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GMSUTIL.DOC
GMSUTIL - MEAN 18 Golf Management System Utility Release 1.0
COPYRIGHT Dan Moore 1988
GMSUTIL and its companion programs are Shareware. If you
find the m useful, consider sending the author a
contribution. for further information, please refer to the
LICENSE.DOC file contained in the GMS ARChive.
WHAT IS GMSUTIL?
GMSUTIL is a DOS/PKARC/PKXARC shell intended specifically
for the management of Accolade's MEAN 18 course files (.M18
files). GMSUTIL allows easy migration of course files from
ARChived to active status -- courses must be active to be
played --. ARChived courses generally occupy 74% less
space than their active counterparts. Given a course file
size of 110K, and the very large number of courses
available (over 300 at the time of this writing), MEAN 18
addicts could very easily have well over 30 megabytes of
expensive hard disk space dedicated to the storage of
course files. GMSUTIL does not solve the problem, but it
sure helps minimize it.
REQUIREMENTS
As is the case with GMS, the GMSUTIL program must reside in
your MEAN 18 directory (along with MEAN 18 programs and
course files, of course). Two other files, GMSSTAT.SCR and
GMSHELP.SCR, must also be in that directory for GMSUTIL to
function properly. Last, Phil Katz's excellent PKARC and
PKXARC programs must either be in the MEAN 18 directory or
in your DOS PATH. If you don't know what a DOS PATH is,
then read about it in your DOS manual, or copy the programs
into your MEAN 18 Directory and forget about PATHs
altogether.
GMSUTIL (as well as GMS) supports course files with the
.M18 and .M10 extensions, as is the case with the M18Vxx
program. All active courses are stored with a .M10 suffix.
GMS changes the suffix to M18 prior to invoking the MEAN 18
game itself (GOLF.EXE) and GMSUTIL does this prior to
invoking the course architect module (ARCH.EXE).
There must be at least ONE active or ARChived course file
in your MEAN 18 directory. If no such files are found,
GMSUTIL has nothing to work with and will terminate with an
appropriate message.
NOTE: Please support Phil Katz's PKARC utilities by
sending in the modest contribution he suggests. It is his
program, not GMSUTIL, that is saving you all the expensive
HD space space. GMSUTIL merely saves time and adds
convenience.
THE GMSARC UTILITY
GMSARC is intended as a one-time helper to GMSUTIL. If you
already have a large number of MEAN 18 course files in your
MEAN 18 HD subdirectory, manual ARChiving of these files
one at a time, even with the help of GMSUTIL, can be a
lengthy process. GMSARC will ARChive ALL your course files
(after renaming them all to the .M10 suffix) and will
DELETE the original .M10 file after the ARChiving is
completed.
However, before you run GMSARC, run the GMSUTIL program at
least once to see how much space is used by your course
files (the F8 key in GMSUTIL will display disk space
statistics). THEN run GMSARC and witness the savings. To
run GMSARC, make sure the program is in your MEAN 18
directory and type GMSARC <Enter> at the DOS prompt.
NOTE: Although GMSARC has been tested thoroughly, something
can always go wrong....I strongly recommend that you backup
your MEAN 18 course files before you start. I did, and I
wrote this sucker.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++GMSUTIL OPERATION
NOTE: The "User's Manual" portion of this document if
formatted so as to make the search for specific
topics easier (ie, with Vern Buerg's excellent LIST
program). The operations manual starts with a line
of "+" characters. Major function areas are
delimited with lines of "=" characters, and each
command is delimited with a line of dashes ("-").
Title/Subtitles are right-aligned to make spotting
and identification easier and faster. Because of the
intuitive nature of the program and its permanent
function menus, online help has not been provided.
==========================================================STARTING THE PROGRAM
Start GMSUTIL by issuing the GMSUTIL command at the DOS
prompt (I don't; I use the excellent Automenu program to
manage all my executable files -- Automenu is also a
shareware product). The program will load and immediately
read and sort the course/arc file directory. The standard
GMSUTIL screen will be displayed.
The GMSUTIL screen is laid out simply and logically. The
left half (the blue half) of the screen contains the
course file directory and function reminder windows. The
right half (the green half) contains the ARChive file
directory and function reminder windows. The last 5 lines
of the screen contain the global function help window,
displayed in dark gray over light gray.
===============================================================GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
As their name indicates, "Global" functions are available at all
times.
---------------------------------------------COURSE / ARCHIVE WINDOW NAVIGATION
At any time, the Up/Dn/PgUp/PgDn keys will move the course
or ARChive selection cursor through the active directory
window. The selected file name will be displayed appear in
high-intensity white over a lighter-colored background.
Function keys F1 through F7 affect ONLY the selected file
name.
--------------------------------------------------TAB KEY: SWITCH ACTIVE WINDOW
The TAB key (-->|, usually to the immediate left of the "Q"
key), switches from course functions to archive functions.
Press it a few times and notice the active function
indicator bar (the top screen line) switch from the course
windows to the archive windows. Function keys F1 through
F7, when depressed, will perform the correponding active
window's function.
---------------------------------------------------------------Alt-R: DOS Shell
The Alt-R key combination will exit GMSUTIL and will invoke
a new copy of COMMAND.COM. The screen will be cleared and
a message will be displayed to remind you to type "EXIT" to
return to GMSUTIL. This "DOS Shell" function allowsx you
to invoke any standard DOS commands (ie, dir, copy, or any
legitimate program or .BAT file). Since GMSUTIL AND
another copy of COMMAND.COM are in memory, you may be
limited as to the size of the program you may run. Most
DOS commands should run satisfactorily, however. Once you
no longer need DOS services, type the word EXIT at the DOS
prompt, press <Enter>, and you will be returned to GMSUTIL.
-------------------------------------------F8 KEY: HARD DISK STATISTICS DISPLAY
The F8 key, when pressed, will cause a hard disk space
summary window to be displayed in the middle of the screen
(in the same, unexciting color scheme as the global
function window).
The HD summary windows shows the following information:
o Current drive address
o Total capacity of current drive (in Kbytes)
o Total free space available on current drive
o Free space as a percentage of total drive capacity
o Number of active course files and their space requirement
o Number of ARChive courses and their space requirement
o An estimate of the space that can be saved by ARChiving
active course files (expressed in Kb and as a percent of
total capacity). PKARC yields an average 74% savings.
Pressing the <Escape> key clears the statistics window and
restores the screen to its previous status.
---------------------------------------------------F9 KEY: GO PLAY MEAN 18 GOLF
The F9 Key will immediately terminate GMSUTIL and transfer
control to the GMS program. Documentation for GMS is
contained in a separate .DOC file
----------------------------------------------------------F10 KEY: QUIT GMSUTIL
Pressing the F10 key will immediately terminate GMSUTIL and
return control to DOS.
========================================================= COURSE FILE FUNCTIONS
-------------------------------------------F1 KEY: ARCHIVE AND KEEP COURSE FILE
The F1 key invokes the PKARC utility to ARChive the
selected course file. The screen will be cleared, and
control will be passed to the PKARC utility. Once PKARC
terminates, the screen will be restored to its prior status
(the ARChive directory window will be updated to show the
new ARChive, however). The original course file will be
left untouched. The F8 statistics display will reflect the
increase in space utilization.
-----------------------------------------F2 KEY: ARCHIVE AND DELETE COURSE FILE
The F2 key duplicates the function of the F1 key. Once the
course file is ARChived, the scren will be restored and a
file deletion prompt will be displayed in a RED window in
the middle of the screen. Pressing the "Y" key will cause
the course file to be deleted; pressing <Esc> will cancel
the delete operation and restore the screen. The course
directory window will be updated to reflect the file
deletion. The F8 display will reflect the change in space
utilization.
NOTE: This function will yield maximum hard disk space
savings.
-----------------------------------------------------F3 KEY: IMPORT COURSE FILE
The F3 key will allow importing a course file from
diskette. The course file MUST have a .M18 or .M10
extension. A prompt window will be displayed, asking you
to insert the source diskette in drive A:. Do so and press
<Enter>, or press <Esc> to cancel the import request.
GMSUTIL will then read the diskette directory and display a
window containing the names of the .M1x files on the
diskette. To import a course file, move the cursor to the
desired file name and press <Enter>. The file will be
copied, the course directory will be updated, and the
diskette window will be redisplayed to allow you to import
additional course files. You may press <Esc> at any time
to return to the standard GMSUTIL screen.
NOTE: release 1.0 of GMSUTIL does NOT check for free space
availability on the hard disk prior to a course file
import. You may wish to insure that you have
sufficient space by checking the HD statistics (F8).
-----------------------------------------------------F4 KEY: EXPORT COURSE FILE
The F4 key will cause the selected course file to be
exported to the diskette in drive A:. As with the import
function, a prompt window will ask for a diskette to be
inserted. Pressing <Enter> proceeds with the export; <Esc>
cancels the operation.
NOTE: release 1.0 of GMSUTIL does not check for space
availability on the target diskette in an export
operation.
-----------------------------------------------F5 KEY: COPY/RENAME COURSE FILE
The F5 key will create a duplicate of the selected course
file under a new name for which you will be prompted.
GMSUTIL only requires the NAME of the file; the .M10
extension will be automatically appended. A second prompt
will request confirmation. Pressing "Y" proceeds with the
operation; <Esc> cancels the operation, and "N" allows you
to specify a different name for the duplicate file.
Creating a copy of an existing course under a new name may
be a wise thing to do prior to invoking the course
architect; it insures preservation of the original course
file under its original name.
-----------------------------------------------------F6 KEY: DELETE COURSE FILE
The F6 key will cause deletion of the selected course file.
A prompt will request confirmation of the deletion.
Pressing "Y" will cause the file to be deleted; <Esc>
will cancel the request.
-------------------------------------------------------F7 KEY: COURSE ARCHITECT
The F7 Key will activate the currently selected course and
pass control to the MEAN 18 Couse Architect program. The
selected course will be the only course displayed on the
architect selection menu. Upon exit from the architect
program, control will return to the GMSUTIL program and the
screen will be restored to its prior status.
=========================================================ARCHIVE FILE FUNCTIONS
--------------------------------------F1 KEY: UNARCHIVE COURSE AND KEEP ARCHIVE
The F1 function will immediately unARChive the currently
selected ARChive file. The screen will be cleared and
control will be passed to the PKXARC program. Upon
completion, the active course directory window will be
updated to reflect the presence of the new course.
GMSUTIL will successfully unARC multiple-course ARChives.
NOTE: this function will yield the largest increase in
space utilization (similar to the F1 course file
function).
------------------------------------F2 KEY: UNARCHIVE COURSE AND DELETE ARCHIVE
This function will immediately unARChive the currently
selected ACRhive file. Upon completion, a file deletion
prompt will be displayed. This function's operation is
identical to the course file F2 function.
---------------------------------------------------------F3 KEY: IMPORT ARCHIVE
Except for the .ARC file extension, this function is
identical to the course file F3 function.
NOTE: Multiple-Course ARChives may be imported into
GMSUTIL, then may be unARCed to yield multiple
additional course files. GMSUTIL, however, cannot
create multiple-course ARChives.
---------------------------------------------------------F4 KEY: EXPORT ARCHIVE
Except for the .ARC file extension, this function is
identical to the course file export function.
---------------------------------------------------------F5 KEY: RENAME ARCHIVE
This functions allows the renaming of an ARChive file. I
have absolutely no idea why anyone would ever want to use
it. Its main reason for existence is that I wanted
geometric balance between the two screen halves.
---------------------------------------------------------F6 KEY: DELETE ARCHIVE
Except for the .ARC file extension, this function is
identical to the course file F6 function.
--------------------------------------------------F7 KEY: VIEW ARCHIVE CONTENTS
This function will invoke the PKXARC program to display the
contents of an ARChive. Although one should know what's in
a single-course ARChive, some ARChives may not contain what
they're supposed to, or may be corrupted.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++END OF OPERATIONS INSTRUCTIONS
TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT
GMSUTIL was written entirely in Microsoft QuickBasic
release 3.0. Extensive use was made of Hamerly Computer
Services' ProBas library of routines for QuickBasic.
ProBas was used for screen display/windowing, directory
access, and disk statistics. The .SCR files were created
with PC Magazine's PAINT program, which helps design color
text screens and stores tham as binary files which are
easily loaded and displayed using ProBas routines. GMSUTIL
contains approximately 1150 lines of source code.
The program was developed and tested on an AT-compatible
computer with 640K of memory, running under IBM PC-DOS
release 3.3. GMSUTIL was tested successfully on four
other AT-compatible machines and one true blue original IBM
PC. AT-compatible units used Phoenix, DTK, and Award BIOS.
The program was tested on CGA and EGA-compatible color
displays. Hard disks used include Seagate, Miniscribe, and
Priam.
Dan Moore
1514 South Drive
Columbus, IN 47203
MEAN 18 is a trademark of Micromint and Accolade, Inc.
IBM, PC, AT are trademarks of International Business Machines
PKARC/PKXARC are trademarks and copyrighted Phil Katz
CGA and EGA are trademarks of IBM
IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines
Phoenix, DTK, AWARD are trademark of whoever owns them.
############################################################ END OF GMSUTIL.DOC