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Text File | 1988-06-13 | 97KB | 2,312 lines

####### ## ## ####### ####### ## ## ###### ####### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##### ####### ## ## ## ##### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ####### ### ####### ## ## ### ###### ####### ### ### ######## ####### ####### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ####### ####### A Hard Disk and File Maintenance Utility Version 2.20 April 28, 1988 James Mathews Blue Sky Software P.O. Box 232 Absecon, NJ 08201 Copyright (c) 1988 Blue Sky Software. All rights reserved. OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have assisted in the development of this product, both directly and indirectly. I'd like to publicly acknowledge several of those people and thank them for their encouragement, sugges- tions, and assistance: Ward Christensen, Elmo D, Sid F, Dan G, Greg G, Charles Hart, Jeff J, Linda L, Bob M, Tony M, and Wally S. Of course, special thanks are in order for all the people who have supported the program by becoming registered users. OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 DOCUMENT CONVENTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SECTION 2: SHAREWARE CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 3 THE OVERVIEW LICENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 THE OVERVIEW WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 HOW TO REGISTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 QUANTITY DISCOUNTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SECTION 3: INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 FILE SETUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 UPGRADING FROM EARLIER RELEASES . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SECTION 4: GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 MENUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 THE HEADER AREA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 THE FILE NAME AREA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 THE STATUS LINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 SECTION 5: QUICK REFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ALT KEY USAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 CONTROL KEY USAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 CUSTOM SCREEN COLORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 THE DIR TREE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 DOS COMMAND MACROS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 EDITING RESPONSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 THE ESC KEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 EXTRA FILE INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 FILE LIMITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 FILE SELECTION ATTRIBUTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 FIND FILE NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 FUNCTION KEY USAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 INTERRUPTING TAGGED FILE OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . 24 POINT-AND-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 SHOW-ALL AND SHOW-SUB MODES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 SUBDIRECTORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 TERMINATE AND STAY RESIDENT UTILITIES AND OVERVIEW . . 27 UPDATE TARGET DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 USER DEFINED KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 USING LIM/EMS MEMORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 VIDEO SNOW CHECKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 WINDOW COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . 32 CUSTOMER SUPPORT INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 OVERVIEW REGISTRATION FORM OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION INTRODUCTION SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Thank you for your interest in OverView! OverView is a hard disk and file maintenance utility for IBM Personal Computers, Personal System/2 (tm), and other compatible computers which run the PC-DOS or MS-DOS operating system. OverView gives you simple, straightforward commands to accomplish everyday file operations such as copying, renaming, erasing, etc. OverView removes the guesswork from file maintenance tasks by displaying the files on your disk in a tabular format that is con- tinually updated in response to your changes. OverView speeds up time consuming disk clean-up and maintenance sessions because your current options are always at your fingertips. OverView is a hard disk and file maintenance utility, plain and simple. It gives you the ability to execute DOS commands, but it does not pretend to be a full featured DOS shell that simplifies (and sometimes hinders) all DOS functions. Nor is OverView a memory resident program that can be called up via "hot" keys. Both these constraints were designed into OverView to keep it as direct and unencumbered as possible. You'll find that OverView is most useful on computer systems that have a hard disk for data storage. OverView works just fine on floppy disk based systems, but the file maintenance needs of floppy only systems are just not as great as hard disk systems. Few people have multiple directories and hundreds or thousands of files on floppy disk systems. This document describes the installation and usage of OverView version 2.20. The document describes many features and functions of the program, but there is no better way to learn the program than by using it. Once you begin using OverView, you'll discover more about how it works from the on-line help facility and by experimenting with the various commands. In addition to the standard file and disk maintenance functions (copy, rename, erase, etc.), OverView has many other useful features including: * Supports from 1 to 6 windows allowing as many as 6 directories (or disks) to be displayed at the same time. * A directory tree display that shows your disk's directory structure in an easy-to-understand graphical layout. * Show-all and show-sub display functions that allow all files on the current disk or under the current directory to be accessed as if they were in one directory. ----------------- Personal System/2 is a trademark of IBM Corporation. 1 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION INTRODUCTION * A File view function that displays files as ascii text or in hexadecimal dump format. * A full screen interface with user selectable colors. * On-line help available whenever and wherever OverView is waiting for user input. The best way to see just what OverView can do for you is to try it. Since OverView is sold under the "try before you buy" shareware marketing concept, you can do just that, right now, and without spending any money up-front. DOCUMENT CONVENTIONS Throughout this document, references to OverView menu selections are surrounded by brackets ([ ]) and have vertical bars (|) separating entries from different menus. For example, [Other | Setup Parameters | Screen Colors] represents selecting the "Other" entry from the top level menu, the "Setup Parameters" entry from the Other submenu, and the "Screen Colors" entry from the Setup Parameters submenu. Repetitive references to the same menu selections are sometimes abbreviated by using "..." to represent the initial menu entries. For example, the above menu selection could be shown as [... | Screen Colors] 2 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION SHAREWARE CONSIDERATIONS SECTION 2: SHAREWARE CONSIDERATIONS This section follows the introduction because it's very important to the continuing evolution and support of OverView. This section doesn't tell you how to use the program, or even how to install it. What it does tell you is how to become a registered user once you decide that you like the program and want to use it on a regular basis. OverView is distributed under the shareware marketing concept, it is not free software and it has not been released to the public domain. The documentation, executable images, and all other files distributed with OverView are copyrighted. Shareware is a way of distributing computer software that allows you to try out a program before you purchase it. Programs dis- tributed as shareware typically give you some period of time to use the program and evaluate its usefulness to you. If the program doesn't meet your needs, you're under no obligation to pay for it. If you do find the program useful and wish to continue using it on a regular basis, the shareware program's author usually requests that you pay for the program by sending him or her a completed registration form and payment. This is the approach Blue Sky Software has taken in marketing OverView. If you find OverView to be a useful addition to your software library, please become a registered user by completing the enclosed registration form and returning it along with the indicated license/registration fee. I hope that you will agree that the $ 15 license fee is a small price to pay for the continued use of the program. It requires a large investment to develop, market, and support a product of this complexity. Your support in the form of a license/registration fee will continue to make good software available at low prices. Quantity discounts are available to business, government, and other organizations that wish to use OverView on multiple computer systems. The topic QUANTITY DISCOUNTS, lists the quantity discount rate structure. OverView is also available at very special rates to organizations who wish to use it in promotional campaigns. Write to Blue Sky Software for information on using the program this way. THE OVERVIEW LICENSE You are granted a limited license to use and examine OverView on a 15 day trial basis to determine if OverView is suitable for your needs. If you find OverView useful and continue to use it on a regular basis, you should complete and return the registration form along with the indicated license/registration fee. 3 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION SHAREWARE CONSIDERATIONS You are encouraged to make copies of OverView for the trial use of other individuals and organizations, subject to the following restrictions: All OverView distribution files must be copied in unmodified form, including the documentation, help, and executable image files. You may not include any other files with the distributed copy. You may not request compensation of any sort for providing the copy. This restriction does not apply to computer clubs and user groups who distribute software to their members for a nominal fee. You may not distribute OverView with any other product or service without written permission of the copyright holder. OverView may be included on electronic bulletin board systems for downloading by users of the bulletin board provided the above restrictions are met. THE OVERVIEW WARRANTY OVERVIEW AND ALL ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING OVERVIEW IS ASSUMED BY YOU. Blue Sky Software and James Mathews make no warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to any warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. IN NO EVENT WILL BLUE SKY SOFTWARE OR JAMES MATHEWS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, LOSS OF SAVINGS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM. BY USING OVERVIEW, YOU AGREE TO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS. HOW TO REGISTER If you use OverView on a regular basis, you should complete the registration form at the end of this document and return it along with the indicated license/registration fee. Registration gives you the right to use the software as documented in the license. There are three types of registrations available: 1) "registration only", 2) "registration with disk", and 3) quantity. Registration is required if OverView is used in a business, government, or other organizational environment. 4 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION SHAREWARE CONSIDERATIONS The "registration only" fee of $ 15.00 establishes you as a registered user of OverView. You will not receive any software directly from Blue Sky Software, but you may from time to time, receive notification when updated versions of OverView are released. The "registration with disk" fee of $ 20.00 establishes you as a registered user of OverView and upon receipt of your registration/ license fee, you will be mailed a diskette containing the most recent OverView version. Note that the version mailed to you may be the same version you already have--although updated versions will be released from time to time. "Registration with disk" users also receive the current release of OV286, a version of OverView specifically made for computers with the Intel 80286 and 80386 microprocessors. If you register once for any OverView version, you do not need to register again for any subsequent release--a single registration entitles you to use any new OverView releases without additional license/registration fees. The OverView registration form appears at the back of this document. For your convenience, the same form is also contained in the file REGISTER.FRM, which can easily be printed. QUANTITY DISCOUNTS Business, government, and other organizations that wish to use OverView on multiple computer systems are eligible for a quantity discount on the license/registration fee. The discount rate structure is as follows: QUANTITY FEE PER COPY DISCOUNT 1 - 5 $ 15.00 none. 6 - 10 $ 12.75 15 % 11 - 20 $ 11.25 25 % 21 - 50 $ 9.75 35 % 51 or more $ 7.50 50 % In addition to quantity discounts, a site-license program is also available. Write to Blue Sky Software if you are interested in site-license information. 5 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION SECTION 3: INSTALLATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS OverView requires an IBM Personal Computer, Personal System/2, or compatible computer to work properly. In addition, version 2.0 or greater of PC-DOS or MS-DOS is required. OverView version 2.20 is "DESQview aware," meaning it can run in a small window under Quarterdeck Office Systems' DESQview (tm) multi- tasking program. To improve display speed, OverView normally writes directly to the video screen memory of your computer. OverView works well with the IBM Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA), Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA), Video Graphics Array (VGA), and compatibles. Other video adapters that can emulate either the MDA or CGA should work properly. This version of OverView requires approximately 95K of computer memory to contain the program's executable code and common data. Additional memory is allocated as required to contain the file information for each open directory window and a copy buffer when copying files. The file information memory can either be allocated in conventional RAM or in LIM/EMS RAM if available on your system. You can change OverView's total memory requirements by changing the number of files allowed per directory window. The largest setting, 2515 files per window, requires 64K of additional memory (conven- tional or EMS) per window. The default value of 1000 files per window requires approximately 26K (32K if EMS) per window. Since OverView is not a memory resident Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program, the memory it uses is only required when you are actually running the program. The advantage to using as little conventional memory as possible is to allow any programs executed from OverView as much memory as possible for their own purposes. FILE SETUP Installing OverView is a very simple process--there are only three files required to run the program. They are OV.EXE (the program itself), OV.HLP (the help file), and OV.CFG (the configuration file). The OV.CFG file is optional in that OverView will create a new OV.CFG file if it can't locate one when it starts up. If your system has a DOS PATH command setup, simply copy these three files into one of the directories identified in the PATH command. If you have a hard disk system, but you haven't set up a PATH command, you should read about it in the DOS manual or get someone knowledgeable to help you set one up. 6 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION Optionally, you can copy the OV.CFG and OV.HLP files into a separate directory, and tell OverView where they reside by setting the environment variable OVFILES to the name of the directory. This has an advantage over using a PATH directory, because only the single OVFILES directory needs to be searched when accessing the OV.CFG or OV.HLP files. The following command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file informs OverView to look for its files in the directory C:\OV: SET OVFILES=C:\OV When OverView is started, it tries to read the OV.CFG configuration file. This file contains the configuration options that you've defined (for example, the display colors, the User Defined Key values, and the Point-and-Go values). If the OVFILES environment variable is defined, OverView expects to find the OV.CFG file there. If OVFILES isn't defined, OverView looks in the current directory; if OV.CFG isn't found there, the directories specified by the PATH command are searched. If the file still can't be located, a set of default parameters is used. OverView must be able to locate the OV.HLP file when you ask for on-line help. If OVFILES is defined, OverView looks for the OV.HLP file in that directory. If OVFILES isn't defined, OverView looks in the current directory and then the directories specified by the PATH command. If the help file still can't be located, you'll be asked to supply the location of OV.HLP. If you are running a system with only floppy disks, it's recom- mended that you copy OV.EXE, OV.CFG and OV.HLP to your system disk (or disks if you have more than one system disk). The OV.HLP file is not accessed unless you actually request help, so it could be left off if you are short on disk space. UPGRADING FROM EARLIER RELEASES If you are upgrading to OverView version 2.20 from an earlier release, you must replace all copies of the OV.EXE and OV.HLP files with the 2.20 versions. If you're a new OverView user, you don't need to replace any existing copies, and you can ignore the remainder of this section. OverView versions 2.10 and later use a different OV.CFG file format than prior releases. If you don't want to keep any of your current configuration settings (color selections, User Defined Keys, etc.), you can replace all copies of OV.CFG with the distributed 2.20 version. In order to use pre 2.10 configuration settings with version 2.20, you must run the included CVTCFG program to convert older format OV.CFG files to the new format used by versions 2.10 and later. OverView version 2.20 can use version 2.10 and later OV.CFG files without the need for conversion. 7 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION To convert your existing (pre 2.10) OV.CFG file, use the command CVTCFG filename where "filename" identifies the location of your OV.CFG file. For example, the command CVTCFG C:\BIN\OV.CFG converts the OV.CFG file in the directory \BIN on drive C. If you have more than one OV.CFG file (on different diskettes for example), make sure you convert all of them. OverView operates correctly even if the old OV.CFG file isn't converted, but it will inform you that the configuration file is obsolete and proceed to use a set of default values. Starting with version 2.20, OverView displays directory tree names in sorted order. If you've saved the directory tree structure in the OV.DIR file, you'll need to do [Dir | Show Dir Tree | New] and [... | Write] commands before your dir tree will be sorted. For more information on the changes in version 2.20, refer to APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES. 8 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION GETTING STARTED SECTION 4: GETTING STARTED OverView works in what we hope is an obvious and intuitive manner. The best way to learn it is to use it. You can access OverView's on-line help any time it is waiting for input by pressing the F1 function key. You start OverView by typing OV and pressing Enter at a DOS command prompt. OverView will display an initial start up screen while reading the directory information of the files in the current drive and directory. Press any key and OverView will show the main file display. There are four areas on the main file display; the menu bar, the header area, the file name area, and the status line. The contents and usage of the different screen areas are described below. MENUS The menu bar across the top line of the screen shows the top level functions which OverView can perform. You select a function from the menu bar by pressing the key that is the first letter of the desired function. Depending on your computer's video equipment and your video attribute/color setup, the first letter of the menu bar choices may be displayed in a different color or otherwise high- lighted to make them stand out visually. In most cases, selecting a function from the menu bar results in a "pull-down" submenu being opened. Submenus are a set of choices that appear in a box under the corresponding top level option. You select a submenu entry by either pressing the key that is high- lighted in the submenu entry (not always the first letter), or by using the up and down arrow keys to highlight the desired entry and then pressing Enter. The Esc key can be used to exit a submenu without selecting any of the choices. In addition to the menus, many of OverView's most common functions can be performed by the function keys and Alt key combinations. Function and Alt key usage is described in the QUICK REFERENCE section and in OverView's on-line help. The menu and submenus are more difficult to describe than they are to use. Simple experimentation quickly makes their usage obvious. Following is an example showing the menu bar and an open submenu (in this case, the Files submenu). Note, examples like the following use the characters +, |, and - to show graphics because some printers do not support the IBM PC graphics characters. When displayed on your computer's screen, actual graphics characters are used, making a much nicer display. 9 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION GETTING STARTED Dir Files Help Other Sort Tag/Untag Windows Xecute Quit ----+-----------------------------+----------------------------- | Set File Attributes | | Copy File(s) | | Set File Date/Time | | Erase File(s) | | Extra File Info Alt-I | | Rename/Move File(s) | | View File Alt-V | | Xecute File Alt-X | +-----------------------------+ THE HEADER AREA The header area at the top of the screen contains information about the current disk drive, the current directory, and OverView options. The header section entitled "Volume" displays the volume label of the current disk, the total storage capacity of the disk in bytes, and the size of the remaining free space on the disk, also in bytes. If the current disk does not have a volume label, the label area is blank. The header section entitled "Path" normally displays the complete pathname of the current disk drive and directory. In either the show-all or show-sub modes, the Path area displays the pathname of the current file. The header section labeled "Files" displays the number of files listed in the file name area, the total size of those files in bytes, the number of files tagged for group operations, and the size of tagged files in bytes. The final header section, "Selection", displays the selection criteria used to pick which files are displayed in the file name area. More information on the Selection area is provided in the QUICK REFERENCE section. Following is an example of the header area, edited to fit on this page. + Volume -+- Path -----------------------------------------------+ |BLUE_SKY | C:\COMM | | +------+- Files ----------------------+- Selection ----+ | 21309440 TOTAL | SELECTED: 7 FILES 768 BYTES | MSK: | | 11669504 FREE | TAGGED: 0 FILES 0 BYTES | ATR: N . . . A | +----------------+------------------------------+----------------+ 10 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION GETTING STARTED THE FILE NAME AREA The file name area usually displays a sorted list of the file names in the current directory. If there are more file names to be shown than will fit on the screen at one time, you can use the arrow keys or the PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys to display the other file names. Many of the OverView commands operate on the current file. The current file is identified by being the only highlighted name in the file name area. The four arrow keys and the PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys can be used to select a different current file. The highlighted bar over the file name is sometimes called the current file pointer or just the file pointer. The file name area can be split into multiple windows to display different disk drives and/or directories on the screen at the same time. Only one window is current at a time (sometimes called the current window). Refer to the description of the Window commands in the QUICK REFERENCE section for more infor- mation on windows. THE STATUS LINE The status line appears along the bottom line of your computer's screen. The status line is divided into 3 segments. The first segment tells you what OverView is doing and when it is ready for your input. The second segment simply reminds you that you can press the F1 function key for on-line help. The third segment shows whether or not the DOS verify mode is set on or off (refer to your DOS documentation for a description of verify flag). Following is an edited example of the file name area (with two windows displayed) and the status line. +| C:\ |--------------------------------------------------------+ | ASM\ BRATEMM.SYS JDISK.SYS QEXT.SYS | | AUTOEXEC.BAT DV\ LIB\ SRC\ | | BATCH\ DV.BAT MOUSE.SYS WRITE\ | | BIN\ COMM\ FC\ | | BRATDISK.COM COMMAND.COM GRAPHIC\ OV145\ | +| C:\SRC\OV |--------------------------------------------------+ | CVTHLP.C GRAPHIC.H OVFMOVE.C OVVBUF.C | | CVTHLP.EXE KEYS.H OVFMOVE.FUN OVVIEW.BAK | | DATE.ASM LOGO.ASM OVFUN.BAK OVVIEW.C | | DIALOG.C LOGO.BAK OVFUN.H OVWIN.C | | DIALOG.H MENU.C OVHELP.BAK PATHNAME.C | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ +| Ready! | Press F1 for Help | Verify: OFF |+ 11 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE SECTION 5: QUICK REFERENCE This section is not a complete description of all OverView features and functions. Instead this section focuses on the more advanced features of the program and some topics that can help you get the most from it. Until you become familiar with OverView, you should look over this section from time to time for ideas on other ways to use its features. The on-line help facility should be used to supplement the infor- mation presented in this section. You can get help any time the program is waiting for input by hitting the F1 key. ALT KEY USAGE OverView has a number of Alt-key combinations that are short-cuts to many of the most common functions. Entering one of the following Alt-key combinations executes the corresponding menu entry, without traveling through the menus. Menu entries that have Alt-key short-cuts display the short-cut at the right edge of the menu line. Alt-A Files | Set File Attributes | Current File Alt-B Files | Set File Attributes | Tagged Files Alt-C Files | Copy file(s) | Current File Alt-K Files | Copy file(s) | Tagged Files Alt-E Files | Erase file(s) | Current File Alt-Y Files | Erase file(s) | Tagged Files Alt-R Files | Rename/Move File(s) | Current File Alt-M Files | Rename/Move File(s) | Tagged Files Alt-I Files | Extra File Information Alt-V Files | View File Alt-G Dir | Login New Drive Alt-L Dir | Login New Directory Alt-N Dir | Reread Current Directory Alt-T Dir | Show Dir Tree Alt-S Other | Setup Parameters Alt-P Other | Setup Parameters | Point and Go Setup Alt-U Other | Setup Parameters | User Defined Keys Alt-D Xecute | Current File Alt-X Xecute | DOS Command Alt-Q Quit The Alt-Fn (function key) combinations are called User Defined Keys and are described in the topic of the same name. 12 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS The usual way to start up OverView is to simply type OV and press Enter at a DOS command prompt. However, the following optional parameters can be specified on the command line to modify OverView's behavior during a given run: /C or -C Instructs OverView to only use conventional memory, even if LIM/EMS memory is available and the [Use EMS (if available)] option is enabled. /E or -E Allows use of LIM/EMS memory even if [Use EMS (if available)] option is disabled. /F or -F Do not perform video "snow" checking even if the [Video Snow Checking] option is set. /S or -S Perform video snow checking even if the [Video Snow Checking] option is disabled. /M or -M Indicates that the following parameter is a file name mask. See below for an example of a file name mask. The OverView command line can contain the name of the initial directory to display when OverView is started. The following command: OV C:\LETTERS starts OverView with the directory C:\LETTERS displayed, regard- less of what the current directory was when the command was entered. Specifying a directory name on the command line is equivalent to starting OverView without a directory name, and then using the Alt-L or [Dir | Login New Directory] command to switch to the desired directory. A file name mask to display specific file names can also be entered on the command line, but only immediately after a /M parameter. Supplying a file name mask on the command line works just as if the mask was specified with the [Other | Selection Criteria | File Name Mask] command. For example, the command line: OV /M *.DBF invokes OverView and tells it to only display files that have an extension of .DBF The file name mask must follow the /M parameter on the command line. Several parameters can be entered on the same command line. For example: OV/S/C/M *.COM D:\BIN 13 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE starts OverView with video snow checking enabled (/S), EMS usage disabled (/C), and only files with the extension .COM in the directory D:\BIN displayed. Refer to the topics USING LIM/EMS MEMORY and VIDEO SNOW CHECKING for more information on EMS memory and video snow checking. CONTROL KEY USAGE OverView allows several Control-key combinations to be used in addition to the arrow and keypad keys. The Control-keys add a WordStar (tm) like interface to OverView. The sequence ^R means to hold down the Ctrl key and simultaneously press the 'R' key. ^R - Same as PgUp ^G - Same as Del ^C - Same as PgDn ^V - Same as Ins ^H - Same as backspace ^W, ^E - Same as up arrow ^M - Same as Enter ^Z, ^X - Same as down arrow ^T - Tag/untag current ^A, ^S - Same as left arrow file ^D, ^F - Same as right arrow CUSTOM SCREEN COLORS The [Other | Setup Parameters | Screen Colors] command allows you to customize the video attributes OverView uses to display var- ious types of information. On a color display monitor, the video attributes determine which colors are displayed. On a monochrome monitor, the attributes select display options such as under- lined, inverse video, and intensity. You can specify video attributes for ten different types of displayed text. They are: Normal text, Highlighted text, Window text, Highlighted window text, Heading text, Background text, Tagged file name text, Menu text, Highlighted menu text, and Selected menu text. The easiest way to determine what the different types of text are is by try changing the colors and observing the results. When you select the [... | Screen Colors] command, the display shows the types of text that can be selected, the attribute combinations allowed, and short directions. The PgUp and PgDn keys on the numeric keypad select the type of text to define, while the arrow keys select the particular display attribute for that type of text. The current type of text and the current attribute are always indicated by > TEXT < characters. --------------- WordStar is a trademark of MicoPro International Corporation. 14 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE When changing video attributes, three choices are available from the menu bar; Accept, Reset, and Quit. Use the [Accept] option to begin using the color combination you've selected. If you've selected a set of attributes you don't like, you can use the [Quit] command to return to the previous attribute settings. With the [Reset] command, you can restore the default (permanent) settings even if you've accepted other attributes. [Reset] restores the last settings that were written to the OV.CFG file. THE DIR TREE When the directory tree is displayed by Alt-T or the [Dir | Show Dir Tree] command, a graphic tree somewhat like the following is shown: C:\ ---------+ BIN + CATDISK + COMM --------+ PCP | + PROCOMM + GRAPHIC -----+ MAC | + PAINT + INCLUDE ------ SYS + LIB + SRC ---------- OV + WRITE -------+ ARTICLES + WS The tree represents the structure of the directories on the current disk drive. Each column to the right indicates another subdirectory. The directories described by the tree above are: C:\ C:\BIN C:\CATDISK C:\COMM C:\COMM\PCP C:\COMM\PROCOMM C:\GRAPHIC C:\GRAPHIC\MAC C:\GRAPHIC\PAINT ... and so on. The current directory is shown under a highlighted bar (called the dir pointer). You can switch to another directory by using the up, down, right, left arrow keys to highlight the new directory. In addition, the Home key moves to the top level or "root" directory and the End key moves to the lowest rightmost directory. OverView does not actually switch (or "login") to the new directory until you press the Enter key or select the [Login] option from the directory tree menu bar. 15 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE As you move the dir pointer around the tree, the currently logged in directory remains displayed in a different color/video attribute. This is the directory to which OverView returns if you press the Esc key or select the [Quit] option from the directory tree menu bar, regardless of the dir pointer location. With the directory tree [Write] command, you can save the direc- tory tree information in a single disk file (named OV.DIR in the top level directory of the current disk). When you bring up the directory tree display, OverView checks for this disk file--if it exists, the directory tree information is read from the file instead of searching the disk for directories. This results in a much faster tree display. If you change you disk's directory structure outside of OverView, you can force a rescan the entire disk for directories (instead of just reading the OV.DIR file) by using the directory tree [New] command. This informs OverView of the changes you've made to directories since the last time the disk was scanned. The directory tree [Mkdir] command (similar to the DOS command of the same name) "makes" a new subdirectory "under" the dir pointer. For example, if you select the [Mkdir] command while the dir pointer is on the directory C:\123\SALES, and you enter "JOURNAL" as the new subdirectory name, OverView creates the directory C:\123\SALES\JOURNAL. New directories created by [Mkdir] immediately appear in the graphic tree display. The directory tree [Rmdir] command (also similar to the DOS command of the same name) deletes or "removes" the subdirectory under the dir pointer. Selecting [Rmdir] when the dir pointer was on the directory D:\FORMS\LETTERS\SUPPORT will delete the SUPPORT directory, provided the following conditions are meet: - You can't delete the directory you're currently logged in to (the current directory). - You can't delete the top level (root) directory of a disk. - You can't delete a directory that contains any files and/or other directories. If you want to delete a directory that contains files, delete the files first using the [Files | Erase File(s)] command. There are two directory tree options that are useful in conjunc- tion with the [Write] command. Both options are related to writing the directory tree file to disk whenever changes are made in the disk's directory structure. Keeping the file synchronized with the actual directory structure is important since OverView does not scan the disk for directories if the OV.DIR file exits (unless you use the [New] command as noted above). 16 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE The first option, [Other | Setup Parameters | Directory Tree Options | Select Drives to Always Write] allows you to specify a set of disk drives which are to automatically have the OV.DIR file rewritten whenever you exit the directory tree and there were directories created or deleted. A useful application of this option is to specify all your computer's hard disks. The drives should be specified as single letters, with or without colons (:) and spaces. The second option, [... | Prompt to Write when changes] causes OverView to ask you if the OV.DIR file should be written when changes have been made in the directory structure. This option is useful when you may or may not want to write to the disk. If neither option is specified, OverView does not write the directory tree file to disk unless you explicitly use the [Write] command to do so. DOS COMMAND MACROS A set of command line "macros" are available for use wherever OverView accepts input of a DOS command ([Xecute | Current File], [Xecute | DOS Command], User Defined Keys, and Point-and-Go com- mands). Before executing the DOS command, OverView replaces the macro with its value. The supported macros are: $C - The current file name, with extension. $D - The current drive letter, without a trailing colon (:). $F - The full pathname of the current file, including drive, directory, and file name (with extension). $P - The directory pathname for the current or tagged file, without a trailing backslash (unless the current directory is the root and a \ does not follow the $P macro). $T - The first or next tagged file name, with extension. When $T appears in a command line, OverView executes the command once for each tagged file. $XC - The current file name, without its extension or trailing period. $XT - The first or next tagged file name, without its extension or trailing period. Like $T, $XT causes the command to be run once for each tagged file name. Macro examples: PRINT $C Runs the DOS PRINT command on the current file. If the file pointer was on the file OV.DOC, the command is executed as: PRINT OV.DOC 17 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE ARC A OV210 $T Runs the ARC program once for each tagged file. If the files OV.CFG, OV.DOC, OV.EXE, and OV.HLP were tagged, the following commands are executed: ARC A OV210 OV.CFG ARC A OV210 OV.DOC ARC A OV210 OV.EXE ARC A OV210 OV.HLP When executing a DOS command in the Show-all or Show-sub modes (multiple directories displayed in a single file name window), use the $F or $P macros to ensure the command looks for the file in the proper directory. Without the $F or $P, the command will most likely assume the file is in the current directory, while it may in fact be in a different directory. The command FIND "silver" $T tries to find the string "silver" in all tagged files, but will not be able to search those files that are not in the current directory. The command FIND "silver" $P\$T searches all tagged files using the file's complete pathname (including files not in the current directory). To pass a macro name to DOS without being expanded, use two $'s. The command FLARP *.C $$P /DI is executed as: FLARP *.C $P /DI The macro names can be entered in upper or lower case, thus $C is the same as $c. Entering a $T or $XT macro on a command line causes OverView to execute the command once for each tagged file in the current window. If you have a ram disk on your computer system, you can speed up such operations by putting a copy of the DOS COMMAND.COM file on the ram disk and pointing the COMSPEC environment vari- able to it. For example, if your system has a ram disk as drive D: the following commands in the AUTOEXEC.BAT would copy the COMMAND.COM file and setup the COMSPEC environment variable: COPY C:\COMMAND.COM D: SET COMSPEC=D:\COMMAND.COM 18 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE EDITING RESPONSES When you are prompted for a response in a pop-up window (for example, when logging in to a new directory or when entering a DOS command to execute), the response can be edited with the Home, End, Ins, Del, backspace, left arrow, and right arrow keys up until the time you press the Enter key to end the input. The Home and End keys move the cursor to the left and right ends of the response, respectively. The Ins key turns insert mode on and off, allowing existing data to be overtyped (when off) or new data inserted (when on). The cursor is made larger when insert mode is turned on. The Del key deletes the character at the cursor position, while the backspace key deletes the character just to the left of the cursor. The left and right arrow keys simply move the cursor in the corresponding direction. The up and down arrow keys can also be used when entering a response. OverView keeps the last 10 responses entered, and recalls the next oldest response each time the up arrow key is pressed. The recalled response can be edited or accepted (by pressing Enter) just as if it had been typed in again. If you go past the response you wanted with the up arrow key, the down arrow can be used to recall the more recent responses. Finally, the PgUp and PgDn keys also effect the entry and editing of responses. Pressing the PgUp or PgDn key when entering a response inserts the name of the directory displayed in the file name window above or below the current window, respectively. Each time the PgUp or PgDn key is pressed, the next higher or next lower window's directory name is inserted. This is useful when performing operations such as copying files or logging in to another directory. THE ESC KEY The Esc key quits or aborts whatever operation OverView is currently performing. The exact effect of pressing Esc depends on the operation being performed. At the highest level, the Esc key returns to the normal file name display from viewing a file, viewing the directory tree, setting color selections, and the on-line help facility. Many of OverView's submenus do not have a selection to quit or exit without performing a function. The Esc key does this by closing the last opened submenu. When multiple submenus are open, they can be closed in reverse order by pressing Esc once for each submenu. The Esc key also escapes from most pop-up window prompts. For example, selecting the [Dir | Login New Directory] command pops up a window asking which directory to log in. If you decide not 19 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE to switch to another directory, just press the Esc key and the window will disappear. EXTRA FILE INFORMATION OverView can display three levels of detail about files stored on disk. The lowest level of detail shows only file names, and is illustrated below: ANSI.SYS COMMAND.COM DRIVER.SYS JDISK.SYS QEMM.SYS AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.NEW DUET\ LIB\ RES86.COM BATCH\ CONFIG.OLD DV\ MOUSE.SYS SRC\ At the lowest level of detail, OverView is able to show five columns of file names per window. The second level of detail displays full information on each file. In addition to the file's name; its size, creation or modification date and time, and attributes are shown. An example of the full file information display is shown below: NAME USED ALLOCATED DATE TIME R H S A DIR ANSI.SYS 4963 6144 7/20/87 1:00:00 pm . . . . AUTOEXEC.BAT 1134 2048 11/27/87 8:01:26 pm . . . . BATCH\ <DIR> <DIR> 11/21/87 5:31:52 pm . . . . DIR BIN\ <DIR> <DIR> 11/21/87 5:16:48 pm . . . . DIR IBMBIO.COM 16557 18432 7/20/87 1:00:00 pm R H S . IBMDOS.COM 28464 28672 7/20/87 1:00:00 pm R H S . Each file (except for directories) shows two file sizes, USED and ALLOCATED. Due to the manner in which DOS stores files on disk, a file often requires more space than it actually uses. The file size reported in the USED column is the amount of useful data actually in the file. The size reported in the ALLOCATED column is the amount of space allocated or reserved for the file. The allocated (but unused) space is not available for other files to use. A file's attributes are shown as a single character if the attribute is on, or a period if the attribute is off (R - Read/Only, H - Hidden, S - System, and A - Archive). The Directory attribute is shown by the characters DIR. When full file information is being displayed, only one column of file names can be shown per window. The third level of detail displays some, but not all, of the information per file. The fields shown are: name, file size, and creation or modification date and time. The allocated size and file attributes are not shown, allowing two columns of file names to be shown per window. An example is shown below (only one file per row will fit on the printed page): 20 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE ANSI.SYS 4963 7/20/87 1:00p AUTOEXEC.BAT 1208 3/24/88 1:40p BATCH\ <DIR> 2/14/88 11:03p The level of detail displayed is changed with the Alt-I or [Files | Extra File Info] command. A default level of detail can be set with the [Other | Setup Parameters | Startup Defaults | Extra File Info (1 col)] and [ ... (2 col)] options. FILE LIMITS OverView allows you to select the maximum number of files that can be displayed in a file name window. The number of files per window directly corresponds to the amount of your computer's memory required to hold file information. The smallest number allowed is 100, while the maximum is 2515. Approximately 64K of memory is used to hold file information when the maximum value of 2515 is selected. Having four maximum sized windows open at once would require 256K of memory, just to hold file information. If you want to minimize the amount of memory that OverView itself uses, select a value for the number of files per window that is just large enough to hold all the files in one or your typical directories. Minimizing OverView's memory usage allows more memory for any programs executed from within OverView. The number of files per window is set with the [Other | Setup Parameters | # Files per Window] command. Changing this value does not effect any file name windows that are already open, only windows opened afterwards (via F7 or the [Window | Open] command), will have the new value. The number of files per window can be increased on a temporary basis by selecting the new value and then responding with an N to the "Write Changed Parameters to Disk (y/N):" prompt. OverView's conventional memory requirement can be greatly reduced if your computer has LIM/EMS memory available to hold file infor- mation. See the topic USING LIM/EMS MEMORY for more information. FILE SELECTION ATTRIBUTES File Selection Attributes allow you to work with a select group of disk files, based on the DOS file attributes that the files themselves have. The following attributes can be used for file selection: Normal - Selects files which have none of the following attributes set. This is not really a DOS file attribute, but it's useful to treat it as one. 21 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE Archive - Selects files which have the Archive attribute set. DOS sets the Archive attribute when a file is created or modified. Dir - Selects files which are subdirectories. Hidden - Selects files which have the Hidden attribute set. Read/Only - Selects files which have the Read/Only attribute set. System - Selects files which have the System attribute set. As distributed, OverView's default file selection attributes are N (Normal), R (Read/Only), A (Archive), and D (Dir). This means that only files with normal attributes (that is no attributes), the Read/Only attribute, the Archive attribute, or the Directory attribute are displayed. Selection attributes work by only displaying files that have one or more matching attributes. A file which does not have any matching attributes is not displayed. The current file selection attributes are shown in the header "Selection" area. The dis- played attributes are abbreviated to their first letter. There are two commands that set file selections attributes; [Other | Selection Criteria | by Attribute] and [Other | Setup Parameters | Startup Defaults | Selection Attribs]. The [Other | Selection Criteria | by Attribute] command sets the selection attributes for the current file name window. This command allows different windows to be given different selection attributes, thereby displaying different collections of files. When this command is used, OverView rereads the current window's directory (or directories if show-all or show-sub mode is active) and only displays those files which match the new attributes. As an example, you can display all modified files on your disk (and only the modified files) by using [Other | Selection Criteria | by Attribute] to turn off all attributes except Archive. Then use [Dir | Show All Dirs] to read all directories on the disk. Only the modified files (those with the Archive attribute set) will be displayed. The other selection attribute command, [Other | Setup Parameters | Startup Defaults | Selection Attribs] sets OverView's default selection attributes. These are the initial attributes used every time you start OverView. OverView is distributed with the Hidden and System attributes turned off since files with these attributes are not typically manipulated by users. If you always like to see every file in any given directory, change the default attributes to include Hidden and System files. 22 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE FIND FILE NAME The Find File Name command moves the file pointer to the first file name in the current window that matches the characters you specify. To search for (find) a given file name in the current window, first press the equals (=) key. Each character typed after the '=' key further defines the file name to find. For example, typing '=O' moves the file pointer to the first file in the window that starts with the letter 'O'. If you then type the letter 'V', the file pointer will move to the first file name starting with 'OV'. If you type a character for which there is no matching file name, a beep will sound and the file pointer will not move. You can change the name to search for by using the Backspace key, all the way back to the '=' key. The status line at the bottom of the screen contains the current file name search string and brief instructions after typing '='. The Find File Name command can be terminated by the Esc key and most other non alpha-numeric keys and commands. The sequence =OV Ctrl-T moves the file pointer to the first file name starting with OV and tags that file. It is not necessary to press Esc before Ctrl-T. It's important to realize that the Find File Name command does not search the disk for a given file, it only searches the list of names in the current directory window. If the file name is not in the window, Find File Name will not find it. To use this command to search for a specific file somewhere on disk, use it in conjunction with the [Dir | Show All Dirs] command to search all file names on the disk. FUNCTION KEY USAGE OverView uses the function keys on the keyboard to execute several common functions with a single key. The function key usage is: F1 - Get Help F2 - Tag/Untag the current file (toggles current tag state) F3 - Login to the parent directory F4 - Login to the subdirectory under the file pointer F5 - Goto the next tagged file (next find in VIEW) F6 - Goto the previous tagged file (prev find in VIEW) F7 - Open another file name display window F8 - Close the current file name display window 23 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE F9 - Goto the next file name display window F10 - Goto the previous file name display window The Alt-Fn (function key) combinations are called User Defined Keys and are described in the topic of the same name. INTERRUPTING TAGGED FILE OPERATIONS When performing an operation on all tagged files (copy tagged, rename tagged, erase tagged, etc.), the Esc, Ctrl-U, Ctrl-C, or Ctrl-Break keys can be used to interrupt the process. Striking one of these keys during a tagged file operation causes the message "Interrupt?" to be displayed. Respond Y to stop the operation, N to continue. Interrupting a tagged file operation doesn't restore files that have already been processed, but it can keep further files from being modified. POINT-AND-GO OverView's Point-and-Go facility provides the ability to operate on files with DOS commands or other programs simply by pointing at the file name and "executing" the file. Whenever OverView executes a file, it looks at the file's extension to determine what processing is required. If the extension is COM, EXE, or BAT, the file is treated as an executable program (COM or EXE) or as a batch file of DOS commands (BAT). If the file has an exten- sion other than COM, EXE, or BAT, OverView searches a table of file extensions and commands to determine how to process the file. Instead of executing the file itself, OverView performs one or more DOS commands defined for files with matching exten- sions. The Point-and-Go commands are most useful when combined with OverView's command line macros. These macros allow information such as the current drive, directory, and/or file name to be added to the command before it's executed. See the topic DOS COMMAND MACROS for a complete description of the available macros. As with User Defined Keys and the [Xecute] commands, you can specify multiple DOS commands to be executed in a Point-and-Go entry by separating the commands with '^' characters. The following example shows three DOS commands that could be given in a Point-and-Go entry. All three commands would be executed, in left to right order, when a file with a matching extension is "executed." del $xc.old^rename $xc.bak $xc.old^ws $c 24 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE As an example of how to setup the Point-and-Go entries, consider an entry with an extension of DOC and a command of WS $C. When- ever you enter Alt-X (short-cut for [Xecute | Current File]) with the file pointer over a DOC file, OverView executes the WS program with the current file name as a parameter. Alt-X with the file pointer on the file OV.DOC would execute the command WS OV.DOC while Alt-X on the file DC_TRIP.DOC would execute the command WS DC_TRIP.DOC The Point-and-Go table can hold up to 10 extension/command entries. You create and modify the entries with the [Other | Setup Parameters | Point and Go Setup] command. Each entry can specify from 1 to 3 different extensions. When entering multiple extensions, make sure to separate them with a single space. The following example shows how a couple of Point-and-Go entries might look: NUM EXT(s) COMMAND PROTOTYPE PAUSE READ 1 doc ws $c N N 2 c asm txt edlin $f N N 3 ltr del $xc.bak^ws $c N N 4 Entry number 1 is the WS $C example presented above. Entry number 2 shows a command for use with three different extensions (C, ASM, and TXT). Entry 3 shows two commands being executed for LTR files, while entry 4 is undefined. For each Point-and-Go entry, you can define whether or not OverView pauses and/or rereads the current directory after executing the DOS command(s). If you enter Y (for yes) in a entry's PAUSE column, OverView waits for you to press a key after running the command(s). A N (for no) in the PAUSE column causes OverView's screen to be redisplayed as soon as the command(s) finish. Entering Y for PAUSE allows you to view any output the command(s) leave on the screen before OverView redisplays its own screen. Entering Y in the READ column of an entry tells OverView to reread the current directory when the command(s) finish. A N value will not reread the directory. Y should most likely be specified if the command(s) create or delete files, or if they change the current directory. Note however that rereading the directory has the disadvantage of forgetting which files were tagged before the command(s) were executed. 25 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE SHOW-ALL AND SHOW-SUB MODES Normally OverView displays the contents of a single directory in each file name window. This mode of operation matches the way most people organize their data on disk--related files are put together in the same directory. At times however, it's more convenient to see all the files in a given set of directories, or even all the files on a disk. The [Dir | Show All Dirs] and [Dir | Show Sub Dirs] commands do just that. [Show All Dirs] displays all files on the current disk (called show-all mode) and the [Show Sub Dirs] command displays all files in the current directory and any directories under the current directory (called show-sub mode). So that you can tell in which directory a given file resides when show-all or show-sub mode is active, the Path section of the header displays the directory name of the current file. As you move the file pointer through the displayed file names, the Path changes to show the location of the current file. Normally all the file names displayed in a window would be in the same direc- tory, so the Path section wouldn't change from file to file. Selecting [Show All Dirs] or [Show Sub Dirs] a second time turns off the corresponding mode and restores the display of the files in the current directory. You can use these commands in conjunction with the selection mask and/or selection attributes to limit the files displayed. For example, a selection mask of *.EXE combined with [Show All Dirs] displays all EXE files on the current disk. Show-all and show-sub modes are one OverView's most powerful features. In these modes, you can work with all the files on the disk (or in a given directory tree) just as easily as you could with the files in a single directory. Some examples of show-all/sub uses are: 1) Erase all the .BAK files on drive C. - Select all files on drive C (Dir | Show All Dirs). - Tag all files with the extension .BAK (Tag/Untag | by Name). - Erase all tagged files (Files | Erase File(s) | Tagged Files or Alt-Y). 2) Turn off the Archive attribute of selected files so the DOS BACKUP program will not copy them to disk. - Select all files (Dir | Show All Dirs). - Tag all modified files (Tag/Untag | Modified). - Display only the tagged files (Tag/Unatg | Select Tagged). - Untag (F2 key) the files which are to be backed up - leaving only modified files not to backed up still tagged. 26 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE - Turn off the Archive attribute of the tagged files (Files | Set File Attributes | Tagged Files or Alt-B). SUBDIRECTORIES DOS allows subdirectories to be given names just like any other type of file. When looking at a list of file names, it's easy to forget which names represent files and which names are actually subdirectories. To make the distinction clear, OverView displays directory names with a backslash character (\) following the name. The following list shows several file and directory names as they would be displayed by OverView: ANSI.SYS COMMAND.COM DRIVER.SYS JDISK QEMM.SYS AUTOEXEC.BAT CONFIG.SYS DUET\ LIB\ SRC\ BATCH\ CONFIG.OLD DV\ NOTES In addition to the [Dir | Login New Drive] and [Dir | Login New Directory] commands, the F3 and F4 function keys can also be used to change directories. The F3 key will login to the parent of the current directory, up to the top level root directory on the current disk. The F4 key will login to the subdirectory under the file pointer. TERMINATE AND STAY RESIDENT UTILITIES AND OVERVIEW Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs load into memory and remain there when executed. You should be careful to avoid loading TSR routines from OverView since the TSRs would placed above OverView in memory. When you exit OverView, an unused "hole" would be left in memory where OverView used to reside. This hole in the computer's memory would generally cut down on the amount of memory available to other programs executed after quitting OverView. This is true not only of OverView, but many other programs that also give you access to DOS. One common DOS command, the PRINT command, is a TSR utility that remains in memory after being loaded the first time. If you're going to use the PRINT command from within OverView, make sure that PRINT is used at least once before starting OverView. The following command could be added to your AUTOEXEC.BAT startup file to load the resident portion of the PRINT command whenever the computer is turned on or restarted. PRINT /D:PRN >NUL: The >NUL: on the command line simply keeps a couple of messages from the PRINT program from appearing on the screen. This command should work in DOS versions 3.1 and above. Refer to your DOS manual for more information on the PRINT /D command option. 27 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE UPDATE TARGET DIRECTORY When maintaining backup copies of files, or working with the same set of files on multiple computers, it's often necessary to update the your files so that all copies of the same file are indeed the same version. OverView's [Dir | Update Target Directory] command provides a convenient way to synchronize the files in different directories or disk drives. Two directories are used by the [Update Target Directory] command; the source and the target. OverView selec- tively copies files from the source to the target, so that the target directory contains the same files as the source. What makes this command more convenient than a simple copy is that it only copies the files in the source directory that were created or modified more recently than the corresponding files in the target directory. The source directory is always the current directory when the [Update Target Directory] command is executed. OverView prompts you to enter the name of the target directory before copying any files. The [Dir | Update existing files only] option modifies the behavior of the [Update Target Directory] command. When this option is off, all files in the source directory are checked against the target, and are copied if more recent or if they don't exist in the target directory. When the [Update existing files only] option is on, only files already in the target directory will be updated--files in the source directory but not in the target will not be copied. Because OverView uses the creation/modification date and time to determine if the files are the same or not, it's important that the date and times be accurate for this command to work properly. If your computer system doesn't have a real time clock, make sure the date and time is set correctly whenever the computer is turned on or restarted. USER DEFINED KEYS OverView provides the ability to execute user defined commands at the touch of a key. There are 10 User Defined Keys available, numbered 1 through 10. A particular User Defined Key is executed by pressing an Alt-Function key sequence; Alt-F1 executes User Defined Key number 1, Alt-F2 executes User Defined Key number 2, and so forth. User Defined Keys are created and modified with the [Other | Setup Parameters | User Defined Keys] command. The following sample entries show how User Defined Keys are entered. 28 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE NUM KEY COMMAND PROTOTYPE PAUSE READ 1 A-F1 edlin $f N N 2 A-F2 arc v $f Y N 3 A-F3 chkdsk $d: Y N The first entry (invoked by the Alt-F1 sequence) runs the program EDLIN with the name of the current file as a parameter. Assuming EDLIN is a text editor, you could edit any text file by moving the file pointer to the file's name and pressing Alt-F1. The second entry shown above runs the program ARC with two parameters; the letter V and the name of the current file. ARC is a popular program for maintaining ARChive files. Moving the file pointer to a .ARC file and pressing Alt-F2 would list the contents of the .ARC file. The third entry shown above runs the DOS CHKDSK command with the current drive letter as a parameter. As with Point-and-Go entries and the [Xecute] commands, you can specify multiple DOS commands to be executed by a User Defined Key. Each command must be separated from the others by the '^' character. The following example shows two DOS commands that could be executed by a User Defined Key: del $xc.bak^edwin $c For each User Defined Key, you can specify whether or not OverView pauses and/or rereads the current directory after executing the command(s). If you enter Y (for yes) in a command's PAUSE column, OverView waits for you to press a key after running the command(s). A N (for no) in the PAUSE column causes OverView's screen to be redisplayed as soon as the command(s) finish. Entering Y for PAUSE allows you to view any output the command(s) leave on the screen before OverView redisplays its own screen. Entering Y in the READ column of an entry tells OverView to reread the current directory when the command(s) finish. A N value will not reread the directory. Y should most likely be specified if the command(s) create or delete files, or if they change the current directory. Note however that rereading the directory has the disadvantage of forgetting which files were tagged before the command(s) were executed. USING LIM/EMS MEMORY OverView can make use of two different types of memory in your computer system--conventional and expanded. Conventional memory is that part of memory used and controlled by DOS. There is normally somewhere between 128K and 640K of conventional memory available in an IBM PC or compatible system. 29 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE The Lotus/Intel/Microsoft (LIM) Expanded Memory Specification (EMS) is a hardware and software system that provides extra (expanded) memory to programs that know how to use it. If your computer system has EMS compatible memory installed, OverView can use this memory to store file names and other file data. Allow- ing OverView to utilize EMS memory is advantageous because it leaves additional conventional memory available to execute DOS commands and other programs from OverView. The [Other | Setup Parameters | Other Options | Use EMS (if available)] option enables or disables OverView's use of LIM/EMS memory. If your computer system does not have LIM/EMS memory installed, this option has no effect as OverView will then use conventional memory anyway. The [... | Use EMS (if available)] option is turned on when a check mark is displayed in front of the option--it's off when a not sign precedes the option. You can also enable or disable OverView's use of EMS memory with the /C and /E command line parameters. Refer the the topic COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS for more information. As distributed, the [Use EMS (if available)] option is on to allow OverView's use of EMS memory--if EMS memory isn't avail- able, conventional memory will be used anyway. VIDEO SNOW CHECKING The [Other | Setup Parameters | Other Options | Video Snow Checking] option allows for faster screen updates on computer systems that do not make "snow" when writing directly to video memory. This option is only useful for some systems with color displays--monochrome displays do not make "snow" and OverView knows not to check for snow when using a monochrome adapter. Disabling "snow" checking can significantly speed up screen updates. If you are not sure if your color display adapter makes snow or not, try disabling OverView's snow checking. It will quickly be obvious if you need to re-enable the snow checking. Snow checking is enabled when a check mark is displayed before the [... | Video Snow Checking] option. Snow checking is dis- abled when a not sign is displayed. You can also enable or disable snow checking with the /F and /S command line parameters. Refer the the topic COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS for more information. As distributed, video snow checking is enabled. 30 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION QUICK REFERENCE WINDOW COMMANDS OverView can display from 1 to 6 file name windows on the screen at a time. Each window is independent of the others and can display the same or a different drive/directory. File name windows are opened, closed, and switched with the [Windows] command. When you start OverView, it initially has one file name window open, displaying the contents of the current directory. As you open and close additional windows with the [Windows | Open] and [Windows | Close] commands, the size of the windows will be adjusted so that all open windows have an equal amount of screen space. The F7 and F8 keys are short-cuts for opening and closing windows, respectively. Only one of the open windows can contain the file pointer at a time; this is called the current window. The Path, Files, and Selection sections of the header area at the top of the screen always display information about the current window. As you move the file pointer from window to window with the [Window | Next] and [Window | Prev] commands, the header area updates to reflect the current window status. The F9 and F10 keys are short-cuts for moving to the next or previous window, respectively. A newly opened file name window displays the same directory as the current window, and it also inherits the current window's sort options, tagged files, and selection criteria. If you want the new window to display a different directory or disk drive, use the [Dir | Login New Directory] or [Dir | Login New Drive] command to switch to the desired directory or drive. Commands that operate on files only effect the directory shown in the current window. For example, when you erase all tagged files with the [Files | Erase File(s) | Tagged Files] command, only the tagged files in the current window's directory are erased. [Erase File(s)] does not effect any tagged files in other direc- tories. Closing a file name window removes the window from the screen display. Closing a window has no effect on the files themselves, it simply removes the window from the display. Windows are very useful when working with two or more directories at the same time. For example, when copying a set of files from a hard disk to a floppy, or when moving files from one directory to another. 31 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES OverView version 2.20 adds several new features and enhancements to the earlier version 2.10 release. Some of the significant improvements include: * The Enter key now performs a variety of additional functions: - In the directory tree display, it "logs in" to the directory under the dir pointer (like pressing 'L' for Login). - In the main file name display, it views the file under the file pointer (like Alt-V). If the file pointer is currently over a directory name, you are logged in to that directory (like F4). - While viewing a file, it moves down a screen (like PgDn). - It continues to select/invoke any highlighed menu entry. * The Directory Tree display is now sorted by name. * A "find file name" command has been implemented. The '=' key starts a search for a matching file name in the current window. Refer to the topic FIND FILE NAME in section 5 for more infor- mation. * File name scrolling has been changed considerably. In the past, file names only scrolled up and down by rows. Now they can also scroll left and right by columns. Left/right scrol- ling will backup/advance one column of names at a time, while up/down scrolling will backup/advance one name at a time. In a related change, the file pointer will no longer wrap from first to last or last to first file names, although the Home/End keys still function. * File names can now be displayed in either of the following formats: BIOSIO.ASM DIRECT.H | BIOSIO ASM DIRECT H BIOSIO.OBJ DIRECT.OBJ | BIOSIO OBJ DIRECT OBJ BMDOC.ARC DOSFILE.H | BMDOC ARC DOSFILE H CHKMOUSE.ASM EMS.ASM | CHKMOUSE ASM EMS ASM Use the [Other | Setup Parameters | Other Options | Display Files as NAME EXT] option to select the style you prefer. * An extra level of file information can now be displayed. There is now a one column full info mode (as before), a two column info mode (new), and a five column mode (as before). You can cycle through the three modes using the Alt-I or [File | Extra File Info] command (was [File | Full File Info]). You can select whichever mode you prefer as a default with the [Other | Setup Parameters | Startup Defaults | Extra File Info] options. * You can now select default sort options with the [Other | Setup Parameters | Startup Defaults | Sort Options] command. 32 OVERVIEW 2.20 DOCUMENTATION SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES * OverView now looks for its help (OV.HLP) and configuration (OV.CFG) files in a directory pointed to by an environment variable named OVFILES. Using this feature can shorten startup speed and speed up access to help information, particularly when the current directory is a floppy disk. If there is no OVFILES env variable (or the directory it points to doesn't contain the desired file), OverView will search the current directory and then the PATH directories as before. Note: OverView will continue to search for its directory tree file (OV.DIR) in the root directory of the current disk, since there can be a different OV.DIR file on each disk. * OverView's initial directory can now be specified on the command line. The command: OV A: will start OverView with the initial directory set to drive A:. This change required the addition of the /M switch to specify a file name mask on the command line. Before you could enter: OV *.C Now you must enter: OV /M *.C Refer to the topic COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS in section 5 for more information on using directory names and the /M option on the command line. * Multiple DOS commands can be executed from the same command line if the commands are separated by the '^' character. This feature can be used wherever OverView allows entry of DOS commands--User Defined Keys, Point-and-Go entries, [Xecute | Dos Command], or [Xecute | Current File]. The commands will be executed sequentially, from left to right. * The Esc key will now exit OverView from the file name display, without the "Quit (y/N):" or "Exit ... Return..." prompts. OverView will exit to the current window's drive/directory. The Alt-Q and Quit commands continue to operate as before. * The Alt-K and Alt-M menu short-cuts have been exchanged to be a better mnemonic aid. Alt-K is now for (K)opy-Tagged, and Alt-M is now Move-Tagged. A more complete list of the changes between OverView releases is included in the READ.ME file that is distributed with OverView. This list will be of particular interest to people upgrading from an earlier release. 33 CUSTOMER SUPPORT INFORMATION Support for OverView is available by written request to Blue Sky Software. Registered users will always receive a response to their questions. Non-registered users will receive a response if they enclose a self-addressed stamped enveloped with their query. If you write concerning a problem you've encountered using OverView, please include as much of the following information about you computer system as you can. Thank you. Computer Make and Model _________________________________________ Display Adapter (CGA, EGA, etc.) ________________________________ Amount of conventional memory installed _________________________ Amount of LIM/EMS memory installed ______________________________ Version of DOS in use (2.x, 3.x) ________________________________ Any multi-tasking software in use (DESQview, Windows, etc.) _________________________________________________________________ What TSR programs are in use (Sidekick, Superkey, etc.) _________________________________________________________________ Please describe the problem as fully as possible _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Would you use call a Bulletin Board System for support if it was available? ____________________ 34 OVERVIEW REGISTRATION FORM Version 2.20 28-Apr-88 To become a registered user of OverView, complete and return this form along with the indicated license fee. The license fee should be paid by check or money order in U.S.A. funds, payable on a U.S.A. bank. Send to: Blue Sky Software P.O. Box 232 Absecon, NJ 08201 U.S.A. Name: ___________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Please accept this registration for OverView version 2.20. I agree to your disclaimer of all warranties and the restrictions on copying. ________________________________________ _______________ SIGNED DATE LICENSE FEE - Choose one or more of the following options: QTY LICENSE TYPE UNIT AMT EXT AMT ___ Registration only (does not include $ 15.00 $ _______ a disk). ___ Registration with disk. Once you $ 20.00 $ _______ register, you will be mailed a disk with the most current version of OverView. Note, you may already have the most current version. Select 3 1/2" ____ or 5 1/4"____ disk. ___ Quantity - refer to the documentation $ _______ (QUANTITY DISCOUNTS) for fees. New Jersey residents add 6% sales tax. TAX $ _______ TOTAL $ _______ OVERVIEW REGISTRATION FORM Version 2.20 28-Apr-88 The following questionnaire is optional, but we would greatly appreciate it if you would take a moment to complete it (or any part of it) and return it along with your registration. Your comments can help us make a better product. Thank you. What aspects do you like the best and the least about OverView? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ What would you most like to see added, changed, or removed from OverView? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ What prompted you to become a registered user? _________________ _________________________________________________________________ Where did you get your copy of OverView? (BBS, Compuserve, friend, etc.) If BBS, please include the phone number so they can get updated versions in the future. _________________________________________________________________ Please feel free to add any other comments, friendly criticisms, problem reports, and improvement ideas you might have about the product. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!