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*******************************
* *
* CMFiler -- Version 5.36 *
* *
*******************************
Changes Since Version 5.22:
The following features have been added or improved since Version 5.22, in
reverse chronological order:
----- 5.35k -----
Corrected miscellaneous minor bugs and anomolies.
----- 5.35j -----
The permissible tree size was again increased, to 1700 directories, and a
minor bug in the routine that reverses the function of the high-intensity
bit was fixed.
The default name assumed for Integrity Master's integrity data files, for
the purpose of protecting them against inadvertent overwriting, was
changed to ZZ##.IM, reflecting the default name assigned by Integrity
Master in version 1.24a and later. This name can be changed using the
command Alt-I (for IDname, where "ID" stands for integrity data).
----- 5.35i -----
The facility to view the file list within a compressed file has been
expanded and improved to now include .EXE files (on the assumption that
they are self-extracting files), and to find files in mixtures of
compression types packed together.
An option has been added to the Shift-O user Options screen to allow the
action of the color attribute high-intensity bit to be inverted. Some
LCD color monitors take the purpose of the high-intensity bit to be just
opposite the normal sense, ie, high intensity enable when bit is zero
instead of one.
The permissible tree has been increased to 1000 directories from 505, to
accomodate large network directories.
----- 5.35g -----
The command line color mode "V" (for VGA) is now recognized, in the form
of the argument @V, similar to the previous @C, @M, etc.
Support for VGA 43/50-line display has been added, and may be invoked in
one of two ways:
o On the fly. The Shift-O user Options screen has a new line to set 25,
43 or 50-line display, on the screen below the monitor line. This line
can only be accessed if CMFiler senses a VGA card installed. The choices
are 2,4 or 5. Switch is stored immediately in the .CFG file for the next
execution of CMFiler.
o Through the command line. Simply add 25, 43 or 50 to the argument @V
(or @C or @M). This will override the previously recorded mode in the
.CFG file.
----- 5.35f -----
Further testing of CF's two sorting algorithms (the original bubblesort
and the more recently used quicksort) for speed in sorting large
directories reveals that neither one is superior under all conditions.
Therefore, the user has been given the option (letter A in Ctrl-O
Ordering menu) to select whichever one works best in the environment of
that user's file structure. Much depends on the "natural" DOS order --
the order in which the directory was constructed, and in which DOS reads
the directory table.
Quicksort works best for directories that already have a high degree of
natural order, or a high degree of disorder, and does poorly compared to
bubblesort in "lumpy" directories, which have clumps of ordered files
randomly arranged. If you use principally one ordering scheme and both
algorithms are making you wait each time you read a large directory,
there is a way to cause DOS to reorder the directory table so that
quicksort in particular will do much better:
- Make a new directory on the same path in the same level as the
directory to be reordered, and select it in one panel.
- Put the directory to be reordered in the other, and with the desired
ordering option selected, tag all the files and move them to the new
directory. They will be moved in the order listed, and thus the
directory table being created will have a "natural" DOS order the same as
the one you most use. ("Moving" is nothing more than renaming, so no
data reading/writing is involved, only directory table-making.)
- Delete the old directory, and rename the new one like the old.
To be sure, disorder will creep back in, and this procedure may need to
be repeated. However, the occasional time investment will be worth it
for the aggravation it will save waiting for sorts.
A "floppy fill" function has been added to the main module, called by
"Shift-I", which fills floppy diskettes in the drive selected in the
target panel with the tagged files from the directory in the source
panel. Diskettes must be preformatted, but need not be empty. User may
specify a margin in kb to reserve on each floppy.
To use the floppy filling function:
1. Put the first diskette to be filled in drive A or B, and select that
drive in one panel.
2. Select the other panel to the directory containing the source files
to be copied. Tag all the files to be copied (press A to tag them all),
and press Shift-I. Specify number of kilobytes to hold in reserve on
each floppy. (CF adds 2 just to be safe.) Filling starts.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-2
3. When each diskette is full, the files that were successfully copied
are untagged in the source panel, and, if there are still files to copy,
CF gives the choice of Escaping from the operation, or putting in a new
disk and pressing any other key to resume. You may suspend the filling
with Esc, and then resume with Shift-I without loss of continuity as long
as you leave the tags in the source panel alone.
This function is "semi-smart". It first looks to see if any existing
files on the target floppy are the same as files tagged in the source,
and updates them as appropriate, untagging the corresponding source files
that matched. Then it looks at the source for tagged files that will fit
in the remaining space on the floppy, and adds them until the floppy is
full. Thus the floppy-fill can be used for updating a set of backups
previously created with the floppy-fill function.
As a further safeguard against loss of data during file copying, if you
leave "soft" delete enabled, in addition to files that you "soft" delete
going to the ~TRASH~ trashcan directory, newer files that you overcopy
with older files also go to ~TRASH~, even after you confirm the action.
The method of ensuring against inadvertent carryover of unseen sensitive
or classified data during file copying through the slack space of the DOS
input/output buffers has been completely revised. This protection is now
provided automatically all the time, cannot be switched off, and is
operating system-inndependent. In fact, the method now used enhances the
speed of file copying by up to 10-20%.
Consequently, the option "Clear I/O buffers if located?" in the Shift-O
screen is no longer needed, and has been replaced with the following:
"Wipe old files during HARD Delete, Copy and Move?" When this is set to
Y, old files will be completely obliterated by overwriting all their data
with the continuous sequence "cfcfcf..." before deleting them using the
DOS file delete service.
(As a point of information, the DOS "delete" service in fact only changes
the first character of the file name in the directory table, and the
cluster pointers in the file allocation table (FAT), and does NOT change
or erase any of the data clusters themselves. Until they are overwritten
by some other file, in whatever order DOS chooses to reuse the freed-up
clusters, they are available for reading by any disk-scanning program
that looks at the disk with absolute sector reads, ignoring what the
directory table SAYS is on the disk. Much of the Irangate evidence was
retrieved this way by investigators. This new feature in CF guarantees
the obliteration of "deleted" data by overwriting all data in the file,
from beginning to end, with "cfcfcf..." before using the DOS delete
service.)
All runtime questions requiring a (y/n) respond from the user now also
offer a defauly, shown in capital letter at the cursor and chosen to
reflect the more likely response under the circumstances, or the more
conservative response from the standpoint of protecting files from
inadvertent deletion.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-3
For example, when deleting files(s) with D or Ctrl-D, the default
offering is Y in the confirmatory request, since it is more likely that
deletion is what you intended, and you did not hit the D or Ctrl-D key by
mistake. On the other hand, N is the default offering if a Read-only
file is encountered during the delete operation, since assigning this
attribute is a normal way of providing extraordinary protection of
individual files, and if you are using the Read-only attribute correctly,
you should typically NOT want to delete the file.
----- 5.35e -----
In the editor, a significant bug was corrected that resulted in loss of
part of the file if the user returned to the editor after saving the
file.
In the tree module, a logic fault that was blocking the Esc bailout
during file text searches.
In the main module, minor logic errors were corrected in the command line
support for masks.
----- 5.35c -----
In the main module, the file date/time change service has been expanded
to permit mass date/time setting by tagging a collection of files, and
pressing Alt-F as before. If files are tagged, the user must then
confirm the desire to have all tagged files set to the same date/time
stamp. The default values in the data entry windows are taken from the
topmost tagged file in the listing.
The logic which retains knowledge of the current cursor position in the
target directory during directory-altering operations, such as file
copying, has been refined to remove some anomalies.
----- 5.35b -----
In the editor, to support easier updating of the on-disk file copy during
long editing sessions, a fourth option has been added to the Escape
sequence -- "Return to editor? (y/n)", with the default set to N, since
in most cases the user wants to leave the editor. So to update the on-
disk copy of the file being edited, the following keystrokes might be
used in the middle of the editing session: Esc-Enter-Enter-Enter-Y.
In the main services file module, pressing Enter to view a .ZIP, .LZH,
.ARJ or .ARC file displays a listing of the names of all the files
compressed in that archive file (maximum of 60 file names).
In the main file services module, user now has the option to continue
copying or moving tagged files after a disk file creation/write/read
error, rather than having the operation automatically cancelled. Also,
the error trapping routines were updated and one anomaly corrected.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-4
----- 5.35a -----
Different users on a network may now specify their own configuration
through the environment, by setting the environment parameter CF-CFG
before running the network copy of CMFiler. For example, User 1 is
assigned logical drive U in the network, and User 2 drive V. CF.COM and
CF.OVY are on drive C. User 1 could execute CMFiler with a batch file
that reads:
SET CF-CFG=U:\SETTINGS\CF.CFG
C:\PROGS\CF
and User 2, using the same copy of CF.COM and .OVY, could execute:
SET CF-CFG=V:\CONFIGS\CMFILER.CFG
C:\PROGS\CF
In these two cases, of course, U:\SETTINGS and V:\CONFIGS must be valid,
existing paths. The files CF.CFG and CMFILER.CFG need not already exist.
If it does not find the file in the path, CMFiler will create the file
the first time configuration data is saved.
Because of the incompatibility of the I/O buffer clearing feature with DR
DOS, a safeguard was added that detects DR DOS, and blocks the buffer
clearing option even if invoked by the user.
The "trash can" directory for "soft-deleted" files has been renamed from
"CF_TRASH.CAN" to "~TRASH~" for two reasons: in at least one case, a
user's configuration included a TSR that caused system hangups in the
presence of directories with an extension in their name (even though this
is a perfectly legal DOS naming convention); and several users asked for
a new trash can name that would appear as the last directory of their
listing, rather than in the middle of the listing.
***NOTE***: This will be a nuisance to previous users the first time
running Version 5.35a or later, but will be worth it in the long run for
the neater directory list it will bring.
The upper limit of directory size was increased to 2400 in the main file
services module, and the sorting algorithm changed from a bubblesort to a
quicksort for improved speed.
In the editor, the action of the Home and End keys has been expanded as
follows: the first press of Home/End goes to beginning/end of line, if
not already there; the second press goes to top/bottom of page; the
third press goes to beginning/end of file.
A function "Refresh panel from disk" (Shift-R) was added to the main file
services module, used when you change disks in a drive as a one-keystroke
alternative to N and the drive letter. The similar function which
already existed in the tree module was remapped from Alt-R to Shift-R for
consistency.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-5
----- 5.34d -----
A new user option has been added to the Shift-O option facility to allow
turning off the automatic screen saver.
Two new ordering options have been added to the Ctrl-O ordering facility,
to permit ordering by file size, either smaller first or larger first.
The file mask (Ctrl M) in the main service module now only applies to the
panel the cursor was in when the mask was specified. This is so that you
can apply different masks to the two panels.
----- 5.34c -----
The NARATIVE.CF files, containing the file and directory notes, are well
protected from inadvertent overwriting or destruction within the CMFiler
environment. However, there is no provision for their protection from
inadvertent erasure or overwriting in other environments, such as from
the DOS command processor. To afford some level of protection, a switch
has been added to the user option (Shift-O) screen to let you set the
Read-Only attribute of the NARATIVE.CF files, in addition to the Hide
attribute. Most command processors will prohibit deletion or writing to
Read-Only files.
----- 5.34b -----
In trying other archive utilities in response to recent requests from
users, I have discovered that CMFiler has always (accidently) supported
LHA and ARJ, and perhaps others in addition to the PKWare utilities,
simply because they all use the same syntax in the command line, namely:
archiver options archivefile file1[,file2,[...]]
To clarify that other archivers may be supported by the Zip and Unzip
commands in the main module, I have revised the help screen and the F10
user-definition screen. CMFiler still defaults to PKZIP and PKUNZIP
unless otherwise specified. However, if you want to use ARJ or LHA
instead, press Shift-F10 from the main screen, and change both the fields
"Compress = " and " Extract = " to read "ARJ.EXE" or "LHA.EXE". Add the
path to these file specs if ARJ/LHA is not on a path in the DOS path
environment. Also make the "Compress Options = " line read "a" (this is
both ARJ's and LHA's way of knowing you want to add or create a .ARJ or
.LZH archive file), and the " Extract Options = " line read "x" (for
extract). (Command line option parameters are necessary with ARJ and LHA
because, unlike the PKWare utilities which have separate compression and
extraction programs, the same program does both functions.)
Use of LHA or ARJ by this facility is the same as use of the PKWare
utilities. To compress, put the directory where you want the archive
file to be created or added to in one panel and tag the archive file to
be added to (if it exists); set up the other panel with the directory of
the files to be archived, and optionally tag them (if none are tagged,
the command line parameter defaults to *.*); press Z, check and edit the
command line paramters if desired, and press Enter.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-6
Extraction is easier. Set up the target panel in the directory you want
the extracted files to go, put the cursor on the archive file, press U,
check the command line parameters, and press Enter.
----- 5.34a -----
The naming convention for backup files, created with the command B in the
main module, has been changed so that the backup file will appear closer
alphabetically to the original file. If the original file has a three
character extension, the third character will be replaced with a tilde
(~; ASCII 126). If the extension has less than three characters, it
will be padded with one or two exclamation points (!; ASCII 33, 1 larger
than blank), so that the third character can be a tilde.
When creating appended files (ie, Alt-tagging several files followed by
the command C to copy to the target, or B to copy to the source), a
default appended file name will be generated (name of the first file in
the append list plus extension APF). The user may edit this name before
the file is created.
----- 5.34 -----
In the tree module, while the cursor is in the file list during a Show
files or Goto file command, several commands are available for disk
cleanup that mimic commands in the main module. Files may optionally be
tagged with T or Spacebar, and then deleted individually (if no tags are
set) or as a group with the D (soft) or Ctrl-D (hard) delete command.
The command A (tagAll) clears any tags set, or sets all tags, as in the
main module.
In the editor, the keypad map to the cursor movement functions is now
independent of Num Lock. Shift-Up/Down Arrow moves to top/bottom of
current video page. Gray+/Gray- function the same as Alt-Plus/Alt-Minus,
toggling the delimiter and bottom displays.
----- 5.33b -----
Navigation and file-finding in the tree module was revised to follow the
"G" and "Alt-G" conventions of the main module:
- G ("Goto file") has replaced "F" as the file-finder command.
Pressing "G" commences a filename search, and as each letter in the
filename search string is typed, the tree and file list dynamically
adjust to highlight the matches and position the cursor to the directory
with the first match. Mode is toggled off with G, Alt-G or Esc.
- Alt-G ("Goto directory") commences a directory name search in the
same fashion. As each letter of the search string is typed, the matches
are highlighted dynamically and the display is adjusted so that the
topmost match is shown. Mode sets for both panels, and stays until G,
Alt-G or Esc is pressed.
An anomaly was fixed to let the directory be re-read in its "natural" DOS
order after switching to Order mode 7.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-7
An anomaly was fixed which prevented CF from checking the CF_TRASH.CAN
directory on execution.
A workaround was devised for an anomaly in the directory structure of
some netware, that prevented CF from navigating back through the parent
directory in the main module.
----- 5.33 -----
The ZIP feature was revised to permit the use of either normal or Alt-
tags to denote which files to decompress.
The following improvements were made to the editor:
- The notation of typeover/insert mode and wrap/no wrap mode has been
shortened and moved to the upper right corner of the screen. It stays on
the screen when the lower information area is blanked.
- On color monitors, the lower five lines of text (which become the top
five lines on PgDn) are in red vice white, to distinguish this area from
the "active" video page (the top 20 lines), and to help the eye find its
place in the text during scrolling.
- The exit defaults after editing have been adjusted so that most users
will be able to answer the three questions with three strokes of the
Enter key most of the time. (Yes, save this edit; No, don't reuse the
date/time stamp from the original file; No, don't save the original file
as *.BKP).
- You may switch from View mode to Edit mode within the editor, with the
combination Alt-S(witch mode).
In the tree module, on the Show files screen, Enter views the file (same
convention as main module), and Shift-Enter returns to the main module
with the cursor on that file name.
----- 5.32b -----
The I/O buffer clearing feature was extended to support MS-DOS Ver 4 and
5.
The file 4DOS2CF.COM was added to the CMFiler collection, with its
companion documentation 4DOS2CF.DOC. 4DOS2CF does a directory-by-
directory search and coverts any 4DOS/NDOS notes (in files called
DESCRIPT.ION) into CMFiler format, and appends them to existing (or
creates new) NARATIVE.CF files. This way, 4DOS/NDOS users don't have to
reenter all their notes to take full advantage immediately of CMFiler's
notes facility.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-8
----- 5.32a -----
Memory allocation logic error in the tree module was fixed. This error
resulted in fragmented memory for applications run from CMFiler after a
call to the tree module.
In the editor, a logic error was corrected which prevented use of the
block move and copy operations when the screen lower information area was
turned off.
In the editor, the Home and End keys were redefined to move the cursor to
the beginning or end of the line (same as Shift-Left and Right Arrow),
rather than to the top or bottom of the current screen page, in keeping
with the rest of the world.
----- 5.32 -----
Version number changed to 5.32 to avoid confusion with several versions
of 5.31 released to selected users for beta testing.
----- 5.31 -----
The command line support has been expanded to include an optional path
specification(s) to the directory(ies) initially displayed and an
optional initial file mask, as well as an optional color attribute
setting. The command line syntax is now as follows, where the square
brackets indicate optional parameters:
cmfiler [pathspec1[\mask] [pathspec2]] [@color]
where "mask" is a file mask of the form "*.ext", and may be attached to
pathspec1 or pathspec2, and color is C, M, L or T for standard color set,
monochrome attribute set, LCD (except Tandy) and Tandy LCD attribute
sets. Parameters are separated by blanks. The leading "\" may be
omitted from the mask if there is no pathspec in the command line.
Examples of valid command lines might be:
cmfiler c:\assembly\*.doc c:\pcw\letters @t
CF C:\ASSEMBLY C:\WP51\DOCS\*.DOC
cf assembly @c
cf *.exe
cmfiler d:
CF C:\QBASIC A:\QBASIC /*.BAS
In the tree module, after the delete commands (D for soft Delete, Ctrl-D
for hard Delete), CMFiler marks the deleted portion of the image of the
tree structure in memory so that it will no longer be shown on the
screen, but does not refresh the tree structure from disk or update the
directory size and files information. This saves time so that you can do
several delete operations without having to wait for the tree structure
to be reread from disk after each deletion. When you finally want to
refresh the tree from disk after one or more deletes, the command is Alt-
R (for Refresh).
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-9
In the tree module, a new text searching function is available for
searching for a text string of 25 characters or less, using up to eight
file filters separated by + signs. Preceding a file filter with the pipe
symbol (|) excludes it from the search. You may restrict the search to
files only in the currently selected block of the tree (the "painted"
structure in the source panel), or expand it to the entire disk. The
search text entry "*" is permitted, which hits any text (useful in
scanning for several filenames at once in text find mode, instead of
individually in file find mode). The command is "Shift-F" in the tree
module.
The screen display in file find and text find modes has been revised to
eliminate the use of blinking to signal the presence of a "hit". The
directories containing hits are shown in high intensity (underlined in
monochrome) with "right arrowheads" (ASCII character 16) in front of
them, and the files containing hits are shown in high intensity
(monochrome underline) at the top of each file list.
Also, while the results of a text search (Shift-F) or file name search
(F) are displayed on the screen, the command Alt-L (print tree List)
prints a copy of, not the tree structure, but a listing of the
directories containing "hits" and the names of the files in those
directories.
In the main menu, the function of the tagging options Alt-N and Alt-O has
been changed to "tag all files Newer than the file at the cursor", and
"tag all files Older...". A new tagging option is added as Alt-D, "tag
all files with same Date as file at cursor".
Esc from the main menu now presents the followup choice of
"Esc to remain in CMFiler, any other key to quit."
A bug has been corrected which precluded running batch files with command
lines.
When shelling out of CMFiler, the DOS prompt has been modified so that it
retains the caller's PROMPT string, and imbeds into it the string
<CMFiler> (CR-LF) so you are reminded you are in a shell from CMFiler.
----- 5.30 -----
The annotation of files backed up with the backup facility ("B") is now
that the first character in the extension is the tilda (~) instead of
underscore (_), for readability and to ensure that backed-up files always
follow the original in an alphabetical listing. Thus the backed-up file
to READ-ME.DOC would be READ-ME.~DO.
The notes facility was expanded to provide for two cases, and its
mnemonic command changed:
- The "edit notes" function has been reassigned the command "Ctl-N"
(was "O"), and its operation is much the same as modified in version 5.28
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-10
- A new "view notes" function is added, as "Shf-N", which displays the
notes in the opposite panel covering the file list for the target
directory, but the cursor remains in the source panel and all the file
services are still available, including copy and move to the target
directory. Toggle out of "view notes" mode with Shf-N or Esc.
A display option was added ("Ctl-E" for casE) which lets you display file
lists and trees in one of four possible letter case conventions:
- Files and directories all caps
- Files lower case, directories all caps
- A "modified-Tauck" convention, (eg, Read-Me.Doc)
- Files and directories all lower case.
In the application launcher, when the command line is shown for editing
just before file execution, you may swap the command line shown in the
window for the last one used in a previous file execution with Up Arrow,
Down Arrow (twice), PgUp or PgDn. This simplifies multiple execution of
the same file with slightly different command lines, and works with
ZIP/UNZIP as well as user specified applications.
The options screens invoked by Shf-O, Ctl-Enter and Ctl-O were "spiffed"
up.
A separate help screen was added for the edit notes facility, invoked by
F1 or Alt-H from the Ctl-N screen.
The file mask facility was revised to make the method of entry similar to
other data entries, and the default value was changed from ????????.???
to the simpler *.*.
----- 5.29a -----
A logic error that prevented applications launched by CMFiler from
finding the COMSPEC string in the environment was corrected.
----- 5.29 -----
Improvements were made to the editor as follows:
- The record delimiter marks are now toggled with "Alt-Minus" and the
bottom display is toggled with "Alt-Plus". The current states of both
of these switches are stored as the program startup defaults by "Shf-S".
- The line wrapping mode can be toggled between Wrap and NoWrap with
"Alt-W". If this is done while viewing any but the first section of a
very long file, the editor has to go back to the beginning of the file to
avoid confusion when it reestablishes the array of memory pointers to the
text lines. The current state of this switch is saved as the startup
default by "Shf-S".
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-11
Wolfgang Stiller's Integrity Master system integrity and virus checking
application generates files named ")(.ID" in each directory, to record
signatures of all the files in the directory for later integrity
checking. It is important that those not be disturbed, and so CMFiler
now has a protective feature that prevents their being overcopied.
The Home and End key actions in the main file services menu have been
revised slightly, to make navigation from long directory lists to long
file lists easier. If the cursor is in a directory list, the first press
of End puts the cursor at the top of the file list, and the second press
goes to the end of the file list. Within a file list, the first press of
Home goes to the top of the file list, and the second to the top of the
directory list.
----- 5.28 -----
The file editor is now accessible from the nOtes panel, so you can take a
peek at (or even edit) files while you are looking at or writing the
associated notes. Press Alt-E to Edit, Alt-V to View.
Tagging files may be done from the nOtes as well. Ctl-T for a normal Tag
(since the letter "T" would be taken as text to be typed into the note),
and Alt-T (as from file listing screen) for Alt-Tag.
Improvements have been made to the editor as follows:
- The algorithm which calculated the display parameter "Record Number"
was not corrected when the line wrap feature was added. "Record Number"
was actually counting the number of screen lines, and so a record (the
material delimited by a carriage return, line feed or combination) longer
than 80 characters might appear to be 2,3,4 etc., records. That is now
corrected.
- The find-string feature has now been made case-insensitive.
----- 5.27 -----
The configuration file format for version 5.27 is unavoidably different
from that of the interim version 5.26. Users of 5.26 will have to
respecify configuration (F1-F9, Hide and Compare switch settings, etc.)
If there is old "trash" in the trash can directory TRASH_CAN.CF, CMFiler
only asks once each day if you want to delete or look at it, rather than
each time the drive is selected.
The "Go to..." commands for navigating within a long directory listing
("G" to go to a file name in a directory list beginning with a certain
character, "Alt-G" to go to a directory name) have been expanded. Now
you can keep typing the name of the file or directory you are trying to
find, and as you type the second letter, then third, etc., the cursor
moves if necessary to the file described, until the string of characters
you have typed no longer describes a file or directory name, or you press
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-12
Enter or Esc to leave the "Go to" command. The cursor stays positioned
on the last file described by the string you were typing.
----- 5.26 -----
The name has been changed to remove the nuisance underscore character.
In searching for itself and its overlay, it looks first for CFV if it is
the evaluation version, then CF, then CMFILER. (The evaluation version
is identical to the registration version except that it has an opening
screen which provides a license for 60-day evaluation and information on
how to register.)
You may now edit or view files directly while in the tree module, without
having to exit back to the main module. In the tree module, press "F" to
find files or "S" to show files, and move up and down the directory tree
until you find the directory of interest. Arrow left or right across to
the file list, move the cursor (dark bar, actually) up or down until it
is on the file of interest, and press "E" or "V", for Edit or View file.
You will be in the editor module directly. Exit back to the tree module
with Esc or, in view mode, Enter. If you then want to return to the main
file services module with the cursor selected to this file for editing,
printing, execution, etc., just press Enter again.
Rather than overwriting part of the .COM file to record setup parameters,
which forces the user to reestablish the setup parameters each time a
revision to the program is received, a separate file is created called
CMFILER.CFG (or CF.CFG), which CMFiler will look for each time it runs.
This should be kept on the same path and be given the same name as the
.COM file.
Logic errors have been corrected to make file moving smoother for the
case where there is already a file by the same name in the target
directory. Previously, this case would cause an error message "Access
denied renaming file", which was not too enlightening. Now, this case is
handled just like copying -- if the target file by the same name is
older, it is simply deleted before the newer file is moved in. If it is
newer, the user is asked to confirm that it should be replaced with the
older file.
A choice of four color palettes in now available for color monitors.
Press "Ctl-P" (for "Palette"), then roll through the choices with the
spacebar. Esc to cancel any change, Enter to change the default color
set.
A new option setup menu has been added to permit easy reconfiguration of
a few features. It is called by "Shf-O" (for "Options"), and it
presents this menu:
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-13
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Move cursor with Up/Dn Arrow. Type option desired.
Define F1 as Help? N
Define "D" as HARD Delete? N
Clear I/O buffers if located? N
Overcopy files with same date/time/size? N
Refresh directory contents after Screen Saver? N
Assign Hidden attribute to NARATIVE.CF file? N
Monitor (C=Color, L=LCD, T=Tandy LCD, M=Mono) C
Press Esc to cancel changes, Enter to accept.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
These seven "switches" represent setup features that various users have
asked for, but that not all users would want. Any of the first six may
be toggled between Y and N by putting the cursor on it using the Up/DnArr
keys, and pressing the spacebar, or pressing Y or N. The seventh must be
set for your monitor type by pressing one of the key choices. Once you
have reconfigured the way you wish, press Enter. Esc exits with no
changes. Here is an explanation of each feature:
1. The F1 key has been added as a Help call in the editor and tree
modules, and can be so designated for the main module by resetting this
switch to Y. The sacrifice is loss of F1 as a user-defined application.
2. For those who do not wish to use the "soft" delete feature nor be
bothered with the directory "CF_TRASH.CAN", the "D" key may be
reconfigured to "HARD Delete", identical to "Ctl-D" by resetting this
switch to Y.
3. The I/O buffer clearing feature for data security during file
writing operations runs into problems on some system configurations with
DR DOS 6.0 as the operating system. It has been set to a default mode
that does NOT clear buffers before writing. If you want to invoke this
security feature, you have to reset this switch to Y.
4. In the default setting, CMFiler does not waste time during file copy
operations overcopying any file in the target path that is reported by
DOS to be the same date/time and size as a file in the source path.
However, sometimes you might want to mass-overwrite files on a backup
directory or disk that are suspect, even though they may appear to be
identical. Just set the Overwrite switch to Y.
5. For Windows users, if you run CMFiler in a window, it does not have
any way of knowing when it returns to the foreground whether any other
application has written to the directories that it is selected to. In
the default setting, it does not refresh the file listing (reread the
directory tables). Windows users may want to reset this switch to Y.
6. Users have asked to be able to specify that the NARATIVE.CF file,
containing the file/directory notes, not be assigned the hidden
attribute. This switch may be reset to N for this purpose.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-14
7. CMFiler can detect the presence of a true monochrome video card, and
when a monochrome card is present, there is only one color set available.
However, when CMFiler detects a color card, there is a range of
possibilities. The attached monitor may be an LCD or monochrome monitor,
in which case a set of default color attributes designed for a
CGA/EGA/VGA monitor would be awful. On initial execution, CMFiler
establishes what type of monitor you have attached by forcing a choice.
This setup option lets you change that initial choice if you wish.
CMFiler now does a rudimentary self-check for integrity each time it
loads. If the file has become corrupted by tampering or a disk sector
gone bad, you will get a message to that effect and the program will
offer you the option of continuing or terminating. This will detect some
of the file-infecting viruses, as well as corruption by editing or
defective media, but should NOT be counted on as an anti-virus measure.
[There is no substitute for a good virus checking/integrity checking
software suite. I recommend the shareware program Integrity Master by
Wolfgang Stiller.]
A new "Save configuration" command has been added as "Shf-S" to make
saving the current configuration (Hide switch, Compare mode switch, file
Order mode, etc.). This saves all the current setup data to the .CFG
file. (The Options command at "Shf-O" also calls the same save routine
when it exits, so you do not need to press Shf-S after Shf-O.)
The spacebar has been remapped to tag files. The date/time display is
toggled with the "5%" key.
The editor module has been revised to wrap lines longer than 79
characters, so that there is never any information off-screen. This
makes viewing .COM and .EXE files much easier, and has little effect on
edited text files. This is a display feature only -- the editor does not
insert line delimiters in the text.
----- 5.25 -----
The on-screen Help in the main module has been reorganized for clarity.
----- 5.23 -----
A new file copying option, "copy with rename", has been added as the
command "Alt-R" in the main file services module. It operates only on
the file at the cursor.
CMFiler -- Addendum 1-15