected by MARKING will be printed. See MARKING FILES below. The default print program is PRINT.COM usually supplied with MS-DOS. After MARKING the files to be printed, press SHIFT-F1. You will then be presented with a print command template in a small window with a blinking block character cursor. You may then enter any command line arguments used by the print program or simply press RETURN if no arguments are needed. The WFU program may, at your option, use a different print program than the default. To change the default, see CUSTOMIZATION, page 16. EDIT FILES: F2 The file currently at the cursor in the FILES NAMES window or the FILES DETAIL window may be edited by pressing the function key F2. People fight over editors, so rather than supply you with yet another editor not to your taste, you must specify your editor of choice. See CUSTOMIZATION, page 16. ================== NOTE ===================================== Because your editor may add, delete, and modify files without the knowledge of the WFU program, the directory structure will be refreshed automatically by again reading all active drives when your program terminates. ============================================================= (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 10 WHAT YOU CAN DO (cont.) EXECUTE A PROGRAM: SHIFT-F2 The file currently under the cursor in the FILES NAMES window or the FILES DETAIL window may be executed by pressing SHIFT-F2. You will then be presented with a command template in a small window with a blinking block character cursor. You may then enter any command line arguments needed by the command or simply press RETURN if no arguments are needed. ================== NOTE ===================================== Because your program may add, delete, and modify files without the knowledge of the WFU program, the directory structure will be refreshed automatically by again reading all active drives when your program terminates. ============================================================= MAKE A DIRECTORY: F3 To make a new directory, position the bar cursor on the the new directory's parent directory and press function key F3. The directory structure will open up revealing a new limb of the tree and the bar cursor will temporarily be replaced with a blinking block character cursor. You may then enter the new directory's name. REMOVE A DIRECTORY: SHIFT-F3 To remove a directory, position the bar cursor on the directory to be deleted and press SHIFT-F3. You may not remove a directory that still contains files or subdirectories. MARK/UNMARK SINGLE FILE: F4 Files to be copied or deleted must be marked before the COPY or DELETE operations. As few as one and as many as all files in a directory may be marked. Files may be marked/unmarked individually or in groups. A single file may be marked/unmarked by simply positioning the bar cursor on the selected file and pressing the function key F4. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 11 WHAT YOU CAN DO (cont.) MARK MULTIPLE FILES: SHIFT-F4 All files matching the wildcard specification, displayed in the FILESPEC window, may be marked by pressing the SHIFT and F4 keys simultaneously. UNMARK MULTIPLE FILES: CONTROL-F4 All files in a directory that were marked by any method may be unmarked by pressing the CONTROL and F4 keys simultaneously. See TIPS AND POINTERS, page 15, for examples of this powerful feature. COPY MARKED FILES: F5 Files may be copied from one directory to another on the same drive or they may be copied from a directory on one drive to a directory on another drive. To copy files, position the bar cursors in the SOURCE DIRECTORY window and the DESTINATION DIRECTORY window on the chosen source and destination directories and press F5. All marked files in the source directory will then be copied to the destination directory. Be sure the source and destination bar cursors are set correctly and all files to be copied are marked BEFORE pressing F5. Files that were marked remain marked after a copy and must be explicitly unmarked. COPY ALL FILES MATCHING WILDCARD IN DIRECTORY: SHIFT-F5 If ALL files in a directory that match the wildcard spec are to be copied, then there is no need to mark them. In this case simply position the bar cursors in the SOURCE DIRECTORY window and the DESTINATION DIRECTORY window on the chosen source and destination directories and press SHIFT-F5. All files in the source directory that match the wildcard spec will then be copied to the destination directory. Be sure the source and destination bar cursors are set correctly. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 12 WHAT YOU CAN DO (cont.) MOVE MARKED FILES: CONTROL-F5 Files in a directory may be moved rather than copied. (Move differs from copy in that when a file is moved, it no longer exists in the source directory.) To move all marked files to another directory on the same drive press CONTROL and F5 simultaneously. Files may not be moved to another drive, although they may be copied. TOGGLE BEWEEN FILES WINDOWS: F6 Press F6 to toggle between the FILES NAMES window and the FILES DETAIL window. TOGGLE BETWEEN WORK SCREEN AND LOGO SCREEN: SHIFT-F6 TOGGLE BETWEEN WORK SCREEN AND DOS SCREEN: CONTROL-F6 PEEK AT A FILE: F7 As an aid to identification, you may peek at the contents of a file. Press F7 to peek at the file in the bar cursor. To modify the file, use your editor (F2). VIEW STATISTICS: F8 Press function key F8 to view statistics. Total space and space available on the source and destination drives, among other things, are displayed in a pop-up window. SORT FILES IN NAME SEQUENCE: F9 To sort the files in a directory into ascending name sequence, press function key F9. Attempts to sort with a wildcard specification other than "*.*" are disallowed. SORT FILES IN DATE SEQUENCE: SHIFT-F9 To sort the files in a directory into ascending date sequence, press SHIFT and F9 simultaneously. Attempts to sort with a wildcard specification other than "*.*" are disallowed. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 13 WHAT YOU CAN DO (cont.) ERASE MARKED FILES: F10 To erase files, position the bar cursor in the SOURCE DIRECTORY window to the appropriate directory, mark all files to be erased, then press function key F10. You will then be presented with a warning and an opportunity to change your mind. To the message "ARE YOU SURE (Y/N)?" reply "Y" to go ahead and erase. Reply "N" to abort the erase operation. As marked files are being erased, you may still abort the remainder of the erase operation by pressing the ESC key. ERASE ALL FILES THAT MATCH WILDCARD: SHIFT-F10 ALL files in a directory that match the wildcard spec may be erased without marking by pressing the SHIFT and F10 keys simultaneously. If you use this method of erasure, nothing but a CONTROL-C will abort the operation once it starts, and you will have probably already erased some files. Also with this method, if you abort erasure with CONTROL-C, the WFU program no longer has an accurate list of files in the directory and you should exit and restart WFU. ! ! WARNING ! ! Erasing files is spooky business. With a powerful tool you can do a lot of damage quickly. PAY ATTENTION. EXIT THE PROGRAM - ESC To exit the files program, the WFU screen must be displayed with no blinking block cursor anywhere on the screen. Press the ESC key to exit back to MS-DOS. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 14 FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS RENAME A FILE OR DIRECTORY To rename a file or directory, you will simply select the name with the bar cursor and type the new name over the old, terminating the new name with the RETURN key. If, after starting a rename, you change your mind before pressing the RETURN, then you may abort the rename and return to the original name by pressing ESC. CHANGE A FILE'S ATTRIBUTES To change a file's attributes, you will select the file with the bar cursor and press the TAB key. You will then be presented with a blinking block cursor over the current attributes. You may then enter the codes for the new attributes. SORT ON EXTENSION CHOOSE FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND COLORS BY WINDOW SPEEDIER READING OF DIRECTORY STRUCTURE (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 15 TIPS AND POINTERS MARKING FILES - A combination of the marking methods in conjunction with various "wildcards" is more useful than individual marking. Example: mark all files in a directory EXCEPT files with a .BAT extension. 1. Use SHIFT-F4 with a wildcard of "*.*" to mark all files in a directory. 2. Then use CONTROL-F4 with a wildcard of "*.BAT" to unmark just the .BAT files. 3. Change the wildcard back to "*.*" to see that all files are marked EXCEPT .BAT files. 4. You may then use F4 alone to touch up, marking or unmarking selected individual files. REDESIGNING THE DIRECTORY STRUCTURE - Use a combination of the MAKE DIRECTORY function and the MOVE FILES function. DELETING FILES - If you have plenty of room on your hard disk, you might want to set up a JUNK directory, and instead of deleting files when they are cluttering up your working directory, just MOVE(CONTROL-F5) them to JUNK. Then periodically SORT(SHIFT-F9) into date sequence and DELETE(F10) the older files from JUNK. This gives you a grace period to change your mind. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 16 CUSTOMIZATION All customization is done by using the SET command of MS-DOS to make an entry into the environment. The name of the entry should be "WFU". Currently, only three options may be entered: the name of your editor, the name of your file print program, and the directory where you wish to place WFU.TXT. Each option should be terminated with a semi-colon. If an option is omitted, then its semi-colon should still be present. This command should be placed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to avoid entering it after each boot. FORMAT: SET WFU=editor_name;print_name;path EXAMPLES: SET WFU=MYEDITOR;MYPRINT;\MYDIR; Means: MYEDITOR will be invoked when you press F2. MYPRINT will be invoked when you press F1. The file WFU.TXT should be in the directory \MYDIR. SET WFU=MYEDITOR;;; Means: MYEDITOR will be invoked when you press F2. PRINT (the default) will be invoked when you press F1. The file WFU.TXT should be in one of the directories specified in the PATH command or the root. SET WFU=;MYPRINT;; Means: No editor is specified. You will get an error message when you press F2. MYPRINT will be invoked when you press F1. The file WFU.TXT should be in one of the directories specified in the PATH command or the root. SET WFU=;;\MYDIR1\MYDIR2; Means: No editor is specified. You will get an error message when you press F2. PRINT (the default) will be invoked when you press F1. The file WFU.TXT should be in the directory \MYDIR1\MYDIR2. (C) Copyright 1986 by Wagner Systems WFU VER 1.0 Page 17 BACKGROUND If you are interested: This program was developed using Lattice C ver.2.15 on a Zenith 150. The Microsoft Macro Assembler ver.1.27 was used for interfaces to MS-DOS functions, BIOS functions, and for accessing video RAM. There are about 5500 lines of C source and about 700 lines of assembler.