home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The 640 MEG Shareware Studio 2
/
The 640 Meg Shareware Studio CD-ROM Volume II (Data Express)(1993).ISO
/
compress
/
dskbs140.zip
/
DISKBASE.HLP
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-11-19
|
46KB
|
881 lines
_______ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / \ / \ / \ /\\\\\\\\\\ //////////// ------------------------- \ DiskBase / \-------------------/ by IntelliSys Post Office Box 21233 Roanoke, VA 24018 (703) 345-5906 [voice] (703) 345-9423 [FAX] (703) 344-5647 [Data: Support BBS] Copyright (c) IntelliSys 1992 All Rights Reserved.
DiskBase Page i
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.............................................. 1
ABOUT INTELLISYS.......................................... 2
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT................................ 3
License.............................................. 3
Limited Warranty and Limitation of Remedies.......... 4
General.............................................. 5
INSTALLATION.............................................. 6
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS...................................... 7
USING DISKBASE............................................ 8
MAIN MENU............................................ 8
CATALOG KEYBOARD ASSIGNMENTS........................ 10
PROGRAM OPTIONS..................................... 11
UPDATING MULTIPLE DISK ARCHIVES..................... 13
DISKBASE CONFIGURATION FILE.............................. 14
SCREEN INDICATORS........................................ 14
WHICH ARCHIVE PROGRAM TO USE............................. 14
HINTS.................................................... 14
NETWORK ACCESS........................................... 16
DEFINITIONS.............................................. 16
REGISTRATION............................................. 16
SITE-LICENSES............................................ 17
DISTRIBUTING DISKBASE.................................... 17
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................... 17
DiskBase Page 1
INTRODUCTION
This file provides on-line documentation for DiskBase as
well as the Licensing Agreement.
The purpose of DiskBase is to allow you to store and
retrieve programs or data on whatever DOS recognizable
storage device you have in the most simple and efficient
manner possible. Many computer users will never have enough
disk space to store all the files they need at the same
time. This program makes it possible for you to store files
used less often on floppy disks and to easily retrieve
them. Also, many computer users have one drive that is much
faster than the others (a ram drive which is faster than a
hard drive or a hard drive which is faster than a floppy
drive). This program allows you to store files on the
slower drive, while the faster drive is used when actually
running programs. This gives you the fastest possible
program execution speed.
DiskBase is currently distributed as Shareware. It is not
free. Shareware is software that you can examine on a trial
basis. If you decide to use DiskBase beyond the trial
period, you are required to register as a user and send
IntelliSys the registration fee. (See below for information
about how to register your copy.) You are encouraged to
pass a copy of DiskBase along to your friends for
evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy as
well if they find it useful.
Just like commercial authors, shareware authors are
accomplished programmers, and they write programs that are
of comparable quality. Distributing software as shareware
saves money for the software developer by allowing
distribution through low-cost channels, while presenting
you with a quality product at a savings. The Shareware
concept can only work for the benefit of all computer users
if the users of Shareware pay for its use. Please refer to
the LICENSE AGREEMENT for terms for use of DiskBase.
DiskBase Page 2
ABOUT INTELLISYS
IntelliSys creates custom software and provides consulting
services, as well as developing Shareware applications. We
are extremely interested in what our customers think about
our products and how they feel they can be improved.
Also, if you would like a modified version of this program
to meet your specific needs, or if you need an entirely
different kind of program, please do not hesitate to
contact us at the address above, by telephone, or on our
BBS to discuss it.
DiskBase Page 3
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
READ THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT BEFORE USING DiskBase. THIS
AGREEMENT IS A LEGAL CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU, THE USER OF
DiskBase, AND INTELLISYS GOVERNING YOUR USE OF DiskBase.
THIS AGREEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU
AND INTELLISYS WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF DiskBase. USING
DiskBase INDICATES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. THIS
AGREEMENT SHALL ALSO BE BINDING ON ANY SUBSEQUENT,
AUTHORIZED LICENSEE. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO AGREE TO THE
TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE DiskBase.
License
IntelliSys grants you a non-exclusive license to use the
DiskBase software program and documentation as specified in
this Agreement. You may use DiskBase for a reasonable
period of time while you decide whether to become a
registered user of DiskBase. After using DiskBase for a
reasonable period of time, you may not use DiskBase without
becoming a registered user.
As a registered user, you may use DiskBase on a single
computer or terminal at a time. In addition, you may make
one backup copy of DiskBase.
This Agreement specifically does not grant to you or anyone
any rights to patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and
trademarks. You acknowledge and agree that DiskBase is
owned by IntelliSys and is protected by United States
copyright law and international treaty provisions. You
agree to safeguard DiskBase as copyrighted material. You
acknowledge that the structure and organization of DiskBase
are the valuable trade secrets of IntelliSys. You agree to
hold such trade secrets in confidence.
You may not distribute DiskBase for any kind of
remuneration without prior authorization from IntelliSys.
You may not distribute DiskBase as part of any other
software or hardware package. However, IntelliSys
encourages you to distribute copies of DiskBase, without
charging for the copies, so that others may decide whether
to become registered users. In addition, as a registered
user, you may transfer your rights under this Agreement on
a permanent basis provided you transfer your registered
copy of DiskBase and any backup copy and provided the
recipient agrees to the terms of this Agreement. Such a
permanent transfer ends your license to use DiskBase. You
may not transfer obsolete versions of DiskBase. Other than
DiskBase Page 4
as provided in this paragraph, you may not loan,
sublicense, rent, lease, sublease, or otherwise transfer
any right to use DiskBase.
You may not make copies of DiskBase, or any portion of it,
except as expressly provided in this Agreement. You may not
reproduce, transmit, transcribe, store in a retrieval
system, or translate into any language DiskBase or any part
of it. You may not disassemble, decompile, reverse
engineer, or create derivative works based on DiskBase or
any portion of it.
Limited Warranty and Limitation of Remedies
IntelliSys warrants that the diskette containing a
registered copy of DiskBase and the accompanying
documentation shall be free from defects in materials and
workmanship under normal use for a period of thirty days
from the date the diskette is sent to you. To exercise your
rights under this warranty, you must return the defective
product to IntelliSys at your expense within the warranty
period. IntelliSys will then replace the product or return
your purchase price, at its option. IntelliSys's entire
liability and your exclusive remedy and sole measure of
recoverable damages under this Agreement shall be, at
IntelliSys's option, (1) return of the purchase price paid,
or (2) replacement of the defective product. In the event
of replacement of a diskette, IntelliSys shall warrant the
replacement for the remainder of the original thirty days
or for fourteen days, whichever is longer.
DiskBase IS PROVIDED "AS IS" EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH
IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH. THE WARRANTY IN THE PRECEDING
PARAGRAPH IS THE ONLY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, CONCERNING DiskBase, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NEITHER INTELLISYS NOR ANYONE WHO
HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY
OF DiskBase SHALL BE LIABLE TO ANYONE FOR ANY LOST PROFITS
OR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
SPECIAL DAMAGES OR COSTS (INCLUDING LEGAL EXPENSES OR LOSS
OF GOODWILL) ARISING OUT OF USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO
USE, DiskBase EVEN IF INTELLISYS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOST PROFITS, DAMAGES, OR COSTS.
DiskBase Page 5
General
If any provision of this Agreement shall be unlawful, void,
or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall
be deemed severable from this Agreement and shall not
affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining
provisions of this Agreement. This Agreement shall be
governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Any
civil action or other proceeding that may be brought
concerning DiskBase or this Agreement shall be brought only
in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction
located within the city of Roanoke, Virginia. If any civil
action or other proceeding is brought in any other forum,
ones bringing the action or joining the action shall be
liable, jointly and severally, to IntelliSys, its
employees, and agents for any costs whatever associated
with defending the action or other proceeding, including
attorney fees and consequential costs such as travel
expenses and lost wages.
IntelliSys reserves the right, at it's sole discretion, to
change, modify, or update DiskBase at any time without
notifying anyone. IntelliSys reserves the right to offer
updates to DiskBase either free of charge or for an
additional charge.
Trademarks of all products mentioned herein are property of
their respective owners.
DiskBase Page 6
INSTALLATION
1) As with any new software program, it is
good common sense to backup your drive
before installing it.
2) Be sure your archive program (PKZIP, or
ARJ, etc.) is in your PATH. (Refer to your
DOS manual for more information about your
PATH.)
3) Create a directory for DiskBase and copy
all of its files to it. (OPTIONAL: DiskBase
will find all of its files in this
directory is added to your PATH statement.)
4) Create a file called GO.CFG in each
directory that you want to be able to
archive that contains the following lines:
NAME =
DESCR =
SPACE =
GO.CFG is optional as are each of the
configuration entries in it. After "NAME ="
put a brief menu label. After "DESCR =" put
a description of the directory. And after
"SPACE =" put a numerical estimate of the
minimal amount of disk space needed by this
application, or needed to restore this
directory and all the directories below it.
The estimate of space is used later by
DiskBase to determine if enough disk space
is available to restore the directory.
If you are using our companion program
MENU, and this is a directory for a
program, create a file called GO.BAT that
starts your program.
5) Start DiskBase, by entering
DISKBASE
at the DOS prompt.
6) Select OPTIONS from the main menu to insure
that DiskBase is configured properly. (See
the section below on OPTIONS for more
information about each item.) The default
DiskBase Page 7
archive program options tells the archive
program to create an archive that contains
all the files in the specified path and in
sub-directories below the specified path.
The Un-archive command should recreate the
directory structure in exactly the same
fashion. Don't change these commands
unless you know EXACTLY how to call the
archive program. Please refer to the
ARCHIVE PROGRAM OPTION for a further
discussion of specific commands.
6) Choose the "Archive" main menu item and
select the directory you wish to archive.
By selecting a directory, all files in that
directory and all directories below it are
compressed into a single archive file.
"Archive" will move the directory you
choose onto your archive (floppy) drive and
remove it from your application/data (hard)
drive. You have just created your first
archive!
7) Once you have created an archive on your
storage drive, you can select the CATALOG
option from the main menu to view a tabular
list of your stored archives. While viewing
the list, you can re-install the archive,
view the archive, or remove old archives
from your collection.
That's all there is to it! Now store your
collection of disks in a safe place - away from
strong magnetic sources, and wild animals. Use only
high quality disks for important archives or for
long-term storage.
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
DISKBASE followed by:
/? displays these command line
options,
/M forces use of monochrome colors,
and
/V displays verbose messages where
appropriate in the program.
DiskBase Page 8
USING DISKBASE
MAIN MENU
The main menu of the program presents you with the
following options:
CATALOG This option allows you to view a
listing of your stored archives in
tabular format. You are able, when
viewing the Catalog (or database),
to 1) re-install an archive onto
the application/data drive, 2)
remove an archive from your
collection of disks, and 3) view
the contents of the archive.
Eventually you will have duplicates
of your archives as you install and
remove them from the
application/data drive. This is
good. The best protection we have
in the computer world against
disaster is redundancy. Having a
backup copy of your data WILL be
useful. Having too many old copies
just takes up space. The number of
old copies you want to keep is a
relative decision and up to you.
From time to time, just remove the
oldest duplicates from your
collection of disks by moving to
the archive in the database and
pressing the DEL key.
ARCHIVE This option allows you to view all
the directories on the
data/application drive and select
one that needs to be archived and
moved to your collection of disks.
The first time the program is run,
a catalog will be created to hold
your list of archives. In short,
ARCHIVE will call your archive
program to create an archive on a
storage disk, add information about
the disk to the database, and
remove the old directory and its
subdirectories from the
application/data drive. An archive
DiskBase Page 9
is created based on the first eight
(8) characters of the directory
name. After the archive has been
created, it is stored on a disk and
your collection that has just
enough space for the new archive,
or it is stored on a new diskette.
New disks are automatically
labelled to the next available
number in your collection.
UPDATE Should you ever have to modify a
disk in your collection from
outside of this program, this
option allows the program to have
up to date information about that
disk. You should never really have
to use this option. If a disk in
your collection is changed outside
of this program (- you add or
remove files from a collection
disk), DiskBase needs to be
informed of the change. So, if you
are not familiar with archiving
software, you should always let
this program create the archives.
Archives are created in such a
manner that allows for
subdirectories to be restored from
the root directory. This program
creates archives and moves them off
onto disk and updates the catalog
without your intervention. If you
happen to have archives that are
created in the proper format (-
they will recreate subdirectories
starting with one named the same as
the archive), the update option
will add those disks to the
database. However, in this
scenario, information contained in
configuration files (GO.CFG) in
each of the archived directories is
not available to this program.
Specifically, the database contains
information about how much space is
needed to restore the
application/data directory, and a
one line description of the
directory.
DiskBase Page 10
Please see the section "UPDATING
MULTIPLE DISK ARCHIVES" below for
more information about updating
when you are using an archive
program that can span multiple
disks.
SPACE Allows you to see a list of the
disk numbers used, their free disk
space, and the last date the disk
was read. This option is useful
just before you create a multiple-
disk archive and you need to have a
stack of diskettes ready before you
begin. It's simpler to use totally
blank diskettes when creating new
multi-disk archives, but this
option allows you to manually fill
in space in your disk collection by
selecting disks yourself.
OPTIONS Allows you to change various
program options.
CATALOG KEYBOARD ASSIGNMENTS
F1 Displays help.
DEL Remove archive from highlighted diskette.
This removes an archive from your
collection by deleting it. The archive
should either 1) already be installed on
the application/data drive, 2) be a
duplicate archive, or 3) be an application
or data you no longer need.
INS Install highlighted archive. The archive
will be expanded to the drive specified as
the Applications/Data Drive.
Alt-P Report on Catalog using .FRM file. Reports
can be generated to the screen, printer, or
to a file.
Alt-S Search a field for something.
Alt-A Repeat last search.
Alt-V View archive. Calls VIEW.BAT that is
distributed with this program, or the
DiskBase Page 11
command that is specified in the Options
menu.
PROGRAM OPTIONS
The following are items that appear under the options menu.
DATA/APPLICATION DRIVE This is the drive where
your data and application
directories are stored.
For example, this may be
your hard drive. When you
ARCHIVE an application/data
directory, the directory
tree you are shown is from
this drive. This option
defaults to C:.
ARCHIVE DRIVE This is the drive where
archives are stored. For
example, this may be your
diskette drive. This option
defaults to A:.
CATALOG NAME This is the name of the
database used to record
information about your
archives. This is a five
character name and should
reflect some logical
collection of data - like
APPS, DATA, or PICS, ....
This allows you to store
many different collections
of archives. This option
defaults to DB.
All disks added to your
collection will be labeled
using the Catalog Name and
an ordinal number. To
prevent disks from getting
mixed in with the wrong
collection, DiskBase will
not allow you to add a disk
to the specified from a
different collection of
archives. i.e. You can't
add a disk labeled APPS5 to
your DATA collection.
DiskBase Page 12
ARCHIVE PROGRAM This is the tokenized DOS
command used to create the
archive. This option
defaults to "ARJ a -r -w%t
-va %a %s\*.*". (Mult. Disk
Capability, below, should
be T for this
configuration. PKZIP
version 1.1 can be used to
create archives that do not
have the Mult. Disk
Capability with "PKZIP -APR
-b%t %a %s\*.*".) The
values for the tokens %a,
%s, %t will be swapped for
the values of the archive
name, source directory, and
temporary storage are (if
you want to uses one),
respectively.
UN-ARCHIVE PROGRAM This is the tokenized DOS
command used to extract
files from the archive.
This option defaults to
"ARJ x %a %d". (For PKZIP
version 1.1 use "PKUNZIP -D
%a %d".) The values for the
tokens %a, %d will be
swapped for the values of
the archive name, and root
directory of the
destination drive,
respectively.
VIEW ARCHIVE PROGRAM DOS command with tokens
used to list files in the
archive. This option
defaults to VIEW %a where
VIEW.BAT is a supplied
batch file, and %a is the
archive on the archive
drive.
ARCHIVE FILE EXTENSION The file extension for
files created by the
archive program. This
option defaults to ARJ.
MULT. DISKS CAPABILITY If the archiver can create
archives that span multiple
disks, the program logic is
DiskBase Page 13
for the archive program to
create the archive directly
on the storage disks, and
then DiskBase will ask you
to let it update its
catalog by inserting each
modified disk. DiskBase
only finds out what changes
were made to collection
disks by your letting it
re-read each modified disk.
If the archive program
can't create archives
across multiple disks then
the process is for the
archive program to create
the archive in the TEMP
directory, and then move it
to the storage disk.
TEMPORARY DIRECTORY Place used for temporary
storage. This value can be
passed to the un/archive
program through the %t
token - see above.
UPDATING MULTIPLE DISK ARCHIVES
When an archive is created that spans more than a single
disk, DiskBase will ask you to insert each modified disk
and it will re-read the disk and update the databases with
information about the archives on that disk. Since DiskBase
calls an external archive program, it has no way of knowing
which storage disks the external program has changed. If
the archive program can create archives that span multiple
disks, DiskBase must give you the opportunity to update
your catalog with information about the modified disks.
The following are the options with which you will be
presented:
READ You have another disk that was
modified when the archive program
created its archive. Put the next
disk in the drive and choose this
option until all modified disks
have been read.
STOP You have no more modified disk that
need to be added to the catalog and
you're ready to continue on and let
DiskBase Page 14
the program complete this
operation.
ABORT Something went wrong - creating the
archive failed.
DISKBASE CONFIGURATION FILE
If a file called DISKBASE.CFG is located in the default
directory when DiskBase is started, the configuration
information within it is used. Then, if a configuration
file is found in the directory where the program executable
file resides, then it is used. Otherwise, if no
configuration file is found, the default configuration
options are used.
SCREEN INDICATORS
During data entry operation, screen indicators I, N, and C,
at the top right of your screen, indicate the status of the
Insert/Overstrike, NumLock, and CapsLock toggles.
WHICH ARCHIVE PROGRAM TO USE
IntelliSys does not endorse any particular program for use
with its products. ARJ, version 2.3, written by Robert K.
Jung, has the capability to perform the functions needed by
DiskBase - in particular it creates archives that span
multiple disks. PKZIP, written by PKWare, Inc., is another
good program, but version 1.1 does not have the ability to
create archives that span multiple disks. Other archive
programs may be suitable. These programs are widely
available on Bulletin Board Systems and through other
sources. Please contact IntelliSys if you need more
information on how to obtain a copy of these programs if
one is not available to you.
HINTS
* When creating an archive that you think may span
multiple disks, have a stack of BLANK diskettes
ready. If you create such an archive that spans
multiple diskettes and use consecutively numbered
diskettes, it is easier to re-install the archive
DiskBase Page 15
later. For example, if the un-archive program asks
you for "the next disk" and you created the archive
on a random diskette from your collection with
space available, the archive program does not know
which disk you used to store the next portion of
the archive. At this point you would have to insert
every disk in your collection until you found the
disk the archive program needed next.
DiskBase will tell you the number to write on the
outside of a new diskette, and it will label the
diskette using your database name + its ordinal
number. But the archive program that you use does
not (usually) know the diskette that you use to
create subsequent portions of a multiple-disk
archive. So if you use blank diskettes, you always
know which diskette comes next when you re-install
your archive.
* !USE! DOS's ability to help you create distinct
logical categories of files by creating separate
directories and sub-directories. Put programs that
you may want to archive in separate directories
under the root directory. Put data files in
separate directories under the root. (If you
separate your data from your program files you will
find it easier to backup files that have recently
changed and are most critical to your work.)
* (For Register Users of DiskBase) use our Menu
program to provide access to the programs that are
dynamically installed on the Data/Application
Drive. It can re-scan for a current list of the
GO.BAT files that exist on that drive.
Also, use the GO.CFG file in each directory you
wish to archive (described in this document) to
associate a description with the directory. When
you see various archives in your catalog that have
the same name, the description you gave each
archive will help you make sense of them all.
* If you understand how to use the archive program
and you understand how the tokens are used under
DiskBase's Option menu, use the Temp. Directory
entry and Token (%t) to create the archive on the
fastest drive you have. The Temp. drive should be
larger than your archive storage drive.
DiskBase Page 16
NETWORK ACCESS
This is not a multi-user application. It was not written to
allow access to its files by more than one process/user at
time. i.e. It will not work correctly on a network.
DEFINITIONS
Archive .... A collection of files in that compressed
(reduced by size and number) into a single
file.
Database ... For purposes of this program, a listing of
information in tabular form.
Disk ....... This can be a diskette, another hard drive
partition, WORM drive, RAM drive, or any other
standard DOS addressable device.
REGISTRATION
To register your copy of DiskBase, simply print the file
ORDERFRM.TXT by executing the following DOS command:
COPY ORDERFRM.TXT PRN
and send the completed form with your check or money order
for $34.95 and $5 shipping and handling to the address
above.
Registered users receive:
- A copy of the current version of this program.
- A copy of and free registration to our hard disk
Menu program. Since your installed programs
change dynamically, Menu has the capability to
search for batch files called GO.BAT (that you
create in each program directory). These batch
files start your program as you would like, and
the very presence of the GO.BAT batch file on
your Application/Data drive means that it will
automatically be added to Menu's Applications
Menu.
- 1 year free technical support for the program by
telephone, fax, or on our BBS
DiskBase Page 17
- "Supporting User" access level to our BBS
- 1 year free updates
SITE-LICENSES
Site-licenses are available by contacting IntelliSys at the
address above.
DISTRIBUTING DISKBASE
For information about distributing DiskBase, please refer
to the file VENDOR.DOC.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our thanks to all those who have given us suggestions and
constructive criticism. And thanks to those in the industry
who provide tools and share information. Without your
efforts this program would not be possible.
