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1993-08-14
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▀▀▀▀\ ▀▀▀▀▀▀\
▀\ ▀\ V3.10 ▀▀\ ▀▀\
▀\ ▀\ ▀▀\
▀\ ▀\ ▀▀\
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀\ ▀▀\
▀\ ▀\ ▀▀\ ▀▀\
▀\ ▀\rchive ▀▀▀▀▀▀\onverter
Donald M. Langhorne
South 5241 Columbia Ave.
Hamburg, NY 14075
Registration only $10
-i-
Contents
--------
Introduction---------------------- 1
Special Features------------------ 1
Installation---------------------- 1
Archive programs------------------ 2
Usage----------------------------- 3
Options--------------------------- 4
Using ACSETUP--------------------- 5
Command Line---------------------- 6
Command Line Options-------------- 7
Command Line Examples------------- 8
Command Line Error Levels--------- 9
Logging----------------------------10
Limitations----------------------- 11
Disclaimer------------------------ 13
Registration---------------------- 13
-1-
INTRODUCTION:
=============
AC converters to/from almost all archive types. AC can be used
in two possible mode of operation: UI(User Interface) Mode
and command line mode. Both modes are available with just one
EXE file. To effectively use this program you must have at
least a basic understanding of how archivers work, and what they
are. To begin using AC, you will need to place the EXE files,
.HLP files, and AC.DB in a directory accessible from your DOS
path.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
=================
- Virtually ANY known or future archiver can be defined to work
with AC, so long as it follows a few basic rules.
- AC has the ability to report conversion to a log file
- AC works in conjunction with a configuration file AC.DB. This allows
for customization
- AC supports recursive archives. To convert an archive recursively
the archive being converted to MUST support recursion.
- AC can SCAN archives during conversion to check for viruses
- AC supports nested archives upto 1 level deep.
- AC can also automate the process of updating an archive, or
converting an archive to a newer version of the same type.
- Can customize the colors that AC uses, and change the VGA
pallette.
- Can now convert files on floppy diskettes. For this feature to
work, you must have your TEMP environment variable set to a
valid directory.
Installation:
=============
Installation can be completed by following these simple steps:
1) Copy the files AC.EXE, AC.DB and ACS.EXE to a directory
in your path. If you already have an older version of AC,
and would like to use your older copy of AC.DB, check the
file UPDATE.TXT to see what is needed if anything to upgrade
the file to the newer release.
2) If you want On-Line help in UI mode, the copy the files
AC.HLP and ACS.HLP to the same location as above.(AC will
operate without these files, but you will be on your own!)
3) Wherever you place AC.EXE, AC.DB and ACSETUP.EXE they MUST
be in the SAME location for AC to operate properly.
4) Run ACS.EXE(ACSetup) and modify the archivers, dearchivers,
defaults, and the registration number, where applicable.
5) Run AC.
That's It!! Enjoy.
-2-
Archive Programs:
The following is a list of all known archivers that are defined
by default with the shareware version of AC, and some alternates
that can be used instead.
Type: Files Supported Vendor Versions(tested & supported)
=============================================================================
ARC programs:
pkarc.exe & pkxarc.exe {PKWARE, Inc.} 3.61
pkpak.exe & pkunpak.exe {PKWARE, Inc.} 3.61
arc.exe {Sea, Inc.} 6.02
ARJ programs:
arj.exe {Robert Jung} 2.00-2.30
LZH programs:
lha.exe {Haruyasu Yoshizaki} 2.11-13
lharc.exe {Haruyasu Yoshizaki} 1.13c
ZIP programs:
pkzip.exe & pkunzip.exe {PKWARE, Inc.} 1.10-2.04g
DWC programs:
dwc.exe {Dean W. Cooper} A5.01
HYP programs: (P. Sawatzki K.P. Nischke}
hyper.exe 2.5
ZOO programs:
zoo.exe {Rahul Dhesi} 2.01-2.10
MD programs:
mdcd.exe {Mike Davenport} 1.00
PAK programs:
pak.exe {NOGATE Consulting} 2.51
LZS programs: {K.MIKI H.OKUMURA K.MASUYAMA}
larc.exe &larc7e.ovr 3.33
SQZ programs: {Jonas I Hammarberg}
sqz.exe 1.08.2-1.08.3
-3-
USAGE:
AC has been designed to be as easy and quick to use as possible.
All that is necessary to convert an archive is to follow these
simple rules:
1) After running AC, you will see a window that shows all
the available directories(including '..' to allow you
to navigate your entire directory structure by moving
one directory back toward the root directory). This
window will also show any archives that reside in your
current directory. AC will ONLY show valid archive
files that match the archivers defined in ACSetup.
2) By moving the cursor, either highlight the file you want to
convert or Tag files for conversion.
3) Before you convert the archives, you should check to see
that AC is configured for your needs. Hitting the F3
key will bring up a window with all the current toggles
and their settings. Make any adjustments necessary.
***It is possible to save the desired settings of the***
***Toggles as defaults only if AC has been registered***
4) after you have selected what archive type and what settings
to use, Press <ENTER> to convert the highlighted file only,
<F2> to convert multiple files.
5) AC will then proceed with the conversion, and when done
return you to the main program, with the file list
updated.
-4-
OPTIONS:
=========
All options can be changed by highlighting the desired toggle and
pressing the <return> key to go through the available selections.
To the left of each option, an alternate hot key is shown where
applicable.
N/A Convert to: ARC/ARJ/DWC/LZH/LZS/MD/PAK/ZIP/ZOO
This setting allows the user to change what type of archive
that AC should convert to.
<ALT-R> Recursion: ON/OFF
This will either turn on support for recursion or turn it off.
Recursion means to recognize archives that have directories with
files converted without losing it's structure.
If you are converting a recursed archive to another type that
does not support recursion, it is important to turn this switch
off.
<ALT-I> Timestamp: ON/OFF
This toggle when turned on causes AC to alter the date of
the new archive file to the latest date of the actual files
that are inside the archive. Turning this feature off causes
AC to use today's date for the date of the archive.
<ALT-L> Logging: ON/OFF
This toggle when on, will cause AC to send a one line report to
a text file AC.LOG that shows the name and size of both the
old archive and new archive, and the difference in size after
conversion. Each time a file is converted with this on, AC.LOG
will be appended to. Turning this feature off will cause no
report to be sent.
<ALT-C> Scan: ON/OFF
This toggle when ON, will enable SCAN.EXE to check for viruses
inside the archive. This will increase the conversion time, so
it can usually be turned off, unless you are converting a file
you have just downloaded.
<ALT-K> Keep Originals: ON/OFF
This toggle when ON, prevents AC from deleting the original
archive after conversion.
<ALT-V> Video Mode: 25/28/43/50
This will toggle the screen size. Be aware that 43/50 line
support is not available for CGA monitors and 50 line support
is not available to EGA monitors. Changing this value on a
monitor that does not support these modes, could cause the
screen to look very odd, since AC does not check before it
switches modes, whether the monitor supports the higher modes.
<ALT-U> Update Mode: ON/OFF
This toggle when ON will allow AC to support updating of
archives. For example you may want to update all your existing
ZIP files to the new version. With this set to ON, AC will not
check to see if it is overwriting a file, which it normally does.
This should only be set to ON when you want to update archives to
the same type.
<ALT-N> Nested Archives: ON/OFF
This toggle when ON will provide support for converting archives
within archives.
-5-
Using ACS(Previously ACSETUP)
=============================
-ACS is a menu driven program that allows the user to
configure the AC.DB file for use with AC.EXE.
Once AC.DB is configured it is not necessary to keep ACS
installed, but any future changes that need to be made must
be done using ACS.
-Assuming ACS is in your path and AC.DB is in THE SAME
DIRECTORY as ACS, ACS can be run from any directory.
-When using ACS, use the up and down arrow keys to highlight
the item you wish to change. Then hit the enter key to choose
your choice. ESC will return you to the previous menu options.
and if you hit ESC at the main menu, it will exit the program.
-For specific help run ACS and press F1 for help, then select the
topic you wish help on.
-In order to define an archiver or dearchiver that is not already
defined in ACS, you should print out the command line help if
possible to help you enter the required information.
-If you do not want to add a switch, simply leave it blank. For
example, PKArc does NOT support recursion. Simply leave the fields
for recursion blank.
NOTE: The menu choice 'Default toggles' is only applicable to the
registered version. While you can enter and make changes
to these values, they will not be recognized by AC unless
a valid registration number has been entered.
-6-
Command Line:
=============
AC will accept command line options. This allows for faster operation
since AC is told what to do when it executes, acts on the switches and
exits. If you modify the command line switches, then obviously they
will not match those presented below. The switches below describe
the default switches and archiver definitions that are shipped with AC.
***Registered users can change the defaults for these options, and
therefore when using the commands: /k, /n, /u, /v, and /w would
actually toggle these features OFF if they were defined as being
ON.
Commands:
=========
/a Convert to .ARC{Default}
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type ARC
/j Convert to .ARJ
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type ARJ
/d Convert to .DWC
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type DWC
/h Convert to .HYP
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type HYP
/l Convert to .LZH
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type LZH
/p Convert to .PAK
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type PAK
/q Convert to .SQZ
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type SQZ
/s Convert to .LZS
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type LZS
/o Convert to .ZOO
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type ZOO
/z Convert to .ZIP
This will convert the specified file(s) to an archive(s) of type ZIP
/<x> Convert to .<EXT>
This would be any custom archivers that you define where
<x> would be the switch character chosen, and
<EXT> would be the extension chosen.
/k Keep originals
This command will prevent AC from deleting the original archive after
conversion.
/n Nested Archives
This command will provide support for automatic conversion of any
archives found inside of the main archives being converted.
-7-
Command Line(Cont.)
===================
/v Scan for Viruses.
This command will invoke McAffee's SCAN after extraction and before
re-compression. If a virus is detected, AC will notify the user.
/w Write report to LOG file
This command will cause AC to append/create to the file AC.LOG which
would be located in the same directory as AC.EXE. The log file will
keep information on the names and filesizes before and after
conversion, plus the difference in size and if it was scanned.
/u Update archive
this command will prevent AC from checking if there is already a file
with the name that the archive will become after conversion.
This command is most useful when simply updating an archive without
changing it's type. IE update files from pkzip 1.10 to 2.04
Other options from the command line:
====================================
-S Display defaults
This command will output the defaults preferences for AC.
***This feature is only useful for registered users.***
OPTIONS:
========
Options should follow the command that specifies the type to convert
to and should not have any spaces between the two.
IE 'AC /jr filename.zip' is the correct syntax.
r convert file with recursion.
This option will allow for nested directories inside of archive files.
t Update to latest member
This option will cause AC to locate the newest file inside of the
current archive and change to date of the new archive to that date.
-8-
Examples: Command Line
=======================
Example 1: To convert the file AC210.ZIP to an ARJ.
'AC /j AC210.ZIP' or 'AC AC210'
Example 2: To convert the file WP51.ZIP to an ARJ file with recursion
and timestamping without deleting the original archive.
'AC /jrt /k WP51.ZIP'
Example 3: To convert the file MYFILE.LZH to a ZIP file with recursion
timestamping, not deleting the original, scan for viruses
and report to a log file.
'AC /zrt /k /v /w MYFILE.ZIP'
Example 4: To update the file ZIPFILE.ZIP which is currently compressed
with PKZIP 1.10 to the newer PKZIP 2.00
'AC /z /u ZIPFILE.ZIP'
Note on defaults:
=========================
**Only Registered versions allow for the defaults to be modified.**
The pre-defined default for Archive type is ARC.
It is possible to not include a switch specifying what archive type
to convert to. IE 'AC MYFILE.ARJ' would automatically convert the
file from type .ARJ to type .ARC. Registered users can change this
default to any other for faster execution.
As of this release it is NOT possible to toggle the recursion or timestamp
options from the command line if NO archive switch is supplied.
-9-
Command Line Error Levels:
==========================
When AC is run in Command Line mode, it will return error level values
for use in batch files. If you are unfamiliar with batch files or with
DOS error levels, please consult your DOS manual.
The following error levels with their descriptions are returned by AC:
ERROR-LEVEL DESCRIPTION
---------------------------
0 Conversion Complete
1 User Abort. Conversion stopped
2 Error during extraction
3 Error during compression
4 New Archive was not created/does not exist
5 Temporary directory could NOT be created
6 Error changing directory
AC does NOT return different errorlevel values in UI mode. It will
always return 0.
-10-
Logging:
========
AC can optionally log information to a text file for each archive that it
converts. The text file is in text fixed length columns which would
allow for easy conversion to a database or spreadsheet if desired.
The basic convention of the log is as follows:
<Original Name>:<Original Size> ==> <New Name>:<New Size> <Difference> <Scan>
<Original Name>: The original name the archive had before conversion.
<Original Size>: Original size of archive in K {E.G. 50k}
<New Name>: The name of the archive after conversion.
<New Size>: The new size of the archive after conversion.
<Difference>: The difference between the new size and original size
plus whether the new size is larger or smaller than the
original size.
<Scan>: The condition of a virus scan. Can be one of three values.
1) unscanned : a scan was not performed during conversion.
2) scanned : archive was scanned. No viruses found.
3) scanned/cleaned : archive was scanned, a virus was found
but was cleaned by clean.exe.
**NOTE:
if a virus is detected during a scan when using AC. The
user must enter the virus ID to clean the infected files.
-11-
LIMITATIONS:
============
The following items describe known limitations of AC at the time it was
released. Should you encounter any problems/difficulties/confusion, you
should look here and be sure that you try using the On-Line help.
If you cannot find any help, then please feel free to contact me,
registered user or not! I always appreciate comments on my programs.
I have tried to make this latest release as robust as possible, and feel
personally that it is much, much better than the previous version of AC,
but since I have almost completely rewritten AC in C++, and due to the
long amount of time involved, I felt it was more important to release AC
as is, rather than spend 3-4 more months ironing out what I feel are
minor limitations, that CAN be avoided. I will of course be addressing
these issues and will add/fix them in future releases.
-- ACSetup uses quite a bit of memory at times. It uses memory dynamically,
which means that it takes what it needs as it goes along, and then
discards it when finished. At some points in ACSetup, I have verified
that is uses at least 332KB of RAM. Due to this large number, you may
experience difficulties when running ACSetup from AC(which uses ~150K).
If you encounter problems with lock-ups or receive the message:
'Not Enough Memory' in a RED BOX, then you have probably run out of free
RAM. I usually run my machine with about 625K of RAM and have had no
problems, but I realize that some users do not work with that much free
RAM. The easiest solution would be to run ACSetup itself from DOS, instead
of running it through AC. I plan on working on ACSetup to reduce the
memory overhead in future releases and pursue the possibility of using
some sort of memory swapping routines to give ACSetup more RAM when run
from AC.
-- If you convert an archive and the new archive name is being used by another
archive, then AC will overwrite the old archive with the new one.
For example:
You have the following files in your directory:
MYFILE.ARC
MYFILE.ZIP
MYFILE.ARJ
If you convert MYFILE.ARC to ARJ, then the original file that existed
before you started the conversion will be replaced by the new file
that is created during conversion. Older versions of AC would ask you
to confirm overwrite, and optionally allow you to type a new name.
I will be re-implementing this feature ASAP.
-- In ACSETUP, it is possible to delete ALL the archivers or ALL the
dearchivers. While this is probably something that will never happen,
if you do this, then you will not be able to add any more archives. You
would then have to recreate the Database with the menu option in ACSetup.
Remember: If you do recreate the database, you will have to re-set your
preferences, and define the archivers/dearchivers and re-register the
product if applicable. This issue will be addressed.
-12-
Limitations(cont.)
==================
-- During the conversion process, you can press the <ESC> key to cancel
the conversion process. When you press <ESC>, AC will finish what it
is doing, THEN ask you if you wish to continue or not. If you select
NO and you are converting multiple archives, AC will stop ALL conversions.
I myself would like to see the option to skip the current archive, and
will address this issue.
-- As of this release, if you wish to scan for viruses, you must have
McAffee's SCAN.EXE and optionally CLEAN.EXE. It has been brought
to my attention that some users prefer other virus checking programs.
I had intended to add the ability to customize the virus programs,
but after looking into the issue, I realized that it was a rather
complex problem due to the fact that most all other scanners do NOT
have 2 separate programs to scan and clean, and none seem to need you
to type in the name of the virus when cleaning. I will be visiting
this issue and I feel it is an important one to implement.
-- The following issue is one that I feel could/perhaps/maybe/who knows!
be an issue: If you find that the amount of information in the dialog
box input screens is not enough to adequately define an archiver or
dearchiver, then please let me know. I can easily increase the length
of characters that are allowed(within reason!). I have not because
I could not find any archivers that had command line switches longer
than 6 characters for any individual switch. And the smaller the
fields are, the less memory they use. I will only address this issue
if it is brought to my attention that it is a problem for someone.
--As of this release AC no longer supports SFX archives.
This will be re-implemented in a future releases
--AC does not work with hercules video cards to the best of my
knowledge.
--Do not Add Recursive switch settings to DWC or ZOO, while they
both support recursion, they both use the full path with the
drive, and will not work with AC at this time.
--While AC does support the option to scan archives for viruses,
I have not been able to test this feature properly in a
real-time situation. I would appreciate hearing from ANYONE
who experience a virus detection with AC, and can let me know
if it executed properly or not.
--DWC uses the environment variable TEMP if it exists to point
to the directory for it to create temporary files in. If this
value is set to a directory that does not exist DWC will not
function.
-13-
DISCLAIMER:
===========
I assume no liability or responsibility for any damages that may occur
from the use or misuse of this program. A user operates this program
without any guarantees as to the accuracy of the information included.
All use is at the user's risk.
A note on registration:
=======================
I am releasing this program as shareware. Using this program for a
NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSE is allowed. AC is NOT Public Domain Software
nor is it Freeware. It is copyrighted by myself and I retain the
rights to all files included in this release. Using this program
for personal use is allowed for a trial period of up to 30 days.
Thereafter you should either register this product, or discontinue
use. I firmly believe that $10 will not break any ones piggy bank
and is a very reasonable price for what you get.
Please make payment in US funds to:
Donald M. Langhorne
South 5241 Columbia Ave.
Hamburg, NY 14075
Thank you for your interest in AC.
Why register:
=============
Registering this program gives you a license to use AC and enjoy
free upgrades for the life of the program. The registered
version will enable defaults for all options to be set
either on or off in the AC.DB file.
For more information or to register write to the above address.
problems or suggestions:
========================
If you encounter a problem or have any suggestions in reference to this
program, please send your comments to the above address or to the
following boards. I am interested in you problems/suggestion
with/for AC. Please contact me with any questions or problems. I
will try to help anyone, registered or not who takes the time to get
in touch with me as best as I can.
US Mail: Donald M. Langhorne
South 5241 Columbia Ave.
Hamburg, NY 14075
Compuserve ID:71031,3113