Simtel MSDOS 1992 June

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Introduction -JCD V1.21 Imagine yourself entrenched in a computer project, a couple of levels deep in a subdirectory tree. You decide you want to move to the bottom of another directory tree so you type: C:\TC\CODE> cd \com\dnld\game\arcade\larn and you get the message "Invalid directory". Now frustration sets in because not only are you still in the directory '\tc\code' but you also have no idea where you made a mistake. This normally prompts one of the best-known computer-related comments. "The $&#%^* computer should have known what I meant." Unfortunately, computers quite often do what you tell them to do instead of what you want them to do. But you do have a point. The computer should have been able to pick up a few clues from what you typed to accomplish part of the task before throwing your mistake back in your face. JCD was written to take care of this particular situation. Before we go any further, I should warn you that if you only use the root directory or if you are a perfect typist, JCD will probably not help you. However, for the rest of us, it can mean the difference between finishing what you were doing and wasting several minutes cursing a computer. JCD was actually born from a situation similar to the one mentioned above, although not quite as exaggerated. In the example above, JCD would have changed directories to a path matching as much of the requested path as possible. Next, instead of the highly informative error message returned by DOS, JCD gives you a subdirectory menu, allowing you to choose the one you meant. JCD soon expanded to cover many of the CHDIR errors that I make on a regular basis. In addition, several features were added to make JCD a useful utility in its own right instead of just a correction to the CD command. Usage In general, JCD is used exactly the same as CD. For example, if you wish to change from the root directory to your UTIL directory you type: C:\> jcd \util or C:\> jcd util and JCD takes you to the proper directory. The only situation where JCD does not behave exactly like CD is when the program is used with no command line parameters. When no parameters are given, CD types the name of the current directory on the screen. JCD also types the name of the current directory; but, if there are any subdirectories to choose from, JCD brings up a menu allowing you to choose where to go next. What does JCD do for me? At this point you may be asking yourself the question above. Then again, you may not. Oh well, I'm going to tell you anyway. JCD does not have a bright, beautiful, helpful user interface. The only thing that JCD does do is handle some of the problems that occur with the use of one DOS command. JCD handles simple typing errors. JCD handles a wide variety of typing errors. For instance, what if you type "jcd ,,". I know and you know that you want to go up one level in the directory tree. JCD assumes that if you type a comma what you really meant was a period. If you type a '/' instead of a '\', that's okay; JCD knows what you mean there too. JCD also assumes that a ';' is supposed to be a ':'. JCD can recursively search a disk for a directory. How many times have you typed "cd util" when you meant "cd \util"? JCD will handle this situation with a recursive search of the directory structure, if you allow it to. This also handles the situation where you know the name of the subdirectory that you want to go to, but you don't remember what directory it is under. It can also match a set of directories. For instance, a recursive search for "inc\sys" will send you to "\tc\inc\sys" and skip "\bin\sys". For those of us who sometimes manage to have two different subdirectories with the same name, JCD allows you to continue a recursive directory search if it has found the wrong subdirectory. At least for now, JCD cannot go more than fifteen levels deep. JCD stops you from going to the root when you don't want to. Say you are in your 123 directory and wish to move to the DATA subdirectory under 123 (or whatever). How many times have you typed: C:\123> cd \data DOS tells you there is no such directory. Maybe you stare at the screen in confusion for a few seconds. Then you notice the '\' at the front of the directory name. JCD checks for this error and asks you if you would like to move down instead of going to the root. - 2 - JCD simplifies moving towards the root. DOS uses two special directory names (. and ..) for the purpose of changing directories. JCD extends this concept to allow easier access to directories closer to the root. Where .. means 'parent', ... now means grandparent (..\..), .... means great-grandparent (..\..\..), and so on.This will be especially helpful for people with deep directory trees. JCD gracefully handles errors in path specification. The main reason for the JCD program is the problem mentioned in the introduction. JCD assumes if the first portion of the path you typed is valid, you probably meant to go at least that far. In fact, you will never again get an "Invalid directory" error since at the very worst you probably didn't misspell the root directory. JCD allows movement to another drive. If you want to move to a new directory on a different drive, DOS requires two different commands. First, you must change drives. Then, you can change to the directory you want. With JCD, you can do both at the same time. If you are on B drive and wish to go to the util directory on C you type B:> jcd c:\util and you are in c:\util in a single step. As mentioned above, if you type "a;", JCD assumes that you meant "a:". The Menu The next major feature of JCD is the subdirectory menu. This menu shows the first sixty-four subdirectories of the directory you are now in. You may choose one of these subdirectories by using the UP, DOWN, HOME, and END keys to move around and then strike ENTER. Pressing SPACE is the same as pressing DOWN. You may also type a character, this will move the highlight bar to the menu entry of the first subdirectory that begins with this character. Pressing ENTER at this point will choose. Pressing ESC will exit the menu, leaving you in the directory you started in. Four other commands may be used from the menu. The first is the LEFT arrow key. Pressing this key will move you up one level and exit the program. The RIGHT arrow key is the second command. Pressing this key will move you to the subdirectory highlighted on the menu and, if possible, bring up a menu containing this directory's subdirectories. This allows you to move down a directory tree when you cannot remember the spelling of any of the different levels. Next is the PgUp key. PgUp moves you to the current directory of the next higher disk (i.e. from B: to C:) - 3 - and displays a menu for this directory. The last key is PgDn, which moves to the next lower disk and displays the menu. Before JCD puts a menu on the screen it tells you what directory it is currently in. This is useful if the program has moved partway down your designated path and can't decide where else to go. Now you know where you are and can make a reasonable guess about where to go next. The amount of time that JCD pauses between displaying the current path and displaying the window is controlled by an environment variable called JCD. The default setting is S which denotes a wait of a half second. The other choice is L which pauses one second. The variable can be set to S or L to choose how much time to wait. This is accomplished by typing at the command line: set jcd=s or whichever choice you wish. Use of JCD in Batch Files Even though JCD wasn't originally intended to be used inside a batch file, I realize that someone may wish to use it this way. In order to make this more convenient, I have added a few return values to JCD to allow a batch file to know what is going on. These return values are as follows: 0 Program terminated normally. 1 JCD took no action on a recursive disk search. 2 JCD took no action from the menu. 3 JCD took no action. 9 When generating the menu, JCD encountered a memory allocation error. Since JCD is a relatively simple program, I believe that these codes should handle all situations. Commonly Asked Questions There has been only one question asked more than once about JCD. WHY should I use this utility? I wrote JCD to solve a problem with the way DOS works. There are many other programs that do basically the same job and more. The main problem I have found with using these programs has been how much time is spent loading information I will never use in the process of changing directories. - 4 - There has been one major misconception about JCD; and I think now is the time to clear it up. JCD is not supposed to be a fancy, multipupose utility. JCD was written to replace CD in everyday use. That's all JCD is, an intelligent CD. The only time that new features will be added to JCD is when they do not conflict with the original purpose. This purpose can be stated very simply: JCD handles the mistakes I make when using CD. Shareware Information and Disclaimer This program (JCD) is not free or public domain software. The program is distributed under the SHAREWARE or "try it before you buy it" concept of software. Feel free to copy this program and give it to friends and coworkers, provided you follow two simple rules. I. Please pass along the original package without modifications and including all documentation. II. No fee should be charged for the program. This also means that the program should not be packaged with another program or computer system for sale. Users' groups and software libraries are allowed to charge a small fee not to exceed $5 to cover the cost of the disk and copying services. If you find JCD to be a useful program that makes your life easier, please send $10 to the address shown below. Please include your full name, address, version number, where you got the program, and any bugs you may have found. This will allow me to keep my records up to date. This registration will entitle the user to a copy of the latest version of the program, notification of future updates, and information about possible new programs as they become available. G. Wade Johnson 7510 Brompton #664 Houston, Texas 77025 Bugs may also be reported through electronic mail. CompuServe 72470,2776 The author hereby disclaims all warranties with regard to fitness for a particular purpose. The author may only be held liable for the replacement of a defective copy of the program and its documentation. This liability does not extend to any other damages including but not limited to loss of profit or other incidental or consequential damages. Copyright Notice and Acknowledgements - 5 - JCD and its accompanying documentation are Copyrighted by G. Wade Johnson 1989 all rights reserved. I would also like to acknowledge the help of all of the friends and coworkers who assisted in the beta testing of this software. My beta testers include Cass Couvillion, Youseph Yazdi, Ed Jackson, Ignacio Cespedes, Dave Shattuck, and Debra Campbell, plus others who tried JCD because it was on a computer. In addition, I'd like to thank some people who sent me some good ideas which helped to make JCD a better product. Henry Schofield Noble suggested some new features for this version and one or two that I am still working on implementing efficiently. Thanks also to Tom Clark, who suggested some more possible CD errors and errorlevel use. - 6 - History of JCD Version 1.21 Minor bug fix. Version 1.2 Added support for multiple '.' movements. Increased the menu speed. Added PgUp and PgDn options to the menu. Modified menu layout. Some of the code changed from C to Assembler for speed. Version 1.1 Added correction for ';'. Added SPACE to menu commands. Default pause changed to SHORT. Added errorlevel support. Never hit the BBS's. Version 1.0 First version of JCD. - 7 -