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ViDir(tm)/ViRes(tm) File Monitoring System Vi Directory - ViDir Vi Resident Monitor - ViRes User Manual & Help File Version 1.02 Vahnzinn international 412 Norristown Road Ambler, PA 19002-2737 U.S.A. Telephone: 215-643-6901 CompuServe: 70353,151 Last updated: March, 1994 CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY [Contact Vahnzinn international for everything else] MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover Contact Public (software) Library Phone: 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394 7AM-7PM central U.S. time Monday-Friday; 7AM-4PM Saturday-Sunday FAX: 713-524-6398 CompuServe: 71355,470 Credit card mail orders: PsL, P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705 _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER Copyright (c) 1994 Vahnzinn(tm) international All rights reserved Congratulations on and thank you for selecting our file monitoring system! *Help Contents Page -------------- ---- Quick Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Quick Start 4 Definitions, Conventions, and Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Hardware/Software Requirements 7 Installation Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Installation Details 8 ViDir/ViRes Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ViRes Monitor Description 11 ViDir Directory Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Executing the ViDir & ViRes Commands 12 First Time Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Repeated Uses 13 ViDir Menus Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ViDir/ViRes Details 15 Command Line Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ViRes Command Line Options 15 ViDir Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Directory Display 17 Directory Display Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Directory Display Manipulation 18 Action Menu How-To. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Summary 19 Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Format Menu How-To 26 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Details 27 Options Menu How-To . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Summary 28 Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Cursor Control 29 Help Menu How-To. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Summary 30 Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 How to Exit 31 How to Quit ViDir Directory and ViInstal . . . . . . . . . . . 31 How to Quit ViRes Monitor 32 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Common Questions 34 Technical Discussions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Interrupt Processing Time 37 Save In-Memory Directory to Disk - Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 AUTOEXEC.BAT 38 Memory Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Packing List 39 Error/Warning Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Comments and Suggestions 45 Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Alphabetical Index 47 Appendices - Registration and License. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 How to Register 52 Benefits of Registering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Site License 53 Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 2--------------------------- Help Contents (Continued) Page ------------------------- ---- Appendices - Registration and License (Continued) Vendors Please Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Shareware Definition 54 Ombudsman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 License Agreement 54 ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 3--------------------------- Quick Installation ------------------ This explains in brief terms how to quickly install the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System onto another disk. Follow these directions to use ViInstal to do the installation automatically for you. Backup your original diskette (DISKCOPY a: a:). To run ViInstal, first insert the backup copy diskette into your floppy drive, type "a:" and ENTER, where "a" is your floppy diskette letter, then "ViInstal" and ENTER. When you execute ViInstal, you can choose to immediately display the ViInstal menu or display the Help/How-To screen. If you choose Help, press ESC to leave it, once you have finished reading it, to display the ViInstal menu. Verify and/or change the source diskette drive letter and the target disk and new directory name, then press ALT-S to start the copying process. Press ALT-H or F1 for help when viewing the menu. Press ESC or ALT-X and respond Y to the "Are you sure?" question to exit. If your PC has a gray-scale video monitor, common on portable computers, you may need to force Black & White video display mode. To do this, type "ViInstal /"; (i.e., type the program name, followed by a space, and then a slash). Recommended commands to be added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file are: CD \Vi ViRes 400 [Leave room for 400 directory entries. In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200.] ViDir @A @L y @A @O y @X y [Load previously saved directory & Program CD \ Exclusion List] Refer to the Installation Overview section for further details. Quick Start ----------- This explains how to start running the ViDir and ViRes programs immediately. To run from a floppy diskette, change to the appropriate drive by typing "a:", where "a" is your diskette drive. To run from a hard drive, change to the directory containing the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System (CD \Vi). Load the memory-resident portion of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System by typing "ViRes". A message confirming its successful loading is displayed on the screen. In the upper right of the screen appears the current number of files that have been referenced. Use "ViRes N" to not display the count. Use "ViRes 700", for example, to increase the number of files that can be monitored to 700. Use "ViRes N 700" to do both. [In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200.] ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 4--------------------------- Execute your programs, word processors, and spread sheets. Take a look at what files have been referenced by typing "ViDir". (Make sure you are in the \Vi directory or have changed to the appropriate diskette drive first.) Press ALT-H or F1 for help any time. If your PC has a gray-scale video monitor, common on portable computers, you may need to force Black & White video display mode. To do this, type "ViRes /" and "ViDir /"; (i.e., type the program name, followed by a space, and then a slash). Use the ViSv2Dsk.BAT file to save the in-memory directory to disk just before you turn off or reboot your PC. Definitions, Conventions, and Abbreviations ------------------------------------------- In this user manual and help file, certain abbreviations and short-hand notations are used. ALT - One of the ALTERNATE keys. ALT-X - Press the X key while holding the ALT key depressed. AUTOEXEC.BAT - A file in your root directory (usually C:\). When the PC is first turned on or rebooted, DOS looks for this file and executes the batch commands in it. Updating it is a relatively simple procedure that can be accomplished with most word processors and editors; it should be treated like a non-document, ASCII file. Backup - To make a copy of file(s) onto a separate disk or diskette. BAT - The file extension for DOS batch files. BAT files batch together DOS commands in a file such that when the file name is typed and ENTER is pressed from DOS, the file's commands are executed. Boot - The PC's startup sequence. CTL - One of the CONTROL keys. CTL-ALT-DEL - Press all three keys simultaneously to reboot the PC. CTL-LEFT - Press the LEFT-ARROW key while holding the CTL key depressed. CTL-RIGHT - Press the RIGHT-ARROW key while holding the CTL key depressed. Default Directory - This is the directory from where you execute the ViDir directory. For example, if you change to the directory \Vi by typing "CD \Vi" and execute "ViDir", then the default is \Vi. If you followed the installation instructions in this user manual and help file, then all of the needed files are already in \Vi. If you execute the ViDir directory by typing "C:\Vi\ViDir" from the "C:\>" prompt, then the default directory is "C:\", the root directory. The ViDir directory may have trouble finding files it needs in this latter case. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 5--------------------------- DEL - The DELETE key. DOWN - The DOWN-ARROW key. ENTER - The ENTER key, called the RETURN key on some keyboards. ESC - The ESCAPE key. F1 - Function key 1, an alternative to ALT-H for requesting help. F10 - Function key 10, used to select the display's main menu line, an alternative to pressing ALT and one of the highlighted, capitalized letters. Menus can be pulled down by pressing ENTER or the highlighted letter, once the desired menu's capitalized letter is highlighted. In-Memory Directory - The list of referenced files kept in the PC's main memory by the ViRes monitor. LEFT - The LEFT-ARROW key. N - NO response to the "Are you sure?" questions. Either upper or lower case is acceptable. Path - Specifies where a file is located; this usually includes the disk drive and directory. Refer to your DOS manual for details. PgDn - The PAGE-DOWN key. PgUp - The PAGE-UP key. Program Exclusion List - When the ViRes monitor intercepts a file reference request, it retrieves the name of the requesting program, if any. It checks that program name against a list of up to 10 program names, the Program Exclusion List. If the requesting program name is found in the list, then that file reference is not saved in the in-memory directory. You cannot exclude file references that have no program name. Reboot - Restarting the PC by powering the PC off and then on, pressing a reset button, or pressing CTL-ALT-DEL. Referenced File - A file that is "touched" by DOS or any program during file open (for reading, writing, or updating), file (program) execution, or file (program) overlay. RIGHT - The RIGHT-ARROW key. SHIFT - There are two SHIFT keys. They both must be simultaneously pressed, in addition to CTL, to terminate the ViRes monitor. UP - The UP-ARROW key. Y - YES response to the "Are you sure?" questions. Either upper or lower case is acceptable. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 6--------------------------- Hardware/Software Requirements ------------------------------ The ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System requires: DOS level 3.0 or higher; any IBM-PC-compatible computer; one 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch diskette drive; hard drive recommended with at least 300K of disk space available. Installation Overview --------------------- To exit this Help/How-To screen and display the ViInstal menu, press ESC; from the ViInstal menu, you can begin the installation process by pressing ALT-S after verifying source and destination drives. Use UP/DOWN arrows and PgUp/PgDn to control this help screen. To request Help/How-To once you leave it, press ALT-H or F1 at any time from the ViInstal menu. To quit ViInstal, press ESC or ALT-X from the ViInstal menu and respond Y to the "Are you sure?" question. To invoke an action in the ViInstal menu, press the highlighted, capitalized letter while depressing the ALT key. Refer to the next section for further details on how to use ViInstal. The ViRead.Me file and the Quick Start section of this user manual and help file contain information on how to immediately begin using the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. ViInstal is designed as a DOS application, as are the ViDir and ViRes products. They do not run under Windows, although the ViRes monitor does track Windows and Windows-applications' file usage. In all of these instructions, once you type a DOS command, such as "DISKCOPY a: a:", pressing the ENTER key is assumed. 1. Make a backup copy of this diskette (DISKCOPY a: a:). 2. Run ViInstal. To do this, first insert the backup copy diskette in your floppy drive, type "a:" and ENTER, where "a" is your floppy diskette letter, then "ViInstal" and ENTER. Once in ViInstal, you can choose to immediately display the ViInstal menu or display the Help/How-To screen. If you choose Help, press ESC to leave it and display the ViInstal menu. 3. If your PC has a gray-scale video monitor, common on portable computers, you may need to force Black & White video display mode. To do this, type "ViInstal /"; (i.e., type the program name, followed by a space, and then a slash). 4. Specify the hard disk and directory of where you wish the files copied. The suggested disk and directory may already be satisfactory. \Vi is the recommended directory. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 7--------------------------- 5. Using the tab key, move to the source diskette drive. It is probably already correct. If not, modify it to reflect the appropriate diskette drive letter. 6. While depressing the ALT key, press the S key to start the copying process. ViInstal displays the copying status as each file is copied. Once all files are copied, you are notified and asked to press a key to continue. To terminate file copying at any time, press ESC once. That completes the installation process. During copying, if a source file cannot be found, a message indicating that is displayed, and copying continues with the next file. If you are notified of a missing file, then you may not have an installation diskette complete with all files; you should contact Vahnzinn international for the latest version. You may wish to take advantage of ViInstal to perform a print function. It is recommended that you add the following commands to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: COMMAND COMMENTS -------------------------- ------------------------------------------- CD \Vi Change directory to directory containing the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System ViRes 400 Start the ViRes resident monitor, changing the default of 100 in-memory directory entries to 400. [In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200.] ViDir @A @L y @A @O y @X y Use the ViDir directory program to reload the ViRes monitor's in-memory directory (that you must have previously saved to disk before you turned off or rebooted your PC) and the Program Exclusion List (to tell the ViRes monitor which program's file requests to not monitor) CD \ Change directory back to the root directory Refer to the Cursor Control section of the ViDir Options Menu for details on how to control cursor movement on the ViInstal menu. Generally accepted "standard" ARROW, CTL-ARROW, HOME, CTL-HOME, END, CTL-END, TAB, SHIFT-TAB, PgUp, CTL-PgUp, PgDn, CTL-PgDn, INSERT, DEL, BACKSPACE, CTL-BACKSPACE, and ENTER keys provide cursor movement and control. All characters are converted to upper case. Installation Details -------------------- ViInstal is an easy-to-use installation tool that copies the necessary ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System files to another disk. When you execute ViInstal, you can choose to immediately display the ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 8--------------------------- ViInstal menu or display the Help/How-To screen. If you choose Help, press ESC to leave it when you are done. The ViInstal menu allows you to set the destination path and source diskette drive letter, start the file copying process, and print the registration form, user manual help file, and read-me file. The BAT files on the installation diskette contain helpful ViDir sample commands. They automate ViDir actions using ViDir Command Line Options. How to make a backup copy: You should do this before you do anything else. Once you have made the backup, put the original diskette away in a safe place, and use the backup for all of the following directions. To make a backup, use the DOS "DISKCOPY a: a:" command; replace the "a" with your diskette drive letter if you are not using drive a:. Follow DISKCOPY's directions, first inserting the copy of the original diskette and then the backup diskette. You may need to do this swapping more than once. Note: the diskette you are copying to must be formatted prior to using DISKCOPY. Refer to your DOS manual for details on how to format a diskette; usually, you type "FORMAT a:" and insert your new backup diskette. "Destination path (suggestion: c:\Vi)" - This field contains the disk drive letter and directory name of where you wish to copy the files. If the directory does not exist, ViInstal creates it for you when copying (ALT-S) is started. You should verify and, if needed, set this field prior to starting copying. The directory name should represent a valid DOS directory on a valid drive you specify; refer to your DOS manual for the proper format. A trailing backslash is optional; i.e., both "c:\Vi" and "c:\Vi\" are acceptable. Valid examples are: "c:" - Default directory of drive c: "c:\" - Root directory of drive c: "c:\dirmain\subdir" - The subdir directory within dirmain on drive c: "Source diskette drive letter" - This is the disk or diskette drive containing the installation diskette. You should verify and, if needed, set this field prior to starting copying. The drive name should represent a valid, installed drive on your system. Typically, this is "a" or "b". "Start installation (copy the files)" - ALT-S - This initiates the copying of the files. You will be asked whether you have read and agree to all license terms; you cannot proceed until you have done this. See the appendix of this help file and user manual. Press Y for yes, or N or ESC for no. As each file is copied, a message is displayed. If a file cannot be copied, a message is displayed, and copying continues with the next file. To terminate file copying at any time, press ESC once. When complete, you are asked to press a key to continue. All necessary files are copied from the source diskette drive's root directory to the destination path directory you specified. "Print Registration Form" - ALT-R - Use this to print the registration form for the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. It uses the default printer on your system. Before it prints, you are asked to put the printer on-line. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to print the form now, press ESC or N. This requires 1 page. To terminate printing any time, press ESC; you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following termination. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 9--------------------------- "Print Manual/Help File" - ALT-M - Use this to print this file, the combined help file and user manual. It uses the default printer on your system. Before it prints, you are asked to put the printer on-line. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to print the user manual and help file now, press ESC or N. This requires 57 pages. To terminate printing any time, press ESC; you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following termination. The page numbers that appear at the bottom of each page are referenced by the help index at the end of this document and the help table-of-contents at the start of the document. "Print Read-Me File" - ALT-D - Use this to print the read-me file. It uses the default printer on your system. Before it prints, you are asked to put the printer on-line. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to print the file now, press ESC or N. This requires 6 pages. To terminate printing any time, press ESC; you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following termination. "Help/How-To" - ALT-H - Use this to display this file during ViInstal operation. An alternative to pressing ALT-H is pressing F1. "Exit install program" - ALT-X - To quit ViInstal, press ALT-X or ESC. Respond Y to the "Are you sure?" question. If you do not want to quit now, press ESC or N. *ViDir/ViRes Overview --------------------- The ViRes monitor and ViDir directory together answer these questions: A. How can I free up huge chunks of my hard disk? B. I have all of these files on my hard disk; do I really ever use them and do I need to keep them around? C. Which, of all my files on my hard disk, are used the most? Then I can move these highly referenced files to my RAM disk. D. I am going on a trip and I want to take my word processor and spread sheet with me, to do work on my portable PC. How do I know what files I need? E. My secretary has a laser printer, and I want to put my word processor and document on a diskette and take them to the secretary's PC and print the document. Which word processor files do I need to put on the diskette? These questions cannot be answered with any software currently available on the market. That includes, in the commercial software arena, MS-DOS, DR DOS, Norton Utilities, PCTOOLS, Norton Commander, XTreePro Gold, or any other software package encountered by the staff at Vahnzinn international. Further, no shareware or freeware programs encountered or even read about offer this capability. The ViDir/ViRes system is a complete file monitoring system. It monitors every file on every disk and diskette on your PC, no matter where it is located, what it is called, when it is referenced, or what directory it is ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 10--------------------------- in. The ViDir/ViRes system saves and tracks every use of the files; this includes reading and writing files, executing programs, and program overlay requests. It maintains the date and time of when the file was last referenced. It records the file's drive name (A, B, C, D,...) and the directory (\dir). It records the invoking program name, if any. And the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System maintains a count of how many times the file is referenced. Armed with this information, the answers to the above questions become obvious. (Refer to the Examples section for the specifics on how to get these answers.) ViDir/ViRes commands assist the user in saving unused files to diskette, removing those files from the primary disk, and copying files that are used to a diskette for temporary use on another PC. [Please observe copyright laws and license restrictions regarding copying software and using it on another PC.] This version of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System does not execute under Microsoft's Windows product. It does, however, monitor all files used by Windows and any products executed under Windows. The ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System consists of two significant programs. The ViRes monitor is also known as a TSR, or Terminate and Stay Resident, program. It links to certain DOS interrupt handlers (the things that programs and commands use to reference files) and then yields control back to you and DOS. The ViRes monitor remains in memory after it returns control to you, taking up a small amount of main memory. It is responsible for tracking every file reference made on your PC. It keeps the file reference list in memory; hence, the term "in-memory directory" is used. The ViDir directory command is the other significant program. It provides access to the in-memory directory. ViDir actions allow you to view and print the directory, save it to disk, and load the in-memory directory from a version previously saved on disk. ViDir menus also help you maintain and remove used and unused files on your disk. ViRes Monitor Description ------------------------- The ViRes monitor is extremely streamlined, taking up as little main memory as possible. Many functions you would normally expect in a program of this caliber are not provided; generally, they are available in ViDir menus. For example, no help is provided by the ViRes monitor; however, a complete help system is available through ViDir help facilities. The ViRes monitor is required to be resident in memory for ViDir functions to be fully operational. If the ViRes monitor is not loaded prior to executing the ViDir directory, many of the ViDir functions are disabled; menus still operate normally, as does HELP. As soon as the ViRes monitor is loaded, it begins tracking file references -- even its own. ViDir Directory Description --------------------------- ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 11--------------------------- Prior to executing the ViDir directory, you should execute the ViRes command. However, you can choose to start the ViDir directory without first loading the ViRes monitor, which allows you to experiment with the ViDir menu system prior to actually using it. Under normal conditions, the ViRes command is executed first. When the ViDir directory is started, the screen is filled with the first 21 directory entries. You can look through the directory by pressing PgUp, PgDn, UP, DOWN, HOME, and END. CTL-HOME and CTL-PgUp have the same effect as HOME, and CTL-END and CTL-PgDn have the same effect as END. All menus are accessed by holding the ALT key down and pressing the highlighted, capitalized letter. As an alternative, the F10 key can be pressed, at which time the left and right arrow keys can be used to move between the menu names; to pull down a menu, press ENTER when the menu you desire is highlighted or press the highlighted, capitalized letter. Executing the ViDir & ViRes Commands ------------------------------------ The ViDir and ViRes products cannot be executed under Microsoft's Windows product; they execute as DOS programs. (They do, however, monitor all files used by Windows and products executed under Windows.) To begin a full-use session of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System, from DOS, change directory to \Vi by typing "CD \Vi". Then, start the ViRes monitor by typing "ViRes". This command loads the resident monitor of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. Once control is returned to you, which occurs almost immediately, a portion of your PC's memory is stolen for use. The ViRes monitor remains in memory until you turn your PC off, reboot it, or until you tell the ViRes monitor to de-install itself by pressing what are called its "hot keys", pressing the LEFT-SHIFT, RIGHT-SHIFT, and CTL keys simultaneously. Refer to the cautions in the "How to Quit ViRes Monitor" section. The ViRes monitor occupies a portion of your main storage. Using the default, it occupies around 16K. This memory is no longer available for your other programs to use. If you see an error message similar to "Insufficient Memory" displayed by DOS or one of your programs when you try to execute it, then you may not be able to run the ViRes monitor and your program simultaneously. Refer to the Common Questions section for several potential solutions. If you have an 80386, 80486, or later processor, have installed EMM386 with DOS version 5.0 or later version to manage the upper memory area, and have sufficient upper memory available, then you may be able to use the DOS command LOADHIGH (LH) to run the ViRes monitor in upper memory. You should follow your DOS manual's instructions on moving programs to the upper memory area. The result is that no conventional memory is used by the ViRes monitor. Type "LH ViRes". Once you have successfully loaded the ViRes monitor, indicated by the "successfully loaded" message displayed on the screen, the monitor quietly remains in the background, tracking every file reference on your PC. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 12--------------------------- In the upper right corner of the screen, you see displayed the current number of files the ViRes monitor has saved in its in-memory directory. This number ranges from 000 to 100 (the default), with 700 being the maximum number. [In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200 directory entries.] At this point, you have several options. Generally, your selection is based on whether this is your first session with the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System or whether you are a multi-session, repeat user. First-Time Uses --------------- For the first-time user, you should go about your business, executing your programs as you normally would, forgetting that the ViRes monitor is even there. (You can keep an eye on the number of files referenced. You will be surprised at how many files common programs like Windows, Lotus 1-2-3, and WordPerfect use!) At some point, you will wish to view the directory maintained by the ViRes monitor. Use the ViDir directory to view it. Change to the \Vi directory by typing "CD \Vi". Then type "ViDir". The ViDir directory takes over your screen. Repeated Uses ------------- You should use the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System every time you turn on your PC, loading it with the previous session's ending results. And just prior to turning off your PC, you should save the ViRes in-memory directory to disk. There is an important reason for this. Only through continuous monitoring of files over a longer-term period of, say, several months will you indeed be sure that you have a representative sample of your file usage. Only then should you consider performing some of the more sophisticated actions of saving and then deleting unused files from your hard drive. The same applies to copying referenced files onto a diskette for temporary use on a portable or other PC. On the other hand, if you wish to get a quick start, you can spend an intensive session with your programs, performing what you feel to be representative operations. You can still use this directory list as though it were a comprehensive list. However, you may never be really certain of how you (your programs, really) use files unless you have the ViDir/ViRes system spend the time monitoring. To use the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System during each session, you may wish to automate loading the ViRes monitor by including its execution in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Add the commands "CD \Vi", "ViRes", and "CD \" at the beginning or end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you use the ViDir/ViRes system all of the time, you probably want to save the in-memory directory to disk just prior to shutting off your PC for the day, and then reload it when you start your PC the next time. It is a simple operation to save and reload the in-memory directory. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 13--------------------------- Briefly, to save the in-memory directory to disk, start the ViDir directory, select ALT-A (Action), ALT-S (Save), then ESC and Y to exit. This operation has not been automated in the ViRes monitor. That is, the ViRes monitor does not automatically save to disk the in-memory directory. Refer to the Technical Discussions section for an explanation of the important reasons for this. Briefly, to load the in-memory directory from disk, start the ViDir directory, select ALT-A (Action), ALT-L (Load), respond Y to the "overwrite?" question, then ESC and Y to exit. Refer to the ViDir Command Line Options for examples of how to automate these save and load operations. They are automated in the ViSv2Dsk.BAT and ViLodDir.BAT files. At your option, you can include the commands from ViLodDir.BAT in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. ViDir Menus Overview -------------------- All ViDir menus, actions within menus, and help are accessed by holding the ALT key and pressing the highlighted, capitalized letter. So, for example, to bring up the Action menu, press "A" while depressing the ALT key. Both ESC and ALT-X take you out of any menu. Both ALT-H and F1 request help. An alternative method for pulling down menus on the main screen is to press the F10 key. You can then use the left and right arrow keys to move between the menu names. To then pull down a menu, either press ENTER when the menu you desire is highlighted or press the highlighted, capitalized letter. Once a menu is pulled down, the right-arrow key moves you from the Action menu, to the Format menu, to the Options menu, to the Help screen, to the Exit question, and back again to the Action menu. The left arrow key does the same thing in reverse. [Note: To move from the Options menu to the Help screen using the right-arrow key, you must press the right-arrow key from the last character position of the last field of the Options menu.] The Action menu performs actions to: - Copy or delete marked, referenced, or unreferenced files. - Perform simple in-memory directory maintenance. - Create a BAT file that copies or deletes referenced or unreferenced files. - Print the in-memory directory, registration form, or this user manual and help file. - Load, clear, or save the in-memory directory. - Load or retrieve the Program Exclusion List. - Toggle the ViRes directory display count on and off. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 14--------------------------- The Format menu sorts the display of the in-memory directory. Potential sort formats are sort by disk drive, directory, file name, file extension, file date/time, usage count, or program name. You can also invert the directory display. The Options menu maintains information across ViDir executions: - A DOS path name (example: "c:\dir1") for use during copying and deleting unused files in the named directory. - The target diskette drive (example: "A") for copying marked and unused files. - Room for 10 entries in the Program Exclusion List; this list, when loaded into the ViRes storage area, excludes file names from being saved by the ViRes monitor when a file-requesting program-name matches one of the listed names. [Do not include the program's file extension or a period.] - The names of the BAT files created by the BAT-file creation actions. - The format of how you prefer the date (month and day) displayed. To exit the ViDir directory, use ALT-X or ESC, and respond Y to the "Are you sure?" question. If you do not want to exit at this time, type N or press ESC. ViDir/ViRes Details ------------------- Command Line Options -------------------- The ViRes and ViDir commands have options that can be typed after the program's name on the DOS command line. The options can be in upper or lower case and are separated by a space. ViRes Command Line Options -------------------------- 1. "an integer" - Number of in-memory directory entries. This is an important option and has direct impact on the amount of main memory the ViRes monitor occupies. The default number of in-memory directory entries is 100. This means room for 100 in-memory directory entries has been reserved. If 100 file names is insufficient (or too much), you can change it via this command line option. Type the maximum number of directory entries you anticipate requiring. For example, to load the ViRes monitor with space reserved for 250 entries, type "ViRes 250". Refer to the Memory Requirements section for details on how much memory is used for various sample numbers of entries. Limitation: The ViRes monitor never monitors more than 700 or fewer than 10 file names. Anything outside these limits is converted to these figures. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 15--------------------------- Limitation: In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200 directory entries. Cautions: If you used the ViDir directory to previously save to disk the in-memory directory, and there were more files saved than the number you are specifying in this parameter, and you use the ViDir action to load the in-memory directory from this file, then you may lose some of the entries saved on disk. The load will be successful, and a message tells you if not all file names could be loaded. However, if you then save to disk the (reduced) in-memory directory, you lose forever the file names that could not be loaded when the .SAV file is created. To prevent this, you could rename the .SAV file. Refer to the "Save to disk in-memory directory" paragraph. Windows usage note: For some systems, the default of 100 entries may not be sufficient to monitor every file used by Windows. Using this option you can increase the value beyond 100 entries: to 700 with the Registered version, 200 with the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version. 2. "/" - Use Black & White video display mode. The ViRes monitor automatically detects the type of display you have. However, gray-scale video monitors sometimes look just like color. If you are using one, common on portable computers, you may need to use this option. The option is also present if there is some other unusual display problem using auto-detection. Example: "ViRes /". 3. "N" - Do not display the in-memory directory file count. There are two times when you may want to use this option. The obvious case is where you simply do not want the upper right 3 characters of the screen used to display the count. The other less obvious case is where there is some unusual display problem. Try the N option to shut off the count display to insure there are no display problems associated with that display. 4. "I" - Track the DOS interrupt number that referenced the file, rather than the name of the program that referenced the file (which is normally saved by the ViRes monitor and displayed by the ViDir directory). This option is only useful to the most sophisticated DOS programmer-type who wishes to know what interrupt invoked the file reference. Using this option disables Program Exclusion List effects. Command line options can be typed in any order. For example, "ViRes 700 N I" or "ViRes / 25". ViDir Command Line Options -------------------------- With one exception, the ViDir command line options are treated just like key strokes you type while running the ViDir directory. This allows you to set up BAT files to automate some of your repetitive processing needs. For example, you can have a BAT file execute ViDir actions to save the in-memory directory to disk and exit, or load it from disk. If you like the directory always sorted in a certain order, you can do it with command line options. In short, almost anything you can do while in the ViDir directory, you can do with command line options. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 16--------------------------- 1. "/" - Use Black & White video display mode. This is the one exception mentioned previously. It should not be needed, since the display type is automatically detected. However, gray-scale monitors sometimes look just like color. If you are using one, common on portable computers, you may need to use this option. The option can also be used if there is some unusual display problem using auto-detection. Example: "ViDir /". 2. character - A character by itself is a plain character as if you typed it in without pressing ALT. Upper or lower case does not matter. The character is generally used to respond to the "Are you sure?" questions. It is also used to type the characters needed in the Options menu. Refer to other options for examples that include this option. 3. "#" - Treated like you pressed the ENTER key. 4. "+" - Treated like you pressed the space bar. 5. "@" - This signifies pressing the ALT key. The character immediately following the @ (either upper of lower case, it does not matter) is one of the highlighted, capitalized letters from one of the menus. For example, - Type "ViDir @A @S @X y" to save the in-memory directory to disk in the file ViDir.SAV. - Type "ViDir @O # b @X @A @U @X y" to change the target diskette copy drive to "b" and then create a Copy-Used BAT file. - Type "ViDir @A @L y @X y" to load the in-memory directory from the disk save file ViDir.SAV. - Type "ViDir @A @T @X y" to toggle the ViRes on-screen directory count on and off. - Type "ViDir @A @O y @X y" to load the Program Exclusion List. - Type "ViDir @A @L y @A @O y @X y" to load both the Program Exclusion List and the in-memory directory. - Type "ViDir @O c : \ d i r @X @X y" to enter "c:\dir" in the Comparison Path. *Directory Display ------------------ Directory Display Contents -------------------------- Each file is displayed on its own line. Multiple references to a file are indicated by increasing the "Uses" count. The display's column headings have the following meanings. "#" - This is the line number of the referenced file. It tells you how many file names have been referenced. When the directory is initially displayed, the number also represents the order that the files were first referenced. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 17--------------------------- "RWEO" - This stands for Read, Write, Execute, and Overlay. If the listed file was ever referenced with one of these, an R, W, E or O is shown. "Uses" - This is the number of times the file was referenced. The maximum value is 9999. You may see some surprising results listed here. For example, for a DOS BAT file, DOS does not merely read each line of the BAT file, as you might expect, but it actually opens the file, reads a line, closes the file, and executes the line. DOS repeats this sequence for each line in the file. Therefore, you will see, for example, 7 as the initial uses count for a seven-line BAT file executed once. "ProgName" - This is the program name of the last program to reference the file. Many times, this entry is blank, indicating the invoking program was DOS itself or could not be determined. ProgName may be blank in some cases when you would normally expect to find a name. For example, SideKick operates as a memory-resident program and pops up when you request it. If SideKick references a file, the file name is noted, but since SideKick is memory-resident and not running as a program, there is no program name. If, on the other hand, you run SideKick from within another program, then that program name is the one that gets captured as the referencing program name. "Int #" - Usually, this is not displayed. If, when you started the ViRes monitor, you included the sophisticated "I" command line option, the DOS interrupt that actually referenced the file is tracked rather than the program name. Only then is Int # displayed, replacing the ProgName display. The interrupt is displayed in hexadecimal format. The first two digits are the DOS interrupt number (probably the DOS 21 interrupt); any following digits are the function and subfunction. "Last Access" - This is the date (month/day) and time (hours:minutes) of the last reference to the file. The format of the date can be selected by you; refer to the Options menu "Date format" field. The time is displayed in twenty-four hour mode. For example, 6:00pm is displayed as 18:00. "File Name" - This is the complete file name, including disk, directory, file name, and extension. If the directory is too long to fit within the confines of the display, the middle of it is removed and "..." inserted. Directory Display Manipulation ------------------------------ Once the ViDir display is on your screen, you will find that screen manipulation is intuitive. If you have used other common PC programs, then you can probably manipulate the screen without even reading this section. The following control the directory display. Use: UP to move directory entries on the screen down one line and insert a new directory line at the top of the directory display. DOWN to move directory entries on the screen up one line and insert a new directory line at the bottom of the directory display. PgDn to replace the current directory entries with the 21 entries ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 18--------------------------- immediately following the bottom entry. PgUp to replace the current directory entries with the 21 entries immediately preceding the top entry. HOME, CTL-HOME, and CTL-PgUp - Display the first 21 directory entries. END, CTL-END, and CTL-PgDn - Display the last 21 directory entries. *Action Menu How-To ------------------- Summary ------- To enter this menu, press ALT-A or use the alternate F10 method described in the menus overview section. To leave this menu, press ESC or ALT-X. To request Help, press ALT-H or F1. The ViDir Action menu performs an action. Refer to the menus overview section for a summary of the actions. To invoke any of the actions, press the highlighted, capitalized letter while depressing the ALT key. Details ------- The specifics of each action are described here in the order they appear in the menu. "Enter marking mode" - ALT-K - This action provides file marking to allow copying files to a diskette or elimination from the ViRes in-memory directory. Files are marked and unmarked with any asterisk ("*") key. Once a file has been handled during copying, a pound sign ("#") replaces the "*". A pound sign has the same effect as a space (i.e., not marked). When you are finished marking files, press ESC. File markings are maintained across directory sorting and are printed along with the directory, but are not maintained across ViDir executions. Use these keys to control the directory display. DOWN, TAB, ENTER - Moves the cursor to the next lower line, or if the cursor is at the last line of the display, moves directory entries on the screen up one line and inserts a new directory line at the bottom of the directory display. UP, Shift-TAB - Moves the cursor to the next higher line, or if the cursor is at the top line of the display, moves directory entries on the screen down one line and inserts a new directory line at the top of the directory display. PgUp - Replaces the current directory entries with the 21 entries immediately preceding the top entry. The cursor position does not change, except to move the cursor to the top entry the next time PgUp is ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 19--------------------------- pressed after the number one entry is displayed. PgDn - Replace the current directory entries with the 21 entries immediately following the bottom entry. The cursor position does not change, except to move the cursor to the bottom entry the next time PgDn is pressed after the final entry is displayed. CTL-HOME, CTL-PgUp - Display the first 21 directory entries; position the cursor at the first entry. CTL-END, CTL-PgDn - Display the final 21 directory entries; position the cursor at the last entry. HOME - Takes you to the top of the currently displayed entries. END - Takes you to the bottom of the currently displayed entries. "Copy marked files to diskette" - ALT-A - This action copies previously marked files to diskette. Use it to answer questions D and E posed in the Examples section. You are asked to insert a formatted diskette. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to copy the files now, press ESC or N. As each file is copied, a status message is displayed. If a file cannot be copied or is created and copied successfully, the status is updated, and copying continues with the next file. If the file already exists on the target diskette, you are asked whether to overwrite it. If yes, respond Y; otherwise, N or ESC. Copying continues with the next file. If a file does not fit on the target diskette, you are prompted to replace the diskette, and that file and remaining ones are copied to the new diskette. To terminate copying any time, press ESC once. When copying is complete or if you terminated copying, a "done" message is displayed, and you are prompted to hit a key to return to the directory display. If an error was detected during the copying process, the "done" message so indicates. "Copy unused files in directory to diskette" - ALT-Y - This action copies to diskette all of the files in the directory specified in the Options menu that have not been referenced. Before using this, set the comparison directory path and diskette drive in the Options menu. You are asked to insert a formatted diskette. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to copy the files now, press ESC or N. As each file is copied, a status message is displayed. If a file cannot be copied or is created and copied successfully, the status is updated, and copying continues with the next file. If the file already exists on the target diskette, you are asked whether to overwrite it. If yes, press Y; otherwise, N or ESC. Copying continues with the next file. If a file does not fit on the target diskette, you are prompted to replace the diskette, and that file and remaining ones are copied to the new diskette. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 20--------------------------- To terminate copying any time, press ESC once. When copying is complete or if you terminated copying, a "done" message is displayed, and you are prompted to hit a key to return to the directory display. If an error was detected during the copying process, the "done" message so indicates. If there are no files in the specified directory, a message tells you. This may be an error, meaning you have specified a nonexistent or illegal directory name, or there may truly be no files in the directory. Why would you copy these files? For safety. The files that are copied have not been referenced over the period of time of your monitoring. Therefore, they are probably not needed on your disk by the programs you execute. However, there are circumstances when a program checks for the existence of a certain file by directly reading a directory and never touching (i.e., opening, executing, or overlaying) the file. Since the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System has no way of knowing that this extremely rare event has occurred, you should copy to another disk (back up) any files the ViDir directory says you don't need before you delete them. Note well: As each file in the directory gets copied to diskette, the ViRes monitor records, in its in-memory directory, references to the source file and to the newly-created file on the target diskette. The three-digit display in the upper right corner of the screen will show the count going up. Fortunately, the ViDir directory retrieves the ViRes in-memory directory once, when the ViDir command is executed. Therefore, if you wish to perform this copy action more than once in a single ViDir session, the same file names are copied. If the ViDir directory were to refresh its directory from the in-memory directory more frequently than upon ViDir execution, then the second time you performed this action in a single ViDir session would not copy any files, since all files in the directory get referenced during copying. If you do not want any changes to occur to the in-memory directory as a result of ViDir actions, you should add "ViDir" to the Program Exclusion List in the Options menu and load it into ViRes memory. This will exclude file references made during copying. Note doubly well: Because of these reasons, you should plan to perform this action and the next action (Delete unused files in directory) in the same ViDir session. "Delete unused files in directory" - ALT-F - This action deletes all of the files in the directory specified in the Options menu that have not been referenced. Before using this, set the comparison path in the Options menu. You are asked if you are sure you wish to delete the unused files. If yes, press Y. If you do not want to delete the files now, press ESC or N. As each file is deleted, a status message is displayed. The messages scroll by quite quickly. If a file cannot be deleted or is successfully deleted, the status is updated, and deleting continues with the next file. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 21--------------------------- To terminate deleting any time, press ESC once. When deleting is complete or if you terminated deleting, a "done" message is displayed, and you are prompted to hit a key to return to the directory display. If an error was detected during the deleting process, the "done" message so indicates. If there are no files in the specified directory, a message tells you. This may be an error, meaning you have specified a nonexistent or illegal directory name, or there may truly be no files in the directory. Why would you want to delete these files? The files being deleted have not been referenced over the period of time of your monitoring. Therefore, they are probably not needed on your disk by the programs you execute and you may choose to delete them. However, there are circumstances when a program checks for the existence of a certain file by directly reading a directory and never touching (i.e., opening, executing, or overlaying) the file. Since the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System has no way of knowing that this extremely rare event has occurred, you should copy to another disk (back up) any files the ViDir directory says you don't need before you delete them. Note well: Because of the reasons mentioned in the "Note well" paragraphs of the previous action (Copy unused files in directory to diskette), you should plan to perform this action and the previous one in the same ViDir session. "Eliminate marked in-memory directory entries" - ALT-I - This action performs a directory housekeeping function by removing marked directory entries from the in-memory directory. This does not delete or otherwise affect actual files. As you use the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System, you will see that, over time, your programs and related files actually make up only a small portion of file references; soon, data file references overshadow executable references. Generally, you are not interested in tracking these references to spreadsheets and memos. So as to not clutter the in-memory directory, you can mark directory entries and remove them from the in-memory directory. You are asked whether you are sure that you wish to overwrite the in-memory directory. If you are sure, press Y. To not perform the elimination of marked directory entries and not load the in-memory directory, press ESC or N. If you pressed Y, all unmarked entries are copied into the ViRes in-memory directory in the (possibly sorted) order they are in as you view the directory. Elimination of marked directory entries requires additional main memory. If there is insufficient memory, an error message is displayed. When complete, the ViDir directory display reflects the directory with all marked entries purged. "Create Copy-Used BAT file" - ALT-U - This action creates a file in the default directory; the default file name is "ViCopUs.BAT", which you can change in the Options menu. If the file already exists, you are asked whether to overwrite it. If yes, press Y; otherwise, N or ESC. There is one copy line in the BAT file for each file listed in the ViDir display. The format of each line in the BAT file is: "COPY n:\dir\filename.ext m:", where n, dir, filename, and ext are the ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 22--------------------------- disk drive, directory, file name, and extension, respectively, of each file shown in the ViDir display, and m is the diskette name you specified in the Options menu. Before using this, set the diskette drive in the Options menu. The BAT file created by this action allows you to copy all files that have been referenced to another disk or diskette. To execute the BAT file, type its name, ViCopUs (or the name you specified, if you changed the default). This action is similar to marking and then copying files to diskette. If you feel you do not need to copy all of the files listed in the ViDir display (and contained in the BAT file), you can either edit the BAT file and delete the lines of the files you do not need (recommended), or run the BAT file as-is, and use the DOS DEL command to remove excess files from the target diskette. "Create Copy-Unused BAT file" - ALT-N - This action creates a file in the default directory; the default file name is "ViCopUn.BAT", which you can change in the Options menu. If the file already exists, you are asked whether to overwrite it. If yes, press Y; otherwise, N or ESC. There is one copy line in the BAT file for each file in the comparison directory (specified in the Options menu) that is not also shown in the ViDir display. The format of each line in the BAT file is: "COPY n:\dir\filename.ext m:", where n, dir, filename, and ext are the disk drive, directory, file name, and extension, respectively, of each file, and m is the diskette name you specified in the Options menu. If there are no files in the specified directory, a message tells you. This may be an error, meaning you have specified a nonexistent or illegal directory name, or there may truly be no files in the directory. Before using this, set the comparison path and diskette drive in the Options menu. The BAT file created by this action allows you to copy all of the files that have not been referenced to another disk or diskette. To execute the BAT file, type its name, ViCopUn (or the name you specified, if you changed the default). This action is similar to copying unused files in the directory to diskette. If you feel you do not need to copy all of the files listed in the BAT file, you can edit it and delete the copy-lines for the files you do not need (recommended), or run the BAT file as-is, and use the DOS DEL command to remove excess files from the target diskette. "Create Delete-Unused BAT file" - ALT-D - This action creates a file in the default directory; the default file name is "ViDelUn.BAT", which you can change in the Options menu. If the file already exists, you are asked whether to overwrite it. If yes, press Y; otherwise, N or ESC. There is one delete line in the BAT file for each file in the comparison directory (specified in the Options menu line) that is not also shown in the ViDir display. The format of each line in the BAT file is: "DEL n:\dir\filename.ext", where n, dir, filename, and ext are the disk drive, directory, file name, and extension, respectively, of each file. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 23--------------------------- If there are no files in the specified directory, a message tells you. This may be an error, meaning you have specified a nonexistent or illegal directory name, or there may truly be no files in the directory. Before using this, set the comparison path in the Options menu. The BAT file created by this action allows you to delete all of the files in a directory that have not been referenced. To execute the BAT file, type its name, ViDelUn (or the name you specified, if you changed the default). This action is similar to deleting unused files in the directory. If you feel you do not want to delete all of the files listed in the BAT file, you can edit it and delete the lines of the files you do not want deleted. "Print Directory" - ALT-P - Use this to print the complete directory being displayed. It uses the default printer on your system. Before it prints, you are asked to put the printer on-line. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to print the directory now, press ESC or N. This requires up to 13 pages. You may wish to sort the directory display prior to printing. To terminate printing any time, press ESC; you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following termination. "Print Registration Form" - ALT-R - Use this to print the registration form for the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. It uses the default printer on your system. Before it prints, you are asked to put the printer on-line. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to print the form now, press ESC or N. This requires 1 page. To terminate printing any time, press ESC; you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following termination. "Print Manual/Help File" - ALT-M - Use this to print this file, the combined help file and user manual. It uses the default printer on your system. Before it prints, you are asked to put the printer on-line. When ready, press Y. If you do not want to print the user manual and help file now, press ESC or N. This requires 57 pages. To terminate printing any time, press ESC; you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following termination. The page numbers that appear at the bottom of each page are referenced by the index at the end of this document and the help table-of-contents at the start of the document. "Load in-memory directory from disk" - ALT-L - The ViRes monitor maintains a list of referenced files in its memory. The default is 100, but you can change it to a number from 10 to 700 via a ViRes command line option. [In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200 directory entries.] If you have previously saved the in-memory directory to disk, then you can reload it. The ViDir directory looks for the file ViDir.SAV in the default directory. If the file is not there, you are told, and no operation is performed. You are asked whether you are sure that you wish to overwrite the in-memory directory. If you are sure, press Y. To not perform the load, ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 24--------------------------- press ESC or N. If you pressed Y, the entries in the file are copied to the ViRes in-memory directory either until there are no more lines in the file or until the in-memory directory is filled, which ever comes first. If the latter occurs, you are told that not all entries were copied. This is not an error, but you should consider it a warning. Why? Because if you then re-save the directory to disk, which replaces the existing ViDir.SAV file, you wipe out the entries in excess of the present ViRes in-memory directory size. Asterisks indicating marked entries are cleared as part of this action. Typically, this action is used just after you start up (or restart) your system, and it is generally automated with ViDir command line options. This is half of the functions necessary to perform continuous, across-boot monitoring; the other half is saving the directory to disk. "Clear in-memory directory" - ALT-C - The ViRes in-memory directory is cleared to zero entries. It is not necessary to clear the in-memory directory before loading it. Sometimes you may wish to get a fresh start on monitoring to determine a new set of files to copy or delete. You may choose to save the directory prior to clearing it and restore it following temporary monitoring. You are asked whether you are sure that you wish to clear the in-memory directory. If you are sure, press Y. To not perform the clearing, press ESC or N. Asterisks indicating marked entries are cleared as part of this action. "Save to disk in-memory directory" - ALT-S - The ViRes monitor maintains a list of referenced files in its memory. The default is 100, but you can change it to a number from 10 to 700 via a ViRes command line option. [In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200 directory entries.] You may wish to save the in-memory directory to allow you to later reload it. A ViDir action saves the directory in the file ViDir.SAV in the default directory. If the file already exists, it is overwritten. All entries in the in-memory directory are copied to the save file. There are two occasions when you might typically perform this action. The prevalent case is to save the directory just prior to turning off or restarting your system, and this is generally automated with ViDir command line options. This is half of the functions necessary to perform continuous, across-boot file monitoring; the other half is reloading the in-memory directory from disk upon system restart. The other reason to save the directory is to temporarily clear the in-memory directory, gather information on some other set of files' usage, and then restore the in-memory directory. Caution: Please do not modify the save file! The ViDir directory expects it to be in a specific format, and modification can potentially change that. If you wish to delete specific file entries from the file, you should delete the entire line; this can usually be safely done with ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 25--------------------------- most editors. But VERIFY YOUR WORK before continuing by reloading the directory from disk and then checking the ViDir display. "Load in-memory Program Exclusion List" - ALT-O - Refer to the Program Exclusion List definition. This action loads ViRes memory with the (up to) 10 program names listed in the Program Exclusion List in the Options menu. You are asked whether you are sure that you wish to load the ViRes Program Exclusion List. If you are sure, press Y. To not perform the load, press ESC or N. Set the Program Exclusion List in the Options menu prior to performing this action. This action is particularly useful to not clutter the in-memory directory with files that are unimportant to you. Some examples of files that may be unimportant are: Files referenced during a disk backup. Backup utilities, such as FastBack, open each file to read it, compress it, and save it to a diskette. When you run the backup, literally thousands of files may be referenced. To avoid filling up the in-memory directory with every file on your disk, just add the backup program's name, such as "FB", somewhere in the Program Exclusion List. Files referenced by a DOS shell, such as Norton Commander, Norton Utilities File Find, or PCSHELL. The in-memory directory might actually become filled by scanning a set of files for a string of characters. "Get in-memory Program Exclusion List" - ALT-G - Refer to the Program Exclusion List definition. This action retrieves the Program Exclusion List from ViRes memory and places its values in the Program Exclusion List in the ViDir Options menu. The ViDir list is overwritten with the ViRes list, which is, in turn, saved when the ViDir program is exited. "Toggle directory count display on/off" - ALT-T - The ViRes monitor displays in the upper right corner of the screen the current 3-digit count of files it has saved in its in-memory directory. This action turns off or on that display. *Format Menu How-To ------------------- Summary ------- To enter this menu, press ALT-F or use the alternate F10 method described in the menus overview section. To leave this menu, press ESC or ALT-X. To request Help, press ALT-H or F1. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 26--------------------------- The Format menu allows you to sort the ViDir display of the in-memory directory. Refer to the menus overview section for a summary of the sort actions. To invoke any of the sort actions, press the highlighted, capitalized letter while depressing the ALT key. Details ------- Potential sort formats are sort by disk drive (ALT-I), directory (ALT-D), file name (ALT-N), file extension (ALT-E), file date/time (ALT-A), usage count (ALT-U), or program name (ALT-P). Actually, these formats are just the primary sort keys. Secondary sort keys are used in most cases. For example, if you sort the directory by file name, the secondary sort key is the file extension. This means that identical file names are additionally sorted by file extension, so that FN.A precedes FN.B. The secondary sort keys follow shortly. The "Invert sort order" (ALT-V) formatting option reverses the order of the display, such that the first item becomes the last item and vice-versa. Why would you use the invert formatting option? Other than for convenience, there is one use that is not as obvious: to moderately increase ViRes performance. The ViRes monitor searches the in-memory directory sequentially for a matching file name, to increment its usage count. To increase performance, you could sort the ViDir directory display according to usage count and then invert it, so that the most-referenced file is shown first and the least-referenced last. Then, you would need to load the in-memory directory with the newly sorted directory list by first saving to disk the in-memory directory (ALT-A, then ALT-S), then reloading it from disk (ALT-A, then ALT-O). Any performance increase would be, in actuality, very limited, only noticeable if the ViRes monitor had to search hundreds of entries and your most-referenced file happened to be the last file in the list. Frankly, though, no stop watch will ever detect a difference in file-access performance, even on the slowest or fastest PCs available today. Primary key Secondary keys ----------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Disk drive Directory, File name, File extension Directory File name, File extension File name File extension File extension none File date/time Program name, Disk drive, Directory, File name, Extension Usage count Date/time, Program, Disk, Directory, File name, Extension Program name Disk drive, Directory, File name, File extension Invert order Not applicable *Options Menu How-To -------------------- ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 27--------------------------- Summary ------- To enter this menu, press ALT-O or use the alternate F10 method described in the menus overview section. To leave this menu, press ESC or ALT-X. Both forms of exiting save all of the options, and they are written to disk when you exit the ViDir program. To request Help, press ALT-H or F1. The Options menu maintains values you enter across executions of the ViDir command in a file called ViDir.CFG. Refer to the menus overview section for a summary of the options. All characters are converted to upper case. Generally accepted "standard" ARROW, CTL-ARROW, HOME, CTL-HOME, END, CTL-END, TAB, SHIFT-TAB, PgUp, CTL-PgUp, PgDn, CTL-PgDn, INSERT, DEL, BACKSPACE, CTL-BACKSPACE, and ENTER keys provide cursor movement and control. Details ------- There are five option field areas: "Comparison directory path (c:\dir1)" - This field is used by the "Copy unused files in directory to diskette", "Delete unused files in directory", "Create Copy-Unused BAT file", and "Create Delete-Unused BAT file" actions. The directory name should represent a valid DOS directory on a valid drive you specify; refer to your DOS manual for the proper format. Valid examples are: "c:" - Default directory of the "c" drive "c:\" - Root directory of the "c" drive "c:\dirmain\subdir" - The subdir directory within dirmain on "c" If there are no files in the specified directory, a message tells you when you perform one of the actions. This may be an error, meaning you have specified a nonexistent or illegal directory name, or there may truly be no files in the directory. A trailing backslash is optional; i.e., both "c:\dir1" and "c:\dir1\" are acceptable. "Target diskette drive for copying files" - This field is used by the "Copy marked files to diskette", "Copy unused files in directory to diskette", "Create Copy-Used BAT file", and "Create Copy-Unused BAT file" actions. It represents the root directory of the disk or diskette drive to which you wish to copy the marked, used, or unused files. The drive name should represent a valid, installed drive on your system. Typically, this is "a" or "b". "Program Exclusion List" - Refer to the Program Exclusion List definition. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 28--------------------------- There is room for up to ten program names, each up to 8 characters. The actual name of the executable program should be used. Specifically, it is the program name, normally followed by the .EXE or .COM file extension. Any or all of the program names can be filled in; there can be blank names (fields) between valid program names. Do not include a period or the file extension in the name. You may wish to test that you have the correct program name. If you are a Norton Commander user, you may find that, although you typed NC to execute Norton, it is the program NCMAIN or WPVIEW that actually references the files. To test this, load the ViRes monitor. Then from the ViDir Options menu, type the program name in one of the Program Exclusion List fields, load the list via the Action menu, and Exit the ViDir directory. Run your program. Restart the ViDir directory and see what is there. It shows you the real program name. "BAT File Names" - The three fields in this area, labeled "Copy Used", "Copy Unused", and "Delete Unused", are the names of the BAT files created by the BAT-file creation actions. Each field has room for up to 12 characters of the form "filename.BAT". The defaults are "ViCopUs.BAT", "ViCopUn.BAT", and "ViDelUn.BAT", respectively. "Date format" - The date format allows you to change the month and day display format to suite your preference. Enter a number from one to four. The choices are: "1 MM/DD" - Month followed by day, separated by a slash "2 DD/MM" - Day followed by month, separated by a slash "3 DD.MM" - Day followed by month, separated by a period "4 DD MM" - Day followed by month, separated by a space Cursor Control -------------- The ViDir cursor movement is "natural" in that most word processors and editors use these keys in this fashion. [Definition: A field is one of the contiguous black areas of the Options menu. They could be considered to be numbered left to right, top to bottom.] UP, PgUp, and SHIFT-TAB - Moves the cursor to the first position of the previous field. If you are positioned at the first field, wrap-around to the last field occurs. DOWN, PgDn, TAB, and ENTER - Moves the cursor to the first position of the next field. If you are positioned at the last field, wrap-around to the first field occurs. CTL-HOME and CTL-PgUp - Moves the cursor to the first position of the first field. CTL-END and CTL-PgDn - Moves the cursor to the first position of the last field. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 29--------------------------- RIGHT - Moves the cursor one character to the right within the field. There is no change in the characters displayed. If the cursor is already at the last position in the field, there is no change. [Note: Pressing the right-arrow key from the last character position of the last field of the Options menu will move you from the Options menu to the Help screen.] LEFT - Moves the cursor one character to the left within the field. There is no change in the characters displayed. If the cursor is already at the first position in the field, there is no change. [Note: Pressing the left-arrow key from the first character position of the first field of the Options menu will move you from the Options menu to the Format menu.] HOME and CTL-LEFT - Moves the cursor to the first position of the field. INSERT - Toggles the insert/overwrite notation displayed in the Options menu. When in insert mode, a typed character is inserted where the cursor is, after shifting all characters to the right by one character; the cursor is then shifted one to the right. The rightmost character in the field is erased from the screen as it moves out of the contiguous display area. When in overwrite mode, a typed character is overwritten where the cursor is positioned; the cursor is then shifted one to the right. DEL - The character under the cursor is deleted and all characters to the right of the cursor are shifted left one character. A space is inserted in the rightmost position. The cursor position does not change. CTL-BACKSPACE - All characters in the field are erased. The cursor is repositioned at the start of the field. END and CTL-RIGHT - The cursor is placed at the first space in the field, or at the last position of the field if there are no spaces. Because of the nature of the fields in the Options menu, there must be no embedded spaces; hence, the first space in the field should be the end of the text you typed in. BACKSPACE - The character to the left of the cursor is deleted, the cursor is positioned one character to the left, and all characters to the right of the cursor are shifted left one character. A space is inserted in the rightmost position. If the cursor is already in the leftmost position, the cursor position does not change. *Help Menu How-To ----------------- Summary ------- This is the help system of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. To access Help from anywhere, press ALT-H or F1, or from the main menu, use the alternate F10 method described in the menus overview section. ViDir help is context sensitive; it tries to position the help file to ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 30--------------------------- information relevant to what you are doing at the moment. The ViDir/ViRes user manual and help file are one-in-the-same, contained in the file ViDir.HLP. Thus, the entire manual is available via ViDir help services. To leave help, press ESC. Generally accepted "standard" ARROW, HOME, CTL-HOME, END, CTL-END, PgUp, CTL-PgUp, PgDn, and CTL-PgDn keys provide screen control. At the top of the help screen are 12 help indexes. If you are interested in any of the topics, press the highlighted number/letter while depressing the ALT key. All of these topics are also listed in the help table-of-contents for this help file and user manual. To view the full table-of-contents, press "1" while depressing ALT. An alphabetic index of topics with page numbers is available just before the appendices in the help file. Every page within the user manual and help file is clearly numbered. These are referenced by the table-of-contents and alphabetic index. Details ------- You can control which lines of help are displayed. Use: UP to move the screen text down one line and insert a new help line at the top of the display. DOWN to move the screen text up one line and insert a new help line at the bottom of the display. PgDn to replace the current help information with the 14 help lines immediately following the bottom line. PgUp to replace the current help information with the 14 help lines immediately preceding the top line. HOME, CTL-HOME, and CTL-PgUp - Display the first 14 lines. END, CTL-END, and CTL-PgDn - Display the last 14 lines. *How to Exit ------------ There are two aspects to exiting (or quitting) the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System: how to exit the ViDir directory and ViInstal, and how to terminate the ViRes monitor and free its memory. How to Quit ViDir Directory and ViInstal ---------------------------------------- Quitting the ViDir directory and ViInstal is easy: from the main menu, press ALT-X or ESC. Respond Y to the "Are you sure?" question. ViDir ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 31--------------------------- Options are saved in ViDir.CFG. How to Quit ViRes Monitor ------------------------- The ViRes monitor is memory-resident. To unhook the it from DOS and free the memory it occupies, press the left-shift key and the right-shift key at the same time, and while holding them depressed, press the CTL key. You will hear a brief tone sound, around one-quarter second, if your PC has a speaker, signifying successful termination. If a long tone sounds, around 2 seconds, then the ViRes monitor cannot terminate itself at this time. It has detected other resident software with which it would interfere should it terminate. You should try again later after other, more recently installed memory-resident programs have been removed from memory. !!Caution!! Only do this if you are certain that no other memory-resident (TSR) programs have been started (i.e., loaded) after the ViRes monitor. DOS requires that you disconnect and remove from memory TSRs in the reverse order from how they were loaded. If you do not do this, DOS may lose track of memory, and your PC will probably halt. For example, if you load the ViRes monitor first, then start SideKick later, you need to remove SideKick first, and only then, the ViRes monitor. This is usually perfectly safe to do. But you need to remember to do it this way! Unless you are a sophisticated user, the ViRes monitor is probably one of the very few memory-resident programs you use, and you do not have to worry about this. If you are a sophisticated user, then you probably already know this. Of course, rebooting your PC terminates the ViRes monitor. While a rather drastic solution, it is always the safest. You should save to disk the ViRes in-memory directory just prior to termination to allow you to perform across-boot file monitoring. Refer to the "Save to disk in-memory directory" Action menu description. *Examples --------- A. How can I free up huge chunks of my hard disk? To free up space on your hard disk, you can delete files you don't use. However, you really do not want to delete all of the files you do not use until you copy them to a backup diskette. The ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System helps you do this. We will do this for a sample directory you select. Keep the ViRes monitor loaded in memory from the moment you turn on your PC. After running your programs, use ViDir actions to copy to a diskette all of the files from the directory you never use. First, you choose the directory: after starting the ViDir directory, press ALT-O (Options); type your directory name and preferred diskette drive; then ESC back to the main menu. Then, press ALT-A (Action), then ALT-Y (Copy unused files in directory to diskette). This action copies every ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 32--------------------------- unused file in the directory you specified to the diskette you selected. Now, let's delete those files (i.e., delete all of the files that are never used in the directory you selected). Press ALT-A (Action), then ALT-F (Delete unused files in directory). This deletes every unused file in the directory you specified. Repeat these steps as needed for other directories. Once you have completed these brief steps, press ALT-X or ESC to exit the ViDir directory, responding Y to the "Are you sure?" question. That's it! You have now saved all of the files you do not regularly use, to diskette and deleted them from your disk. If your program ever tells you that you need one of those saved files, you can merely insert the diskette and use the DOS copy command to copy it from the diskette to the proper directory on your hard drive. B. I have all of these files on my hard disk; do I really ever use them and do I need to keep them around? This has the same answer as A. C. Which, of all my files on my hard disk, are used the most? Then I can move these highly referenced files to my RAM disk. Keep the ViRes monitor loaded in memory from the moment you turn on your PC. After running your programs, execute the ViDir directory. Sort the files in the order of least-referenced to most-referenced. Press ALT-F (Format menu), then ALT-U (Usage Count). Use your END key to go to the end of the directory, and take a look at how often the files are referenced. Wow, you say! Now you can make an informed decision about which files to move to your RAM disk. (Caution: You may need to experiment to get your program to operate on a RAM disk. Also, not all programs work on a RAM disk.) D. I am going on a trip and I want to take my word processor and spread sheet with me, to do work on my portable PC. How do I know what files I need? Load the ViRes monitor. Execute your word processor (or spreadsheet, or whatever). Do everything from within your word processor you intend doing on the portable PC. Then, execute the ViDir directory. This list of displayed files are the ones you need to put on a diskette and take with you on your trip. So, first tell the ViDir directory which diskette you want to copy all of these files to by pressing ALT-O (Options) and typing the diskette letter (usually "a" or "b"). The diskette may already be correct. Then, ESC back to the main menu. (This saves your values.) Now, type ALT-A (Action), then ALT-K (Enter marking mode). This allows you to select the files you want to copy to diskette. Type an asterisk ("*") next to every file. (You may choose to not asterisk the files that the ViDir directory has itself referenced.) Then ESC out of marking mode. Then from the Action menu, type ALT-A (Copy marked files to diskette) to copy every marked file to diskette (that is, copy the files used by the example word processor). Once you have completed these brief steps, select ALT-X or ESC to exit the ViDir directory, responding Y to the "Are you sure?" question. That's it! You now have a diskette that has all of the files on it you ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 33--------------------------- need to run your word processor (or spread sheet, or whatever program you choose)! As a final step, test your word processor, now on the diskette. [Please observe copyright laws and license restrictions regarding copying software and using it on another PC.] E. My secretary has a laser printer, and I want to put my word processor and document on a diskette and take them over to his/her PC and print the document. Which word processor files do I need to put on the diskette? This is just like D, except now walk over to your secretary's desk. [Please observe copyright laws and license restrictions regarding copying software and using it on another PC.] Common Questions ---------------- Q: The second and third lines on the screen seem to blink erratically while copying files. Why is this? A: This allows for special DOS messages to be clearly displayed during diskette swapping on PCs that have a single diskette drive logically called both "A:" and "B:". Q: The ViDir directory says it cannot find the help file. What should I do? A: The ViDir directory looks for the help file and all of the files it uses in the default DOS directory. You should change to the directory \Vi by typing "CD \Vi" first, then execute the ViDir command. If you followed the installation instructions in this user manual and help file, then all of the needed files are already in \Vi. Q: My in-memory directory is completely filled with bunches of files that have only been used once or twice, and they're mostly documents and spreadsheets I've used. How can I get rid of them? A: From the ViDir Action menu, use marking mode (ALT-K) to mark the file names you don't want, then eliminate them (ALT-I) from the in-memory directory. Q: I am reaching, or have reached, the ViRes files limit. Now, when new file names are referenced, the count in the upper right of the screen does not increase. How can I increase the limit without losing the monitoring information I have already collected? (This may particularly noticeable when Windows is executed while monitoring files.) A: The number of ViRes in-memory directory entries can only be changed by terminating and restarting the ViRes monitor. Also, the maximum number of in-memory directory entries is 700. Once 700 is reached, it cannot be increased. [In the Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version, the maximum is 200, and once reached, cannot be increased.] Assuming you are not at that limit, it is very simple to increase the in-memory directory size. First, save the in-memory directory. Then, terminate the ViRes monitor, which evicts it from memory. Then, restart it with an increased number of entries, such as 500, by typing "ViRes 500". And, lastly, reload the in- ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 34--------------------------- memory directory. Q: I typed a program name in the ViDir Options menu's Program Exclusion List, but file references made by that program aren't being excluded. A: There are several possibilities. 1. You forgot to load the Program Exclusion List; from the ViDir Action menu, press ALT-O. 2. Do not include the program's trailing period or its extension (.COM or .EXE). 3. You typed an incorrect program name in the Program Exclusion List. Try looking at the name reported by the ViDir Directory. Q: I get an "Insufficient Memory" error message when I try to run my program after I have loaded the ViRes monitor. What can I do? A: Several alternatives are available to solve this problem. 1. Perhaps you have asked for a ViRes in-memory directory size that is too large for you to do your work. Consider removing the ViRes monitor from memory (review the section and cautions on doing this) and restarting it with a ViRes command line option of fewer directory entries. For example, type "ViRes 50". 2. Reboot your system. This clears up your main memory and gives you a fresh start. Now try loading the ViRes monitor and then your program. 3. If you have other memory-resident programs running (example: Borland's SideKick), try evicting them according to the instructions provided with your program. Then try loading the ViRes monitor. 4. If this still does not work, try renaming your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (if you have one) to something else. (Do not forget the name!) Reboot, then, try these same steps again. If this works, then you probably have other memory-resident programs that get loaded from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You need to modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to not load the additional memory-resident programs, if possible. (Do not forget to rename your AUTOEXEC.BAT file back to its original name!) 5. If you have an 80286 processor or higher, try using DR DOS 5.0 or MS-DOS 5.0 or later version. This could yield a 45-50K increase in available main memory. 6. If you have an 80386, 80486, or later processor, have installed EMM386 with DOS version 5.0 or a later version to manage your upper memory area, and have sufficient upper memory available, then you may be able to use the DOS command LOADHIGH (LH) to run the ViRes monitor from upper memory. You should follow your DOS manual's instructions on moving programs to the upper memory area. The result is that no conventional memory is used by the ViRes monitor. Type: "LH ViRes" instead of "ViRes" by itself. Q: How can I automate some of the mundane ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System operations? ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 35--------------------------- A: Refer to the ViDir command line options section for a detailed discussion. To save the directory: "ViDir @A @S @X y". To load the directory: "ViDir @A @L y @X y". To toggle on or off the in-memory directory count display in the upper right of the screen: "ViDir @A @T @X y". To load the Program Exclusion List: "ViDir @A @O y @X y". Q: I have followed all of your instructions, copied the files I use to a diskette, and am trying to use that program on my other PC. My program says that file ZYX is needed, but the ViDir directory didn't identify that file as needed (referenced). What is going on here? A: Sometimes, programs directly read an entire directory or a portion of one, looking for the existence of a certain file, even though the program does not actually open, execute, or overlay it. The ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System has no way of knowing that this very rare event has occurred. Unfortunately, you will have to manually copy the file to diskette yourself. This is another reason to save to another disk any files the ViDir directory says you don't need, just in case you actually do. Q: I have followed all of your instructions and created a BAT file to copy all of my unneeded files to a diskette. However, I get the error message "Insufficient disk space" and not all of the unneeded files have been copied to the diskette. What does this mean? A: The files that need to be copied to diskette have completely filled your diskette, and you still have files remaining to be copied. You will have to insert another diskette and continue copying from where you left off. To do this, edit the ViCopUn.BAT file (with a word processor or the MS-DOS EDLIN editor) deleting the lines of files that have already been copied. Q: The directory display says that my program is referencing a file, but when I look in the directory, that file does not exist. What's going on? A: Two explanations come to mind. The program created a permanent file for temporary use and then deleted it; this is very common. Or, sometimes, programs attempt to open a file that may or may not exist to check whether a certain software feature is installed. For example, your program might try to open a Windows file or an extended/expanded memory manager file. If the file exists, then your program may behave differently than if the file is not there. The ViRes monitor records these file open attempts. You can ignore these files and even eliminate them from your in-memory directory. From the ViDir Action menu, mark the directory entries (ALT-K) and then eliminate them (ALT-I). Q: The "Copy marked files to diskette" action (or the ViCopUs.BAT file) is trying to copy a file that does not exist. How is that possible? A: Two explanations come to mind. A program created a permanent file for temporary use and then deleted it; this is very common. Or, sometimes, programs attempt to open a file that may or may not exist to check whether a certain software feature is installed. For example, your program might try to open a Windows file or an extended/expanded memory manager file. If the file exists, then your program may behave differently than if the file ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 36--------------------------- is not there. The ViRes monitor records these file open attempts. You can usually safely ignore the message. Q: The number of files displayed by the ViDir directory is less than the number of files the ViRes monitor is displaying in the upper right of the screen. A: The ViDir directory reads the ViRes in-memory directory once, when it starts. The difference in the number of files represents additional files that have been referenced since first executing the ViDir directory. Q: Sometimes, the 3-digit directory count display disappears. Why? A: The display is only shown when your screen is in text mode, and is not displayed when your screen switches to graphics mode. Text mode is the normal DOS text-characters display. Graphics mode, available on many monitors, is used by programs such as Windows and Harvard Graphics to display special fonts, symbols, games graphics, and pictures. The ViRes monitor was designed to not interfere with graphics your programs display. File monitoring is still performed even if the 3-digit display is not visible. Q: When I exit the ViDir directory after toggling the 3-digit display off, the 3-digit display is still on the screen. Why is that? A: Once toggled off, the 3-digit display is no longer being displayed. What you see is the remains of the previously-displayed 3 digits. As you do work and the screen scrolls up, the 3-digit display simply scrolls off the screen. If you wish, you can do a clear-screen (CLS) to clear the left-over display digits. Q: I don't want the ViDir directory to delete files in my directory without first knowing what ones will be deleted. What can I do? A: You can create a delete-unused BAT file (ALT-D) and preview the files listed in the BAT file. Technical Discussions --------------------- Interrupt Processing Time ------------------------- The ViRes monitor tracks every file open and notes whether read or write reference was requested. It also traps all program execution and overlay requests and notes them. The ViRes monitor is constantly scanning for these types of requests and ignores all others with an extreme minimum of interrupt code. When the request is one of these, the ViRes monitor takes momentary control to save the event in the in-memory directory, again with a minimum amount of processing time; the ViRes monitor does not affect, interfere with, or save information on individual disk input/output operations (read/write/get/put), thereby keeping overhead to a minimum. You do not notice any change in execution speed while running the ViRes monitor. How is this possible? Opening a file for reference or preparing ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 37--------------------------- one for execution is a rare event, relatively speaking, and an extremely complex DOS operation. It involves thousands and thousands of lines of DOS code. However, this processing time is dwarfed by the amount of time it takes to actually do even a single input/output (I/O) to disk. And if you are talking about a diskette rather than a hard drive, then the amount of time is even more. All ViRes operations are memory-resident and do not access disk. In addition, the ViRes monitor has been meticulously coded and tested to minimize the time it has control of the processor. Save In-Memory Directory to Disk - Manually ------------------------------------------- The design criteria for the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System included stringent limits on how much main memory the resident portion of the ViDir/ViRes system occupies. To save the entire directory to disk would require a reasonably-sized addition to the ViRes monitor which could have been tolerated only on an 80386-type PC running MS-DOS 5.0 (or later version) or product of similar capability. In addition, to perform write I/Os to disk from within a TSR at arbitrary intervals would be disruptive, and could cause interference with the user's view of a smoothly operating PC. (This is what write-later cache programs do.) Further, if a disk error occurred during the saving, such as a disk-full error, the user would need to be interrupted from their primary task to be informed of the error and to perhaps perform some remediation. Worse, if the user was not available to handle the error, then, potentially other services might be impaired. In addition, suppose you unwittingly turned your PC off during a disk update -- this could damage important DOS disk data, potentially rendering your drive unusable. On the other hand, if the user is required to overtly perform an action to save the in-memory directory, then the user can immediately respond to any unusual conditions. AUTOEXEC.BAT ------------ The AUTOEXEC.BAT file is a file containing DOS commands. It is automatically executed by DOS when the PC is booted. Several commercial programs have utilities that install their programs onto the hard drive. More often than not, the programs allow you to specify whether you wish to have one of their commands included in AUTOEXEC.BAT. They do this, generally, for the novice user. However, the unanimous decision of more experienced users is: "Don't you dare modify my AUTOEXEC.BAT file! Tell me how to do it and, later, if I choose, I will add the commands to my AUTOEXEC.BAT file." While the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System is a significant program whose complexity is on par with programs such as some of the NORTON UTILITIES, the ViDir/ViRes system just does not require the complex installation process of such utilities. It was designed to avoid their pitfalls. Hence, a complex installation process is unwarranted. Throughout this ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 38--------------------------- document you have been told commands that can be optionally added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you are familiar with any word processor or editor, these provide the means to alter or even create your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to your liking. In addition, the DOS manual provides examples of how to create and update AUTOEXEC.BAT by using EDLIN or other mechanisms; however, these methods are quite primitive, and better methods (such as using a word processor) do exist. Refer to the Installation Overview section for commands recommended to be added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Memory Requirements ------------------- The ViRes monitor and associated in-memory directory requires around 16K bytes of main memory using default conditions. It requires the following memory if you change the default number of in-memory directory entries: Entries Memory ------- ------ 10 7.5K 50 11.2K 100 15.8K [Default] 200 25.1K [Maximum for Unregistered Evaluation Shareware version] 300 34.4K 500 53.0K 700 71.6K [Maximum for Registered version] Packing List ------------ The diskette you received contains the following ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System files. 1. ReadMe.1st You need to read this file only if the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System files are on a CD-ROM or if the files are contained in a subdirectory. It contains special installation instructions and limitations. This file is included only in the shareware version. 2. ViRead.Me This is the first text file you should read, describing, in brief, registration, quick installation and start up instructions, and some examples. 3. Register.DOC Contains a registration form for users of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System to register their payment with Vahnzinn international. 4. ViInstal.EXE This is the installation program to load the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System onto your hard drive. 5. ViDir.EXE The directory display program. 6. ViRes.EXE The resident file monitoring program. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 39--------------------------- 7. ViDir.HLP This text file is both the help file and user manual. At the end is an alphabetic index of topics. 8. SLICENSE.DOC Contains the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System shareware version's license, ownership, use restrictions, and limited warranty. This file is included only in the shareware version and not in the registered version. 9. RLICENSE.DOC Contains the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System registered version's license, ownership, use restrictions, and limited warranty. This file is included only in the registered version and not in the shareware version. 10. ViProblm.FRM Contains a text form used to submit a problem report or suggestion to Vahnzinn international. 11. ViAdvert.FRM Contains information that can be used in advertising the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. It is a summary of the ViDir/ViRes capabilities. 12. ViSv2Dsk.BAT Automates saving to disk the in-memory directory. 13. ViLodDir.BAT Automates loading the in-memory directory from disk. 14. ViLodPgm.BAT Automates loading the Program Exclusion List. 15. ViLodP_D.BAT Automates loading the in-memory directory from disk and loading the Program Exclusion List. 16. ViWho This text file contains a brief description of Vahnzinn international. 17. FILE_ID.DIZ This contains a brief description of this product suite. This file is included only in the shareware version. 18. VENDOR.DOC Contains the distribution licensing agreement form. This file is included only in the shareware version. 19. ViDir102.ZIP This is an alternative to how all of the above files are delivered to you. Either all files arrive in their normal usable format, or they will sometimes be combined together and stored in a compressed manner, called a ZIP file with this file name. If you receive a ZIP file, you will need to "unzip" it by using a program such as PKUNZIP.EXE. All of the text files on this disk can be copied to the printer, read with a file viewing utility such as Norton Commander, or loaded into a word processor or text editor and viewed. To print any text file, type, for example, "COPY ViRead.Me PRN:". The recommended way of printing the combined help file and user manual is to use the print action in the ViDir or ViInstal menu. This will print 56 lines per page. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 40--------------------------- Other files that get created during operation of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System are: 1. ViDir.CFG Your configuration preferences from the ViDir Options menu. 2. ViCopUs.BAT The default name for a DOS batch file that copies all of the files shown to another disk drive. 3. ViCopUn.BAT The default name for a DOS batch file that copies all of the files in a directory of your choosing that have not been shown as used by the ViDir directory. 4. ViDelUn.BAT The default name for a DOS batch file that deletes all of the files in a directory of your choosing that have not been shown as used by the ViDir directory. 5. ViDir.SAV A file created when you save the in-memory directory. The ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System looks for and creates all of these files in the default DOS directory. *Error/Warning Messages ----------------------- " ... " - The ellipsis is used within messages to replace directory names that are too long to fit within the confines of the display. "[filename] already exists. Overwrite? Y/N" - During copying, if the file already exists on the target disk, you are prompted whether to overwrite it. Press Y to overwrite; otherwise, N or ESC. "Cannot create directory" - During installation, if the directory you specified does not already exist on the target drive, ViInstal creates it for you. If it cannot be created, this message is displayed. Possible reasons include a full disk or reaching the maximum number of files allowable in a root directory. "Cannot find a file in your directory" - Occurs when ALT-Y, ALT-F, ALT-N, or ALT-D is pressed from the ViDir Action menu. This may be an error, meaning you have specified a nonexistent or illegal directory name, or a warning, meaning there are truly no files in the directory. "Cannot open file" - This message is displayed if a file cannot be located or created, or in some cases, if there is insufficient disk space to completely copy the file. The directory and file name is displayed as part of the error message. Files include marked, used, or unused files during copying and deleting. Other files include: ViDir.HLP - Occurs when ALT-H or F1 is pressed from anywhere, or when ALT-M is pressed from the ViDir Action menu or from the ViInstal menu. See the HELP Common Question to aid solving this. ViDir.SAV - Occurs when ALT-L or ALT-S is pressed from the Action menu. If you pressed ALT-L, then you must first save the directory before loading it; the HELP Common Question can aid here. If you pressed ALT-S, then the ViDir directory was unable to create this file; the ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 41--------------------------- disk containing the default directory is probably full. Register.DOC - Occurs when ALT-R is pressed from the ViDir Action menu or ViInstal menu. See the HELP Common Question to aid solving this. ViRead.Me - Occurs when ALT-D is pressed from the ViInstal menu. See the HELP Common Question to aid solving this. ViCopUs.BAT - Occurs when ALT-U is pressed from the Action menu. The ViDir directory was unable to create this file. The disk containing the default directory is probably full. ViCopUn.BAT - Occurs when ALT-N is pressed from the Action menu. The ViDir directory was unable to create this file. The disk containing the default directory is probably full. ViDelUn.BAT - Occurs when ALT-D is pressed from the Action menu. The ViDir directory was unable to create this file. The disk containing the default directory is probably full. "Cannot open file. Continue? Y/N" - Occurs when a file cannot be created on the target disk, probably because of a diskette error, such as a full diskette. Either correct the problem and press Y to continue with the next file, or press N or ESC to abort the copying. "Cannot open file. Diskette write-protected. Retry? Y/N" - Occurs when a file or directory cannot be created on the target disk because the diskette is write-protected. Correct the problem and press Y to retry, or N or ESC to abort the operation. "Cannot write ViDir.CFG; hit any key" - Occurs when you exit the ViDir directory. The ViDir directory was unable to create this file. The disk containing the default directory is probably full. "Deleting unused files in <directory> Continue? Y/N" - Displayed to insure that you really do wish to delete all of the unused files in the directory you entered in the Options menu. If you are sure, press Y; otherwise, N or ESC. "Diskette error! Drive not ready or bad diskette. Retry? Y/N" - Occurs when a diskette cannot be accessed. The diskette may be unformatted, there may be no diskette in the drive, or the drive door may not be fully closed. Correct the problem and press Y to retry the operation, or press N or ESC to abort the operation. "Diskette full--replace it. Could not write [filename] Continue? Y/N" - Occurs when a file or directory cannot be copied to or created on the target disk because the diskette is full. Correct the problem and press Y to continue, or press N or ESC to abort the operation. "Done; however, an error was detected during copying! Press a key to continue" - Displayed at the conclusion of the ViInstal or ViDir copying process when one or more errors were detected during copying. "Done; however, one or more saved entries at the end could not be loaded" - During loading the in-memory directory from disk, there was not enough room in the ViRes in-memory directory to load all of the saved entries. "Done! Press a key to continue" - Displayed at the successful conclusion of the ViInstal or ViDir copying process. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 42--------------------------- "DOS detected a xxxxxxxxxx error. Retry? Y/N" - DOS detected a critical hardware error. Refer to your DOS manual for a detailed explanation of the error. The xxxxxxxxxx is replaced with the DOS error detected: "write protect", "unknown unit", "drive not ready", "unknown command", "data error (CRC)", "bad request", "seek error", "unknown media type", "sector not found", "printer out of paper", "write fault", "read fault", "general failure", "reserved", or "invalid disk change". "DOS Version must be 3 or above. Bye...." - The ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System requires DOS version 3 or above to operate. "Help VERSION does not match ViDir Version x.xx" - The version of the ViDir directory command and the ViDir help and user manual (this file) should match. This message can only come about if you have mixed different releases of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. Check the versions that are shown on the ViDir screen and at the beginning of the ViDir help file (use HOME to get to the very beginning of the help file); the versions must match. You can also verify the ViDir.EXE and ViDir.HLP files' dates and times; they must match. If they do not, reload your files from your original diskettes. "I have read and agree to all license terms. Y/N" - This message is displayed by ViInstal when you initiate installation (ALT-S). BY CONTINUING THE INSTALLATION OF THIS SOFTWARE, BY LOADING OR RUNNING IT, OR BY COPYING IT ONTO YOUR COMPUTER YOU INDICATE YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE LICENSE. See the appendix of this help file and user manual. Press Y for yes, N or ESC for no. "In-memory directory in use; try later" - Occurs when ALT-O, ALT-L, or ALT-C is pressed from the Action menu. The ViRes Program Exclusion List and in-memory directory cannot be modified if the ViRes monitor is in the middle of updating its tables during a file reference. You have come upon an extremely rare instance where some other resident program has referenced a file at the same time the ViDir directory is running. Just wait a moment and try again. "Insert formatted diskette in drive "x". Continue? Y/N" - Occurs at the outset of a Copy-Marked-Files operation prompting you to place a diskette in the specified diskette drive. To continue, press Y; to cancel the operation, press N or ESC. "Insert formatted diskette in drive "x" to copy <directory> Continue? Y/N" - Occurs at the outset of a Copy-Unused-Files operation prompting you to place a diskette in the specified diskette drive. To continue, press Y; to cancel the operation, press N or ESC. "Marking mode: "*" to mark/unmark; ESC to end marking" - Displayed when Marking mode has been entered. Refer to the ViDir Action menu description for details. "Not enough memory for Directory" - There is not enough memory to load the ViRes in-memory directory into the ViDir directory buffer. The MEMORY Common Question can aid here. Refer to the Memory Requirements section. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 43--------------------------- "Not enough memory for help" - There is not enough memory to load the help file. The MEMORY Common Question can aid here. ViInstal and the ViDir directory require an additional 184K to provide help. "Not enough memory to eliminate directory entries" - There is not enough memory to perform the elimination. The MEMORY Common Question can aid here. Depending on the maximum number of directory entries specified, this could require up to an additional 64K during elimination. "Overwrite - Are you sure? Y/N" - Occurs when a file already exists on the target drive. If you wish to overwrite the file, press Y; otherwise, N or ESC. "Press a key for help" - Displayed when a significant start-up error has occurred. Just about any key can be pressed to display help. From help, you can select the Error Messages index and view details on the error message. "Printer Error - Abort printing? Ignore & continue? Retry? (A/I/R)" - An error occurred while printing. If you wish to abort the printing, press "A" or ESC. If you wish to ignore the error and probably lose the rest of the line being printed, press "I"; printing continues with the next line. If you wish to retry printing from the point of the error, press "R"; output to the printer recommences with the character that caused the error. You may need to clear (form feed) your printer following abnormal termination. "Printer out of paper - Continue? (Y/N)" - The printer reported an out-of-paper error. You should refill the paper and press Y; output to the printer recommences with the character on which the error was detected. If you wish to abort the printing, press N or ESC; you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following abnormal termination. "Put printer on-line. Continue? Y/N" - Occurs at the start of printing you requested. When the printer is ready, press Y; otherwise, N or ESC. "Quit - Are you sure? Y/N" - Displayed after you press ALT-X or ESC from the main menu. To quit and save options, press Y; to continue operation, press N or ESC. "Reading help file; please wait" - While the help file is being read, this message is displayed. "Terminated per your request!" - Displayed when you press ESC during printing. "Terminated per your request! Press a key to continue" - Displayed when you press ESC during copying or deleting files. Just about any key can be pressed to continue. "Type a $ to make this screen disappear after 3 seconds" - A registration reminder screen is displayed at the initiation and termination of the shareware version of the ViInstal and ViDir products. The screen is displayed for a minimum of three seconds and remains displayed until you type the dollar sign. You can type it during or after the three seconds. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 44--------------------------- "ViRes already loaded. No changes made. Bye...." - Displayed when you try to load the ViRes resident monitor after having already successfully loaded it. No command line option changes can be made once the ViRes monitor is loaded, so they are ignored. To make changes, first terminate the ViRes monitor and restart it with the new options. "ViRes(tm) not loaded; type "ViRes <ENTER>" from DOS" - Displayed as a reminder. You (probably) forgot to load the ViRes monitor prior to executing the ViDir command. Refer to the Executing the ViDir & ViRes Commands section for details. "ViRes(tm) not loaded; press ESC to Exit or any other key for Help" - You (probably) forgot to load the ViRes monitor prior to executing the ViDir command. At your option, you can immediately quit the ViDir directory by pressing ESC, or you can press just about any other key for help, which aids first-time users of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. Refer to the Executing the ViDir & ViRes Commands section for details. "ViRes(tm) VERSION does not match ViDir version x.xx" - The version of the ViDir and ViRes commands must match. This message can only come about if you have mixed different releases of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System. Check the versions that are shown on the screen when each program is executed; they must match. You can also verify the ViDir.EXE and ViRes.EXE files' dates and times; they must match. If they do not, reload your files from your original diskettes. "Working...." - Displayed during many operations to let you know the operation you requested is being performed. "Working.... Press ESC to terminate operation" - Displayed during many operations to let you know the operation you requested is being performed. To terminate the operation, press the ESC key once. If you are printing, you may need to clear (form feed) your printer following termination. Comments and Suggestions ------------------------ If you have comments or suggestions regarding the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System, please feel free to contact us. Our intention is incorporate any suggestions in future releases. Please take the time to write to us or send electronic mail through CompuServe Mail and let us know what you like or do not like about the ViDir/ViRes system. Or you can use the already prepared ViProblm.FRM. Trademarks ---------- Vahnzinn, ViDir, and ViRes are trademarks of Vahnzinn international. ASP and Association of Shareware Professionals are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Association of Shareware Professionals. Borland and SideKick are registered trademarks of Borland International. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 45--------------------------- CompuServe Information Service is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc. Digital Research and DR DOS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digital Research, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Lotus and 1-2-3 are registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation. MS-DOS is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Norton Utilities and Norton Commander are registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation. PC TOOLS and PC SHELL are trademarks or registered trademarks of Central Point Software, Inc. WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation. XTreePro Gold is a registered trademark of Executive Systems, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 46--------------------------- *Alphabetical Index ------------------- Abort, 42, 44 Across-boot, 25, 32 Action menu, 14, 19, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 41, 42, 43, 52 ALT, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 19, 27, 31 ALT-A, 14, 19, 20, 27, 32, 33 ALT-C, 25, 43 ALT-D, 10, 23, 27, 37, 41, 42 ALT-E, 27 ALT-F, 21, 26, 33, 41 ALT-G, 26 ALT-H, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 19, 26, 28, 30, 41 ALT-I, 22, 27, 34, 36 ALT-K, 19, 33, 34, 36 ALT-L, 14, 24, 41, 43 ALT-M, 10, 24, 41 ALT-N, 23, 27, 41, 42 ALT-O, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 35, 43 ALT-P, 24, 27 ALT-R, 9, 24, 41, 52 ALT-S, 4, 7, 9, 14, 25, 27, 41, 43 ALT-T, 26 ALT-U, 22, 27, 33, 41 ALT-V, 27 ALT-X, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 15, 19, 26, 28, 31, 33, 44 ALT-Y, 20, 32, 41 Amex, 52, 55 ARROW, 8, 12, 14, 28, 31 ASP, 45, 53, 54, 55, 56 Association of Shareware Professionals, 53, 54 Asterisk, 19, 33 Asterisks, 25 AUTOEXEC, 2, 4, 5, 8, 13, 14, 35, 38, 39 Auto-detection, 16, 17 Backslash, 9, 28 BACKSPACE, 8, 28, 30 Backup, 4, 5, 7, 9, 26, 32, 53 BAT, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 Batch, 5, 41 BAT-file, 15, 29 Benefits of Registering, 53 Black & White, 4, 5, 7, 16, 17 Boot, 5 Booted, 38 Bugs, 53 Capitalized, 6, 7, 12, 14, 17, 19, 27 Caution, 25, 32, 33 Cautions, 12, 16, 35 CD-ROM, 39 CFG, 28, 32, 40, 42 CIS, 52 ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 47--------------------------- Clear-screen, 37 CLS, 37 Color, 16, 17 COM, 29, 35 Command, 2, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, 42, 43, 44, 45 Commands, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 38, 39, 45 Compressed, 40, 54, 55 CompuServe, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55 Configuration, 40 Copy-Marked-Files, 43 Copy-Unused, 23, 28 Copy-Unused-Files, 43 Copy-Used, 17, 22, 28 Corner, 13, 21, 26 Count of Directory Entries, 4, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 26, 34, 36, 37 CRC, 42 CREDIT CARD ORDERS, 52 CTL, 5, 6, 12, 32 CTL-ALT-DEL, 5, 6 CTL-ARROW, 8, 28 CTL-BACKSPACE, 8, 28, 30 CTL-END, 8, 12, 19, 20, 28, 29, 31 CTL-HOME, 8, 12, 19, 20, 28, 29, 31 CTL-LEFT, 5, 30 CTL-PgDn, 8, 12, 19, 20, 28, 29, 31 CTL-PgUp, 8, 12, 19, 20, 28, 29, 31 CTL-RIGHT, 5, 30 Date, 11, 15, 18, 27, 29, 53, 56 Dates, 43, 45 Day, 13, 15, 18, 29, 52 DD, 29 Default, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 34, 39, 41, 42 Defaults, 29 DEL, 6, 8, 23, 28, 30 Delete-Unused, 23, 28, 37 De-install, 12 Discover, 52, 55 DISKCOPY, 4, 7, 9 DOWN-ARROW, 6 EDLIN, 36, 39 Email, 52 END, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19, 20, 24, 28, 30, 31, 33, 39, 42, 43, 56 ENTER, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 19, 26, 28, 29, 33, 45 Error, 2, 12, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 35, 36, 38, 41, 42, 44 Errors, 42 ESC, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 ESCAPE, 6 EXE, 29, 35, 39, 40, 43, 45 Exit, 2, 4, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 28, 29, 31, 33, 37, 42, 45 Exiting, 28, 31 Expanded, 36 ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 48--------------------------- Extended, 36 Extension, 5, 15, 18, 23, 27, 29, 35 FAX, 52, 54, 55 FILE_ID.DIZ, 40 Format menu, 14, 15, 26, 27, 30, 33 Format (diskette), 9, 20, 42, 43 FRM, 40, 45 Government, 57 Gray-scale, 4, 5, 7, 16, 17 Help, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31, 34, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 54, 55 Help Index, 10, 24, 31, 39, 44 Help Table of Contents, 2, 3, 10, 24, 31 HLP, 31, 39, 41, 43 HOME, 8, 12, 19, 20, 28, 30, 31, 43 How-To, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 19, 26, 27, 30 Index, 2, 10, 24, 31, 39, 44 Indexes, 31 Install, 4, 10, 38 Installation, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 34, 38, 39, 41, 43, 55 Installed, 9, 12, 28, 32, 35, 36 Interrupt, 2, 11, 16, 18, 37 In-Memory, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 LEFT-ARROW, 5, 6, 30 LEFT-SHIFT, 12, 32 LH, 12, 35 License, 2, 3, 9, 11, 34, 39, 40, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57 LOADHIGH, 12, 35 Maximum, 4, 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, 24, 25, 34, 39, 41, 44, 54 MC, 52, 55 Memory, 2, 6, 11, 12, 15, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43 Memory-resident, 4, 18, 32, 35, 38 Menu, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 19, 26, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 40, 41, 44, 52 Menus, 2, 6, 11, 12, 14, 17, 19, 26, 27, 28, 30 Minutes, 18 MM, 29 Month, 15, 18, 29 Months, 13, 53 MS-DOS, 10, 35, 36, 38, 46 Multi-session, 13 Ombudsman, 3, 54 Options Menu, 8, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35, 40, 42 Out-of-paper, 44 Overlay, 6, 11, 18, 36, 37 Overlaying, 21, 22 ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 49--------------------------- PAGE-DOWN, 6 PAGE-UP, 6 Performance, 27 PgDn, 6, 7, 8, 12, 18, 20, 28, 29, 31 PgUp, 6, 7, 8, 12, 19, 28, 29, 31 PKUNZIP, 40 Print, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 24, 34, 40, 52 Printed, 19, 44, 54, 56 Printer, 9, 10, 24, 34, 40, 43, 44, 45 Printing, 9, 10, 24, 40, 44, 45 Prints, 9, 10, 24 PRN, 40, 52 Program, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55 Programs, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 21, 22, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 54 Program-name, 15 PsL, 52, 55 Pull, 12, 14 Pulled, 6, 14 Pulling, 14 ReadMe.1st, 39 Read-me, 9, 10 Reboot, 5, 6, 12, 35 Rebooted, 5, 8 Rebooting, 32 Refunds, 52 Resident, 8, 11, 12, 32, 38, 39, 43, 44 RETURN, 6, 20, 21, 22, 52, 56, 57 RIGHT-ARROW, 5, 6, 14, 30 RIGHT-SHIFT, 12, 32 RLICENSE.DOC, 40, 55 RWEO, 18 SAV, 16, 17, 24, 25, 41 Save, 2, 5, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 25, 26, 28, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 41, 44 Saved, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 24, 25, 26, 32, 33, 42 Saves, 11, 25, 33 Saving, 11, 13, 25, 27, 38, 40 Screen, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 26, 30, 31, 34, 36, 37, 43, 44, 45 Shareware, 3, 4, 8, 10, 13, 16, 24, 25, 34, 39, 40, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 SHIFT, 6 SHIFT-TAB, 8, 19, 28, 29 Slash, 4, 5, 7, 29 SLICENSE.DOC, 39, 52, 54, 55, 57 Sort, 15, 24, 27, 33 Sorted, 16, 22, 27 Sorting, 19 Sound, 32 Support, 2, 52, 53, 54 Table-of-contents, 10, 24, 31 ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 50--------------------------- Terminate, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21, 22, 24, 31, 32, 34, 44, 45, 56 Terminated, 20, 21, 22, 44, 56 Terminates, 32 Termination, 9, 10, 24, 32, 44, 45, 56 Text, 30, 31, 37, 39, 40 Three-digit, 21 Toggle Directory Entries Display On/Off, 14, 17, 26, 36 Tone, 32 TSR, 11, 32, 38 TSRs, 32 Unregistered, 4, 8, 13, 16, 24, 25, 34, 39, 53 Unzip, 40 UP-ARROW, 6 Vendor, 54, 55, 56 Vendors, 3, 53 Vendor-members, 53, 55 VENDOR.DOC, 40, 54 Version, 4, 8, 11, 12, 13, 16, 24, 25, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 ViAdvert, 40 ViCopUn, 23, 29, 36, 41, 42 ViCopUs, 22, 23, 29, 36, 41 ViDelUn, 23, 24, 29, 41, 42 Video display, 16, 17 ViDir, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55 ViDir102.ZIP, 40, 54 ViInstal, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 31, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 52 ViLodDir, 14, 40 ViLodPgm, 40 ViLodP_D, 40 ViProblm, 40, 45 ViRead, 7, 39, 40, 41 ViRes, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 53, 54, 55 Visa, 52, 55 ViSv2Dsk, 5, 14, 40 ViWho, 40 Warranty, 39, 40, 56 Windows, 7, 11, 12, 13, 16, 34, 36, 37, 46 Wrap-around, 29 ZIP, 40, 54, 55 @ (Pressing ALT from ViDir Command Line Option), 4, 8, 17, 36 ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 51--------------------------- Appendices ---------- *Registration & License ----------------------- How to Register --------------- Registration of the Shareware version is required if you use this product past its evaluation period. If you already have the Registered version, use this procedure for additional product orders. You can also use it to receive, at no charge, the latest freely distributable shareware version (license restrictions apply). From the ViDir Action menu or the ViInstal menu, choose ALT-R (Print registration form), fill out the form, and send it in with the fee. Alternatively, from the DOS prompt, type "COPY \Vi\Register.DOC PRN:", fill out the form, and send it in with the fee. The form of payment can be a check in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank or cash. For cash payments, please ensure proper safe mailing procedures, such as using registered mail, insurance, and/or return receipt. CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public (software) Library by calling 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM central U.S. time Monday-Friday or 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM Saturday and Sunday; or by FAX to 713-524-6398; or by CIS [CompuServe] Email to 71355,470. You can also mail credit card orders to PsL at P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705. THESE NUMBERS ARE FOR CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY. Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc, must be directed to Vahnzinn international. Product issues and returns must be made to Vahnzinn international; do not call PsL's 800 number. To insure that you get the latest version, PsL will notify Vahnzinn international the day of your order and we will ship the product directly to you. If you have not already done so, please register. This is not a free program; it is an innovative, copyrighted Shareware program. Vahnzinn international requires that you pay a registration fee if you make use of this product after evaluating its utility. To use this program after the evaluation period is a violation of the copyright. Feel free to copy the shareware version and pass it on for free to your friends and colleagues for them to evaluate. A few conditions apply to using the shareware program, and to Non-Commercially distributing it -- please read the on-disk SLICENSE.DOC. Please pass on only the complete, unaltered shareware diskette, with all files intact. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 52--------------------------- Benefits of Registering ----------------------- 1. You will receive the latest, registered version of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System, which does not contain those "please register" reminder screens and allows up to 700 directory entries. If the current date is more than 6-12 months from the date of these products, you may have an out- of-date version. 2. You are placed on the mailing list. You receive notification of updates to the product and a reduced registration fee for purchasing the update. 3. According to the United States Copyright Office, "Shareware is copyrighted software which is distributed for the purpose of testing and review ... subject to the condition that payment to the copyright owner [Vahnzinn international] is required after a person has secured a copy and decides to use the software." In other words, you must make the registration payment to Vahnzinn international once you have evaluated this product's utility and begin using it. Attention! The ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System that does not contain the reminder screens shall not be copied, except as noted herein for backup purposes. To do so is a violation of the copyright and can subject violators to the full penalties of the law. Site License ------------ If you desire a license granting your site permission to make licensed copies of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System for a specified number of users at reduced prices, please send the Registration Form to Vahnzinn international, checking the Site License box. You will be contacted for arrangements. Support ------- Support for the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System is included in the purchase price. Support is for the latest version only and is via the U.S. mail, telephone, and by CompuServe mail. Product upgrades can be expected every 6 to 12 months. Vahnzinn international will answer questions and fix serious bugs. For problems involving a specific hardware or software environment or feature, Vahnzinn international may choose not to modify the program. In that case, if a problem is reported within three months after purchase, then Vahnzinn international shall offer to refund the user's purchase price. Vendors Please Register ----------------------- This section applies to the unregistered evaluation shareware version. Conditions apply to its Commercial Distribution. Vendor-members of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) should read the on-disk ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 53--------------------------- SLICENSE.DOC for details. Others wishing to Commercially Distribute should read VENDOR.DOC. If the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System is to be compressed in a ZIP file, please use the name ViDir102.ZIP. This is short for ViDir/ViRes Version 1.02. Thank you. Shareware Definition -------------------- Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it; some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated elsewhere. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it is commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are relatively lower, also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you do not use the product, you do not pay for it. Correspondingly, if you do use it, you are required to pay the registration fee. Please do all you can to encourage users of the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System to register their copy if they find that they use it. Ombudsman --------- Vahnzinn international is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. License Agreement ----------------- The license agreement for the ViDir/ViRes File Monitoring System is contained in the file SLICENSE.DOC for the shareware version and ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 54--------------------------- RLICENSE.DOC for the registered version. The appropriate license is repeated here so you can directly access and read it from the help system. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ViDir(tm)/ViRes(tm) File Monitoring System Copyright 1994 Vahnzinn(tm) international, All Rights Reserved 412 Norristown Road, Ambler, PA 19002-2737, USA Telephone: 215-643-6901 CompuServe: 70353,151 SLICENSE.DOC - SHAREWARE VERSION BY CONTINUING THE INSTALLATION OF THIS SHAREWARE PROGRAM AND ITS RELATED FILES (the "Software"), BY LOADING OR RUNNING IT, OR BY COPYING IT ONTO YOUR COMPUTER YOU INDICATE YOUR AGREEMENT TO THIS. If you do not agree and you paid for a tangible copy, you can obtain a refund by returning the copy to the place you bought it from, or to us. [1] IF YOU LIKE THE SOFTWARE, HERE'S HOW TO BUY IT [A] You may lawfully use the Software for 30 days to evaluate whether it suits your needs. Thereafter, your use is legal only if you complete and send the on-disk "REGISTER.DOC" to us with payment, or pay us by MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover card by contacting Public (software) Library, telephone 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394, Fax: 713-524-6398, CompuServe: 71355,470, or P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705. [B] When you pay the fee we will send you the latest Registered Version, which does not contain the "registration reminder" screens of this shareware version; other registration benefits may be listed in the user manual. Besides being legally required, your payment helps to promote shareware and encourages innovative software companies that might not get started any other way. [2] When you buy the registered version, you may use it for your own purposes "just like a book". This permits use by any number of people on any number of machines so long as -- just like a book -- there is NO POSSIBILITY that more than one copy will be used at a time. Please contact us to learn about our special rates for site and other multiple user licenses. [3] IF YOU WANT TO GIVE AWAY OR SELL COPIES [A] Non-commercial distribution of the Software is encouraged, on the conditions that (1) all of its files (including this one) are included; (2) it is not modified, and no copyright or trademark related information is removed; and (3) if distributed in "*.ZIP" format, the compressed file is called "ViDir102.ZIP". [B] Commercial distributors other than vendor-members of the Association of Shareware Professionals ("ASP") must sign an agreement as described in the VENDOR.DOC part of the Software. [C] Vendor-members of the ASP who distribute Commercially must (in addition to the conditions in [3][A]) (1) distribute only under the trademarks Vahnzinn, ViDir, ViRes (the "Trademarks"); (2) clearly market as ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 55--------------------------- copyright protected, evaluation-copy shareware using the ASP mandatory vendor wording, (3) try to sell only the most current version, and (4) replace physically defective copies they may distribute. Unless terminated for cause, these distribution rights terminate 30 days after written notice. Following such termination, distribution must end upon the earlier of 60 days after the termination date in the notice, or distribution of copies in stock. Sections [4], [5] and [6] survive termination. We reserve the right to require payment for Commercial Distribution. [D] As used here, "Commercial Distribution" means distribution for money or gain, and (1) INCLUDES those who charge for distribution by disk, CD-ROM and all other media now or subsequently known, and distribution by retail rack, direct mail, catalog, advertisement, and trade show; but (2) DOES *NOT* INCLUDE distribution by any not-for-profit organization, by any hobby, user or computer interest group to its members, or distribution electronically by any BBS (whether or not it charges for online time or for downloading). [4] OWNERSHIP. Except to the extent expressly licensed by us, we have and reserve the exclusive copyright, trade secret and other rights to the Software, and the right to use the Trademarks in connection with it. In particular, no rights are granted to distribute the Registered Version of the Software, or to copy any related printed materials. [5] LIMITED WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF REMEDIES If the physical medium this Software (or the Registered Version) is on, or any accompanying written material contains a physical defect, you may return it to the place of purchase within 90 days for a replacement. Aside from this warranty, THE SOFTWARE AND ITS REGISTERED VERSION ARE PROVIDED "AS-IS", AND NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE AS TO THEM OR ANY MEDIUM THEY MAY BE ON. OUR ENTIRE LIABILITY AND YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS SUCH REPLACEMENT, AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WE PROVIDE ANY OTHER REMEDY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING FROM IT, INCLUDING SUCH FROM NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, EVEN AFTER NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties or liability for incidental or consequential damages, so this may not apply to buyers of the Software. This gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. [6] MISCELLANY [A] Since we would be irreparably damaged if Section [2], [3][B], [3][C] or [6][E] were not specifically enforced, we will be entitled without bond, other security or proof of damages, to appropriate equitable remedies with respect to breaches of such sections, in addition to such other remedies as we may have. [B] You will hold us, our partners, contractors, employees and agents harmless from damage, loss and expense arising directly or indirectly from your acts and omissions in copying and distributing the Software. ---------------------------THIS COMPLETES PAGE 56--------------------------- [C] With respect to every matter arising under this, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts sitting in Philadelphia, PA, and to service by certified mail, return receipt requested, or as otherwise permitted by law. [D] Distributors rights under this are personal, and do not include any right to, without our consent in writing, (a) sublicense or (b) sell the Software as part of any hardware or software package or compilation. [E] You will not modify, reverse compile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Software, or use or disclose any of our secret information that it contains. [F] Use, duplication and disclosure of this product by the Government is subject to additional restrictions and license terms. Please contact us for details. [SLICENSE.DOC v.02.15.94]