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1990-11-17
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ActaeOn V1.60 - The Hard Disk manager
Jon Clempner
Nov 1990
ActaeOn V1.60 - The Hard Disk manager
COPYRIGHT 1989,90
by
Jon Clempner.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ActaeOn is a Shareware program, it is NOT free software. You
are granted a limited licence to use ActaeOn for 30 days, for
evaluation purposes only. Use beyond this evaluation requires
you to register this software. See section 9 for registration
details. See the file SHAREW.TXT for a definition of the
Shareware concept.
The program and the associated documentation on disk may be
freely distributed on the following conditions
No changes whatsoever are made to the program or its
documentation.
No charge is made for its distribution (exceptions will
be made for authorised disk duplication services - No
charge will be made for this authorisation but I need to
know who is distributing it so that I can send out
updates - Apply in writing to the address at the end of
this document).
LIMITED WARRANTY
For registered users, and users who have obtained ActaeOn
directly from the author only, the author warrants that
the distribution disk is an accurate reproduction of the
software. In the event of any defect in the duplication
process the author will replace the disk, as long as it
is returned within 30 days of receipt.
No other warranty, implicit or otherwise, including but
not limited to merchantability or fitness for any
particular purpose, is made. Under no circumstances will
the author be liable for any loss or damage suffered by
any user arising out of the supply, use, or operation of
this software, whether such loss or damage be direct,
consequential or otherwise.
ActaeOn V1.60
Contents
========
1. Introduction
2. Getting Started
3. Reference
4. Using ActaeOn with a Mouse
5. User Defined Commands
6. System Requirements
7. Future Enhancements
8. Acknowledgements
9. Registration
10. Association of Shareware
Professionals
ActaeOn V1.60
1. INTRODUCTION
More and more people are using hard disks. While they have a
number of advantages over floppy disks, their very size can
cause problems when you want to find a particular file. It
was this, coupled with the fact that MS-DOS is not the most
friendly of operating systems that prompted the design of
ActaeOn.
ActaeOn is a hard disk management program. It is designed to
make life easier, by having a menu interface to most of the
DOS commands and being able to see your directory structure
at a glance.
In addition ActaeOn provides a number of facilities which are
either not possible or are extremely difficult to do using
native DOS.
2. GETTING STARTED
Before you do anything else you should look at the READ.ME
file on your distribution disk. This contains any last minute
amendments to this document and a list of changes since the
last release. You may read this file by using the DOS command
TYPE A:READ.ME or some equivalent utility.
The first thing to do is to copy all the files on your
distribution disk onto your hard disk. To gain most benefit
from ActaeOn it is recommended that you place it in a
directory that is on your PATH (See your DOS manual for
details).
Having done this just type ACTAEON followed by the ENTER key.
If you wish to look at a disk other than the current one,
then just type the drive letter after ACTAEON. eg ACTAEON D:
All the cursor control keys, including the <HOME>, <END>,
<PGUP> and <PGDN> keys may be used to move about the
directory listing.
You may obtain context sensitive help at any time by pressing
the F1 key.
ActaeOn V1.60
3. REFERENCE
3.1 Screen Layout
The main screen display is divided into 6 main sections
A. Current Path
+----------------------------------+---------------+
| B. | C. Disk Info |
| | |
| +---------------+
| | D. |
| Directory Window | |
| | File Window |
| | |
| | |
+----------------------------------+---------------+
| E. No of Tagged Files | F. Dir Info |
+----------------------------------+---------------+
G. Commands
A. Current Path
This shows the full path name of the currently highlighted
directory.
B. Directory Window
This shows a graphical display of the directory structure on
the currently logged disk. When in directory mode a highlight
bar shows the current directory. You may scroll up and down
in this window by using the cursor control keys.
C. Disk Info
This shows the currently logged drive, its volume name, the
total size of the disk and how much free space is left.
D. File Window
This shows a listing of all files in the current directory.
When in file mode, a highlight bar shows the currently
selected file. The display may be scrolled up and down by
using the cursor control keys (or a mouse if you have one).
E. No of Tagged Files
This shows the number, and total size of all tagged files.
F. Directory Info
This shows the number of files and the total size of the
currently selected directory.
G. Commands
These two lines show all the commands which are available.
The commands shown will depend on whether you are in file
mode or Directory mode.
3.2 COMMANDS
The commands are displayed on the last two lines of the
screen. To select the command simply press the letter that is
highlighted and in capitals.
A number of the commands require further information (for
example when requesting Find file you will need to enter the
file to search for). In these cases a window will pop up for
you to enter the data. You may press the <ESC> key to abandon
these commands.
Most commands, particularly those which may alter the
contents of your disk, ask you for confirmation before the
command is executed.
The commands are split into 5 basic groups
a) General Commands
b) Directory mode commands
c) File mode commands
d) Control commands
e) User defined commands
The general commands are equally applicable to both Directory
mode and File mode. Control commands become visible when you
press down the <CTRL> key. User defined commands become
visible when you press down the <ALT> key.
Only the commands appropriate to the mode you are in are
displayed on the command line.
a) GENERAL COMMANDS
These commands may be used in both Directory mode and File
mode. Where commands exist in both Directory mode and File
mode, but which have slightly different meanings depending on
the mode, they are described in the appropriate section.
QUIT -
This exits the program. This command may also be activated by
pressing the <ESC> key.
CONFIGURE
This option enables you to configure ActaeOn to suit your
requirements. This includes the ability to change the screen's
colors, the number of lines in the display (on EGA and VGA
screens only), whether the bell is on or off, and the sort
order of the files. It also allows you to assign your
favorite utilities to ALT key combinations.
On selecting this option a menu will pop up with the
configuration options. You can select the option you are
interested in by moving the highlight bar with the cursor
keys, double clicking on the option with the mouse, or typing
the first letter of the command and then pressing <ENTER>.
Pressing F1 at any stage, either while an option is
highlighted or while your are within an option, will give you
full context sensitive help.
For details of how to integrate your own commands into
ActaeOn see Chapter 5.
FIND FILE -
This searches the entire disk for a specified file. A window
pops up for you to enter the filename and extension which you
wish to search for. You may use the '*' character as a
wildcard. For example if you wish to search for a file which
starts with the letters ACT and you don't care what the
extension is then enter ACT* in the filename and * in the
extension.
GLOBAL
This toggles the special form of File mode. All the files on
the currently logged disk are sorted in to alphabetical
order, regardless of the directory that they are in.
HELP
This command displays help information relevant to the mode
you are in. For example when in Directory mode, only those
commands that you may use are displayed. You may also obtain
help by pressing the F1 function key.
For help to be displayed the file ACTAEON.HLP must be in the
same directory as the main program file.
INFORMATION -
This command displays the following information :
The amount of free memory
Number of files on the disk
Number of directories on the disk
The version of ActaeOn and the release date
The amount of memory reported by DOS
The amount of EMS memory (if installed)
The number of serial ports
The number of logical drives
The number of floppy drives
The version of DOS
Whether or not a maths co-processor is present
The type of CPU in your machine
The serial number of ActaeOn
LOG DISK -
This enables you to change the currently logged disk. A
window will pop up with a list of all the drives installed on
your machine.
You can select the drive to log by simply entering the drive
letter or positioning the highlight bar over the required
drive with the cursor control keys and pressing ENTER.
SHELL TO DOS -
This temporarily exits ActaeOn allowing you to enter DOS
commands at the familiar C> prompt. When you have finished,
typing EXIT will return you to ActaeOn.
Shell does not re-read the directory when you return to
ActaeOn, nor does it release any memory. If the applications
you intend to run require more memory then you should use
Ctrl-Shell (see control commands).
VOLUME LABEL -
This command changes the disks volume label. A pop-up window
will appear for you to enter the new volume label.
WINDOW -
This changes the currently active window. For example if you
are in Directory mode (ie the highlight bar is in the
directory window) then the program will switch to File mode
and visa-versa. The TAB key performs the same effect.
XPLORE
This command searches the entire disk for a text string
entered by yourself. The case is ignored when searching for
the string.
The number of files searched is displayed as it reads them.
You can abort the command at any time by pressing the escape
key.
ZOOM
When entering this mode, the file display is expanded to fill
the entire screen in three columns. All of the file mode
commands are available in Zoom Mode.
Pressing the ENTER key toggles between Zoom Mode, Directory
Mode and File Mode.
b) DIRECTORY MODE COMMANDS
The following commands are only applicable in directory mode.
Directory mode is indicated by the highlight bar being
visible in the directory window.
DELETE DIRECTORY
This command deletes the highlighted directory. A window pops
up to confirm that you wish to proceed with the deletion. The
directory must have no files or subordinate directories in it
and must not be the root directory.
NEW DIRECTORY
This command creates a sub-directory in the currently
highlighted directory. A window pops up for you to enter the
name of the new directory.
TAG FILES
This tags all the files in the currently highlighted
directory. See control commands for commands which operate on
all tagged files.
UNTAG FILES
This command untags all the files in the currently
highlighted directory.
c) FILE MODE COMMANDS
The following commands are only applicable in File mode. File
mode is indicated by the highlight bar being visible in the
file window.
ATTRIBUTES -
This command displays the file attributes of the currently
highlighted file and the date and time of the last amendment.
Press any key to return to the file mode display.
COPY FILE -
This copies the currently highlighted file. The system will
display a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which
the file is to be copied to. If the drive is the currently
logged drive then you should just position the highlight bar
on to the directory which you wish to copy to. If the drive
is not the currently logged drive you should enter the full
path name of the destination directory.
DELETE -
This command deletes the currently highlighted file. A window
will pop up asking you for confirmation before the deletion
is actioned.
EDIT FILE -
This command edits the currently highlighted file. The editor
uses Wordstar type commands which are as follows :
Exit Editor Ctrl-K D
Top of Block Ctrl-Q B
Bottom of Block Ctrl-Q K
Jump to marker 0..3 Ctrl-Q 0 .. Ctrl-Q 3
Set marker 0..3 Ctrl-K 0 .. Ctrl-K 3
New Line Ctrl-M
Insert Line Ctrl-N
Delete word Ctrl-T
Delete to end of line Ctrl-Q Y
Delete line Ctrl-Y
Find Ctrl-Q F
Find and replace Ctrl-Q A
Find next Ctrl-L
Begin Block Ctrl-K B
End Block Ctrl-K K
Copy Block Ctrl-K C
Move Block Ctrl-K V
Delete Block Ctrl-K Y
Print Block Ctrl-K P
Toggle Wordwrap Ctrl-O W
Set right margin at cursor Ctrl-O R
Commands such as Read Block, Find etc can be cancelled by
typing Ctrl-U
The editor will only edit files up to 64Kb and requires that
amount of free memory.
You may display the above list of commands while in the
editor by pressing the F1 function key.
MOVE FILES -
This moves the currently highlighted file. The system will
display a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which
the file is to be moved to. If the drive is the currently
logged drive then you should just position the highlight bar
on to the directory which you wish to move to. If the drive
is not the currently logged drive you should enter the full
path name of the destination directory. This command is the
equivalent of copying the file and then deleting the
original.
RENAME FILE
This command renames the currently highlighted file. A window
will pop up asking you for the new name of the file. The new
name must not contain any wildcard (* or ?) characters
TAG FILE
This command will tag the currently highlighted file. See
Control Commands for commands which operate on all tagged
files.
UNTAG FILE
This command untags the currently highlighted file.
d) CONTROL COMMANDS
Control commands are accessed by holding down the <CTRL> key.
This will show you which commands are available.
COPY
This command copies all tagged files. The system will display
a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which the files
are to be copied to. If the drive is the currently logged
drive then you should just position the highlight bar on to
the directory which you wish to copy to. If the drive is not
the currently logged drive you should enter the full path
name of the destination directory.
DELETE
This command deletes all the tagged files. A window will pop
up asking you for confirmation and then ActaeOn will ask you
wether you wish to confirm each deletion individually. It you
say No then all the tagged files will be deleted without
further prompting. If you say Yes, then ActaeOn will ask for
confirmation before deleting each file.
FIND (AGAIN)
This command repeats the last search criteria and will find
the next file matching the name and extension entered.
MOVE
This command moves all tagged files. The system will display
a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which the files
are to be copied to. If the drive is the currently logged
drive then you should just position the highlight bar on to
the directory which you wish to copy to. If the drive is not
the currently logged drive you should enter the full path
name of the destination directory. This command is equivalent
to copying all tagged files and then deleting the originals.
SHELL TO DOS -
This temporarily exits ActaeOn allowing you to enter DOS
commands at the familiar C> prompt. When you have finished,
typing EXIT will return you to ActaeOn.
Ctrl-Shell re-reads the directory when you return to ActaeOn,
and it releases as much memory as possible. If the
applications you intend to run require more memory then you
should use the normal Shell (see General commands).
TAG
This command prompts for a file filter and then tags all
files on the disk matching the filter. For example if you
wish to tag all files ending with a BAK extension, enter
CTRL-T and then enter * for the filename and BAK for the
extension.
UNTAG
This command untags either all files on the disk (if in
Directory Mode) or all files in the current directory. 4.
Using ActaeOn with a Mouse
Although a mouse is not required to use ActaeOn it can make
its use considerably easier.
You may select a directory or file by simply positioning the
mouse cursor over the object in question and clicking on it
using the left mouse button, regardless of wether you are in
directory mode or file mode. You can scroll the displays by
dragging the scroll bar on the right of either window. To do
this position the mouse cursor on the scroll bar and hold
down the left mouse button. Move the mouse in the required
direction and then release the button.
Files may be tagged by positioning the mouse cursor on the
file and pressing both mouse buttons together (or the centre
button if you have a three button mouse)
You may also select commands by clicking on them. If you wish
to access Control commands then first click on CTRL (top
right hand corner of the screen) and then click on the
appropriate command.
In general the Left mouse button is treated as the Enter key
and the right button is treated as the Escape key.
5. User Defined commands
In ActaeOn you can assign you own commands to ALT key
combinations. These are displayed, like other internal
commands when you press down the ALT key.
To define your own commands, go to the Configuration menu and
select the Add command option.
When you select this option a window will pop up which will
allow you to enter details about the command. This includes
the title of the command to be displayed in the <ALT> menu,
the command itself and any parameters to the command.
The parameter definition can include special characters to
substitute the currently highlighted file, directory, cause a
window to pop up for the user to enter details etc. Context
sensitive help on each field is available.
User defined commands are stored in a Command Definition File
called ACTAEON.CDF
An explanation of each field follows:
COMMAND TITLE
This is the name shown when the <ALT> key is pressed down. It
must be 10 characters or less and the first character (which
is used to select the command) must be unique. When you enter
a command title which has already been used, the details
are filled in the remaining fields.
COMMAND
This is the file name, including extension, of the command.
You should generally enter the full pathname of the command,
but if you don't then the command must either be in the
current DOS directory, the directory from which ActaeOn was
loaded or on the DOS PATH.
PARAMETERS
This field should contain the parameters which are to be
passed to the command. In addition to normal text you may
enter Special character sequences which will cause, for
example the currently highlighted field, directory etc to be
substituted.
The following character sequences may be used in the
parameter definition
%F
This is replaced by the currently highlighted file including
directory
%D
This is replaced by the currently highlighted directory.
%Pnn"text"
This causes the user to be prompted for a field of length nn
with "text" as the window title.
%L
This is replaced by the currently logged drive letter and
colon
%E
This is substituted with the currently highlighted file's
extension
%N
This is substituted with the currently highlighted file's
name (no directory).
HOME DIRECTORY
ActaeOn will change the current DOS directory to the
directory entered here before running the specified command.
On return to ActaeOn, the DOS directory will be restored to
that value it was when ActaeOn was first started.
PAUSE
This entry tells ActaeOn wether to wait for the user to press
a key before redisplying the ActaeOn screen when the users
command has finished.
RE-READ
This entry tells ActaeOn wether to re-read the disk after
finishing the user's command. It the entry is Y, then more
memory is freed up for the user's command and the directory
display is guarenteed to reflect any changes made to the
directory structure while executing the command.
If your command does not require the memory and does not
alter the disk (such as LIST.COM) then this should be set to
N as re-entry to ActaeOn is much faster.
6. System Requirements
The program has been designed to run on IBM PC's and 100%
compatibles.
MS-DOS V3.01 or later
256Kb of free memory
A Hard Disk is recommended
In addition ActaeOn will take advantage of the following
hardware if it is available
Microsoft Compatible mouse
EGA or VGA Graphics card
EMS memory (for overlays)
There must be no more than 255 directories and 4096 files on
any given disk.
7. Future Enhancements
ActaeOn is under constant development.
Although no commitment can be made as to which features will
appear in which future release, the following facilities are
being actively considered for future versions of ActaeOn.
Change file attributes
Format Disk (Floppies only)
Undelete File
Print Directory
View File (Look inside archives, Hex dump etc)
Logging multiple drives
Sorting directories
If you have any suggestions for enhancements I would be glad
to hear them.
A release history may be found in the READ.ME file
8. Acknowledgements
IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines
MS-DOS is a trademark of MicroSoft Inc.
Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International Inc.
Wordstar is a trademark of Micropro International
Corporation.
All other trademarks are acknowledged
The code to amend Volume Labels was written by Andy Dingley
My thanks to the following who beta tested ActaeOn
Graham Macleod
James S Hooton
Andy Dingley
Mark Chamberlain
Mel Pullen
Ian Bevan
9. Registration
Registered users of ActaeOn will receive a laser printed
manual and an advance copy of the next major release of the
software. In addition Technical Support will be provided by
post, on CIX the Compulink Information Exchange (userid
jonc), and on CompuServe (userid 100013,57). Telephone
support is not currently available.
The registration cost is 34.95 dollars. Registration in
dollars can only be accepted by Visa/Master Card. Details
should be sent to :
Jon Clempner
20, Norleigh Road,
Northenden,
Manchester
M22 4AZ
ENGLAND
Or via CompuServe (100013,57)
The cost includes Despatch by surface mail and Packing, a
printed manual and a copy of the next major release of the
software when it becomes available. In addition bug clearance
releases may be sent out, free of charge, at the discretion
of the author.
Site Licence agreements are available, contact the author for
more details.
Please let me know the current version and Serial number.
Both of these may be found in the Information display.
Software will be distributed on 5 1/4 inch 360Kb disks; 3 1/2
inch 720Kb disks are available for an extra charge of 2
dollars
For Air Mail delivery please add 5.00 dollars
An order form (ORDER.FRM) which will print on any printer is
provided for your convienience.
10. Association of Shareware Professionals
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
Jon Clempner 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 P.O.
Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve message via
easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536