Your Choice 3/Your Choice Software Collection 3.iso/os2/mdfbu31/mdfbu.doc

Text File | 1994-02-21 | 11.5 KB | 302 lines

Welcome to Multi Drive File Backup Utility (MDFBU) version 3.1: an OS/2 2.x
shareware/freeware program which allows users to backup specific files with
great ease.  The complete MDFBU utility is contained in four files:
this doc file (mdfbu.doc), the executable (mdfbu.exe), the VX-Rexx
runtime library file (vrobj.dll), and the icon (mdfbu.ico)

Note: we used a famous software company's method of version numbering.  That is
why this first release is version 3.1

Please feel free to e-mail the authors with comments, suggestions, praise, or
ideas.  No flames please :)


Why Backup?
===========

      We've all been unfortuneate at one time or another and either deleted a
file we still needed or overwrote one file with another.  MDFBU allows users a
method of backing up their important files.  Now, programmers can easily back
up all of their *.c or *.cpp files on one or more hard drives.  Word processors
files can easily be backed up if you keep the same extention name.


Features
========

1.  Full HPFS and FAT drives supported

2.  Works on Stacker (tm) drives

3.  Backup to floppy drive(s) or hard drive(s)

4.  Allows compression and archive files to be created

5.  Works with OS/2 2.x or above

6.  Full mouse pointer help.  Just move the mouse to any part of the program
screen and help is given at the bottom of the prpgram

7.  Copy or move files

8.  Easy to use

9.  Full PM program

10.  Full mouse and keyboard support

11.  Its FREE!


Installation
============

Method 1
--------

1.  Copy mdfbu.exe, mdfbu.ico, and mdfbu.doc (this file) to your hard drive.
The file "vrobj.dll" must be copied to a directory which is listed in your
libpath statement in your config.sys (A good place to put this file is in
c:\os2\lib, where in this case OS/2 is installed on drive c:)

2.  Open the templates folder from your desktop and using the right mouse button
drag a program template onto your desktop.  When the program template opens up
for user input (on the program page) enter the path and file name in the
appropriate location.  ex:  c:\utils\mdfbu.exe

3.  The working directory should be set to the location of the exe file.  Using
the same example as above, c:\utils

4.  Go to the general page and change the program name from "program" to "MDFBU"

5.  Close the object by double clicking the left mouse button on the top left
hand corner of the object

6.  Add a line to your config.sys file like
set MDFBU_INI=drive:\path\MDFBU.INI
where drive:\path is the drive and directory the program is installed in

7.  Shutdown and reboot OS/2 to allow changes in your config.sys to take effect

8.  Double click on the mdfbu icon to start the program

Method 2
--------

1.  Copy mdfbu.exe and mdfbu.doc to a directory on your hard drive.  Copy
vrobj.dll into a directory listed your libpath statement in your config.sys
example: c:\os2\lib if OS/2 is installed on drive c:)

2.  Change to the directory where mdfbu.exe resides on your hard drive

3.  Enter "set MDFBU_INI=drive:\path\MDFBU.INI" (without the quotes) where
drive:\path is the drive and path you want the settings to be saved to if you
desire

4.  Enter the command "start mdfbu.exe" (minus the quotes) to start the program


Program Options
===============

Settings
--------

Drive Settings: this selection allows you to chose the drives MDFBU is to search
for programs to backup.  You can keep this box open at all times by pressing the
"switch" button once your selections are made, or close the box by pressing the
"hide" button.  MDFBU automatically searches your hard drive to see what drives
you have.

Environment Settings: this is where all user-definable settings are set.
Options to be defined are: The path and name of the MDFBU settings data file,
the path and name of the log file stem name, the path of the ZIP temporary
diectory (see note on this at bottom of doc file), command shell to be used for
copying, moving, and archiving, and the drive and path of this help file.

Compression Program: for the time being you have no choice on the archive
program to be used (zip.exe).  Later versions may allow zoo or tar/compress.
Note: you must have the shareware/freeware program zip.exe in a directory listed
in your path to use the compression option.

Editor Program: choice of the enhanced editor (epm.exe) or OS/2 system editor
(e.exe) for the program to be envoked when double clicking on a found file.

Save Current Settings: save these settings for future runs.  Note that you must
set the variable mdfbu_ini in your config.sys to match the MDFBU settings data
file

Product Info
------------
Program Info: propaganda

Author Info: how to contact the authors via e-mail

Execute
-------
Run: begin execution.  Same as double clicking on the background to begin

Stop: stop the program

Help: read this file

PM Screen
---------
Search Pattern:  enter the file name pattern you would like to seach for.  For
example, *.sam for Ami Pro files, etc.  See the end of the docs for a list of
possible file extensions

Target Directory: the drive and directory to back up programs into.  To backup
onto floppy, enter a:\ or b:\ as the target.  Or enter c:\backup to backup to
yur hard drive

Compress into:  enter a name to archive the files into.  This option is only
available if COPY or MOVE has been selected (not LIST).  Unless you are running
this program on HPFS, do not include the extension (like .zip).  The archiver
will do this for you.

List files:  select this to list the files matching the search pattern on the
selected drives

Copy files: select this to copy all files matching the seach pattern to the
target directory

Move files: same as copy files only the found files are deleted after copying

Files processed: list of files found, copied, or moved.  After the list or copy
is over, double clicking on a file with the left mouse button will load the
program into the editor selected from the settings menu.

Information line:  a one line message display for information (like Done,
working, etc)

Help Bar: the last line on the PM screen is the help screen.  Move the mouse
over the screen and read the help as the pointer travels over an option.

Background: double click the left mouse button on the yellow background begins
the backup proceedure.

Options
=======

      MDFBU allows the user to list, copy, or move files from one or more hard
drives to a disk drive or directory.  LIST allows you to obtain a summary of the
files that MDFBU found and is able to backup for you.  COPY copies these files
to your specified path, while MOVE copies the files and then deletes the
originals.  Both the COPY and MOVE funtions also allows the user to archive the
found files in ZIP format if the program zip.exe is in your path (type in "path"
without the quotes at a command prompt to check if the directory contining
zip.exe is defined in your path environmental variable)

Example
========

       To backup all C source code on your 'D' drive to a floppy disk in the
'A' drive check off the box denoting source drive 'D' from the drives
selection box from the settings option. In the input field select *.c to search
for all C code (which have the extension .c or possibly .cpp for C++) Select
'a:\' as the destination drive and path, and select 'copy files' as the program
option.  Once this is done, double click on the yellow background to begin! You
may want to select 'list files' before copying them to verify the selection of
files, but this is not necessary.  Also, to archive the files, once the copy or
move selection has been entered, an option to compress the files appears.
Select this and a name for the archive if you'd like to store all of your files
in one compressed file.

Use with tape backup programs
=============================

      MDFBU is also useful for those with tape drives.  Instead of trying to
find all of your programs to archive to tape with your tape backup software, use
MDFBU to make an archvie file on your hard drive and then use the tape software
to back up one zipped file to tape.


Recommended Usage
=================

      In order to be sure of backing up your files with regularity, use the
alarms program that came with OS/2 2.x to launch MDFBU every week or so.  Use
the "execute comment as a command at alarm time" as a way of running the
program.  You will still need to tell the program to start, but as long as the
program settings have been saved and your config.sys has the ini file set, then
you will be set up for timely backups.
(make sure alarms is shadowed into your startup folder.  See the OS/2 FAQ on
how to start the alarms feature minimized, or just mail one of the authors)


Known "Undocumentated Features"
===============================

1. If you are running 4OS2 (tm) as your command shell and have a 4start.cmd
file, a VX-Rexx console may pop up with your 4start.cmd commands upon a copy,
move, list, or zip.  This is due to the way VX-Rexx handles OS/2 commands.  A
solution is to set the "Command Shell" variable in the environment settings to
x:\os2\cmd.exe where x: is the drive OS/2 is installed on.  The VX-Rexx console
is annoying but in no way impedes upon the ability of MDFBU to perform its job.

2. The executable file must remain named mdfbu.exe  Sorry, no name changes
permitted.

3.  Files in the target directory are ignored when searching for files to move
and/or copy.

4.  In the version of zip.exe I have, the option to have the temporary files
stored on a different directory does not seem to work.  Later versions of zip
may solve this problem.

5.  Does not work with Xfeel, Feelx, or other programs which change OS/2's
focus.  Sorry.


Disclaimer
==========

      Use this program at you own risk.  If anything goes wrong, tough.  I have
used this program for a few weeks now and the only way for it to mess anything
up is if the user messes up.  The features in which the program will modify
existing files is by deleting files during the "move" feature, which
copies and DELETES the files you told the program to work upon.  Use this
feature with discresion.  It is always best to use the list feature first to see
which files will be moved.

All programs mentioned in the docs are trade marks of their respective companies
and in no way reflect anyones opinons or signify recommedations or acceptance.
You get the picture.

Void where prohibited by law.  Your milage may vary.  Dealers may sell for less.
Use at your own risk.  Operators are standing by.  The cheque is in the mail.


Sample Extensions
=================

      Included for your backup pleasure is a list of possible file extensions
that you may need to back up with regularity.

*.for Fortran source code
*.f Fortran source code
*.c C source code
*.cpp C++ source code
*.obj object code
*.sam Ami Pro document
*.txt text file
*.ini program initialization file (warning! these files may be locked and
  hence unaccessable to MDBFU)
*.doc program documentation
*.ps postscript file
*.fgr FGraph file
*.grf Grapher or Axum graph file
*.dat data file
*.zip zipped archive file
*.zoo zooed archive file
*.arj arjed archvie file


This doc was written in epm under OS/2 2.1 by Kevin Linfield
([e-mail]) on or about 94 02 09.  Any errors in this file
are not errors because I ment to do it.  Who reads docs anyways?  What are you,
a wimp?  Run the program and get on with it.