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=====================================
Z i p Z a p
Version 6.31
User's Reference Guide
=====================================
Copyright 1987
Keith G. Chuvala
812 East 15th
Winfield, KS 67156
(316) 221-0814
CompuServe 71600,2033
*******************************************
* Please read the ZZ63READ.ME file for *
* the latest information on ZipZap 6.31! *
*******************************************
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Introduction
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[*] Welcome!
First off, welcome to ZipZap! I hope you find this utility
useful. It was born out of a need for a good file zapper, and a
lack of funds to run out and buy one! This user's guide has
been completely re-worked for version 6.3.
[*] INTRODUCTION (What the heck is a zapper, anyway?)
ZipZap 6.31 allows you to view and/or modify a file or disk
sector by sector. The data from the file or disk sector is
displayed in two different formats: hexadecimal numbers and
ASCII text. The information may be changed in either format.
ZipZap allows to you to see data (which may be the contents of a
text file, program file, or any other type of DOS file, as well
as a floppy or hard disk) exactly as it is stored on the disk,
and allows you to make modifications to that data.
==> IMPORTANT NOTE: If you plan on making changes to a file, do
yourself a favor and make a backup copy of the file first, and
make the changes to the backup file. If all goes well, you've
only added one or two simple steps to the process, and if you
seriously trash a big important file, you'll be glad you didn't
do it to the original! As for zapping a disk, DON'T DO IT
UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING!! Note also that the
author of this program is in no way responsible for anything you
do with ZipZap. If you blitz your original Symphony disk, your
outrage will have to be self-directed!
[*] The ZINSTALL Program
Starting with version 6.3 ZipZap is shipping with a companion
program, ZINSTALL.COM. ZINSTALL allows you to modify ZipZap's
color table to your liking, and also lets you specify whether or
not you want ZipZap to double check with you before over-writing
a sector or exiting to DOS.
Operating ZINSTALL is easy. Just be sure that ZINSTALL.COM is
on the same disk and in the same directory as ZIPZAP63.COM and
type:
ZINSTALL
First you will be prompted for a file name....
Enter the filename you have chosen for ZipZap 6.3: ZIPZAP63.COM
If you have chosen to rename ZIPZAP63.COM to something a bit
shorter, enter that name here. THE .COM EXTENSION MUST BE
INCLUDED!
-2-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide The ZINSTALL Program
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you press Enter ZINSTALL will look for the filename you
entered and will alert you if that file cannot be found. If
everything went well, you will move on to the customization
screen.
The customization screen looks a lot like this:
Current Values What the screen would look like
----------------------------- -----------------------------------
| |
Confirm Writes / Exit?: YES ------------[ ZipZap ]-------------
Press <SpaceBar> to change | | Filename Sector Wait |
Filename / Dialogue Boxes: 79 | 00000000000000000000 Edited.... |
Sector number / Helps: 78 | 00000000000000000000 ..Found... |
Main Window / Odd Bytes: 31 | 00000000000000000000 .......... |
Even Bytes: 30 | 00000000000000000000 ....**.... |
Mode "Wait" Message: 47 | 0000000000 [ Help ]- .......... |
Bytes Changed in Edit mode: 29 | 0000000000| | .......... |
Border Color (not shown): 1 | 0000000000| | .......... |
Bytes Found by Search: 26 | 0000000000 --------- .......... |
Help Screen Header/Message: 71 | 00000000000000000000 .......... |
Cursor in Edit mode (**): 78 -----------------------------------
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11...
Add 128 to 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27...
the number 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43...
shown to make 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59...
the fore- 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75...
ground color 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91...
blink. 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107...
112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123...
[ Esc:When done F3:Mono Defaults F4:Color Defaults ]
The list in the upper left part of the screen shows the
different options and their current color values. At the upper
right is a mini-representation of the ZipZap work screen. The
lower part of the screen contains the standard color or
attribute table from which you choose the colors/attributes you
want to use. The line at the very bottom of the screen reminds
you of a few important keys.
The very first option in the list, "Confirm Writes / Exit?"
needs a little explanation. Some folks like the program to just
do exactly what they tell it to, without asking for additional
confirmation. I think this could be risky, especially when
changing the contents of a disk sector, but the request has been
made, and the arguments have been persuasive enough that as of
version 6.3 you have the option to disable the confirmation
dialogue boxes. Now, if all this is horribly confusing to you,
just leave this option set to YES. If you do want to change it,
just press the spacebar to toggle from YES to NO and back.
-3-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide The ZINSTALL Program
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To move through the list of options, use the up and down arrow
keys. To enter a new color value, simply type in the number
form the color/attribute table that corresponds to the color or
attribute you want. Each time a change is made, the mini ZipZap
screen will be updated to reflect the changes, so you can see
immediately if the color or attribute you've chosen is really to
your liking.
ZipZap has built-in defaults for both color and one-color
systems that can be called up at any time by pressing the F3
(monochrome) or F4 (color) key. If you make a bunch of weird
changes and decide you don't like them, pressing one of these
keys will give you a place to start over from!
Note that any of the colors can be made to blink by adding 128
to their value. The "Wait" message will ALWAYS blink, so just
use the color/attribute values on the screen - there's no need
to add 128 to it.
When you've got the combination you like, or when you're done,
press <Esc>. You'll then see:
[ Update? ]------------------------------------------------
| |
| Press <U> to update, <Q> to quit, or <Esc> to go back: |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------
Pressing "U" at this point will update ZipZap to reflect any
changes you've made. You may press "Q" to quit ZINSTALL without
actually writing the changes, or hit <Esc> to return to the
customization screen.
[*] GETTING STARTED (Okay, what do I do now?)
ZipZap may be invoked either with or without a filename or disk
letter in the command line.
A>ZIPZAP63 -or- A>ZIPZAP63 target
"Target" in the second example is either a filename (like
LETTER.DOC) or a drive designator (like A:, B:, C:, etc.)
Specify /B in the command line to suppress the color display.
This is especially useful to folks who setup ZipZap to run on a
color monitor but find themselves occasionally needing to use it
with a color/graphics card hooked up to a composite color or
monochrome monitor. See the section on the Del key under READ
MODE for more information.
-4-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Getting Started
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A>ZIPZAP63 /B -or- A>ZIPZAP63 target /B
The entire filename and extension of "target" must be given, or
ZipZap will tell you that the file can't be found. When started
up this way, the filename screen is bypassed after the opener,
and you are brought directly to the main ZipZap work screen. If
the filename specified in the command line is NOT present in the
specified directory or on the specified disk, a "File Not Found"
message and a cute little beep will alert you to the fact that
you goofed, and you'll be dumped back at the DOS prompt. Not
very polite, but heck, at least the program won't melt your
disks or anything nasty like that!
NOTE: As mentioned in the ZINSTALL section, you may by all
means rename ZIPZAP63.COM to make its use more
convenient. On my disk, I call it ZAP, since it's easier
to type in "ZAP filename" than "ZIPZAP63 filename." I
keep ZAP.COM in the DOS path so that it may be invoked
from anywhere on the disk. You must, of course, retain
the .COM extension if you rename ZIPZAP63.
When you invoke ZipZap without a filename or disk letter in the
command line, you will see the following:
-----------------------------------------------------------
| ***** ZipZap ***** |
| Keith G. Chuvala, 812 East 15th, Winfield, Kansas 67156 |
-----------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Enter file/disk (Esc:exit CR:dir):..................................|
| |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Editing Keys ]------------------------------------------------------------
| CR: Accept Home: Beginning of line Esc: Exit Ctrl-E: Clear entry |
| End: Last character Bksp/Delete: Delete characters Insert: Add one space |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the dialogue box at the bottom of the screen indicates, there
are some editing keys available when entering the path and
filename, as well as ANY time you get the little dots in the
input field. These special keys are:
Arrows: The right and left arrows move one character right and
left, respectively.
-5-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Getting Started
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ins: Inserts a space, and pushes the existing text to the
right one space.
Del: Deletes the character under the cursor, and "sucks" any
text to the right in to fill the gap.
Bksp: The backspace key (labelled "<---" on a lot of
keyboards) deletes the character to the left of the
cursor, and pulls text from the cursor right one space
to the left.
Home: Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line.
End: Moves the cursor to the last character in the line.
Ctrl-E: Erases the contents of the line completely. This is
useful when using the Seek or Search functions a lot,
since ZipZap "remembers" your input each time, and
makes that the default answer, which you may not want.
Sure beats hitting Delete 26 times!
Esc: Exits the current function without taking any action.
Hitting Esc is always a safe move when you're not sure
what to do.
Enter: Indicates you're done with the line, and passes the
input to the routine you're working with.
At this time, enter the name of the file or disk you wish to
work with. Full pathnames are supported (C:\WS\DOCS\MYFILE.TXT,
etc.), and the entire pathname must be given unless ZipZap is
invoked from within the directory containing the file you want
to zap. To zap a disk, enter the proper drive letter followed
by a colon (e.g. A:, B:, etc.) Note that you have the option of
simply pressing Esc or hitting Enter without a file or disk name
to exit the program.
If ZipZap can't find the file specified, you'll see:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Enter file/disk (Esc:exit CR:dir):MYFILE.TXT........................|
| ----------------------------- |
---------| |-----------------------------
| File not found: try again! |
| |
-----------------------------
A short alarm will sound alerting you to the error, and then you
are prompted to try again. You may remove the "File not found"
message quickly by pressing any key, or wait until the message
disappears on it's own (only 3 seconds or so.)
-6-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Getting Started
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you specified an invalid drive letter, you'll see:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Enter file/disk (Esc:exit CR:dir):F:................................|
| ----------------------------------- |
---------| |-----------------------
| Invalid drive letter: try again! |
| |
-----------------------------------
The alarm will sound, and you are prompted to try again. You
may also remove the "Invalid drive letter" message quickly by
pressing any key.
If you pressed the Enter key without specifying any particular
drive or file, you will see this:
[ Directory ]--------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Directory path? C:\TURBO\.......................... |
| |
| |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The current (default) directory name will be displayed. If you
want the directory of a different drive or path, press Ctrl-E to
erase the default directory, and enter the path you want. If
the directory or drive you enter is invalid, the Directory
window will simply disappear, and you can try all over again!
NOTE: When specifying a subdirectory, make sure you include the
"\" on the end, as in the example above.
Next ZipZap will read the directory you asked for (you'll see a
brief message that says "Reading Directory...") and pop up
another window containing all the files in that directory. The
window looks like this:
-7-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Getting Started
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Directory of C:\TURBO\*.* ]-------------------------------
| |
| README GRAPH.BIN KEYS.COM T-REF.DB |
| IEP.000 ACCESS.BOX MUNCHER.COM DISPLAY.DOC |
| T-REFDRV.000 ACCESS2.BOX README.COM IEP.DOC |
| IEP.001 ADDKEY.BOX T-REF.COM INLINE.DOC |
| T-REFDRV.001 DELKEY.BOX TDIR.COM INSTALL.DOC |
| IEP.002 GETKEY.BOX TINST.COM T-REF.DRV |
| IEP.003 SORT.BOX TPAL.COM CUSTOMER.DTA |
| IEP.004 GINST.COD TPINSTAL.COM GINST.DTA |
| MUNCHER2.ARC FASTFMT.COM TURBO301.COM INLINEI.HIX |
| ZIPZAP60.ARC FIXER.COM UNINLINE.COM IEP.HDR |
| DISPLAY.ASM FMAT.COM ZIPZAP60.COM BTREE.INC |
| EXTERNAL.ASM GINST.COM ZIPZAP63.COM BUTTONS.INC |
| TEST.ASM INLINE.COM CUST.DAT CMD.INC |
| TURBO2.BAT INSTX.COM CUSTFILE.DAT CURSOR.INC |
| |
--------------------[ PgUp/PgDn for More ]-------------------
The first file name will be highlighted. You can move the
highlight around using the arrow keys. If there are more than
60 files in the directory, you can use PgUp and PgDn to go back
and forth between the various pages of file names. When the
file you want is highlighted, press Enter, and ZipZap will go on
to the Main Work Screen.
If you decide this wasn't such a good idea after all, press Esc
to back out of the directory window. Simple!
[*] THE MAIN WORK SCREEN (What's all this garbage?!)
Once ZipZap has verified that the file you asked for is indeed
on the disk, or that the disk drive letter is valid, you are
brought to the main work screen. It looks like this:
-8-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide The Main Work Screen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Total Mode Save
Disk letter or sector sectors (Read or File
File path / name number in file Edit) Open
------------------- ---- ----- -------- ----
| | | | | | | | |
| ZIPZAP63.PAS Sector: 0 of 85 Mode: Read (TOF) [S] |
| 7B205A49505A415035372E504153207D0D0A0D0A50726F67 { ZIPZAP63.PAS }....Prog |
| 72636D205A69705A63703B0D0A0D0A7B24563D2C432D2C55 ram ZipZap;....{$V-,C-,U |
| 2D7D0D0A0D0A636F6E73740D0A20202063756673697A6520 -}....const.. bufsize |
| 202020202020202020203D20313032343B0D0A2020206D63 = 1024;.. ma |
| 7877696E2020202020202020202020203D20353B0D0A0D0A xwin = 5;.... |
| 747970650D0A20202064697370737472696E672020202020 type.. dispstring |
| 2020203D20737472696E675B38305D3B0D0A202020737472 = string[80];.. str |
| 2020202020202020202020202020203D20737472696E675B = string[ |
| 3235355D3B0D0A202020696D636765747970652020202020 255];.. imagetype |
| 202020203D206372726379205B312E2E343030305D206F66 = array [1..4000] of |
| 20636863723B0D0A20202073747238303D737472696E675B char;.. str80=string[ |
| 38305D3B0D0A0D0A7663720D0A2020766D6F64653A202020 80];....var.. vmode: |
| 20202020202020202063797465206363736F6C7574652024 byte absolute $ |
| 303034303A24303034393B0D0A202070636765307365672C 0040:$0049;.. page0seg, |
| 717365673A20202020696E74656765723B0D0A20206D6378 qseg: integer;.. max |
| 706367653A20202020202020202020637974653B0D0A2020 page: byte;.. |
| 63637264776369742C71776369743A202020636F6F6C6563 cardwait,qwait: boolea |
| 6E3B0D0A0D0A202073637265656E5F737463636B3A202020 n;.... screen_stack: |
| 202063727263795B312E2E6D637877696E5D206F6630696D array[1..maxwin] of im |
| 636765747970653B0D0A202073637265656E5F726F773A20 agetype;.. screen_row: |
| 20202020202063727263795B312E2E6D637877696E5D206F array[1..maxwin] o |
| 6630637974653B0D f byte;. |
| | | |
---------------------------------------------- ----------------------
Hex contents of sector ASCII contents of sector
The top line, called the STATUS BAR, keeps track of where you
are, and what you're doing (sounds kinda like a wife, doesn't
it?! Sorry, ladies!) Four basic pieces of information are
displayed here:
1. The first is the name of the file or disk you're currently
zapping. In the case of files, if the entire pathname\
filename will fit here, it is all displayed; otherwise only
the file name is displayed.
2. The current sector number being viewed or zapped. ZipZap
6.31's capacity is a little over 65500 sectors - the
approximate size of a 30 megabyte hard disk.
==> NOTE: PC-DOS and MS-DOS normally limit disk size to 30
megabytes. ZipZap most probably will NOT work with certain
"extenders" on the market which allow DOS to handle hard
disks larger than 30 megabytes as one drive. I can't stop
-9-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide The Main Work Screen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
you from experimenting, but please use extreme caution!
3. The total number of sectors in the file. Useful when you
know you need to find something "about half way" through the
file.
4. The mode currently in use. While reading sectors, this is
set to Read. While in zap mode, this reads Edit. If the
current sector is the first in the file, (TOF) is displayed
(for Top Of File) and if the current sector is the last in
the file, (EOF) is displayed (for End Of File.)
The majority of the screen is devoted to the WORK AREA. The
work area contains 2 components:
1. Hex contents of the current sector. This area displays the
contents of the current sector in hexadecimal format. Each
line (except for the last) contains the hex values of 24
bytes. The last line contains 8 bytes. Every other byte is
shaded yellow on color screens, light gray on monochrome and
composite screens, so you can distinguish between bytes more
easily.
2. ASCII contents of the current sector. This is the same data
presented in section 1, but in ASCII format. This is
especially useful when trying to locate text strings in a
file for modification. Unless you think in hexadecimal,
you'll probably find it easier to locate things here. The
color or attribute of the bytes on this side correspond to
the same byte on the hex side for easy reference.
[*] MODES (What the heck am I doing?)
There are really two modes of operation in ZipZap: the Read and
Edit modes. We'll discuss these at length individually. Simply
stated, while in Read mode you can't do much besides look around
the file and read what's there. In the Edit mode, you can't do
anything but edit the current sector. Now, let's take a long
look at these two modi operandi!
[*] THE READ MODE (Let's see what we got here.)
At the bottom of the screen is a line listing several function
keys and a very brief hint as to their function. A more
complete list can be viewed by pressing the Help (F10) key:
-10-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Read Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Read Mode Command Keys ]---------------------------------------
| |
| PgUp: Read the PREVIOUS sector Home: Go to the FIRST sector |
| PgDn: Read the NEXT sector End: Go to the LAST sector |
| |
| F1: Open/Close Recovery File Ins: Color ON |
| F2: Write Sector to Recovery Del: Color OFF |
| F3: Enter the EDIT mode F4: SEEK a sector |
| F5: Select another FILE or DISK F6: Find HEX sequence |
| F7: Toggle non-ASCII on/off F8: Search for TEXT |
| |
| Ctrl-R: Record length for highlight / turn highlight off |
| |
| F9 or Esc: EXIT to DOS |
| F10: Help (this window) |
| |
| -------- Press any key to exit Help -------- |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's an overview of these functions:
PgUp/ These are the workhorse keys. Use these to move
PgDn through the file a sector at a time. PgDn reads
the next sector to the screen, and PgDn reads the
previous one. Gentle little beeps will alert you if
you try to PgUp from the top of the file (TOF) or PgDn
from the end of the file (EOF).
Home Moves you directly to the first sector in the file or
on the disk, always numbered 0. (TOF) is displayed
next to the mode in the status bar. Home does nothing
if you're already at the top of the file.
End Moves you directly to the last sector in a file or the
last logical sector of a disk. (EOF) will be displayed
next to the mode in the status bar. The End key is
inactive when you're already at the end of the file.
F1 Open/Close Recovery (Save) File. This is almost always
used when zapping a disk. You can use the Save File to
store "lost" data, i.e. data from a file that has been
long deleted and is no longer recoverable with a
program like Norton Utilities or PC-Tools. You can
also use this function to save particular disk areas
like the boot sector, directory, FAT sectors, etc., in
order to examine them with your favorite file-based
utility, disassembler, etc.
When you first press F1 you'll get a dialogue box like
this:
-11-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Read Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Open a Recovery File ]===============================================
| |
| File to use for saving (Esc to close): ............................ |
| |
=======================================================================
Enter a filename to which "recovered" data will be
written. Any legal DOS filename will do. If the file
already exists, you'll be asked whether to add saved
sectors to the end of the file (Append) or write over
the beginning of the file (Overwrite) by this dialogue
box:
=================================================
| |
| File found: <A>ppend or <O>verwrite? (A/O): |
| |
=================================================
Just press "A" or "O" to indicate your choice.
* Whenever a Save File is open, you'll see "[S]" in the
upper right part of the screen on the status bar.
Pressing F1 a second time, or any time a Save File os
open will produce a dialogue box inquiring whether you
wish to close the Save File:
[ Yes or No ]---------------------------
| Do you want to close SAMPLE? (Y/N): |
----------------------------------------
Press "Y" or "N" to indicate your choice. If you
inadvertently close a Save File, you can press F1 again
and specify the same filename, and tell ZipZap you want
to <A>ppend data to the file. That way nothing gets
lost!
F2 Write Sector to Recovery. Pressing F2 will save the
current sector's data to the Save File specified with
F1. If no Save File is open, you are brought to the
Open Recovery File box (described above.) After the
data has been saved, a dialogue box will pop up briefly
telling you which sector in the Save File was just
written:
===========================================================
| |
| Sector #14 written to SAMPLE |
| |
===========================================================
-12-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Read Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This box will disappear very quickly, but you can press
a key to dispose of it immediately if you wish.
F3 Enter the Edit (zap) mode. This is how you get to
actually zap the current sector. The mode changes to
"Edit" to let you know that you're ready to zap away to
your heart's content! More on this later.
F4 Seek (go to) a particular sector. Pressing F4 will
bring up a prompt asking for the sector number to read.
Use this when you know the sector(s) you need is not
near the beginning of the file. If you specify a
sector number higher than the number of sectors in the
file or on the disk, the last sector will be read into
memory. The dialogue box for this function looks like
this:
[ SEEK a sector ]----------------------
| |
| Sector number to seek: ...... |
| |
---------------------------------------
F5 New file. This will take you back to the file
selection screen, where you may choose a new file to
zap.
F6 Search for Hex Sequence. F6 and its complimentary key,
F8, are both very handy to have around! See the
description of F8 below for details on finding a text
string. When you want to find a particular sequence of
hexadecimal values, hit F6. ZipZap will ask for the
text to search for, and the sector number to start
searching from. If an illegal sector number is given,
the search will start at sector number zero. If no
search text is specified, or if Esc is pressed, the
search is aborted. The Search dialogue box looks like
this:
[ Find Hex Sequence ]--------------------------------------
| |
| Enter the sequence of hexadecimal values you wish to |
| find. Separate each with a space (0A 1F 3B, etc.): |
| |
| 1A 2B 32 32 01.......................................... |
| |
| Start at sector: 22... |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------
If the hex sequence asked for is found, the search will
stop, a message will be displayed, and the sector
-13-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Read Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
containing the search values will be displayed. The
values searched for will bw highlighted (green in
color, bright white in monochrome.)
If the sequence of bytes is not found, a message to
that effect will be displayed, and the sector that was
on screen before the search started will be displayed.
Once a search is underway, you may stop it by pressing
any key. When you do this, a message will indicate
that the search has been aborted, and the sector that
was on screen before the search started will be
displayed.
F7 Toggle non-ASCII display. I know, you're saying, "Hey,
there ain't no F7 at the bottom of the screen!" Well,
I couldn't fit EVERYTHING on that one little line. In
fact, this key is included on the Help screen (F10).
Pressing F7 the first time will force ZipZap to display
characters outside of the standard ASCII set (graphics,
etc.) Pressing the key again will turn this feature
off. Toggling this on will allow you to see on the
ASCII side of the display characters used to make up
borders, as well as a lot of garbage! The ASCII
display is easier to read without these characters,
since only the "readable" ones show up (all others are
displayed as ".")
NOTE: This key is active in the Read mode only.
F8 Search for text. When you want to find a particular
occurrence of text, hit F8. ZipZap will ask for the
text to search for, and the sector number to start
searching from. The same rules apply to F8 that do to
F6. The Search dialogue box looks like this:
[ Find Text String ]---------------------------------------
| |
| Enter text to find: This is a test |
| |
| Start at sector: 1.... |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------
You'll get the same messages with F8 that you get with
the F6 search. See above for the details.
F9 Quit. Exit to DOS. Go away. Leave. Etc. A little
dialogue box pops up asking you to confirm your desire to
leave. Simply press "Y" to exit. Striking any other
key returns you to the read mode. The dialogue box to
confirm your wish to say adios looks like this:
-14-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Read Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Interruption! ]----------------------
| |
| F9 has been struck. |
| |
| Exit to DOS? |
| |
---------------------------------------
Striking Esc, Ctrl-C, or Ctrl-Break will produce the
same results as hitting F9.
F10 Brings up the help screen. Press any key to return to
the program. The help screen also contains the version
number you have. Refer to this number in any
correspondence about ZipZap.
Del Turn color off. ZipZap automatically detects the type
of display adapter in use (monochrome or color/
graphics.) For users who have a composite one-color
monitor hooked up to a color/graphics card, the display
may be unreadable. Pressing Del will clean up this
problem by changing the display to black and white.
It's also useful for folks who don't like my choice of
colors!
Ins Returns the display to the regular, colorful mode. For
those who like an un-readable composite display, or who
get used to my choice of colors.
Ctrl-R Our local Sysop, Benn Gibson, gets the credit for
annoying me to the point of finally including this
function ("This ones for you," Benn.) Ctrl-R toggles
the RECORD HIGHLIGHT function on/off. This feature
will come in handy mainly for programmers, consultants,
and hackers (Benn is all three.) It uses varying
attributes on-screen to highlight fixed-length records.
When Ctrl-R is first pressed, you will see:
[ Highlight Records ]==================
| |
| Enter Record Length: .... |
| |
=======================================
Enter the record length you desire, then press Enter.
ZipZap will then vary the attributes so that individual
records can be easily identified. This highlighting
will stay in effect in the Edit mode!
Simply press Ctrl-R to turn this feature off. Note
that this function does not isolate records for viewing
and editing - you still see an entire sector's worth of
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ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Read Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
information, and more often than not records will cross
sector boundaries. The highlight colors are kept
consistent for each record, i.e. if a record starts off
in one sector in white on blue, it will continue in the
next sector with that same color.
[*] ZAP!!! THE EDIT MODE (Let's play!)
As mentioned earlier, the edit (zap) mode is entered by pressing
the F3 key. A couple of things change when you do this. The
line at the bottom of the screen is altered to reflect a new set
of command keys, the mode changes to Edit, and a full-block
cursor appears over the first character in the hex part of the
work area. One of the first things you'll notice is that the 1st
byte of the sector (the one the cursor's on) changes color on
BOTH sides of the display. This will assist you in keeping track
of exactly which byte the cursor is on. The cursor changes to
flashing bright white on both color and monochrome screens, so
it's easy to keep track of. Now it's time to have fun!
As in Read mode, F10 brings up a short help window. It looks
like this:
[ Edit Mode Help ]-------------------------------
| |
| Home: Go to first byte End: Go to last byte |
| |
| * Arrow keys move the * Use 0-9 & A-F to |
| cursor. enter new hex data. |
| |
| * ESC or F3 exit back * F4 writes new data |
| to Read mode. to disk. |
| |
| * TAB selects Hex or * In ASCII mode, type |
| or ASCII mode. new text. |
| |
| --- Press any key to exit Help --- |
-------------------------------------------------
Here's an overview of these functions:
Tab Pressing the Tab key switches the cursor to the other
side of the display. The first time it's pressed, you
are put in the ASCII side. Press it again, and, ta da!
You're back on the hex side. Note that when Tab is
pressed, the cursor's RELATIVE position in the sector is
maintained.
Arrows The arrow keys move you around the screen - up, down,
right, left, just as you'd expect. If you move past a
left or right border, the cursor "wraps" around to the
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ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Edit (Zap) Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
other side of the display. The arrow keys work the same
in hex and ASCII zap displays.
NOTE: At the bottom of the hex side of the work area
you'll notice a small area telling you which byte the
cursor is currently on ("Currently on byte: 0"). This
is updated after each keypress, so you'll always know
exactly where in the sector the cursor is located. The
range, of course, is 0 - 511.
Home Pressing Home moves the cursor to the first byte in the
sector.
End End moves the cursor to the last byte in the sector.
0-9/A-F Pressing these keys will alter the byte under the
cursor. The cursor will move to the right with each key
pressed.
Any While on the ASCII side, you may change the contents of
the sector by simply typing in new text.
Notice that as each key to change a byte is pressed, the
new letter or number is changed to a different color
(magenta on color screens, and bright white on
monochrome. These bytes will remain their new color
until you write the changes to disk or abort the Edit
mode altogether. Note that on the ASCII side of the
display, new spaces may be detected as the cursor itself
changes to the "edited" color when it is over a new
space. This means you can always tell when ANY byte has
been changed from its original value!
Esc/F3 Pressing Esc or F3 a second time will take you
immediately back to Read mode WITHOUT SAVING YOUR
CHANGES. This is nice when you've really botched up a
sector or are just practicing! In effect, F3 then will
toggle between the Read and Edit modes, but does NOT
save changes when leaving Edit mode. See the
description of the F4 key for more.
F4 Write sector to disk. Your MUST hit F4 to record any
changes you've made to the sector. Starting with
version 6.3, you are prompted for confirmation of this
could-be-disastrous-if-you-don't-know-what-you're-doing
task. The dialogue box to confirm your wishes looks
like this:
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ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide Edit (Zap) Mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ WRITE the Sector ]-------------------
| |
| ARE YOU SURE you want to |
| |
| make these changes to sector |
| |
| number 0? |
| |
| <Y>es or <N>o: |
| |
---------------------------------------
Pressing "Y" indicates you do in fact want to make these
changes permanent. Pressing "N" (or any other key
besides "Y", for that matter) returns you to the Edit
mode right where you left it.
The actual disk update (assuming you pressed "Y") is
very fast, and if you have many buffers set in your
CONFIG.SYS file, it'll seem like nothing happened at
all. Fear not, the changes have indeed been made! You
will be transported back to the Read mode immediately
after the disk has been updated, so you can choose
another sector to zap, or exit, or get a drink, or
whatever you want to do.
==> IMPORTANT NOTE: When writing the LAST sector in a file,
ZipZap will often change the file length as reported in
a directory listing. In some cases this is undesirable,
so be double sure you know what you're doing when
writing changes to the last sector! I'm working on a
way to avoid this problem in a future release of ZipZap.
F10 Brings up the help screen. Press any key to return to
the Edit mode.
[*] THE LAW (Darn it, I knew'd there be a catch!)
ZipZap is a free program, unless you use it for business or
professional purposes. Feel free to use it and share it. I do
retain all rights to the program and ask that if you modify it in
any way, do not distribute the program with your changes to
anyone! If you have a super-duper idea for a modification or
improvement, PLEASE CONTACT ME. Extremely effective modifications
and ideas submitted to me may be included in future releases of
ZipZap, and due credit will be given to anyone aiding in the
project. Remember, under no circumstances may you distribute
modified versions of ZipZap!
I'd be glad to share the source code for ZipZap with anyone
interested. All I ask is that you supply the postage and hassle
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ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide The Law
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
money. Send me a DISK (360K or 1.2M 5.25") along with $5.00 in a
re-usable mailer, and I'll send you the complete source code,
program, and documentation for the latest version of ZipZap on
your disk. If you don't want to risk your own disk, send $10.00
and I'll do ALL the work from this end. At this time I do NOT
have the capability to put ZipZap source files on 3.5" disks.
Now a plug for our local BBS. You may download the latest version
of ZipZap from the best BBS in the Midwest:
9th & Main
(316) 221-3276
300/1200/2400 8-N-1
24 hours a day
9th & Main is a great TBBS board operated by Benn Gibson. It's
easy to move around on, it's fast, and you have full downloading
privileges on the first call. To contact me through the board (I
log on at least twice a day), simply address your message to Keith
Chuvala, and I'll answer any questions via return message the same
day or the next, if you call late (I get up early!)
Note that the source code for ZipZap is NOT on the BBS - it's
available by mail only.
[*] HISTORY (The road is law-aw-ong....)
ZipZap was originally developed on a Generic PC (a fully IBM PC
compatible) with a very standard configuration. The code is
written in Turbo Pascal 3.01A, using inline statements for a
couple of machine language routines. All development now is on a
10Mhz AT clone. If you can't get ZipZap to run on your machine,
please drop me a line or contact me through our local BBS (the
number is given above), and include your computer's brand name and
configuration.
Version Date Notes
------- -------- ---------------------------------------------------------
6.31 02/21/87 Fixes a bug in the Record Highlighting Function.
BugBuster award goes to Benn Gibson, Sysop of 9th & Main,
for finding this rather obscure one....
6.3 01/01/88 The ZINSTALL program was added, allowing the user to
change the color table and disable or enable the "drastic
move" confirmation questions when writing a sector or
exiting to DOS. Also added the Record Highlight
function.
6.21 10/12/87 Editing routines improved and shrunk, "shadow" cursor
added for Edit mode.
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ZipZap 6.31 User's Reference Guide History
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2 10/06/87 "Save" file functions were added for data recovery, etc.
A couple of other minor code changes made, none of them
visible to the user.
6.1 08/22/87 Directory window for opening files was added.
6.0 07/22/87 Support of file and disk sector (full sector)
viewing/editing, Search for Hex Sequence added, now
highlights found hex and text after search (either kind.)
5.7 06/29/87 Full-sector viewing and editing (all previous versions
used half-sectors), printing routines dropped altogether
(no one seemed to use them!)
5.6 06/03/87 A major glitch in 5.5 was corrected. The problem
occurred when a sector number of 0 was specified for a
text search.
5.5 05/26/87 Some strange (and to date unexplained) things that were
happening on monochrome systems were completely re-
written.
5.41 03/03/87 A minor revision.
5.4 01/11/87 A big re-write of the display code allowed for the
inclusion of more features without increasing program
size. Uses the DISPLAY.INC screen writing routine. Non-
ASCII display can be used in Edit mode. The search
function was rewritten for speed. Flashing "ZipZap" can
be de-activated by pressing F6.
5.3 12/26/86 A few minor improvements in speed were made, and if a
filename in the command line is not found, the opening
screen is not brought up like in the earlier versions. A
"File Not Found" message is issued, and a beep sounds, as
in the earlier ZipZaps.
5.2 11/25/86 A bug not allowing you to get a new file via F5 if you
had originally invoked ZipZap with a filename in the
command line was corrected. The help screens were
brought up to speed.
5.1 11/20/86 Added the ability to toggle non-ASCII character display
on or off.
5.0 11/08/86 First "official" release of ZipZap. Included Read/Edit
modes, Seek to sector function, Search (text) function,
and rudimentary print routines for sectors and entire
files.
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