Zodiac Super OZ/MEDIADEPOT.ISO/FILES/16/COPS605.ZIP/BRUCE605.DOC

Text File | 1996-05-30 | 23KB | 451 lines

BRUCE605.DOC                         1                         Revised: 05/30/96

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                              Contact information

For the following routines:  AV,  BFIND,  COPSINCE,  DATES,  DIRCOMP,  DIRTOTAL,
EUMAIL, FILL, FIXTEXT, FORTUNE, HTMSTRIP, PAGINATE,  READINIT,  READMAKE-created
files, and TXTABLE:

                Bruce Guthrie
                Wayne Software
                113 Sheffield St.
                Silver Spring, MD 20910

                fax: [phone]
                e-mail: [e-mail]
                http://hjs.geol.uib.no/guthrie/

For the following routines:  CHANGE, CONVERT, FILUPDAT, READ, and READY:

                Bruce Guthrie
                Room H-4885
                U.S. Dept of Commerce/ESA/STAT-USA
                Washington, DC 20230

                fax: [phone]
                voice: [phone]

                e-mail: [e-mail]

Foreign users:  Please provide  an  Internet-reachable  e-mail  address  in  all
correspondence if you have any hope of getting a reply!  Internet e-mail is  the
preferred method of contact for all  other  users  as  well.   America  On-Line,
CompuServe, and Prodigy all offer Internet e-mail access so get with it!

Since these programs are typically "freeware"  (with  the  exception  of  people
trying to make money from them instead of me), they generate maybe $100/year  in
revenue for me.  As such, my ability to afford  wonderful  customer  support  is
somewhat restricted.   Please  do  not  leave  messages  saying  "Call  me  long
distance".  Also, please be specific  about  what  problems  you  encounter  and
include command-line inputs as well as any control  or  INI  files  that  you're
using.

Standard disclaimer in this society:  Wayne Software disclaims all warranties as
to this software, whether express or implied, including without  limitation  any
implied  warranties  of  merchantability,  fitness  for  a  particular  purpose,
functionality, data integrity or protection.


BRUCE605.DOC                         2                         Revised: 05/30/96

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                                  Introduction

This documentation provides some overview information on a number of  utilities.
All  programs  described  herein  were  written  by  Bruce  Guthrie.   Most  are
distributed with a Wayne Software copyright.  Others were written for  the  U.S.
Department of Commerce.  All are free for use provided relevant documentation is
kept with the programs, no changes are made to the  programs  or  documentation,
and they are not bundled with commercial programs or charged for separately.

CHANGE,  CONVERT,  FILUPDAT,   READ,   and   READY   are   excluded   from   the
commercial-packaging  restriction.   These  programs  are  owned  by  the   U.S.
Department of Commerce and may be re-distributed without restriction.

People who need to bundle AV, BFIND, COPSINCE, DATES, DIRCOMP, DIRTOTAL, EUMAIL,
FILL, FIXTEXT, FORTUNE, HTMSTRIP, PAGINATE, READINIT, or TXTABLE  in  commercial
packages other than shareware/freeware collections must pay a  $50  registration
fee to "Wayne Software" at the following address.   READMAKE-created  files  are
also subject to this limitation.  I don't expect to make any  money  from  these
utilities but I don't want others to sell them instead.

This collection of utilities were compiled using Microsoft's  Visual  BASIC  for
DOS 1.0 compiler.  Thomas G. Hanlin III's excellent  PBClone  routines,  release
2.3, provided additional functionality.  Since Tom has dropped support  for  his
PBClone routines, some things will are simply not possible for me to do so don't
push!  The basic routines should be able to be maintained indefinitely  as  long
as DOS continues to exist; we'll see.  Keep in  mind  that  they  are  DOS-based
routines so forget long Win95 file names and  such.   I  keep  thinking  that  I
should be doing Windows programming but it's hard to get  psyched  up  for  that
when you think of Windows as a computer virus.

Documentation provided in appropriate ZIP files:
 * routine.DOC: Each utility is separately described in a like-named *.DOC file.
 * FILE_ID.DIZ: Standard Description In Zip file.
 * BRUCEymm.DOC: This file serves to summarize all  of  the  various  utilities.
     The "ymm" indicates the release date in  year/month  format.   "601"  means
     1996, first month (Jan 1996).
 * BRUCEINI.DOC: Most of the routines have defaults that can  altered  by  using
     initialization files (inifiles).   These  are  referenced  in  the  regular
     documentation and further described here.  (One thing about *.INI files; if
     you don't have one, it's in your interests to specify the "/-I"  parameter.
     Otherwise, the program searches your entire DOS path looking for the file.)
 * BRUCEHEX.DOC: Many of the routines allow you to enter  parameters  as  either
     hexadecimal  or  decimal  strings.   This  is  referenced  in  the  regular
     documentation and further described here.

     All program documentation was created  using  a  text  editor  (PE2).   The
     PAGINATE command (see below) was  used  to  justify  the  text  and  create
     titles, page breaks, and (where provided) indexes.

Beta  testers  and  suggestions  are  always   appreciated.    Contact   me   at
[e-mail]  Note that all beta releases are done via e-mail  so  if  your
gateway can't handle some pretty big mail attachments,  you  definitely  do  NOT
want to be a beta tester for me!  Modifications that are not of  mainstream  use
can be contracted for.


BRUCE605.DOC                         3                         Revised: 05/30/96

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                              Finding the programs

The utilities are uploaded with a ZIP name that includes the year and  month  of
the release in a "ymm" format ("605" is the May 1996 version).   The  files  are
posted directly by the author to two places.  The following Web  site,  provided
by Hans Schrader, has the current versions of *all* programs:

                http://hjs.geol.uib.no/guthrie/

Major revisions are directly posted by the author to the following:
* Simtel (Coast-To-Coast): ftp.coast.net (http://www.coast.net/Simtel)
* Simtel (Keith Petersen): ftp.simtel.net (http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net)
* ZDI Software Library:  No idea where that is!

                         Simtel locations and versions

This listing is current as of the April 1996 (604) release.

http://www.coast.net/SimTel/msdos/      ftp://ftp.simtel.net/simtelnet/msdos/
  ..arcutil/                            ..arcutils/
av605.zip       Archive View: Free ZIP etc directory viewer
  ..batutil/                            ..batchutl/
dates605.zip    Warns you in advance of birthdays etc
fortn605.zip    Fine-tunes DOS FOR command w/options
  ..dirutil/                            ..dirutl/
cops605.zip     Copies files modified since given date
dirco605.zip    Updates files based on source directory
dirto604.zip    Directory lister and totaller
filup605.zip    Copy updated files based on a control list
  ..diskutil/                           ..diskutil/
fill605.zip     Stuffs as many files as possible on disk
  ..offline/                            ..mailnews/
eumal605.zip    Eudora utility for nicknames, boxes
  ..spredsht/                           ..spredsht/
convr605.zip    Convert dBase, ASCII-delim, fixed, 1-2-3
  ..textutil/                           ..txtutl/
bfind605.zip    Boolean FIND command (BFIND BEGIN & END)
chang604.zip    Change strings in text files
fixtx605.zip    Translate text file characters en masse
htmst605.zip    Reprocesses HTML pages for humans to read
pagin605.zip    Paginates text (indexes, sorts, tables)
read605.zip     Free viewer, also make any text self-viewing
txtab605.zip    Generates text tables

If you're using a version of the programs that's more  than  a  year  old,  it's
almost always the case that there's  a  newer  version.   Please  check  for  an
update.  If you can receive binary attachments, contact me at  [e-mail]
for free updates.  Alternatively, send $10 made out to "Wayne Software"  to  the
Wayne Software address above and I'll send you everything on diskette.  (If  you
need anything other than 3.5" high density, specify that too please.)

The versions of each program posted on SimTel are documented  below  along  with
the directory information for  this  site.   The  *current*  versions  of  *all*
programs are posted on the Web site in Norway.


BRUCE605.DOC                         4                         Revised: 05/30/96

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                           Short program descriptions

   AV.EXE:  Archive directory viewer.  Presents list of files in  archive  (ZIP,
   ARC, etc) and lets you sort as desired.  Also allows resetting  of  the  file
   date based on the archive's contents.

   BFIND.EXE:  Allows Boolean-type FIND requests.  For example,  find  any  line
   with one string AND another one, or any line  with  one  string  OR  another.
   Also allows wildcarded input file names.

   CHANGE.EXE:  Processes change commands in files.  Files can be  of  any  size
   and type (e.g. binary or text) and  are  processed  quickly.   Up  to  thirty
   change commands can be processed in a single pass.  Also provides ability  to
   remove trailing spaces from text files.

   CONVERT.EXE:  Converts between data  formats:   FROM  dBase,  ASCII-delimited
   (typically commas between fields and quotes around strings), and fixed  field
   TO Lotus WKS, ASCII-delimited, dBase, and fixed field.

   COPSINCE.EXE:  Copies all files modified since a given date.  Primarily  used
   for making sure you have a back-up of files and also to copy updated programs
   to another place.  Lets you define your own groupings of files if desired.

   DATES.EXE:  Program that warns you in advance when an event like a  birthday,
   anniversary, or holiday is coming up.   The  idea  is  to  give  you  advance
   warning so you can send a card or get out of town in time.

   DIRCOMP.EXE:  Similar in some ways to DOS's REPLACE command but adds  ability
   to delete extra files in the destination subdirectory, copy hidden and system
   files, and prepare a report showing inconsistencies.  Is frequently  used  by
   network administrators to update workstation files.

   DIRTOTAL.EXE:  Prepares  report  showing  files  in  subdirectory  or  drive.
   Allows restricting search based on date, size,  attributes,  etc.   Works  on
   networked and CD-ROM drives.   Produces  more  formalized  report  than  some
   utilities do.  Also allows you to look for duplicate file names.

   EUMAIL.EXE:  Eudora mail summarizer.  Dumps your Qualcomm Eudora mailbook  as
   well as summarizing the contents of all of your Eudora boxes and folders.

   FILL.EXE:  Program designed to move files off to floppy diskettes, taking the
   biggest files first and skipping those that won't fit.  Also provides  option
   of splitting large files up, creating a status report, and other features.

   FILUPDAT.EXE:  Program which compares a selected list of files  in  a  source
   path against those in another path and copies those that have  been  updated.
   Similar to DOS' REPLACE command  but  works  from  a  stored  list  of  files
   (controlled updates) and can handle any number of directories.

   FIXTEXT.EXE:  Program which applies  a  user-definable  character-translation
   table to a text file.  Can allow you to convert graphics characters to  their
   text equivalents, lowercase letters to uppercase letter, etc.   Can  also  be
   used to translate DOS text files to Mac or Unix text files  and  vice  versa.
   Can also expand tabs, remove trailing spaces, and remove backspaces.


BRUCE605.DOC                         5                         Revised: 05/30/96

   FORTUNE.EXE:  A tuner-upper for the DOS FOR command.  Generates a batch  file
   which does all those wildcard things you wished FOR could do  (like  "FORTUNE
   IN (*.BAS) DO RENAME %A %2*.*" to remove parts of file names).  Lets  you  do
   all sorts of things including  distinguishing  file  name  roots  from  their
   extensions as well as incrementing file names by specified values.

   HTMSTRIP.EXE:  Goes  through  downloaded  pages  from  the  Web  and  removes
   embedded HTML commands.  Reflows paragraphs and tries to  make  it  basically
   readable.

   PAGINATE.EXE:  Reformats text files with embedded formatting codes.   Handles
   things like titles, footers, indexes, alignment,  justification,  multicolumn
   listings,  etc.   Also  provides  support  for  embedding  tabular  data   in
   ASCII-delimited or dBase formats which can be embedded and/or sorted in  your
   reports.

   READ.EXE, READY.EXE, READINIT.EXE,  and  READMAKE.EXE:   Text  file  browsing
   utilities.  READ--Supports marking, copying text, reading Unix and  Mac  text
   files, etc.  Handles files of 16,000 lines or less  (approx  800,000  bytes).
   READY--truncates or wraps lines over 255 characters  in  length  but  handles
   files of an unlimited number of lines.  READMAKE--Takes  an  ASCII-text  file
   and makes it self-viewable (using a READ clone).

   TXTABLE.EXE:  Program to generate text tables.  Includes quickie utility that
   dumps WordPerfect file into something this can read so you can try to convert
   WordPerfect tables to text.


BRUCE605.DOC                         6                         Revised: 05/30/96

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                                Revision history

Detailed revision histories for the programs are only maintained  for  the  last
three releases.  After that, you get the major revision summaries only  for  the
next three releases or so.  In any  case,  if  your  version  of  any  of  these
programs is more than a year old, your version is definitely obsolete.  Hop onto
the Web or e-mail me or something and get the new version!

-------------- (full detail; revisions made 1 to 3 months ago)
Release 96/05:

  AV:  Fixed up an error in  paging  through  files  which  include  non-archive
  files. Added ability to delete the archive as well as use the mouse to  escape
  out of the program.  [Replaces av602.zip]

  BFIND:  Found a bug with retrieving some records  at  the  end  of  12000-byte
  blocks.  Fixed this.  May have also affected CONVERT, FIXTEXT,  HTMSTRIP,  and
  READY but no one reported any problems so maybe not!  [Replaces bfind604.zip]

  CONVERT: Fixed a bug relating to empty input fields when  a  field  definition
  file was requested.  Allowed fixed-field input files to exceed 1000 characters
  in length (new limit is 4000 characters).  Program did not guess input  format
  if a non-text document as fed in (the /SCAN function);  fixed  this.   Program
  skipped the first record in DBF files; fixed this.  [Replaces convr604.zip]

  COPSINCE:  Maintenance release.  Dropped the bat  logo  from  the  /?  screen.
  [Replaces cops601.zip]

  DATES:   Added  the  ability  to  do  weekly   reminders.    Reorganized   the
  documentation a  bit.   Dropped  bat  logo  from  the  /?  screen.   [Replaces
  dates601.zip]

  DIRCOMP:  Maintenance release.  [Replaces dirco601.zip]

  EUMAIL:  Added /SPLIT and /SCAN options.  [Replaces eumal604.zip]

  FILL:  Fixed up weird error messages.  Added a trap for write-protected disks.
  [Replaces fill603.zip]

  FILUPDAT:  Maintenance release.  [Replaces filup601.zip]

  FIXTEXT:  Maintenance release.  [Replaces fixtx602.zip]

  FORTUNE:  Added %* and %? options.  [Replaces fortn604.zip]

  HTMSTRIP:  Reworked  how  <A...>  and  <IMG...>  references  were  handled  by
  introducing /A=spec, /IMG=spec, and /IMGALT=spec parameters.  Allows you  more
  choices including whether to show the full url address or not.  Also kills off
  /ALT, /SITE, /FSITE, and /-SITE parameters.  Fixed a bug related to incredibly
  long cells; people are using tables to get around all sorts of  problems  with
  HTML formatting and the tables were getting maxed out; if HTMSTRIP finds  it's
  being hit with the condition, it now turns off table processing for this table
  and just dumps it out as text.  Not a perfect solution but the  best  I  could
  do. Added /BORDER=DV, /BORDER=SV, and /BORDER=TV parameters.   More  debugging
  for weird tables.  Switched numeric columns to align left  instead  of  right.
  Now skips Java script blocks on output.  [Replaces htmst604.zip]


BRUCE605.DOC                         7                         Revised: 05/30/96

  PAGINATE:  Maintenance release.  [Replaces pagin601.zip]

  READ:  Maintenance release.  [Replaces read602.zip]

  TXTABLE:  Added /BORDER=DV, /BORDER=SV, and /BORDER=TV parameters.   [Replaces
  txtab604.zip]

Release 96/04:

This release comes up  as  Secretary  of  Commerce  Ron  Brown  gets  buried  at
Arlington.  I work at the Department of Commerce and had the chance to meet  him
a couple of times.  I thought he was a very special person.  I'll miss him!

Major updates are now being posted directly on both Simtel sites  (ftp.coast.net
and ftp.simtel.net).  I'm not going to pass  judgment  on  this  feud  but  it's
certainly tougher on authors now.

  BFIND:  Maintenance release.  Been awhile since it came out and  some  changes
  needed to be made in the documentation.  Dropped the little bat logo from  the
  /? screens.  [Replaces bfind511.zip]

  CHANGE:  Fixed up a bug with the @filelist parameter.  [Replaces chang603.zip]

  CONVERT:  Fixed up some bugs  with  /OUTDEF  not  always  working.   [Replaces
  convr601.zip]

  DIRTOTAL:  Fixed up a bug with some directory totalling.  Dropped  the  little
  bat logo from the /? screens.  [Replaces dirto603.zip]

  EUMAIL:  This program was actually introduced last month but I didn't  add  it
  to BRUCEymm.DOC file since  it  would  have  made  it  too  long.   I  dropped
  ISAMMAKE/ISAMFIND so it fits  now!   Added  /DUMP,  /KILLDUMP,  /HEADERS,  and
  domain parameters which are related to allowing the entire mail  file  or  its
  headers to be dumped as a text file.  Added /REPEAT and /-REPEAT options which
  should be useful for people using FIND or  BFIND  on  the  resulting  nickname
  file.  Expanded most of the name and nickname maximum lengths (folks have some
  really amazing names!).  [Replaces eumal603.zip]

  FORTUNE:  Added /WIPE parameter.  [Replaces fortn510.zip]

  HTMSTRIP:  Added /ALT parameter.  Fixed up a problem where  <BR><BR>  couldn't
  generate blank lines.  More work on <PRE>...</PRE>  blocks.   If  /SYMBOLS  is
  specified, changed default representation for <A> to be  "(link)"  instead  of
  "[Link]", and for <IMG> to be "(image)"  instead  of  "[Image]".   <INPUT>  is
  still "[Input]" though.  Expanded maximum columns per table  from  10  to  15.
  [Replaces htmst603.zip]

  ISAMMAKE/ISAMFIND:  Dropped to make room for EUMAIL.

  TXTABLE:  Expanded maximum  number  of  columns  per  table  from  10  to  20.
  [Replaces txtab603.zip]

Release 96/03:

  CHANGE:  Fixed a bug with /BINARY when you crossed line  boundaries  with  the
  change.  [Replaces chang510.zip]

  DIRTOTAL:  Added  some  recovery  handling  for  some  of  the  weirder  Win95

BRUCE605.DOC                         8                         Revised: 05/30/96

  subdirectory structures.  Modified the  directory  totalling  section  of  the
  output  report  so  longer  directory  names  could   be   shown.    [Replaces
  dirto602.zip]

  EUMAIL:  New program.  Didn't document in BRUCE603.DOC though because I didn't
  have room.  Gets added in 604 version of the documentation.

  FILL:  Added /FORCE option.  Made /LETTER the default.  Fixed up  some  errors
  in the documentation and reduced the  size  of  the  help  display  a  little.
  [Replaced fill602.zip]

  HTMSTRIP:  Added /SITE, /FSITE, and /-SITE options.  Fixed up problem with the
  /RULE=s parameter (didn't work).  [Replaces htmst602.zip]

  READY:  Added /WIDTH=n as a synonym for /n (i.e.  /WIDTH=80,  /WIDTH=132,  and
  /WIDTH=255).  Switched documentation and on-screen help to only reference  the
  /WIDTH=n variations.

  TXTABLE:  Bug fixes.  Added support for <HR> and some  other  things  in  HTML
  mode. Added /RULE=s parameter.  [Replaces txtab602.zip]

-------------- (kind of terse; revisions made 4 to 6 months ago)
Release 96/02:

  AV:  Added help screen (F1) and the ability to Ctrl-PgUp or Ctrl-PgDn  through
  up to 500 archives.

  FILL:  Added an estimation of the number of diskettes left to go.

  HTMSTRIP:  Tables are now handled by the program.

  READY:  Added /FILTER=filename and /TEXT options.

  TXTABLE:  Added the ability to support imbedded pseudo-HTML code  as  well  in
  addition to the original input format.

Release 96/01:

  All routines:  Finally dropped support for CONFIGWS.EXE from my programs.  I'm
  now at [e-mail]

  CONVERT:  Added cell filters.  Added the ability to  read  Unix  or  Mac  text
  files.

  FIXTEXT:  Added a /BINARY option which lets you strip binary codes from things
  like native WordPerfect files.

  READ, READMAKE:  Tabs are now expanded on display.

  READY:  Allowed the  program  to  handle  files  with  lines  of  132  or  255
  characters. Added the various horizontal scrolling key options.

  TXTABLE:  New program.

Release 95/12:

  CONVERT:  Now allows you to read fixed-fixed files which contain  lines  which
  do not end with CR/LF.  Changed the field-definition file to make the  decimal

BRUCE605.DOC                         9                         Revised: 05/30/96

  count and output length optional.

  FIXTEXT:  Added automatic detection of  input  text  format  (lines  end  with
  CR/LF, CR alone, or LF alone).

  PAGINATE:  New /Linitfile parameter (allows you to replace characters from the
  input file when you write out the file).