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WinCat - Windows Disk Catalog & FloppyDisk Manager ================================================== Version 2.5, Januari 1993 Created by Mart Heubel, Heerlen, The Netherlands TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- * Introduction * Installing WinCat * Using WinCat * Volume List Window * Cataloging disks * Cataloging archive contents * Cataloging CD-ROM'S * File List Window * Restoring Files * File Menu * Options Menu * Utilities Menu * Help Menu * Hints and Tips * WinCat 2.5 Summary of Changes * WinCat 2.4 Summary of Changes * WinCat 2.3 Summary of Changes * WinCat 2.2 Summary of Changes * WinCat 2.1 Summary of Changes * WinCat 2.0 Summary of Changes * Things to Come * Registering WinCat * Your Comments Please * Distribution * Small Print INTRODUCTION ------------ WinCat is a tool that helps you organize your disks and enables you to quickly find and restore the files they hide. Although there are various disk catalog programs around, none of them really suited my needs or taste. Therefore I decided to write my own (always a guarantee for quality software !), and the result of a few weeks fooling around with Visual Basic and Turbo Pascal was WinCat 1.0. Over the past months WinCat has evolved into what I humbly consider as the best floppy disk manager available for Windows today. However, a license to use this state-of-the-art tool only costs you an amazing 50 cents ; please read the 'Registering WinCat' section for details. Features of WinCat 2.5 : - Easy to use - Ability to restore files or extract files from archives WinCat interfaces to all DOS and Windows unarchive utilities (like ARJ, LHA, PKUNZIP, WUNA, WINZIP etc.) - Kingsize comment fields on both file- and volume-entries - Supports sub-directories up to 3 levels deep - Supports multiple diskdrives (3.5", 5.25" and CD-ROM) - Extensive file search capabilities - ClipBoard interface for easy editing file-descriptions - Includes a conversion tool that extracts file-descriptions from BBS Allfiles-listings or listings from other disk catalog programs - Automaticly copies file-descriptions from (4DOS) descript.ion files to it's catalog - Reports : Volume Summary, Volume Contents, Files sorted by Filename and Duplicate Files - Runs in Windows 3.x Real, Standard and 386-Enhanced mode - Allows you to create easy-to-work-with groups of volumes - Expensive looking '3D metallic' windows - Ability to catalog the contents of ARJ, ZIP, LZH, PAK and ARC archives. INSTALLING WINCAT ----------------- WinCat was written in Microsoft Visual Basic. To run it, you must have Microsoft's run-time module file, VBRUN100.DLL, installed in your Windows directory. Because of it's size this file is not included in the WinCat package. However, if you don't have it there's no need to panic : you can download it from all WINNET nodes and most other BBS systems (look for file VBRUN*.*). You only need to download it once, since it works with all Visual Basic programs. The WINCAT25 archive contains these files : * - WINCAT.EXE The WinCat program. * - WINCAT.INI WinCat default settings & associations. * - WINCAT.CAT A sample catalog. * - WINCAT.DOC You're looking at it. * - WINCATDS.DLL WinCat's DiskScan routines. - WINCATCA.DLL WinCat's Conversion Aid routines. * - WINCATPR.DLL WinCat's Print routines. # - WINCATAR.DLL WinCat's Archive Scan routines. - WINCATRS.PIF PIF that WinCat uses to launch WINCATRS.BAT. - WINCATRS.BAT BAT that WinCat uses to execute DOS unarchive utilities (like ARJ, LHA, PKUNZIP and COPY). # - 3DLABEL.VBX Custom control needed by Visual Basic. * - READ.ME For turbo-installers who never read DOC files. Compared with WinCat 2.4, * = updated version # = new file To install WinCat, create subdirectory C:\WINDOWS\WINCAT on your harddisk and extract WINCAT25.ARJ into that directory. If you want to let WinCat catalog the contents of archive files you must also create subdirectory C:\WINDOWS\WINCAT\ARCHIVES\ (See also 'Cataloging Archive Contents'). Move file WINCAT.INI to the \WINDOWS directory. Edit WINCATRS.BAT and change the 'CD\SHEZ' statement to your directory that contains the DOS un-archivers you use, like ARJ.EXE, LHA.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE . If these files are accessable through your default PATH, or if you prefer to include the path on the 'association' definitions, simply delete this statement. You can let WinCat's 'restore file' function call WUNA (a shareware Windows UnArchive tool by James N. Hughes) to handle ZIP and ARJ files. WinCat doesn't specify a path when calling WUNA.EXE, so make sure this file is in your \WINDOWS directory. You can download WUNA from any WINNET BBS. WINCAT.CAT is a sample catalog you can use to see what you can (or can't) do with WinCat. If you decide to use WinCat to catalog your disks, erase the sample WINCAT.CAT. Next time you start WinCat a new (empty) catalog will be created. Now, all that's left to do is to add WINCAT.EXE to a Windows program group and start WinCat by clicking it's icon. (The PIF and BAT files are used only by WINCAT itself). USING WINCAT ------------ WinCat has two main windows : the 'Volume List' window, which displays all disks in the catalog, and the 'File List' window, which is used to display selected files. VOLUME LIST WINDOW ------------------ When you start WinCat you'll see the Volume List window : a scrollbox that shows the disks in the catalog, and a few buttons. Explanation of the buttons : [ VOL.INFO ] Displays the 'Volume Information' window, which shows the : - volume ID - group ID you defined - date the disk was cataloged - name of the associated archive contents (.ACT) file - free and used diskspace in bytes - a pie-chart that shows free and used diskspace - number of files on the disk - disk type (physical size and capacity) - drive ID - whether or not this volume is excluded from search operations - any comment you entered. The scrollbar at the left can be used to quickly scroll to other volumes. [ FILES ] Shows all files that are cataloged on the selected volume. You can also do this by double-clicking a volume-entry. See explanation of the 'File List' window below. [ DIRECTORY ] Displays the 'Directory List' window, which shows the directories on the selected disk. This window also shows the number of files and used diskspace per directory. Select a directory and click [FILES] to see all files in it. The same function can also be accomplished by double-clicking a directory entry. See also 'File List' window. [ UNCATALOG ] This function will delete the selected volume (and all files cataloged on it) from the catalog. If there is a corresponding archive contents (.ACT) file this will be deleted as well. Of course you'll receive the inevitable prompt 'are you sure ?'. [ CHANGE ID ] This function can be used to change the ID of a volume in the catalog. The new ID you enter must be unique ; if there is already a volume cataloged with the new ID, a messagebox appears prompting you to enter a different ID. [ SEARCH ] Allows you to search for files in the catalog (click FILES) or for files in archives (click ARCHIVES). You can search for files in the catalog by specifying any combination of filename, extension, directory, comment, creation date and size. Files in archives can only be searched for by filename, extension, date and/or size. WinCat will compare the strings you enter with the corresponding fields of all file-entries in the catalog. So, if you specify ICO for filename and EDIT for comment, WinCat will show all(*) files that have the string ICO somewhere in the filename AND that have the string EDIT somewhere in the comment field. (*) Unless you've selected a volume-group, in which case WinCat will search for files only on volumes belonging to that group. Use the 'Show' box to select which fields you want initially displayed on the 'File List' window : the comment field or creation date, volume and directory fields. Use the 'Sort' box to select how the file list entries should be sorted : filename/extension, extension/filename or volume/filename. If you enable the 'search excluded disks too' checkbox, WinCat will search for files on all volumes in the catalog, including those that are normally excluded from search operations. Clicking the [Clear] button clears all search-fields. See also 'File List Window'. [ CATALOG ] This function will scan a disk and add it's volume- and file-information to the catalog. WinCat first displays the drive-select window. On this window you can specify whether or not you want a confirmation window displayed when you're recataloging a volume, and whether or not you want WinCat to catalog the contents of archive files on the disk. (you can pre-define these options on the Settings window). Select the desired options, insert a disk in a drive and then select this drive by clicking the appropriate drive-button. After scanning the directory of the disk WinCat displays the 'Catalog Disk' window, which shows the contents of the disk. On the 'Catalog Disk' window you must enter a volume-ID for the disk to be cataloged. This ID may be 1 to 11 characters long. If the disk was labeled, the ID-field will show the label. You're free to change it : WinCat doesn't require that disklabel and (external) volume-ID are equal. The ID you enter will only be used to identify the volume in the catalog ; WinCat does NOT write the ID as a label on the disk. When you click OK, WinCat will scan the catalog to see if the volume-ID you entered is already in use. If it isn't, the volume- and file-information will be added to the catalog. If there IS a volume with the same ID in the catalog, WinCat compares the information in the catalog with the actual contents of the disk and shows the 'confirm recatalog' window which displays : - files that are on the disk, but not yet cataloged - files that are cataloged, but can't be found on the disk - files on the disk that are newer than the ones cataloged - files on the disk that are older than the ones cataloged If you click the RECATALOG button, WinCat will delete the old volume (and it's files) from the catalog and add the new volume- and file- information to the catalog. Volume- and file-comments will be copied from the old to the new volume- and file-records. Remember that this window doesn't appear if you have turned the 'confirm recatalog' option (on the drive-select window) off. In this case WinCat automaticly recatalogs the volume. 4DOS users ---------- One of the nice features of 4DOS is that you can assign descriptions to your files. 4DOS saves these descriptions in a file called 'descript.ion'. When cataloging a disk, WinCat scans the root-directory of this disk for a 'descript.ion' file and, if found, copies the file-descriptions in this file to it's catalog. If there is an entry 'descript.ion' in the descript.ion file, WinCat will use it's description as a volume-description (get my point ?). If you don't want WinCat to use the descript.ion file, disable the appropriate option on the Settings window. Cataloging Archive Contents --------------------------- You can optionally let WinCat catalog the contents of ARJ,ZIP,LZH,PAK and ARC archive files. To do this, you must first create subdirectory \WINCAT\ARCHIVES\ and turn on the 'Catalog Archive Contents' option on either the Settings or Drive Select window. If you want to use another subdirectory you must specify it's full name on the Settings window (option 'Archive Directory'), e.g. 'D:\USERDATA\' or 'C:\WINDOWS\WINCAT\' When WinCat scans the archive files on a disk, it saves the information in the \ARCHIVES directory in a file named Fxxxxxxx.ACT, where xxxxxxx is some generated (timestamp) string. So, for every volume that WinCat scanned there is a .ACT file in this directory. On the 'Volume Information' window you can see which .ACT file (if any) belongs to a volume. If you request WinCat to show the contents of a particular archive file, WinCat locates the .ACT file that's associated with the volume that contains the archive file and extracts the requested information from it. Note that there is a one-to-one relationship between a volume and it's associated .ACT file ; therefore you shouldn't rename or delete .ACT files yourself, because then WinCat looses track and instead of the contents of an archive file will show you the message 'Can't find file Fxxxxxxx.ACT'. If an error (CRC check, I/O error or whatever) occurs while scanning an archive file then WinCat aborts processing the current archive and proceeds with the next one. Cataloging CD-ROM disks ----------------------- If you have a CD-ROM drive and the appropriate device-drivers installed on your system you can let WinCat catalog the contents of your CD-ROM disks. This isn't any different from cataloging floppy-disks ; WinCat will enable a drive-button on the 'Catalog Disk' window, and all you have to do is to click this button. However, there is one restriction you should keep in mind : WinCat only catalogs a maximum of 1024 files per CD-ROM. The reason for this restriction is that the current (Visual Basic) version of WinCat isn't designed to handle huge amounts of files. I don't think there are a lot of users who have more than 5000 files stored on their floppydisks ( well, maybe you're the only one...), but one CD-ROM may well contain several thousands of files (I've seen one with 8000 archive-files...). Cataloging a few of these would result in a multi-megabyte database, and searching for files in this database would take ages. [ EXIT ] Ends WinCat. If catalog fragmentation has exceeded its treshold, a window will appear prompting you to reorganise the catalog. [ Icon Buttons ] Click one of these to switch to the Windows ProgramManager, FileManager or TaskManager. FILE LIST WINDOW ---------------- This window is used to display all files on a volume, files in a particular directory or files that were found by the search function. The buttons INFO and RESTORE stay disabled until you select a file from the list. What the buttons are for : [ INFO ] Displays the 'File Information' window, which shows : - filename - ID of the disk the file is on - file creation date and time - file size in bytes - directory the file is in - an [archive info] button - any comment you entered The scrollbar at the left can be used to quickly scroll to other files. Click the [archive info] button to see the contents of an archive file. [ REST ] This function can be used to restore files from floppy- to harddisk. The 'Restore File' window shows at the top the command that WinCat will execute if you click OK (you may edit this line). The command that WinCat generates depends on the combination of (filename-)extension, the selected option in the 'action'-box, the selected target directory and the selected source drive. The 'action'-box has 5 options : - Copy file to harddisk - Active for all files - Call WUNA - Only active for ARJ and ZIP files The following options are active only if there is an association defined ( see Options menu : associate ) : - Extract files from archive - View contents of archive - User defined function If the generated command begins with 'DOS ' WinCat opens a DOS window to execute the (DOS) command through WINCATRS.BAT, else it will be launched as a Windows application. [ ARC ] Show the contents of an archive file. Of course the volume that contains this file must have been cataloged with the 'catalog archive contents' option turned on. [ ALT.D ] Clicking this button wil alternately display the files with their comment field only, or with volume, creationdate and directory fields. [ COPY ] Copies the filenames and their descriptions to the ClipBoard. [ EDIT ] Runs NotePad (or the editor you specified on the 'Editor=' statement in WINCAT.INI), where you can paste in and edit the data you put on the ClipBoard with [COPY]. When you have completed editing, use the editor to copy the data back to the ClipBoard. [ PASTE ] Retrieves file-descriptions from the ClipBoard and stores them in the catalog. The ClipBoard records must have the format 'Filename.Ext Text'. The filename may be in upper- or lowercase. [ PRINT ] Copies the contents of the 'File List' window to WINCAT.LST, and then shows a message asking if you want to run the editor to edit or print this file (WINCAT.LST). [ EXIT ] Closes the 'File List' window. FILE MENU --------- - Statistics Displays volume- and file-count, total free and used space on your disks, and some catalog information. - Exit Ends WinCat. If catalog fragmentation has exceeded it's threshold, the 'Statistics' window will be shown. You can then start catalog cleanup. OPTIONS MENU ------------ - Settings... Displays a window where you can specify foreground and background colors, catalog-related options and the editor you want WinCat to use. Clicking the SAVE button will save these settings, plus the position and size of the 'Volume List' and 'File List' windows in WINCAT.INI. - Associate... Associations are used by the Restore File function to determine which command to generate. Main purpose in WinCat is to associate archive files (like ARJ) with their unarchive utilities, but if you like you can use them for lots of other purposes. Unlike the Windows File Manager, where you can associate only one application with an extension, WinCat lets you define up to three different associations, which can be used to : - extract files from an archive - view the contents of an archive - some other function defined by you To define an association : - Enter the filename-extension (e.g. ARJ) If there is already one or more association defined, this will be displayed. A special case is extension '*'. Files for which no specific associations are defined will be associated with the commands you define for this 'wildcard' extension. - Enter one or more commands, like : DOS ARJ E < > (extract .ARJ files) DOS C:\TOOLS\PKUNZIP.EXE < > (extract .ZIP files) DOS PKUNZIP -v < (view contents of .ZIP files) NOTEPAD < (edit .DOC files) C:\WINDOWS\WRITE.EXE < (edit .WRI files) The Restore function will replace the '<' with the name of the selected file, and '>' with the selected target directory. If a command begins with 'DOS ' it will be executed as DOS command in a DOS window, else it will be executed as a true Windows application. - Click the SAVE button. This saves the association you defined in WINCAT.INI. The sample WINCAT.INI comes with this set of associations : [WINCAT] Editor=notepad.exe Forecolor= 10 Backcolor= 8 EXTR_ARJ=DOS arj e < > VIEW_ARJ=DOS arj v < USER_ARJ= EXTR_ZIP=DOS pkunzip < > VIEW_ZIP=DOS pkunzip -v < USER_ZIP=c:\windows\programs\winzip.exe < EXTR_LZH=DOS lha e < > VIEW_LZH=DOS lha v < USER_LZH=c:\windows\programs\winzip.exe < EXTR_DOC= VIEW_DOC= USER_DOC=notepad < EXTR_LHA=DOS lha e < > VIEW_LHA=DOS lha v < USER_LHA= EXTR_TXT= VIEW_TXT= USER_TXT=notepad < EXTR_*= VIEW_*= USER_*=DOS copy < >*.* - Select Group... With the 'Select Group' function you can limit the volumes displayed on the Volume List window to those belonging to the selected group. Also, when you select a group - the Search function only looks for files on volumes belonging to that group. - a newly cataloged disk will be assigned to that group. - the Statistics window shows the number of volumes and files and the amount of free diskspace in that group. You can select a group of volumes by making a selection from the list of already defined groups, or by searching for a string in each volume's description. UTILITIES MENU -------------- - Compare... You can use this function to check whether files in a directory on your harddisk, or files on one of your floppy disks, are cataloged. - Import... Use this function to import file-descriptions from BBS AllFiles listings, listings from other (???!) disk catalog programs, 4DOS descript.ion files etc. This is the way to do it : 1) Select the text file to import descriptions from. This must be a 'normal' ASCII text file, that is each line must end with a hex '0D0A' line delimiter. The lines in this file must have the format 'Filename.Ext Text'. WinCat ignores lines that don't adhere to this syntax. 2) Specify whether you want WinCat to replace existing file-descriptions with the imported ones by clicking the appropriate checkbox. 3) Specify the number of words to drop between filename and description. A typical line in an AllFiles listing may look like this : WINCAT24.ARJ 88123 01-09-92 [23] SPLENDID Disk Catalog for Windows Obviously, only the text 'SPLENDID Disk Catalog for Windows' should be taken as the description for WINCAT24.ARJ. To do this, you must tell WinCat how many words to drop from the text following the filename WINCAT24.ARJ. In this example, the first 3 words (strings delimited by one or more spaces) after WINCAT24.ARJ should be dropped, so the number to specify is 3. When you click IMPORT, WinCat will scan the selected text file and copy file-descriptions to the catalog. After a few seconds (depending on the size of the text file and the catalog) WinCat displays the File List window which shows all files with their updated descriptions. If you're not completely happy with the result use [COPY], [EDIT] and [PASTE] to change things. SIMULATE does the same as clicking OK, except that WinCat does NOT update it's catalog. - Reclaim When you uncatalog or recatalog a volume, WinCat doesn't actually erase the appropriate records from the catalog ; they are just marked as deleted, and erased when you reorganise the catalog. Up till then, you can use the 'reclaim' function to add the uncataloged volumes to the catalog again. Their volume-id's will be translated to lowercase and preceded by '-', so they will appear at the top of the Volume List window. - Print Volume Summary Creates a listing of all volumes, and then shows a message asking if you want to use the editor to edit or print this file (WINCAT.LST). - Print Volume Contents Creates a listing of all volumes and their contents. - Print Files sorted by Filename Creates a sorted listing of all files in the catalog. - Print Duplicate Files Creates a listing of files that occur more than once in the catalog. HELP MENU --------- - Help Shows WINCAT.DOC - About WinCat See for yourself... HINTS AND TIPS -------------- [1 - disk caching] WinCat's search and archive-scan functions result in quite a bit of I/O on your (hard)disks. Use a disk caching utility like SmartDrive or (even better) HyperDisk, this will improve WinCat's (and any other application's) performance considerably. [2 - catalog reorganization] When you delete or recatalog volumes, WinCat doesn't actually erase the old records from the catalog : they are just marked as deleted. To prevent your catalog becoming bigger and bigger (with a lot of junk in it), WinCat checks the amount of fragmentation (junk) every time you end WinCat. If there are more than 100 deleted records in the catalog, WinCat will display the 'Reorganize Catalog' window, showing some statistics and OK/Cancel buttons. If you click OK, WinCat will rename the catalog to WINCAT.BCK, create a new catalog WINCAT.CAT and copy the old catalog to the new catalog, leaving out all deleted records. Please note that, according to Murphy's Law, a backup is something you'll never need unless you don't have it. So never erase file WINCAT.BCK... 1-1-93 - WINCAT 2.5 SUMMARY OF CHANGES ------------------------------------------ * General - All windows now have a glossy 3D metallic look. - CD-ROM support added. - This version of WinCat doesn't support version 1 catalogs anymore. The previous WinCat versions automaticly converted version 1 catalogs to the new version 2 format, so if you still have a version 1 catalog use one of these to convert your catalog. * Catalog Disk window - WinCat now has the ability to catalog the contents of ARJ,ZIP,LZH,PAK and ARC archive files. - You can now specify whether or not you want WinCat to display the 'confirm recatalog' window. * Volume List window - Now also shows to which group each volume belongs. - Volumes that are cataloged with the 'catalog archive contents' option will be flagged with an 'A'. * File List window - [Arc] button added. Click this button to show the contents of an archive file. * File Information window - [Archive Info] button added. Click this button to show the contents of the current (archive-) file. * Volume Information window - Now displays a pie-chart that shows used and free diskspace. (this only works with volumes that are cataloged with WinCat 2.5). * Select Group window - You can now also select volumes by searching for a string in their comment fields. * Search window - You can search for files in archives on your disks : specify any combination of filename, extension, date and/or size (note that you can't use the comment and directory fields) and click [Archives]. * Settings window - New options : 'catalog archive contents' and 'confirm recatalog'. * Bugs fixed - The 'print all files sorted by filename' function went bananas when there where 2000 or more files in the catalog. - On 4DOS disks, WinCat didn't detect descript.ion files because of there 'hidden' attribute. 22-09-92 - WINCAT 2.4 SUMMARY OF CHANGES ------------------------------------------ * Catalog Disk Window - When cataloging a disk, WinCat will scan the root-directory of this disk for a (4DOS) 'descript.ion' file and, if found, copy the file- descriptions in this file to it's catalog. If there is an entry 'descript.ion' in the descript.ion file, WinCat will use it's description as a volume-description. * Volume List Window - 3 icon-buttons added. Click one of these to switch to the Windows ProgramManager, FileManager or TaskManager. * File List Window - The PASTE function now also accepts filenames in lowercase. * Restore File Window - You can now specify which drive to use when restoring a file. As a default, WinCat uses the drive the file was cataloged on. * Volume Information Window - Allows you to assign a (1- to 8-character) group-id to any volume. You can select an already defined group from the drop-down list, or enter a new group-id. See also 'Select Group'. - The 'UPDATE' key has gone : when you change either the comment, group or exclude field, WinCat automaticly updates the catalog-record. * File Information Window - The 'UPDATE' key has gone : when you change the comment-field, WinCat automaticly updates the catalog-record. * File Menu - The Statistics window also displays the number of defined groups. - The 'Save settings' function has been replaced by a SAVE button on the Settings window. * Options Menu - On the 'Settings' window you'll find 2 new 4DOS related options. On this window you can also specify which editor you want WinCat to use. As a default, WinCat uses NotePad. - With the 'Select Group' function you can limit the volumes displayed on the Volume List window to those belonging to the selected group. Also, when you select a group - the Search function only looks for files on volumes belonging to that group. - a newly cataloged disk will be assigned to that group. - the Statistics window shows the number of volumes and files and the amount of free diskspace in that group. - The COMPARE function has been moved to the Utilities menu. * Utilities Menu - The new IMPORT function allows you to import file-descriptions from BBS AllFiles listings, listings from other disk catalog programs, 4DOS descript.ion files etc. - Prior to reorganising the catalog, you can use the RECLAIM function to add (accidently) un- or re-cataloged volumes to the catalog again. - With the PRINT function you can now also print a short volume summary listing, a listing of all files sorted by filename, or a listing of files that occur more than once in the catalog. * Bugs fixed - The scrollbar on the Volume Directory List window overlayed the filecount per directory. - On the 'Catalog Disk' window it was possible to enter a volume-id that was more than 11 characters long. WinCat now truncates the id you enter to max. 11 characters. - The 'Catalog Disk' function showed an empty window when there was no disk or an empty disk in the selected drive. WinCat now detects this situation and prompts you to correct it. - WinCat reported 5.25" 1.2MB disks to be of an <unknown> type. - When restoring a file, WinCat didn't take into account on which drive the file was cataloged, and always tried to restore from drive A. Since it's quite difficult to insert a 5.25" disk in a 3.5" drive, this has been changed. - Upon display of the 'Restore File' window, it could happen that this window picked up a different file to be restored than the one you selected. - The sequence numbers that appeared on catalog listings are gone now. - When ending WinCat with the Controlbox option 'Close', WinCat remained an active, but non-existent task on the TaskManagers list. 05-07-92 - WINCAT 2.3 SUMMARY OF CHANGES ------------------------------------------ * WINCATDS.EXE has been replaced by WINCATDS.DLL. WinCat now runs in Windows Standard, Real and 386-Enhanced mode. * File List Window - ClipBoard interface added. (see [COPY], [EDIT] and [PASTE]) - Buttons have been moved to the right of the window to allow resizing. * Restore File Window - You can now select any drive as target for files to be restored. * Bugs fixed - WINCATDS returned a corrupted disk-label if that was exactly 8 characters long (doesn't this guy TEST anything...?). - WinCat couldn't see the difference between a 5.25" 1.2MB disk and a 3.5" 720KB disk because DOS returned a hex 'F9' media descriptor for both disk-types. WINCATDS now checks the number of sectors in a cluster to tell the two apart. 20-05-92 - WINCAT 2.2 SUMMARY OF CHANGES ------------------------------------------ * Menu - 'Associate' selection added to 'Options'-menu. - 'Save settings' selection added to 'File'-menu. * Colors menu - 'Save' button removed. Use 'Save settings' to save the current color settings. * Print Menu - The listing of all volumes now also shows each volume's comment field. * Volume List and File List windows - Can now be resized and moved. Use 'Save settings' to save their current position and size. - The Volume List window marks volumes that are excluded from search operations with an 'X'. * Volume Information window - 'Exclude from search' checkbox added. * Search Files window - Now allows you to search for files that exceed a certain size, and/or that are created before, on, or after the date you specify. - 'Search excluded volumes too' checkbox added. * Restore File window - 'User defined function' added to 'action' box. - The restore function now uses user-defined associations when generating commands. * Catalog Disk window - The drop-down list with available drives has gone : now each drive is represented by a button. - When recatalogging a disk, a window is displayed which shows the differences between the old catalog-information and the actual disk. * Bugs fixed - Instead of just dying, WinCat now issues a message when the 'Restore File' window tries to run a non-existent windows application. - WinCat showed a corrupted disklabel if that was 9 or more characters long (between the 8th and 9th character a dot was inserted). WINCATDS.EXE has been changed to fix this. - Still problems with the combination WINCAT/WINCATDS. The change I made in WinCat 2.1 (WinCat waiting on WINCATDS) could cause problems when running Windows in Real or Standard mode. Fix : WinCat now issues a 'retry / cancel' message if WINCATDS doesn't respond after a reasonable amount of time. I must admit that it's a bit clumsy that WinCat calls a DOS EXE to scan the disk to be cataloged, but then, Visual Basic doesn't provide the necessary functions to get all the information, so you're forced to use external routines. Putting these in a DLL library would solve all problems, and would enable WinCat to work in Real or Standard mode too. However, as far as I know you need the Windows System Development Kit to create a DLL, and believe me SDK doesn't come cheap. So, unless one of you folks lends a helping hand, we'll have to keep on mudding... 10-05-92 - WINCAT 2.1 SUMMARY OF CHANGES ------------------------------------------ * Menu - 'Options' menu added. Fore- and background colors can now be changed using the 'Colors' selection. - 'File' menu. 'Statistics' selection added. * Directory List window - Now also shows the root directory (as [root]), and used diskspace and number of files in each directory. * Volume List window - Double-clicking an entry shows the File List window. * File List window - Double-clicking an entry shows the Restore File window. * Restore window - Retains the selected target directory. * General - Code has been changed to make WinCat a bit faster. * Bugs fixed - WINCAT didn't catalog 'hidden' files (well, I guess that's why they are called that way...). WINCATDS.EXE has been changed to fix the problem. - On slower (IBM ?) systems you could have the problem that WINCAT didn't wait long enough on WINCATDS to finish. WINCAT has been tought to be a bit more patient and to wait until his little slave has finished his job or until hell freezes over, which ever comes first. 21-03-92 - WINCAT 2.0 SUMMARY OF CHANGES ------------------------------------------ * Search Criteria window - Directory search-field added. - 'Show' options added. With these options you can select which fields initially should be displayed on the 'File List' window. - 'Sort' options added. With these options you can select how to sort entries on the 'File List' window. - [CE] button added. Clicking this button wil clear all search fields. * Volume List window - [PRINT] button removed. Use the PRINT menu option to print a listing of all files. - [DIRECTORY] button added. This function shows all (sub-)directories on the selected volume. * File List window - [Alt.Display] button added. Clicking this button will alternately display comment field, or volume, creationdate and directory fields. * Restore File window - 'Call WUNA' option added to 'action' box. This option is only active for ARJ and ZIP files. - 'Target Directory' list now reacts on single clicks. * General - WINCATDS.EXE now supports drives A-Z. - The structure of WinCat's catalog has slightly changed. If you start WinCat 2.0 with a version 1.0 catalog then WinCat automaticly converts the old catalog to the new 2.0 format. (The old catalog will be saved as WINCAT.BCK). - Some minor cosmetic changes. * Bugs fixed - Edit-fields don't lose focus (cursor) anymore. THINGS TO COME -------------- WinCat/PRO 3.0 -------------- A turbo version of WinCat, written entirely in Turbo Pascal for Windows ! Planned General Availability : May '93. On the drawing board : - enhanced CD-ROM support - catalog compression - intelligent disk shuffler REGISTERING WINCAT ------------------ WinCat is a PostWare product ; this means that if you use it you don't have to pay any license-fee, but instead of this you do have the moral obligation to register by sending me a nice postcard with a picture of the town you live in, a beautifull blonde nudy or anything else you fancy. Of course a good bottle of (scotch) whisky will be accepted with the utmost gratitude too, hips... So, instead of feeling guilty for the rest of your life, send your postcard to : Mart Heubel De Heugden 161 6411 DR Heerlen The Netherlands YOUR COMMENTS PLEASE -------------------- If you discover serious bugs in WinCat, or if you have any "wouldn't it be nice if WinCat ..." ideas, feel free to send me a note at one of these bulletin boards : - CyberDyne Systems FIDO 2:512/1002 (R28 WINNET host) - InterAction (formerly WildCat) FIDO 2:500/222 (WINNET node) DISTRIBUTION ------------ WinCat may be freely copied and distributed, as long as the following conditions are met : [1] No fee is charged other than a normal time usage fee required by some Bulletin Board Services. [2] The program and it's associated files are distributed in their original, unmodified form. [3] This document file is included with the executable file without modification. This program may not be bundled with, or transferred as part of, any package which is sold or for which any licensing fee is charged without the prior written permission of the author. Copies of this program or any of it's associated files remain property of the author. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ---------------- The 3DLABEL.VBX file (a Visual Basic custom control used to create WinCat's 3D look) was created and donated to public domain by : Jiang, Jeng Long Mountain View, CA Code for determining the contents of ZIP, PAK and ARC archives is based on sourcecode from the program PIBCAT, which was created by : Phil Burns Code for determining the contents of ARJ archives is based on sourcecode from the program ARJDATE, which was created by : Darren Lyon Code for determining the contents of LZH archives is based on sourcecode from the program LZHTV10, which was created by : Samuel H. Smith Phoenix, AZ SMALL PRINT ----------- Registering this program entitles you only to a) let WinCat occupy your diskspace and b) use WinCat. No guarantee is made, expressed or implied, pertaining to the use, misuse, or any problems caused by this program. In no event will the author be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the use or the inability to use this product.