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OS/2 Help File
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1994-07-26
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24KB
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205 lines
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
File Info - File Info Retrieval From Any WPS View!
I love the Workplace Shell (WPS). Its object oriented approach and its ease of
customization make it the one and only choice for managing my programs and data
files. I find its Macintosh-like interface to be very appealing to me. With
file associations, I can just open a folder containing the data file I wish to
view, and double click on it to view or edit its contents. This is a big step
from tons of black and white text scrolling across our screens at the whim of
very ambiguous commands.
But the WPS, and the Drive Objects in particular, are not perfect by any
stretch of the imagination. This is evident by the large array of shareware
OS/2 PM and character mode file management programs popping up on BBSs and FTP
sites all over Cyberspace. The WPS's largest problem that I've found seems to
be that there is *NO* implemented way to display an array of information about
a file / directory while the folder is set to Icon View (OS/2's Default view
for Folder objects).
All you know by simply looking at a file object is that it is a file, what icon
is associated with it, and what it is named. What if you wanted to transfer
this file to a floppy diskette? Well, I guess you could just copy it to a
blank disk and if the copy operation completes, then there must have been room.
Not exactly a good solution.
Next, I suppose you could click the system menu icon, click the arrow to open
the Open cascade menu, and choose Details View. This will give you a list of
information about the file (size, attributes, etc...), but what if you wanted
to transfer the entire subdirectory to the floppy? Well, I guess you'd whip
out the ol' Calculator applet and add up all those file sizes to see if the
directory will fit. Again, not the best solution.
Enter File Info. Now, with a simple drag and drop (or selection via a menu),
you can access much of the information offered in a standard Details View FROM
ANY OS/2 VIEW! File Info provides you with the object's Name, OS/2 File Type
(if set), Full Path, its total size (if the object is a folder, it will give
you the size of the *ENTIRE* folder including its contents and subdirectoies),
the object's Attributes and, of course, the object's last modified Date and
Time.
File Info is modeled after a Macintosh, (c) Apple Computer, System command
called "Get Info". After using a Mac for some time and then going back to my
OS/2 machine, I realized that this was a crucial element that had been missing
from the WPS since its introduction in OS/2 2.0. That was all the motivation I
required. Soon after, File Info was born.
For more information of the usage of File Info, see General Help, or choose
"General help" from the "Help" menu.
File Info is a (c) Copyright 1994 by Larry R. Tubbs Jr.. It was created using
VX-Rexx 2.0b, (c) Watcom International. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. General Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
Using File Info:
When File Info is first started, you are presented with a Window containing
several empty fields and two pull down menus. Each field represents some
crucial file and file system information relating to a particular file or
directory object, but currently no file is loaded.
To get started, Open a WPS (Workplace Shell) Drive object and find a File
object (for example, your Config.Sys File object). Pick it up with your mouse
and drop it onto File Info's Icon field. As soon as the object is dropped on
the Icon field, File Info retrieves the info described in the other fields, and
fills them in promptly. It's that easy. To get info on another file, simply
drop it onto the icon field. The current file's info will be erased, and the
new file's info will be filled in.
You may also start File Info by dropping a file or directory object directly on
the File Info icon. After you drop, File Info will load and show you the file
information for the object you dropped on it. If File Info is already running
when you drop a file onto the File Info icon, another File Info session will be
started. This is a good way to view file info on more than one file at a time.
An alternate way to "Get Info" on a file is to select it with the "Open..."
command from the "File" menu. This command will present you with a standard
OS/2 "Open" dialog box. With it, you can also select a file to "Get Info" on
(keep in mind, the "Open" dialog will only work for files not directories).
Working With Directories:
Files are not the only objects you can drop on File Info. In fact, File Info
is most useful when you drop a Directory (Folder) object onto it. Once a
folder is dropped, File Info retrieves information about the folder itself,
including its TOTAL size. That is to say, the total amount of space the folder
is taking up on disk, including its contents and the contents of any of its
subdirectories! Before File Info, the only way to retrieve this information
was to "shell" out to the OS/2 or DOS Window or Full Screen Session and to
issue a DIR /S command. Like with File objects, if you drop a new object onto
File Info, it will replace the current object.
For more information, see Introduction or choose "Introduction" from the Help
menu.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Window Contents ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The File Info window is divided into several different informational sections:
o Filename Field
o File Type Field
o Icon Field
o Path Field
o Size Data Field
o Attributes Field
o Date And Time Fields
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Filename Field ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The "Filename" field is where File Info places the physical name of files it
examines. 'Physical name' refers to the actual filename as it is stored on
disk, not the icon title displayed below the icon in the WPS Icon View (the WPS
stores and retrieves that information from the .LONGNAME extended attribute).
This field is blank when directories are processed.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. File Type Field ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The "File Type" field contains the OS/2 File Type of an examined file, if the
File Type has been set. If not, File Info will attempt to determine (by File
Extention) the File Type and fill it in anyway. If it cannot identify the File
Type, this field will contain "Type Not Set".
For Directory / Folder objects, this field will contain not only the File Type
(always "Directory / Folder" for Directory / Folder objects), but it will also
contain the number of files contained in the directory and all of its
subdirectories.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Icon Field ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The "Icon" field is the center for action for File Info. This field contains
the icon for the object being examined. File Info retrieves this icon from the
.ICON extended attribute stored with the file. This is why at times the icon
dropped onto File Info is not the same icon displayed in this field.
This field is also where you drop new objects onto File Info for examination.
If a file is already loaded into File Info when you drop a new object onto this
field, the current object's data is cleared from File Info and the new object's
data is filled in.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Path Field ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The "Path" field contains the full, qualified pathname to the object being
examined.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Size Data Field ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The "Size Data" field contains valuable information about the amount of disk
space currently taken up by the object being examined, and the amount of disk
space free on the drive containing the object.
If the file is a Directory / Folder object, then the "Size" field reports the
Total size of the directory, including its contents and subdirectories.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.6. Attributes Field ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The "Attributes" checkboxes show what attributes are set (checked) or cleared
(un-checked) for the object in question. If the object is a Directory / Folder
object, then the attributes listed are only the attributes applied to the
object itself, not to its contents.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.7. Date and Time Fields ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
The "Date" and "Time" fields display the last modified Date and Time for the
object in question.
ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Contacting The Author ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ
By Electronic Mail:
Internet: ltubbs@netcom.com
Fidonet: Larry Tubbs@>1:124/1208
By U.S. Mail (Snail Mail):
Larry R. Tubbs Jr.
Enigma Consulting Services
1001 Driftwood Drive
Euless, TX 76040-5941
U.S.A.
* Any technical support queries should be accompanied by the following
information:
o The version of OS/2 you are currently running.
o The processor type and speed of your computer.
o The amount of RAM in your system.
o The file systems currently in use on your system.