ÔAKING ÍYSTERY ÏUT OF ÁÒà ÃOPYRIGHT 1992 ÂY ÇAELYNE Ò. ÍORANEC ÃHRIS ÓMEETS' ÁÒà PROGRAM CAN BE EASY TO USE, BUT THE DOCS THAT COME WITH THE PROGRAM ARE FAR FROM EASY TO READ, AND MAKES THE PROGRAM SEEM FAR MORE COMPLICATED THAN IT REALLY IS. ÉF YOU'VE EVER USED ANY OTHER BRAND OF COMPUTER, THIS PROGRAM IS FAIRLY STRAIGHT FORWARD AND EASY TO USE, BUT THE KEY TO MAKING IT EASY TO USE IS TRANSLATING THE INSTRUCTIONS INTO USER FRIENDLY LANGUAGE. É DID THIS FOR MYSELF, AND É'M SHARING IT SO YOU CAN JUST LOAD THE PROGRAM AND ARCHIVE YOUR FILES WITHOUT NEEDING A DEGREE IN ÔECHNOSPEAK. ÁT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE, YOU'LL FIND A REFERENCE SHEET YOU CAN PRINT OUT AND KEEP HANDY WHEN YOU RUN ÁÒÃ. ÔHIS ARTICLE AND REFERENCE SHEET ARE JUST THE BASICS OF RUNNING THE PROGRAM. ÉF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW ÈÏ× IT WORKS, READ THE 50 PAGES OF DOCS. ÉF YOU THINK OF ÁÒà AS A "ÄÏÓ ÓHELL INSTEAD OF AS A PROGRAM, IT HELPS. ÏNCE LOADED, IT JUST SITS THERE, WITH A CURSOR BLINKING AT YOU UNTIL YOU TELL IT WHAT TO DO. ÉT OPERATES SIMILAR TO THE WAY THE ÃOMMODORE COMPUTER WORKS IN DIRECT MODE, AS WHEN YOU FIRST TURN THE MACHINE ON. ÁÒà IS CAPABLE OF LOADING AND RUNNING OTHER PROGRAMS, IT HAS A TEXT EDITOR, AND CAN PERFORM ANY DISK FUNCTIONS YOU NEED IT TO, SUCH AS FORMATTING DISKS, DELETING, COPYING, AND RENAMING FILES. ÉT CAN ALSO TELL YOU THE LOAD ADDRESS OF FILES AND HOW MANY BYTES A FILE CONTAINS. ÍOST OF THESE DISK FUNCTIONS RUN VERY SLOW, SO IF YOU HAVE OTHER UTILITIES THAT WORK FASTER, É RECOMMEND USING THEM. ÉT IS HANDY TO HAVE THESE FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE WITHIN THE PROGRAM, THOUGH. ÔHE COMMANDS ARE SHORT, AND ONCE LEARNED, MAKE SENSE. ÕNTIL THEN, HANG IN THERE! ÔHE FIRST CONFUSION IS WITH DISK DRIVE LETTERS. ÉN THE ÍÓ-ÄÏÓ WORLD, ALL DISK DRIVES ARE GIVEN LETTER NAMES INSTEAD OF NUMBERS, AND THIS IS HOW ÁÒà DEALS WITH DISK DRIVES. ÔO FURTHER CONFUSE THE SITUATION, IT'S BROKEN DOWN BY BOTH DEVICE AND DRIVE NUMBERS: ÄRIVE Á IS DEVICE #8, DRIVE 0, BUT ÄRIVE  IS DEVICE #8, DRIVE 1. É INCLUDED A CHART ON THE REFERENCE SHEET, SO DON'T GIVE UP YET! ÔHROUGHOUT THIS ARTICLE É ONLY REFER TO ÄRIVES Á (#8), AND à (#9), JUST TO KEEP IT SIMPLE. ÁLMOST ALL OF THE COMMANDS FOR ÁÒà MAKE USE OF DRIVE LETTERS, WHICH ARE ALWAYS FOLLOWED BY COLONS (:). ÃOMMANDS THAT ARE GIVEN WITHOUT DRIVE LETTERS CAUSE THE COMMANDS TO GO TO THE DEFAULT DRIVE, WHICH IS EITHER DRIVE Á (#8), OR THE LAST DRIVE ACCESSED. ÉF YOU TYPE IN THE DEVICE LETTER AND COLON WITHOUT ANY COMMAND AFTER IT, SUCH AS Ã:[ÒÅÔÕÒÎ] THAT DRIVE BECOMES THE DEFAULT DRIVE. ÔO READ THE DIRECTORY ON THE DEFAULT DRIVE, TYPE IN ÄÉÒ [ÒÅÔÕÒÎ]. ÔO USE THE STANDARD ÄÏÓ WEDGE INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM, YOU HAVE TO SET THE DEFAULT DRIVE FIRST, OTHERWISE IT PERFORMS THE FUNCTION ON THE DRIVE THAT WAS LAST ACCESSED. ÔHE ÁÒà COMMANDS ARE THE MOST CONFUSING PART OF OF THE PROGRAM. ÂASICALLY, THERE ARE ONLY SIX ÍÁÉÎ COMMANDS, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBLE WAYS TO USE THEM, THAT A PERSON CAN EASILY BECOME LOST IN THE MAZE OF OPTIONS. ÔHE COMMAND CONSISTS OF THE WORD "ÁÒÃ, AND A SLASH. ×HAT COMES AFTER THE SLASH DETERMINES WHAT ACTION THE PROGRAM TAKES. ÔHE COMMAND AFTER THE SLASH CAN BE REMEMBERED IF YOU THINK OF THE ACTION THE LETTER REPRESENTS. ÈERE IS A LIST OF THE ÁÒà COMMANDS É'M DISCUSSING: ÁÒÃ/à ÃREATE A NEW ARCHIVE FILE. ÁÒÃ/Á ÁPPEND FILES TO AN EXISTING ARCHIVE FILE. ÁÒÃ/Æ ÆIX AN ARCHIVE THAT HAS BEEN APPENDED. ÁÒÃ/Ö ÖERIFY THE INTEGRITY OF AN ARCHIVE. ÁÒÃ/Ì ÌIST THE FILES THAT ARE WITHIN AN ARCHIVE. ÁÒÃ/Ø EØTRACT (DISSOLVE) AN ARCHIVE. ÆOR SIMPLICITY, É'M ONLY SHOWING THE SIX MAIN COMMANDS. ÔHE GENERAL FORMAT OF AN INSTRUCTION TO THE ÁÒà PROGRAM CONSISTS OF THE ÁÒà COMMAND, A SPACE, THE DISK DRIVE LETTER WITH A COLON, THEN THE FILE NAME. ÓOME COMMANDS INVOLVE USING TWO DISK DRIVES. ÉN THIS CASE, ADD ANOTHER SPACE, THEN THE NEW DISK DRIVE LETTER, COLON, AND FILE NAME. ×HEN YOU REFER TO THE CHART, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE SPACES WITHIN EACH SET OF INSTRUCTIONS. ÉF YOU LOOK AT SEVERAL EXAMPLES, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THE PATTERN. ÔHE SPACES ARE THERE FOR THE PROGRAM TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT SETS OF PARAMETERS, AND BECAUSE OF THIS, ÁÒà CAN NOT ACCEPT SPACES WITHIN FILE NAMES. ÙOU CAN SUBSTITUTE EITHER A QUESTION MARK OR A SHIFTED-SPACE INSTEAD. ÁÒà WILL FIND THE CORRECT FILE, AND THE SPACE IN THE FILE NAME WILL BE LEFT INTACT WHEN THE ARCHIVE IS DISSOLVED. ÁRC ALLOWS SEVERAL DIFFERENT PARAMETERS TO BE SET IN RESPECT TO WHAT TYPE OF COMPRESSION IT USES, AND WHICH FILES IT WORKS ON, AS WILDCARDS AND OTHER SHORTCUTS ARE ALLOWED. ÈOWEVER, TO EXPLAIN EACH ONE WOULD TAKE UP MORE SPACE HERE, AND WOULD MAKE THINGS SEEM MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT NEEDS TO BE, SO É WILL INSTEAD INCLUDE ALL THE PARAMETERS, WILDCARDS, AND SHORTCUTS IN THE REFERENCE CHART. ÁÒÃ/à ÃREATE A NEW ARCHIVE FILE. ÔHIS IS THE COMMAND THAT IS USED WHEN YOU HAVE SEVERAL FILES YOU WANT TO COMPRESS, AND PACK TOGETHER INTO ONE ARC'ED FILE. ÉT'S EASIEST TO ARC FILES USING TWO DISK DRIVES. ÐUT A BLANK FORMATED DISK INTO DRIVE Á (#8), AND A DISK WITH THE FILES YOU WANT TO PACK TOGETHER INTO DRIVE à (#9). ÔO MAKE IT REAL EASY FOR YOURSELF, HAVE ÏÎÌÙ THE FILES YOU WANT TO ARCHIVE ON THE DISK IN DRIVE Ã, SO YOU CAN USE THE WILDCARD (*) IN THE ÁÒà COMMAND, INSTEAD OF LISTING INDIVIDUAL FILE NAMES. ÉF É WERE ARCHIVING ARTICLE FILES, É WOULD USE THE FOLLOWING COMMAND TO CREATE A NEW ARC'ED FILE CALLED ÁRTICLES.ARC: ÁÒÃ/à Á:ÁRTICLES Ã:* ÉN THE EXAMPLE ABOVE, ÁÒà LOOKS AT THE LETTER AFTER THE SLASH AND FINDS A à FOR ÃREATE. ÉT GOES TO THE NEXT PARAMETER, AND FINDS THAT THE NEW ARCHIVE IS TO BE NAMED ÁRTICLES, AND WILL BE CREATED ON DRIVE Á (#8). ÓO IT OPENS UP A NEW FILE ON THAT DRIVE AND NAMES IT ÁRTICLES.ARC. ÉT ADDS THE .ARC EXTENSION WHEN IT CREATES THE FILE. ÔHEN ÁÒà LOOKS TO THE NEXT PARAMETER, AND LEARNS THAT É WANT ALL OF THE FILES ON DRIVE à (#9) ARCHIVED. ÉT LOOKS AT EACH FILE, AND DECIDES ON THE BEST METHOD TO COMPRESS IT, AND WHEN IT'S DONE PACKING IT, IT PUTS IT IN THE NEW FILE ON DRIVE Á (#8). ÁÒÃ/Á ÁPPEND FILES TO AN EXISTING ARCHIVE FILE. Á WEEK OR SO HAS PASSED SINCE É CREATED THE ÁRTICLES.ARC FILE, AND É'VE WRITTEN TWO NEW ARTICLES. É'D LIKE TO ADD IT TO THE ÁRTICLES.ARC FILE, BUT É DON'T WANT TO HASSLE WITH CREATING A NEW ARC FILE. ÉNSTEAD, É APPEND THE FILES TO THE ONE É MADE A FEW WEEKS BEFORE, USING THE ÁÒÃ/Á COMMAND. ÏNCE AGAIN, É PUT THE DISK WITH ÁRTICLES.ARC ON IT INTO DRIVE Á (#8), AND THE DISK WITH THE FILES É WANT TO ADD TO THE ARCHIVE IN DRIVE à (#9). ÔHEN É TYPE IN THE FOLLOWING COMMAND: ÁÒÃ/Á Á:ÁRTICLES.ARC Ã:ÁRTICLENAME Ã:ÎEXTARTICLENAME ÔHIS TIME ÁÒà LOOKS AT THE INSTRUCTION AND SEES É EXPECT IT TO APPEND FILES TO THE ÁRTICLE.ARC ARCHIVE IN DRIVE Á (#8), IT LOOKS TO THE NEXT PARAMETER AND FINDS THAT É WANT IT TO GO TO DRIVE à (#9), TO COMPRESS ÁRTICLENAME AND ADD IT TO ÁRTICLES.ARC. ×HEN IT FINISHES WITH THIS TASK, IT GOES TO THE NEXT PARAMETER AND DOES THE SAME THING WITH THE FILE ÎEXTARTICLE, WHICH IS ALSO IN DRIVE Ã. ÁÒÃ/Æ ÆIX AN ARCHIVE THAT HAS BEEN APPENDED. ÁRCHIVED FILES HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF BYTES IN THEM, AND OCCAISIONALLY WHEN YOU APPEND TO AN ARC'ED FILE, THE NUMBER OF BYTES BECOMES INCORRECT. ÔHIS CAN ALSO HAPPEN OCCAISIONALLY WHEN DOWNLOADING ARCHIVED FILES. ÔHIS IS ALSO A USEFUL COMMAND WHEN YOU TRY TO DISSOLVE AN ARC'ED FILE AND IT RUNS INTO AN ERROR. É RECENTLY USED THIS COMMAND WHEN É TRIED TO DISSOLVE AN ARC'ED FILE THAT STOPPED HALFWAY THROUGH THE PROCESS. ÉT LOOKED OVER THE FILE, AND FIXED IT. ÈOW IT FIXED IT DIDN'T SEEM AS IMPORTANT AS JUST THE FACT THAT IT DID THE JOB! ÔHE COMMAND É USED WAS: ÁÒÃ/Æ Á:MESSEDUP.ARC ÔHIS TIME ÁÒà LOOKED AT THE Æ, AND KNEW É WANTED IT TO ÆIX AN ARCHIVE. ÉT WENT TO THE NEXT PARAMETER AND SAW THAT É WANTED IT TO FIX THE FILE NAMED MESSEDUP.ARC, AND THAT IT COULD FIND THE FILE IN DRIVE Á (#8). ×HEN IT WAS FINISHED, IT RETURNED A MESSAGE THAT SAID "ÁRCHIVE ÆIXED. ÁÒÃ/Ö ÖERIFY THE INTEGRITY OF AN ARCHIVE. ÔHIS COMMAND CAN BE USED JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ARC'ED FILE IS OKAY. ÙOU COULD USE THIS ALSO AS A QUICK WAY TO LIST THE FILES WITHIN AN ARCHIVE. É COULD HAVE USED IT BEFORE FIXING THE MESSEDUP.ARC FILE, BUT SINCE É KNEW IT NEEDED TO BE FIXED, É SKIPPED THE EXTRA STEP. ÉF É WERE TO USE THIS FEATURE, IT WOULD BE IN THE FOLLOWING FORM: ÁÒÃ/Ö Á:ÁRCHIVENAME.ARC ÉN THIS CASE, ÁÒà LOOKS AT THE Ö, AND KNOWS IT WILL BE VERIFYING A FILE. ÉT GOES TO THE NEXT PARAMETER, AND SEES THAT IT WILL BE FOUND IN DRIVE Á (#8), AND THE FILE É WANT VERIFIED IS CALLED "ÁRCHIVENAME.ARC. ÉT THEN VERIFIES EACH FILE WITHIN THE ARCHIVE. ÉF IT FINDS AN ERROR, IT DISPLAYS AN ERROR MESSAGE, AND É KNOW TO USE THE ÁÒÃ/Æ COMMAND TO FIX THE ARCHIVE. ÉF IT DOESN'T FIND ANY ERRORS, IT RETURNS THE MESSAGE, "ÁRCHIVE IS ÏKAY. ÁÒÃ/Ì ÌIST THE FILES THAT ARE WITHIN AN ARCHIVE. ÔHIS COMMAND DOES MORE THAN LIST THE FILES INSIDE AN ARC'ED FILE. ÔHE FORMAT FOR THIS COMMAND IS: ÁÒÃ/Ì Á:ÁRCNAME.ARC ÔHE LIST ALSO INCLUDES THE FILE TYPE, THE NUMBER OF BLOCKS IT USES BEFORE AND AFTER COMPRESSION, THE VERSION NUMBER OF THE ÁÒà PROGRAM USED, THE METHOD OF COMPRESSION USED FOR EACH FILE, AND THE DATE THAT THE ARCHIVE WAS CREATED. ÌISTING THE ARCHIVE IS A QUICK WAY OF FINDING OUT HOW MUCH DISK SPACE YOU NEED FOR THE DISSOLVED FILES. ÁÒÃ/Ø EØTRACT (DISSOLVE) AN ARCHIVE. ÉN A CERTAIN SENSE, É THINK É SAVED THE MOST DIFFICULT FOR THE LAST. ÍAINLY BECAUSE TO USE TWO DISK DRIVES TO DISSOLVE AN ARCHIVE, THE COMMAND DOESN'T FOLLOW THE CONSISTANCY OF THE PREVIOUS COMMANDS. ÁCTUALLY, É SUGGEST USING ÏMEGAÑ-ÉÉ TO DISSOLVE ARC'ED FILES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO USE TWO DISK DRIVES. ÉF YOU REALLY WANT TO USE ÁÒà TO EXTRACT THE FILES, PUT A BLANK FORMATTED DISK INTO DRIVE à (#9), AND THE ARCHIVED FILE INTO DRIVE Á. ÔHEN TYPE THIS COMMAND IN FOR ÁÒà TO DISSOLVE THE FILE: ÁÒÃ/Øà Á:ÁRCHIVENAME.ARC ÓEE WHAT É MEAN? ÔHE DISK DRIVE LETTER FOR DRIVE à IS RIGHT BEHIND THE Ø TELLING ÁÒà TO EXTRACT THE FILE. ×HY THE SYNTAX IS DIFFERENT FOR THIS COMMAND IS DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER FORMATS IS A MYSTERY TO ME. ÔHERE IS A RATHER USEFUL FEATURE TO ÁÒà FOR DISSOLVING ONLY PART OF AN ARCHIVED FILE. ÆOR INSTANCE, IF É NEEDED TO DO SOME WORK ON ONE OF MY A RTICLES THAT WERE COMPRESSED IN MY ÁRTICLES.ARC FILE, É COULD USE ÁÒà TO DISSOLVE JUST THAT ARTICLE, AND LEAVE THE ARCHIVED FILE INTACT. ÔHIS WOULD BE THE ELECTRONIC EQUIVALENT TO TAKING ONE FILE FOLDER OUT OF A LARGE FILING CABINET. ÙOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE EVERY FOLDER OUT OF THE FILE CABINET TO GET THE FILE YOU NEED. ÔHE COMMAND FOR THIS IS: ÁÒÃ/Ø Á:ÁRTICLES.ARC ÁRTICLENAME ÉN THIS EXAMPLE, ÁÒà EXTRACTS ONLY THE FILE CALLED ARTICLENAME FROM THE ARCHIVE CALLED ÁRTICLES.ARC. ÔHE ORIGINAL ARTICLE IS PUT ON THE SAME DISK AS THE ARCHIVED FILE, IN THIS INSTANCE IT HAPPENS TO BE DRIVE Á. ÉF É WANTED IT TO BE PUT ON DRIVE à (#9), THE COMMAND WOULD HAVE BEEN: ÁÒÃ/Øà Á:ÁRTICLES.ARC ÁRTICLENAME ÎOTICE THE à FOR DRIVE à IS PLACED RIGHT AFTER THE Ø FOR EXTRACT. ÉF É COULDN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE FILE É NEEDED, É COULD HAVE LISTED THE ARCHIVE FIRST, SO É WOULD KNOW THE EXACT FILE NAME. ×ILDCARDS CAN ALSO BE USED. ÏTHER ÃOMMANDS AND ÆEATURES OF ÁÒÃ: ÁS MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE ARE MANY OTHER COMMANDS THAT CAN BE USED FOR FILE MANIPULATION. ÔWO OF THE MORE INTERESTING ONES ARE SIZE, AND START. ÉF YOU TYPE IN: ÓÉÚÅ Á:ÆILENAME ÙOU CAN FIND OUT HOW MANY BYTES ARE IN THE FILE. ÓÔÁÒÔ Á:ÆILENAME WILL DISPLAY THE LOAD ADDRESS OF A FILE. Á:FILENAME ÔHIS WILL LOAD AND RUN EITHER BASIC OR MACHINE LANGUAGE PROGRAMS. É TRIED THIS WITH A COMMERCIAL PROGRAM THAT LOADS MULTIPLE FILES AS IT BOOTS THE PROGRAM. ÁÒà DISPLAYED THE NAME OF EACH FILE AS IT WAS LOADING.ÔHE PROGRAM BOOTED AND RAN NORMALLY WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. ÔHIS IS A FEATURE WHICH COULD BE USEFUL FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO TINKER WITH THE INNER WORKINGS OF PROGRAMS. ÙOU CAN ALSO SEND THE CONTENTS OF A FILE TO THE SCREEN, WITH THE ÔÙÐÅ COMMAND. ÔHIS WORKS WITH BOTH PROGRAM AND SEQUENTIAL FILES, ANOTHER INTERESTING FEATURE FOR TINKERERS. ÁFTER LOOKING AT THE ÔEXT ÅDITOR PORTION OF THE DOCS, É DECIDED THAT THERE ARE MUCH EASIER TEXT EDITORS AVAILABLE FOR ME TO USE. ÔHE EDITOR IS INTENDED FOR EDITING ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE SOURCE FILES. ÆROM A QUICK GLANCE IT LOOKS LIKE THE ARCHAIC EDITORS FROM WHEN COMPUTERS USED PRINTERS IN THE SAME MANNER AS WE NOW USE MONITORS. ÄELETES ARE MADE USING BACK SLASHES. ÔHE ÄÏÓ WEDGE IS STANDARD. ÁLL YOU NEED DO IS TYPE > THEN THE ÄÏÓ COMMAND (LISTED IN THE REFERENCE CHART). ÊUST REMEMBER TO SET THE DEFAULT DRIVE FIRST. ×ITHOUT HAVING TO RESORT TO THE ÄÏÓ WEDGE, YOU CAN RENAME, COPY AND DELETE FILES. ÔHE COMMANDS ARE LISTED IN THE REFERENCE CHART. ÉF YOU'VE CREATED AN ARC'ED FILE, AND WANT TO MAKE IT INTO A ÓELF ÄISSOLVING ÁRCHIVE, YOU CAN LOAD ÁÒÃ-ÓÄÁ, TO CHANGE THE ARCHIVE. ÁÒÃ-ÓÄÁ IS VERY USER FRIENDLY IN COMPARISON TO ÁÒÃ. ÉT'S MENU DRIVEN, AND COMES WITH EASY TO UNDERSTAND DOCS. ÁRC250.4 IS NOT FREE. ÉT IS A "ÆREEWARE PROGRAM, AND AS SUCH, IF YOU USE IT REGULARLY YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO MAIL IN EITHER A DONATION OF ANY AMOUNT, OR $10 WILL GET YOU PRINTED DOCUMENTATION, WHILE $20 WILL GET YOU A CURRENT DISK VERSION OF THE ÁÒà PROGRAM, ALONG WITH PRINTED DOCUMENTATION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY UPDATED VERSIONS AT COST. ×RITE TO: ÁMPERE ÍETAL 80 ÈALE ÒOAD ÕNIT 4 ÂRAMPTON, ÏNTARIO ÃANADA, Ì6× 3Í1 ÁÒà ÖERSION 250.4 IS COPYRIGHT 1986, 1987 BY ÁMPERE ÍETAL. ÉT IS ÆREEWARE BUT MUST BE REGISTERED (WITH A DONATION) IF YOU FIND IT USEFUL AND USE IT OFTEN. ÁÒÃ-ÓÄÁ ÖERSION 5.1 IS COPYRIGHT 1988 BY Â. ÍARK ÒHODES. ÉT MAY BE DISTRIBUTED, BUT NOT SOLD.