High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR24/FMBETA.ZIP/FM.DOC

Text File | 1993-09-29 | 17KB | 460 lines

Beta Notes:
==========
Documentation for beta is preliminary.
Documentation and help files not yet complete.
Installation program not yet written.
Comments, bug reports and suggestions welcome.



               F(ile) M(anager) copyright (c) 1993 by M. Kimes
                            All Rights Reserved



Overview:
========

FM can be considered something of a "super Drives object" to replace or
use with your WPS Drives objects and directory folders (although FM is a
PM program, not a WPS object or folder).  FM displays the contents of
your drives and allows maintaining your files and directories as well as
executing programs by selecting them or their datafiles and viewing and
editting datafiles.  Drag and drop and context menus are fully
supported, as well as more traditional pulldown menus and accelerator
keys.


Installing FM:
=============

Unzip the archive into a scratch directory.  Copy FM.EXE into a
directory listed in your Path (see SET PATH= in your CONFIG.SYS file)
where you can start it from anywhere. Copy BAREBONE.DLL into a directory
listed in your Libpath (see LIBPATH= in your CONFIG.SYS file).  Copy
FM.HLP into a directory listed in your Help path (see SET HELP= in your
CONFIG.SYS).  If you want to be able to view the contents of archives,
copy ARCHIVER.BB2 to a directory in your Dpath (see SET DPATH= in your
CONFIG.SYS).  By default FM places FM.INI in the first directory of your
path; if you'd like it somewhere else, set environment variable
FMPROF_PATH to point to the directory in which you want FM.INI kept.
You're done.

Note that you can't install a new copy of FM over an old copy if the old
copy is running because OS/2 won't let you.

Optionally, copy the FM.INI file somewhere in your Path so you can start
with some associations and commands defined (more on those later).  FM
uses some temporary files and directories off of the default directory,
so you might want to set its Working directory in a program object to
your temporary directory ,and enter the director(y)(ies) that you would
like windows for in the FM program object's Parameters field.


Starting FM:
===========

Command line arguments are optional.  If there are any, FM opens windows
for any listed drives and directories.  Examples:

FM              Starts one window in the root of the current drive
FM D:\FILES     Starts one window in D:\FILES
FM D:\ E:\ F:\  Starts three windows in the roots of drives D:, E: and F:

FM can, of course, be started from a program object.


Using FM:
========

Each FM main window (you can have more than one; see Misc->Toggles->New
Window and Starting FM) presents you with a split view; on the left is a
directory tree showing all the available drives and subdirectories, on
the right is container showing the contents of a single directory.  You
might imagine that these windows are similar to a "multiple drive"
object and a directory folder that are linked together, so that
selecting a directory in the tree causes the directory view to switch to
the selected directory rather than opening another folder (you can
alternatively open a new window).

By "select" I mean double-clicking a file (or arrowing the dotted-line
cursor to it and pressing [Enter], but use the mouse, it's faster).
Similarly, if you select a subdirectory in the directory view, the
directory changes to that subdirectory.  If you select a file, however,
the action is different.  First, FM checks to see if you've associated a
matching file mask with a program and executes that program on the
datafile.  If it's not associated, FM checks to see if the file is an
archive and views it as one if so.  If it's not an archive, FM checks to
see if the file itself is executable and, if so, runs it.  If it's not,
FM views the file using an internal viewer (or one you've configured
with Misc->Program Setup).

You can move files between directories by dragging them from the
directory view to a directory in the tree (or wherever).  You can drag
them to WPS drives or folder objects, too, or to another FM window.  To
copy instead of move, hold down the CTRL key while dragging.  In other
words, drag and drop works pretty much as it does from a WPS object.

You can also drag files to some of the Toolbox buttons (the Toolbox is a
separate window that contains icon buttons for common tasks; see
Misc->Toolbox), and their action will be performed on the files.  For
instance, you can drag a file to the trashcan and it'll be deleted.

If you drop a file onto another file you'll get a dialog allowing you to
select from a list of options (concatenate the dragged file(s) to the
target, compare the files, etc.).  All in all, you'll find that
drag-and-drop can be used to perform most common file management tasks.
Note:  in a full details view, there's only one spot that's "white
space:" just above the first record.  For convenience, you may also drop
on the two text lines above the container.

Of course, drag and drop is not the only method of getting things done
in FM, nor are moving and copying the only actions available.  You can
click the second button on your mouse inside the tree or directory
container to get a context menu of options to select from (where you
click is important, just as it is with WPS objects!), or use the
pulldown menus, or use accelerator keys (they're listed in the menus by
their functions).  A Toolbox is also optionally available, as mentioned
earlier.

Aside from the obvious (drag and drop, menus) you can do a few other
things.  You can rename files by holding down the ALT key and clicking
on their names in the window as well as by the methods described above
(just like in the WPS).  If you select Move or Copy from a menu or via
an accelerator, you'll be presented with a dialog that lets you "walk"
to the drive and directory where you want the files placed.  The Parent
and Root buttons can be used to quickly move the directory view to the
previous or root directories.  When you move around your drives, FM
remembers where you've been so you can get back easily using the
Misc->Pick Directory command.


Files Menu:
==========

(Note:  you can get the applicable portions of the Files menu, and
 possibly some specific additional items, by clicking button 2 on
 an object in a container)

Most of the commands under the Files menu are extremely obvious, but a few
might not be&colon.

Shadow:
------

Creates shadows of selected files and directories on the desktop. If one
file or directory is selected, creates only one lone shadow object
directly on the desktop.  If several are selected, creates a folder to
contain them on the desktop, then places the shadow objects in the
folder.


Settings:
--------

Calls up the object's Settings Notebook.  Use this sparingly; about 200
bytes are consumed (EAs, etc.) to "turn the file into an object" if it's
not already one.


Command:
-------

Calls up the Command Edit dialog and lets you select a command from the
listbox (you could even add one on the fly), then executes that command
against the selected files.


Archive:
-------

Creates an archive containing the selected files.  If a directory is
selected, all the files in the directory go into the archive.


Extract:
-------

Extracts from selected archives.  FM ignores any selected files that
aren't archives.


Collect:
-------

Places the selected files into the Collector and brings up the Collector
if it's not already on the screen.


Save to clipboard:
-----------------

Saves the selected files into the clipboard, one filename per line.
Whatever text is in the clipboard, if any, is replaced.


Select:
------

This submenu contains several ways to select files in the directory
container.  You should be able to quickly select a subset of the records
in a container using these options.



Views Menu:
==========

(Note:  you can also get the Views menu as a popup by clicking button 2
 in a vacant area of one of the container boxes)

Tree:
----

This submenu lets you customize the appearance of the tree container.
Tree Icon:  this view contains both text (directory name) and icon for
each drive/directory.  Tree text:  contains only text.  No Treelines:
toggles the lines that connect the subdirectories in an expanded tree
view.  Collapse all:  collapse all drives and subdirectories.  Expand
all:  expand all drives and subdirectories (except floppies, so as not
to force you to insert a disk if they're empty).


Directory:
---------

This submenu lets you customize the appearance of the directory
container.  Icon:  the ubiquitous icon view has text under the file's
icon.  Name:  similar to the icon view, but text is beside the icon.
Text:  only text (the filename) appears.  Details:  arguably the most
useful view; contains full information on the files and subdirectories
contained in the directory you're viewing.  Details setup:  this submenu
allows you to toggle the detail view's titles and icons on and off.


Force uppercase:
---------------

Forces file and directory names to be uppercased in the display.


Force lowercase:
---------------

Forces file and directory names to be lowercased in the display.  This
usually saves a bit on the horizontal room required by text.


Icons:
-----

This submenu lets you toggle mini-icons and whether or not FM will load
the icons for files and directories when loading other info.


Font change:
-----------

Calls up the standard font dialog to let you pick a new font for the
window.


Set filemask:
------------

Lets you enter, or pick from a list, a new filemask to filter the files
shown to you in the directory container.  This can be a powerful tool;
please see the detailed help available online in the filemask dialog.


Sort by:
-------

This submenu presents you with a number of ways to sort the files in the
directory container.


Rescan:
------

This submenu lets you rescan part or all of the main window.  Directory:
rescans the current directory.  Drive:  rescans the subdirectories of
the currently highlighted drive.  Tree:  rescans the entire tree and the
directory listing.  All main windows:  like selecting Tree for all main
windows.



Misc Menu:
=========

Collector:
---------

The Collector is a temporary place to hold files that you want to do
something to later.  No physical (disk) storage is used; the Collector
just holds the filenames until you're ready to do something with them.
You can drag files and directories to the Collector from a main file
window or from a Grep window.  Be careful where you drop the files;
directories and files already in the Collector are "targets."  If you
drop on a directory, the files are moved or copied to the directory, not
into the Collector.  If you drop on a file, you get the usual option
dialog.


Grep (Seek and scan files):
--------------------------

The Grep window can be used to find files with a certain filename
pattern and/or that contain a certain text string.  Grep can work
on more than one drive, directory and mask.  This is useful for doing
things like finding all .INF files and then using Shadow to make a
desktop folder containing shadows of all the found files.  You can drag
files from the Grep window, but not to the Grep window (makes sense).


Toolbox:
-------

The toolbox is a separate window that contains icons that you can click
to send commands to the main file window.  The icon buttons in the
toolbox are graphical "mnemonics" for some menu commands and will
probably be helpful to novice users.  You can make the title bar come
and go by clicking mouse button 2 (usually the right button on two
button mice) in the client area of the window.  When the title bar is
visible, the buttons are described on it as you pass the mouse over
them.


Kill Processes:
--------------

If you have a renegade process that won't die, try Misc->Kill Process on
it.  You'll get a list of running processes; pick one and click Kill.
This doesn't always work, but usually will.  Be careful that you don't
kill FM.  It won't show in the list, but a parent process (like a
CMD.EXE shell that started FM) may.  It won't be fatal if you do, just
inconvenient.


Undelete Files:
--------------

If you have the OS/2 undelete command activated in CONFIG.SYS for the
current drive you can use Misc->Undelete Files as a front end to the
Undelete command.  You'll be presented with a list of files that can
be undeleted on the current drive; pick one or more and click Okay.


Instant Cmd File:
----------------

Need a one-shot batch file?  Click Misc->Instant Cmd File and type one
into the MLE, then click Okay.  Click Help if knowing the name of the
batch file is important; it'll tell you what it will be.


Program Setup:
-------------

Here you can set the name of a default viewer and a default editor that
will be used where appropriate instead of the internal viewer/editor.
It's recommended you do so as the internals are rather limited.  You can
also assign a program to be run when you request to compare files by
dragging one file onto another; if you link-drag, this is the default
action, otherwise you get a dialog where you can choose Compare.
COMP.COM is the default.


Save Settings:
-------------

When you've got your windows looking just the way you want them, select
this.  It'll save window positions and other miscellaneous defaults so
they'll be there the next time you run FM.


Associations:
------------

When you double-click a file in a container FM first checks to see if
you've associated a matching file mask with a program.  If so, that
program is started with the datafile as its argument.  The Associations
dialog lets you enter, delete and change these associations.


Pick Directory:
--------------

FM keeps track of where you've been for quick recall via a dialog box
that this menu option pops up.  If you pick a directory from the listbox
(double click it, or highlight and click Okay) it becomes the new
current directory, or a new window is started depending on the setting
of New Window above.


Toggles:
-------

Contains toggles you can set or unset (set toggles have check marks by
them).


Exit FM:
-------

If you have a lot of windows open it can take a while to close them all
manually.  You can select this to completely shutdown FM (you could also
select Close from the Window List).


Speed tips:
==========

The fastest view for a container to maintain is the Text view.

In main windows, you can tell FM not to load the icons of files and
directories, speeding up disk scanning (they're normally loaded even if
you aren't displaying them, in case you turn them on later).  Defaults
are used if FM doesn't load the icons and you turn them on.

Picking a directory to switch to from the tree or the Pick Directory
dialog is faster than "walking" drives.

Starting all the main windows you'll need from the command line or
program object, when you know ahead of time, avoids the need for
interaction to start them manually, and so is faster.

Picking a command from the pulldown menu is faster than picking it from
the command dialog which you get when you use the context menu or
Toolbox button.

Using commands that can act on all selected files with one invocation of
the command program is faster than commands that require starting
separate sessions for each datafile.

Using pattern matching in the Grep window is slower than absolute
text searching, and no text to search for (just filemask matching)
is faster yet.


Registering FM:
==============

FM is shareware; you can try it before you buy it, and decide not to buy
it if it doesn't meet your needs.  If you continue to use it beyond thirty
(30) days, though, you must register your copy.

To register FM, register AV (if you've already registered AV, don't
worry about registering FM -- check the about box, you already are
registered).  $35.00 in US funds ($75.00 for a commercial registration)
registers both programs.  Send it to:

M. Kimes
542 Merrick
Shreveport, LA  USA  71104

Add $5.00 US for disk shipment outside the US.  You can pick up the
registration program (about 12K) online @ [phone] or file request
it from Fidonet#1:380/16.0; set it up with me first.