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ActaeOn V1.60 - The Hard Disk manager Jon Clempner Nov 1990 ActaeOn V1.60 - The Hard Disk manager COPYRIGHT 1989,90 by Jon Clempner. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ActaeOn is a Shareware program, it is NOT free software. You are granted a limited licence to use ActaeOn for 30 days, for evaluation purposes only. Use beyond this evaluation requires you to register this software. See section 9 for registration details. See the file SHAREW.TXT for a definition of the Shareware concept. The program and the associated documentation on disk may be freely distributed on the following conditions No changes whatsoever are made to the program or its documentation. No charge is made for its distribution (exceptions will be made for authorised disk duplication services - No charge will be made for this authorisation but I need to know who is distributing it so that I can send out updates - Apply in writing to the address at the end of this document). LIMITED WARRANTY For registered users, and users who have obtained ActaeOn directly from the author only, the author warrants that the distribution disk is an accurate reproduction of the software. In the event of any defect in the duplication process the author will replace the disk, as long as it is returned within 30 days of receipt. No other warranty, implicit or otherwise, including but not limited to merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, is made. Under no circumstances will the author be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any user arising out of the supply, use, or operation of this software, whether such loss or damage be direct, consequential or otherwise. ActaeOn V1.60 Contents ======== 1. Introduction 2. Getting Started 3. Reference 4. Using ActaeOn with a Mouse 5. User Defined Commands 6. System Requirements 7. Future Enhancements 8. Acknowledgements 9. Registration 10. Association of Shareware Professionals ActaeOn V1.60 1. INTRODUCTION More and more people are using hard disks. While they have a number of advantages over floppy disks, their very size can cause problems when you want to find a particular file. It was this, coupled with the fact that MS-DOS is not the most friendly of operating systems that prompted the design of ActaeOn. ActaeOn is a hard disk management program. It is designed to make life easier, by having a menu interface to most of the DOS commands and being able to see your directory structure at a glance. In addition ActaeOn provides a number of facilities which are either not possible or are extremely difficult to do using native DOS. 2. GETTING STARTED Before you do anything else you should look at the READ.ME file on your distribution disk. This contains any last minute amendments to this document and a list of changes since the last release. You may read this file by using the DOS command TYPE A:READ.ME or some equivalent utility. The first thing to do is to copy all the files on your distribution disk onto your hard disk. To gain most benefit from ActaeOn it is recommended that you place it in a directory that is on your PATH (See your DOS manual for details). Having done this just type ACTAEON followed by the ENTER key. If you wish to look at a disk other than the current one, then just type the drive letter after ACTAEON. eg ACTAEON D: All the cursor control keys, including the <HOME>, <END>, <PGUP> and <PGDN> keys may be used to move about the directory listing. You may obtain context sensitive help at any time by pressing the F1 key. ActaeOn V1.60 3. REFERENCE 3.1 Screen Layout The main screen display is divided into 6 main sections A. Current Path +----------------------------------+---------------+ | B. | C. Disk Info | | | | | +---------------+ | | D. | | Directory Window | | | | File Window | | | | | | | +----------------------------------+---------------+ | E. No of Tagged Files | F. Dir Info | +----------------------------------+---------------+ G. Commands A. Current Path This shows the full path name of the currently highlighted directory. B. Directory Window This shows a graphical display of the directory structure on the currently logged disk. When in directory mode a highlight bar shows the current directory. You may scroll up and down in this window by using the cursor control keys. C. Disk Info This shows the currently logged drive, its volume name, the total size of the disk and how much free space is left. D. File Window This shows a listing of all files in the current directory. When in file mode, a highlight bar shows the currently selected file. The display may be scrolled up and down by using the cursor control keys (or a mouse if you have one). E. No of Tagged Files This shows the number, and total size of all tagged files. F. Directory Info This shows the number of files and the total size of the currently selected directory. G. Commands These two lines show all the commands which are available. The commands shown will depend on whether you are in file mode or Directory mode. 3.2 COMMANDS The commands are displayed on the last two lines of the screen. To select the command simply press the letter that is highlighted and in capitals. A number of the commands require further information (for example when requesting Find file you will need to enter the file to search for). In these cases a window will pop up for you to enter the data. You may press the <ESC> key to abandon these commands. Most commands, particularly those which may alter the contents of your disk, ask you for confirmation before the command is executed. The commands are split into 5 basic groups a) General Commands b) Directory mode commands c) File mode commands d) Control commands e) User defined commands The general commands are equally applicable to both Directory mode and File mode. Control commands become visible when you press down the <CTRL> key. User defined commands become visible when you press down the <ALT> key. Only the commands appropriate to the mode you are in are displayed on the command line. a) GENERAL COMMANDS These commands may be used in both Directory mode and File mode. Where commands exist in both Directory mode and File mode, but which have slightly different meanings depending on the mode, they are described in the appropriate section. QUIT - This exits the program. This command may also be activated by pressing the <ESC> key. CONFIGURE This option enables you to configure ActaeOn to suit your requirements. This includes the ability to change the screen's colors, the number of lines in the display (on EGA and VGA screens only), whether the bell is on or off, and the sort order of the files. It also allows you to assign your favorite utilities to ALT key combinations. On selecting this option a menu will pop up with the configuration options. You can select the option you are interested in by moving the highlight bar with the cursor keys, double clicking on the option with the mouse, or typing the first letter of the command and then pressing <ENTER>. Pressing F1 at any stage, either while an option is highlighted or while your are within an option, will give you full context sensitive help. For details of how to integrate your own commands into ActaeOn see Chapter 5. FIND FILE - This searches the entire disk for a specified file. A window pops up for you to enter the filename and extension which you wish to search for. You may use the '*' character as a wildcard. For example if you wish to search for a file which starts with the letters ACT and you don't care what the extension is then enter ACT* in the filename and * in the extension. GLOBAL This toggles the special form of File mode. All the files on the currently logged disk are sorted in to alphabetical order, regardless of the directory that they are in. HELP This command displays help information relevant to the mode you are in. For example when in Directory mode, only those commands that you may use are displayed. You may also obtain help by pressing the F1 function key. For help to be displayed the file ACTAEON.HLP must be in the same directory as the main program file. INFORMATION - This command displays the following information : The amount of free memory Number of files on the disk Number of directories on the disk The version of ActaeOn and the release date The amount of memory reported by DOS The amount of EMS memory (if installed) The number of serial ports The number of logical drives The number of floppy drives The version of DOS Whether or not a maths co-processor is present The type of CPU in your machine The serial number of ActaeOn LOG DISK - This enables you to change the currently logged disk. A window will pop up with a list of all the drives installed on your machine. You can select the drive to log by simply entering the drive letter or positioning the highlight bar over the required drive with the cursor control keys and pressing ENTER. SHELL TO DOS - This temporarily exits ActaeOn allowing you to enter DOS commands at the familiar C> prompt. When you have finished, typing EXIT will return you to ActaeOn. Shell does not re-read the directory when you return to ActaeOn, nor does it release any memory. If the applications you intend to run require more memory then you should use Ctrl-Shell (see control commands). VOLUME LABEL - This command changes the disks volume label. A pop-up window will appear for you to enter the new volume label. WINDOW - This changes the currently active window. For example if you are in Directory mode (ie the highlight bar is in the directory window) then the program will switch to File mode and visa-versa. The TAB key performs the same effect. XPLORE This command searches the entire disk for a text string entered by yourself. The case is ignored when searching for the string. The number of files searched is displayed as it reads them. You can abort the command at any time by pressing the escape key. ZOOM When entering this mode, the file display is expanded to fill the entire screen in three columns. All of the file mode commands are available in Zoom Mode. Pressing the ENTER key toggles between Zoom Mode, Directory Mode and File Mode. b) DIRECTORY MODE COMMANDS The following commands are only applicable in directory mode. Directory mode is indicated by the highlight bar being visible in the directory window. DELETE DIRECTORY This command deletes the highlighted directory. A window pops up to confirm that you wish to proceed with the deletion. The directory must have no files or subordinate directories in it and must not be the root directory. NEW DIRECTORY This command creates a sub-directory in the currently highlighted directory. A window pops up for you to enter the name of the new directory. TAG FILES This tags all the files in the currently highlighted directory. See control commands for commands which operate on all tagged files. UNTAG FILES This command untags all the files in the currently highlighted directory. c) FILE MODE COMMANDS The following commands are only applicable in File mode. File mode is indicated by the highlight bar being visible in the file window. ATTRIBUTES - This command displays the file attributes of the currently highlighted file and the date and time of the last amendment. Press any key to return to the file mode display. COPY FILE - This copies the currently highlighted file. The system will display a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which the file is to be copied to. If the drive is the currently logged drive then you should just position the highlight bar on to the directory which you wish to copy to. If the drive is not the currently logged drive you should enter the full path name of the destination directory. DELETE - This command deletes the currently highlighted file. A window will pop up asking you for confirmation before the deletion is actioned. EDIT FILE - This command edits the currently highlighted file. The editor uses Wordstar type commands which are as follows : Exit Editor Ctrl-K D Top of Block Ctrl-Q B Bottom of Block Ctrl-Q K Jump to marker 0..3 Ctrl-Q 0 .. Ctrl-Q 3 Set marker 0..3 Ctrl-K 0 .. Ctrl-K 3 New Line Ctrl-M Insert Line Ctrl-N Delete word Ctrl-T Delete to end of line Ctrl-Q Y Delete line Ctrl-Y Find Ctrl-Q F Find and replace Ctrl-Q A Find next Ctrl-L Begin Block Ctrl-K B End Block Ctrl-K K Copy Block Ctrl-K C Move Block Ctrl-K V Delete Block Ctrl-K Y Print Block Ctrl-K P Toggle Wordwrap Ctrl-O W Set right margin at cursor Ctrl-O R Commands such as Read Block, Find etc can be cancelled by typing Ctrl-U The editor will only edit files up to 64Kb and requires that amount of free memory. You may display the above list of commands while in the editor by pressing the F1 function key. MOVE FILES - This moves the currently highlighted file. The system will display a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which the file is to be moved to. If the drive is the currently logged drive then you should just position the highlight bar on to the directory which you wish to move to. If the drive is not the currently logged drive you should enter the full path name of the destination directory. This command is the equivalent of copying the file and then deleting the original. RENAME FILE This command renames the currently highlighted file. A window will pop up asking you for the new name of the file. The new name must not contain any wildcard (* or ?) characters TAG FILE This command will tag the currently highlighted file. See Control Commands for commands which operate on all tagged files. UNTAG FILE This command untags the currently highlighted file. d) CONTROL COMMANDS Control commands are accessed by holding down the <CTRL> key. This will show you which commands are available. COPY This command copies all tagged files. The system will display a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which the files are to be copied to. If the drive is the currently logged drive then you should just position the highlight bar on to the directory which you wish to copy to. If the drive is not the currently logged drive you should enter the full path name of the destination directory. DELETE This command deletes all the tagged files. A window will pop up asking you for confirmation and then ActaeOn will ask you wether you wish to confirm each deletion individually. It you say No then all the tagged files will be deleted without further prompting. If you say Yes, then ActaeOn will ask for confirmation before deleting each file. FIND (AGAIN) This command repeats the last search criteria and will find the next file matching the name and extension entered. MOVE This command moves all tagged files. The system will display a pop up window for you to enter the drive to which the files are to be copied to. If the drive is the currently logged drive then you should just position the highlight bar on to the directory which you wish to copy to. If the drive is not the currently logged drive you should enter the full path name of the destination directory. This command is equivalent to copying all tagged files and then deleting the originals. SHELL TO DOS - This temporarily exits ActaeOn allowing you to enter DOS commands at the familiar C> prompt. When you have finished, typing EXIT will return you to ActaeOn. Ctrl-Shell re-reads the directory when you return to ActaeOn, and it releases as much memory as possible. If the applications you intend to run require more memory then you should use the normal Shell (see General commands). TAG This command prompts for a file filter and then tags all files on the disk matching the filter. For example if you wish to tag all files ending with a BAK extension, enter CTRL-T and then enter * for the filename and BAK for the extension. UNTAG This command untags either all files on the disk (if in Directory Mode) or all files in the current directory. 4. Using ActaeOn with a Mouse Although a mouse is not required to use ActaeOn it can make its use considerably easier. You may select a directory or file by simply positioning the mouse cursor over the object in question and clicking on it using the left mouse button, regardless of wether you are in directory mode or file mode. You can scroll the displays by dragging the scroll bar on the right of either window. To do this position the mouse cursor on the scroll bar and hold down the left mouse button. Move the mouse in the required direction and then release the button. Files may be tagged by positioning the mouse cursor on the file and pressing both mouse buttons together (or the centre button if you have a three button mouse) You may also select commands by clicking on them. If you wish to access Control commands then first click on CTRL (top right hand corner of the screen) and then click on the appropriate command. In general the Left mouse button is treated as the Enter key and the right button is treated as the Escape key. 5. User Defined commands In ActaeOn you can assign you own commands to ALT key combinations. These are displayed, like other internal commands when you press down the ALT key. To define your own commands, go to the Configuration menu and select the Add command option. When you select this option a window will pop up which will allow you to enter details about the command. This includes the title of the command to be displayed in the <ALT> menu, the command itself and any parameters to the command. The parameter definition can include special characters to substitute the currently highlighted file, directory, cause a window to pop up for the user to enter details etc. Context sensitive help on each field is available. User defined commands are stored in a Command Definition File called ACTAEON.CDF An explanation of each field follows: COMMAND TITLE This is the name shown when the <ALT> key is pressed down. It must be 10 characters or less and the first character (which is used to select the command) must be unique. When you enter a command title which has already been used, the details are filled in the remaining fields. COMMAND This is the file name, including extension, of the command. You should generally enter the full pathname of the command, but if you don't then the command must either be in the current DOS directory, the directory from which ActaeOn was loaded or on the DOS PATH. PARAMETERS This field should contain the parameters which are to be passed to the command. In addition to normal text you may enter Special character sequences which will cause, for example the currently highlighted field, directory etc to be substituted. The following character sequences may be used in the parameter definition %F This is replaced by the currently highlighted file including directory %D This is replaced by the currently highlighted directory. %Pnn"text" This causes the user to be prompted for a field of length nn with "text" as the window title. %L This is replaced by the currently logged drive letter and colon %E This is substituted with the currently highlighted file's extension %N This is substituted with the currently highlighted file's name (no directory). HOME DIRECTORY ActaeOn will change the current DOS directory to the directory entered here before running the specified command. On return to ActaeOn, the DOS directory will be restored to that value it was when ActaeOn was first started. PAUSE This entry tells ActaeOn wether to wait for the user to press a key before redisplying the ActaeOn screen when the users command has finished. RE-READ This entry tells ActaeOn wether to re-read the disk after finishing the user's command. It the entry is Y, then more memory is freed up for the user's command and the directory display is guarenteed to reflect any changes made to the directory structure while executing the command. If your command does not require the memory and does not alter the disk (such as LIST.COM) then this should be set to N as re-entry to ActaeOn is much faster. 6. System Requirements The program has been designed to run on IBM PC's and 100% compatibles. MS-DOS V3.01 or later 256Kb of free memory A Hard Disk is recommended In addition ActaeOn will take advantage of the following hardware if it is available Microsoft Compatible mouse EGA or VGA Graphics card EMS memory (for overlays) There must be no more than 255 directories and 4096 files on any given disk. 7. Future Enhancements ActaeOn is under constant development. Although no commitment can be made as to which features will appear in which future release, the following facilities are being actively considered for future versions of ActaeOn. Change file attributes Format Disk (Floppies only) Undelete File Print Directory View File (Look inside archives, Hex dump etc) Logging multiple drives Sorting directories If you have any suggestions for enhancements I would be glad to hear them. A release history may be found in the READ.ME file 8. Acknowledgements IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines MS-DOS is a trademark of MicroSoft Inc. Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International Inc. Wordstar is a trademark of Micropro International Corporation. All other trademarks are acknowledged The code to amend Volume Labels was written by Andy Dingley My thanks to the following who beta tested ActaeOn Graham Macleod James S Hooton Andy Dingley Mark Chamberlain Mel Pullen Ian Bevan 9. Registration Registered users of ActaeOn will receive a laser printed manual and an advance copy of the next major release of the software. In addition Technical Support will be provided by post, on CIX the Compulink Information Exchange (userid jonc), and on CompuServe (userid 100013,57). Telephone support is not currently available. The registration cost is 34.95 dollars. Registration in dollars can only be accepted by Visa/Master Card. Details should be sent to : Jon Clempner 20, Norleigh Road, Northenden, Manchester M22 4AZ ENGLAND Or via CompuServe (100013,57) The cost includes Despatch by surface mail and Packing, a printed manual and a copy of the next major release of the software when it becomes available. In addition bug clearance releases may be sent out, free of charge, at the discretion of the author. Site Licence agreements are available, contact the author for more details. Please let me know the current version and Serial number. Both of these may be found in the Information display. Software will be distributed on 5 1/4 inch 360Kb disks; 3 1/2 inch 720Kb disks are available for an extra charge of 2 dollars For Air Mail delivery please add 5.00 dollars An order form (ORDER.FRM) which will print on any printer is provided for your convienience. 10. Association of Shareware Professionals _______ ____|__ | (tm) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER Jon Clempner is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536