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LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 1 ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ LAST 2.1 (c) 1992 Shareware │ │ │ │ Author: Lee Nelson │ │ Integrated Consulting │ │ P.O. Box 1613 │ │ San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693 │ │ Telephone: 800-272-1377 │ │ │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ REGISTRATION ============ LAST is the last navigational tool you'll need for your PC. It is feature-rich, easy to learn, and simple to operate. LAST is a user supported (shareware) product. It is not public domain, nor is it free software. You may use this product during a 30-day trial period without obligation. If you use LAST after the trial period, you must register by sending $25 to the address above. To print an order form: after changing to the directory where you installed LAST, type REGISTER at the DOS prompt. Registered users will receive: (1) a diskette with a copy of the latest version of LAST and (2) update notices. All users receive phone support at 800-272-1377, 9am to 6pm Pacific Time. Please give LAST to friends, relatives, co-workers, and user groups. We genuinely appreciate your support of shareware. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Suggested Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Demo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How to Use LAST 1. Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2. The Highlighted File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. File Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4. View Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5. Tagging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 6. Sorting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 7. Directory Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 8. Go to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 9. Searching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 10. Exploring Filenames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 11. Assigning Function Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 12. Quitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Changing LAST's name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Replacing DIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Files Contained on This Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Disclaimer - Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Association of Shareware Professionals . . . . . . . . . . 16 LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 3 INTRODUCTION ============ LAST is an exceptionally versatile program. It brings together many of the most popular and useful functions performed by disk utility programs, including: File Viewer: View ASCII and binary files; full-screen and split screen; no size limits; displays current line/byte. File Finder: Superquick multiple-drive file locator; input any drive(s), directory and filename. Hard Disk : Move, rename, copy, delete and tag files; directory Manager : tree display with bytes usage; directory menu. Text Search: Search for a string of text in any file, directory, or drive(s); choose the order in which to search the files. DOS Shell : Execute DOS commands; each command saved to disk for subsequent retrieval; execute commands on tagged files. Program : Start up an application program and load a selected file Launcher : into it; execute any .EXE, .COM, or .BAT file. Disk-wide : Sorts ALL files by date, name, and size; the default sort File Sorter: by date displays the most recently modified file first. We recommend you run LAST while reading this manual. You can print the manual by typing: COPY MANUAL.LAS PRN FEATURES ======== LAST provides simple ways to: 1. Scroll through the list of files using the PgUp, PgDn, Home, End, and arrow keys. 2. Perform the following actions on the highlighted file: a. load it into a selected application program; b. view it in ASCII or binary format; c. copy it to a floppy disk; d. rename it; e. move it to a different directory; f. delete it; or, g. execute it, if its extension is EXE, COM or BAT. 3. Sort the list of files by name, size, or date/time. 4. Tag files for copying, moving, or deleting. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 4 5. Search the highlighted file for a specific string of text, with the option to search all files on the list. Not only can you select the string of text and the files to search, you can also choose the order in which to search the files. 6. Display the directory tree of your drive(s). Next to the tree is a directory menu that allows you to choose a directory with one key. You can also obtain the number of files and bytes used in each directory and its subdirectories. 7. Change the File Specification while in LAST. This creates a new list of files. 8. Split its screen. The left side displays the list of files. The rest of the screen shows the beginning of the highlighted file. 9. Display the number of bytes available on the selected floppy disk. 10. Select the path of the highlighted file when you exit LAST. The path of the highlighted file becomes the current directory. SUGGESTED USES ============== 1. Find a file when you don't remember its name. All you need is the file's approximate date, or a portion of text within it. 2. Find a file when you don't remember its drive or directory but do know its name or part of its name. Unlike most "WHEREIS" programs, LAST will not return to the C: prompt. Instead, you can perform viewing, searching, sorting, copying, etc. on any files found. 3. Load a selected file into your word processor, spreadsheet, or other application program. 4. Load a selected file into Microsoft Windows(tm). Windows(tm) will determine which application created the file, open that application program, and load the file. 5. Maneuver around your hard disk easily using LAST's directory menu. 6. Select any directory or subdirectory by typing its name without its drive or parent directory. 7. Copy the day's work to a floppy disk. 8. Find out how many files have changed since the last full backup, and how many megabytes they occupy. 9. Use LAST as a replacement for the DOS DIR command. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 5 INSTALLATION ============ To install LAST, copy all its files to a directory listed in the DOS search path. For instance, if you have a directory named C:\UTIL where you put utility programs, type the following command: COPY A:\*.* C:\UTIL (This assumes your floppy is in drive A:. Use B: if appropriate.) You can also choose to create your own directory. If you do, include that directory in the search path. If you're not sure where to put LAST, copy it to C:\DOS. DEMO !!!!!! ============ The demo is a short introductory tour of LAST's main features. This is the quickest way to become familiar with LAST. To begin the demo, type DEMO and press the <Enter> key. STARTUP ======= At the C: prompt, type LAST and press the <Enter> key. LAST will display its logo while it reads your disk. It then displays a list of files in chronological order, the most recent file appearing first. Many options are now available to you. The next section describes these in detail. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 6 HOW TO USE LAST (which keys to press and what they do) ====================================================== 1. Setup parameters Press S to see the Setup screen. The Setup screen shows five parameters: ╔══════════════════════════[ Setup ]════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ Exclude files older than: (MM-DD-YY) or (# days) ║ ║ ║ ║ Launch Filename : ║ ║ ║ ║ Floppy drive to copy to : A: ║ ║ ║ ║ Default drive(s) to read: ║ ║ ║ ║ Directory names include extensions? N ║ ║ ║ ║ LAST executes more quickly when only the most recent files are ║ ║ displayed. If you want to see only files within the last 90 ║ ║ days, for instance, enter 90. Or enter a date as MM-DD-YY. ║ ║ If you don't want to exclude any files, leave it blank. ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ You can input these parameters whenever you wish. Since LAST writes these parameters to disk, they will not change until you change them. The first parameter is the cutoff date. The purpose of the cutoff date is to reduce the number of files handled by LAST. This makes the program execute quicker, especially when sorting. Enter the cutoff date in either of two ways: 1. To include files from a particular date forward, type the cutoff date in the form MM-DD-YY. 2. To exclude files more than a specific number of days old, type that number. Type 30, for instance, to exclude files more than a month old. If you don't want to exclude any files by date, leave the cutoff date blank. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 7 The second parameter is the Launch Filename. To understand the use of Launch Filename you must first understand what we mean by "launch." To launch means to start up an application (word processor, spreadsheet, etc.) and load the highlighted file into it. When you exit that application program, your computer returns to the C: prompt. (If you prefer to return to LAST, however, use the DOS dialog box described on page 11.) You can launch the highlighted file by pressing L. Before using the launch function, you must tell LAST the name of the application program that the launch will start up. Choose a program you use frequently to benefit the most from the launch function. Type its filename (without the path) next to "Launch Filename" in the Setup screen. For instance, if you wish to start up WordStar(tm), type WS as the Launch Filename. If you want to start up Microsoft Windows(tm), type WIN as the Launch Filename. An example may clarify how launching works. Let's say you wish to edit the file LETTER.DOC using WordPerfect(tm). You would: 1. Type WP as your Launch Filename and press <Enter> to return to the list of files. 2. Use the cursor arrows to highlight LETTER.DOC. 3. Press L. Pressing L causes LAST to exit and WordPerfect(tm) to load LETTER.DOC. When you exit WordPerfect(tm), your computer returns to the C: prompt. Although this example of launching took three steps, subsequent launches require only the last two. Step 1, changing the Launch Filename, will be unnecessary until you decide that the launch should start up a different application. The Launch function works with application programs that can load a file from the C: prompt. To test this, type [Launch Filename] [File to load] at the C: prompt. For example, type WP LETTER.DOC and press <Enter>. If the program loaded the file successfully, the launch will work fine. LAST can launch from any directory when the path of the Launch program is in the DOS search path. If you are unfamiliar with the search path, please refer to the PATH statement in your DOS manual. The third parameter is the floppy drive selection. Type the floppy drive (A: or B:) you use most. Press <Enter> to return to the list of files. After you have typed the floppy drive selection, pressing C will copy the highlighted file (or tagged files if there are any) to it. Pressing # shows the number of bytes available on the selected drive. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 8 The fourth parameter is the default drive(s). When a File Specification does not contain a colon, LAST will read the drives listed in the default drive parameter. If the default drive parameter is blank, however, LAST reads all drives, starting at C:. The fifth parameter is the directory extension question. Type Y to make LAST search for directories containing an extension. LAST executes quicker, however, when it doesn't look for directories having an extension. Most users will keep this set at N. 2. The Highlighted File: (Be sure to read "Tagging" on page 10.) Press <Enter> to display the highlighted file -- LAST displays both ASCII files and binary files. Use the PgUp, PgDn, Home, End, and the four arrow keys to scroll through a file. If you want to search the file for a string of text, press S, which displays the Search dialog box. Type the desired string of text in the Search dialog box. LAST will search the file for the string and display it if found. You can repeat the search by pressing +, or change the search text by pressing S. When LAST reaches the end of the file, it asks whether to search through the remaining files. If you answer Y or +, LAST automatically searches the files. It will stop when it finds the desired text. Press <Esc> or <Enter> to return to the list of files. Press L to launch the highlighted file. The Setup section of this manual (page 6) describes the launch function. Press N to change the name of the highlighted file. Press M to move the highlighted file (or tagged files if there are any) to a different directory. After pressing M, type the name of the directory where the highlighted file should go. Press Ctrl D to delete the highlighted file (or tagged files if there are any). The deletion occurs as soon as you press Ctrl D, so be careful. Press C to copy the highlighted file (or tagged files if there are any) to the floppy drive selected in Setup. Press X to execute the highlighted file if it has an extension of EXE, COM or BAT. 3. File Specification The list of files displayed by LAST corresponds to the current File Specification. A File Specification is any combination of drive, directory, and filename. Examples are C:, \WP51\*.DOC, and D:\123. When you wish to see different files than those currently displayed, press F, which displays the File Specification dialog box. You can type any valid DOS File Specification in the dialog box. You can also select multiple drives, as in CDE: or DF:*.DOC. Another option is the use of the period (.) to select the current directory. See "Command Line Options" on page 14 for examples of File Specs. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 9 If the File Spec does not contain a colon, LAST examines the default drive(s) parameter in the Setup. If the default drive parameter lists any drives, LAST reads these drives. If it is blank, LAST reads all drives, starting at C:. If the File Spec does not include a directory name, LAST reads every directory. It also reads every directory when the File Spec selects the root directory. LAST normally includes all subdirectories of each directory. You can exclude the subdirectories of a directory in four ways: 1. From the command line include the /o (Only) option; 2. When entering a File Spec in the dialog box, press Alt O (Only) to tell LAST to only display files in the File Spec's directory. If the File Spec does not contain a directory name, the program searches the root directory only; 3. Press the letter O at a highlighted file; and, 4. Select the directory from the Directory Tree. LAST provides a handy shortcut to access subdirectories. Simply type the name of the subdirectory without the name of its parent. As soon as LAST finds the (sub)directory, it displays its files. Ways to Change the File Spec Without Using the Dialog Box: Press . (the period) to use the path of the highlighted file as the new File Specification. LAST will display files in that directory and all its subdirectories. Press O (the letter) to use the path of the highlighted file as the new File Specification. LAST will display files in that directory, but none of the files in its subdirectories. Press P to choose the Parent directory of the current File Specification as the new File Specification. For example, if the File Specification is C:\WP51\DOCS, pressing P changes the File Specification to C:\WP51. Press P again to make it C:\. Press * to use *.* in the name section of the File Specification. The path of the File Spec will not change when you press *. 4. View Style Press V to toggle the style of viewing. A split screen mode replaces the normal wide view. The left side of the screen displays filenames. The rest of the screen shows the beginning of the highlighted file. Press V again to return to the wide mode. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 10 All of LAST's functions are available in split screen mode. You can copy, delete, tag, move, etc. One practical use of the split screen mode is to view the contents of files before deleting them. Pressing the right arrow key in split screen mode displays the file full-screen. 5. Tagging If you wish to move, copy or delete a group of files, tag them. Tag a highlighted file by pressing T. A check mark will appear next to its filename. The move, copy, and delete commands now operate only on these tagged files rather than the highlighted file. The move and copy commands automatically untag all files. Press U to untag the highlighted file. LAST also performs DOS commands on tagged files. (See "Go to DOS" on page 11.) LAST displays the number of tagged files and their size in the upper right corner of the screen. 6. Sorting Press Alt N (Name) to sort the list of files alphabetically. Press Alt S (Size) to sort the list of files by size. The largest appears first. Press Alt T (Time) to sort the list of files by time/date. The most recent file appears first. Alt T is the default sort. The highlighted file remains on the screen after each sort. Use the Home or End keys to see the beginning or ending entries in the sorted list. Press Alt G (taG) to move all tagged files to the top of the list. This helps you review the tagged files before a deletion or move. It also makes it easier to untag all files. Each time you choose a new File Spec the program displays the files in chronological order. 7. Directory Tree LAST displays the Directory Tree of the drive(s) currently selected in two ways: LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 11 1. Press the spacebar to display a directory tree next to a directory menu. Change directories by pressing one of the letters on the directory menu. Use the arrow keys to move to a subdirectory if you wish. If all directories don't fit on the menu, press + or - to display more. If you selected more than one drive, press <Tab> to see the next drive's directories on the menu. 2. Press B (bytes) to display a directory tree decorated with numbers. The left side of the Directory Tree Screen shows the number of files and bytes used in each directory including its subdirectories. Its right side shows totals excluding subdirectories. When changing directories, first select the desired directory, then press <Enter>. If the directory has any subdirectories, LAST asks whether to include them. Press <Esc> or spacebar to return to LAST's file list without changing it. Press Alt Q to quit to DOS from the Directory Tree. 8. Go to DOS Press G to go to the DOS dialog box. If you want to do more than one DOS command, leave the dialog box blank and press <Enter>. You will see the C: prompt and a reminder to type EXIT when you want to come back to LAST. Enter as many commands as you wish. (The amount of available conventional memory is reduced by about 100K.) Then type EXIT to return to LAST. If you want to do only one DOS command, type the DOS command you wish to execute and press <Enter>. LAST will ask whether to re-read the disk after DOS completes the command. If you don't want to wait for LAST to re-read the disk, and don't care about seeing the changes you've made, press N. (Pressing N reduces the amount of available conventional memory by about 100K.) If you change your mind and wish to see the changes to your disk after returning to LAST, you can press Alt-R. This instructs LAST to re-read the disk. If your disk is quite fast, you probably will want LAST to read the disk again -- press <Enter) or Y. Pressing Y does not reduce the amount of available conventional memory. A buffer stores each command typed in the DOS dialog box. This 475-byte buffer holds the most recent 20-40 commands. Press the up and down arrow keys to recall commands from LAST's buffer. Since LAST writes its buffer to disk, you can recall these commands even after rebooting. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 12 9. Searching LAST does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase when searching. A search for Smith will find SMITH, Smith, and smith. Since LAST will search for the string of letters S-M-I-T-H, it also will find Smith's, blacksmith, and smithereens. You can start a search in two ways. First, from the C: prompt, use the /s option to search all files matching the File Spec. See page 14 for details. Second, search the list of files by: 1. Pressing <Enter> at the highlighted file. 2. Pressing S to display the Search dialog box. 3. Typing the string you are looking for. LAST will search for the desired string in the current file. If LAST finds it, the program displays the location of the string. Press the + key to see more occurrences of the same string in the same file. After searching a file, LAST offers the option of searching only the text files on the list. Press T to search text files only. This usually makes the search much faster. Press the + key to search all remaining files. The + key is the only key needed to view every occurrence of the string on your disk. Press <Esc> to interrupt LAST while it is searching. 10. Exploring Filenames The Explore Filenames feature allows you to search filenames for a string of characters. Whether the string occurs in the beginning, middle, or end of the filename, LAST will find it. This is more flexible than DOS, which only allows you to use beginning letters to find files. Press E to display the Explore Filenames dialog box. Type in the string you are seeking and press <Enter>. It is not necessary to type the * or ? wildcards. If LAST finds a filename containing the string, it will display that file on the top of the screen. You can repeat the search by pressing +. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 13 11. Assigning Function Keys The Function keys act as a complement to LAST's one-letter commands. Press K to view the current Function key assignments. The default setting of the F1 key is H. When you press the F1 key, LAST performs the function assigned to the H key (Help). Similarly, the default assignment of the F2 key is R. So when you press F2, LAST does the function assigned to R (Read manual). Change the Function key assignments by pressing a function key. Then type the letter to assign it to. Press <Enter> to save your changes to disk. Press <Esc> to exit the Key screen without saving the changes made. 12. Quitting Press Q or <Esc> to quit LAST. It will ask you to confirm the action. It also presents an option to change to the path of the highlighted filename. Press <Enter> twice to exit LAST without changing the current directory. Press Alt Q to quit LAST immediately with no change to the current directory. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 14 COMMAND LINE OPTIONS ==================== At the DOS command line, type LAST /h to display the following: LAST 2.1 Copyright (c) 1992 Integrated Consulting Syntax: LAST [File Spec] [Options] The File Spec can be any valid DOS File Specification. It can also include multiple drives (CDE:) or a period to select the current directory. If the File Spec does not contain a colon(:), LAST looks at its default drive parameter. If the default drive parameter is blank, LAST reads all drives, starting at C:. Options: /l = Launch the most recent file that matches the File Spec. /s string = Search the list of files for the desired string of text. /o = Only displays files in the selected directory and none of its subdirectories' files. If you type /o without a directory name, LAST selects the current directory. /d MM-DD-YY = Displays files with the selected date and newer dates only. If no date follows the /d, LAST won't examine file dates. /t = Displays a directory tree with a menu of directories. /b = Displays bytes used in each directory in the tree. The following examples illustrate the use of File Specifications and options at the DOS command line: LAST Displays all files on all included drives. LAST D: Displays all files on drive D:. LAST LETTER.DOC Displays files named LETTER.DOC on all included drives. LAST CDE:*.FIL Displays files with .FIL extension on drives C, D, and E. LAST C:\WP\FEB*.* Displays files that start with FEB in C:\WP or any of its subdirectories. LAST A: Displays all files on drive A:. LAST \ABC Displays files in \ABC if it is a directory. If it is not a directory, LAST will search for \ABC subdirectory. If it is neither, LAST searches for files named ABC. LAST /l After reading all files on all included drives, launch the most recent file. LAST /s SMITH Search all files on all included drives for Smith. LAST /o Displays files in the current directory only. LAST C:\WS /o Displays files in C:\WS directory only. LAST . Displays files in current directory and its subdirectories. LAST /d 06-01-92 Displays files dated June 1, 1992, or newer. LAST /d 90 Displays files 90 days old or newer. LAST C: /t Display tree for drive C: with directory menu. LAST CD: /b Display tree for drives C: and D: with bytes usage. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 15 CHANGING LAST'S NAME ==================== If you change the name of LAST.EXE, change it to a name with an .EXE extension. Then enter the following command at the DOS prompt: SET LAST=[new name]<Enter> For example, if you have changed LAST.EXE to L.EXE, type: SET LAST=L<Enter> If you change LAST's name, you will most likely want to put the above SET command in AUTOEXEC.BAT. Otherwise you'll need to type the SET command after each reboot. REPLACING DIR ============= The included batch file, DR.BAT, is a useful replacement for DOS's DIR command. For instance, instead of typing DIR *.EXE at the C: prompt, type DR *.EXE. LAST will display files with the EXE extension in the current directory. Or type DR to see all files in the current directory. LIMITS ====== The maximum number of directories is 512. The maximum number of files depends on the amount of available RAM. 12,500 files fit in 600K; 10,000 fit in 500K. FILES CONTAINED ON THIS DISK ============================ README.1ST Information about LAST. WHATSNEW.TXT Description of newest features. LAST.EXE The main program. DATA.LAS Contains configuration information used by LAST. MANUAL.LAS The file you are reading. HELP.LAS The Help file for LAST. ORDERF.ORM Order form to register LAST. DEMO.EXE Demonstrates LAST. DEM.LAS Contains sequence of events in the demo. PAN.COM PC Magazine PANDORA.COM version 2.4; used by demo. REGISTER.BAT File that prints the order form. DR.BAT Replacement for DOS DIR command. BATCHEND.COM File used by LAST when executing batch files. FILE_ID.DIZ Description of LAST used by bulletin boards. DESC.SDI Description of LAST used by bulletin boards. VENDOR.DOC Information used by shareware vendors. LAST21.ZIP All the above files ZIP'ped into one file. LAST 2.1 MANUAL Page 16 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS =================== LAST requires a minimum of 384K RAM and DOS 3.0 or above. DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT ====================== Users of LAST must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "LAST is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of LAST." ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS ====================================== This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.