OS/2 Shareware BBS: InfoMgt/InfoMgt.zip/fl2v301.zip/fl2.doc

Text File | 1995-05-10 | 8KB | 225 lines

                             Floppy Librarian/2

                    Floppy Disk Catalog Software for OS/2

                     Copyright (c) 1995 by Daniel Davis
                            All Rights Reserved

                                Version 3.0

Table of Contents

1 - Overview
1.1 - Copyright Notice/Liability disclaimer
1.2 - Program History
1.3 - System Requirements
1.4 - Registration and Shareware concept
1.5 - Reaching the author

2 - Installation

3 - Menu Structure
3.1 - Configuration
3.2 - View Catalog
3.3 - Utilities
3.4 - Scan
3.5 - Exit


Chapter 1 - Program Overview

    This program was written because I had switched to OS/2 and discovered at
the time that there were no programs of this type available.  I was forced to
use a native Dos application.  Needless to say, I was not pleased with this.

Since that time I have seen two other products.  One appears to be written in
C by a German programmer and is quite nice in certain areas but clumsy in the
areas I use most so it didn't satisfy my needs.  The second was written in REXX
and while a very good attempt by the author, it only ranks a 4 out of 10 when
I compare it to the German author's program.  Because neither of these programs
satisfied my needs I continued work on mine.  This is version 3.0 of the soft-
ware.

Please use the enclosed bug sheet (FL2BUGS.TXT) to report any bugs that are
found in the software.

I apologize if this documentation is rather brief.  As the program evolves the
documentation will be filled out.


Chapter 1.1 - Copyright Notice/Liability Disclaimer

   This program is copyrighted and protected by the laws and regulations of the
United States and in other countries by treaty.  Any alteration of the program
or distribution of the registered version of the software except with expressed
written consent of the author is strictly forbidden.

   This program is not guaranteed in any form.  I do not believe it will cause
corruption of the data on the user's machine but, as with all software, it is
impossible for me to be certain.  If the user suspect such a event to be happen-
ing I recommend that the user back up the floppy disk which is being used and
proceed to thoroughly test the software.

   By using this program, the user agrees that the author shall not be held res-
ponsible for any data loss or damage and that such usage is at the user's risk.



Chapter 1.2 - Program History

   This program has so far gone through three distributed releases and countless
internal releases.  Here is a brief list of these releases and significant al-
terations in each:

Version 1.0 - FL/2 was a text mode application and Rather poorly written.
   1993

Version 2.0ß - FL/2 was released as a PM application.  Had some substantial pro-
 Dec 31, 1994  blems and was fairly unstable.  Overall a much better version
               than 1.0 though.

Version 3.0 - After some substantial rewriting of version 2.0 this version evol-
 May 6, 1995  ved.  This program has been completely overhauled and no section
              has been left untouched.  See below for a list of changes.

Version 3.01 - This is a moderate bug fix.  Primarily eliminates a serious bug
 May 10, 1995  in the Disk list view functions that were causing all bloody
               hell.  Also has a couple other moderate fixes.

Major Changes since 2.0ß:

   Limited FILES.BBS support (Imports and Exports descriptions)

   Redesigned the desktop

   Eliminated several layers of extraneous screens

   A huge number of bugs were squashed.
     (Big nasty plametto bug types.. For those that don't know, palmetto bugs
      are 3 or 4 inches fully grown and they fly (they're big cockroaches) and
      they love the climate here in Florida)

   Added Subdirectory support (supports an unlimited number of nested dirs.)

   Drew a new title icon.

   Added an icon bar across the top.

   Added multiple line descriptions (10 lines, 40 chars per line).


There have also been countless minor changes.



Chapter 1.3 - System Requirements

   There have been a large number of changes and I'm not sure what the exact
requirements are now.  I believe they are the following:

OS/2 2.1+
VGA graphics
floppy drive

Although the program has been under Warp since December and the requirements
may actually be OS/2 3.0+..

Of course either way the OS has it's own set of requirements.  See the OS/2 box
for more details.



Chapter 1.4 - Shareware and Registration

Shareware is NOT the same thing as free ware.  Freeware is essentially the same
as Public Domain.

Shareware involves a small fee if the person interested finds the program use-
ful.  FL/2 has a registration fee of $25 US.  This should cover development
costs for future versions and the effort I put in.  It also will spur me into
producing more versions and at a faster rate.

The shareware version of this program is limited to 100 disks and 2000 files.
The registered version of this program allows up to 2500 disks and 15000 files.
See the order form (FL2ORDER.TXT) for more information.



Chapter 1.5 - Reaching the author

The author (me) can be contacted via the following ways:

Fido Net:   1:112/66
Internet:   [e-mail]
Compuserve: 75104,123

Or via my bbs: 904-272-7350 (24hrs/day, 7 days/week)



Chapter 2 - Installation

   This is easy.  Just unzip the file using either PKUNZIP 2.04g or Info-
zip's UNZIP.EXE into a directory and run the file.  All necessary data
files will be created automatically.

   This version no longer needs or uses a clumsy installation tool.  It is
now set up to automatically create a new one with default values if there
is a problem with the old.



Chapter 3 - Menu Structures

   The menus are set up in a fairly organized structure.  Below is the basic
structure to the menus.  Several of these options also have buttons on the
button bar.



Chapter 3.1 - Configuration

   This menu allows you change the floppy drive which is being scanned. Version
3.1 will allow you to scan any drive.  This version will be released as soon as
this feature is completed and a few other modifications are finished.

   The user may also change the current catalog name and the current number of
spaces in the files.bbs.  This number of spaces refers to the number of spaces
between the filename and the description.


Chapter 3.2 - View Catalog

   This allows the user to view either the file or disk lists.  It also allows
the user to edit an entry by clicking or pressing <ENTER> on the entry.  The
user may also delete an entry by pressing the <DEL> key on the entry or enter-
ing the edit screen and clicking the delete button.


Chapter 3.3 - Utilities

   This option includes sub menu choices for searching, sorting, and importing
or exporting data to/from a FILES.BBS file.

   The FILES.BBS file is a fairly standardized file used by many bbs packages.
This file is set up in the following format:

Filename.ext   Description
Filename.ext   Description
...
Filename.ext   Description

Each line is a file and it's associated description.  This makes a convenient
list for the user and is directly importable by many bbs packages.  The FILES.
BBS functions in FL/2 import and export the descriptions to or from this file.

Chapter 3.4 - Scan

   This option scans the current floppy disk.  It then prompts the user to save
the scanned entries.  If the user selects no, the program ignores the scan.


Chapter 3.5 - Exit

   This option exits the program and returns the user to OS/2.