home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Shareware 1 2 the Maxx
/
sw_1.zip
/
sw_1
/
BUSI
/
ICFDOS2.ZIP
/
ICF.DOC
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-04-13
|
181KB
|
6,589 lines
ICF
Inventory Capture Facility
March, 1992
LanTelligence Corporation
P.O. Box 144242
Miami, FL 33114-4242
(305) 598-6453
Copyright LanTelligence Corporation, 1992 All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in
any form or by any means without the written permission of
LanTelligence Corporation. The software described by this publi-
cation is furnished under a license agreement, and may be used or
copied only in accordance with the terms of that agreement.
The manual and associated software is sold with no warranties,
expressed or implied, regarding its use or fitness for any par-
ticular purpose. The information in this manual is subject to
change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the
part of LanTelligence Corporation.
dBASE is a registered trademark of Ashton-Tate/Borland
Lotus is a registered trademark of Lotus Corporation
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation
OS/2 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction....................................1
1.1. Organization of this manual....................1
1.2. Quick-start (power-user) guide.................2
1.2.1. Getting started............................2
1.2.2. Running ICF................................3
1.2.3. Using Options..............................4
1.2.4. Using option values........................4
1.2.5. Saving information in a file...............5
1.2.6. Using ICF on a LAN.........................6
1.2.7. Making options permanent...................6
1.2.8. Modifying ICF input files..................7
2. ICF Guide.......................................8
2.1. Overview.......................................8
2.2. Versions of ICF................................9
2.2.1. DOS Version................................9
2.2.2. OS/2 Version...............................9
2.2.3. Other versions.............................9
2.3. Installation...................................9
2.4. Starting ICF..................................10
2.5. Techniques....................................11
2.5.1. Scanning for Software Programs............11
2.5.1.1. Overview of program scan operations...11
2.5.1.2. Program scan commands.................12
2.5.1.3. Recognizing programs..................13
2.5.1.4. Capturing non-recognizable programs...13
2.5.2. Collecting Physical Configuration Data....14
2.5.2.1. The ASK command and /Ask option.......14
2.5.2.2. ID Fields.............................17
2.6. Using ICF Commands............................18
2.6.1. Commands Summary..........................18
2.6.2. File Scan Operations......................18
2.7. Using ICF Options.............................20
2.7.1. Options Summary...........................20
2.7.2. Option Specification Methods..............25
2.7.2.1. Command Line..........................26
2.7.2.2. Environment Variable..................26
2.7.2.3. In a File.............................26
2.7.2.4. Cumulative Process Effects............27
2.7.3. Shortcut Options..........................27
2.7.4. Summary of Options by group...............28
2.7.4.1. Drive Options Summary.................28
2.7.4.2. File scan options.....................28
2.7.4.3. Testing options.......................29
2.8. Environment Variables.........................30
2.8.1. Environment Variable "ICF"................31
2.8.2. ICF Environment Variable "ICFINI".........31
2.9. Experimental Features.........................32
2.10. Hints........................................32
2.11. ICF Input Files..............................33
2.11.1. Program Input Files......................34
2.11.2. Microchannel board Input Files...........35
2.12. ICF Output Files.............................36
2.12.1. Output File Naming.......................36
2.12.2. Output File Structures...................38
2.12.3. Status Command Output File Structure.....40
3. Command Reference..............................48
3.1. Ask Command...................................48
3.2. Auto Command..................................48
3.3. Diskspace Command.............................50
3.4. Files Command.................................51
3.5. Help Command..................................53
3.6. Programs Command..............................53
3.7. Status Command................................54
4. Options Reference..............................60
4.1. Alldisks Option...............................60
4.2. Allext Option.................................60
4.3. Append Option.................................61
4.4. Ascii Option..................................61
4.5. Ask Option....................................62
4.6. Attrs Option..................................62
4.7. Autodays Option...............................63
4.8. Autorun Option................................64
4.9. Autorunfile Option............................65
4.10. Autospace Option.............................66
4.11. Banner Option................................67
4.12. Batch Option.................................67
4.13. Bigfiles Option..............................68
4.14. Bigfilesize Option...........................68
4.15. Break Option.................................68
4.16. Cls Option...................................69
4.17. Colon Option.................................69
4.18. Companyname Option...........................70
4.19. Computerid Option............................70
4.20. Dbase Option.................................71
4.21. Desc Option..................................71
4.22. Descend Option...............................72
4.23. Domains Option...............................72
4.24. Dosearch Option..............................72
4.25. Drives Option................................73
4.26. Entiredisk Option............................73
4.27. Escape Option................................74
4.28. Filename Option..............................74
4.29. Findexts Option..............................76
4.30. Findextsval Option...........................76
4.31. Floppy Option................................77
4.32. Force Option.................................77
4.33. Forceglobal Option...........................77
4.34. Hide Option..................................78
4.35. Id Option....................................78
4.36. Indir Option.................................79
4.37. Ismca Option.................................79
4.38. Landrives Option.............................80
4.39. Landriveso Option............................80
4.40. Lotus Option.................................80
4.41. Miscid1 Option...............................81
4.42. Miscid2 Option...............................81
4.43. Modemid Option...............................82
4.44. Monitorid Option.............................82
4.45. Needdir Option...............................82
4.46. Needfile Option..............................83
4.47. Needspace Option.............................83
4.48. Noalignext Option............................84
4.49. Nodescend Option.............................85
4.50. Nofilesdefault Option........................85
4.51. Nomsg Option.................................85
4.52. Nonumber Option..............................86
4.53. Noreadmsg Option.............................87
4.54. Normal Option................................87
4.55. Noshowdir Option.............................88
4.56. Nostatus Option..............................88
4.57. Outdir Option................................90
4.58. Outdirnov Option.............................90
4.59. Overwrite Option.............................90
4.60. Pause Option.................................91
4.61. Printerid Option.............................91
4.62. Proginfo Option..............................91
4.63. Progslimit Option............................92
4.64. Protected Option.............................92
4.65. Quiet Option.................................92
4.66. Recslimit Option.............................93
4.67. Recsnotify Option............................93
4.68. Ringbell Option..............................93
4.69. Saveids Option...............................94
4.70. Servers Option...............................94
4.71. Servertypes Option...........................94
4.72. Showdir Option...............................94
4.73. Size Option..................................95
4.74. Sizek Option.................................95
4.75. Skipdrives Option............................96
4.76. Smallfiles Option............................97
4.77. Smallfilesize Option.........................97
4.78. Sorte Option.................................97
4.79. Spacechar Option.............................98
4.80. Timestamp Option.............................98
4.81. Totals Option................................98
4.82. Totext Option................................99
4.83. Userid Option................................99
4.84. Username Option.............................100
LIST OF TABLES
Physical equipment fields (part 1)................15
Physical equipment fields (part 2)................16
Physical equipment screen editing keys............16
ICF Commands Summary..............................18
ICF Options Summary...............................25
Drive options summary.............................28
Options for testing...............................30
ICF environment variables.........................30
Values for ICFINI environment variables...........31
Structure of program input files..................35
Structure of microchannel input files.............36
Output file options...............................36
Standard file extensions..........................37
Standard file names...............................37
Field description data types......................38
Output file structures by command.................40
Output file structure for STATUS command..........41
STATUS command output field ID's..................44
Packed field values...............................47
Autorun criteria..................................49
STATUS command groups.............................58
File attribute codes..............................63
Autorun criteria..................................64
ID option fields..................................78
Values for /Nomsg option..........................86
Timestamp option fields...........................98
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
______________ . INTRODUCTION
_
1.1. ORGANIZATION OF THIS MANUAL
This manual is divided into several chapters:
Chapter 1 includes this introduction, as well as a quick-start guide
for "power users". If you're anxious to use ICF without doing much
reading, skip to the next section and you should find enough informa-
tion to get started.
Chapter 2 consists of a more in-depth overview and guide of what ICF
can do, with detailed information intended to provide the ICF in-
staller / administrator with techniques and strategies for accomplish-
ing the PC inventory-collection function.
Chapter 3 is a reference of all ICF commands.
Chapter 4 is a reference of all ICF options.
The reference portion of this manual, chapters 3 and 4, lists the com-
mands and options of ICF in alphabetical order. Each command and option
is explained using the following format:
SYNTAX
If the command or option has a special syntax, other than the default
syntax, it is shown here. The default syntax for ICF commands and options
is described in the section Starting ICF on page 10.
DESCRIPTION
This describes the command or option in detail.
VALID FOR
Many commands and options are only valid during certain situations:
Page 1
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Some commands only work with certain operating systems.
Some options only work with some commands.
If the particular command or option is valid under certain conditions,
then those conditions are described here.
EXAMPLES
In many cases examples are shown to demonstrate the use and syntax of
the command or option.
NOTE: In all examples the ICF program is referred to as ICF.EXE, even
though ICF is distributed as uniquely named executable programs de-
pending on the target operating system (i.e. the DOS version is
ICFDOS.EXE and the OS/2 version is ICFOS2.EXE). In sites where only
one operating system is in use, it is common to rename the .EXE file
to ICF.EXE to make things simple.
SEE ALSO
A list of other topics is given to obtain information on related sub-
jects.
1.2. QUICK-START (POWER-USER) GUIDE
1.2.1. GETTING STARTED
Getting ICF started is as simple as copying the required files to a hard
drive or another floppy disk. Use the program version appropriate for the
operating system in use:1
ICFDOS.EXE used for DOS versions 2.x and above
ICFOS2.EXE used for OS/2 versions 1.2 and above
1 Throughout this manual the ICF program is referred to simply as "ICF",
implying an executable file name of ICF.EXE. Many ICF users rename
ICFDOS.EXE or ICFOS2.EXE to ICF.EXE to simplify calling the program. We
do not recommend this in environments where both versions are used.
Page 2
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF uses input files to provide data for identifying software and hard-
ware. These files are named ICFPROG1.DBF and ICFMCA1.DBF respectively. If
you want to enable automatic recognition of software packages and micro-
channel boards, these files are required by ICF. They should be located
either in the current directory when ICF is started, or the directory
specified in the /Indir option.
If you plan on using the HELP command, the ICFHELP1.DBF and ICFHELP2.DBF
files must also be located in the current or /Indir-specified directory.
1.2.2. RUNNING ICF
To start ICF, type the appropriate command on the command line followed
by any required options. Some examples illustrate this:
ICF
This by itself produces an error message since no command was
given after the program name.
ICF HELP
Displays a list of help topics available. To access help the files
ICFHELP1.DBF and ICFHELP2.DBF must be in the current directory, or
the directory specified by the /Indir option. If ICF cannot find
them an error message is displayed.
ICF HELP STATUS
Displays a list of all help subjects with the word "STATUS" ap-
pearing anywhere in the topic name. In this example "STATUS" is
considered a parameter of the HELP command.
ICF FILES
Displays a directory of all files in all directories on all local
drives. It is important to note that the FILES and PROGRAMS com-
mand can have a file specification parameter after the command,
but if one is not specified then all files are assumed.
ICF FILES D
Same as above, but only looks at drive D:
ICF PROGRAMS
Performs a program scan of all directories on all drives and iden-
tifies recognized software. For this command to function the
ICFPROG1.DBF file must be in the current directory or the direc-
tory specified by the /Indir option.
ICF STATUS
Performs a complete status, similar to a configuration report, of
installed hardware and software and displays the results on the
Page 3
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
screen. The STATUS command includes the program scan performed by
the PROGRAMS command.
1.2.3. USING OPTIONS
Options are used to fine-tune the operation of ICF. Include them after
the command and any parameters of the command.
ICF FILES BAK /RINGBELL
Find all files and all drives with the text "BAK" anywhere in the
file name. The bell is sounded when the scan is complete.
NOTE: Unlike DOS, ICF by default uses a quicker method of specifying
file names to search for. Any text included as parameters to the FILES
or PROGRAMS command is not treated as a file name, but as text that
can appear anywhere in the name or extension. There are ways to re-
store normal DOS-like behavior. For more information refer to the sec-
tion File Scan Operations on page 18.
ICF FILES *.EXE /LANDRIVESO /PAUSE
Searches for and displays all files with an .EXE extension. The
search is limited to LAN drives only, and the display is paused
every time the screen fills up.
1.2.4. USING OPTION VALUES
For options that have values, separate the value from the option with a
"=
or ":" as shown in the examples:
ICF FILES /DBASE /FILENAME=FILEDATA
All local drives are scanned and every file is recorded in a Dbase
formatted file (.DBF). The name of the output file is
FILEDATA.DBF.
ICF FILES /DBASE /FILENAME=FILEDATA /LANDRIVES /SKIPDRIVES=RW
Same as above but LAN drives are included in the search
(/Landrives). Drives R: and W: are skipped.
Page 4
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF STATUS /ASCII /OVERWRITE /OUTDIR=Z:\ICF
A status command is performed, with output being saved to an Ascii
comma-delimited file. Since the /Filename option was not given the
default STATUS file name of ICFINV will be used. If the file al-
ready exists, it will be overwritten. The file is saved in the di-
rectory Z:\ICF.
1.2.5. SAVING INFORMATION IN A FILE
Some of the examples above specify that output should be saved to a file.
ICF normally displays the results of a command on the screen. To save
this to a file, use one of the following methods:
Use DOS redirection to save the output exactly as it appears on the
screen.
Use the /Dbase option to save the output in a structured Dbase .DBF
file.
Use the /Lotus option to save the output in a .WK1 spreadsheet.
Use the /Ascii option to save the output in a comma-delimited file.
ICF FILES E:\TOOLS >FILELIST.TXT
Does a directory of all files in all directories starting with the
E:\TOOLS directory, and uses DOS redirection to save the results
in a text file.
ICF FILES E:\TOOLS >FILELIST.TXT /DBASE
Same as above, but saves the data in a Dbase file.
ICF PROGRAMS D /ASCII
Searches all files in all directories on drive D:, recognizes and
saves programs to an Ascii comma-delimited file. This file can be
easily imported into virtually any software package for further
analysis.
ICF PROGRAMS /ASCII /OVERWRITE
Same as above but the /Overwrite option permits ICF to overwrite
an existing output file. Since the /Filename option wasn't speci-
fied, a default file name is used.
Page 5
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF PROGRAMS /ASCII /APPEND
Appends new data to an already existing output file. If one does
not exist it is created.2
ICF FILES *:\*.BAK /LOTUS
Saves a record of all files found with a .BAK extension, in all
directories and all drives, in a Lotus 1-2-3 worksheet using the
.WK1 file format.
1.2.6. USING ICF ON A LAN
To use ICF on computers attached to a LAN, use the /Indir and /Outdir op-
tions as appropriate.
ICF PROGRAMS /INDIR=Z:\ICF /OUTDIR=L:\ICFDATA /DBASE
Saves a record of all programs found on all local drives. Data
used for recognizing programs are read from files located in the
Z:\ICF directory. The output .DBF file is written to the
L:\ICFDATA directory.
ICF FILES *.BAT /OUTDIR=S:\SAVE /FILENAME=$TEMP /ASCII
Using the /Filename option instructs ICF not to use the standard
file name and use a unique name instead. The $TEMP value results
in a file name in the form ICFnnnnn.ASC, where nnnnn is a number
generated automatically by ICF to ensure that the file name does
not conflict with existing files in the output directory.
1.2.7. MAKING OPTIONS PERMANENT
As you can see, there are quite a few options available for fine-tuning
the operation of ICF. In order to make the task of specifying options
easier, they may be placed in environment variables and/or ICF.INI files.
ICF will upon startup look for an environment variable called ICF
(appropriate, isn't it?). Any options included are added to those speci-
fied on the command line. For example:
SET ICF=/INDIR:S:\ICF\FILES /OUTDIR:Z:\ /DBASE /OVERWRITE
will create an environment variable called ICF and set it to the
options shown. Thus any future ICF commands will automatically in-
herit these options in addition to those on the command line.
2 The /Append option is not functional when /Lotus is used to save output
in a .Wk1 spreadsheet.
Page 6
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
A text file called ICF.INI can be created in which other options may be
placed. Each option should be placed on a line by itself, and the / char-
acter preceding the option is not necessary. ICF expects to find the
ICF.INI file in the current directory. This operation can be changed how-
ever - for more information refer to Options Specification Methods on
page 25.
All of these methods are additive, permitting the ICF administrator to
predefine system-wide options and save time in creating workstation cop-
ies of complex command lines.
1.2.8. MODIFYING ICF INPUT FILES
ICF does not provide a built-in mechanism for modifying its own input
files. However, all input files are in standard Dbase .DBF files and can
be either natively processed by many popular database programs, or im-
ported into other database programs (i.e. Paradox), modified, and then
exported back to the .DBF file.
NOTE: In all cases the exact structure of the input files must be
maintained.
Page 7
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
___ IDE
_
2.1. OVERVIEW
ICF is the Inventory Capture Facility. It is a very powerful and flexible
program that searches for and collects data on a variety of computer sys-
tem components. Some of its capabilities include:
It is available for DOS and OS/2 operating systems. No matter who wins
the great operating system wars, you know what's on your PC's.
It can search for and list files on all drives, local and remote, and
use any number of filtering options when searching, including file at-
tributes, size, name, etc.
It can search for and report all software packages, including both pre-
defined packages as well as custom software. The database for pre-de-
fined software is user-defined, allowing new programs to be added. ICF
can also, upon request, capture a record of all software programs re-
gardless of whether or not they have been defined in the recognition
database.
On microchannel computers it can report on all boards installed.
It can analyze and report on system parameters, including DOS version,
name, memory (normal, extended, expanded), CMOS data, mouse informa-
tion, etc.
It can record physical or stand-alone components that cannot automati-
cally be recognized.
It can completely automate the collection of data and save information
on shared LAN drives.
It can run standalone and store data files on floppy disks.
It can gather network (LAN) information.
It can perform a quick "pre-check" to determine whether or not changes
have actually been made to the configuration of a PC, and then decide
Page 8
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
to perform a full configuration data collection. This feature allows
ICF to be run every day and not impact the user unless the workstation
configuration has changed.
It is easy to use, command-line driven, and flexible with hundreds of
options to fine-tune operation.
2.2. VERSIONS OF ICF
2.2.1. DOS VERSION
The DOS version of ICF supports DOS versions 2.x and above. The name of
the executable as shipped on the distribution disk is ICFDOS.EXE.
2.2.2. OS/2 VERSION
ICF is available in an OS/2 version that runs on OS/2 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and
2.0. The name of the executable is ICFOS2.EXE.
2.2.3. OTHER VERSIONS
Other versions of ICF may be in development, or may be custom developed
by request. Contact LanTelligence Corporation for information.
2.3. INSTALLATION
How ICF is installed depends on the following factors:
Whether ICF is to be used on a LAN or on standalone PC's
What operating system is used
What network operating system is used
Installation is simple. ICF only needs its own executable file to run -
there are no overlays or secondary programs. When permanently installing
ICF on LAN-connected computers, ICF can be installed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT
Page 9
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
file, or it can be placed in the login script or profile of the network
operating system so that it runs automatically.
ICF can just as easily be used as a standalone configuration-gathering
tool. In this case you probably would want to simply copy the required
ICF version onto a floppy disk and carry it from PC to PC.
ICF uses several data files for the input recognition database. If you
plan on performing automatic software and microchannel board recognition
then the ICFPROG1.DBF and ICFMCA1.DBF files should be copied to the di-
rectory where ICF resides. If the directory where these files are placed
is not the current directory when ICF is run, the /Indir option must be
used so ICF can find them. For more information on these files refer to
ICF Input Files on page 33.
2.4. STARTING ICF
SYNTAX
ICF is run from the DOS prompt and the syntax is as follows:
ICF <command> <command parameters> <options>
The <command> may be any valid command for ICF. The <command parameters>
are command-specific options that restrict ICF operation to certain func-
tions. <Options> is a list of options separated by spaces. Options must
be prefixed with the / or - characters.
EXAMPLES
ICF FILES
List all files (directory information) on all drives. By default
(if no file specification appears after the FILES command) ICF
searches all files in all directories.
ICF FILES D:\SAMPLES /NODESCEND
The FILES command operates only on the included parameter
(D:\SAMPLES) . ICF will not descend directories.
ICF STATUS MEM
Perform the STATUS command, which results in collection of various
PC configuration information. The parameter MEM of the STATUS com-
mand indicates that instead of reporting on all status categories,
only information related to the PC's memory configuration is re-
ported. For more information on STATUS categories refer to page
58.
Page 10
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Commands Summary, Options Summary, Options Specification Methods
2.5. TECHNIQUES
2.5.1. SCANNING FOR SOFTWARE PROGRAMS
This section deals with an overview, strategies and alternatives for
scanning computers for software packages. ICF offers several commands
that result in a program scan operation being performed:
The PROGRAM command performs a program scan of the computer.
The STATUS command may perform a program scan, depending on which pa-
rameters and options are used.
The AUTO command may also result in a program scan being performed.
This command first determines if the configuration has been changed
since the last STATUS command has been run. If it has then another
STATUS is performed.
In addition, there are several different strategies you may want to pur-
sue when searching for programs:
You can limit the data ICF captures by only recording recognized soft-
ware.
You can instruct ICF to record information for unrecognized software.
You can do a combination of the two.
2.5.1.1. OVERVIEW OF PROGRAM SCAN OPERATIONS
ICF will start a program scan operation when any of the events described
above occur. It will perform a standard file scan operation in order to
search for software. This means that ICF will, by default, scan all lo-
cal drives and directories - which files and drives are searched, and
whether LAN drives are included, are controlled by the many options re-
garding how file scan operations are performed. Refer to File Scan
Operations on page 18 for more information.
Page 11
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
HINT: When running ICF in a "production" environment, you may want to
prevent users from limiting the ICF search to individual drives and/or
directories. They can do this by setting the ICF environment variable
or using the ICF.INI file to contain the appropriate options. In order
to override this, use the /Alldisks or /Entiredisk options in your
batch file or logon script. In addition, the /Forceglobal option is a
shortcut option that automatically specifies both /Alldisks and
/Entiredisk. These options override any "filtering" options set previ-
ously. Refer to the reference section for more information.
2.5.1.2. PROGRAM SCAN COMMANDS
The ICF commands that result in a program scan are PROGRAMS, STATUS, and
AUTO. The PROGRAMS command is specifically used for searching for softw-
are on a computer. The STATUS command performs a variety of configura-
tion-gathering functions, of which the program scan is one of them. The
AUTO command results in a STATUS command being performed if ICF deter-
mines it is appropriate to run it (based on whether the configuration has
changed since the last STATUS was performed). These commands are dis-
cussed in detail in the Command Reference section starting on page 48.
Note that the STATUS command has optional parameters that follow it on
the command line. These parameters fine-tune the operations that will be
performed by the STATUS command, and it is possible to either explicitly
request that a program scan be performed or, by using the /Nostatus op-
tion, to explicitly request a program scan not be performed whenever a
STATUS is run. A complete list of categories/groups that may be used as
parameters to the STATUS command appears on page 58.
EXAMPLES
ICF STATUS PRO /ASCII
The PRO parameter specifically requests a program scan to be per-
formed. If parameters are used with STATUS, only those operations
requested are performed and all other collection groups are omit-
ted. Output will be saved in an Ascii file.
ICF STATUS /NOSTATUS=PRO
This is the opposite of the above command. Since no parameters
were specified, ICF will collect information on all STATUS groups,
except any groups specified by the /NOSTATUS option. In this case
the program scan is skipped.
Page 12
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
2.5.1.3. RECOGNIZING PROGRAMS
When a program scan is performed, ICF looks at any file name that has an
.EXE or .COM extension, indicating it is an executable program. A file is
considered recognized if it has an entry in the ICFPROGn.DBF file (where
n is a number from 1 to 9). If a matching file is found it is recorded
with the file name, path, and description of the software.
HINT: If you desire more identification for each program in addition
to the name, path and description, use the /Proginfo option. This will
result in collecting the file size, date and time as well.
By default ICF uses only the file name for comparison. The COMPMETHOD
field in the ICFPROGn.DBF file can have an "S" in it, which will instruct
ICF to compare file sizes as well. While the file date and time could po-
tentially be used, the file size is a more reliable method of verifying
the identity of a program, especially when checking for the presence of
viruses3.
2.5.1.4. CAPTURING NON-RECOGNIZABLE PROGRAMS
ICF provides a method for performing what is called after-the-fact pro-
gram recognition. This approach involves recording the file names and
other information for non-recognized programs (.EXE and .COM files) in
addition to recognized programs. These lists of program files can later
be merged and compared, enabling a convenient way of identifying new
software packages to add to the recognition database.
To do this, the /Findexts option is used. This instructs ICF to save all
files with an .EXE or .COM file extension, as the example below illus-
trates:
3 While ICF does not perform virus checking, a potential strategy would
be to make special note of unrecognized software with file names that
should be recognized. The change in file size would indicate either a
different version of the program or the presence of a virus.
Page 13
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF PROGRAMS C /FINDEXTS /ASCII /FILENAME:PROGDATA
Perform a program scan on drive C:, searching all files and direc-
tories, saving the file name and software product description in
an Ascii file named Progdata.
Even more file types an be recorded by using the /Findextsval option. As
a value to this option you provide a comma-separated list of file exten-
sions. Any files with an extension in this list will also be recorded:
ICF PROGRAMS /FINDEXTS /FINDEXTSVAL:FON,OVL /LOTUS
A program scan is performed on all local drives, recording all
files with an extension .COM, .EXE, .FON, or .OVL. Recorded infor-
mation is saved in a .WK1 formatted file.
2.5.2. COLLECTING PHYSICAL CONFIGURATION DATA
ICF permits data to be manually entered in order to record information
representing physical (stand-alone) equipment and user identification.
There are 2 alternative methods that accomplish this:
The ASK command and /Ask option present an edit screen in which infor-
mation can be manually entered4. This information can optionally be
saved in a disk file on the user's workstation.
Special ID fields can be used to provide this information to ICF right
on the command line. While the data cannot be saved using this approach
(it needs to be re-specified each time ICF is run), it offers the
flexibility of sending information to ICF using batch file parameters.
2.5.2.1. THE ASK COMMAND AND /ASK OPTION
The data entry screen that records this information is presented whenever
the ASK command or /Ask option is specified.
The ASK command is used to present the edit screen to enter this infor-
mation. Any changes made while editing are automatically saved. Once
the edit screen is exited, ICF does not perform any other operation and
exits to the operating system.
The /Ask option is used in conjunction with the STATUS or AUTO com-
mands. When specified, the edit screen is presented and then a configu-
ration run is performed (depending on other options specified with the
4 These are mutually exclusive features. The /Ask option is used with the
STATUS and AUTO commands, while the ASK command is used by itself.
Page 14
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
particular command given). Any changes made while editing are not saved
automatically -- the /Saveids option must be specified for this to oc-
cur.
If changes are saved, they are stored in a special file normally called
C:\AUTORUN.DAT. This file may be named differently or located in a dif-
ferent drive/directory if the /Autorunfile option is used. If you want to
protect the file from deletion or editing, the /Hide option will mark the
file as Hidden, System, and Read-only by setting the appropriate file at-
tributes.
The following information can be entered:
FIELD NAME DESCRIPTION
User ID ID of computer user
User Name Name of computer user
Location Can be room, company, floor, dept, etc.
Notes 1 Any notes
Notes 2 Any notes
Equipment Up to 8 ID and description fields representing physi-
ID's cal (stand-alone) equipment. 5
Table - 1 Physical equipment fields (part 1)
For the Equipment ID's shown in the table above, each can consist of the
fol ing fields: low
5 While this was designed for recording separate equipment, of course it
can also be used for user-defined purposes as well.
15 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
FIELD DESCRIPTION
Type Typically P=Printer, M=Modem, C=Computer, etc.
Make Brand of equipment
Model Model description of equipment
Serial Serial number of item
Table Physical equipment fields (part 2) - 2
When ICF sees the ASK command or /Ask option, the edit screen appears.
The following keys are available for use when editing this data:
KEYS ACTION
, SHIFT-TAB TAB moves cursor between fields
and ENTER
Arrow keys moves cursor between letters
Home, End moves cursor to start / end of field
CTRL-W saves entered information
ESC aborts any changes made
Table Physical equipment screen editing keys - 3
SEE ALSO
Ask Option, Ask Command, Saveids Option, Autorunfile Option, Hide Option
16 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
2.5.2.2. ID FIELDS
In order to accommodate the automatic capture of inventory information
that is not a physical part of the computer, ICF provides a number of
special "ID" fields. These are specified on the command line using the
appropriate option and any value as a parameter to the option. The op-
tions are only valid for the STATUS and AUTO commands. Like any other op-
tion, these can be issued on the command line, or stored in a batch file,
environment variable, or ICF.INI file.
Unlike the ASK command and /Ask option, using these options will prevent
you from being able to save the information. Every time ICF is run they
will have to be included again. They are useful, however, for batch files
and stand-alone inventory collection.
The syntax for each option is:
/<option name>=<string>
EXAMPLES
/PRINTERID=LASERJET
/COMPUTERNAME=JIMSPC
/MODEMID=HAYES1200
Whenever one of these options is given, ICF will include its field iden-
tifier and value in the output file when the Status command is performed.
Refer to Output File Structures on page 38 to see what field identifiers
are associated with each option.
Following is a list of the available options.
/Computerid
/Miscid1
/Miscid2
/Modemid
/Monitorid
/Printerid
/Userid
/Username
/Computername
/Companyname
Page 17
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid
Option, Monitorid Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option, Printerid Option
2.6. USING ICF COMMANDS
2.6.1. COMMANDS SUMMARY
Following is a summary of ICF commands.
COMMAND DESCRIPTION
Files Gather information about specified files
Status Gather status and inventory collection information
Auto Automatic version of Status command
Programs Gather program information
Diskspace Collect statistics on disk space
Help Display help on specified topics
Table 4 - ICF Commands Summary
SEE ALSO
Files Command, Status Command, Auto Command, Programs Command, Diskspace
Command, Help Command
2.6.2. FILE SCAN OPERATIONS
The FILES and PROGRAMS commands perform file scan operations - basically
they scan disk drives for files. Following are the rules outlining how
these operations are carried out, illustrated with examples.
Page 18
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
EXAMPLES
By default ICF always searches all directories on all local drives. To
extend the search to LAN (remote) drives, the following options may be
used:
/Landrives Include LAN drives
/Landriveso Only scan LAN drives
ICF FILES /LANDRIVES
will search for all files on all drives, local and remote.
If you want to restrict the scan to an individual drive, just the drive
letter will suffice:
ICF FILES D
will search for all files on drive D:. Note that the colon is not
necessary. Not only is it not necessary, but including a colon ac-
tually means something else! The following command:
ICF FILES D:
tells ICF to search for all files in all directories on drive D:,
starting with the current directory. Unlike the previous example
where the colon is omitted and the scan starts at the root direc-
tory, using a colon performs a "relative" search.
Of course, you can specify the directory to start with by including it
after the drive designation:
ICF PROGRAMS E:\MYPROG
will search for all programs on drive E:, starting in the \MYPROG
directory. As in the previous examples, nested directories are
scanned as well. To prevent directories from being "descended",
use the /Nodescend option:
ICF PROGRAMS C:\DOS /NODESCEND
Finally, let's look at specifying individual files to search for. Unlike
normal DOS conventions, simply listing a file name does something
slightly different from what you might expect:
ICF FILES F:\TEST
This command will not search for a file called TEST, but rather
for any file with the string "TEST" in it. In DOS terms, it is
equivalent to "*TEST*.*" (ignoring the fact that DOS will ignore
the second *). This convention makes it easy to search for files.
There are probably times, however, where you will want to use the stan-
dard DOS convention of specifying file names. The /Dosearch option will
accomplish this. The command:
Page 19
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF FILES F:\TEST /DOSEARCH
will scan only for the file "TEST" in all directories on drive F:,
starting in the root directory. If you want to search all drives
(local drives by default), replace the drive letter with a "*":
ICF FILES *:\TEST
will scan for all files containing "TEST" in the file name, on all
drives and in all directories.
In the special (and probably rare) case where you want to find a file
that is precisely one letter long, the following won't work:
ICF FILES D
since it will scan all files on drive D:, and not for a file called "D".
If the latter is what you want, use the /Colon option:
ICF FILES D /COLON
tells ICF not to use the special "no colon means entire drive"
convention and search for a file called "D".
MAKING OPTIONS PERMANENT
If you want any of the options shown above to be the default behavior,
simply include the options in the ICF environment variable, or the
ICF.INI file.
SEE ALSO
Nodescend Option, Landrives Option, Landriveso Option, Files Command,
Programs Command, Environment Variables, ICF.INI File, Nofilesdefault
Option
2.7. USING ICF OPTIONS
2.7.1. OPTIONS SUMMARY
Following is a summary of all the options for ICF.
Page 20
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
OPTION CATEGORY DESCRIPTION
Alldisks File scan Include all drives
operations
Allext File scan Include all extensions
operations
Append File output Append data to output file
Ascii File output Output data to Ascii comma-delimited
file
Ask Physical Full-screen equipment entry screen
equipment
Attrs File scan Specify attributes to search for
operations
Autodays AUTO command Number of days to skip between STATUS
Autorun AUTO command AUTO options
Autorunfile AUTO command File to save configuration data on lo-
cal PC
Autospace AUTO command Amount of disk space change that trig-
gers STATUS command
Banner Misc Display misc. message at startup
Batch Shortcut op- Specifies /Quiet and other options
tion
Bigfiles File scan Search for large files
operations
Bigfilesize File scan Specify compare size for /Bigfiles
operations
Break User control Handling of Ctrl-Break during process-
ing
Cls Screen out- Clear screen before starting
put
Colon File scan Single letter file spec is not a drive
operations name
Page 21
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Companyname ID field Specify company name
Computerid ID field Specify computer id
Dbase File output Output data to .DBF file
Desc File output Add description info to STATUS output
fields
Descend File scan Process subdirectores
operations
Domains LAN versions User for LAN-specific versions of ICF
Dosearch File scan Use normal DOS file search method
operations
Drives File scan Specify drives to search
operations
Entiredisk File scan Search entire drive
operations
Escape User control Permit abort by hitting ESC key
Filename File output Specify name of output file
Findexts Program scan Record information for all .COM and
.EXE files found
Findextsval Program scan Add other extensions to /Findexts proc-
essing
Floppy Shortcut op- Specifies options for saving output to
tion A:
Force AUTO command Forces STATUS to be performed
Forceglobal Shortcut op- Specifies /Alldisks and /Entiredisk
tion options
Hide AUTO command Set AUTO file to hidden, system and
readonly attributes
Id File output Extra fields are added to STATUS file
output to identify workstation
Indir File input Specify input file directory
22 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Ismca STATUS com- Tells ICF computer is microchannel
mand
Landrives File scan Include LAN drives in search
operations
Landriveso File scan Only include LAN drives in search
operations
Lotus File output Output data to .WK1 file
Miscid1 ID field Specify user-defined ID
Miscid2 ID field Specify user-defined ID
Modemid ID field Specify model ID
Monitorid ID field Specify monitor ID
Needdir Misc Make sure directory is present before
running
Needspace Misc Make sure enough disk space is avail-
able before running
Noalignext FILES com- Do not align extensions when outputting
mand to screen
Nodescend File scan Do not descend directory trees
operations
Nofilesdefault File scan FILES and PROGRAMS commands must have
operations file specs as parameters
Nomsg Output mes- Specify types of messages that should
sages not be output
Nonumber Screen out- Do not number file listings
put
Noreadmsg Output mes- Do not display file input status mes-
sages sages
Normal File scan Search for files that don't have hid-
operations den, system or readonly attributes set
Noshowdir FILES com- Do not show <DIR> entries in screen
mand output
23 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Nostatus STATUS com- Specify status categories to ignore
mand
Outdir File output Specify output directory
Outdirnov File output Output directory overrides /Filename
path
Overwrite File output Overwrite file if it exists
Pause Screen out- Pause when screen fills up
put
Printerid ID field Specify printer ID
Proginfo Program scan Include additional data when outputting
program identification information
Progslimit Testing Specify number of programs to search
for
Protected File scan Search for hidden, system or readonly
operations files
Quiet Output mes- Do not display status messages
sages
Recslimit Testing Limit processing to N records
Recsnotify Testing Display message every N records
Ringbell Misc Ring bell when processing completes
Saveids ID field Save data entered for /Ask option
Servers LAN versions User for LAN-specific versions of ICF
Servertypes LAN versions User for LAN-specific versions of ICF
Showdir FILES com- Display <DIR> entries
mand
Size File scan Specify size of files to search for
operations
Sizek FILES com- Display screen output file size in K
mand units
Page 24
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Skipdrives File scan Do not process specified drives
operations
Smallfiles File scan Search for small files
operations
Smallfilesize File scan Specify compare size for /Smallfiles
operations
Sorte FILES com- Sort file names by extension before
mand output to screen
Spacechar Misc Specify character to be substituted for
spaces.
Timestamp File output Add time and date fields to the output
file
Totals FILES com- Display directory totals in screen out-
mand put
Totext FILES com- Calculate totals by extension in screen
mand output
Userid ID field Specify user ID
Username ID field Specify user name
Table ICF Options Summary 5 -
SEE ALSO
Options Specification Methods
2.7.2. OPTION SPECIFICATION METHODS
Options can be specified to ICF using any combination of the following
methods. The cumulative effect of using more than one technique in a
given ICF run is then discussed.
25 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
2.7.2.1. COMMAND LINE
Options can be included with the ICF command on the DOS (or OS/2) command
line. The / or - character should be used as a prefix for the options, as
shown in the following example:
ICF STATUS /ALLDRIVES
As many options that can fit on the command line may be included.
2.7.2.2. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE
Options can be included in the special environment variable called, ap-
propriately enough, "ICF". The DOS or OS/2 SET command is used to create
the environment variable:
SET ICF=/ALLDRIVES
The ICF program will look for this variable and, if found, will read in
all options specified.
NOTE: Any options that require a value should use the : character to
separate the value from the option, as in:
SET ICF=/DRIVES:CD
If the = character is used, the SET command will be invalid and result in
an error message from the operating system.
2.7.2.3. IN A FILE
Finally, ICF options can be specified in a file called ICF.INI. If this
file exists when ICF starts, options will be read in from the file and
processed. Options should be specified one per line. A / or - prefix is
neither required nor recommended.
This file may be located in any of several places. ICF will search the
following locations and cumulatively process any ICF.INI files it finds:
Page 26
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF will search all LAN drives for a directory named /ICF. If found,
any files called ICF.INI are processed. This is equivalent to
*:\ICF\ICF.INI. Only first level directories are searched.
A directory specified by the ICFINI environment variable
The current directory of the local computer
NOTE: Processing of ICF.INI files can be specifically controlled by
using the ICFINI environment variable. Refer to Environment Variable
"ICFINI" for more information.
2.7.2.4. CUMULATIVE PROCESS EFFECTS
Since options may be specified using a combination of the above methods,
they can override other previously specified options. ICF processes op-
tions in the following order:
1. Any LAN-based ICF.INI files
2. Any ICF.INI files specified by the ICFINI environment variable
3. Options specified in the ICF environment variable
4. Options specified on the command line
SEE ALSO
Environment Variables, Environment Variable "ICFINI"
2.7.3. SHORTCUT OPTIONS
Shortcut Options are options that do nothing more than specify other op-
tions. They may be useful because they serve to automatically adjust ICF
processing for certain tasks without specifying individual options re-
peatedly.
Following are the shortcut options available in ICF. Refer to the Options
Reference section for details on each.
/Floppy
/Batch
/Forceglobal
Page 27
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
2.7.4. SUMMARY OF OPTIONS BY GROUP
Some of the major options can be conveniently discussed as a related
group.
2.7.4.1. DRIVE OPTIONS SUMMARY
There are several options that control which disk drives are included in
any "file scan operation". File scan operations are performed by the
FILES, STATUS, and PROGRAMS command. Following is a summary of each op-
tion. They are also listed in order of precedence (options at the start
of the list take precedence over options at the end of the list)
OPTION DESCRIPTION
Alldisks Include all drives
Skipdrives Specify drives to skip
Drives Specify drives to include
Landrives Include LAN drives
Landriveso Include only LAN drives
Table 6 - Drive options summary
2.7.4.2. FILE SCAN OPTIONS
As discussed in File Scan Operations on page 18, there are a number of
options that control how ICF searches for files. In addition to the drive
options above, others are summarized here
Page 28
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
OPTION DESCRIPTION
Alldisks Include all drives in scan
Descend Descend directories
Nodescend Do not descend directories
Attrs Search for files with specific attributes
Bigfiles Search for only "big" files
Bigfilesize Set size of "big" files
Colon Specify that a colon is used for drive names
Dosearch Perform regular DOS wildcard processing
Entiredisk Search all directories on each drive
Forceglobal Specify both /Alldisks and /Entiredisk options
Nofilesdefault File spec must be specified on command line
Normal Do not include files with System, Readonly or
Hidden attributes
Protected Include only files with System, Readonly or Hidden
attributes
Table 7 - File scan options summary
2.7.4.3. TESTING OPTIONS
There are several options intended for testing new implementations and
installations of ICF. The administrator can use them to shorten time-con-
suming commands. They should not be used in production environments as
integrity is sacrificed since ICF output is truncated. The following ta-
ble lists the options in this group. For more information refer to each
option in the Option Reference section.
Page 29
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
OPTION DESCRIPTION
Progslimit Stop ICF execution when a specified number of programs
have been found
Recslimit Stop ICF execution when a specified number of records
have been output
Recsnoitfy Display a message every time a specified number of re-
cords are output
Table - 8 Options for testing
2.8. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
ICF will look for and use any of several environment variables when it
starts These variables modify the behavior of ICF during certain opera-
tions.
To specify an environment variable, the DOS (or OS/2) SET command must be
used, either from the command line or a batch file. Refer to your operat-
ing system manual for more in mation. for
Following are the environment variables used by ICF.
ENVIRONMENT DESCRIPTION
VARIABLE
ICF Use this variable to specify additional options for ICF
to use.
ICFINI Use this variable to specify how ICF searches for
ICF.INI files
Table ICF environment variables 9 -
30 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
2.8.1. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE "ICF"
The ICF environment variable may be used to specify additional options to
ICF. Other methods for specifying options include using the command line
and writing ICF.INI files. To create this variable, use the DOS or OS/2
SET command.
EXAMPLES
SET ICF=/SMALLFILESIZE:100 /BIGFILESIZE:100000
SET ICF=/BATCH /FLOPPY
NOTE: When writing options that require a value, use the colon (':')
character as a separator rather than the '=' character. The SET com-
mand will not like multiple ='s in a single line (you'll get an error
message).
2.8.2. ICF ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE "ICFINI"
The ICFINI environment variable controls how ICF searches for ICF.INI
files. Following are the different values that can be assigned to ICFINI.
VALUE DESCRIPTION
NONE Instructs ICF to avoid searching and reading any
ICF.INI files.
NOLAN Instructs ICF to avoid searching for ICF.INI files
on LAN drives.
<pathname If a '<' character is immediately followed by a
valid pathname, that path is searched for the
ICF.INI file.
Table 10 - Values for ICFINI environment variable
Page 31
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
EXAMPLES
SET ICFINI=<T:\DEFAULTS
2.9. EXPERIMENTAL FEATURES
A few features of ICF are experimental in nature and may be discontinued
in future versions. By experimental we don't mean untested or buggy, as
they undergo the same testing as other parts of the program. It does im-
ply that their inclusion in future releases depends on their reported
usefulness to our customers. If a command or option is experimental it
will be indicated in the manual in the appropriate reference section.
SEE ALSO
Totext Option, Allext Option
2.10. HINTS
Following are some hints at performing tasks using ICF.
SENDING OUTPUT FILES TO A LAN DRIVE
Use the /Filename option to assign a unique name to each output file. For
example:
ICF STATUS /FILENAME=$COMPID /ASCII
would analyze the computer configuration and output the data to a file
called xxxxxxx.ASC in the Ascii delimited format. The "xxxxxxxx" is re-
placed with the first 8 characters from the Computer ID, assuming one is
specified by the /Computerid Option.
Use the /ID option to assign each record to the configuration it belongs
to. For example:
ICF PROGRAMS /ID /DBASE /APPEND
would search for and identify programs/software on all drives, and
each output record written would include a field specifying the
computer ID (assuming one was given by the /Computerid option).
Page 32
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
FINDING A FILE YOU LOST
Use the FILES command, possibly with the /Landrives option to include re-
mote drives in the search. For example:
ICF FILES BUDGET /LANDRIVES
will search for all files that have "BUDGET" anywhere in the name
(DOS equivalent would be "*BUDGET*.*"), and can have any exten-
sion, on all drives, including remote drives.
2.11. ICF INPUT FILES
Input files are used by ICF to provide data for recognizing programs and
microchannel boards. When the PROGRAMS or STATUS command is used, ICF
first looks for these files. If found, a small subset of data is read in
from the files in order to provide lookup capabilities when collecting
configuration data.
For programs, ICF uses files named ICFPROGn.DBF.
For microchannel boards, ICF uses files named ICFMCAn.DBF.
The "n" is a number from 1 to 9. When files are scanned for recognizable
software, ICF attempts to read input data from ICFPROG1, then ICFPROG2,
ICFPROG3, etc., up to ICFPROG9. Any files not found are simply skipped.
The same processing occurs with the ICFMCAn.DBF files. This approach al-
lows you to add new software programs and boards in one of two ways:
New files can be added by simply using a new file name for the input
file.
Records can be added to an existing input file.
The first method permits you to use new versions of input files when we
make them available without having to worry about "re-applying" your own
custom data to the file. To create a new file, use any Dbase-compatible
database program to create a new file with the same structure as the one
shipped with ICF, and then add new records.
Page 33
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
NOTE: It is imperative that the exact structure of input files is pre-
served.
To verify that ICF is indeed processing input files, view the messages
ICF displays when running. At the start of processing ICF will read the
input files and give status messages showing how many input files and re-
cords were read.
2.11.1. PROGRAM INPUT FILES
The structure of program input files is shown below:
Page 34
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
FIELD FIELD NAME LENGTH DATA DESCRIPTION
NUMBER TYPE
1 Prodno 5 N Reserved for future use.
2 Progname 15 C The file name of the program.
3 Version 8 C The version number of the program.
If this field has a value it will be
appended to the description when re-
corded.
4 Size N The size of the program file.
5 Crc32 N Reserved for future use.
6 Compmethod 1 C If this field has a "S" in it, the
size of the found program file must
match the size recorded in this
file.
7 Dirmethod 1 C Reserved for future use.
8 Progtype 1 C Type of program
9 Dirbein 30 C Reserved for future use.
10 Dirnobein C 30 Reserved for future use.
11 Descrip C 60 Description of program
12 Runcode 1 C Reserved for future use.
13 Progid N Reserved for future use.
Table 11 - Structure of program input files
2.11.2. MICROCHANNEL BOARD INPUT FILES
The structure of microchannel board input files is shown below:
35 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
FIELD FIELD DATA LENGTH DESCRIPTION
NUMBER NAME TYPE
1 Id C 4 The hex ID number of the board.
This ID number is used in the nam-
ing of the ADF option file that ac-
companies every microchannel board.
2 Descrip C 100 The description of the board.
3 Flag C 1 Reserved for future use.
4 Misc C 10 Reserved for future use.
Table - 12 Structure of microchannel input files
2.12. ICF OUTPUT FILES
2.12.1. OUTPUT FILE NAMING
ICF sends output to a file when one of the following options is speci-
fied:
OPTION OUTPUT FILE FORMAT
Dbase output is stored in Dbase format
Lotus output is stored in Lotus 1-2-3 format
Ascii output is stored in Ascii format
Table 13 - Output file options
The name of the output file is normally a standard extension, which de-
pends on which output file format is used, and a standard name, which de-
36 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
pends on the ICF command being performed. Below is a list of the standard
extensions used. These cannot be changed:
OPTION STANDARD EXTENSION
Dbase .DBF
Lotus .WK1
Ascii .ASC
Table 14 - Standard file extensions
The standard names are shown below, controlled by what ICF command is
performed (where .ext is one of the standard extensions):
STANDARD FILE NAME
COMMAND
STATUS or AUTO ICFINV.ext
FILES ICFFILES.ext
PROGRAMS ICFPROG.ext
DISKSPACE ICFDSKSP.ext
Table - 15 Standard file names
CHANGING THE FILE NAME
The /Filename option can be used to change the standard file name as-
signed to the output file. This may desired for any of the following rea-
sons:
It is advantageous to identify the file with the user identification.
Output files are stored on a LAN (remote) drive.
37 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Note that in the latter case, if the filename wasn't specified with the
Filename option then each file would overwrite a previous one since it
would have the same standard name.
SEE ALSO
Dbase Option, Ascii Option, Lotus Option, Outdir Option, Computerid
Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Filename Option
2.12.2. OUTPUT FILE STRUCTURES
When output is directed to a file for an ICF command, the output file
will have a different structure depending on the command. Following is a
summary of the file structures. The first column shows the field name,
the second column the data type, and the third column the length. Numeric
fields have no decimal places unless otherwise indicated. The data types
are:
DATA DESCRIPTION
TYPE
C character
D date
N numeric
Table - 16 Field description data types
Files created using the /Ascii option do not have a structure: the struc-
tures given indicate the order of the fields output.
38 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
DATA
FIELD NAME LENGTH TYPE
FILES
COMMAND
Drive C 3
Dirname 60 C
Filename C 8
Ext C 3
Attrs C 6
Size 12 N
Date D 8
Time C 6
Server 6 30 C
STATUS
COMMAND
Id N 6
Value C 150
Desc 7 30 C
PROGRAMS
COMMAND
Progno N 6
6 Valid for special ICF LAN versions only
This field only output if /Desc option given. 7
39 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Progname C 70
Filename C 15
Drive C 3
Path C 100
Size N 12
Date D 8
Time C 6
Server 8 C 30
Table 17 - Output file structures by command
ADDITIONAL FIELDS
Additional fields may be automatically added to each record if the /Id
option or the /Timestamp option is specified. Refer to those options in
the reference section for more information.
SEE ALSO
Status Command, Output File Structure, Id Option, Timestamp Option
2.12.3. STATUS COMMAND OUTPUT FILE STRUCTURE
The structure of the output file when the Status command is used to col-
lect PC inventory information is shown below:
8 Valid for special ICF LAN versions only
Page 40
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
FIELD DATA LENGTH
NAME TYPE
Id N 6
Value C 150
Desc C 9 30
Table - 18 Output file structure for STATUS command
The Id field holds a number used to identify the type of information in
the record. For example, the operating system name and version are two
different types of information and each has a unique Id assigned.
The Value field contains the actual string representing the value of the
data item being collected. Any numeric values are always converted to
character format prior to storing them in this field.
The Desc field is only included in the output file structure if the /Desc
option is given. If specified, this field contains a description of the
data item stored in the record.
This methodology yields a uniform data structure for collecting disparate
forms of data. If you write programs to read the files created by the
STATUS command, you can easily read the file and simply use lookup tables
to refer to what data each record contains. Following is a list of the
different ID numbers assigned to each data item. Items followed by (#)
have special notes given below:
9 this field only output if /Desc option given.
41 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
DATA
ID DESCRIPTION ID # NOTES TYPE
Total expanded memory number 1
Expanded memory page frame 2 hex
Available expanded memory number 3
Expanded memory version number 4
Mouse type string 5
Mouse driver version number 6
Mouse IRQ number 7
Total extended memory number 8
Available memory number 9
Used memory number 10
Reported memory 11 number
Video adapter string 12
Video display string 13
Video adapter name 14 string
Processor 17 string
CoProcessor 18 string
PC Model code 19 hex
PC Model name 20 string
Page 42
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Number of serial ports 21 number
Number of parallel ports 22 number
Number of floppy drives 23 number
Verify mode 24 string
Drives 25 string
Operating System version 26 string
Bios 27 string
Username ID 28 string
Computer ID 29 string
Company name 30 string
DOS Print TSR 31 string
DOS Append TSR 32 string
Program 33 packed 1
Microchannel board 34 packed 2
Logical disk information 35 packed 3
Environment variable 54 string
Printer ID 55 string
Modem ID 56 string
Monitor ID 57 string
Page 43
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
User ID 58 string
Misc ID 1 59 string
Misc ID 2 60 string
Location 68 string
Bus type 61 string
Current date 63 date
Current time 64 string
Text file 70 packed 4
Notes 1 66 string
Notes 2 67 string
Cmos floppy 1 type 1001 string
Cmos floppy 2 type 1002 string
Cmos hard drive 1 type 1003 number
Cmos hard drive 2 type 1004 number
Cmos base memory 1005 number
Cmos expanded memory 1006 number
Cmos math CoProcessor 1007 string
Table 19 - STATUS command output field ID's
NOTES
Packed values - Some fields have values that are actually a concatenation
of strings. The fields that use this method have a data type of "packed"
and their contents are described below. Each string in a packed field is
Page 44
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
separated from the next by a "token character". By default this character
is the caret "^".
Page 45
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
NAME OF PACKED SEQUENCE
FIELD NUMBER DESCRIPTION
Programs 1 Product number - number ob-
(note 1) tained from the ICF input file
(if one was present) It will be
zero otherwise. This number
makes it easy to identify com-
mon software.
2 Path and file name
3 Program description - comes
from the ICF input file.
4 File size
5 File date
6 File time
Microchannel 1 Product number - number ob-
Boards tained from the ICF input file
(note 2) (if one was present) It will be
zero otherwise. This number
makes it easy to identify com-
mon software.
2 Microchannel ID code - read
from the board itself
3 Board description - comes from
the ICF input file.
Logical Drive 1 Drive number (3=C, 4=D, etc...)
Information
(note 3)
2 Total disk space
3 Free disk space
4 Used disk space
46 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
Text Files 1 File name
(note 4)
2 File path
3 Text of line
Table - 20 Packed field values
SEE ALSO
Status Command, Desc Option
Page 47
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
____________________ 3. COMMAND REFERENCE
____________________
3.1. ASK COMMAND
SYNTAX
ICF ASK
DESCRIPTION
This command presents a screen in which you can enter stand-alone or
physical equipment to automatically be included in the configuration
analysis whenever the STATUS command is performed.
Unlike the /Ask option, using this command simply presents a data entry
screen for entering information and, upon exiting, immediately exits ICF
with no configuration run being performed.
SEE ALSO
Collecting Physical Config Data, Ask Option
3.2. AUTO COMMAND
SYNTAX
ICF AUTO <auto parameters> <options>
DESCRIPTION
This command is used to check if any changes were made to a PC's configu-
ration since the last time configuration data was collected. If changes
are detected, ICF automatically performs the STATUS command which will
result in a new data collection.
This process has been carefully designed to permit ICF to quickly perform
a "pre-check" of a computer configuration to determine if it's practical
Page 48
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
to do a full configuration run. Since a full run could take time
(particularly if software packages are inventoried), this feature is ex-
tremely powerful. It enables you to have ICF run every day on each com-
puter, and it will run very quickly unless it determines a full run is
required.
Following is a discussion of the events that take place when ICF is used
with the AUTO command. Refer to other mentioned topics and options for
details.
1. If the /Force option is specified, further checking is not per-
formed and a configuration run is performed.
2. ICF looks for a file on a local hard disk called
C:\AUTORUN.DAT. This file contains data saved during the last con-
figuration run. If the file is not found, ICF does a new run.
This file may have different names and/or locations, depending on
whether the /Autorunfile option is used. In addition, if the /Hide
op was previ tion ously used then the file may be marked as Hidden,
System, and Readonly.
3. If the /Autorun option is not specified, ICF will use all the
criteria for com ing the current configuration with the previous par
one. As soon as a change is detected ICF stops checking and starts a
configuration run. Following is the criteria that is checked:
LONG SHORT
CODE CODE DESCRIPTION
CMOS C Cmos information
BIOS B Bios data
SPACE S Amount of free disk space on drives
MAIN M General information including memory,
processor
DIRS D Number of root-level directories
DAYS Y Number of days since last run
IDS I ID information entered manually
MCA A Installed microchannel boards
Table 21 - Autorun criteria
49 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
For more information on these refer to Autorun Option on page 64.
4. If the /Autorun option is specified, it specifies to ICF the
criteria that should be checked. This would likely be a subset of
those shown above.
When configuration data is being collected, the /Escape option may be
used by the user to abort the run. This is useful if the user needs to
get on with pressing work and cannot wait for ICF to finish. If /Escape
is not specified then the user cannot abort (the /Break option controls
Ctrl-Break behavior).
EXAMPLES
ICF AUTO /DBASE /FILENAME=$TEMP
ICF will read the C:\AUTORUN.DAT file and determine if anything
has changed in the configuration since the last time ICF performed
a STATUS command. If nothing substantial has changed, it exits to
the operating system. Otherwise, a new STATUS command is performed
and the C:\AUTORUN.DAT file is updated to reflect the changes. The
configuration is saved to a Dbase file and the file name will be
uniquely numbered.
ICF AUTO DAYS /DBASE /FILENAME=$TEMP /DAYS=15
Same as above except ICF will not check all the normal AUTO crite-
ria. Since the DAYS parameter was specified, only that is checked.
The /Days option indicates that at least 15 days would need to
have passed in order to run another STATUS.
ICF AUTO /ASCII /FILENAME=$USERID /HIDE /AUTORUNFILE=S:\AR.DAT
Since no AUTO parameters were specified, all criteria is evaluated
to determine if a STATUS command should be performed. The file
used to provide previous configuration data is called S:\AR.DAT
and has the system, readonly, and hidden attributes set by ICF to
guard against modifications to the file. If a STATUS is run the
data is saved to an Ascii file with the same name as the userid of
the user.
SEE ALSO
Autodays Option, Autoid Option, Autorunfile Option, Autospace Option,
Autorun Option, Force Option, Hide Option, Escape Option, Break Option
3.3. DISKSPACE COMMAND
SYNTAX
ICF DISKSPACE <drive letters> <options>
Page 50
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
DESCRIPTION
This command instructs ICF to report disk space statistics on all local
drives in the system. LAN (remote) drives are included if the /Landrives
or /Landrives option is specified. If output is sent to the screen, a re-
port similar to the example shown below is produced:
===============================================================================
DISK SPACE REPORT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DRIVE TOTAL SPACE USED SPACE -- (pct) FREE SPACE -- (pct)
C: 33,296,384 28,772,352 (86.4) 4,524,032 (13.6)
D: 88,485,888 88,244,224 (99.7) 241,664 (0.3)
E: 88,485,888 71,061,504 (80.3) 17,424,384 (19.7)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCAL 210,268,160 188,078,080 (89.4%) 22,190,080 (10.6%)
Output will be directed to a file if one of the file output options is
specified: Dbase, Ascii, and Lotus.
EXAMPLES
ICF DISKSPACE C D
A diskspace report is produced for drives C: and D:
ICF DISKSPACE /LOTUS /OVERWRITE
Disk space statistics is generated for all local drives and the
output is sent to a .WK1 worksheet named ICFDSKSP.WK1. If the file
exists it is overwritten.
ICF DISKSPACE /LOTUS /OVERWRITE /LANDRIVESO
Same as above except only LAN drives are processed.
SEE ALSO
Overview, Landrives Option, Landriveso Option, Dbase Option, Lotus
Option, Ascii Option
3.4. FILES COMMAND
SYNTAX
ICF FILES <filespec1> <filespec2> <filespecn...> /<option1>...
Page 51
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
DESCRIPTION
This command searches for files on the computer's disk drives. By default
all local drives are searched. For example,
ICF FILES
will search for all files in all directories on all local drives. If
either the /Dbase, /Ascii, or /Lotus options is given then output is di-
rected to a file. Refer to ICF Output File Structures on page 38 for in-
formation on the file structure. If none of the above options are used, a
directory listing is displayed on the screen.
There are many options and important rules ICF follows when searching for
files, and some of them are different from normal DOS conventions. Refer
to File Scan Operations on page 18 for details.
EXAMPLES
ICF FILES
A directory of all files on all local drives, including all direc-
tories, will be displayed on the screen.
ICF FILES D
Same as above but only Drive D: is searched.
ICF FILES BAK
Searches all local drives and all directories for files with the
text "BAK" anywhere in the name. Unlike normal DOS file searching,
the following files would be displayed if they existed:
TEST.BAK
BAKFILE.DAT
NEWBAK4
ICF FILES /LANDRIVESO /ASCII /OVERWRITE
All files on LAN drives only would be searched and output to an
Ascii file called ICFFILES.DBF. If the file already exists it is
overwritten.
ICF FILES \PAYROLL /LANDRIVES /DBASE /FILENAME
All files in all directories starting with the \PAYROLL directory
are searched, and LAN drives are included. Output is sent to a
Dbase file with the name ICFnnnnn.DBF, where nnnnn is a number
generated by ICF to ensure the file does not conflict with other
existing files.
SEE ALSO
File Scan Operations
Page 52
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
3.5. HELP COMMAND
SYNTAX
ICF HELP <help topic text>
This command instructs ICF to display text related to the topic specified
on the command line. If no text is included after the HELP command, a
list of all available topics is listed. If text is included, only those
topics that contain the text are displayed, along with the full help text
for each topic.
The files ICFHELP1.DBF and ICFHELP2.DBF must be present for this command
to function. ICF expects to find them in the current directory, unless
the /Indir option is used.
To include topic text with embedded spaces, use the "_" (underscore)
character in place of each space. ICF will translate these to spaces
automatically. If for some reason you wish to use a different character,
use the /Spacechar option.
SEE ALSO
Commands Summary, Indir Option, Spacechar Option
3.6. PROGRAMS COMMAND
SYNTAX
ICF PROGRAMS <filespec1> <filespec2> <filespecn...> /<option1>...
This command searches for "recognized" programs on the computer. A pro-
gram is identified by comparing file information with that stored in the
ICFPROG1.DBF file. While ICF provides no built-in capability for adding
additional program records to the file, since it is a standard Dbase file
it can be edited by a large number of standard packages.
Typing just the PROGRAMS command will search all directories on all local
drives for software. Many options control the specific search behavior -
refer to File Scan Operations on page 18 for details.
To explicitly narrow the search to specific drives and/or directories,
include the path specification after the PROGRAMS command, and before any
options, as shown in the example:
Page 53
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF PROGRAMS
Searches only drive D for programs
If no output file option is specified (/Dbase, /Ascii, or /Lotus), then
the output is sent to the screen showing what programs have been found
and their location, similar to the example shown below:
===============================================================================
INVENTORY OF PROGRAMS FOUND ON SELECTED DRIVES/DIRECTORIES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Dos Program ........................ C:\COMMAND.COM
2. Ibm Dos ............................ C:\IBMDOS.COM
3. Ms-dos ............................. C:\DOS\FDISK.EXE
4. Os/2 Program ....................... C:\OS2\SPOOL.EXE
5. Magellan 1.0 ....................... D:\MAG\MAGINDEX.EXE
6. Hyperaccess/5 ...................... D:\HA\HP5DOS.EXE
7. Tapcis ............................. D:\TAP\TAPCIS.EXE
8. Paint Brush Program ................ D:\WINDOWS\PBRUSH.EXE
9. Managing Your Money Program ........ D:\MYM8\MYM.EXE
10. Microsoft C Compiler ............... D:\C600\BIN\C1L.EXE
11. Microsoft Windows .................. D:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL.EXE
If one of the output files is used, the data is stored in the requested
format. Refer to Output File Structures on page 38 for details on what
the file structure look like.
This command is also performed automatically as part of the STATUS com-
mand (unless the /Nostatus option is used to exclude it).
SEE ALSO
File Scan Operations, Status Command
3.7. STATUS COMMAND
SYNTAX
Status <status subject list>
DESCRIPTION
This command collects information describing the configuration of the PC
and either displays the information on the screen or sends it to an out-
put file. If no filetype option is given then the configuration is dis-
played on the screen, and may be redirected to a text file or printer us-
ing DOS redirection techniques. A sample report is shown below:
Page 54
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
===============================================================================
ID INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
User ID : SMITH
Computer ID : 1232,1321
Location : ROOM 128
===============================================================================
MAIN INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date : 02/26/92
Time : 21:17:58
Processor : 386
Coprocessor (Bios) : NO
PC Model code : 01FC
PC Model name : PC-AT 3x9 or clone
Serial ports : 2
Printer ports : 1
Floppy drives : 2
Local drives : ABCDE
OS version : DOS 5.0
Bios date : 04/09/90
Bus type : ISA
===============================================================================
VIDEO INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Video adapter : 1
Active video subsystem : VGA with Analog Color Monitor
Inactive video subsystem : No Display
===============================================================================
CMOS INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Floppy 1 : 3.5 1.44M
Floppy 2 : 5.25 1.2M
Hard drive 1 type : 47
Base Memory : 640
Expanded Memory : 7168
===============================================================================
MEMORY INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extended memory : 2000
===============================================================================
PROGRAM INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Dos Program ........................ C:\COMMAND.COM
2. Ibm Dos ............................ C:\IBMDOS.COM
3. Dos Program ........................ C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM
Page 55
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4. Os/2 Program ....................... C:\OS2\SPOOL.EXE
5. Magellan 1.0 ....................... D:\MAG\MAGINDEX.EXE
6. Hyperaccess/5 ...................... D:\HA\HP5DOS.EXE
7. Paint Brush Program ................ D:\WINDOWS\PBRUSH.EXE
8. Managing Your Money Program ........ D:\MYM8\MYM.EXE
9. Microsoft C Compiler ............... D:\C600\BINP\C1L.EXE
10. Microsoft Windows .................. D:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL.EXE
===============================================================================
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM
PROMPT=$p$g
PATH=C:\DOS
TEMP=C:\DOS
===============================================================================
DRIVE INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C: 33,296,384 28,772,352 (0.0) 4,524,032 (0.0)
D: 88,485,888 88,244,224 (0.0) 241,664 (0.0)
E: 88,485,888 71,065,600 (0.0) 17,420,288 (0.0)
===============================================================================
DOS EXTENSIONS INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHARE
Network
NLSFUNC
HIMEM.SYS
KEYB.COM
===============================================================================
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION FILE INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
******** [ CONFIG.SYS File ] ********
1. rem DEVICE=C:\DOS\SETVER.EXE
2. DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
3. rem DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE
4. rem DOS=HIGH
5. FILES=60
6. BUFFERS=45
7. SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS\ /p
******** [ AUTOEXEC.BAT File ] ********
1. @ECHO OFF
Page 56
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
2. PROMPT $p$g
3. PATH C:\DOS
4. SET TEMP=C:\DOS
If the /Dbase, /Lotus, or /Ascii options are given then the output is di-
rected to a file. The format of the output file structure is given in
Status Command Output File Structure on page 40.
EXAMPLES
ICF STATUS
Displays on the screen the configuration of the PC.
ICF STATUS /DBASE
Redirects the configuration data to an output file in the Dbase
format.
ICF STATUS MCA PRO
Performs the status command but only collects information concern-
ing microchannel boards (MCA) and programs (PRO). The list of all
categories that can be included as parameters to STATUS is shown
below:
Page 57
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
CODE DESCRIPTION
MCA Microchannel
MEM Memory
MOU Mouse
VIO Video
MAI Main information
PRO Program (software) infor-
mation
LAN LAN Information
ENV Environment variables
IDI Id information
DSK Disk information
TXT Text files (i.e.
CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT)
CMO Cmos information
SUB DOS TSR and Subsystem
information
Table 22 - Status command groups
OPTIONS
Many options can be used with the STATUS command. An especially useful
one is the /Nostatus option, which means "don't collect information on
specified categories of information". The categories are shown above and
given as a parameter to the option, as shown in the following example:
ICF STATUS /NOSTATUS=PRO
This tells ICF to skip collecting information for programs, which
can be useful since it bypasses what could be a timely disk scan.
Page 58
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Status Command Output File Structure, Nostatus Option
Page 59
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
____________________ 4. OPTIONS REFERENCE
____________________
4.1. ALLDISKS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to include all drives in a file scan operation.
This option may conflict with related options. The precedence order for
ICF options that control what drives are included in a file scan opera-
tion are covered in the "ICF Drive Options Summary" topic.
SEE ALSO
Drive Options Summary, File Scan Operations, Drives Option, Skipdrives
Option, Landrives Option, Landriveso Option
4.2. ALLEXT OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that all extensions should be totaled when the
/Totext option is given.
NOTE: This option is experimental and may be discontinued in future
versions of ICF.
SEE ALSO
Experimental Features, Totext Option
Page 60
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.3. APPEND OPTION
DESCRIPTION
If a data file is specified (with the DBASE, ASCII, or LOTUS options) and
a file already exists with the same name, use of this option will result
in data being appended to the existing file. If this option is used and
the file doesn't exist, it is created normally.
NOTE: APPEND is not supported for files created with the /Lotus op-
tion.
SEE ALSO
Overwrite Option, Dbase Option, Lotus Option, Ascii Option
4.4. ASCII OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to save data in an Ascii file. The file will be
comma delimited with quotes used to surround strings.
The extension applied to Ascii files is always .ASC. The name of the file
depends on the command used and if the /Filename option is specified.
SEE ALSO
Dbase Option, Lotus Option, Output File Naming
Page 61
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.5. ASK OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to present a data entry screen where physical
equipment and user identification data can be entered. This screen is
presented immediately prior to performing a configuration collection when
the STATUS or AUTO commands are used.
NOTE: Any data or changes entered WILL NOT be saved unless the
/Saveids option is specified.
By using the ASK command instead, the same data entry screen is presented
but a STATUS command is not performed. In this case /Saveids does not
have to be specified because all entered information is automatically
saved.
SEE ALSO
Collecting Physical Config Data, Saveids Option, Ask Command.
4.6. ATTRS OPTION
SYNTAX
/Attrs=<file attribute codes>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the file attributes files must have in order to be
included in file scan operations. The codes are as follows:
Page 62
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ATTRIBUTE MEANING
CODE
Readonly R
S System
Hidden H
Normal N
Archive A
Table - 23 File attribute codes
EXAMPLES
ICF FILES /ASCII /ATTRS=RS
SEE ALSO
Protected Option, File Scan Operations, Normal Option
4.7. AUTODAYS OPTION
SYNTAX
/Autodays=<number of days>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies how many days can elapse before the STATUS command
is run to perform configuration data collection on the PC. It is only
valid when the AUTO command is used. Even if no other changes are de-
tected on a given PC, once this many days elapse since the last time con-
figuration data was collected a new run is performed.
For example,
ICF AUTO /AUTODAYS=14
will instruct ICF to perform the STATUS command every 14 days.
SEE ALSO
Auto Command, Autorun Option, Autoid Option, Autorunfile Option,
Autospace Option, Force Option
63 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.8. AUTORUN OPTION
SYNTAX
/Autorun=<criteria codes>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a list of criteria to check when ICF compares a
current configuration with a previous one, to determine if it is neces-
sary to perform another configuration data collection. It is only valid
when the AUTO command is used with ICF. If this option is not specified,
then all criteria is checked. The list of criteria codes is formed by
stringing together codes from the list below. Either the long code or
short code can be used (mixtures are ok) and each must be separated from
the next with a comma.
LONG SHORT
CODE CODE DESCRIPTION
CMOS C Cmos information
BIOS B Bios data
SPACE S Amount of free disk space on drives
MAIN M General information including memory,
processor
DIRS D Number of root-level directories
DAYS Y Number of days since last run
IDS I ID information entered manually
MCA A Installed microchannel boards
Table - 24 Autorun criteria
The CMOS, BIOS, MAIN, and MCA categories should be self-explanatory (we
hope!).
64 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
The SPACE criteria checks if the amount of free disk space has changed
since the last configuration. Every local drive is compared with re-
sults stored from the previous collection. By default a change of 2 MB
of free space indicates that a new configuration should be captured.
This can be changed with the /Autospace option.
The DIRS criteria checks if the number of directories has changed on
each local drive. Only the directories immediately under the root di-
rectory are counted. The addition or deletion of directories may mean
that a software package was added or deleted.
The IDS criteria compares manually-entered ID and physical component
information with previously stored data. This information is entered
when the /Ask option or Ask command are used.
SEE ALSO
Auto Command, Autodays Option, Autoid Option, Autorunfile Option,
Autospace Option, Force Option, Ask Option, Ask Command
4.9. AUTORUNFILE OPTION
SYNTAX
/Autorunfile=<file specification including path>
DESCRIPTION
The AUTO command checks to see if any changes were made to the PC and, if
so, a STATUS command is automatically performed. In order to compare the
current configuration with a historical one, ICF saves configuration in-
formation in a file on the local PC. While ICF can check shared databases
for configuration information, local files are used because:
it does not rely on a shared database being available during certain
periods of time.
accessing a local file is faster, considering that network traffic is
avoided as well as time looking up data in an indexed database.
this method works on standalone PC's as well as networked PC's.
By default, ICF stores the configuration information in a file called
C:\AUTORUN.DAT. This option changes the name and path to whatever is
specified. If the workstation is a disk workstation, or it is not desired
to place this file on a local drive, then this option can be used to re-
direct the file to another drive/directory (i.e. a user's private direc-
tory on a network).
Page 65
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Auto Command, Autodays Option, Autorun Option, Autoid Option, Autospace
Option, Force Option
4.10. AUTOSPACE OPTION
SYNTAX
/Autospace=<bytes in K units>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies how much the amount of free disk space should
change before ICF performs a STATUS command to collect configuration in-
formation on the PC. It is only valid when the AUTO command is used with
ICF.
If this option is not specified then the default of 2 MB is used. By ex-
perimenting with this value you can guess when software programs may have
been added or deleted to the PC based on the assumption that the amount
of free disk space would change considerably. This is of course an as-
sumption only, as in some cases the change could be the result of data
added or deleted, hard disk maintenance being performed, etc.
Every local drive is checked for free space and compared with results
from a previous run. Obviously if drives are changed, added or removed
then a change will likely occur.
Note that the number specified is in K units.
EXAMPLES
ICF AUTO /AUTOSPACE=4000
ICF will perform the STATUS command if the amount of free disk
space increased or decreased by 4,000,000 bytes since the last
time it was run.
SEE ALSO
Auto Command, Autodays Option, Autorun Option, Autoid Option, Autorunfile
Option, Force Option
Page 66
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.11. BANNER OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies an optional "banner line" to be displayed after the
ICF program identification line when ICF is run. It can be used to dis-
play your company name or other pertinent information.
In order to make it easy to specify values with embedded spaces, the '_'
(underscore) character is considered a substitute for spaces. ICF will
automatically filter these out and replace them with spaces.
EXAMPLE
BANNER=THE_INVENTORY_COMPANY
would produce the banner line to be displayed as...
"THE INVENTORY COMPANY"
The default space character of _ (underscore character) can be changed by
using the /Spacechar option.
SEE ALSO
Spacechar Option
4.12. BATCH OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option is a Shortcut Option. It automatically specifies the follow-
ing options:
/Quiet
/Noreadmsg
/Overwrite
/Hide
/Filetype=Dbase
In other words, by including the /Batch option ICF will assume all the
above options.
SEE ALSO
Quiet Option, Noreadmsg Option, Overwrite Option, Hide Option, Filetype
Option, Shortcut Options
Page 67
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.13. BIGFILES OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that only "big files" are processed in a file scan
operation. A big file is defined as a file whose size is greater than
that specified by the /Bigfilesize option. If the /Bigfilesize option
isn't included, the default size of 500,000 bytes is used.
SEE ALSO
ICF File Scan Operations, Smallfilesize Option, Bigfilesize Option,
Smallfiles Option, Size Option
4.14. BIGFILESIZE OPTION
SYNTAX
/Bigfilesize=<n>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the file size, in bytes, used for comparison when
the BIGFILES option is included. Unless this option is used, ICF uses a
default size of 500,000 bytes.
SEE ALSO
File Scan Operations, Smallfilesize Option, Bigfiles Option, Smallfiles
Option, Size Option
4.15. BREAK OPTION
SYNTAX
/Break=N | Q
DESCRIPTION
This option controls the processing of any Ctrl-Break key presses during
ICF operation. If Ctrl-Break is hit during an ICF run, the following
processing occurs depending on the value of the /Break option:
Page 68
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
VALUE HANDLING OF CTRL-BREAK
N It is ignored and processing continues.
Q Processing is immediately aborted.
If /Break is not specified ICF asks if processing should be aborted. Hit
N or Y to answer.
EXAMPLES
BREAK=N
BREAK=Q
SEE ALSO
Escape Option
4.16. CLS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to clear the screen before starting any other
operation.
4.17. COLON OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that a single letter used as a file specification
should not be assumed to be a drive name.
EXAMPLES
ICF FILES D
This will search for all files on drive D:
ICF FILES D /COLON
This will search for a file with the name "D".
ICF FILES D:
This will search for all files on drive D:
Page 69
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.18. COMPANYNAME OPTION
SYNTAX
/Companyname=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a user-defined name to represent the company. It is
valid only for the STATUS command. The value entered for this option will
be saved in a special "ID" field just like any other item of information
captured from the computer ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page
17 for more information.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid
Option, Monitorid Option, Printerid Option, Userid Option, Username
Option, Computername Option
4.19. COMPUTERID OPTION
SYNTAX
/Computerid=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a user-defined "tag" or ID to represent the com-
puter that ICF is running on. The value entered for this option will be
saved in a special "ID" field just like any other item of information
captured from the computer ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page
17 for more information.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid Option, Monitorid
Option, Printerid Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
Page 70
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.20. DBASE OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to save data in a Dbase file. The file will be
able to be read by any software program that understands .DBF type files.
The extension applied to Dbase files is always .DBF. The name of the file
depends on other options that are set.
NOTE: While some packages may not directly support Dbase files, they
may have import conversion commands or utilities to convert such files
into their native format (i.e. Paradox).
SEE ALSO
Ascii Option, Lotus Option, Output File Naming
4.21. DESC OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that additional "description" fields are to be
added to each record in the output file. It has a unique use for each of
the several ICF commands affected by this option. The /Desc option is ig-
nored for commands that do not have "description" fields.
The following commands are supported by this option:
Status
Lanaccess
Lanservers
Lanresource
SEE ALSO
Status Command
Page 71
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.22. DESCEND OPTION
DESCRIPTION
ICF will descend a directory tree and process all nested subdirectories
starting with the first one specified. Since this is the default behav-
ior, /Descend is used only to override a previously issued /Nodescend op-
tion.
SEE ALSO
Nodescend Option
4.23. DOMAINS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option is reserved for LAN vendor-specific versions of ICF.
4.24. DOSEARCH OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to use standard DOS file specifications.
EXAMPLES
ICF FILES EXE
This will search for all files with the text "EXE" anywhere in the
file name. The following files, if present on the drives searched,
would be identified by this command:
TEST.EXE
MYEXE.DAT
1EXE2
ICF FILES EXE /DOSEARCH
Since /Dosearch is used, only a file with the name "EXE" would be
identified.
Page 72
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.25. DRIVES OPTION
SYNTAX
/Drives= <drive letter list>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the drives that should be included in any file scan
operation. If it is not specified, then by default all local drives are
included. Use the /Landrives or /Landriveso options to include remote
drives.
EXAMPLES
ICF FILES /DRIVES=CEG
Only drives C:, E:, and G: are included in the search for files.
SEE ALSO
Drive Options Summary, File Scan Operations, Skipdrives Option, Landrives
Option, Landriveso Option, Alldisks Option
4.26. ENTIREDISK OPTION
DESCRIPTION
There are many options that set "filters" to be used when performing a
file scan command. The result of these filters is that only files that
meet the specified criteria are included in the output. Files can be se-
lected based on file size, file date, file attributes, and names.
This option instructs ICF to override all these options, in effect skip-
ping any filter conditions previously defined. All files will be included
in a file scan operation.
SEE ALSO
Bigfiles Option, Smallfiles Option
Page 73
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.27. ESCAPE OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to abort processing if the ESC (escape) key is
hit. If it is not specified then hitting ESC key has no effect.
It may be useful to include /Escape to permit users to abort processing
in case more important (in the eyes of the user) work needs to be done.
SEE ALSO
Break Option
4.28. FILENAME OPTION
SYNTAX
/Filename=<filespec> or
$TEMP or $COMPID or $USERID or $USERNAME
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the name of the output file created when one of the
output file options is used: /Dbase, /Ascii, and /Lotus. Normally ICF as-
signs a default name to an output file, which depends on the command ICF
is performing. Refer to Output File Naming on page 36 for complete infor-
mation.
If the /Filename option is used, a different file name is assigned de-
pending on the parameter used:
Page 74
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
FILENAME DESCRIPTION
OPTION
<filespec> Specifies a file name, which may include a
drive/path specification. Note that the
location of the output file is also af-
fected by the /Outdir option.
$TEMP The file name is assigned a unique number
padded with zeroes. ICF makes sure the name
assigned does not conflict with existing
file names in the same output directory.
The first file name would be ICF00001.DBF,
the second ICF00002.DBF, and so on.
$COMPID The file name is assigned the first eight
characters from the value specified on the
/Computerid option.
$USERID The file name is assigned the first eight
characters from the value specified on the
/Userid option.
$USERNAME The file name is assigned the first eight
characters from the value specified on the
/Username option.
NOTE: If the $COMPID, $USERID, or $USERNAME options are used, and the
corresponding option used to retrieve the name is not specified, an
error will result. For example, if the option /Filename=$Userid was
used, but the option /User= was not specified. ICF will not be able to
name the file.
SEE ALSO
Dbase Option, Ascii Option, Lotus Option, Output File Naming, Outdir
Option, Computerid Option, Userid Option, Username Option
Page 75
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.29. FINDEXTS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that a record of non-recognized software be saved
during program scan operations, permitting after-the-fact program recog-
nition. Normally when a program scan operation is performed as a result
of using the STATUS, AUTO or PROGRAMS commands, ICF records information
for each .COM and .EXE file that has a matching entry in the recognition
database (ICFPROGn.DBF). If /Findexts is used then ICF will also save
information for every .COM and .EXE file found.
SEE ALSO
Findextsval Option
4.30. FINDEXTSVAL OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies additional file extensions that ICF should search
for in addition to .COM and .EXE files used by the /Findexts option. In
order for /Findextsval to work the /Findexts option must also be speci-
fied.
HINT: This option is particularly useful for searching for licensed
files that are not necessarily "software". Examples include soft fonts
and proprietary data files.
SEE ALSO
Findexts Option
Page 76
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.31. FLOPPY OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option is a Shortcut Option - it automatically specifies the follow-
ing options:
/Outdir=A:\
/Needspace=50
/Filename=$Temp
In other words, specifying just the /Floppy option instructs ICF to send
the output file to the A:\ drive and directory, use a file name of
"$Temp", and make sure at least 50,000 free bytes exist on the disk be-
fore starting.
SEE ALSO
Needspace Option, Outdir Option, Filename Option, Shortcut Options
4.32. FORCE OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option forces a configuration data collection to be performed when
the AUTO command is used. It instructs ICF to ignore the normal criteria
used to check if any changes were made to the configuration.
SEE ALSO
Auto Command, Autorun Option, Autoid Option, Autorunfile Option,
Autospace Option, Force Option, Autodays Option
4.33. FORCEGLOBAL OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option is a Shortcut Option. It automatically specifies the follow-
ing options:
/Entiredisk
/Alldisks
Page 77
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
The effect is to search all files on all disks during a file scan opera-
tion.
SEE ALSO
Shortcut Options, Entiredisk Option, Alldisks Option
4.34. HIDE OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to "hide", or protect certain files that ICF
uses. When the AUTO command is used, this option will cause ICF to set
the Hidden, System, and Read-only attributes for the AUTORUN.DAT file
(note that the /Autorunfile option can change this file name).
Use of this option helps secure critical files from users. ICF will al-
ways be able to read the file, but under normal circumstances it will not
be deleted, or even viewed in directory listings.
SEE ALSO
Autorunfile Option, Auto Command
4.35. ID OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that output files should have additional fields
added to each record to assist in identifying which configuration the re-
cord belongs to. The fields added are:
FIELD DATA LENGTH
NAME TYPE
Username C 25
Miscid C 25
Compid C 25
Table 25 - ID option fields
78 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
The values for these fields are automatically filled in from the
/Username, /Miscid, and /Computerid options.
SEE ALSO
Output File Structures, Timestamp Option, Miscid Option, Compid Option,
Username Option
4.36. INDIR OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the input directory used for reading data files
during the inventory collection process. These files include directories
holding software and hardware recognition data.
Normally ICF looks in the default directory for these files. If you want
to place them on a special directory then this option is needed so ICF
can find them.
HINT: It may be prudent to place these files on a file server drive in
a network environment.
SEE ALSO
Outdir Option
4.37. ISMCA OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option forces ICF to perform Microchannel inventory collection on
machines that are not recognized as MCA (Micro Channel Architecture) com-
puters.
It is currently required on computers running any version of OS/2.
SEE ALSO
OS/2 Version
Page 79
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.38. LANDRIVES OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that LAN (network) drives should be included in any
file scan operation. By default ICF ignores LAN drives.
SEE ALSO
Drive Options Summary, File Scan Operations, Drives Option, Skipdrives
Option, Landriveso Option, Alldisks Option
4.39. LANDRIVESO OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that ICF search only LAN (network) drives during
any file scan operation. Local drives are ignored.
SEE ALSO
Drive Options Summary, File Scan Operations, Drives Option, Skipdrives
Option, Landrives Option, Alldisks Option
4.40. LOTUS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to save data in a Lotus 1-2-3 file. The file
will be able to be read in by any software package that reads .WK1
spreadsheet files. Most spreadsheet and database programs are capable of
reading (or at least translating) these files.
The extension applied to files created with this option is always .WK1.
The name of the file depends on other options that are set.
NOTE: The APPEND option is ignored if the /Lotus option is specified.
Page 80
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Ascii Option, Dbase Option, Append Option
4.41. MISCID1 OPTION
SYNTAX
/Miscid1=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a user-defined "tag" or ID to represent any compo-
nent of the computer. It is one of 2 "miscid" fields (the other being
/Miscid2). The value entered for this option will be saved in a special
"ID" field just like any other item of information captured from the com-
puter ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page 17 for more informa-
tion.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid Option, Monitorid
Option, Printerid Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
4.42. MISCID2 OPTION
SYNTAX
/Miscid2=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a user-defined "tag" or ID to represent any compo-
nent of the computer. It is one of 2 "miscid" fields (the other being
/Miscid1). The value entered for this option will be saved in a special
"ID" field just like any other item of information captured from the com-
puter ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page 17 for more informa-
tion.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Modemid Option, Monitorid
Option, Printerid Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
Page 81
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.43. MODEMID OPTION
SYNTAX
/Modemid=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a "tag" or ID to help identify a modem attached to
the computer. The value entered for this option will be saved in a spe-
cial "ID" field just like any other item of information captured from the
computer ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page 17 for more infor-
mation.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Monitorid
Option, Printerid Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
4.44. MONITORID OPTION
SYNTAX
/Monitorid=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option is used to specify a "tag" or ID used to identify a monitor
attached to the computer. The value entered for this option will be saved
in a special "ID" field just like any other item of information captured
from the computer ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page 17 for
more information.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid
Option, Printerid Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
4.45. NEEDDIR OPTION
SYNTAX
/Needdir=<directory name>
Page 82
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to verify that the specified directory exists
before starting any processing. If the directory does not exist, process-
ing is aborted.
SEE ALSO
Needfile Option, Needspace Option, Needdir Option
4.46. NEEDFILE OPTION
SYNTAX
/Needfile=<file name>
This option instructs ICF to verify that the specified file exists before
starting any processing. If the file does not exist, processing is
aborted.
SEE ALSO
Needspace Option, Needdir Option
4.47. NEEDSPACE OPTION
SYNTAX
/Needspace=<free space in K units>
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to verify that at least the specified number of
bytes (in K units) of free disk space exist on a disk. If the amount of
free space is less than that specified, processing is aborted. The disk
that space is checked on depends on whether or not the /Outdir option is
specified. If /Outdir is used and a drive letter is included on the
Outdir path, then that is the disk that is checked. Otherwise ICF checks
the default disk.
HINT: This option is especially valuable when saving data to a floppy
disk.
Page 83
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Needfile Option, Needdir Option, Outdir Option, Floppy Option
4.48. NOALIGNEXT OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that extensions should not be aligned when dis-
played on the screen. For example, without the /Noalignext option the
following display is produced from the command:
ICF FILES E:\SAMPLE
[ E:\SAMPLE\ ]
TEST1 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16 TEST2 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16
APPEND EXE 10774 04-09-91 05:00 A ATTRIB EXE 15796 04-09-91 05:00 A
CHKDSK EXE 16200 04-09-91 05:00 A COMP EXE 14282 04-09-91 05:00 A
CONFIG SYS 106 04-22-91 05:56 A EDIT COM 413 04-09-91 05:00 A
EDIT HLP 17898 04-09-91 05:00 A GORILLA BAS 29434 04-09-91 05:00 A
MORTGAGE BAS 6207 06-17-88 12:00 A QBASIC EXE 254799 04-09-91 05:00 A
QBASIC HLP 130810 04-09-91 05:00 A SHELL CLR 4438 06-17-88 12:00 A
SHELL HLP 65667 08-03-88 12:00 A SHELL MEU 4588 08-03-88 12:00 A
SORT EXE 6938 04-09-91 05:00 A SUBST EXE 18478 04-09-91 05:00 A
and when the NOALIGNEXT option is used:
ICF FILES E:\SAMPLE /NOALIGNEXT
[ E:\SAMPLE\ ]
TEST1 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16 TEST2 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16
APPEND.EXE 10774 04-09-91 05:00 A ATTRIB.EXE 15796 04-09-91 05:00 A
CHKDSK.EXE 16200 04-09-91 05:00 A COMP.EXE 14282 04-09-91 05:00 A
CONFIG.SYS 106 04-22-91 05:56 A EDIT.COM 413 04-09-91 05:00 A
EDIT.HLP 17898 04-09-91 05:00 A GORILLA.BAS 29434 04-09-91 05:00 A
MORTGAGE.BAS 6207 06-17-88 12:00 A QBASIC.EXE 254799 04-09-91 05:00 A
QBASIC.HLP 130810 04-09-91 05:00 A SHELL.CLR 4438 06-17-88 12:00 A
SHELL.HLP 65667 08-03-88 12:00 A SHELL.MEU 4588 08-03-88 12:00 A
SORT.EXE 6938 04-09-91 05:00 A SUBST.EXE 18478 04-09-91 05:00 A
VALID FOR
The FILES command and when output is not directed to a file.
Page 84
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Files Command
4.49. NODESCEND OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF not to descend a directory tree during a file
scan operation. By default ICF processes all nested subdirectories start-
ing with the first one specified.
SEE ALSO
Descend Option, File Scan Operations
4.50. NOFILESDEFAULT OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that any file scan operation should require a file
specification to be given in the command line. Normally when a command is
given, such as
ICF FILES
it is assumed that, in the absence of any files being specified after the
FILES command, all files on all drives should be scanned. If you want to
disable this behavior and force the identification of files then use this
option.
SEE ALSO
File Scan Operations
4.51. NOMSG OPTION
SYNTAX
/Nomsg=<list of codes>
DESCRIPTION
This option suppresses various messages from being displayed by ICF dur-
ing processing. It can be used to present a "cleaner" or more turnkey
display for users. The codes can be a combination of the following:
Page 85
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
CODE MEANING
R Suppress messages displayed when an input file is
read.
F Suppress messages displayed when an output file
is opened or closed.
E Suppress the "End of program run" message.
Table 26 - Values for /Nomsg option
EXAMPLES
ICF STATUS /DBASE /NOMSG=FE
Suppress open/close and "End of program run" messages.
ICF FILES /NOMSG=R
Suppress "read input file" messages.
SEE ALSO
Noreadmsg Option
4.52. NONUMBER OPTION
DESCRIPTION
If text files are output to the screen or printer (as a result of using
the STATUS command with appropriate options to capture files such as
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT), these files are normally displayed with
line numbers.
If this option is specified the line numbers are suppressed. It has no
effect if output is directed to a file with the /Ascii, /Dbase, /Lotus,
or /Filetype options.
SEE ALSO
Ascii Option, Dbase Option, Append Option, Lotus Option, Status Command
Page 86
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.53. NOREADMSG OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option suppresses ICF from displaying a status message when it reads
an input file. Normally ICF will display a message similar to
LOADING DATA. PLEASE WAIT...
when it reads an input file (an input file is any file that provides ICF
with data, such as the programs file or microchannel boards file). If
this option is used the message is not displayed.
The same effect is produced by using the NOMSG option with R.
EXAMPLES
ICF STATUS /NOREADMSG
ICF STATUS /NOMSG=R
(the above options produce the same result)
SEE ALSO
Nomsg Option, Batch Option
4.54. NORMAL OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that only "normal" files are included in file scan
operations. A "normal" file is completely unprotected - it does not have
the System, Hidden, or Readonly attributes set.
SEE ALSO
Protected Option, Attrs Option, File Scan Operations
Page 87
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.55. NOSHOWDIR OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that directory entries should not be included while
processing the FILES Command. Normally directory entries are displayed
with their name followed by the <DIR> indicator. This option inhibits
this display.
NOTE: This option does not prevent subdirectories from being proc-
essed. See the /Descend and /Nodescend options for related informa-
tion.
SEE ALSO
Files Command, Showdir Option, Descend Option, Nodescend Option
4.56. NOSTATUS OPTION
SYNTAX
/Nostatus=<status code list>
VALID FOR
STATUS command, AUTO command
DESCRIPTION
This option lists groups of status information that should not be re-
ported when the STATUS command is run. Each item reported by the STATUS
command is in a particular "group". These groups are shown below:
Page 88
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
CODE DESCRIPTION
MCA Microchannel
MEM Memory
MOU Mouse
VIO Video
MAI Main information
PRO Program (software) information
LAN LAN Information
ENV Environment variables
IDI Id information
DSK Disk information
TXT Text files (i.e. CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT)
CMO Cmos information
SUB DOS TSR and Subsystem information
Table 27 - Status command groups
By default when the STATUS command is performed ICF collects configura-
tion and status information on all groups.
EXAMPLES
ICF STATUS /NOSTATUS:PRO
When the STATUS command is performed the program scan is skipped.
This option is valuable when you don't have a lot of time and
therefore want to skip scanning drives for software.
ICF STATUS /NOSTATUS:TXT
Any system files are not captured when the STATUS command is per-
formed
SEE ALSO
STATUS command
Page 89
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.57. OUTDIR OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the directory used to store output files from ICF.
ICF will normally use the current default directory to place any output
files unless one of the following conditions occurs:
The /Outdir option is used
A path specification is included on the /Filename option.
SEE ALSO
Indir Option, Filename Option, Outdirnov Option, Needspace Option, Output
File Naming
4.58. OUTDIRNOV OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to ignore any path specifications included on
the /Filename option and always use the directory specified on the
/Outdir option.
Normally if both the /Outdir option is specified, and the /Filename op-
tion is used and includes a path specification, the /Filename path will
override the /Outdir path. The /Outdirnov option reverses this behavior.
SEE ALSO
Outdir Option, Filename Option
4.59. OVERWRITE OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that if an output file already exists with the same
name as the one being created, the old file is overwritten. By default
ICF will not overwrite files and will abort if such an attempt is made.
Page 90
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Append Option, Batch Option
4.60. PAUSE OPTION
VALID FOR
Any command where output is sent to the screen.
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to pause the display every time the screen
fills with information. When the screen fills, the message "--MORE--" is
displayed, and ICF waits until any key is pressed to continue.
SEE ALSO
Cls Option
4.61. PRINTERID OPTION
SYNTAX
/Printerid=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a "tag" or ID to identify a printer attached to the
computer. The value entered for this option will be saved in a special
"ID" field just like any other item of information captured from the com-
puter ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page 17 for more informa-
tion.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid
Option, Monitorid Option, Userid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
4.62. PROGINFO OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to provide additional information, including
the file date, time, and size, for each program found during processing
of a STATUS, AUTO or PROGRAMS command.
Page 91
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
STATUS command
4.63. PROGSLIMIT OPTION
SYNTAX
/Progslimit=<n>
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to only process the first <n> programs found
during a program scan (when ICF scans drives searching for recognizable
software). It is intended for testing purposes and is useful when trying
out different ICF commands and options.
SEE ALSO
Recslimit option, Options for testing, Recsnotify option
4.64. PROTECTED OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that only "protected" files should be included in
file scan operations. Protected files must have at least one of the
Hidden, System, and Readonly attributes set.
SEE ALSO
Attrs Option, File Scan Operations, Normal Option
4.65. QUIET OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to suppress the display of all status messages
while running. It can be used to remove clutter from the screen as a re-
sult of status messages being displayed.
SEE ALSO
Noreadmsg Option, Nomsg Option
Page 92
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.66. RECSLIMIT OPTION
SYNTAX
/Recslimit=<n>
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to abort processing after <n> records have been
processed. It is useful for testing ICF runs.
SEE ALSO
Recsnotify Option, Options for testing
4.67. RECSNOTIFY OPTION
SYNTAX
/Recsnotify=<n>
This option instructs ICF to display a progress message after every <n>
records processed. It is for testing and convenience so you know work is
actually being done (useful for commands or options that may take a long
time to perform).
SEE ALSO
Recslimit Option, Options for testing, Progslimit option
4.68. RINGBELL OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option instructs ICF to ring the bell when the current command is
complete. It is useful when running long commands or batch files and you
want to know when it has finished.
SEE ALSO
Overview
Page 93
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.69. SAVEIDS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that any user-defined information for physical or
standalone equipment entered with the /Ask option should be saved in a
file on the local computer. The next time the STATUS or AUTO command is
performed this information is automatically available to ICF. The file
this information is saved to is C:\AUTORUN.DAT.
SEE ALSO
ASK command
4.70. SERVERS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option is reserved for LAN specific versions of ICF.
SEE ALSO
Options Summary
4.71. SERVERTYPES OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option is reserved for LAN specific versions of ICF.
SEE ALSO
Options Summary
4.72. SHOWDIR OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that directory entries should be listed during
processing of the ICF FILES command. Normally directory entries are
Page 94
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
listed by name with the <DIR> indicator next to them. Since this is the
default behavior, /Showdir is only necessary to override a previously is-
sued /Noshowdir option.
SEE ALSO
Files Command, Noshowdir Option
4.73. SIZE OPTION
SYNTAX
/Size= L<n> | E<n> | G<n>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies what size, in bytes, to use in comparing file sizes
during a file scan operation, and what type of comparison is made. Either
the L (less than), E (equal), or G (greater than) letter is used followed
immediately with a number.
EXAMPLES
/SIZE=L1000
Include all files whose file size is less (L) than 1,000 bytes
/SIZE=E140000
Include files whose size is equal to 140,000 bytes
/SIZE=G5000000
Include files whose size is greater than 5,000,000 bytes
SEE ALSO
File Scan Operations, Smallfilesize Option, Bigfiles Option, Bigfilesize
Option
4.74. SIZEK OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that all file sizes should be displayed in Kilobyte
units. A 'K' will follow each file size to indicate this option is set.
By default ICF will display file sizes as exact numbers, unless doing so
would overflow the space available for display. In such cases ICF will
automatically convert the number to Kilobyte or Megabyte units and append
a 'K' or 'M' suffix as appropriate.
Page 95
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
This option only affects the FILES Command, and only if output is sent to
the screen or printer (i.e. output is not going to a file).
For example, when the /Sizek option is not specified as in the following:
TEST1 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16 TEST2 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16
APPEND.EXE 10774 04-09-91 05:00 A ATTRIB.EXE 15796 04-09-91 05:00 A
CHKDSK.EXE 16200 04-09-91 05:00 A COMP.EXE 14282 04-09-91 05:00 A
CONFIG.SYS 106 04-22-91 05:56 A EDIT.COM 413 04-09-91 05:00 A
EDIT.HLP 17898 04-09-91 05:00 A GORILLA.BAS 29434 04-09-91 05:00 A
MORTGAGE.BAS 6207 06-17-88 12:00 A QBASIC.EXE 254799 04-09-91 05:00 A
QBASIC.HLP 130810 04-09-91 05:00 A SHELL.CLR 4438 06-17-88 12:00 A
SHELL.HLP 65667 08-03-88 12:00 A SHELL.MEU 4588 08-03-88 12:00 A
SORT.EXE 6938 04-09-91 05:00 A SUBST.EXE 18478 04-09-91 05:00 A
and when it is specified:
[ E:\SAMPLE\ ]
TEST1 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16 TEST2 <DIR> 02-26-92 21:16
APPEND EXE 10K 04-09-91 05:00 A ATTRIB EXE 15K 04-09-91 05:00 A
CHKDSK EXE 16K 04-09-91 05:00 A COMP EXE 14K 04-09-91 05:00 A
CONFIG SYS 106 04-22-91 05:56 A EDIT COM 413 04-09-91 05:00 A
EDIT HLP 17K 04-09-91 05:00 A GORILLA BAS 29K 04-09-91 05:00 A
MORTGAGE BAS 6K 06-17-88 12:00 A QBASIC EXE 254K 04-09-91 05:00 A
QBASIC HLP 130K 04-09-91 05:00 A SHELL CLR 4K 06-17-88 12:00 A
SHELL HLP 65K 08-03-88 12:00 A SHELL MEU 4K 08-03-88 12:00 A
SORT EXE 6K 04-09-91 05:00 A SUBST EXE 18K 04-09-91 05:00 A
SEE ALSO
Files Command
4.75. SKIPDRIVES OPTION
SYNTAX
SKIPDRIVES=<drive list>
where <drive list> is a string of letters, each representing a valid disk
drive. Colons and commas should not be included in the string
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies drives that should be skipped during file scan op-
erations. This option may conflict with related options.
Page 96
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
Drive Options Summary, File Scan Operations, Drives Option, Landrives
Option, Landriveso Option, Alldisks Option
4.76. SMALLFILES OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that only "small files" are processed in a file
scan operation. A small file is defined as a file whose size is less than
that specified by the /Smallfilesize option. If the /Smallfilesize option
isn't included, the default size of 100,000 bytes is used.
SEE ALSO
File Scan Operations, Smallfilesize Option, Bigfiles Option, Bigfilesize
Option, Size Option
4.77. SMALLFILESIZE OPTION
SYNTAX
/Smallfilesize=<n>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the file size, in bytes, used for comparison when
the /Smallfiles option is included. Unless this option is used, ICF uses
a default size of 100,000 bytes.
SEE ALSO
File Scan Operations, Bigfiles Option, Bigfilesize Option, Smallfiles
Option, Size Option
4.78. SORTE OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that files should be sorted by extension first,
prior to displaying their names on the screen. It is only available for
the FILES command.
SEE ALSO
FILES Command
Page 97
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
4.79. SPACECHAR OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the special character used to substitute for
spaces. It is used in con tion with other options that may have long junc
text strings as their value. If this option isn't specified, the '_'
(underscore) character is used by default.
SEE ALSO
Banner Option
4.80. TIMESTAMP OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that output files should have additional fields
added to each record to assist in identifying the exact date and time the
record was written. The added fields are:
FIELD DATA LENGTH
NAME TYPE
Tsdate D 8
Tstime C 8
Table - 28 Timestamp option fields
SEE ALSO
Output File Structures, Id Option
4.81. TOTALS OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies that totals for each directory should be displayed.
98 Page
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
VALID FOR
The FILES command and when output is sent to the screen or printer.
SEE ALSO
Files Command
4.82. TOTEXT OPTION
DESCRIPTION
This option is used only with the FILES command, and is only valid when
output is sent to the screen. It specifies that file size and count to-
tals should be displayed by file extension. Not all extensions are dis-
played -- only "popular" ones. If all extensions should be totaled then
include the /Allext option.
NOTE: This option is experimental and may be discontinued in future
versions of ICF.
SEE ALSO
Experimental Features, Allext Option
4.83. USERID OPTION
SYNTAX
/Userid=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies a "tag" or ID to help identify the user that the
computer belongs to . The value entered for this option will be saved in
a special "ID" field just like any other item of information captured
from the computer ICF is running on. Refer to ID Fields on page 17 for
more information.
Page 99
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid
Option, Monitorid Option, Printerid Option, Username Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
4.84. USERNAME OPTION
SYNTAX
/Username=<string>
DESCRIPTION
This option specifies the name of the user that the computer belongs to.
The value entered for this option will be saved in a special "ID" field
just like any other item of information captured from the computer ICF is
running on. Refer to ID Fields on page 17 for more information.
SEE ALSO
ID Fields, Computerid Option, Miscid1 Option, Miscid2 Option, Modemid
Option, Monitorid Option, Printerid Option, Userid Option, Computername
Option, Companyname Option
Page 100
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
INDEX
.
.ASC extension, 37, 61
.DBF extension, 37
.WK1 extension, 37, 80
/
/Alldisks option, 12, 28
and /Forceglobal option, 77
/Allext option, 32, 60
/Append option
and /Lotus option, 80
/Ascii option, 36, 61
/Ask option, 14, 48, 62
/Attrs option, 62
/Autodays option, 63
/Autorun option, 64
/Autorunfile option, 15, 49, 65
/Autospace option, 66
/Banner option, 67
/Batch option, 27, 67
/Bigfiles option, 68
/Bigfilesize option, 68
/Break option, 50, 68
/Cls option, 69
/Colon Option, 20
/Colon option, 69
/Companyname option, 70
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
/Computerid option, 70
/Dbase option, 36, 71
/Desc option, 71
/Descend option, 72, 85, 88
/Domains option, 72
/Dosearch Option, 20
/Dosearch option, 72
/Drives option, 28, 73
/Entiredisk option, 12, 73
/Entiredisks option
and /Forceglobal option, 77
/Escape option, 50, 69, 74
/Filename option, 74, 90
and /Floppy option, 77
/Filetype option, 67
/Findexts, 13
/Findexts option, 76
/Findextsval, 14
/Findextsval option, 76
/Floppy option, 27, 77
/Force option, 49, 77
/Forceglobal option, 12, 27, 77
/Hide, 15
/Hide option, 49, 67, 78
/Id option, 78
/Indir option, 79
/Ismca option, 79
/Landrives, 19
/Landrives option, 28, 73, 80
/Landriveso, 19
/Landriveso option, 28, 73, 80
/Lotus option, 36, 80
and /Append, 61
/Miscid1 option, 81
/Miscid2 option, 81
/Monitorid option, 82
/Needdir option, 82
/Needfile option, 83
/Needspace option, 83
and /Floppy option, 77
/Noalignext option, 84
/Nodescend option, 19, 72, 85, 88
/Nofilesdefault option, 85
/Nomsg option, 85, 87
/Nonumber option, 86
/Noreadmsg option, 67, 87
/Normal option, 87
/Noshowdir option, 88, 95
/Nostatus option, 58, 88
/Outdir option, 90
and /Floppy option, 77
/Outdirnov option, 90
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
/Overwrite option, 67, 90
/Pause option, 91
/Printerid option, 91
/Proginfo option, 91
/Progslimit option, 30, 92
/Protected option, 92
/Quiet option, 67, 92
/Recslimit option, 30, 93
/Recsnotify option, 30, 93
/Ringbell option, 93
/Saveids option, 94
and /Ask option, 62
/Servers option, 94
/Servertypes option, 94
/Showdir option, 94
/Size option, 95
/Sizek option, 95
/Skipdrives option, 28, 96
/Smallfiles option, 97
/Smallfilesize option, 97
/Sorte option, 97
/Spacechar option, 53, 67, 98
/Timestamp option, 98
/Totals option, 98
/Totext option, 32, 60, 99
/Userid option, 99
/Username option, 100
:
: character, 26
=
= character, 26
_
_ character, 53
A
Alldisks option, 60
Append option, 61
ASK command, 14, 48
Attributes, 87, 92
AUTO command, 48
and /Ask option, 62
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
and /Autodays option, 63
and /Autorun option, 64
and /Autorunfile option, 65
and /Autospace option, 66
and /Force option, 77
and /Hide option, 78
AUTOEXEC.BAT
/Nonumber option, 86
STATUS command, 54
AUTOEXEC.BAT file
installation, 10
AUTORUN.DAT file, 49, 65
and /Hide option, 78
B
Batch file parameters, 14
C
Collecting Physical Configuration Data, 14
Comma delimited files, 61
Command line
using options on, 26
Commands Summary, 18
Companyname, 17
Compmethod field, 13
Computerid, 17
Computername, 17
CONFIG.SYS
/Nonumber option, 86
STATUS command, 54
Configuration files
/Nonumber option, 86
Ctrl-Break, 50
Ctrl-W, 16
Cumulative effects of options, 27
D
DISKSPACE Command, 51
DOS SET command, 26
Drive options summary, 28, 60
Drives
local, 80
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
E
Editing Keys, 16
Environment variables, 26, 30
ICF, 31
ICFINI, 31
Equip IDs, 15
Equipment ID's, 15
ESC, 16
Experimental features, 32, 60
Extensions
in file names, 37
F
file attributes, 15
File extensions, 37
File san operations
and /Entiredisk option, 73
File Scan Operations, 18
File scan operations
and /Nofilesdefault option, 85
File structures
of output files, 38
Files
/Hide option, 78
attribute codes, 62
attributes, 87, 92
AUTORUN.DAT, 49, 65
comma delimited, 61
Help files, 53
output file naming, 74
used for specifying options, 26
FILES command, 19, 51
/Sorte option, 97
Filtering options, 12
G
Getting started, 2
H
HELP Command, 53
Help files, 53
Hidden, System, and Readonly attributes, 49
Hints, 32
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
I
ICF environment variable, 31
ICF.INI file, 26
ICFDOS.EXE, 2
ICFFILES file name, 37
ICFHELP1.DBF file, 53
ICFHELP2.DBF file, 53
ICFINI environment variable, 27, 31
ICFINV file name, 37
ICFOS2.EXE, 2
ICFPROG file name, 37
ICFPROG1.DBF file, 53
ICFPROGn files, 33
ID Fields, 14, 17
ID fields, 70, 81, 82, 91
/Userid option, 99
/Username option, 100
Input files, 33
for microchannel board recognition, 35
for program recognition, 34
L
LAN
changing output file name, 37
Local drives, 80
Location, 15
M
Making options permanent, 6, 20
MCA, 79
Microchannel
/Ismca option, 79
input recognition file, 35
Miscid1, 17
Miscid2, 17
Modemid, 17
Modifying ICF input files, 7
Monitorid, 17
N
Naming
of output files, 36
Notes 1, 15
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
O
Options
Cumulative Process Effects, 27
drive options, 28, 60
filtering, 12
for testing, 29
shortcut options, 27
specification methods, 25
specifying values for, 26
Options Summary, 20
Organization of manual, 1
OS/2 version, 79
Output file naming, 36, 74
Output file structures, 38
ID fields, 17
Output files, 36
P
Paradox, 71
Printerid, 17
Program input files, 34
Program scan operations, 11
PROGRAMS command, 53
R
Recognizing programs, 13
Running ICF, 3
S
Saving information in a file, 5
Scanning for software programs, 11
SET command (of DOS), 30
SHIFT-TAB, 16
Shortcut options, 27
Specification methods of options, 25
Standard file extensions, 37
Starting ICF, 10
STATUS command, 54
/Ask option, 62
and /Autodays option, 63
output file structure, 40
Summary of options, 20
Syntax, 1
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
T
TAB, 16
Testing options, 29
U
Underscore character, 53
User ID, 15
User Name, 15
Userid, 17
Username, 17
Using ICF on a LAN, 6
Using ICF Options, 20
V
Valid For, 1
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL
ICF REFERENCE MANUAL 4.84. USERNAME OPTION