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1992-04-15
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ShapeShifter(tm) Archive Conversion System
Copyright (c)1992 By Curtis Little
All Rights Reserved
"Software Solutions That Make Sense"(tm)
Table of Contents
License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
How to Contact the Support Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Required Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Overview of ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ShapeShifter Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Registering ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Using a Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Selecting menu items with a mouse . . . . . . . . . 9
Selecting an input field with a mouse . . . . . . . 9
Exiting an input screen with a mouse . . . . . . 10
Using a mouse on dialog boxes . . . . . . . . . . 10
Starting ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
ShapeShifter Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . 11
Specifying On/Off Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
ShapeShifter Option Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Archiver Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Author Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Bad files directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Command to Execute After All Conversions Are Complete 15
Command to execute after creating an archive with this
archiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Command to execute before beginning the conversion
session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Command to execute before creating an archive with this
archiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Command to execute before extracting an archive with
this archiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Convert archives containing subdirs . . . . . . . . . 18
Convert to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Create Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Create list of files converted . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Date Stamping Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Dir File(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Dir Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Extract Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
File Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
File Start,Len . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Keep original archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Log File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Logging Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Max age of files to convert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Memory to make available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Preserve Author Verified files . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
R. Just . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Recurse Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Recurse Subdirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Redirect I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Redo archives that are already the target type . . . . 29
Save Converted List in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Scanner Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Scanner supports subdirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Size Start,Len . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Strip attributes (HSR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
SubDirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Switch! to EMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Switch! to XMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Test Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Update BBS/Dir File With New Extension and Size . . . 33
Use 43/50 Line Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Use Switch! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Use Virus Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Appendix A - How ShapeShifter Detects Corrupt
Archives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Appendix B - Archivers, Scanners, and User Programs
Supported by ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Appendix C - ShapeShifter Error Messages . . . . . . . 41
Appendix D - Specifying Command Lines . . . . . . . . 48
Example Command Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
License
You are granted a nonexclusive personal right to use this
Software under the terms stated in this Agreement. Unregistered
users are allowed to evaluate this software for a period NOT TO
EXCEED FIFTEEN (15) DAYS. If, on or before this time expires,
you wish to continue using this software, you must register by
sending the registration fee to the author "Curtis Little" for
EACH COPY to be used. You may not modify or alter the Software
or any of the accompanying files and/or documentation. This
license is effective until terminated. You may terminate it at
any time by destroying your copies of the Software. It will also
terminate if you fail to comply with any term or condition of
this Agreement. You agree upon such termination to destroy your
copies of the Software.
The shareware version of this software may be freely distributed
as long as the following conditions are met:
1) All files are distributed as is and in unmodified form.
2) No more than a $5.00 handling fee can be charged
without the express written consent of the author
"Curtis Little".
3) This Software may not be distributed with or as a part
of any other product or software package without the
express written consent of the author "Curtis Little".
Registered users may not transfer or assign ownership of this
license to any other person without the express written consent
of the author (Curtis Little). Attempts to sublicense, assign,
or transfer any of the rights, duties, or obligations hereunder
is void. You may not copy, modify, alter, electronically
transfer, or lease the registered version of this Software and
supporting files. Registered owners may use this software on
more than one computer providing there is no possibility it will
be used on more than one computer at any one time.
Business and government users of the Software are not allowed the
evaluation period. Use in a business or government institution
without first paying the required registration fee is in
violation of this license agreement.
By using the Software you acknowledge that you have read this
agreement, understand it and agree to be bound by it's terms and
conditions.
4 ShapeShifter License
Warranty
With respect to the physical diskette sent to registered owners,
the author warrants the same to be free from defects in materials
and workmanship for a period of 60 days from the date of
registration. In the event of notification within the warranty
period of defects in material or workmanship the author will
replace the defective diskette. The remedy for breach of this
warranty shall be limited to replacement and shall not encompass
any other damages, including but not limited to loss of profit,
and special, incidental, consequential, or other similar claims.
The author specifically disclaims all other warranties, expressed
or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose and the
program license granted herein in particular, and without
limiting operation of the program license with respect to any
particular application, use, or purpose. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT, LOST SAVINGS, COMMERCIAL
DAMAGE, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT
OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE EVEN IF THE AUTHOR
(Curtis Little) OR AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED
OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER
PARTY.
This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of
California.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 5
Getting Started
Acknowledgments
In this manual several products are referred to:
MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
PKZIP & PKUNZIP are registered trademarks of PKWare, Inc.
ARC is a registered trademark of SEA
IBM PC, XT, AT, and PS/2 are trademarks of International
Business Machines, Inc.
How to Contact the Support Board
An electronic bulletin board is used to support ShapeShifter.
You may contact the support board 24 hours a day. The support
board is:
Lost At C BBS
(209) 521-2143
You may also contact me via US mail at:
2413 San Felipe Way
Modesto, CA 95355
If you have any questions/suggestions regarding ShapeShifter feel
free to call or write. The support board is open to the public,
however, registered users will receive priority service.
Required Equipment
IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or MS-DOS Compatible
MS-DOS 2.0 or above
At least 256K memory available to application programs
6 ShapeShifter - Getting Started
Introduction
Overview of ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter is a highly sophisticated program designed to make
the task of converting from one archive format to another an
effortless task. ShapeShifter is also handy for scanning files
contained in archives for viral infections. ShapeShifter sports
many options affording the user a great degree of flexibility
(ShapeShifter can even be set to automatically update BBS dir
files!). Since ShapeShifter is designed to be used as a command
line utility, it can be used for unattended operation (unattended
operation is effectively available to registered users only due
to the opening delay screen).
This manual is intended as more of a reference than a users
guide. I don't expect that too many people are anxious to sit
down and read a long boring guide about a program when it's
relatively easy to make things work without doing so. At a
minimum you may wish to read this section of the manual to learn
how to call ShapeShifter, and then refer to the reference section
of the manual when you desire to learn the specifics about a
certain field or error message.
This section of the manual lists the major features supported by
ShapeShifter followed by brief instructions on the calling syntax
for ShapeShifter. Later sections of the manual explain each of
ShapeShifter's options in detail.
ShapeShifter Features
ShapeShifter's major features include the following:
o Mouse support
o Support for virtually all archive types both past and
present. The user may configure ShapeShifter to use
future archive types in addition to adding support for
types not configured at default. (And I won't claim
ShapeShifter is the only one to support this like some
others do ;-)
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 7
o Supports a user configured Virus Scanner. The user has
the freedom to determine which virus scanner (if any)
should be used. Even if your scanner doesn't support
subdirs, ShapeShifter can properly handle it so even
archives that do have subdirectories will have every
file scanned!
o ShapeShifter not only can log information about the
files converted, but it can also automatically update
the BBS directory file(s) for virtually all BBS types
available today.
o Supports author verified files created by PKZIP. Since
many authors (like myself) use PKZIPs -AV feature to
certify authentic files, ShapeShifter was designed to
not modify these files unless you specifically tell it
too.
o ShapeShifter can run virtually all archiving programs
to perform the conversion - including memory hogs that
can't be run from other archive converters.
(ShapeShifter uses Switch! technology to free memory
for the archivers that need it).
o Output of the archiver programs can be redirected (and
*yes* this does include LHA!).
o Nested archives are no problem for ShapeShifter.
ShapeShifter can efficiently convert nested archives to
the desired format.
o Provides full support of subdirectories in the
archives. If the archiver you're using supports
subdirs, ShapeShifter can as well!
o Provides full support for file attributes (read only,
hidden, and system). If the archiver you're using
supports attributes, ShapeShifter can as well! If you
desire, ShapeShifter can automatically strip file
attributes during the conversion.
o 43/50 line mode for EGA/VGA adapters is supported.
o ShapeShifter can recurse subdirs looking for files to
convert, allowing simple conversion of every file on
your computer's disk(s)!
8 ShapeShifter - Introduction
o ShapeShifter allows a great deal of customization.
There are numerous options to control operation as well
as hooks you can use to call your own programs to do
things such as save archive comments before conversion,
and then reinsert them after conversion!
It's funny to note the list above doesn't scratch the surface of
ShapeShifter's power. ShapeShifter clearly sets new standards
for archive conversion software.
Registering ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter is *NOT* free software. It is distributed as
shareware to allow users to test it before purchasing it. (It is
shareware instead of commercial simply because I prefer the
shareware concept over the inflated prices that go with
commercial software to cover overhead that the user doesn't care
about anyway). If you like ShapeShifter please send the
registration fee of $10.00 to the author. For a measly $10.00
you will help support this software and help insure new shareware
products will be available from the author. Your $10.00 entitles
you to use any version of ShapeShifter, and includes a way to
remove the beginning and ending delay screens.
Using a Mouse
ShapeShifter supports the use of a mouse. If you have a mouse
driver enabled on your PC, ShapeShifter will automatically turn
on the cursor and be set for use of the mouse. Note that due to
the nature of ShapeShifter, the main place a mouse can be used is
the configuration program (SSCFG). The command line program SS
supports a mouse for the error message prompts only.
Selecting menu items with a mouse
Using a mouse in ShapeShifter is pretty easily. At menus simply
put the cursor on the item you wish to select and click any of
your mouse buttons.
Selecting an input field with a mouse
On field input screens, you may use your mouse to select the
field to edit. Simply put the cursor on the first character of
the input field you wish to modify, click, and the cursor will be
moved to that field ready for input.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 9
Exiting an input screen with a mouse
After you are finished editing fields on an input screen, you may
use the mouse to specify whether to save or abort changes.
Simply click the mouse on the portion of the bottom status line
that contains the text describing what you want to do.
Using a mouse on dialog boxes
ShapeShifter displays prompts and error messages using a dialog
box. With a mouse, simply click on the box containing the answer
you want to give.
Starting ShapeShifter
When you call ShapeShifter you specify what it should do using
parameters on the command line (default settings as well as a few
options that can't be specified on the command line are
configured using SSCFG.EXE). With ShapeShifter you are not
restricted to using different types of parameters in a predefined
order; ShapeShifter can handle parameters in any order you
specify them. The types of parameters that ShapeShifter accepts
are:
o On/Off Options
o Other Options
o File names
Options configure the way ShapeShifter operates. Any parameter
that starts with a '-' or '/' is considered to be an option.
There are two categories of options that you should be aware of.
The first type of option can only have an on or off value. These
options are specified with the following format:
/option[+-]
Note that the trailing + or - sign is optional, and if present
specifies how the option should be set (+ = ON, - = OFF). If you
don't specify a trailing sign the option defaults to ON.
The second type of option is one that can have a value other than
on or off. The format for this type of option is:
/option=XXXXX
Note that the equal sign followed by the value to set the option
is required.
10 ShapeShifter - Introduction
File names specify the file(s) that ShapeShifter should operate
on. ShapeShifter allows you to specify as many filespecs as you
like - any of the specified file names can contain wildcards.
ShapeShifter Command Line Options
There are quite a few options available that allow you to control
how ShapeShifter operates. The following list shows the options
that can be used on the command line (see the option reference
for details on what each option does):
/4 Sets the 43/50 line mode option. (On/Off Option).
/A=XXX Sets the maximum age of files to process. (You must specify
a positive number in place of the XXX listed here).
/C Sets the option to create a list of converted files.
(On/Off Option).
/D=X Sets the date stamping method to use. (You must specify one
of the following letters in place of the X listed here: L
(Last file date), O (Original date), T (Today's date).
/E=XXX Sets the extension to convert to. (A valid configured
extension must be specified in place of the XXX listed
here).
/I Sets the option telling ShapeShifter whether it should
redirect output from the archivers/scanner. (On/Off
Option).
/K Sets the option telling ShapeShifter whether it should keep
the original files that are converted. (On/Off Option).
/L=X Sets the activity logging level (You must specify a number
from 0 to 5 in place of the X listed here).
/M Sets option of mechanical (unattended mode) operation.
(On/Off Option).
/N Sets the option to support conversion of archives that
contain nested archives. (On/Off Option).
/O Sets the option to tell ShapeShifter whether it should redo
options that are already in the target format. (On/Off
Option).
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 11
/P Sets option to protect files created with PKZIP's -AV
feature. (On/Off Option).
/R Sets the option for recursion of directories when looking
for matching files to convert. (On/Off Option).
/S Option to tell ShapeShifter whether it should strip
Read/Hidden/System attributes from files contained in
archives. (On/Off Option).
/T Test mode only option. (On/Off Option).
/U Sets the option specifying whether ShapeShifter should
update the configured BBS directory.
/V Sets the option to use the configured virus scanner.
(On/Off Option).
/X Set support of XMS and EMS for use by Switch! (On/Off
Option).
Specifying On/Off Options
When ShapeShifter scans the command line it looks for options by
looking for a leading '-' or '/'. Once a '-' or '/' is found
ShapeShifter considers the next block of text (until a white space
character is hit) to be options specified by the caller. On the
command line you can turn options on and turn options off. The syntax
for specifying an option is as follows:
-option[-|+][option 2[-|+]][option n...]
Immediately after each option an optional "sign" can be used to
specify whether you want to turn the flag on (+) or off (-). If the
sign isn't specified the option is turned on. To look at an example
let's say you want to use ShapeShifter to strip extended attributes,
use logging level 5, not redo archives already in the target type,
convert to LZH (LHA), and recurse directories. The following lists
several different ways to specify these options (all examples do the
same thing):
-s -l5 -o- -r -e=lzh
-s+ -l5 -o- -r+ -e=lzh
-so-r -l5 -e=lzh
12 ShapeShifter - Introduction
As you can see there is a great deal of flexibility in how you specify
options to ShapeShifter. Choose the method that you feel most
comfortable with.
In the following Chapter each of the options supported by ShapeShifter
will be explained in detail.
ShapeShifter Option Descriptions
The remainder of this chapter will be dedicated to a description
of all options supported by ShapeShifter. The configuration
program SSCFG.EXE should be used to set the default values of
each option to what you prefer. Command line options allow you
to override the defaults you configure as well.
In this chapter each option will be presented in alphabetical
order using the following format:
Screen title (fieldname as displayed by SSCFG).
Command line specifier for this option (if available)
Screen this option is on in SSCFG.
Synopsis (Description of this option)
Notes (any special limitations or notes about this option).
Okay, enough with the introductions, I'll move on to the option
descriptions.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Archiver Name
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 13
This option specifies the name of the archiver associated with a
specific extension (see the 'Extension' option). The name you
specify is used to display what archive type is being converted
to.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Author Verification
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether the archiver supports author
verified files.
Notes
ShapeShifter currently only supports PKZIP -AV files. Other
author verification such as ARJ's security envelopes are not
supported. (This decision mirrors the fact that PKZIPs -AV
feature is currently the only one in wide use for BBS files).
If you have ShapeShifter configured to leave author verified
files alone (see the 'Preserve Author Verified files" option) it
will check for -AV files when converting from an archiver type
that has the Author Verification option set to 'Yes' (On).
WARNING: ShapeShifter does not use an external command or
archiver to determine if a file has -AV. Instead, it looks
direct into the file expecting it to be in ZIP format.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Bad files directory
Command Line Specifier
** Not available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
14 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Synopsis
This option specifies a directory for ShapeShifter to move files
that it can't successfully convert. If you specify a value here,
ShapeShifter will move all archives it encounters an error on
when converting. (If the directory name you specify doesn't
exist, ShapeShifter will create it).
Notes
ShapeShifter considers a file bad if *any* error prevents it from
being properly converted. Errors that keep a file from being
properly converted include disk errors as well as corrupt
archives. For a complete list of circumstances that cause
ShapeShifter to consider the archive to be bad see the appendix
'How ShapeShifter Detects Corrupt Archives'.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Command to Execute After All Conversions Are Complete
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
External Command Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the command line that ShapeShifter will
execute after all file conversions are done.
Notes
This option provides a way for you to do any special cleanup
desired.
Note that the standard fields available for command lines from
ShapeShifter don't have meaning for this command line.
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to
specify a command line to ShapeShifter.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Command to execute after creating an archive with this archiver
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 15
SSCFG This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies a command line that ShapeShifter will
execute after each new archive of this type is created.
Notes
If the command returns control with a non-zero error level set,
ShapeShifter will consider the archive corrupt and restore the
original file.
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to
specify a command line to ShapeShifter.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Command to execute before beginning the conversion session
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
External Command Options
Synopsis
This option specifies a DOS command line that ShapeShifter should
execute before it converts the first file.
Notes
This provides you a way to do preliminary setup before
ShapeShifter starts it's operation. Note that if the program you
specify returns an error level, ShapeShifter will consider it a
signal to abort the conversion.
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to
specify a command line to ShapeShifter.
Note that the standard fields available for command lines from
ShapeShifter don't have meaning for this command.
-------------------------------------------------------------
16 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Command to execute before creating an archive with this archiver
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies a command line that ShapeShifter will
execute before *each* archive of this type is created. (See the
section 'Command Lines' for details on specifying command lines
to ShapeShifter).
Notes
If the command returns control with an error level set,
ShapeShifter will consider the archive to be corrupt and will
abort the conversion of the file.
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to
specify a command line to ShapeShifter.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Command to execute before extracting an archive with this
archiver
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies a command line that should be executed
before *each* archive of the current type is extracted.
Notes
If the command that is executed returns control with an error
level set, the current archive will be considered corrupt and
won't be converted.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 17
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to
specify a command line to ShapeShifter.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Convert archives containing subdirs
Command Line Specifier
** Not available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should convert
archives that contain subdirectories. When you set this option
to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will convert archives that contain
subdirectories (if the archiver used to extract the file *and*
the archiver used to create the new file support subdirs). When
you set this option to 'No' (Off), ShapeShifter will not convert
files with subdirectories - even if the archivers do support
dirs.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Convert to (Extension to convert files to)
Command Line Specifier
/E=XXX
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the file extension to convert archives to.
The extension you specify must be an extension that is configured
as an archive extension using SSCFG.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Create Command (Command to execute to create an archive)
Command Line Specifiers
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
18 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Synopsis
This option specifies the command line required to create an
archive with the specified archiver.
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to
specify a command line to ShapeShifter.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Create list of files converted
Command Line Specifiers
/C
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should create a list
of the files that are converted. If this option is set to 'Yes'
(On), ShapeShifter creates a list of files converted in the file
specified by the 'Save Converted List in' option.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Date Stamping Method
Command Line Specifier
/D=X (Where X is replaced by one of the options listed
below)
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option determines what file date stamping option
ShapeShifter is going to use. The date stamping method may be
one of the following:
Date Stamping Method What it means
-------------------- -------------
0 or O Original date - converted
files will have the same file
date after the conversion as
they did before ShapeShifter
saw them.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 19
1 or T Today's date - converted files
will be time stamped with the
date and time they were
converted.
2 or L Last files date - converted
files will be time stamped
with the date and time of the
latest file found within them.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dir File(s)
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the BBS dir file(s) to update (update only
occurs if you have the 'Update BBS/Dir file with new extension
and size' option set to 'Yes').
You may specify multiple filespecs in this field (separated by a
space), and any of the filespecs may contain wildcards.
Notes
When you have ShapeShifter configured to update a BBS file
listing, *all* files matching the specs you specify in this field
will be searched for files matching those that were converted.
For faster operation you should not specify filespecs that will
cause excessive files to be searched.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dir Type
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
20 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
This option specifies the type of BBS directory file that
ShapeShifter should update. (You must set the 'Update BBS/Dir
file with new Extension and Size' option to 'Yes' to tell
ShapeShifter to update the file).
The following dir types are currently supported by ShapeShifter:
Auntie (v 511 format)
PC Board (v14.5 format)
ProDoor
Quick BBS
TBBS
User Defined
Notes
The support for defined BBS types is current as of the release of
this software. In order to provide support for future versions
with a different format, or for a type not listed above, you may
use the user defined type to tell ShapeShifter about the DIR file
format.
It should be noted that ShapeShifter can't support every possible
file format. To be able to update a BBS dir file, ShapeShifter
has three requirements:
The column that filenames start in must be reserved for the
filename and not overlaid with other data on any line. If
data other than the filename can lie in the starting
filename column, ShapeShifter may incorrectly think it found
a file when it didn't.
A file size field must be present, and it must reside on the
same line as the filename. In addition, it must be non-
zero.
The filename and size must each start in a fixed column.
To update a user defined BBS file listing type, you must specify
the file and size starting column information. See the following
options to specify the layout of a user defined file listing:
File Start, Len
Size Start, Len
and R. Just
-------------------------------------------------------------
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 21
Extension (Archive Extension)
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the extension used by a given archiver (if
you're looking for the extension to convert to, see the 'Convert
To' option).
The extension you specify is used by ShapeShifter to identify
files created by this archiver.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Extract Command (Command to extract files from an archive)
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifiers the command line required to extract files
using the specified archiver.
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to
specify a command line to ShapeShifter.
-------------------------------------------------------------
File Attributes (Does the archiver support file attributes)
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
22 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Synopsis
This option specifies whether the current archiver supports
Hidden/System/Read only attributes.
Notes
If you have ShapeShifter configured to strip attributes (see the
'Strip attributes' option), this option is ignored.
-------------------------------------------------------------
File Start,Len
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the starting column and length of the
filename field in the BBS file listing. The value you specify
here is only used when you set the 'Dir Type' option to user
defined.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Keep original archive (Keep the original archive in addition to
the newly converted version)
Command Line Specifier
/K[+-]
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether or not ShapeShifter should keep the
original archive file after conversion. If you set this option
to 'Yes' (On) both the original archive and the newly created
archive will be kept on the disk. You should set this option to
'No' (Off) to cause the original archive to be removed after
being successfully converted.
Notes
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 23
It isn't possible for ShapeShifter to honor the redo archives
option when this option is set (since redoing an archive implies
you will modify the original). When this option is set it
automatically overrides the Redo option.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Log File
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the file name (or logical device) that
ShapeShifter should log information about files converted to.
Notes
The logging level option must be set to non-zero for activity
logging to occur.
The file you specify may be a logical DOS device if desired. For
instance, PRN causes output to go to the printer attached to your
computer on LPT1.
If the file you specify already exists, ShapeShifter will append
the logging information to the end of the file.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Logging Level
Command Line Specifier
/L=X (Where X is replaced by a number from 0 to 5)
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the activity logging level for ShapeShifter
to use. When set to a non-zero value and a log file is specified
(see the 'Log File' option), ShapeShifter will log activity as it
converts files. The following table shows the various log level
values and what they do:
24 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Level Result
----- ------
0 No activity logging is performed
1 Lists file names converted in addition to errors
encountered.
2 File sizes (before and after are added to data
logged from lower levels)
3 Internal (nested) archive names that were
converted are added to the data from lower logging
levels.
4 Totals by subdirectory are added to the data from
lower log levels.
5 Adds overall totals to the other log levels.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Max age of files to convert
Command Line Specifier
/A=X (Where X is replaced by the number of days)
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option sets the maximum age of files to be converted. If
you set this option to a non-zero value, only files that are
newer than the conversion date minus the maximum age will be
converted. The following examples show how this option works:
Max Age Setting What ShapeShifter Does
--------------- ----------------------
0 Converts all archives that match
the specified filespecs -
regardless of age.
1 Only converts archives that match
the specified filespecs and have a
file date of yesterday or later.
2 Only converts archives that match
the specified filespecs and have a
file date no more than 2 days old.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 25
-------------------------------------------------------------
Memory to make available (Amount of memory to free for archiver)
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the amount of memory to make available for
the archiver when Switch! is used (see the 'Use Switch!' option).
Notes
A value of 640 as well as 0 causes the maximum amount of memory
to be freed for running the current archiver.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Preserve Author Verified files
Command Line Specifier
/L
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should leave -AV files
(created by PKZIP) alone when it converts files.
-------------------------------------------------------------
R. Just (Is the file size field right justified)
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
26 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Synopsis
This option specifies whether or not the file size field is right
justified when you use a user defined dir type. (See the 'Dir
Type' option).
-------------------------------------------------------------
Recurse Archives (Convert archives that are nested inside other
archives)
Command Line Specifier
/N
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether archives inside files that are
converted should also be converted. If this option is set to
'No' (Off), any archives inside a file being converted will be
untouched. If this option is set to 'Yes' (On), archives within
files being converted will also be converted. ShapeShifter can
properly handle nested archives to virtually any level.
Notes
If you set this option to 'No', ShapeShifter will still
successfully convert (if no other errors occur) archives that
contain nested archives. Be aware that archives within converted
files will be left in their original format unless you turn this
option on though.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Recurse Subdirs (Recurse subdirectories looking for matching
files to convert)
Command Line Specifier
/R
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should search
subdirectories for the specified files as it looks for files to
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 27
convert. If you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter
searches the child directories of each file specification looking
for matching files. If you set this option to 'No' (Off),
ShapeShifter will only look in the directories specified for
filespecs.
Notes
The file specifications you use with ShapeShifter are honored
even when this option is set. Consider the following examples:
File Spec What ShapeShifter does with Recurse On
--------- --------------------------------------
*.ZIP Searches the current directory as well
as child directories for .ZIP files to
convert.
\*.* Searches the entire current drive for
files of any of the configured archive
types to convert.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Redirect I/O (Redirect I/O from the virus scanners and
archivers)
Command Line Specifier
/I
SSCFG Screen This Option Is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter attempts to
redirect the output from archivers and the virus scanner.
Note
ShapeShifter's output redirection requires output to be DOS
redirectable. (Note, ShapeShifter *can* successfully redirect
output from LHA and similar programs!).
Although ShapeShifter can redirect output, it isn't really
necessary. ShapeShifter can cause all but direct screen writes
to be within it's defined window area.
------------------------------------------------------------
28 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Redo archives that are already the target type
Command Line Specifier
/O
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter will recreate
archives that are already in the target format.
Notes
Recreation of archives already in the target format is a handy
way to remove BBS ad comments in addition to allowing you to
insure the maximum compression of the archiver was used.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Save Converted List in
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies the filename (or logical device) for
ShapeShifter to save the list of filenames that were converted.
Notes
You may specify a filename or a DOS device for output of the
converted files list. For example, PRN causes output to go to
the device attached to LPT1.
If you specify the name of a file that already exists,
ShapeShifter will append the converted file names to the end of
the file.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Scanner Command
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 29
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option allows you to specify the DOS command line for the
virus scanner of your choice.
Notes
See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for information on
special features available in ShapeShifter for command line
specification.
ShapeShifter requires a virus scanner that sets the DOS error
level if a virus is detected (if you desire to use a virus
scanner). The scanner should use an exit code (errorlevel) of 0
if there were no viral infections detected. A non-zero exit code
is interpreted by ShapeShifter as saying one or more of the files
are infected.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Scanner supports subdirs
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether or not the virus scanner you're
using supports automatic searching of child directories.
Notes
ShapeShifter doesn't require a scanner that supports subdirs. If
you set this option to 'No' (Off), ShapeShifter will call the
scanner to look at files in each directory as required. Setting
this option to 'Yes' (On) may be faster for virus scanners that
support dirs.
-------------------------------------------------------------
30 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Size Start,Len
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option sets the starting column and length of the file size
field in a user defined BBS listing. ShapeShifter will only use
the values you specify here if you set the 'Dir Type' option to
user defined.
Take a look at the 'R. Just' option to specify whether or not the
file size field is right justified.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Strip attributes (HSR)
Command Line Specifier
/S
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option allows you to tell ShapeShifter to remove Hidden,
System, and Read Only attributes found on files that are inside
archives being converted.
If you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will remove
all hidden/system/read only file attributes.
Notes
If the archiver you're converting to doesn't support file
attributes and this option is off, ShapeShifter will report an
error on attempts to convert any archive that contains files with
one of the attributes set. If on the otherhand you turn this
option on, ShapeShifter will remove the file attributes thus
allowing the archiver to handle the files.
-------------------------------------------------------------
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 31
SubDirs (Does the archiver support subdirs)
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether the current archiver supports
subdirectories within archives.
Notes
If you have ShapeShifter configured to support subdirs (see the
'Convert archives containing subdirs' option) and this option is
set to 'No' (Off), ShapeShifter will not allow conversion of
archives with subdirs when converting to this type of archive.
Note that if ShapeShifter isn't configured to support conversion
of archives with subdirs, this option is ignored.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Switch! to EMS
Command Line Specifier
/X (Note: This command line specifier also enables use of
XMS as a first choice)
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter uses EMS when
Switch!ing memory.
Notes
Switch! is only used if you configure it to be used for a given
archiver. (See the 'Use Switch' option description).
-------------------------------------------------------------
32 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Switch! to XMS
Command Line Specifier
/X (Note: This command line specifier also enables use of
EMS as a second choice)
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter uses XMS when
Switch!ing memory.
Notes
Switch! is only used if you configure it to be used for a given
archiver. (See the 'Use Switch' option description).
-------------------------------------------------------------
Test Only
Command Line Specifier
/T
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
When this option is set to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will go
through all the steps to convert the files you specify without
actually creating or removing the old files.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Update BBS/Dir File With New Extension and Size
Command Line Specifier
/U
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Option
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 33
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should update a BBS
type DIR file with the new file extensions and sizes. If you set
this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will update the file(s)
specified (see the 'Dir File(s)' option).
Notes
ShapeShifter uses several options to determine how to locate file
names and sizes in the BBS directory for updating. See the 'Dir
Type' option description.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Use 43/50 Line Mode
Command Line Specifier
/4
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should operate using
43/50 line mode instead of the standard 25 lines.
Notes
This option is only available with an EGA, VGA, or equivalent.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Use Switch!
Command Line Specifier
** Not Available **
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Archiver Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should use Switch! for
the current archiver. Switch! is a special function that allows
ShapeShifter to free virtually all the memory it is using to make
it available for running the archiver.
34 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Notes
This option is closely related to several other options:
Memory to make available
Switch! to EMS
Switch! to XMS
-------------------------------------------------------------
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 35
Use Virus Scanner
Command Line Specifier
/V
SSCFG Screen This Option is On
Misc Options
Synopsis
This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should use the
configured virus scanner (see the 'Scanner Command' option). If
you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will use the
virus scanner you specified with SSCFG.
Notes
ShapeShifter requires a virus scanner that sets the DOS error
level if a virus is detected (if you desire to use a virus
scanner). The scanner should use an exit code (errorlevel) of 0
if there were no viral infections detected. A non-zero exit code
is interpreted by ShapeShifter as saying one or more of the files
are infected.
-------------------------------------------------------------
36 ShapeShifter - Option Reference
Appendices
Appendix A - How ShapeShifter Detects Corrupt Archives.
There are many circumstances that can keep an archive from being
successfully converted. The following is an alphabetic list by
error message (as displayed on the ShapeShifter conversion
screen) detailing all valid reasons for stoppage of a conversion,
and whether the file will be considered corrupt by ShapeShifter
(i.e. a corrupt file is moved to the configured bad files
directory). Note that ShapeShifter will *NOT* delete a file for
being corrupt - this is a decision best left to the user!
Archive Moved
Reason for failure To Bad Files Dir
------------------ ----------------
(-AV File)
Author verification was detected in *NO*
the file and you have ShapeShifter
configured to preserve author verified
files. (This is not considered as a
corrupt archive - it just keeps
ShapeShifter from modifying the file).
(AttrAbort)
File attributes are contained in the Yes
archive to be converted when the type
of archive you're converting to isn't
configured as supporting attributes
(and you don't have ShapeShifter set
to strip attributes).
(Corrupt)
Archiver returns with an error level Yes
set when ShapeShifter attempts to
extract the contents of a file.
(CreateErr)
The archiver returned with an error Yes
level set when ShapeShifter attempted
to create the new file.
(CreateErr)
The target file already exists. Yes
(CreateErr)
The expected target file couldn't be Yes
found after the archive creation
command was completed.
38 ShapeShifter Appendices
(DirAbort)
Subdirectories were detected in the Yes
archive when the type of archive
you're converting to isn't configured
as supporting dirs, or ShapeShifter is
configured to not allow conversion of
files containing subdirs.
(EXEC Err)
Failure to spawn the archiver, virus Yes
scanner, or a user command (i.e. not
enough memory, command not found, etc)
(INFECTED!)
Virus Scanner returns with an error Yes
level set.
(RedoAbort)
When attempting to redo an archive Yes
that was already in the target format,
ShapeShifter was unable to generate a
unique filename. (It tries 1000
different extensions when attempting to
create a temp file for the conversion).
(Skipped)
Skipped file because it is already *NO*
in the target format and ShapeShifter
isn't configured to redo archives
already in the target format.
(SysError)
Internal program error Yes
(This occurs if a system or internal
error in ShapeShifter occurs).
(UserAbort)
User configured program returns with Yes
an error level set.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 39
Appendix B - Archivers, Scanners, and User Programs Supported by
ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter supports a wide variety of programs including user
commands that allow you to customize operation for a variety of
situations. There is one *major* requirement for a program to
work properly with ShapeShifter - use of the DOS error level
(exit code). ShapeShifter expects commands to return with the
error level set if an error is detected (it doesn't matter what
the error level is set to - as long as it's non-zero). Likewise,
ShapeShifter expects the error level to be cleared (set to zero)
when an error doesn't occur.
Any program that returns control to ShapeShifter with a non-zero
errorlevel set can't be used. On the other hand, if a program
always returns control with the error level cleared, ShapeShifter
will work with the program but will be crippled in that it can't
detect when an archive is corrupt.
40 ShapeShifter Appendices
Appendix C - ShapeShifter Error Messages
This appendix gives a list (alphabetical) of the common
ShapeShifter error messages. Each message is accompanied by a
short description describing what the message means.
Abort ShapeShifter?
This message is displayed when the ESCape key is pressed
during a conversion session.
Aborted: Archive creation error
This message occurs when the archiver fails to create the
archive as expected. Note that this message is only used
when you have activity logging turned on.
Aborted: Contains subdirs
This message occurs when ShapeShifter fails to convert an
archive because it contains subdirs and the archive being
converted to doesn't support dirs (or you have ShapeShifter
configured not to support them). Note that this message is
only used when you have activity logging turned on.
Aborted: Contains attributes
This message occurs when ShapeShifter fails to convert an
archive because one or more files in the archive have an
attribute set, and the archive type you're converting to
isn't configured as supporting attributes. You may also
specify the strip attributes option to overcome this
problem. Note that this message is only used when you have
activity logging turned on.
Aborted: Internal error
This message occurs when an internal error in ShapeShifter
kept the archive from being properly converted. Note that
this message is only used when you have activity logging
turned on.
Aborted: User program canceled
This message occurs when a user configured program returns a
non-zero exit code (causing the conversion of the current
archive to be aborted). Note that this message is only used
when you have activity logging turned on.
Aborted: VIRUS! INFECTED!
This message occurs when the configured virus scanner
returns a non-zero exit code after scanning files contained
in an archive. Note that this message is only used when you
have activity logging turned on.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 41
<ext>: Already defined for archiver (<archiver name>). Replace?
This message is displayed by SSCFG when you save archiver
information containing an extension already defined for
another archiver. ShapeShifter only supports one archiver
per extension, so it isn't possible to have the same
extension listed for use with two different archivers
(although you may use different archivers for the create and
extract commands since you specify the command line to be
used! Typically this is done for programs such as PKZIP
that use separate programs to create and extract files).
Archiver name must be specified.
This message is displayed by SSCFG when you attempt to save
information about an archiver with the archiver name listed
as blank. The archiver name is a mandatory field - if you
don't want to save the archiver information abort by
pressing ESCape instead of using the F10 key.
AttrAbort
This message is displayed in the work history window for a
file that is not converted since it contains attributes, and
the archive type you're converting to isn't configured as
supporting attributes. (Use the strip attributes option to
overcome this).
-AV File
This message is displayed next to a file in the work history
window to indicate the file wasn't converted because it
contained the PKZIP -AV marking (and you have ShapeShifter
configured to leave AV files alone).
Both the redo & protect options are set - ignoring the redo
option
This message is displayed when you specify ShapeShifter
should redo existing archives AND keep the old files.
(Since redoing a file implies it will be changed, it is not
possible to redo the file and keep the old one too. This
message just lets you know that ShapeShifter is protecting
the original files and ignoring the request to redo files
that are already in the target format).
Complete
This message is displayed in the work history window (and
log file) indicating a file was successfully converted.
Configuration not initialized. Run SSCFG.
Before you use ShapeShifter for the first time you *must*
run the configuration program. Run SSCFG and save the
configuration to overcome this message.
42 ShapeShifter Appendices
Corrupt
This message is displayed in the work history window (and
log file) indicating an archive was corrupt. ShapeShifter
considers the archive corrupt when the archiver used to
extract the files returns a non-zero exit code.
CreateErr
This message is displayed in the work history window. It
occurs when any of the following happen:
Archiver returns a non-zero exit code when ShapeShifter
asks it to create the new archive.
The target file already exists. (I.E. you're
converting TEST.ZIP to LZH and TEST.LZH already
exists).
The new archive file can't be found after the
conversion is complete.
Create command appears to be missing the archive file name
specifier.
This message is displayed by SSCFG when you save the
information about an archiver if the create command doesn't
contain one of the substitution fields to specify the
filename. Since an archiver generally requires the name of
the file that should be created you probably should add the
proper substitution field so ShapeShifter can tell the
archiver which file is being worked on. (It is suggested
you use the %1 field, but other fields are also available).
DirAbort
This message is displayed in the work history window when an
archive conversion is aborted because the archive contains
dirs (and the archive type you're converting to doesn't
support them OR ShapeShifter is configured to not allow
conversion of archives containing subdirs).
Error: Invalid option (X)
This message occurs when you specify an invalid command line
option (the X is replaced by the letter of the invalid
option).
EXEC Err
This message is displayed in the work history window when an
error keeps one of the configured commands from being
executed (archiver, virus scanner, and user commands are
included). In general this error means the command you
specified either doesn't exist in your path, or there isn't
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 43
enough memory to run the command. Memory problems for the
archivers can be overcome by using the Switch! option. If
you're having memory problems for other commands - please
let me know - if there is a need I can add use of Switch!
for all commands.
EXEC Failure
This message means the same as EXEC Err (listed above),
except this message is what appears in the activity log.
Extension is blank. Save record anyway?
This message is displayed by SSCFG when you ask to save
information about an archiver with a blank extension.
Although this isn't really an error, it's brought to your
attention because most archivers use a non-blank extension
for archives created.
Extract command appears to be missing the archive file name
specifier.
This message is displayed by SSCFG when you save the
information about an archiver if the extract command doesn't
contain one of the substitution fields to specify the
filename. Since an archiver generally requires the name of
the file that should be extracted you should add the proper
substitution field so ShapeShifter can tell the archiver
which file is being worked on. (It is suggested you use the
%1 field, but other fields are also available).
File length too large.
This error message is displayed by SSCFG when the file
length (for the user defined BBS dir) is too large. The
maximum value ShapeShifter allows is 70.
<file>: Has a size bigger than the size field! <file size>
This error occurs when ShapeShifter is asked to update a dir
file that contains a file size field that is defined as
being smaller than the minimum required for the file. (For
example, the dir type has a file size of 6 associated with
it, and the actual file size is over 999,999 bytes).
INFECTED!
This is the message that is displayed in the work history
window when the virus scanner indicates one or more files
inside an archive are infected with a virus.
Invalid date stamping method:
An invalid date stamping method was specified on the command
line.
44 ShapeShifter Appendices
No file(s) specified/found to convert.
This occurs when you don't specify filespecs to convert, or
if there aren't any files of a configured archive type that
match the filespecs you specify.
No matching dir files!
This occurs when you have the option set to update a BBS dir
file, but no DIR files are found matching the filespecs you
configured.
Pre command returned error: <9> Continue conversion?
This message is displayed when the external pre command (the
one that is ran before any conversions are done) returns a
non-zero exit code.
<file>: Read error.
There was an error encountered when ShapeShifter tried to
read the specified file.
RedoAbort
This message is displayed in the work history window when
ShapeShifter is unable to create a unique extension for a
file already in the target format that is being redone.
ShapeShifter tries 1000 different extensions before giving
up.
Size length too large.
This message is displayed by SSCFG when the length of the
size field (for the user defined BBS type) exceeds the
maximum ShapeShifter allows. The maximum supported is 20
characters.
Skipped
This message is displayed in the work history window when a
file is skipped because it's already in the target format
and the redo option is turned off.
Skipped: (Already in target format)
This message is the same as above except it's the one
displayed in the activity log.
Skipped: -AV File
This message is displayed in the activity log when a file is
skipped because it contains PKZIPs AV signature (and you
have ShapeShifter configured to leave AV files alone).
SysError:
This message is displayed in the work history window when an
internal ShapeShifter or operating system error occurs.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 45
Target archiver create command is blank:
This message is displayed when you ask ShapeShifter to
convert to an extension that doesn't have a create command
specified.
Unable to create a temp directory.
This error means ShapeShifter was unable to create it's temp
work directory for conversion of a file. (ShapeShifter
creates a working directory as a child dir of the path
containing the original file to be converted). If you get
this error message your file is either in the root directory
of a disk with a completely full root, or is likely on a
disk that you don't have write capabilities to (i.e. a
network security problem).
<file>: Unable to open.
This error message occurs when SSCFG can't open the
configuration file for reading.
Unable to open file for converted files list
This message is displayed when ShapeShifter is unable to
open the file you specified for saving the list of converted
files in.
Unable to open log file
This message is displayed when ShapeShifter is unable to
open the file you specified for activity logging in.
Unable to read configuration file.
This message means that ShapeShifter can't locate the
configuration file (or the file is corrupt).
Unable to rename to <file>
This message is displayed when the attempt to rename the
temp file created while an archive of the target type is
redone fails.
UserAbort
This message is displayed in the work history window when
conversion of an archive is aborted because one of the user
defined commands returned a non-zero exit code.
<file>: Version x.x required to read.
This message is displayed if your configuration file was
created with a later version of ShapeShifter than you're
currently using (and the format was changed). You should
use the same version of ShapeShifter (or a later one) than
you use to create the configuration file.
46 ShapeShifter Appendices
You must define some archivers before saving!
This message is displayed by SSCFG if you attempt to save
the configuration file while no archivers are defined.
You must specify what to convert file(s) to. Use /EXT=xxx
This message is displayed when you run ShapeShifter with an
invalid extension specified as the target. (ShapeShifter
requires the target extension to be configured as an
archive).
You probably need to specify *.* in the create command.
This message is displayed by SSCFG when you ask to save the
current archiver information and the create command doesn't
contain *.* in it. For most archivers you need to specify
the files to add to the newly created archive (which means
you should have *.* in your command line).
<file>: Write error.
This message is displayed by SSCFG when an error occurs
writing the configuration file.
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 47
Appendix D - Specifying Command Lines
Several of ShapeShifter's options are intended to contain a
command line. In ShapeShifter the text you type as the command
line is handled to look as if you typed it at the DOS prompt -
with an important exception. Before passing the command line to
DOS, ShapeShifter first examines the command line to determine
the location of fields such as the current filename.
To allow you to specify where things like the filename should go,
ShapeShifter supports a type of field substitution. The
following table lists fields that ShapeShifter supports. When
ShapeShifter encounters the text in a command line option it will
perform the substitution listed in the table. (Note that it
doesn't matter if there are spaces before or after the field in
the command line. In addition, case is not sensitive. You may
specify the fields using upper or lower case):
Field Value that is substituted
----- -------------------------
%1 The full path of the file (includes the filename
and extension).
%D Drive letter of the file currently being
converted.
%E The extension of the file that's being converted.
%F Filename that's being converted (without the
extension).
%N The filename and extension that's being converted.
%P Directory of the file being converted.
%% Sends a single percent sign. This allows you to
override the substitution that ShapeShifter
normally performs when a field listed above is
required in the command line. For instance, if
your command line contains %%D, ShapeShifter will
send %D to the command line instead of
substituting the drive for %D.
Notes: The extension that's substituted (for any field that
contains an extension) depends on where in the
conversion process you are. The extension you're
converting to is substituted in the following commands:
48 ShapeShifter Appendices
Archive create command
Command to execute after extracting an archive
Command to execute after creating an archive
For the extract command as well as the command to
execute before extracting an archive, the original file
extension is substituted.
Commands that don't appear on the archiver options screen in
SSCFG don't have valid values for the fields listed above (i.e.
this includes the scanner command, command to execute before
beginning the conversion, and the command to execute after all
conversions are done). If any of the fields are specified in
these command lines, they will be removed.
Example Command Lines
The following examples assume that you're converting a file
called IC186.ZIP to IC186.LZH. For the examples, the directory
IC186.ZIP is in is: D:\CATALOG.
Command Line Field This Command Line Is In
------------ -----------------------------
mycmd %f %e Command to execute before extracting the
archive.
Resulting command line that's executed: mycmd IC186 ZIP
----------------------------------------------
mycmd %f %e Command to execute after extracting the
archive.
Resulting command line that's executed: mycmd IC186 LZH
----------------------------------------------
pkunzip %1 Archive extract command
Resulting command line that's executed:
pkunzip D:\CATALOG\IC186.ZIP
----------------------------------------------
lha a %1 *.* Archive create command
Resulting command line that's executed:
lha a D:\CATALOG\IC186.LZH *.*
----------------------------------------------
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 49
mycmd %1 %%1 Command to execute after archive is created
Resulting command line that's executed:
mycmd D:\CATALOG\IC186.LZH %1
50 ShapeShifter Appendices
Index
activity logging
setting level 24
age of files
specifying 25
archive to convert to
specifying 18
archiver
create command 18
extract command 22
support dir option
32
archiver name
option 13
archives
detecting corrupt
38
recursing 27
redoing 29
attributes
stripping 31
author verification
option 14
author verified files
preserving 26
AV files
preserving 26
bad files directory
option 14
bbs
support 6
BBS DIR
specifying type 20
update option 33
command lines
specifying 48
convert archives with
subdirs
option 18
convert to
option 18
converted files
create list of 19
converted list filename
option 29
corrupt archives
detecting 38
create command
option 18
date stamping option 19
dir
size start,len
option 31
dir file
file start,len
options 23
option 20
r. just option 26
update option 33
dir type
option 20
dirs
archiver support 32
EMS
Switch!ing to 32
equipment
required 6
error messages 41
work history window
38
extension
converting to 18
option 22
extract command
option 22
features 7
field substitution
in command lines 48
file attributes
archiver option 22
file start,len
option 23
i/o redirection 28
keep original archive
option 23
license 4
log filename
option 24
logging level
option 24
max age of files to
convert
option 25
memory
making available 26
memory to make available
option 26
options
archiver name 13
author verification
14
bad files directory
14
command line 11
command to execute
before
conversion 16
convert archives
with subdirs
18
convert to 18
converted list
filename 29
create command 18
create list of
converted files
19
date stamping 19
dir file 20
dir type 20
extension (of
archiver) 22
extract command 22
file attributes 22
file start,len 23
keep original
archive 23
log filename 24
logging level 24
max age of files 25
memory to make
available 26
overview 10
preserve author
verified files
26
r. just 26
recurse archives 27
recurse subdirs 27
redirect i/o 28
redo archives 29
scanner command 29
scanner supports
dirs 30
size start,len 31
specifying 12
strip attributes 31 subdirs (archiver
support) 32
Switch! to ems 32
Switch! to xms 33
test only 33
update bbs dir 33
use 43/50 line mode
34
use Switch! 34
use virus scanner
36
parameter
types 10
preserve author verified
files
option 26
protecting
original file 23
purchasing 9
r. just
option 26
recurse archives
option 27
recurse subdirs
option 27
redirect i/o
option 28
redo archives
option 29
registering 9
required equipment 6
scanner command
option 29
scanner supports dirs
option 30
size start,len
dir option 31
specifying
age of files 25
archive to convert
to 18
BBS dir filename 20
BBS dir type 20
command lines 48
date stamp method
19
Starting ShapeShifter 10
strip attributes
option 31
ShapeShifter - User's Guide 53
subdirs
recursing 27
support option 18
subdirs (archiver
support)
option 32
support
getting 6
Switch! to EMS
option 32
Switch! to xms
option 33
test only
option 33
update bbs dir
option 33
use 43/50 lines
option 34
use Switch!
option 34
use virus scanner
option 36
virus scanner
command 29
using 36
warranty 5
XMS
Switch!ing to 33
54