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1989-06-29
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Sydex
Con>Format
A Concurrent Diskette Formatter
Con>Format
A "POP-UP" CONCURRENT DISKETTE FORMATTER
Copyright 1988, Sydex
All Rights Reserved
Version 1.04 February, 1989
Sydex
153 North Murphy Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 739-4866
NOTICE
THIS IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE! If you paid a "public
domain" vendor for this program, you paid for the serv-
ice of copying the program, and not for the program it-
self. Rest assured that nothing ever gets to the
originators of this product from such a sale. You may
evaluate this product, but if you make use of it, you
must register your copy.
We offer several inducements to you for registering.
First of all, you receive the most up-to-date copy of
the program that we have--and we do update the product
on a regular basis. You also receive support for
Con>Format--which can be quite valuable at times. And
finally, we include a few utilities not included in the
evaluation package. Make no mistake however--we do not
"cripple" our evaluation software--our sample programs
are fully functional and complete.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
The non-commercial single-user registration fee for
Con>Format is $15.00 US. The commercial and multisystem
site fee is $50.00 for Con>Format. South American and
European customers, please add $2.50 for airmail ship-
ping. Asia, Africa and Oceania, please include $5.00
additional for shipping. U.S. Funds only, please.
Send a check or company P.O. for the appropriate amount
to:
SYDEX
153 North Murphy Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Please indicate what product you are ordering and if you
have a requirement for 3.5" media. We normally ship 5 "
360K diskettes, but we will furnish 3 " 720K media upon
request.
DISTRIBUTION NOTICE
This is "user-supported" software. You are hereby
granted a license by Sydex to distribute this evaluation
copy of Con>Format and its documentation, subject to the
following conditions:
1. Con>Format may be distributed freely without charge
in evaluation form only.
2. Con>Format may not be sold, licensed, or a fee
charged for its use. If a fee is charged in con-
nection with Con>Format, it must cover the cost of
copying or dissemination only. Such charges must
be clearly identified as such by the originating
party. Under no circumstances may the purchaser be
given the impression that he is buying Con>Format
itself.
3. Con>Format must be presented as a complete unit,
including this documentation. Con>Format's
documentation may be not amended or altered in any
way.
4. In granting you the right to distribute the evalua-
tion form of Con>Format, Sydex does not acknowledge
you as the owner of Con>Format in any form.
Any other use or distribution of Con>Format is expressly
forbidden without the written consent of SYDEX.
Con>Format, Briefly
For those who don't like going though tons of documentation to
find out what a program does, here's Con>Format in a nutshell:
* Con>Format stands for Con(current) For(matter) and offers
you the capability of formatting diskettes "in the back-
ground" while other work is being done on your computer.
* Con>Format is a "pop-up" utility. That is, it stays dor-
mant until a particular combination of keys (which you
specify yourself) is depressed. Con>Format then opens a
"window" on the display and requests which drive to format
and what kind of format to write. Once this is done, the
"window" disappears and does not reappear until formatting
is complete. In the meantime, you have full use of your
computer, excluding the diskette drives (you may use the
hard disk). Hence the term "background" formatter.
* Con>Format works with 5.25" and 3.5" diskette drive types,
and provides formatting for 180K, 360K, 720K, 1.2M and
1.44M diskettes. The format written is compatible with
DOS versions 2.0 through 4.01 (the latest as of this
writing).
* Con>Format will "hold up" a diskette access from a running
program if a diskette is in the process of being for-
matted. A window "pops up" to notify you of this occur-
rence. When formatting is complete, the diskette access
is performed and program execution continues.
So why waste your time staring at "Formatting Track 13, Side 1"
displays? Give Con>Format a try--pretty soon you'll be wondering
why you ever put up with DOS Format!
Installing Con>Format
Con>Format will not run without first being installed.
Installation is easy. You'll need a PC XT, AT or PS/2-compatible
computer. Some machines, such as the Tandy 2000 or PC jr will
not work with Con>Format, because they are relatively PC-
incompatible. Your video display may be monochrome, CGA, EGA or
VGA, and your diskette drives may be internal or external to your
computer. If you have more than one diskette adapter card,
Con>Format will access drives attached to the primary or secon-
dary adapters.
Page 1
If you're using the registered version of Con>Format, you may in-
stall directly from the distribution diskette.
Otherwise, you'll need to have the files CONFMT.COM and
INSTALL.EXE on a disk where they can be accessed by the installa-
tion program. If you obtained Con>Format in "archived" or
"squeezed" form, you'll need to run the appropriate utility to
extract both INSTALL.EXE and CONFMT.COM. At the DOS command
prompt, execute the installation program by entering
INSTALL and pressing the ENTER key.
You'll be guided through a series of displays which will install
Con>Format on the disk of your choice.
At one point in the installation program, you will be requested
to furnish a "hot key" combination -- the combination of key
depressions which will "activate" Con>Format and cause its window
to "pop up". A "hot key" combination involves depressing any (or
none) of the following keys:
Ctrl, Alt, Right Shift, Left Shift
and, while these keys are depressed, depressing any other key on
the keyboard. Note that a "hot" combination must a "shift" com-
bination and some other "non-shift" key.
For example, a good combination to use is Alt, Right Shift and
"F", as it's a rather unlikely combination and is easy to remem-
ber. Take care not to assign a "hot key" combination which is
the same as that used by another one of your programs. Should
this happen, the "hot key" combination will be intercepted by
Con>Format and be rendered inaccessible to the other program.
For instance, the "F" key could be designated as a Con>Format"hot
key" -- but you'd be left without the letter "F" in everything
else you tried to do! If you find that your "hot key" selection
was not a good one, you can run INSTALL again to re-install
Con>Format with a different "hot key" combination.
Some notes on the installation process -
* You may have INSTALL modify the file AUTOEXEC.BAT on the
target disk drive to cause Con>Format to be loaded
automatically after each system "boot". Alternatively,
you may load Con>Format with the following DOS command:
CONFMT followed by the ENTER key
Page 2
* If you have installed the registered version of Con>Format
and want to avoid the opening "banner", use the following
DOS command to load Con>Format:
CONFMT S followed by the ENTER key
* If you have an XT-compatible machine with a high-density
diskette adapter such as the Western Digital "Fox", you
may need to install your computer as an AT-compatible to
be able to use the higher capacity drives.
* Conversely, a Toshiba T3100 laptop should be installed as
an XT-compatible, rather than the default AT-compatible
selection, because of its non-standard diskette control-
ler.
* During the installation process you will have an oppor-
tunity to specify what type of diskette drives and con-
trollers your computer supports. If you have a single
diskette adapter, all drives are connected to the primary
adapter. If you have an additional adapter, such as the
SYSGEN Omni-Bridge or MicroSolutions' CompatiCard, this is
the secondary adapter. In all cases, if your computer
supports high-density diskette formats, you must specify
that it is an "AT" type of computer, regardless of its ac-
tual model type.
* As part of the installation process you may specify that
Con>Format use a different "boot" sector image. To do
this, you'll need a copy of a diskette having the boot
sector to be used by Con->Format.
Please note that the installation process customizes Con>Format
for a specific configuration of disks and display adapter.
Con>Format must be re-installed if the system configuration is
changed.
Operating Con>Format
Operation of Con>Format is straightforward. After Con>Format has
been loaded, simply depress your own "hot key" combination and a
"window" will appear, prompting for information.
After the drive containing the diskette to be formatted and the
format to be written have been selected, the "window" disappears
and the formatting process begins. While the format is being
written, you may perform other tasks on your computer, provided
that no diskette activity is involved. Should you attempt to ac-
cess a diskette drive while Con>Format is formatting, a "window"
Page 3
will appear, advising that your diskette request has been held
up, pending completion of the formatting operation. At this
point, no more work can be performed concurrently with the format
operation.
When the formatting operation is complete, Con>Format again "pops
up" a window displaying the outcome of the operation, or sounds a
tone, or both, depending on the selection made at installation.
If a tone only was selected, the results of the formatting opera-
tion will be displayed the next time the "hot key" combination is
depressed.
If any flawed areas of the diskette were discovered, the total
size of the flawed areas is displayed. In some cases it may not
be possible to format a diskette because the drive door was left
open, the diskette was write-disabled, or a flaw was detected in
a critical area of the diskette. Con>Format will diagnose each
of these conditions and display an appropriate message.
After the results of the formatting operation are shown, you'll
be asked if another diskette should be formatted. If you enter
the letter "Y", the whole process repeat, using the same drive
and choice of format used for the previous diskette. Otherwise,
the "window" will disappear and any diskette operation which was
held up by Con>Format will be performed and execution of the
program requesting it will resume.
Display Adapters and Modes and Con>Format
Con>Format will not "pop" a window up when your computer's dis-
play is in graphics mode. That is, Con>Format will work only
with text displays. If Con>Format concludes diskette formatting
and the display has been changed from text to graphics,
Con>Format will wait until the display is again text before
"popping" a window up. If the display is in graphics mode when
Con>Format is activated by the "hot key" combination, Con>Format
will ignore the "hot key" depression.
However, "Hercules" or Monochrome Graphics adapters pose some
special problems. Con>Format will not display correctly or in-
telligibly when a Hercules- or Monochrome-graphics display is in
graphics mode. If Con>Format is activated accidentally when a
monochrome-graphics display is in a graphics mode, the ESCape key
should be pressed and Con>Format will restore the display. In
addition, Con>Format is not compatible with some program which
make use of Hercules Computer Technology's "RAM-FONT" mode. The
ESCape key will restore the display in case of accidental activa-
tion of Con>Format.
Page 4
Removing Con>Format From Memory
You can remove Con>Format from your computer's memory with the
command:
CONFMT R
The only restriction is that Con>Format cannot be in the process
of formatting a diskette at the time this command is executed.
Other Things to Know...
Con>Format will work with most "serious" programs. Some games
will not operate with Con>Format, however.
Products which directly access the diskette adapter will not
operate correctly with Con>Format. These include our own
ANADISK, TELEDISK, COPYQM, FORMATQM and 22DISK. Con>Format may
be installed, but must not be activated (by depressing the "hot
key" combination) while any of these programs are executing. If
Con>Format is accidentally activated during the execution of
these programs, exit Con>Format by pressing the ESCape key.
When using other "hot key" products, such as Borland
International's SideKick, remember that the order in which "hot
keys" are recognized depends on the order in which the products
have been loaded. Load Con>Format last if possible.
The formats created by Con>Format are compatible with DOS 4.0,
and will also work with DOS 2 and DOS 3. Con>Format will not
produce 8-sector DOS 1 formats.
In Conclusion--
Thank you for giving Con>Format a try. If you have suggestions
or questions concerning its use, or any of our other products,
please write or give us a call.
Page 5
Other Sydex Products
SHAREWARE
22DISK--Transfer files, format, examine and erase files on
"foreign" CP/M diskettes on your PC. Includes tips on sup-
porting 8" and 5.25" single-density diskettes. Contains
definitions for over 200 different formats. $15.00
Shareware registration fee.
22NICE--A CP/M 2.2 emulation package. Supports the NEC
V-series chips or performs emulation by software for both
the 8080 and Z80 processors. Includes terminal emulation
and diskette handling for common CP/M systems. Includes
22DISK. $30.00 Shareware registration fee.
ANADISK--The compleat diskette utility. Nothing like it
anywhere else; scan, edit, repair and copy just about any
kind of diskette. $15.00 Shareware registration fee.
TELEDISK--Turn any diskette into a compressed data file and
vice-versa. Allows you to send and receive entire diskettes
via modem. Great for those bootable game diskettes and for
diskettes with subdirectories. Works with most "copy-
protected" diskettes. $20.00 Shareware registration fee.
COPYQM--Cheap diskette duplicator. Format, copy and verify
multiple diskettes from a single master. Implements "smart"
drive status determination, freeing the operator's hands
from keyboard interaction. Handles all standard DOS formats
including 3.5" 1.44M files. $15.00 Shareware registration
fee.
FORMATQM--Mass diskette formatter--format a box of diskettes
at a single sitting. Implements "smart" drive status deter-
mination, freeing the operator's hands from keyboard inter-
action. Format a 360K diskette in 41 seconds. Supports all
standard DOS formats. $10.00 Shareware registration fee.
RETAIL SOFTWARE
SIM-CGA 4.2--Color Graphics Adapter simulation on monochrome
(Hercules-compatible) graphics-equipped machines. Available
from better software retailers and distributed by CSS, ABCO
and American Software Distributors.
SIM-EMS--Simulate Lotus/Intel/Microsoft Expanded Memory on
PC-AT class machines. Conforms to EMS 4.0 specification.
Distributed by CSS and ABCO.
Page 6