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CPUCAT V2.0 Page 1 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. The purpose of this program is to provide users with a file catalog program that does as much of the work for you as reasonably possible. I personally hate downloading a few files, saving them to a floppy diskette, forgetting about them for a few days and then when I find the disk laying in a corner, I have no earthly idea what the programs are. (You can only get just so descriptive with the filenames allowed by DOS.) This usually means looking through the program and figuring out just what it is supposed to do and then typing in my own description. Now, item two. If there is one thing I hate about computers, it's typing un-necessarily. Seeing all those file descriptions go floating by when viewing download file listings on BBS's gave me an idea. What if those descriptions could be captured and automatically merged into a file catalog program. Viola--less typing, less hunting through files to figure out what they do, in general--quite a bit of time saved. And here you have it, CPUCAT Version 2.0. CPUCAT was developed for use on an IBM PC/XT or any true compatible, it has been tested on the following systems: Stanford Computer Works Turbo/XT MAS Turbo/XT Zenith 158 Zenith 248 Corona XT and a couple other generic compatibles. This software is being released as SHAREWARE, you are encouraged to copy and distribute this program freely. I do request that this only be done if ALL files are included when given out. Please don't cause problems for others by giving out portions of the program which will not create a complete system. This includes any and all documentation. If you feel this program has benefited you, or you wish to receive the most recent version, you are requested to send a donation to the author. A donation of $25 or more will put you on the list to receive priority attention relating to requests for fixes, additional functions, and specialized versions. You might want to look at the end of this document to see what we have planned for Version 3.0. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 2 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. To register your copy of CPUCAT, send a donation to: CPU Etc. % Stan Foy Suite 131 2210-A, Academy Place Colorado Springs, CO 80909 If you have any comments/suggestions concerning CPUCAT V2.0, they are appreciated and often very helpful, they may be sent to the above address. I can also be contacted via Compuserve (ID 75216.272) or GEnie (CPUETC.) ************************************************************* * Another method of passing information back, is via any * * Collie BBS system that networks mail. Mail can be for- * * warded to me by sending it to Colorado Springs Area Collie* * (CSAC)-- Node #1, Net #886, (this is Colorado Springs * * largest FREE BBS system, and is also a BETA test site for * * development of CPUCAT.) PHONE (303) 635-8128 * * Mail should be addressed to 'Stan Foy'. * ************************************************************* Please note that registered users will receive a response as soon as I can get to it. (Ground mail--should be within 10 working days). Compuserve, GEnie and Collie BBS NetMail-- --the next time I log on.) Non-registered users may or may not get a response, it will depend on the type of question/comment submitted. Fixes to a Major release will be available on BBS systems, registered users will be sent Major Release's for a $5.00 mailing/material fee. Registered users will also receive conversion utilities to convert their existing catalogs to the format of the new release if required. These conversion files will not be put on BBS's. Registered users will also receive an editor utility used to add/modify items in the LISTA.DTA file of descriptions. Corporate users are requested to send notification of the environment in which CPUCAT is being used. This will aid in adding specific capabilities to the program. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 2 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. +===========================================================+ + At this point I will hand things over to Ralph Whittaker,+ + SYSOP of CSAC BBS, with my many thanks. Ralph has been + + 'thrashing' the program to find bugs and has been kind + + enough to help write the documentation for this program. + + The following is Ralph's view of what the user should + + know about this program and it's capabilities. + +===========================================================+ INTRODUCTION This version of CPUCAT is a complete rework of version 1.0 and 1.2. It includes all of the original features plus several enhancements. These enhancements are revolutionary and you have probably never seen them all combined in one software package before, not even in a commercial product. Lets start off with an overview of the capabilities of CPUCAT20. The list of is quite long so please bear with me. CATALOG DISKS: With a small catalog, say 1,500 files, this routine is FAST! It will toggle between the A and B drives, if you desire, thereby allowing you to tire yourself out trying to keep up with it. You may also enter any directory on a hard disk into the catalog. This release is capable of writing labels to floppies if you desire. SORT CATALOG: This feature does just what it says. It sorts your catalog. The sort MUST be done before you try any searches or compares. SEARCH/VIEW CATALOG: Allows you to search the current catalog for a variety of things. Also, you can manually enter descriptions from this option. You have the option of saving your manually entered descriptions in a file called USER.DTA. The purpose of this file will be covered in detail later. PRINT CATALOG: Prints catalog to disk or printer. COMPARE HARD-DISK: Compares your current catalog against a hard disk or, for that matter, a floppy if you desire. DELETE VOL/LABELS: Deletes and sorts your volume label list. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 3 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. COMPARE BBS FILE-LISTS: This is a new feature that allows comparison of a filelist, that you downloaded or captured from any BBS, against your current catalog. Writes two files, a .GET file containing a list of files that the BBS in question has that you don't and a .SND file that contains a list of files that you have that the BBS doesn't. CONFIGURE CPUCAT: This is an option that you must choose the first time you run CPUCAT. It contains information that CPUCAT needs to know in order to function properly. ARCHIVE CATALOG LISTS: Another new feature that allows you to have several catalogs 'online' (meaning on your hard disk) at all times. Effectively breaks the limit on catalog size that most cataloging programs have. SORT USER.DAT FILE: Yet another new feature! This option sorts the USER.DAT file that is created when you manually type in a comment. The USER.DAT file must be sorted before you can add comments into your catalog from it. DELETE CURRENT CATALOG: New! Deletes the current catalog. Allows you to create another catalog. SYSTEM STATUS DISPLAY: New! Shows you 'nice to know' things about your system. ADD COMMENTS FROM LISTA.DTA: Adds comments to your catalog from the LISTA.DTA file. This file contains approximately 4,000 comments for popular files. ADD COMMENTS FROM USER.DTA: If you have deleted a volume, added files to that disk and re-catalogged it then you may want to add your own comments back into the catalog before you add comments from LISTA.DTA. This option allows you to do just that. DOS LEVEL 'SHELL': New! A VERY handy 'shell' to DOS! QUIT CPUCAT: When you are through... CPUCAT V2.0 Page 4 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. INSTALLATION AND OPERATION Let's get right into the installation and operation of CPUCAT... Unarchive CPUCAT in to a subdirectory of its own. The name of the subdirectory can be anything of your choosing, as long as you can remember the name, i.e. C:\CPU. As you unarchive the program the following files should be present: BRUN10.EXE Run-Time Library. ADDCMNT.EXE Part of the USERS comment library. CPUARC.EXE Archives your catalog files. CPUBBS.EXE Module used to sort your catalog against BBS file lists. CPUCAT.DOC This file. CPUCAT.EXE The main program module. CPUCMNT.EXE Module used to insert comments from LISTA.DTA. CPUCOMP.EXE The module used for comparing the catalog with the hard disk or a floppy. CPUDEL.EXE This module deletes unwanted volumes. CPULIST.EXE Lists the catalog. CPUPRINT.EXE Prints the catalog. CPUREAD.EXE The module that reads disks into the catalog. CPUSORT.EXE You guessed it! The Sorting module. HDSORT.EXE Module for sorting Hard-Disk files. LISTA.DTA Approximately 4,000 filenames with descriptions USERCMNT.EXE Second module for maintaining the USERS comments library. VOLSET.COM Used to write volume labels on floppy's. VOLSORT.EXE Used to sort your volume list. As you no doubt noticed there are several .EXE files. These files are all required for operation. If even one file is missing the program will not function properly. NOTE: The LISTA.DTA file shown above is no longer included in the main archive. This made the archive extremely large. It should now be in a file named "CPULIST2.ARC". This file will need to be downloaded seperately and included in your catalog subdirectory. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 5 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. Once you have unarchived CPUCAT there are only two more things to do. 1. Make sure that the MS-DOS program SORT.EXE and the utility files you want to use to ARCHIVE and UNARCHIVE are in your PATH. If you are not sure what a "PATH" is, check your MS-DOS manual. If you don't want to spend the time digging through your DOS manual just place a copy of each of the above mentioned files in the same subdirectory as the CPUCAT files. I keep them in my root directory and include the statement PATH C:\ in my AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 2. This next step isn't absolutely necessary however, it will speed up the operation of CPUCAT. The CONFIG.SYS file that should be located in your ROOT directory should have the following statements included: FILES = 10 BUFFERS = 25 You are now ready to configure CPUCAT. Return to the CPUCAT sub-directory and type CPUCAT <enter>. You will see the opening screen with all the options that were briefly described in the introduction. As the program initializes you will be presented with a main menu containing 16 options. This a menu oriented program and is very easy to use. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Catalog Disks A. System Status Display 2. Sort Catalog B. Sort USER.DAT file 3. Search/View Catalog 4. Print Catalog D. Delete current catalog 5. Compare Hard-Disk 6. Delete Vol/Labels 7. Compare BBS file-lists 8. Configure CPUCAT X. Add comments from LISTA.DTA 9. Archive Catalog Lists Y. Add comments from USER.DTA Q. Quit CPUCAT Z. DOS Level 'SHELL' ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you need HELP on this menu, try ALT-H. A 3-level help window will pop up with a brief description of all the options. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 6 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. If this is the first time you have run CPUCAT you MUST choose option (8) BEFORE continuing. Upon choosing option (8) you will see the following screen: ---------------------------------------------------------------- CPUCAT Configuration Menu Please enter the path you will use with the BBS compare option Example: C:\CPU\BBSLISTS C:\CPU\BBSLISTS Please enter the path you will use to keep archives in: Example: C:\CPU\CATARC C:\CPU\CATARC Enter the name of your 'ARCHIVING' program, PKARC/A along with any arguments required: Example: ARC A Enter the name of your 'UN-ARCHIVING' program: PKXARC/R along with any arguments required: Example: ARC X Name of current catalog being used: CSAC -------------------------------------------------------------- (Option (8) screen) Enter the requested information. If you placed CPUCAT in a subdirectory called C:\CPU then I recommend you just use the default paths that option (8) presents you with. If you placed CPUCAT in to a subdirectory other that C:\CPU then you will have to enter the correct path (including drive) to the subdirectory that will contain BBS listings that you may wish to compare with your catalog. The second input field wants to know where to store your archived catalogs. Once again, enter the correct path. As you enter the information for the two previous options CPUCAT will check to see if the subdirectories you named exist. If they do not then CPUCAT will ask if you want the subdirectories created. Answering "Y" will give CPUCAT permission to create them for you. If you answer 'N' then you will have to create them. The next two fields ask for the name of your archiveing and unarchiveing programs and the commands you use with them. Just complete these fields EXACTLY as if you were going to archive or unarchive a file from the DOS prompt (minus the filename, of course). CPUCAT V2.0 Page 7 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. The final field on the option (8) screen is probably the only field that you will modify from time to time. In order for you to better understand what this field if for, the following explanation of how CPUCAT handles catalogs is provided: "As CPUCAT is initializing for the first time it creates two files. VOLIST (a file that will keep track of the Volume Names in your catalog) and POINTERS (a file that keeps track of the number of files in your catalog). When you read your first disk into the catalog, a file called FILCAT.DTA is created. This file contains a list of your filenames, size, dates, and descriptions." "CAUTION: VOLIST, POINTERS, FILCAT.DTA and CPUCAT.CFG are the files that make up your disk catalog. Protect them! If one of them gets damaged or erased, your catalog will become unusable. It is highly recommended that you occasionally 'archive' your cataloged files by using Option (9) from the main menu. Recovery, which could be required should you be in the middle of sorting and have a power-loss, can be easily done, simply 'un-archive' the catalog using Option (9). The only files listings that will be lost are the ones entered since you last archived your catalog. By archiving, it is also possible to have multiple catalogs. Just be sure to keep each set of files, as mentioned above, with each other. Keeping the files together is painless because CPUCAT will do it for you via Option (9)." To complete the description of the Option (8) screen it probably would suffice to say that the last field you complete on the screen is the name of the archive you want the current catalog archived in. More about the archiving option later, for now just enter a name you would like your first catalog to be stored in then press F10 to return to the main menu. We will now discuss each primary menu option in turn. OPTION 1 - CATALOG DISKS Choose this option when you wish to add a disk to the data base. Any valid drive can be added to the catalog. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 8 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. After choosing this option the screen will clear and you will be asked, DO YOU WANT TO TOGGLE A AND B DRIVES? If you have a system with two floppy drives, answer "Y". The default is "N". Answering "Y" will cause CPUCAT to first read the A: drive then the B: drive. This is the FASTEST method to enter diskettes into the catalog. I built a catalog with over 250 diskettes in under 30 minutes using the toggle function. CPUCAT reads the A: and B: drives faster than the DOS DIR command and you will really have to work to keep up with it. If you answer "N" to the TOGGLE question then CPUCAT will just read the A: drive. This is still a fast operation but it will take a little longer to get your diskettes into the catalog. Next you will see a statement asking you to ENTER DRIVE/PATH INFO: If you answered "Y" to the TOGGLE question then an "A:" will already be in this field. If however, you are reading a Hard Disk into the catalog you will have to enter the path. If you want to read subdirectories of the hard disk that CPUCAT is installed on you just need to enter the path to the subdirectory you want to read, no drive letter is needed. For example: \ will read the root directory \COM will read a directory called COM \WP\DOC will read a directory called \WP\DOC If you want to read a hard disk into the catalog that CPUCAT is not installed on you must precede the path with the proper drive letter, i.e. D:\GAMES. CPUCAT will also read subdirectories on floppies. If you fail to enter a Drive/Path CPUCAT will read the root directory of the hard disk it is installed on. After you enter your DRIVE/PATH info CPUCAT will then clear the screen and present a new screen with a window that encompasses the left half of the screen. Then the contents of the target disk or directory will rapidly scroll down the window. On the right side of the screen you will be informed of the amount of free space left on the disk (NOTE: Free space will only be shown if you are reading a floppy). If there is a volume label on the disk it will be also shown. If there is no volume label you will need to enter one before you add the disk to your catalog. The program will not let you use a volume label that is already in the catalog. At this point you have a couple of choices. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 9 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. 1. You can use the volume label on the disk as the disk identifier in your catalog or you can change it to anything you want. Version 2.0 now adds the option of entering/changing the volume/label on your floppy. The option will only attempt to write volume/labels to drives A & B. Simply enter the volume/label as you would like it and press F9. The volume/label will be written to floppy and your catalog updated automatically. If you don't want the volume label written to the floppy press <enter> instead of F9 (this will store the volume in your catalog with the volume label you entered but will NOT write it to the floppy). 2. If you decide not to enter this disk or directory into your catalog you can press F10 to cancel saving the disk info. Pressing F10 will return you to the previous screen. If you have added or removed a file from a disk that is already in the catalog you must choose option 6 from the main menu and delete the volume and disk contents from the catalog before you can re-enter the disk into the catalog. There is a HELP screen that can be accessed, from any screen in OPTION 1, by pressing ALT-H. Information on the HELP screen will not be covered in this document because it is very clear and requires no explanation. That's all there is to reading disks into the catalog! To return to the main menu press F10 until you arrive there. OPTION 2 - SORT CATALOG Selecting OPTION 2 from the main menu causes CPUCAT to display a message advising you that it's going to need a little time to sort things out. It even tells you to take a break! CPUCAT V2.0 Page 10 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. During this time CPUCAT uses SORT.EXE to sort your catalog into alphabetical order. It then writes the new sorted catalog to disk. Many sections of CPUCAT will inform you when the catalog needs to be sorted. Some options are still useable even if the catalog is not sorted and will give you the option of doing a sort or continuing on without the sort. Other areas require that the sort be performed before allowing the function to be accessed. Your options in this case will be to either abort or perform the sort. There is currently a limitation on the number of files that can be maintained in your catalog. The restriction is in the DOS SORT program, on a 640K machine it appears to be some- where around 3200 files. The temporary workaround for this is to continue on with another catalog. The inclusion of the archival functions (option 9) allows easy access to various catalogs. A new sort routine is being worked on that is internal to CPUCAT and will no longer require the DOS SORT file. This will be released as soon as the speed of the sort is reduced to a reasonable time. OPTION 3 - SEARCH/VIEW CATALOG Option 3 allows you to page through or search for files in your cataloged list. An editing capability is also present that allows editing of the comment field. After selecting 3 from the main menu the screen will clear and ask you what type of search parameters you want. There are four options to allow various types of search requirements. Select the option most appropriate for the type of search required. Note on search option 4: Option 4 is useful if you are preparing to delete a volume entry after adding a file to a floppy. You can select the Volume/Label to be deleted and update comments prior to the deletion. (See section on option Y (Add comments from USER.DTA) for more information on this function. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 11 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. You will then be presented an input field labeled: "ENTER STRING TO LOOK FOR:" If you want to view all files just press ENTER. If you are looking for a specific file enter the name of the file or, if you are not sure of the exact name, just enter part of the name. The search function is not case sensitive so you can enter your search string in either upper or lower case. Pressing enter on a blank field will respond similarly no matter what selection criteria option is selected, all files will be displayed. NOTE: If attempting to search complete filenames, for example--you want to search for a file called "BUP.DTA", you will need to enter spaces to fill out the filename to the full 12 characters. As show below: ENTER STRING TO LOOK FOR: BUP .DTA ^^^^^ (must be spaces) After pressing ENTER you will be asked if you want to UPDATE COMMENTS. Just answer Y or N. A window will then appear in approximately the upper left quarter of the screen. Filenames, to include extension, size, and date, will scroll up and down in this window as you use the page keys and the up and down arrow keys. If you entered a search string then only the arrow keys will be operational. The lower portion of the screen will contain the highlighted file name listed in the top line of the window, size, file date, volume ID, and description (if any). See option Y description for details on how updating comments is handled by CPUCAT. Everything is pretty straight forward from here on. If you chose the option to UPDATE COMMENTS on the preceding screen, the file name description will be highlighted. While the file name description line is highlighted the EDITING function will be active and you may edit descriptions or manually enter your own descriptions. During an editing session the editing keys are active as shown in the ALT-H help window for this screen. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 12 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. A nice feature of this option is the "print file/description" function. Pressing ALT-P will send the current file name and description, as displayed on the lower section of the screen, to the printer. This is handy if you just want a hard copy of the location- description of a few files and don't want to be bothered with the entire list. Pressing F10, after you have finished with the option 3 functions will return you to the main menu. OPTION 4 - PRINT CATALOG Selecting this option presents you with another menu. This menu gives you the following choices: A. Print all files B. Selective print C. Print to disk Q. Quit PRINT ALL FILES, Option A, will do just that. It will attempt to set your printer to 132 characters per line (using a common printer control code) then send your entire catalog to the printer. The catalog will be sent to the printer in the order it is currently sorted in. If you have recently added disks to the catalog and haven't run OPTION 2 (Sort/Comment Catalog) then the recently added disks will be printed at the end of the list in an unsorted order. If your printer will not set to 132 characters per line or if you desire a different print size, you should use the Print to disk option and use your favorite print utility. SELECTIVE PRINT, Option B, gives you the option to enter a search string. Only files that match the search string will be printed. If you wanted a list of all your "DOC" files then in response to the ENTER STRING TO LOOK FOR: question you would enter ".DOC". To obtain a list of all your Lotus worksheets you would enter ".WK1". If you desired a list of all files with the letters "CAT" in the file name you would just enter "CAT". CPUCAT V2.0 Page 13 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. PRINT TO DISK, Option C, will print your catalog, in its presently sorted order, to a disk file. This file can be edited with any ASCII editor. It can be printed using the MS-DOS PRINT.COM program. When printing this file with the MS-DOS PRINT.COM program you can set your printer up to any print size you like using your favorite printer control utility. While using Options A or B, printing the file, any key pressed will abort the printing process. In Option C however, there is no stoping. While the file is being written to disk it cannot be interrupted. The Print Catalog Option is pretty straight forward and has no Help screen. NOTE for BBS Sysops: Using the print to disk option will create a files listing that can be downloaded by users and run directly with the CPUCAT BBS files compare option. This can be handy for both users and BBS systems, as much of the file searching by users can be done offline on their own systems, there-by saving a lot of online time. See the section on option 7 for more information on the Compare BBS file-lists. OPTION 5 - COMPARE HARD-DISK Actually this title is a misnomer. CPUCAT doesn't care if it is a Hard-Disk the comparison is being done on or a 360K diskette. If it is connected to the system CPUCAT will compare it to the catalog! This Option, along with the Option that plugs in most of my file descriptions, is perhaps my favorite... Being a Bulletin Board operator it is imperative that I keep current backups of online files. Keeping track of files on a 62MGB system has been a nightmare in the past. This feature of CPUCAT has drastically cut my time spent on backing up files. Another thing that adds credibility to this feature is its accuracy. Many Catalog programs will do a compare but they sometimes list files as "Not backed up" that are actually backed up. I have yet to find a file that CPUCAT listed as not "backed up" that was on my file list. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 14 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. After choosing OPTION 5 you will be presented with a screen that has a window on the left half. This window will reflect the drive/path info that you specify. The upper portion of the right side of the screen will ask you to ENTER DRIVE/PATH INFO: At this point you can manually type in the drives and paths you want compared OR, if you have previously defined a list of drives/ paths to be checked, you can press F1 to select from up to 5 previously defined dive/path lists. When selecting previously defined drive/path lists, via F1, it is possible to use more than one list. You can even add manually entered paths to the list that builds in the window. For example I might be logged into the C: drive and select list #1 that looks like this: \GAMES NOTE: These directories are on the \COM C: drive and do not require a \WP drive designator because I started \WP\DOC CPUCAT from that drive. I might then manually enter drive A: Then I select list #2: D:\ULF D:\UTIL And, for the last of this example, I manually enter drive B: The window on the left side of the screen would now contain the following list: \GAMES \COM \WP \WP\DOC A: D:\ULF D:\UTIL B: CPUCAT V2.0 Page 15 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. To start the compare I manually enter "END". Note that "END" will be added to the bottom of the list in the window. CPUCAT will now start the compare. It will read each disk/directory in the order of the list. If you have entered an invalid drive or directory, no big deal, CPUCAT will just ignore it and continue on to provide an ACCURATE list of files needing backed up in the valid drives/directories on the list. A nice little added feature that can be used when you are manually entering a disk/path is the ALT-S function. Pressing ALT-S will copy the last entry you made into the ENTER DRIVE/PATH INFO entry field. This is useful if you are entering directories that are two or three levels deep. After the compare and sorting have been accomplished CPUCAT will present you with a screen containing a window with files that are NOT backed up (not listed in your catalog). You can page through the list and print it. Pressing "P" will give you a menu that allows you to send the list to the printer or a file on disk. The "Q" option on this menu returns you to the previous screen. The sequential file written will be named NOBUP.DAT, if you wish to have the file sorted by subdirectory, (some- times makes it a bit easier to get the back-ups done if the list is sorted a subdirectory at a time), enter the following command line while at the DOS prompt in you catalog directory. SORT /+14 < NOBUP.DAT > NOBUP.SEQ ^ or whatever you want to name the new file. If you need help just press ALT-H From this screen F10 will return you to the main menu. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 16 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. OPTION 6 - DELETE VOL/LABELS This option will normally be used when you add files to a disk that is already in the catalog and you want to update the catalog with the new files on the disk. BEFORE you try to add updates on any disk that is in the catalog you must delete that volume then choose Option #1 and re-catalog the disk. As this Option is selected you will be presented with a screen containing a window in the upper left quarter of the screen. This window will contain a list of volumes with free space on each volume. (Free-space is only show for floppy diskettes.) The page up/page down and up/down arrow keys will be operational. As you scroll through this list you will see one volume label being highlighted at a time on the top line of the window. As the volume(s) you want deleted are highlighted, press F1. Each time you press F1 the volume that was high- lighted will appear on a list in the lower right quarter of the screen. The volumes in this list are the volumes that have been tagged for deletion. If you added a volume to the deletion list by mistake just press F10 to return to the main menu and the deletion list will be canceled. You can then choose Option #6 again and start the Delete Volume process over. After the 'deletion list' on the right side of the screen contains all the volumes you want deleted, just press F2 to start the deletions. First user-requested item was added to this screen, it is rather hard to search for Volumes to delete when the list is not sorted........so a SORT option was added to this screen. It is accessible by pressing ALT/S. This feature again requires that the DOS SORT file be accessible by CPUCAT. OPTION 7 - COMPARE BBS FILE-LISTS Option 7 (Compare BBS file-lists) was added to CPUCAT as many DOS based BBS's file areas are growing extremely large. This option was added to allow searching and comparing BBS file-lists with your catalog, without having to be connected to the actual BBS. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 17 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. When selecting option 7, you will initially see an entry field containing the defaulted BBS FILELISTS path. Press enter if the path is correct, or enter the required path to the subdirectory that contains the file-list from your local BBS. Once the subdirectory is entered, CPUCAT will search for all files that have a .DAT extension. (The .DAT extension is required for the program to operate properly. See appendix 'A' for information on how to build BBS file-lists if not already in CPUCAT format.) A good question at this point is, "What is CPUCAT format?". Well, the BBS Compare option is designed to run with no modification if the BBS file-list was generated by CPUCAT. In other words--if your local BBS SysOp used CPUCAT to generate a "print to disk" listing of files, then put it in the download area for users, this file can simply be put in your subdirectory defined to contain the lists, and will run with no modification. If any other means was used to generate the file-list by the BBS SysOp, some editing of the file will usually be required. Again, appendix 'A' contains information on the modifications that will be required. Back to the function at hand. Once CPUCAT searchs for the .DAT files, they will be displayed in a columnar format on the screen. You can use the arrow cursor keys to move around the screen. Once you have the BBS list that you want compared highlighted, press <ENTER> and the compare will begin. What can you expect to gain from this option? Well, CPUCAT is comparing the BBS file-list with your current catalog. The end result will be two additional files. One of the files will have an extension of .GET, the other will have an extension of .SND. The .GET file will be a listing of files that are on the BBS that you do not have. The .SND file will be a listing of files that you have that are not on the BBS. Note that these two files will have the same filename as the original BBS file-list. You will now have three files that all are related to the particular BBS. Once the comparison is completed, CPUCAT will ask if you would like to archive these files. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 18 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. Now that you have the two lists generated by CPUCAT, if you are looking for a particular utility or program to download, all you have to do is look through your .GET listings. File descriptions are carried over, so you have a complete list of files with descriptions. When you feel it's time to upload some files to your local BBS's, all you have to do is look at your .SND file to see what you can upload without duplication. (As long as you keep your BBS file-lists current- i.e. keep the latest version from the BBS on hand for CPUCAT to use.) OPTION 8 - CPUCAT Configuration Menu This option was covered briefly on page (*), we'll go over the fields once again for clarity. First Field: Path used for BBS Compare......... This is an input field used to define the path to the subdirectory that will contain downloaded file-listings from your local BBS's. If non-existant, CPUCAT will ask if you want the subdirectory created. Will generate an error message if the subdirectory could not be created. Second Field: Path used for Archive option...... This is an input field used to define the path to the subdirectory that will contain your archived catalog lists. If non-existant, CPUCAT will ask if you want the subdirectory created. Will generate an error message if the subdirectory could not be created. Third Field: Archive program and argument....... This is an input field in which you place the name of your preferred archival program and it's input arguments. Example: ARC A or PKARK/A Fourth Field: Un-archive program and argument.... This is an input field in which you place the name of your preferred un-archival program and it's input arguments. Example: ARC X or PKXARC PKXARC /R {optional} CPUCAT V2.0 Page 19 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. Fifth Field: Name of current catalog..... This is an input field used to 'NAME' the current catalog being used. It is the name that will be used by CPUCAT for archival in option 9. (i.e. if your current catalog were named 'TESTCAT' in this field, option 9 would create an archive with the name of 'TESTCAT.ARC'.) Should you wish to make a duplicate catalog archive, or start a new catalog that contains items from an older catalog, just enter a new name for the current catalog. Example: Say you have a catalog in use that contains 2000 filenames, with the name of 'TESTCAT', and you want to keep that catalog as is without adding more to it. You would like to create another catalog that has the same 2000 filenames, but you will be adding to it. First insure that the current catalog with the name 'TESTCAT' is archived via option 9. Then select option 8 and change the name for your new catalog. Let's say you change it to 'TESTCAT1'. The file 'TESTCAT1' will now be an exact duplicate of 'TESTCAT'. You can then treat 'TESTCAT1' as a completely seperate catalog listing. This in essence saves the trouble of having to re-catalog many diskettes. You can now delete, change, modify--whatever...the new catalog to your hearts content. OPTION 9 - Archive Catalog Lists Option 9 was added for those who wish to maintain various catalogs. With CPUCAT V2.0, it is now possible to keep up to 10 different catalogs. Please be sure that you have entered the names of your archival/un-archival utilities in fields 3 & 4 of the configuration menu via option 8. (Option 9 WILL NOT function if this has not been done.) After pressing '9' from the Main Menu you will see a screen that shows 10 entries with 4 items for each. The first item has a header name of 'ARC-NAME'. This is the name of your archived catalogs. (The name originates from entry field #5 of the configuration menu (option 8)). CPUCAT V2.0 Page 20 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. The second item has a header name of 'CUR'. This item will contain a flashing "X" for one of the 10 entries, and is a reminder of the current catalog being used. The third item will require a bit of explaining, it will show "ONLINE" when your archive is in the subdirectory defined in the configuration menu. This simply means that the archive file is currently on the hard-drive. It will not show online if it is in a subdirectory other than the one defined in the configuration menu. If the archive file has been moved to floppy, this entry is used for another purpose.....to indicate the Volume/Label of the floppy that it was backed up to. See information below on Modifying Catalog Descriptions. The fourth item is a description of the archived catalog entered via the Modify Catalog Descriptions. There are 5 selectable options from this module: A => Archive Current Catalog D => Modify Catalog Descriptions U => Unarchive a catalog X => Delete an archive F10 => Return to Main Menu Options A & U are pretty much self-explanatory. Option D. This option is used to enter information for the 'VOLUME' and 'Description of archive' fields. When selected you will see a message displayed that informs you that you need to press F1 to exit the descriptions option. If the catalog has been moved off to a floppy diskette, enter the Volume/label of the floppy for later identification under the 'VOLUME' field. Use the description field to enter useful information about the catalog. Option X. This option is used primarily to delete the entry as shown from option 9. (This is the only way to remove an entry under the field "ARC-NAME".) The program will ask if you also want the archived file deleted if it is found in the archival subdirectory. And again F10 will return you to the Main Menu. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 21 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. OPTION A - System Status Display Not very much useful in this, other than it's a section of code that will be used in later versions of CPUCAT. It was added to V2.0 simply as an indication of your systems configuration. OPTION B - Sort USER.DAT file Option B is used to sort a file called USER.DAT which is created/added to whenever you are in option 3 and select 'Y' in response to the "UPDATE COMMENTS (Y/N)" prompt. Any comments entered from option 3 are added to the end of the USER.DAT file. Before use with option Y, this file must be sorted and renamed to USER.DTA via this option. You will be warned by CPUCAT if you attempt to add comments via option Y and the USER.DAT file is not sorted. Just follow the instructions given on the screen when this happens. It is also possible to add filenames and descriptions to the USERS.DAT file outside of the CPUCAT program. All you have to do is use any ASCII editor/word-processor. You must follow a few conventions if this method is used. The filenames must begin in column 1 and must be expanded to the full 12 characters to include nulls. The descriptions must begin in column 14 and should only be 40 characters long. (If you go beyond 40 characters, the extra will simply be truncated). EXAMPLES: {---- 40 characters for descriptions ---} |...5....0....5....0....5....0....5....0....5....0....5 CPUCAT.EXE Main Menu module for CPUCAT (no good) CPUCAT .EXE Main Menu module for CPUCAT (ok, filename padded with nulls) CPUCAT .EXE Main Menu module for the cataloging program CPUCAT ^ The description above would be truncated at -------|, due to the 40 character limitataion. This would not crash CPUCAT, but part of the description would be lost. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 22 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. OPTION D - Delete current catalog When beginning a new catalog for the first time (not un- archiving from a previous catalog). You will need to delete all files relating to the current catalog on file. Be sure to use option 9 and archive the current catalog if you want to keep it. This function will reset the POINTERS file to 1, delete all Volume/Labels from the VOLIST file and deletes the FILCAT.DTA file. You are now ready to begin building a completely new catalog. The program should automatically send you to the configuration file (option 8), to enter a new catalog name, if for some reason it doesn't--please insure that you do go to the configuration menu and enter a name appropriate for your new catalog. OPTION X - Add comments from LISTA.DTA This feature of CPUCAT should save you quite a bit of time, file descriptions will be contained in a file called LISTA.DTA. This is a listing of files as obtained from various sources, to include GEnie, Compuserve, and local BBS's. Your catalog must be sorted before this option will work properly. In most cases, CPUCAT should catch an un-sorted catalog and warn you that a SORT is required. Once sorted, CPUCAT will begin comparing the filenames in your catalog with the filenames in the LISTA.DAT file. When there is a match, the program will check to see if there is an existing description for the file in your catalog. If there is, the next file is checked. If there is no description, then CPUCAT will write the description found for the file from the LISTA.DTA file into your catalog. NOTE: If you wish to insure that your locally generated file descriptions are entered rather than the file descriptions from the LISTA.DTA file, you should run option Y prior to selecting option X. Hopefully, this function will save you much time in searching and entering file descriptions for your catalog. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 23 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. OPTION Y - Add comments from USER.DTA This option adds flexibility to the CPUCAT program. You now have the option of creating your own master list of file descriptions that can be used at any time, with any of your catalogs, from within CPUCAT. Let's review how the comments get to the USER.DTA file in the first place. The primary method is to select "Y" when in option 3 and asked if you want to update comments. If this is done, whenever you enter a comment for a file-name (even if it is only a one-character change), Option 3 will ask you if you want to save the description for use in the USER.DTA file. If you respond with "Y", then the filename and description entered will be appended to the end of the USER.DAT file. The second method is to use an ASCII editor/word processor to edit the USER.DAT file (see information on how to do this in the description of Option B). The file must then be sorted via Option B, this will alpha- numerically sort the USER.DAT file and move the information into a file called USER.DTA that will be used by Option Y. When adding descriptions to your catalog, it is recommended that you always select Option Y before Option X. This will insure that your personally entered descriptions are placed in your catalog before the included file descriptions in the LISTA.DTA file. OPTION Z - DOS level 'shell' This option was added to allow you to get to the DOS level without having to completely leave CPUCAT. Due to the nature if QuickBASIC, you cannot run .EXE (compiled BASIC) programs from the 'shell'. If you try to do so, the system will inform you that the program selected cannot execute. When ready to return to CPUCAT, return to the subdirectory that contains your CPUCAT files and enter 'EXIT'. A highly recommended practice at this point is that you move the BRUN10.EXE file included with CPUCAT into your root directory. The reason for this is that if you forget to return to your catalog subdirectory and type in EXIT, and the BRUN10.EXE file cannot be found, you will not be able to return to CPUCAT. With BRUN10.EXE in the root directory, it will be in your PATH and can be found at all times. It is still recommended that you return to your catalog subdirectory prior to entering 'EXIT'. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 24 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. Ideas in the works for CPUCAT V3.0 The following is a list of items that are being worked on for CPUCAT V3.0. 1. From OPTION 1, auto-increment for writing Volume/Labels to floppies. 2. If enough requests are received, support for a 'floppy- only' version will be worked out. 3. Option 'Y' will be modified to include the capabilities to over-ride any existing descriptions. By doing this, even if the LISTA.DTA file descriptions were added first, if there is a difference between it and the USER.DTA description, the USER.DTA description would be used. This will take care of having to run Option 'Y' prior to Option 'X' to include the USER.DTA descriptions. 4. A built in listing function for the BBS compare option to list to screen the .SND and .GET files. 5. Hopefully, I will get some user response/requests for other additions. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 25 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. Appendix A. *************************************************************** For those interested, Ralph Whittaker has created a program does a pretty good job of modifying BBS file-lists if not created by the CPUCAT 'Print Catalog to Disk' option. He has dubbed the file 'CPUFIX.ARC'. You may want to get ahold of it if you are using the BBS compare option and your local BBS's are not using CPUCAT. *************************************************************** Requirements for editing a BBS file-list for use with the CPUCAT BBS compare option. There are only three primary requirements for the BBS file- list in order for CPUCAT to function properly. The items listed below only provide for correct operation, and do not insure a reasonably formatted output. This will be left up to the user. The first requirement is that filenames begin in column 1 of the listing. This in itself should create no problems, the thing to watch out for is that many BBS filelists will include items in the listing such as a definition of the filearea. This is perfectly alright as long as there is a blank character in column 1. (i.e. any line that begins with a blank is discarded during the comparison.) The second requirement is that the filenames be fully extended to 12 characters. For example, a filename of "BYE.ARC" is not in the correct format, it should be "BYE .ARC". There had to be a standard for CPUCAT, and fully extended filenames was the one chosen. The last requirement is that the BBS file-list must be sorted in alpha numeric sequence. You can use whatever means are available, be it the DOS SORT, another Sorting utility, or just moving lines around in your editor (yeeeech). If the above items are adhered to, you should get a reasonable comparison. Again, the easiest way to run the compare is to have a CPUCAT created listing. CPUCAT V2.0 Page 26 (c) 1987 CPU Etc. Appendix A. The following lines are a few examples of the possible formats that should work for the comparison. As you can see the most important item is the filename. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 1...5....0....5....0....5....0....5....0....5....0....5....0 17DOSUTI.ARC 03/14/87 17 useful DOS utilities with descriptions. 3-DEMON .ARC 3d Packman. ARC512 .EXE Use this program to DeArc programs with .ARC As you can see, just about any format can be used, as long as the above items are followed. One more note, any ANSI graphics characters should be deleted from the BBS file-list also.