What is the relation between Disk Recall and FloppyCatalog?
Disk Recall is FloppyCatalog 4.0 beta with a new name and new features. The differences between FloppyCatalog 3.0.1 and FloppyCatalog 4.0 beta are so great (including a new file format), that I felt a new name is warranted. In addition, the "Floppy" part of the old name was antiquated and I wanted to avoid confusion with another Mac cataloger called Catalogue.
Is Disk Recall the fastest Mac cataloger?
Well, I'm biased of course, but one of the beta testers said ".[Disk Recall] is the only one I can use cause it's damn too fast and best of all free!." Seriously though, I compared it to current (November 98) catalogers including CDFinder, DiskTracker , DiskWizard, Catalogue . Disk Recall's performance compares favorably with them in searching, scrolling and finding duplicates. In archiving Mac disks, Disk Recall is by far better. The only utility I know of that archives disks so quickly is File Genie Pro (commercial~50$), but File Genie Pro lacks Disk Recall's other features.
Is there a way to automatically keep my catalogs updated?
Use the DropLog utility. Instead of dragging a disk to the trash to eject it, drag it unto DropLog. DropLog will archive it into a previously specified catalog.
Is there a system extension that can archive folders automatically?
I am working on one. However, you have to register Disk Recall to get it.
How to archive a large number of removable disks quickly?
Select Archive from the Catalog menu, then check the box that says "Batch archive inserted disks". Start inserting your disks. Each disk will be archived when it is inserted, then it will be ejected so you can insert the next one and so on. When finished click the Done button.
Can I archive an individual folder?
Yes. Simply drag the folder's icon into an open Catalog window. This also works for AppleShare volumes, floppies, CD ROMs, Zips etc.... Note that for technical reasons sometimes archiving a folder takes longer than archiving the disk that contains it.
Can I search multiple catalogs together?
Yes. Use the multi-catalog search button in the Find window.
Can I search a Found Items window?
No. You can only search catalogs.To refine a search, just add more criteria to the Find Window.
Can I copy & paste disk entries between catalogs?
Yes. (but you can't use Drag & Drop. Sorry)
Can I copy &paste files between catalogs?
No. You can only copy disk entries between catalogs. However, you can copy the names of selected files and paste them into another application.
Can I display custom icons of individual files?
No. That would slow down archiving considerably and increase memory requirements.
How can I speed up Disk Recall?
Use generic or no icons on the display, do not get custom disk icons. Do not let the Control Strip cover a Disk Recall window partially as this might slow scrolling a lot.
Does Disk Recall support system 8.5 features?
It supports Navigation Services (you have to check it in the preferences panel), and smart scrolling.
Does Disk Recall support applescript?
There is only one command implemented: archive disk. If you want more you have to ask for it.
Export doesn't export all the items in a disk. What gives?
Export only saves items currently expanded. To save all the items in a disk, expand it by option-clicking its arrow. That displays ALL its contents. Then export.
Can I copy files or folders from one catalog to another?
Copy and paste actually copy the names of the selected items, unless it is disk item, in which case it copies both the name and the information.
Can I display the pathname of a file in graphical format like the Mac OS Find File?
Yes. The top panel in a catalog window and in the Found Items window contains the pathname of the last item you clicked on. You can expand this panel by moving the cursor over the separator between it and the main panel. The cursor should change to double vertical arrows. Click and drag to expand. When the pathname panel is expanded, the path is displayed in a graphical format like that in the Find File utility. You can also double click on an item in that path to open it in the Finder, again like Find File.
How do relative dates work? Why use them?
Let's assume today is 22 November 1998. You put 11/22/98 in the date created field and then save the search criteria using relative dates. If you use these criteria on 12/13/98 for example, you will notice that the field now shows 12/13/98. Without relative dates, it still show 11/22/98. You can use them to save criteria such as : files modified in last week, files created today, etc..7.Can I save search results?
No. You can only export them as a TEXT file. You can only have one search results window open at a time.
To specify a date range, use two conditions (e.g files created before 11/22/98 and after 11/19/98).
What use is finding unique items?
Two situations:
a)You have a new edition of a magazine CD ROM for example, and you want to see what's new on it compared with last month. Archive both CDs in one window, then find unique items by using the option key in the Find Duplicates window. New or modified files should appear in the window.
b ) you are about to run an installer that might change and add a lot of files in your system folder. To figure out which files have been added or changed, archive the system folder before the install, then archive it after the install and look for unique items. This could work for new or modified files.
Note that Find Unique items will not detect items that have been moved and not changed.
How does Disk Recall archive disks so quickly?
Instead of getting information about each file on a disk separately, Disk Recall obtains information about all the items on that disk in one huge list that gets sorted efficiently by Disk Recall later. This causes a short pause while Disk Recall is getting all that information, before the progress window starts showing the number of items archived. On fast Macs this pause might be all you notice!
There are a few situations when this doesn't work:
*disks that are not Macintosh HFS. This includes PC formatted disks, AppleShare volumes, and HFS+ volumes (if you don't know what HFS+ is, then you are not using it !).
*folders being archived separately.
*if there is not enough RAM to load the information about all the items on the disk at once. This might happen if you have a lot of other applications running at the same time. The extra RAM required is usually 500-1000K and this is used only temporarily.
In these situations Disk Recall uses conventional archiving techniques.
What are the *real* RAM requirements?
When browsing, Disk Recall needs RAM only for items that are displayed in the window (including items scrolled out of view) . In other words, you can have 60 or more CDs for example in one window without running out of RAM. For searching, each disk entry is read from the catalog file separately to minimize RAM usage. A rule of thumb is: if you could archive it , you can search it.
Allocating extra memory for Disk Recall doesn't help a lot since Disk Recall uses free System memory anyway (in programmer jargon it is temporary memory). I typically run Disk Recall in 1 megabyte on my machine. Quitting some other applications solves most out of memory problems.
