ZIPMGR V1 Help - Table Of Contents
 MHG*ARCLIB Help   Table of Contents

Introduction

Main screen components:

How To:                                      (OR How to start these processes )

Update a library entry's information

Change your archiver utility

Change MHG*ARCLIB's configuration

Create a new archive

Extract or view the contents of an archive

Add entries to the library

Register MHG*ARCLIB

Change the library sort order or index

Search for entries in the library

Process an archive on any drive


Screen
Additional Help on How to:

Update a library entry's information

Change your archiver utility

Change MHG*ARCLIB's configuration

Create a new archive

Extract or view the contents of an archive

Add entries to the library

Register MHG*ARCLIB

Change the library sort order or index

Search for entries in the library

Process an archive on any drive


How To
MHG*ARCLIB Help - How To...

One of things that I find is missing from most shareware help is

a series of topics on how to do things.  What follows is a list of the How To's

for MHG*ARCLIB .

How to:                                                     (OR How to start these processes )

Update a library entry's information

Change your archiver utility

Change MHG*ARCLIB's configuration

Create a new archive

Extract or view the contents of an archive

Add entries to the library

Register MHG*ARCLIB

Change the library sort order or index

Search for entries in the library

Process an archive on any drive


How to change a library entry's information
How to update an entry's details

  With this panel, you can change the file description for a library entry

as well as assign 'categories' to it.  You should assign category information

to make it easier to group similar types of entries together.

Additional Help:

Main Screen


How to change the default archive utility

  With this panel, you can change the archive utility that MHG*ARCLIB will use

for extracting, viewing or creating an archive.If you are running a shareware

version of MHG*ARCLIB, you will only be able assign PKZip (versions 1.10 and

2.04).  Registration enables the use of other archiver programs.

Additional Help:

How to create a new archive

How to extract or view the contents of an archive

How to change MHG*ARCLIB's configuration


How to change ZIPMGR's configuration
How to change the default sub-directory paths

  With this panel, you can change the default paths that MHG*ARCLIB will use

for locating working directories, as well as the default archiver utility.

Additional Help:

How to change your archiver utility

How to start changing the configuration


How to create a new archive

  With this panel, you can collect files from different sub-directories and

create a new archive.  If you are running a shareware version of MHG*ARCLIB,

you will only be able use PKZip (versions 1.10 and 2.04).  Registration

enables the use of other archiver programs.

Additional Help:

How to start creating a new archive

How to extract or view the contents of an archive


How to extract or view an archive contents
How to extract or view the contents of an archive

  With this panel, you can process (view or extract) the contents of an archive

file.  If you are running a shareware version of MHG*ARCLIB, you will only be able

use PKZip (versions 1.10 and 2.04).  Registration enables the use of other

archiver programs.

Additional Help:

How to start extracting or viewing the contents of an archive

How to create a new archive


How to load the library
How to add entries to the library

  With this panel, you can start the process of adding entries to the library.


How to register ZIPMGR
How To Register MHG*ARCLIB

 	With this panel, you can enter the registration information from the

letter you received from me.

So, how do you get a registration number?  Well, send me a letter

at the address below and include a cheque for $25.  Make sure you include

your return address.  I'll send you a registration letter by return mail with

further instructions.

Send your letter and cheque to:

Thank you for using MHG*ARCLIB .

Additional Help:

How to start registering MHG*ARCLIB


How to change the library sort index
How to change the library sort order or index

  With this panel you can change the order that entries are displayed in the

library list.  If you are running a shareware version of MHG*ARCLIB, only the

Filename/Date order is enabled.  Registration brings access to all the

sequences available on this panel.

Additional Help:

How to start changing the library sort order or index


How to search for an entry
How to search the library for entries

  With this panel you can search the entries in the library by filename or

search a string of text in the entry descriptions.

Additional Help:

How to start searching the library


How to process an archive on any drive

  With this panel you can view or extract the contents of an archive located

anywhere on your hard drive or on a floppy diskette.  These archives do not

need to be entries in the library in order to be processed.

Additional Help:

How to start processing an archive on any drive

How to extract or view the contents of an archive

How to create a new archive

How to change your archiver utility


How To Start...
MHG*ARCLIB Help - How To Start...

How to start changing MHG*ARCLIB's startup options

How to start changing MHG*ARCLIB's configuration

How to start creating a new archive

How to start extracting or viewing the contents of an archive

How to start adding entries to the library

How to start registering MHG*ARCLIB

How to start changing the library sort order or index

How to start searching for entries in the library

How to start processing an archive on any drive


How to start changing ZIPMGR's startup options

Additional Help:

How to start changing MHG*ARCLIB's configuration


How to start changing ZIPMGR's default paths

Additional Help:

How to change MHG*ARCLIB's configuration

How to start changing MHG*ARCLIB's startup options


How to start creating a New Archive

Additional Help:

How to create a new archive

How to start extracting or viewing the contents of an archive


How to start extracting or viewing an archive contents

Additional Help:

How to extract or view the contents of an archive

How to start creating a new archive


How to start loading the library

Additional Help:

How to add entries to the library


How to start registering ZIPMGR

Additional Help:

How to register MHG*ARCLIB


How to start changing the library sort index

Additional Help:

How to change the library sort order or index


How to start searching for an entry

Additional Help:

How to search for entries in the library


How to start processing an archive on any drive

Additional Help:

How to process an archive on any drive

How to start extracting or viewing the contents of an archive


ZIPMGR V1 Introduction
MHG*ARCLIB Introduction

Hi, my name is Marshall and I am a professional programmer.  I've been working with 'BASIC' programming of one flavour or another for over 15 years now.  I discovered Visual Basic in 1990 and the program you are trying out is

the result.

MHG*ARCLIB is an attempt to deliver a practical way to process down-loaded files and access off-loaded archive files in a Microsoft Windows environment.  Anyone who needs to find an off-loaded file fast, then explore and use that archive's contents should consider this program.

If you are unfamiliar with these concepts and would like more information, click on this sentence.

If you want to look at a list of features of MHG*ARCLIB and then proceed to using the program, click on this sentence.


Why I wrote the program
Why I wrote this program...

If you're here, then you want to know more about the processes that

MHG*ARCLIB will help you to deal with.

I do a lot of bulletin board work, including scanning file directories

and viewing the file upload list, selecting shareware

files to down-load and retrieving messages from the different 'message bases'

or conferences.  I have acquired a lot of archive files of different types.  I

find that I have to off-load my hard-drive onto diskettes from time to time, to free

up hard-disk space.  I spend a substantial amount of time in my 'archive work'

sub-directory, viewing archive documentation then extracting the programs and

trying them out.

I'm a Windows user and I needed a Windows program or programs that would

let me quickly find that 'off-loaded' archive file or allow me to process its' contents

while in Windows, without shelling out to DOS.


Scanning File Directories...
Scanning File Directories

When you belong to a Bulletin Board System (BBS), you have access to archive files of programs, games, utilities etc., that are grouped by some common element, say they're all 'IBM' compatible.  This main grouping can be called a conference, where you can usually also create and retrieve messages, called mail.  Once you've joined a conference, you can locate archive files, usually grouped again, into directories each assigned a directory number.  File searches  usually allow you to limit a search based on a range of directory numbers.


File Upload List

When a file is received by a BBS in a process called uploading, the BBS system operator or sysop usually maintains an automatic system where the file is logged in, scanned for viruses and then assigned to a file directory in a conference.  The log file the sysop maintains can be used to create a new file upload list.  When you dial in to the BBS to download your mail, some sysops include this list in the mail packet that you receive.  It can be used to determine if there are any programs or files that you want to down-load to your computer from that particular BBS.


Shareware

Shareware is a way of distributing a program to potential users in a try before you buy approach. A program author will distribute his program by uploading his file to a local bulletin board or a big commercial BBS like Compuserve.  The file description that is associated with the file when you see it in the new upload file list is usually entered by the shareware author as part of the upload process.  If a person downloads the file and trys it out, then he can register the program with the author and receive a benefit.  This could be the unlocking of features in the program or being informed of version updates and being given a reduced price for the upgrade.


Archives

Archive files are files whose contents is a compressed library of associated files.  They can be the components of a shareware program, the pages of a large document, a collection of gif files or pretty well anything.  The archive's compression type is determined by the archive utility used to create it.  The contents of these archive files is available using the same archive utility to extract the files.  The main reason to use archiver utilities is that they make the archive file smaller in size than the all the files that make it up, so when you: transmit the file to a BBS, it takes less time; to store the file for backup, it takes less space on a storage device.


Shelling Out to DOS

Most archiver utilities run in the DOS environment.  When you invoke an archiver in a DOS window under Microsoft Windows, the process is called shelling out to DOS.  What happens is that Windows creates a DOS environment window and gives control there to the program that you want to run.  The program executes and if the process is well written, it will issue an 'exit' command which closes the window.  Control usually passes back to Windows' Program Manager.


Conferences

Most BBS's organize interest areas by computer type, as well as industry specific areas such as construction or education.  You access a conference by 'joining it'.


What is an 'Archive Manager' Front-End
What is an 'Archive Manager' Front-End....

There are many different archive types, such as ZIP, ZOO, ARC,

PAK, ARJ, and LZH, to name a few.  When you start working with the

archive utilities to process these archives, you need to remember the

different commands and options for each one.  An 'archive manager

front-end' allows you to deal with these different archives in a easy way,

without having to remember all the commands and options.

What you need to know, to process an archive, is the following:

What you want to do with the archive (Extract, View, or Create)

Where the archive is located or where the files to make a new archive

are located;

Where to put the result of what you do;

A good archive manager front-end hides the complexity of dealing with

 so many different archive formats and lets you work with any archive easily.


Archive Databases
Library Database

A 'Library Database' is a mechanism that allows you to quickly store

and retrieve information about archived files, stored as entries in the library.

The most important information is where the archive file can be found.  If you

have off-loaded archive files to diskettes and listed the files on the outside

label or piece of paper in the diskette sleeve, then you have a manual archive

library.

If you have an additional list with each archive's description on it, then you

can answer the next important question: what archives do I have that can ...?

With your list, you can scan the archive descriptions for the answer.

A computer-based library can answer these questions and more: Show me

all the entries for Windows resource utilities...  and  Find all entries that have

 'extract' and 'zip' in their file description for example.  It can also load this data

from your diskettes automatically and lets you access it in an easy way.


ZIPMGR Features
MHG*ARCLIB Features

. All facilities available from button controls or pull-down menus.

. Contextual help via the Microsoft Help Engine.

. Windows Database Engine (vxBase) for Visual Basic from Terry Orletsky,

  whose address is: 	#488, 9707-110th Street,

Edmonton, Alberta,

CANADA, T5K 2L9

phone: (403) 488-8100.

. Custom designed backgrounds using Windows Paint.

. Easy library loading process from any drive.

. Easily make or assign the expected sub-directory paths.

. MHG*ARCLIB handles 6 different formats when registered.

Only ZIP format is supported in shareware version.

. Archive file headers are extracted without shelling to DOS.

. Shells out to DOS for extracting files from archives or creating archives.

. Different archive utilities can be assiged for extraction and creation.

. Selective extraction of files in an archive.

. MHG*ARCLIB indexed on 6 different field combinations when registered.

Indexed  on Filename/Date only in shareware version.

. Unlimited entries in the database when registered.

Limited to 20 different volume-ids in the shareware version.

. Environment and Catagory assignment in the database is made easy with

  pull-down  list boxes whose contents can be modified.

. File descriptions easily added or modified using a scrollable text box.


One last thing...

In order for MHG*ARCLIB to operate correctly, you should set up the default

archive utility.

Doing this right away will let you start using MHG*ARCLIB without any further

adjustments.

Help on Path Configuration	 	Alt-F4 exits to MHG*ARCLIB