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93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 1 GuiArc V1.15 Graphical User Interface for Achivers. 1. Copy-rights. This program is spread as FreeWare. It means you may freely distribute and copy this program, as long as everything stays unchanged and all documentation and other files are spread with it. It also means, that this program is Copy-righted by me, the author of this program. You are not allowed to change anything, ask money for the program or use the program commericaly. Nobody but myself is allowed to make money with this program. This also implicates that this program may not be included with any commercial product without written permission of the author. This programm may be included on non-commercial PD disks like Fish Disks. 2. Distribution contents. The distribution should contain at least: GuiArc GuiArc.info GuiArc.doc GuiArc.doc.info GuiArc.doc.eng GuiArc.doc.eng.info ArcTypes ArcTypes.info The file 'GuiArcConfig' may absolutely NOT be included in any distribution. When this file is present, the requester which is shown at the start of the programm, will be disabled, and I think every body should see this requester at least one time :-). 3. What's the program for. This program is written, to give you a user friendly and easy to use method of dealing with archivers. The main archiver where I wrote this program for, is 'Lha' from Stefan Boberg, but the program is fully configurable to use an unlimited number of different archivers at once. The program recocnizes different types of archives automaticly from their file pattern. When you, for example, select 5 archives, of different types, and shoose 'extract' from the gadgets menu, all archives will get unpacked, with their own archiver. The program automaticly selects the correct archiver. This is also done with all other actions, like adding and listing. When you create a new archive, and don't explicitly specify the type, the first defined type (default 'lha') will be chosen. 93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 2 4. How to use the program. You can start the program from CLI or WorkBench. After that, it will open a window on the WB-screen, that looks like this: +--------------------+ +--------------------+ | | | | : A : : B : : : : : | | | | +--------------------+ +--------------------+ | C | | D | +--------------------+ +--------------------+ +------------+ +-----+ +------------+ +-----+ | | | | | | | | | E | | F | | G | | H | +------------+ +-----+ +------------+ +-----+ The blocks A and B will contain the contents of the selected directory or archive for the left and right work area. C and D contains the path for A and B. They're editable. Blocks E and G are short-cuts for the paths C and D. The right-bottom most gadget of each block is configurable. And at last, F and H contain gadgets for all different actions you can perform on the archives. 5. Possible actions. In this chapter, I will discuss all actions you can perform on archives with this program. Therefore, I will first introduce some terms. The source area is always the block (A or B) whose contents are used to perform the actions on. If you selected an action in F, block A is the source area, and the same with H and B. If you selected the action by double clicking, the area you first clicked in, is the source area. The target area is the block where the results of the action are placed. This is always the other block. The source archive is a selected archive in the source area. This can be the source area itself (if you are 'in' a archive) or one or more selected archives in the source area. Source files are the selected files and/or directories in the source area. This can be files/directories in a directory or from the archive you're 'in'. This depends on the action you want to perform. 93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 3 A target archive is the selected archive in the targed area. Again, this can be the target area itself (if you're 'in' an archive) or exactly one selected archive in the target area. If not, the program will ask for the name of a new file. Some actions can be activated with an other method than clicking the gadget or pressing the underlined letter. This will be mentioned at the action. An action is always performed from the source area, to the destenation area, or, is case no result will show up, in the source area. This actions are possible (if supported by the archiver, Lha supports them all...) Add With add, you can add files to an archive (surprise!). The source files are added to the destenation archive, wich is created, if nessesary. When a new archive is created, the default type is the one of the first defined archive type. Ofcourse you can force the program to use a different archiver, by adding the right file-extension (or so) to the name. For example, if you type 'test', the archive 'test.lha' will be created with 'Lha' (supposing 'lha' is the first defined type) but, if you type 'test.zoo' the archive 'test.zoo' will be created, with the archiver 'Zoo'. This way, you can select all different archivers. You can also start adding files to an archive, by, after selecting the last file to add, clicking in the destenation archive within the time of a double-click. You must be 'in' the destenation archive in the destenation area. Move Similair to add, but all added files will be deleted from the source. This action can not be activated in an other way. Ext/Cp Ext means Extract. All selected source archives, will be unpacked and the result will be in the destenation area. If you are 'in' a source archive, only those files wich are selected, will be unpacked. Cp means Copy. This will copy all (non-archive) files and/or directorys to the destenation area. The programm uses the cli 'Copy' instruction for this action, so this command should be available in your path (normally in the C: directory). You can also activate extract by, after you selected the last source archive (source file within an archive), clicking in the destenation area within the time of a double-click. View View lets the archiver show you the contents of the archive in an output window. This action acts on the source archives. If you select non-archive files and then activate 'View' (or double-click on non-archive files), the files will be showd, using the 'File viewer' selected in the Configuration menu (default: "Sys:Utilities/More"). List can also be activated by double clicking within an archive or on a non-archive file. Test Test acts as if the archive will be extracted, but will not extract. Just to test. All source archives will be tested. No other activation method is possible. 93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 4 Delete Delete will delete files. This can be files within an archive, or plain files or directories. When you are 'in' an archive, all selected source files will be deleted from the archive. When you are in a directory, all selected files and directories will be deleted from that directory. Deletion of non-empty directories is not possible. Before the programm deletes files or directories, it asks your to confirm this deletion, to avoid unwanted deletions of files. This option can be disabled in the configuration menu. 6. The menu's. The program has only three menu-items. 'Quit' is easy. It quits the program (same as the close gadget). 'About' will give you some 'on-line' information about the program. And finaly, 'Configure' lets you adjust some things about the program. You can ajust: - The path-short-cut gadgets at the bottom right of both blocks, can be adjusted. You can type in your own name and path. - When the program starts, both areas can be automaticly filled with the contents of an archive or directory. You can give in these default paths/archives here. When you leave this empty, nothing is read. - The viewer used for viewing non-archive files, can be entered in the 'File viewer' gadget. Please, use the full path and name of the viewer. - The next to gadgets let you disable the confirmation before deletion of files from archives or of files and directories from directories. - The gadget 'Archive flags' will bring you to a window where you can (de)select eleven options for the archivers. These options are specific for Lha, but some other archivers also support them. When you select 'OK', the flags are active. Selecting 'Cancel' in the configuration windown, will not cancel the flag settings. - With the gadget 'Save' you can save the settings to the file 'GuiArcConfigure', wich is located in the same directory as the program. 7. Different types of archive(r)s. As mentioned before, the program is able to deal with many different file archivers. You can configure the diffente archivers, by editing (or creating) the file 'ArcTypes', which is placed in the same directory as the program itself. The distribution of the program, contains an 'ArcTypes' file with definitions for: Lha 1.42, Zoo 2.1 Beta, Ape 1.35 and Arc 0.23. Unfortunately, Zoo is verry bad programmed. So bad, it ain't even possible to redirect it's output to an anther file, and thus you can't enter the archive by doubble clicking it. With all other archivers, this is possible, and I think, this is the strength of GuiArc! I think the settings will do for new versions of these archivers, however, you can change them yourself easily. The description of the 'lha' type below, is integrated in the program. These 93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 5 settings are used when the file 'ArcTypes' can't be found. The format of the 'ArcTypes''s archiver's descriptions is described below. Each entry MUST exist of ALL of the fields described below, and in THAT order. Lines starting with a semi-collon (';') are considered comments, and are ignored. Inline comments aren't possible. Empty lines are ignored. Before each new type-name, you must place a '@'. This is character is used to synchronise everything. In this way, it's easier to locate errors in the configuration file. The %s in the command line, will be substituted with the choosen options in GuiArc, preceded by a '-'. Note that not all archivers support these options. The flags are given as 'lha' flags. (So generally this options are only use-full with 'Lha'...) Example configuration for Lha: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @LHA '@' + Name, max. 5 characters #?.(lha|lzh) Recognision file pattern. lha %s x Command to unpack the archive lha -2Y %s u ,, to add files lha -2Y %s m ,, to move files into the archive lha v ,, to list the archive lha t ,, to test the archive lha d ,, to delete files from the archive lha v ,, to list files for 'entering' -1 Lines to skip at the top of the listing. -1 Lines at the bottom of the listing 44 Start position of names on the line 0 End position of names on the line Whenever a command is not available, place a '-' on the line (no spaces before or after the '-'!) If you want to be able to 'enter' an archive, the last command and the 4 offsets must be available. The program uses these to filter the file names out of the archive list. Lines starting with a ':' are ignored. Most archivers (at least, lha) use this to indicate a file-comment. If you use a negative number as top or bottom skip, the program skips all lines before/after a line wich starts with a '-' or a '='. This is very usefull for archivers who use lines of '-' or '=' to indicate the start of the file list. You don't have to count lines, and the program will be able to deal with a variable number of lines before/after the file list (for example, error texts or something like that). When you enter a 0 for the end position of the file name on the line, the program assumes the name of the file ends at the end of the line. Always use this, if the file name is placed at the end of the line in the file list. Note that when files can't be entered due to the specification of the archiver (yet only Zoo is strugling, but that's nog my fault...) you're still able to perform all actions on the archive, except deleting files from the archive. 93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 6 8. General information and something about the PATH. To create some work-space on the workbench screen, without having to quit the program, I've made it possible to iconify it. When you press the 'Help'-key or the 'I'-key, the program will become in-active, closes the window and create an 'icon' on the work-bench. A double click on the icon will bring the program back on the screen in it's original state. No buffers are cleared on iconifying. It is very important, that the archivers you use, can be reached by the program. Therefore, be sure the directory where the archivers are placed is added in the PATH of the program. C: will be a fine place to put the archivers. If, for one or another reason, it is not possible to add the right dir to the path, you can enter the full path before the name of the archiver in the configuration file. However, this is not the best way to do this, since the available space for the commands in the configuration file is limmited to 30 characters. If you use this method, don't use relative paths, because the programm switches internally between directories. Some characters in the gadgets, are underlined. These can be used as short-cut for that specific item. I've arranged them in such a way, that you can use them best if you leave all your archives in the left area, and every thing else in the right area. And last, but not least: In case you haven't discovered it by now, by double clicking on an archive, you can enter that archive, as if it was a directory! (That is, if it can be done with the archiver you use.) I would like to thank: - Marcel Duyn, for testing the program and reading the documentation and editing/correcting it. - Frank Sloep, for testing the program. - Jan van den Baard, for writing the program GadToolsBox. - Michiel Willems, for providing the nessecery utilities and information trough his BBS (Amiga Bs Online Heemstede, +31-23-282002), connecting me to the different mail-areas and discouraging me in this project :-(( - CSA, for manufacturing the Derringer! - The brewers of Arcener tarwe white beer, Duvel and Maredsous and of course the Amstel beer brewer :-)) - And of course all coders of those great file archivers! Changes in version 1.01: - Extended the line-buffer for 'entering' an archive from 100 to 256 characters. Pretty handy for looooong paths... Changes in version 1.10: - The 'Delete' function know also works on plain files and directories. - With the 'Ext/Cp' funtion, it now is posible to copy files and directories. - With the 'View' option, you now can vies archives and files (for example those 'ReadMe' files). 93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 7 (Remark: Despite the above options, this program is and has been an util to handle archivers. Therefore, the posibility to handle plain files, will be restricted.) - It has made easier to select multiple files and directories, by holding down the left mouse button during selection, and moving the mouse up and/or down. - When changing the active path in a scroller, or rereading the scroller after some actions, the current position of the scroller, will be kept as much as possible. (An idea of Marcel Duyn.) - If you enter an empty path for a scroller (or click on the 'Drives' gadget), a list of available volumes and assigns will be shown. (An idea of Michiel Willems.) - Optimized the internal structure of the program. This has made the program relative smaller and easier to exetend/adjust. Changes in version 1.15: - Made scrollerbars 8 pixels smaller and added the room to the list-view, so one more character can be displayed :-)) Gives a nicer look. - Fixed the ugly look when you used a "default screentext" other than 8 pts. topaz. - Fixed the 'text-mixing' if you chainged the configurable gadgets when you worked on a screen smaller than 256 pixels high. - Fixed the placing of the string-requester and the output-window, when you work on BIG WorkBenches. - Changed the system-requester style about requester, to a custom-made one with a kind of a logo. This one will pop-up every time the programm is executed. You can disable this, by selecting 'Configure' in the menu and then select the 'Save' gadget. - Improved the control possibilities on the external commands, using the new dos System function, in stead of the old Execute function. 93/5/29 GuiArc 1.15 Users's Reference Manual. Page 8 9. And finaly. I made this program as part of my hobby. That's why its FreeWare, and why I absolutely do not ask you for any share in the costs. But I would like to know if you like this program, and how many people like it. So, if you like it, please let me know by sending me a post-card or net-mail or something like that. Ofcourse in case you like the program so very much, and want to make a donation, you're welcome! :-)) And I do appreciate eventually bug reports. You can reach me at the address below ( although I'm doing my military duty for the rest of this year (1993) so I'm only the weekends at home... :-((( ) Fido: 2:280/464.2 or Amy: 39:151/1.2 or Patrick van Beem Parlevinker 5 2152 LC Nieuw-Vennep The Netherlands © Februari, April, May 1993 by, _ _ /_) /_) / atrick van /_)eem