Software Vault: The Gold Collection

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DF.EXE version 1.83 from JB Utilities released as shareware Copyright 1991, 92 Jules Brenner BRT71EFR.EXE copyright Microsoft, Inc ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT ON EARTH IS DF? DF (Directory Find) is an expanded file finder. 'Expanded' means it'll do more than find files. It will show you disk space and usage for up to 5 drives on one report; it'll show you which files you changed or created today or within the last x number of days; it eliminates all but one shifted characters which means you can say goodbye to the '*" wild card for specific directory listings; it will list as many as four different file parameters; it will filter out specified file parameters; it will list files by size and with embedded strings and within an alphabetical range. It will aid your housecleaning by showing you all files on all directories of your hard drive that have been changed on the current day. Enough? Believe it or not there's more it can do! Is DF the most powerful directory program? YOU tell US! ~~~ We now refer you to the manual which follows the registration info below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Important note: for the fullest possible understanding and use of DF, it is necessary to refer to this document file for each update. The syntax screen does not have enough space to list all the possible functions and command possibilities. The details and the ever-expanding power of DF are found here. Please refer to the WHATSNEW.DOC file which describes the changes and/or improvements for the current version. UPDATES (in this file) contains the changes for all versions. Before using DF, we also ask you to read the Limitations of Responsibility statement in section X. Registration fee is a mere $15. If you find something that doesn't seem to work right, or if you wish DF did something it doesn't now do, use your registration to make requests. In any case, if you find yourself using DF regularly, registering is the right thing to do. If you can't afford the fifteen, at least let me know you're out there. No software police will visit. Mail fee to: Jules Brenner JB Utilities P.O. Box 46116 Los Angeles, CA 90046-0116 ALTERNATE FEE!!!!!!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As an alternate to remitting a fee, you may purchase our book, THE BRENNER RESTAURANT INDEX, A Computerized Guide to Selected Restaurants in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Its cover price is $12.95, plus $1.07 sales tax if you live in California, plus $1.05 shipping. The book may be ordered directly from us and all you have to do is enclose a check or MasterCard/Visa authorization. With your order, just mention that you wish to have your copy of DF.EXE registered. As a registered user, you will receive an update as well as additional JB Utilities. By ordering the book, you get three for one: the book, more utilities, AND the registration. And, now, the commercial: Among restaurant books, this one is quite unique. It's organized in such a way that it will help you pick your restaurant according to what considerations are important on any given occasion. In L.A., with its massive size, it's common to find yourself in a part of town you don't know too well. Just check the restaurants in the Location section for those in that specific area, and you get an immediate summary of the selected restaurants there (and, on your way there). Another section sorts the restaurants by cost in case you're on a budget or want to just consider a certain price range. If you're in the mood for a particular kind of food, check the Cuisine section. Finally, there's the alphabetical listing. All restaurant listings include vital details, including special dishes, hours, parking, credit cards, and more. THE BRENNER RESTAURANT INDEX is available in some Los Angeles bookstores, so if you live here, you can also ask for it in your local bookstore. A few of the bookstores carrying it at the time of this writing include: Dutton's, Samuel French, Book Soup, Big & Tall Bookstore. It is also being carried at some newstands and restaurants. If you obtain the book from a retail outlet, just send us a note that you request registration for DF.EXE and include a photocopy of your receipt. To see what this book looks like, you can use the technology at hand. Simply download the file RESTINDX.ZIP from a local BBS. It contains a .GIF image of the book. You can also send a request to us for the file but please send $1 with the request to cover expenses. While it may appear that this is a book exclusively for Los Angeles residents, it is perhaps even more valuable for those visiting from other parts of the world. If you're planning a trip to Disneyland (or wherever), you'll want to know which are the better restaurants, where to find them and how close they are to you. If you're staying at a hotel, ask the clerk to help you locate all the restaurants in the area. Let your local travel agent help you plan your meals ahead of time if he or she knows a bit about the geography of this huge county. Special note for BBSers: the file RESTINDX.ZIP is being distributed around Los Angeles BBSs. It contains a .GIF picture of the book. Look for it. A few scenarios: 1. You live in Hollywood and need to meet a business associate who has his office in Santa Monica. Neither of you wants to come all the way across town. You check the zip code map (as in the Thomas Guide) and find the area that's right in the middle of the two areas. It's not too far for either of you. You next check out the restaurants that are available and recommended in that area and find 3 that you've been wanting to try and one of your favorites! 2. You and your sweetheart are rushing to a screening (or, game, concert, etc.). Getting ready took a little longer than you expected and time is tight. You decide to eat en route and know of a great little restaurant. You get there and find others had the same idea and there's a long line. You pull The Brenner Restaurant Index out of your glove compartment and find one great restaurant two blocks away and another 4 at slightly greater distances en route to your goal. 3. You're going to a movie that's hot and you know if you get there merely in time for the movie, you might not even get into the parking lot. You pull out The Brenner Restaurant Index and find there's a truly fine restaurant so close to the theater that you can park at the theater OR the restaurant and walk over. Getting there at dinner time instead of at screening time ensures you an easy place to park--and only once! (I've done this by dining at Chan Dara, one of the great Thai restaurants, when going to the Cinerama Dome). - - - - Note to those using credit cards: Please include the following with your order: your name (printed) as it appears on the card (include middle initial), the card number, the expiration date and your signature. (See the registration form included in the DF library (zip) file). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DF.EXE is self-documenting. Just type DF / on the command line. (It should be noted that because DF has grown so many capabilities, the syntax screen is incomplete. It has the basics, but for all the possibilities, the following is must reading. ~~~ ~~~~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents (More detailed documentation of DF's command possibilities) PREAMBLE ......... ALL ABOVE A ................ DF WITH NO PARAMETERS B ................ FULL LISTING OF SPECIFIED SUBDIRECTORIES C ................ LOOKING FOR A FILENAME a. Part Alfa capability D ................ LOOKING FOR AN EXTENSION E ................ LOOKING FOR FILES WITH NO EXTENSION AND/OR SUBDIRECTORIES F ................ LOOKING FOR A STRING WITHIN A FILENAME G ................ LOOKING FOR MORE THAN ONE PARAMETER H ................ LOOKING FOR FILES ON ANOTHER DRIVE I ................ LOOKING FOR FILES ON A SPECIFIC SUBDIRECTORY J ................ COMBINED COMMANDS K ................ LOOKING FOR FILES WITHIN A SIZE RANGE L ................ LOOKING FOR FILES BY DATE a. New, specific files b. Housecleaner option M ................ DISK SPACE & USAGE N ................ DOS's WIDE (/w) LISTING O ................ DOS's SORTED LISTINGS P ................ FILTER FUNCTION Q ................ LOOKING FOR FILES ON ALL DIRECTORIES R ................ COLOR LISTINGS S ................ Additional notes T ................ Printing this file U ................ Updates V ................ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS W ................ BUG REPORTS X ................ DISTRIBUTION Y ................ REGISTRATION INFORMATION Z ................ CAVEATS, LIMITATIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY, ETC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A. DF WITH NO PARAMETERS Typing DF (cr) is similar to typing DIR without parameters. The result is a listing of the entire directory. Of course, DF does it differently. It lists in two columns and thereby shows twice as many files per screen. Further, it automatically pauses when the screen is full and there are more files. This is similar to 'DIR /P' except that you don't have to type all that out. Any keystroke except 'x' will continue the listing for the next screenful, and so on until the entire directory has been listed. A long directory listing may be aborted by pressing the 'x' key. B. FULL LISTING OF SPECIFIED SUBDIRECTORIES DF can also list the entire directory contents for 2 to 4 directories in one command. To do this, the directories must be specified and surrounded by backslashes. Each DF parameter must be separated by a space: DF \DOS\ \ASM\ lists the contents of the DOS and the ASM directories. You can also ask for a listing of nested subdirectories up to the 3rd nesting level. Just be sure to end the terminal sub-directory name with the backslash, as above, else DF will see the last directory name as a filename. When listing more than one directory in one command, or when combining commands, this syntax is required for the default directory, as well. The following is also possible: DF \DOS\.EXE .COM for the .EXE and .COM files on the DOS directory. A variant of this (though less desirable) is: DF \DOS\.EXE \DOS\.COM It's also possible to do: DF \DOS\.EXE \WP\.TXT \UTIL\.COM \SW\.DOC Remembering that up to 4 parameters are allowed. C. LOOKING FOR A FILENAME All files on a directory may be listed by specifying the beginning of the filename(s) in question. For example, DF A lists all files beginning with 'A' on the default directory. The main advantage in this over the DIR command is that the shifted character '*' is unnecessary, making something that is so often used a bit less cumbersome and more efficient. a. PART ALFA capability This allows you to list files within an alphabetical range. The syntax is strict: DF E-L lists all files which begin with the alphabetical range between E and L, inclusive. Moreover, DF CA-CL is also legal, listing all files which begin with 'C' but with the 2nd letter between A and L. Any variance from this structure will produce unwanted results. Notes: Even though this produces a listing of files which fall into the range specified, the listing is not alphabetized. The listing will be in directory order. This order may give an indication of which files are older and which newer (though not infallibly) and is one possible preference. For those who want an alphabetical listing, we suggest the use of a directory sorting program, such as Norton's DIRSORT. If the directory itself is alphabetized, the file listing under this option will be alphabetized. As this is the first incarnation of this capability, it's not fully implemented. Which means that you cannot specify a non-default drive with the Part Alfa function (yet). D. LOOKING FOR AN EXTENSION Similarly, the command DF .EXE lists all .EXE files. The dot tells DF to look only for extension strings. 1, 2 or 3 letters may be used after the dot: DF .E will also list all .EXE files, but will also list .EXX, .EST and any files with extensions that begin with the 'E' which may be on the specified directory. If you want to list out all the .ZIP files on a directory, for instance, just type: DF .Z No more is needed if you don't have other extensions beginning with 'z'. If you want to list only those files ending in a one or two character extension, such as .B or .BI, for example, then type a forward slash after the characters. This usage limits the search field. Thus: DF .B/ will list only files with a 'B' extension. It will not list files with .BAS or .BI. In other words, the slash tells DF not to assume a wild card in the extension field. E. LOOKING FOR FILES WITH NO EXTENSION AND/OR SUBDIRECTORIES To specify a listing of files with no extension, type DF . The lone dot will tell DF what you're after. This is not exactly the equivalent of DIR *. since subdirectories are not included in the listing. Should you want subdirectories as well, type DF ] or DF [ Either bracket will tell DF to do the equivalent of a DIR *. /P. This command applies to the default directory only. However: DF \] or DF \[ will list the subdirectories and files with no extensions on the root directory, and DF a:\] or DF a:\[ will list the subdirectories and files with no extensions on the root directory of drive a: (or any other drive speci- fied. Any of the ']' forms list files in the DIR format and will pause at every screen-full, requiring any key to continue. This usage cannot be combined with other DF commands. F. LOOKING FOR A STRING WITHIN A FILENAME When you know that the file you're after has a certain string sequence in the filename, but may not be the beginning of the filename, the single quote character (') tells DF to look for the specified string anywhere within all filenames. DF 'CLON or A:'CLON will list all files containing the string CLON on the default or specified drive. The resulting listout may include PBCLONE.EXE, CYCLONIC.TXT, CLONE44.ZIP, for example. This capability is not only not possible with DIR but may not be possible with any other directory utility. We THINK it's an exclusive! (Or, WAS, when it was written). ~~~ G. LOOKING FOR MORE THAN ONE PARAMETER DF allows a search for up to 4 different file specifications at one time. Thus, DF .COM BR 'CLON . will list all .COM files, all files beginning with 'BR', all files which include the string 'CLON' within the filename AND all files with no extension. Mix and match. H. LOOKING FOR FILES ON ANOTHER DRIVE Again, DF makes it as simple as possible. Just start your file specification with the drive specification. This consists of a drive letter and the colon. It's the colon that tells DF it's to look at that other drive: DF A:.COM will list all the .COM files on the root directory of A drive. Note there should be no space after the colon and no path. Note also: this is the only exception to our rule to avoid shifted characters in DF. Our excuse for it in this instance is that the use of the colon for a drive specification is too universal to ignore. Also, it adds emphasis to the intention, avoiding ambiguity and/or error. (Convincing?) As of version 1.6, the command parameters available for non- default drives are almost as complete as those for the default drive. One exception is subdirectories. If there are subdirectories on a floppy drive, it's probably better to go to that drive for directory listings. DF should not be directed to a non-formatted disk. The probable outcome is a system freeze. If you encounter any other parameters that do not work for the non-default drive, we would welcome your feedback. It's important to remember when listing a non-default directory that there is no space after the colon -- but for multiple parameters, a space is used as a separator. That is: DF A:.COM .EXE .BAT DF A:/S 50 150 DF B:/F .TXT .DOC are correct. I. LOOKING FOR FILES ON A SPECIFIC (NESTED) SUBDIRECTORY The backslash (\) is the key to telling DF that it's to look for files on a specific subdirectory. We've discussed above how to specify all files for 2 or more specific directories. The principle is the same for specified filenames. DF \DOS\.COM lists all .COM files on the DOS subdirectory as specified from any other directory. DF \DOS\ASM\.ASM lists all .ASM files on the ASM subdirectory of the DOS sub- directory. The limit for nested subdirectories is 3. When that limit is reached DF will so note and will abort. DF B:\DOS\.EXE lists all .EXE files on the DOS subdirectory of B drive. J. COMBINED COMMANDS All parameters above, with the exception of the ']' spec may be combined on one DF command line. Multiple commands are limited to 4 on any one execution. The commands below are also limited to one parameter per each execution of DF. K. LOOKING FOR FILES WITHIN A SIZE RANGE DF allows you to list files which fall within a specified range of size. This may be helpful when you can't remember filenames but know the approximate size of the file (in kilobytes) you're searching for. Hence, DF /S 45 900 will list all files on a directory that are greater than 45 kb and up to 900 kb in size. Actually, strictly speaking, you don't get exact kilobytes. The number you enter is multiplied by 1000 rather than by 1024. This is because most of us think in those terms. If this disturbs your sense of perfection, however, we will welcome your disagreement so that we can judge whether to change it. "/S" or "/s" is the switch that puts DF into size search mode. It is ordinarily followed by two numbers, the second greater than the first. The first number may be zero. This parameter has two shortcuts: DF /S 45 will list all files of 45k or larger, and DF /S 45- will list all files below 45k. Note there is no space between the number and the minus sign. A space there will produce the same effect as the first shortcut. This usage cannot be combined with other DF commands. L. LOOKING FOR FILES BY DATE DF will list only those files that are dated within a specified number of days counting back from the current date. DF - will list only those files that bear the current date. DF -11 will list those files that bear a date within the most recent 11 days (including today). Note that the current date is the one your computer knows about. If the date is set incorrectly, or set to a date other than the current date by intention, it is that date that DF will consider current. a. NEW & recent SPECIFIC files: Sometimes it's very desirable to limit the new files listing for specific parameters only. Consequently: DF - .DOC will list only .DOC files for the current date. DF -10 ABA will list only files beginning with ABA for the past 10 days. b. HOUSECLEANER option (DOS 5.0 and above) With the advent of version 1.8 it is now possible to get a report of all changed files on the current day on your hard drive. It checks ALL your sub- directories down to the 2nd nested level for files with the current date and shows them to you. The syntax for this little gem of a routine is a combi- nation of the '-' param and the '/A' switch. The '-', as discussed above, reports on new files while the '/A' switch means, to DF, ALL directories. The combination: DF - /A means: check all my directories for files I changed today. We call this the 'Housecleaner' option because of how it helps to make you aware of files you meant to delete but forgot to, extraneous debris that may have been created that you don't really need, files created by an application that you weren't even aware of much less need, etc. Please note that this option is not yet capable of going back to previous days. To check any specific previous day, just change the date with DOS's DATE command. (Don't forget to change it back). This option of DF is also available as a separate utility. We call it WORKCHEK. Request it when you register DF. M. DISK SPACE & USAGE As a convenience, DF will give you a report on disk space and usage. This includes amount of space available. The syntax for the current drive is: DF = For this report, which is independent of the directory listing. For the report on a non-default drive, use: DF A:= Note that any drive spec up to (and including) E: may be used and that there should be no space after the colon. This option may be combined with other parameters so long as it's for the current drive. It cannot be combined if you're dealing with non-default drives. The "=" should be the last parameter. If it isn't, it's likely to be disregarded or misinterpreted. Example: DF .BAS = will list all files with the extension '.BAS' and report disk space and usage under the listing. Note: if more than 16 files are listed under this usage, there will be a pause before the return to DOS in order that the first files will not scroll out of sight. It is also possible to get a multiple drive space report. The syntax for this is slightly different, since the "=" must be the first parameter, followed by the desired drives. Example: DF = B D A C Note that the order of drives is up to you. Up to 5 drives may be reported on with this function. Unclosed drives and drives without disks may cause system freezing or timeout error messages. In the above example, if B drive had no disk, the reading would have been totally unsuccessful. Expect a delay when reading floppy drives. This syntax is the reason that when the drive space report is asked for as one of several parameters, the '=' should be last. It should definitely not be first, since the first letter following the '=' will be interpreted as a drive designation. On the other hand, this syntax provides an alternate to DF B:= You can as well use: DF = b Note: this single feature is one which individual utilities characteristically perform as their sole function. (Pat, pat). Since there are times (perhaps many times) when you might want a listing of files AND the drive report, the following options are available: DF == for the default drive, and DF A:== for a non-default drive. These commands will list the drive space usage and amount available below the files listing. It is not possible to combine this with other commands. For that, use the single '=' parameter as described above. Caution: this parameter may cause some files to scroll out of view because of the additional lines for the drive report. It depends on how many files are on the directory. We'll probably soon fix this. It wasn't done this time around because it requires fairly extensive coding (read 'RE-coding') and I didn't have the time. I felt that there's a benefit in just having it even if not perfected--so long as this effect is a known one. At the time of this writing, the '==' options are not documented on the syntax screen, which has become quite full. A redesign of that screen to allow for abbreviations might be forthcoming, but only if requests are received by users. To convey the general usage of DF, we feel abbreviations are less good, but will consider other views. All you need do is express your own. One final note about the disk space report as it relates particularly to large hard drives. The total disk space and the available disk space are rounded off to the nearest 100, while the used amount is only rounded off to the nearest 10. We hope this virtually insignificant discre- pancy doesn't bother anyone. This is only true for large hard drives. N. DOS's WIDE (/w) LISTING A DIR /W lists files without size (in k) nor time and date stamp. The advantage is to see more filenames on screen. DF's 2 column listing may obviate this command for most purposes, but it would not be complete without the capability. Hence, DF /W is the equivalent of DIR /W. DF BR/W lists all files beginning with 'BR' listed in DOS's wide format. Note that there must be no space between the file specification and the /. This usage cannot be combined with other DF commands. O. SORTED LISTINGS You can have a sorted directory listing on any of four para- meters. Typing DF ; or DF /N produces a listing sorted by FILENAME; DF /E sorts by EXTENSION; DF /Y sorts by YEAR (don't confuse this with 'date'); and... DF /Z sorts by SIZE. (Since /S is taken). These commands are limited to the default directory. A file is created on that directory. If there is not enough disk space for that file, an 'out of space' error will occur. The created file is deleted as part of the process. A delay for the sorting procedure is noticeable on large directories and on floppy drives. It may be worth noting that we provided two choices for the name sort because (1) some users may like to have just a one- key parameter for this oft-used option and (2) to remain consistent with the other 'switch' commands. Sortings depend on the presence of DOS' SORT.EXE file. This program must be in your path or an error message will be generated. This usage cannot be combined with other DF commands but drive specification may be used: "a:;" or "B:/E" P. FILTER FUNCTION DF may be used to filter out specified filename parameters. The most common usage of this would be for groups of files where the extension is specified. Accordingly: DF /F .EXE .COM will list all files EXCEPT those with .EXE and .COM extensions. This function is available only in registered copies. It is an incentive to be fair to the author. If you have a quarrel with this approach, please voice your objection. The limita- tion may be removed under sufficient objection. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q. LOOKING FOR FILES ON ALL DIRECTORIES The '/A' switch may be used to search for files of a particular spec on all directories of the default drive. Only one file spec is allowed under this param, and it is likely to work as designed only with DOS 5.0 and above. Accordingly: DF .COM /A DF /a ven will, in the first instance, list all .COM files in every directory on your drive. In the 2nd instance, you'll get a listing of every file on your drive which begins with the string 'VEN'. Each listing will include the entire path as well as the name of the file and it will pause when necessary. Other capabilities of DF are not supported under the /A (All) switch. Non-default drives cannot be specified. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ R. COLOR CAPABILITIES DF will list files in color on any monitor capable of color text. The color coding is not alterable by the user but requests can be made when registering. The color code is as follows: GREEN for ".INI" files CYAN for ".BAT" files RED for ".OBJ" files PURPLE for ".DOC", ".TXT" ".PRN", ".MSG", ".LST" files BROWN for ".BAS", ".ASM" files BRIGHT BLUE for ".SYS" files BRIGHT GREEN (chartreuse?) for ".DRV" files ORANGE for ".ZIP" files LIGHT PURPLE for ".PCX", ".TIF", ".GIF", ".IMG", ".PIC", ".BMP", ".FON" & ".EPS" files BRIGHT YELLOW for ".EXE", ".COM" files Color listings can be turned off (and back on) with the color argument: DF COLOR This command is a toggle. When color is turned off all files are listed in default white. S. Additional notes: DF is not case sensitive. The non-standalone version of DF must have BRT71EFR.EXE in the default directory or in the path. This version is best if you are running more than one program requiring BRT71EFR.EXE since each individual program file will be smaller. To make DF as useful as possible, it, too, should be on a directory that is in your path. If you run it from another drive, best results are achieved with the standalone version, which doesn't require the presence of BRT71EFR.EXE but which is larger in terms of disk space. DF does not contain much in the way of error-checking, beyond what DOS might or might not offer. Where this may be a problem is if you do a DF on a drive which doesn't exist, where the floppy drive door is open, something like that. Rare, and we leave it to the user to avoid such mistakes. An opened drive door could hang up your computer (a warm or cold boot will cure the temporary situation). More often than not, however, you'll be able to insert the disk and close the door and then enter an 'R' for Retry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ T. Printing this file The first thing you may notice if you send this file to your printer, is that there are no embedded form feeds. My thinking on this is that your printer is likely to furnish its own form feed when a certain number of lines are reached. Mine does this, but perhaps that's because it's a laser printer. I don't know for sure, but maybe dot matrix and impact printers don't do that. If that's so, then you might want to do your own formatting. It merely requires you to place a Control-L character every 60 lines or so. For those whose printers work like mine, not having form feeds built in allows you to print out with your own utility or application in your own preferred way. I never have liked those pesky embedded commands, making an assumption that didn't fit my life's plan or defaults. My print utility allows me to specify font and font size. I like it that way. I hope the majority of you, too, like it that way. For those who don't, sorry. Write me a letter. I'd sincerely love hearing from you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ U. UPDATES: ~~~~~~~~ Version 1.83 Bug fix for files with less than 3-letter extensions, as in: INCLUDE.BI. See section D. Version 1.82 Recompiled with Basic 7.1 (PDS). BRUN45.EXE replaced with BRT71EFR.EXE. Color capability added. New files of specific parameters capability. Version 1.81 Updated syntax screen. A few minor changes. Version 1.8 Search for files on all directories of current drive. DOS 5.0 or above required. Small bug fix. Under certain circumstances (too complex to detail here), when the '=' was used as a 2nd param, it caused an unwanted pause. Housecleaner option to check for all files on your entire hard drive that have today's date. See Section L, subsection a. DOS 5.0 required. Version 1.7 Added "Part Alfa" capability to list files within a limited alphabetical range. See Section C, subsection a. Version 1.62: Corrects disk space report for large hard drives. Version 1.61: Corrections in '==' parameter. Disk drive report was printed across center of file listing. Corrected to print below. Note that with the use of this option, the printing of the report causes one extra carriage return and scrolls the topmost line of files off the screen if there are more than 22 files listed for the last screen of listings. The plea to register is removed from registered copies. Version 1.6: Reports disk space for up to 5 drives at one time. As promised, most commands are now implemented for non-default drives (such as floppies when executing DF from your hard drive). Filter function added for registered copies. "==" option for files AND drive capacity report. This gives you all that DIR gives you (for those who may have missed it). Version 1.51: Bug fix. Somehow, a bug crept in concerning the multiple directory parameters. BRUN45.EXE now included in library. It makes downloading a bit longer, but it may be more convenient to new users. Version 1.5: Sorted listings. Improvements in the ']' commands. Several small program improvements. Table of contents in this file. Addition of registration form, packing list and feedback form included in library. Drive report (= option) combined with other options. IMPORTANT NOTE: with the addition of new features, a couple of bugs were created in previously existing features. The bane of programmers. I apologize for any inconvenience and hope you won't abandon the use of DF because of the oversight. Most of the bugs were in the use of multiple parameters. Version 1.4: Lists subdirectories and files with no extensions for root directory on default drive or other drives. File listing by n days prior to current date. Small bug concerning files with no extensions under certain conditions. Report on disk space and usage added. Improved syntax screen for high speed display. File listing of one- or two-character extensions corrected. Version 1.3: Improvements and shortcuts in the size parameter. Numbers are now entered in approximate kilobytes. Version 1.2: Bug fix. DF was not finding 1 and 2 letter extensions properly. Bug found by Shel Talmy. Thanks Shel. Version 1.1: Internal string search enabled for non-default drive. Sorted directory enabled. Equivalent of DIR | SORT. This is a stopgap capability. In a future version a sorted directory will be listed in 2 columns with automatic pauses as all other DF listings. This version requires you to have a hand on your pause key to do your own pausing for long directories. Version 1.0: DF is the new name for the program that started out as DS. The new name was adopted because of a possible conflict with Norton's DS and because the original purpose of calling it DS (Dir Star- dot-star) was superseded by many other capabilities than merely avoiding shifted characters. DF, version 1.0 adds the file size switch to the list of updates since DS, version 1.8, which it replaces. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: My thanks to Daniel Maxwell, from Idaho, for his advanced coding guidance. To Jake Angelin for his BBS posting duties. To Shel and Steve for their Beta testing and excellent ideas, all of which were adopted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ W. BUG REPORTS: Users are encouraged to report all bugs to the author. One of the most common ways for bugs to creep into any program is when new features are added and all the previous capabilities which were working flawlessly are not thoroughly tested. Since the author uses this utility, even obscure bugs will eventually come to his notice, but in the spirit of partnership, all users are encouraged to report a bug they encounter. The file, FEEDBACK.DOC, is included with the program to facilitate such reports. (Of course, feel free to send us the form merely to report good things, too). In the event of a bug appearing in a commonly used option, we advise you go back to the previous version you were using until the bug(s) is(are) corrected. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X. DISTRIBUTION DF may be distributed freely so long as no alterations are made to the program nor to the archive nor to this documentation. Shareware distributors may charge up to $5 for the DF utility without specific permission so long as they inform us of their distribution with a copy of the ad or catalog in which it is offered. For any greater charge, distributors must first write us to seek permission and to explain the reason for the higher charge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Y. REGISTRATION INFORMATION Registration fee to the end user is a mere $15. (See above for alternate). A standalone version is available on request when registering. Go ahead. Make my day. Encourage me to write more by registering. If you find yourself using DF regularly, it's the right thing to do. Registered users will receive at least 1 update when available as well as notifications (or copies) of other JB utilities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Z. CAVEATS, LIMITATIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY, ETC. While JB Utilities exercises maximum effort to ensure that none of its utilities pose any danger or threat to a user's computer and/or files, and while we are not aware of any such risk, prudence demands that we state that we take no responsibility for your use of our programs. In using one or more of them, you assume any risk and that by your use you assume full responsibility. One more note: if this kind of language ("risk", "responsibility", etc.) scares some folk, it should be added that this program is not written just for ~~~~~~ distribution. We actually wrote it for our & our associates' use and use it on a daily basis, almost never using DIR any more. - - - - - - - This program may not be used in a business, corporation, organization, government or agency environment without a negotiated site license. Suggestions, bug reports, etc. appreciated and encouraged -- even by non- registered users. Yes, if you say, for instance, "hey, if you'd only add [this capability or that capability], I'd pay your filthy fee!", we'd probably add it just to part you from your fifteen. In fact, that's very much how DF has developed into the program it is. So, don't be shy. We'll even listen to a hard luck story. Heck, if you're only using 1/3 of DF's capabilities, we'll accept $5. You be the judge and executioner. ("Ouch, that rope is rough!") ~~~~~ Mail fee or excuses to JBUTILS, P.O. Box 46116, Los Angeles, CA 90046-0116. Messages may be addressed to me on Prodigy. ID# FTSN96A. -- J.B., for JBUTILS