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QuickFILES.BBS version 1.00 Page 1 - Section I ∙ Program Documentation - Author's Note: This program was originally release as Remote Access SpaceMaker (RAS) v2.25. With the introduction of Remote Access 2.0, and it's new file structures, which this program is NOT compatible with, I felt a new name was in order. I wanted a name that would minimize confusion about it's purpose, Hence, QuickFILES.BBS. However, this is not simply a re-issue of the same software with a new name. There are many enhancements including lots of free memory when shelling to DOS, three way sorting, double the File Area capacity (238), mono-capable, noticeably faster overall processing, and more convenient file tagging features. QuickFILES.BBS is an Upload/Download File Area Manager written specifically for BBS Systems using the FILES.BBS style file maintenance. Systems using the FILES.BBS structure include Remote Access v1.1 and QuickBBS. QuickFILES.BBS should be compatible with any BBS System that uses the FILES.BBS structure. Basically, this method involves having a text file (typically named FILES.BBS) in each directory, or File Area, that holds file descriptions on all the files in that File Area. A file description is a line of text that contains the filename, the number of downloads, and a brief description of the file. QuickFILES.BBS allows you to delete, move or rename files. You can search File Areas for a filename or a string of text. You can search for files that are in the directory but not listed in the FileList (Orphan Files). You can edit file descriptions, including the number of downloads. QuickFILES.BBS supports only one-line file descriptions, but each description may be a maximum of 256 characters (configurable). The FileList can be sorted by filename, date, or number of downloads. File Areas that contain private uploads (files typically stored in PFILES.BBS) can be configured to indicate when privately uploaded files exist. You can also assign up to 24 external utilities that can be executed from within QuickFILES.BBS to perform various tasks on the files listed in the FileList. QuickFILES.BBS supports up to 238 File Areas, and between 300-800 files per area, depending on the length of the descriptions. QuickFILES.BBS was developed to have as many important functions as possible, all accessible with the fewest keystrokes possible, and at the same time be easy to set up and use. Many of the functions are configurable to suit specific needs. This version is mono compatible. Use the command line switch /m to invoke mono mode. QuickFILES.BBS is distributed as Shareware. If you like the program, and would like to register, send $10 to: Herman Nieuwendaal 12203 Windvale Court Riverview, FL 33569 Your registration number will be good for all future releases of QuickFILES.BBS! For bug reports and questions, I can be reached on the club BBS of the Greater Tampa Bay Computer User Group: SOFTWARE HEAVEN - Valrico FL 813-653-0431. PC Pursuit accessible: FLTAM. FidoNet Address - 1:377/41. Latest version always available. File Request (Freq) filename is QFBBS. QuickFILES.BBS version 1.00 Page 2 - Section I ∙ Program Documentation - I would like to take this opportunity to mention a couple people who were very instrumental to the development of this program. Gary Sweers, Sysop of Software Heaven, operating in Valrico FL, and Cy Leonard, SysOp of The Swap Shop. These guys supplied all the inspiration for QuickFILES.BBS, and also served as bug hunters through the many revisions of the program. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Marty Del Vecchio, author of SWAP 3.0. This is an assembly routine that swaps almost all of QuickFILES.BBS out of the way when shelling to DOS or running one of the user defined utilities. This greatly enhances the use of external programs. SWAP was originally written for use with C programming. To the best of my knowledge, Joe Lizzy and Ron Pierce collaborated to modify the code to be compatible with QuickBASIC. Thanks for a great utility! The QFxxx.CNF Configuration File -------------------------------- Many of the functions of QuickFILES.BBS may be modified by editing the configuration file. It may be edited with any text editor. The Directives are described in the second section of this DOC file. All configuration Directives are also described briefly in the QFxxx.CNF file. The default setting for each option is also shown in brackets to the right of the Directive Description in the configuration file. Several of the options described in the first section of this DOC file have associated Directives defined in the configuration file. The Directive name associated with each option, if any, will be listed at the end of the option description. QuickFILES.BBS version 1.00 Page 3 - Section I ∙ Program Documentation - Before discussing the functions of QuickFILES.BBS, I would like to offer one strong suggestion to SysOps operating in a multi-tasking environment. QuickFILES.BBS is intended to be used for BBS maintenance when there are NO users on line. Considerable effort has gone into making QuickFILES.BBS safe to use, including file locking (The DOS network file manager SHARE.EXE must be loaded), and the detection of files locked by another application or the BBS. Much testing has been done and no known problems exist. QuickFILES.BBS will not open a FileList that is locked by the BBS. If the BBS attempts to update a FileList while QuickFILES.BBS has it locked, such as during an upload, it will not be able to do so. You would need to update the FileList manually in this case. Still, the best bet for smooth operation of both the BBS and QuickFILES.BBS is to do your file maintenance while the BBS is idle. There are two main displays in QuickFILES.BBS. The File Area Display and the FileList Display. File Area Display: ----------------- The display that first comes up when QuickFILES.BBS is executed is the File Area Display. This display shows a list of all the available File Areas as defined in the configuration file. Hard Drive free space is shown in the upper right hand corner as well as the full path to the currently selected File Area. All options active from this display are shown on the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Options are selected by pressing the hot key indicated by a Red letter for each option. FileList Display: ---------------- The second display is the FileList Display. This display is presented once a File Area has been selected from the File Area Display. This display shows the contents of the FileList, along with pertinent information about the files in the File Area including size, date and number of files, total size of files, and disk free space. Again, all options active from this display are shown on the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Some options have multiple options. As with the File Area Display, standard options are selectable by pressing the hot key indicated by a Red highlighted letter. A Yellow hot key indicator means that option has a secondary function, selectable by pressing the ALT key and the hot key. A Cyan hot key indicator means there is a third function, available by pressing the CTRL key and the hot key. QuickFILES.BBS version 1.00 Page 4 - Section I ∙ Program Documentation - All options are described in order of appearance from left to right on the option bar at the bottom of each display. File Area Display Options: ------------------------- Cursor Movement: Use the Arrow, Home, End and Tab keys to move the cursor. Press enter to open the selected directory. Make Directory: Allows user to make a directory, and optionally append it to the list in the QFxxx.CNF configuration file. Orphan Search: Searches the selected File Area for files that are not listed in the FileList. If any are found, the filenames are shown. The files found may be added to the FileList, if desired. A default comment may be attached to Orphan files added to the FileList. -QFxxx.CNF Directive Name: OrphanComment Locate String: Prompts user for a string to search for. May be a filename or any string of text in the file description. The search will begin in the currently selected File Area. If no match is found, the search will continue in the next File Area. Edit Config File: This option will call the QFxxx.CNF configuration file into an external text editor. A valid editor must first be defined in QFxxx.CNF before this option will function. This option is great for adding File Areas or modifying user options from within QuickFILES.BBS. -QFxxx.CNF Directive Name: ExtEditor Drop to DOS: Shells to the DOS prompt for small tasks. QuickFILES.BBS remains in memory and can be resumed by typing 'EXIT' at the DOS prompt. QuickFILES.BBS can optionally be swapped to XMS, EMS or Disk when shelling to DOS, freeing up more memory for DOS functions. Be careful not to load TSRs while shelled out of QuickFILES.BBS. -QFxxx.CNF Directive Name: SwapQF SwapFile Private Uploads: This option is only visible/active if you enable private uploads to one or more File Areas and there are private uploads existing. Private Uploads are stored in a seperate list usually named PFILES.BBS. The File Area(s) containing private uploads will be highlighted in bright Cyan. To process private files, Move the cursor to the File Area containing them, and press the hot key 'P'. Files may then be processed as usual. They may be moved to any File Area, or the descriptions may be moved to the public FileList of the same File Area. -QFxxx.CNF Directive Names: PrvtFiles PFileList QuickFILES.BBS version 1.00 Page 5 - Section I ∙ Program Documentation - FileList Display Options: ------------------------- Untag All Always works the same, untagging ALL tagged files. Files: Tag All Files: This option has dual functions. The primary function, invoked by pressing the hot key 'T', will tag all existing files in the FileList. It will not tag comment lines or file names that were not found. The secondary function (ALT-T) will tag all file descriptions and comment lines. The file info at the top of the display is updated as files are tagged or untagged. The 'Projected Free' value reflects how much space would be freed up on the hard drive if the selected files were deleted, or otherwise removed from the drive. This does not apply when moving files to another directory on the same drive. Move Files: Moves the selected file or files, along with their respective descriptions, to another File Area. A check is done to make sure files of the same name are not over written. Files can be moved to another partition or disk, including A: or B: floppy drives. If moving files to another File Area on the same drive, the file is simply renamed, resulting in very fast moves. Files that cannot be moved for any reason will be listed when the move operation is completed. Rename File: Renames the file, changing both the actual filename in the File Area and the recorded file name in the FileList. Delete Files: This option has dual functions. The primary function deletes the selected file or files from the File Area, and erases the file description from the FileList. The secondary function (Alt-D) deletes only the file description from the FileList, and leaves the file intact. This option may be used when it is desired to retain the file or files, but not have them publicly listed in the FileList. Insert: Inserts a blank line in the FileList for the purpose of including a header or comment line in the FileList. Headers and Comment lines must always begin with at least one space character so that QuickFILES.BBS will not attempt to process them as a file description. QuickFILES.BBS version 1.00 Page 6 - Section I ∙ Program Documentation - Edit File Allows the user to edit the description of the selected Description: file. The cursor column position within the FileList is shown at the right of the line being edited, to indicate the overall length of the file description. Remember that the actual file description in the FileList includes the filename, number of downloads, & description, but not the size or date of the file. Therefore, the cursor position within the FileList will be different from the cursor position on the screen. A menu of active edit keys is shown at the bottom of the display. Locate String: Looks for a filename or string of text in the current File Area. If not found, the search may be continued, at the user's option, in the next File Area. Sort FileList: This is a tri-function option. The primary function sorts the FileList by filename. The secondary function (Alt-S) sorts the FileList by file date. The third function (Ctrl-S) sorts the FileList by number of downloads. The FileList will be saved as last sorted when the File Area is exited. ZipView: This option is intended to load an external utility that will display the contents of a zipped file. The QFxxx.CNF file must be set up properly for this function to work. As an example, the config file is set up for PKUNZIP (R)*, but any zip viewing utility should work. Notice how the -vm switch is used in the config file. This is what PKUNZIP requires. Other utilities may require a different switch, or none at all! -QFxxx.CNF Directive Name: ZipViewer Print Files: Produces a print out of the FileList. The output will normally be sent to the printer (indicated by [PRN]), but can be redirected to a disk file (indicated by [DSK]) if desired, by pressing ALT-P. User Options: This option will call external utilities to do processing on files in the current File Area. It is similar to the ZipView option above, except that a menu is displayed to show the options available. The utilities and key assignments must be defined in the QFxxx.CNF file. Up to 24 utilities can be defined, 12 on the Function Keys and 12 more on the Alt- Function Keys. The F and Alt-F Keys are hot even when the menu is not being displayed. This means the desired utility can be called without first calling the menu if the F key is known. There are several examples shown in the QFxxx.CNF file to get you started using this very powerful feature. -QFxxx.CNF Directive Names: F1Key - F12Key @F1Key - @F12Key *PKUNZIP is a product of PKWARE Inc., All Rights Reserved. QuickFILES.BBS v1.00 Page 1 - Section II ∙ Setting Up The QF100.CNF Configuration File - QuickFILES.BBS is configurable to many different needs through the configuration file QF100.CNF. By editing commands (called Directives), several features can be customized by the user. This file describes each Directive and how to implement it. I suggest keeping a copy of the original config file in a safe place. All path statements are limited to 50 characters. Definitions longer than this will cause errors when QuickFILES.BBS attempts to access the offending path. Each Directive name MUST be terminated by a colon (:). Any Directives not terminated by a colon will not be recognized! Any Directive can be set to the Default Setting by commenting out the line containing that Directive with an apostrophe ('). The QF100.CNF file is basically laid out in four sections. The first section is a series of comments briefly describing each of the Directives, including the Default Settings. Following the Directive Descriptions is the area where most of the Directives are actually defined. The third section is where the UserOptions are assigned to the F Keys. The last section is the list of File Areas that QuickFILES.BBS will have access to. Following is an explanation of each Directive: DLCharacter: Default Setting = [ This is the character used to enclose the number of downloads value. QuickFILES.BBS uses this when sorting the FileList by number of downloads. EditMode: Default Setting = TYPEOVER This is a Directive for the Internal Line Editor, which is used for editing file descriptions, renaming files, and other data entry. It can be set to start up in TYPEOVER or INSERT mode. ExtEditor: Default Setting = EDIT After setting this Directive manually the first time in the QF100.CNF file, QuickFILES.BBS will be able to edit the Config file on the fly. You need only specify the editor of your choice. The only requirements are, 1) the editor you specify must have the ability of accepting a filename from the DOS command line, and 2) the editor must be in your DOS path, or in the same directory that QuickFILES.BBS is started from. F1Dir: Default Setting = C:\BBS\BACKUP During a file move operation, pressing F1 causes the selected files to be moved automatically to this File Area, eliminating the need to select the Target File Area with the cursor. This can save keystrokes if you have a work directory that you frequently use to collect files for tape backup or other maintenance. QuickFILES.BBS v1.00 Page 2 - Section II ∙ Setting Up The QF100.CNF Configuration File - FileList: Default Setting = FILES.BBS This is the name of the file that contains the filenames and descriptions for each directory (This is typically FILES.BBS, but other names are possible). There is one FileList file in each File Area. OrphanComment: Default Setting = Previously unlisted file added by SysOp QuickFILES.BBS can search a File Area for files that are not listed in the FileList, and add those filenames to the FileList if desired. QuickFILES.BBS gives you the option of including this default file description with files that are added to the file list. You may edit this description to say anything you like, but it may not exceed the length defined in the Directive RecordLen: (See below) PrvtFiles: Default Setting = C:\BBS\PUP This option tells QuickFILES.BBS if it should look for private uploads. If private uploads are allowed to all File Areas, set this option to YES. If private uploads are allowed to only one File Area, then specify that File Area. If set to YES, QuickFILES.BBS searches all listed File Areas for the existence of private uploads on startup. Depending on the number of File Areas, this can cause some delay. If a single File Area is specified, then only that File Area is searched. In either case, File Areas containing Private Uploads will be highlighted in Cyan on the File Area Display Screen. PFileList: Default Setting = PFILES.BBS The name of the file that contains the filenames and descriptions of private uploads. (Typically PFILES.BBS) If private uploads are not permitted, set this option to NONE. RecordLen: Default Setting = 256 File descriptions include the filename, number of downloads, and brief file description. QuickFILES.BBS can handle between 300 to 800 files, depending on the average length of the descriptions. A FileList containing 500 files can be processed if the average length of the descriptions is 80 characters. TrackDrive: Default Setting = C:\ QuickFILES.BBS will monitor the specified drive and report free space available. Also reports projected free space when files are tagged, assuming files will be deleted or moved to another drive. QuickFILES.BBS v1.00 Page 3 - Section II ∙ Setting Up The QF100.CNF Configuration File - ZipViewer: Default Setting = UNZIP.EXE -vm, File, Y, N The contents of a .ZIP file can be viewed from within QuickFILES.BBS. There are four parameters to set here, each separated by commas: 1) The executable name of your favorite ZIP viewing utility. 2) What command line parameter to pass. There are 3 choices here; A) File - Pass only the Filename. B) Path - Pass the full path, including filename. C) None - Don't pass anything. 3) Pause before returning to QuickFILES.BBS, Yes or No. 4) Rescan the Directory upon returning to QuickFILES.BBS, Yes or No. The utility specified in parameter 1 must be in your DOS path. If parameter 2 is set to File, the filename currently highlighted by the cursor bar will be passed to the utility. QuickFILES.BBS always changes to the selected directory, so the filename is all that is required in most cases. If parameter 2 is set to None, the specified utility will start up as if it were started from DOS with no command line parameters. If the output of the zip viewing utility is overwritten before it can be read, then set parameter 3 to YES. QuickFILES.BBS will wait for a key press before clearing the screen. If you use a utility that can change a zipfile's status(size or date), set parameter 4 to YES. Then QuickFILES.BBS will rescan the File Area before continuing. Rescanning takes time so do so only if necessary. SwapQF: Default Setting = No When shelling to DOS, QuickFILES.BBS will attempt to swap itself out to XMS, EMS, and then Hard Disk, in that order. If successful, only 2k of program will remain in memory. This frees up a lot of extra memory for DOS activities. This includes both the shell to the DOS prompt and UserOptions functions. This feature has proven to be very reliable, but it may be disabled, if desired. If disabled, a drop to DOS may still be performed, but there will be approximately 160k less free memory available. SwapFile: Default Setting = QFSWAP.!!! If sufficient XMS or EMS memory is not available for QuickFILES.BBS to swap out to, then it will swap out to the Hard Disk, saving itself to the filename defined by this Directive. When the DOS shell or UserOption is exited, the swap file is deleted before QuickFILES.BBS restarts. QuickFILES.BBS v1.00 Page 4 - Section II ∙ Setting Up The QF100.CNF Configuration File - UserOptions - User Defined External Programs: F1Key: - F12Key: F key assignments @F1Key: - @F12Key: Alt-F key assignments The next section of the config file is the User Defined External Programs, or UserOptions. Up to 24 external programs can be assigned, 12 to the F keys, and 12 more to the ALT-F keys. The parameters and functions here are exactly as described in the ZipViewer option above, except for one addition parameter for menu text. This is the text that will appear on the User Options Menu. Menu text is limited to 40 characters. The active keys are hot keys whenever a FileList is open. This means they can be pressed without first calling the UserOptions Menu, and the assigned program will be launched. There are a few examples of this powerful feature shown in the QF100.CNF file. BBS File Area Assignments: The last section of the config file is the BBS File Area listing. QuickFILES.BBS will have access only to the File Areas listed here. Any valid drive, directory, or subdirectory may be assigned, so long as the full path is specified and does not exceed 50 characters. Directory names must be all the way to the left, and any line beginning with a space or apostrophe will be ignored. The maximum number of File Areas allowed is 238. 119 File Areas can be displayed on one screen. If there are more than that, a Pg1 or Pg2 symbol will be displayed in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Press PageUp or PageDown to change pages.