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MAKEIDX
If you want to speed up the time it takes PCBoard to scan the files for
download on your CD-ROM or hard drive, create one or more index files using
MAKEIDX.
Syntax
MAKEIDX [path file] [index file]
[path file] The path file is read by MAKEIDX to determine the filenames
that should be stored in the index file. This file is a
regular ASCII file with one path listed on each line. If
you do not include an extension for this file, .PTH will
be assumed.
[index file] This is the index file that will be created by MAKEIDX. The
index will contain all files stored in the paths listed in
the path file. There is a limit of 65,535 files per index.
If you have more than 65,000 files available on your system,
create more index files. If you do not include an extension
for this file, .IDX will be assumed.
Creating the Path File
Use any ASCII text editor to create the path file. On each line, type in a
path that you want MAKEIDX to search for files to put in the index. If the
path you specified has child subdirectories, they will automatically be
included in the index. For example, if you have a CD-ROM (drive J) and want
to create an index file of the entire drive, create a path file which
contains the following line:
J:\
Since MAKEIDX searches paths recursively, it will search all of the files on
drive J. This is much faster than having to type in all of the paths on your
CD-ROM into the path file.
Another example may involve one of the hard drives on your system. This
index may be a little more tricky because you do not want to make all of the
files on that drive available for download. What you need to do is specify
only the paths you want MAKEIDX to search in the path file as shown in the
following example:
D:\DL1\
D:\DL2\
D:\DL3\
D:\SPECIAL\
When you create the index, all files in the D:\DL1\, D:\DL2\, D:\DL3\, and
D:\SPECIAL\ subdirectories will be included in the index file.
NOTE: Do not include the paths to any public or private upload file
directories in your index files. The index files are static and do not get
updated when files are uploaded to the system. To update the index files you
must recreate them using MAKEIDX.
Creating the Index File
Once you have created a path file you can create the index file using
MAKEIDX. For this example, let's assume your path file is called CDROM1.PTH
and the contents of the file are as follows:
I:\
To create the index, type the following:
MAKEIDX CDROM1.PTH CDROM1.IDX
On the upper lefthand corner of your screen you will see a list of the paths
being searched. Once the paths have been searched, PCBoard will sort the
files and write the index to disk. You will find the index file in the
location you specified when running MAKEIDX. Now that the index file has
been created, modify the configuration of PCBoard to use the index file you
created.
Updating PCBoard to Use Index Files
The only place PCBoard will recognize index files inside of the DLPATH.LST
file. Each conference has a field that specifies the DLPATH.LST file that
will be used. Once you have created an index, edit DLPATH.LST and make sure
any paths listed in your DLPATH.LST are deleted. For example, if your
original DLPATH.LST resembled the following
D:\DL1\
D:\DL2\
D:\DL3\
D:\DL4\
D:\DL5\
D:\UPLOAD\
and you created an index which stores the filenames of the first five
directories, modify your DLPATH.LST file to read:
D:\UPLOAD\
Next, insert a line and type % followed by the location and filename of the
index you want PCBoard to use. If you create your index in the C:\PCB\INDEX\
subdirectory and called it CONF0.IDX, you will have the following entries in
your DLPATH.LST file:
D:\UPLOAD\
%C:\PCB\INDEX\CONF0.IDX
If you do not put the % at the beginning of the line, PCBoard will not find
the index. Instead, it will treat C:\PCB\INDEX\CONF0.IDX as a subdirectory
and attempt to search it for files.
Using Index Files With Hard Drives
Unlike a CD-ROM, the data on a hard drive can change. Files can be deleted,
renamed, moved, or added to the drive. To help accommodate the use of an
index file with a hard drive, PCBFiler will run REFRESH.BAT if it exists and
files have been moved, copied, or deleted on your system.
In the REFRESH.BAT file, add the necessary lines that will run MAKEIDX to
re-create all of your index files. For example, your REFRESH.BAT may
resemble the following:
MAKEIDX C:\PCB\INDEX\CDROM1.PTH C:\PCB\INDEX\CDROM1.IDX
MAKEIDX C:\PCB\INDEX\GIFS.PTH C:\PCB\INDEX\GIFS.IDX
The REFRESH.BAT file should be put in the same directory as PCBFiler or in a
subdirectory that is specified by your PATH= statement.
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