DragBatch v1.5

DragBatch v1.5
Contents

Overview
Installation
Usage
Reference
FAQ
History
Support
Legal

Overview

"DragBatch is a utility for creating command lists or batch files. You use the interface to specify a command line, including replaceable parameters to indicate file or path names, then use either drag and drop or the more traditional Open dialog box to select the file/path names to be affected.

The program can then produce a list of command lines, one per file name, which can be saved as a batch file, copied to the clipboard (for pasting into another application), or executed immediately..." (Ziff-Davies)

As of v1.5 you can choose to execute the command lines as parallel tasks in separate threads instead of sequentially.

Installation

DragBatch requires no special installation. Extract the files to their own directory, and run DragBatch.exe. You may want to put a shortcut to it on your desktop or in your start menu.

DragBatch will not touch your registry (it uses an "ini" file instead), so to uninstall it you just delete the directory again.

Usage

Using DragBatch is simple. Just follow these steps:

Create a list of files by dragging filenames from Explorer and / or using the "Add Files" button.
Choose a command to run against each of the files you've chosen, making use of the replaceable parameters. Use the Help button to remind you what each one does.
Choose how you would like your results to be output (to the clipboard, to a batch file, or run).
Press the large button in the bottom right corner of the dialog box that is labelled Copy, Create or Create & Execute depending on the mode you select.
That's it!

Reference

This section describes what everything does in a bit more detail.

Screen shot

About

This calls up an "About box". It also gives you contact information for me, and has some groovy buttons for lazy people who can't be bothered to type, that sets up a mail message to send to me, or navigates to my web site (but only if you have Internet Explorer installed, I'm afraid).

Feedback

If you're really lazy, and can't be bothered to press "About" and then "Mail" then this will set up a mail message to send to me. That just shows how keen I am for you to mail me.

Help

This pops up a little dialog that reminds you what each of the replaceable parameters do.

Add Files

You can add files to the file list (the large list control headed "Filename") by either selecting files in a drag server like Explorer and dropping them into this space, or by pressing the "Add Files" button. This brings up a traditional "Open" dialog. Standard rules apply for multiple selection. Please refer to your Windows manual if you are unsure about these.

Command

Type the command you want run against each file in the file list here. You can also use the "Browse" button to locate the file you are looking for if it’s a file you want to run. You can use the replaceable parameters to indicate what part(s) of each filename in the file list you wish to use.

The replaceable parameters are:

Param	Means	Eg.
%a	Full pathname	C:\FILES\TEXT.DAT
%d	Drive	C:
%p	Path	\FILES
%f	File Name	TEXT.DAT
%t	File Title	TEXT
%e	Extension	DAT

Output to Clipboard

This is the simplest form of output. After the files are processed the output is dumped onto the clipboard as text, for pasting into other applications.

Run

In this mode the command line for each file in the file list is constructed and then run. You can choose whether you want them run all at once (by selecting "Run as Parallel tasks") or one after the other. Unlike versions of DragBatch prior to v1.5, a temporary batch file is not constructed. You therefore cannot use batch file commands in this mode.

Batch File

This mode is similar to "Output to Clipboard" except that the output is to the file of your choice (usually a batch file, but it could be a text file if you prefer). You select the output filename by typing it into the edit box to the right of the "Batch file" radio button. The button labelled "…" allows you to browse for the filename.

FAQ

So what will DragBatch do for me?

It will make you rich and famous. Members of the opposite sex will throw themselves at you. It will solve all your problems overnight whether computational or otherwise.

Really?

No, not really. What DragBatch will do for you though, is take away a lot of the hassle of creating the type of batch files that consist of a number of lines that only differ by a filename or part of a filename.

Say you had a list of files and you wanted to open each one with notepad (this is just a simple example). DragBatch would let you select those files and run notepad for each one.

Surely the "Send to Command Line" and "Send to Clipboard as Name" PowerToys let you do this?

Yes and No. The "Send To" extensions of the Microsoft PowerToys let you do some of this. But they only let you use the fully qualified path and don't span directories. DragBatch lets you build up a file list from loads of directories, and lets you choose how much of the filename you want to use (like maybe filename.ext instead of d:\path\filename.ext)

I'm still not convinced it's useful

Ok. Here's a real-world example. Say you're using the l3enc MPEG level 3 encoding program on a bunch of WAV files that you created with CDDA. Lets say one of them is called GroovySong.wav. The command to encode this would be l3enc.exe GroovySong.wav GroovySong.mp3 -hq. How would you create a batch file for, lets say, 20 files, that would resolve to that command format for each file? Personally I'd use DragBatch and set the command to be l3enc.exe %t.wav %t.mp3 -hq (%t is the replaceable parameter for only the file title, which would be GroovySong in the above example).

How can I find out more information about DragBatch?

If you still have questions about DragBatch then feel free to email me at JonRB@dial.pipex.com and I'll do my best to answer your question.

You can also visit my website at http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/jonrb/Software.html. DragBatch provides buttons in the "About" box to quickly and easily do either of these.

I emailed you ages ago. Why don't you reply / bring out a new version immediately / come round and clean my house for me?

Well, as you've probably noticed, DragBatch is freeware. This is because I hold down a full-time programmer's job, and I just do these freeware utilities because I'm sad and have a hobby that is the same as my job. I'll get round to it when I feel like it. You get what you pay for with freeware. Having said that, most bug reports result in a fix fairly quickly - usually within a few days. But that isn't a promise.

You're my hero! Will you marry me?

Well, provided you're female and single then I'd love to hear from you. Otherwise I'll have to decline. Do feel free to send me money though. J

History

Version	Date	Reason
v1.0 Beta	30-Nov-97	First release
v1.01 Beta	02-Dec-97	Fixed bug that affected only those users who do not have a Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x or 4.x installed. They would be lacking URLMON.DLL which v1.0b was attempting to link to at run-time, and was failing to load if it was missing. This version fixed this by trying to load it only when needed and failing gracefully if the DLL was missing. Not having the DLL simply means you can't click on the Web button in the 'About' box to be taken to this page (Please note I do not work for Microsoft and I'm very sorry about the bug).
v1.5	10-Feb-1998	Rewrote a lot of internals to reduce complexity and increase speed and flexibility. Added ToolTips and parallel task support. Wrote this document

Support

By releasing this software as FREEWARE I am not committing myself to providing any support for it. My feeling is that if you get something for free you shouldn't feel that you then have the right to demand more stuff (like support).

However, I am willing to provide limited email support at my discretion. Please mail me at JonRB@dial.pipex.com stating your problem, with as much detail as possible. I'm afraid that emails that simply say "your software doesn't work" will not help much. I will look into the problem and may provide a workaround or bug fix.

I am afraid that I am not willing to provide any support via phone or fax, even if you phone me or otherwise pay for the call.

Legal

This program is released as FREEWARE. As such it may be used free of charge for personal use. Its use for commercial or academic purposes is prohibited without the author's express permission.

This software is provided "as is". I take no responsibility for any loss, damage, heartache or problems it may cause, and make no guarantees as to its fitness of purpose. I have tried to ensure that it is as bug-free as possible, but again cannot guarantee that it is nor take responsibility for any damages that either directly or indirectly result. There are no warranties, either expressed or implied with this software.

You may freely distribute this software so long as either the original zip file or the files contained within it are distributed together and are not modified in any way. You may not sell this software to anyone, and may not charge anyone for distributing it. It may not be bundled in any CD or compilation without the author's prior written permission.