Current Shareware 1994 January/SHAR194.ISO/dos_util/eddy7e.zip/EDDY_HST.DOC

Text File | 1993-09-23 | 22KB | 429 lines

                                   EDDY (TM)

                               REVISION HISTORY

    ==================================================================
    If you have registered an earlier version of EDDY, please see the
    EDDY.DOC file, Section 25.4.  There you will find instructions for
    converting your copy of this new version to a registered copy.
    ==================================================================

    Since the first public release of EDDY, many intermediate versions have
    been produced, but they had very limited distribution.  There does not
    seem to be any useful purpose in detailing the history of all of them.

    This document describes functionality changes other than minor bug
    fixes.  Changes in the current version of EDDY are described first.

    Changes to versions prior to 6a have been deleted from this file, as
    there seems to be little interest in ancient history among the user
    base.  If you have one of the older versions, and feel that you need
    this information, I'll be glad to send it to you.  Just ask.


    Version 7e (changes since 7d)
    =============================
    1.  Data error ("bad spot") recovery is improved:  When copying or
        moving files that have read errors, you may choose to skip the bad
        data, copy it as is, or replace the bad data with "#"s (or other
        character, if you customize EDDY).

    2.  Some of the files have been renamed, so that they once again all
        begin with "EDDY", and so won't overwrite files from other packages
        when you copy them (except for FILE_ID.DIZ - no choice on that).

    Version 7d (changes since 7c)
    =============================
    1.  Registration info is available by pressing [Alt+z].

    2.  You can copy and move directories, with all their files and sub-
        directories, from any disk to any other disk.

    3.  The COPY/MOVE/DELETE Controls are now called "Synchronization
        Controls".  Their function remains the same, but the description of
        their use (in EDDY.DOC) has been expanded and (hopefully) clarified.

    4.  If you rename a file, even before you update to make the new name
        permanent, the new name will be used in any comparisons made (e.g.,
        [Shift+F3], [Alt+Shift+F3]).  Thus you may type the new name over
        the old to do comparisons between files and directory entries which
        have different names, and then UNDO the rename if you don't really
        want to make the change.  The new name will also be used for
        comparing timestamps for copy and move operations, according to the
        settings of the Synchronization Controls.

    5.  Disk image copying has been changed.  The name of the file in which
        a full disk image will be stored is now "DRIVE.{C}" (if you're
        copying from drive C:).  If you mark and then copy selected portions
        of a disk, the data will be written to a file named "SECTORS.{C}".
        You may now copy all or part of the disk's system area -- boot
        sector, FAT, root directory -- without copying the entire disk.

    6.  EDDY no longer restricts you from patching sectors on a compressed
        disk (Stacker, et al).  Now, after a warning, you may proceed if you
        really want to.

    7.  Volume labelling capabilities are expanded.  A label may contain
        ANYTHING you want -- even "\", ":", etc.  It may even be set to all
        spaces if you wish.  Labels may also be deleted.

    8.  When using the default point-n-shoot command -- [Shift+F8] or
        [Shift+^F8] -- you may now choose whether to pause after the command
        is executed or not, and whether the command should execute only on
        files with the same extension as the current file or on any file.

    9.  The Synchronization Control setting of "C" is now used in batch mode
        as well as interactively.  See EDDY.DOC, Section 20.3 for more info.

   10.  Some users have complained that their mice move erratically,
        especially when using the menus.  Although unable to reproduce this
        problem, I have changed EDDY to reduce the horizontal mouse
        sensitivity by half when working with menus.  I hope this helps.


    Version 7c (changes since 7b)
    =============================
    1.  Now you can register your copy of EDDY by credit card!  Please see
        details in EDDY.DOC, Section 26.2  .

    2.  Directory sorting can now be made permanent.  You can also arrange
        your directories in any arbitrary sequence you wish.  See Section 22
        of EDDY.DOC.

    3.  Option /H has been added (or as some long-time users will realize,
        reinstated).  By default now, EDDY does not include files with
        "hidden" or "system" attributes in the display.  Using the attribute
        filtering mechanism displays ONLY those files.  If you want to show
        all files together, use option /H.

    4.  When the DOS system files (IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM, or some such
        name) are included in the display of the root directory, they will
        be at the top, to emphasize their importance  -- i.e., if you mess
        with them, you probably won't be able to boot your system!

    5.  Disk-image copying and restoring are both used by pressing
        [Shift+F5]. If the cursor is on the "Drive" line of the display,
        disk-image copying is started; if it is on a file, disk-image
        restoring is used (and the file is now tagged "Copy image", rather
        than "Copy(!)" as previously).  Thus, [^m], previously used as the
        "Mark all" command, is no longer used.  If you press it by mistake,
        it acts just like [Alt+m]: "Jump to first mark".

    6.  If EDDY is started from a floppy, the necessary overlays to handle
        UPDATE and LOOK/PATCH operations are pre-loaded automatically, so
        that the diskette may be changed and that same drive may be used as
        working or target directory if desired.  Previously, you had to use
        option /3 to do this.

    7.  You can set the date and time to all zeros (both, not separately).
        If you do this, the timestamp will not be displayed at all when you
        use the DOS "DIR" command.  Useful to call attention to entries in
        the "DIR" listing.

    8.  When you LOOK at a disk, the initial display will be the sector of
        the current working directory, rather than the boot sector.

    9.  EDDY attempts to identify "compressed" or "extended" disks that are
        produced by products such as Stacker (tm) or DoubleDisk (tm).  Some
        of the things (e.g., sector patching, directory moving) you can do
        with EDDY are unsafe to do with these disks.  If EDDY can't
        automatically determine the disk type, you will be asked before
        anything potentially unsafe is attempted.

   10.  In answer to requests from European users, the margins of EDDY.DOC
        have been changed slightly, to accommodate printing on A4-size paper.

    Version 7b (changes since 7a)
    =============================

    1.  A number of bugs had crept in over time, having to do with incompat-
        ibilities between DOS versions.  These had made some of EDDY's
        features (in some cases, ALL of EDDY's features) unusable with
        versions earlier than DOS 3.2.  These bugs have been resolved, and
        EDDY should again be usable with DOS 2.0 and all later versions.

    2.  In recognition of the growing number of EDDY users who are not from
        the USA, EDDY will display file timestamps in the format you choose.
        If your system is set up (usually via the "COUNTRY=" command in
        CONFIG.SYS) to use dates of the form "dd/mm/yy" or "yy-mm-dd",
        rather than the USA-style "mm-dd-yy", EDDY will use that format.

    3.  EDDY's display has been made more helpful.  More of the function key
        uses are shown on the bottom line, and the area to the right of the
        files display has some "boxes" showing more key uses; these boxes
        may also be "clicked" on with a mouse to get the indicated action.

    4.  Redirection is supported for "Point-n-Shoot" and EDDY.USE commands.

    5.  The "Exit directory" functionality has been expanded, and renamed as
        "Directory Recall".  As before, [Shift+F10] selects the current
        working directory as the directory that will become the default when
        you quit EDDY.  To acknowledge the selection, the message "Directory
        recall set" is displayed.  The new capability is that having set
        directory recall, pressing [Shift+^F10] uses the selected directory
        as the new working directory.

    6.  Editing a file's timestamp has no effect on the file's attributes.
        Previously, timestamp edits turned on the "archive" attribute.

    7.  When a repeating command such as [^F5], [^F6], etc. is executed, a
        message is displayed telling how many files have been tagged for the
        corresponding action.

    8.  Some error and warning messages have been changed, but also more
        thoroughly documented (Appendix C of EDDY.DOC).  When these messages
        are displayed, a reference to Appendix C also appears.

    Version 7a (changes since 6c2)
    ==============================

    1.  EDDY's "Disk Jockey" functions (see Section 21 of EDDY.DOC) now work
        with any size disk (including RAM disks).  Earlier versions were
        restricted to disks of 32 megabytes or less.

    2.  With the cursor on the '..' entry in the display, and display
        sequence is...
        ...not inverted: pressing [home] moves to next higher directory
        ...inverted: pressing [end] moves to next higher directory
        just as though you had pressed [F3].

    3.  In addition to interrupting repeating commands such as [^f], [^F5],
        etc., pressing [^c] will also terminate a "where's that file?" scan,
        as well as the directory scanning process that calculates the net
        sizes of files involved in an impending update.

    4.  If there are no changes pending, pressing [Enter] will have the same
        effect as pressing [F3] if you are positioned on a file, directory
        or "drive" entry in the display; i.e., you will LOOK at that entry.
        On other display lines, you'll get the usual "Nothing to update"
        message.  If you don't like this use of [Enter], you may customize
        EDDY accordingly; see Section 24.3.4 of EDDY.DOC.  [Enter] still
        initiates an UPDATE if changes are pending.

    5.  When LOOKing at RAM, directory entries found there may be displayed
        in EDIT-mode ("DIR") format.  Just as when LOOKing at a disk, move
        the directory data to the top of the screen, and press [Alt+d].

    6.  Some administrivia:  1) EDDY now (gently) reminds you if you are
        using an unregistered copy.  Upon registering, you will receive the
        latest version, personally registered to you.  2) After more than
        two years of significant changes and the ravages of inflation,
        EDDY's registration fee is increased to $25.00.

    Version 6c2 (changes since 6c)
    ==============================

    1.  If you press and hold down the [Scroll] key, all processing stops
        until you release the key.

    2.  [NumLock] state (ON/OFF) is always ignored by EDDY -- i.e., treated
        as OFF, unless [NumLock] is pressed while EDDY is running.  Once it
        has been pressed, its state is recognized and treated accordingly.

    3.  Disk-image copying, formerly referred to as "disk-to-file", can now
        be done from EDIT mode, by pressing [Alt+F5].  No need to go to LOOK
        mode, mark all clusters, and then copy.

        The no. of bytes of control information prefixed to a disk-image
        file has increased, from 4 to 6.  However, if you have backup disks
        created with earlier versions of EDDY, these may still be used; EDDY
        recognizes the difference and acts appropriately.

    4.  When LOOKing at a disk (the "Drive" line in the display), you may
        "mark" clusters to be copied even though you have not selected a
        target directory previously.  If there is no target, EDDY will ask
        for one, without requiring an exit to EDIT mode.

    5.  [BackSpace] may be used to terminate a repeating operation, as well
        as [^c].  This is to avoid traumatic experiences for long-time EDDY
        users who have problems adjusting to change no. 7 of version 6b.

    6.  If you go to PATCH immediately after a successful FIND, the patching
        cursor will be placed on the character at the start of the "found"
        string.  The cursor will be in the same mode (hex/ASCII) as the mode
        used to enter the search string when you did the FIND.

        If you press any key except [F4] after the FIND, the cursor will be
        placed on the first character of the display if you subsequently do
        press [F4] to PATCH.

    Version 6c (changes since 6b2)
    ==============================

    1.  If tree directory selection method is used, and an EDDYTREE file
        exists, the file will be updated automatically if it is found to be
        inaccurate.

    2.  If files are excluded from the working directory display because
        attribute or timestamp filters are in use, an asterisk will appear
        next to the file count field in the heading.

    3.  Numeric option /3 is introduced.  If this option is used, the
        modules needed for updating and for LOOK mode operation will be
        loaded from EDDY.AUX when the program starts, and will be locked in
        memory until EDDY terminates.  This option is primarily useful for
        running EDDY from a floppy.  Using /3 ensures that EDDY's basic
        functionality is always available, even if the diskette containing
        EDDY.AUX is removed.

    4.  When comparing files -- [Alt+Shift+F3] -- the values of the bytes
        where differences are found are now displayed along with the file
        offset.

    Version 6b2 (changes since 6b)
    ==============================

    1.  Point-n-shoot and the DOS Gateway features sometimes caused systems
        which have no expanded memory to "hang", requiring a red-button
        reboot.  This is fixed.

    Version 6b (changes since 6a)
    =============================

    1.  Directories may be selected from a tree diagram, rather than typing
        in the directory names.  This involves lots of new functions and
        commands; certainly too much to describe here.  See Sections 5.1 -
        5.3 of EDDY.DOC for more information.

    2.  Empty (zero-length) files may be copied and moved.

    3.  After executing EDDY interactively (rather than in batch mode),
        ERRORLEVEL will always be set to zero.

    4.  Option /L means "Set top of LIST to current cursor position" (for
        use with repeating commands.  This was formerly option /T.

    5.  When customizing, a list of customizable features is provided for
        review just before the new EDDY.COM is written.

    6.  Mouse sensitivity is adjustable - press [Alt+Shift+m].

    7.  [^c] is used to terminate a repeating command - formerly [BackSpace].

    8.  When building commands for "point-n-shoot' (EDDY.USE file or [F8]),
        the extension for the program file involved is no longer required.

    9.  The "speed search" facility for directories and filenames has been
        modified slightly.  It is described in EDDY.DOC Section 4.1.

    Version 6a (changes since 5.53)
    =================================

    1.  With this release, EDDY begins his move into the modern world.
        There is now support for mice (Microsoft-compatible variety, since
        that's all I've got to test with).  Details are in Section 2.1.2 of
        EDDY.DOC.

    2.  Another major addition to user-friendliness (and without which a
        mouse wouldn't be all that useful) is pull-down menus.  Menus are
        described in Section 2.2.2 of EDDY.DOC.

        In the following paragraphs, you may note that some command keys are
        now used in different places with different meanings.  In the past,
        I've tried to avoid this, to maintain consistency and reduce
        complexity.  With the addition of the menus, however, there's not
        nearly so much to remember in order to use EDDY efficiently.
        Overloading certain keys seems to simplify operations in some cases.

    3.  After an UPDATE, any files moved or deleted from the working
        directory will be shown grouped together at the end of the directory
        display, rather than in their original locations before the UPDATE.

        If there are more files in the directory than can be displayed by
        EDDY (currently, about 400), files deleted or moved will not be
        shown; instead, additional files from the working directory will be
        displayed.

    4.  Point-n-shoot capabilities are improved in 3 major ways:
        a. When you select a .COM, .EXE or .BAT file to execute ([Alt+F9]),
           you may edit the command line first, to add filenames, switches,
           or whatever is appropriate for the file involved.
        b. Commands from EDDY.USE ([Shift+F9]/[Shift+^F9]) may also be
           edited before they are used.
        c. You may specify a default command, which may be executed when
           there is no command found in EDDY.USE for the current file, or
           if you have no EDDY.USE file.  The default command may be edited,
           made permanent (by customizing EDDY), or executed directly (by
           pressing [Shift+F8]).

    5.  You may UNDO the COPY, MOVE, DELETE and DESTROY commands without
        affecting other changes that may be pending for the file.  Just
        press the key for the same command again; i.e., if a file is tagged
        for COPY, and you decide not to COPY, press [F5] and the tagging
        will disappear, but any other changes will remain.

    6.  When the copy/move confirmation window is displayed (as when the
        file in the target is newer than the one in the working directory),
        [Alt+a], [Alt+c] and [Alt+o] are accepted as valid responses.

    7.  After using the DOS Gateway - with [F9], [Alt+F9] or [Shift+F9] -
        the working directory will be reprocessed to insure that any changes
        made outside of EDDY will be reflected properly in the display.

    8.  You may tag a file for copy with TAB expansion and/or bit-stripping
        directly, by pressing [Alt+number] or [Alt+b].  No need to tag the
        file first by pressing [F5].

    9.  The treatment of the archive attribute for files copied has changed
        slightly.  If option /A is on, the archive attribute on the new copy
        of the file will be the same as the original file.  If option /A is
        off, the archive setting depends on the type of disks involved:
        a. Floppy to floppy - copy set same as original
        b. Hard disk to hard disk - copy set same as original
        c. Floppy to hard disk - archive attribute in copy turned off,
              original unchanged
        d. Hard disk to floppy - archive attribute in copy turned on,
              original turned off

   10.  [Alt+r] from EDIT or LOOK modes displays a "FIND & REPLACE" dialog
        box directly.  Before, you first had to press [Alt+f], then [Alt+r].

   11.  When LOOKing at a text-format display with lines longer than 80
        characters, moving to the left or right edge of the display may be
        done by pressing [Home] or [End], respectively.  [^Left] and
        [^Right] are still available for this, as well.

   12.  Pressing [Home] twice in a row has the same effect as [^Home] -
        i.e., in EDIT mode, the cursor moves to the top of the directory
        display, and in LOOK the display moves to the start of the file.
        Similarly, [End][End] is the same as [^End].

   13.  Pressing [s] in LOOK toggles [Up] and [Down] between their normal
        scrolling speed of one-line-per-keypress and half-page-per-keypress.
        A half page is defined by the number of text lines in the display,
        not the physical lines available on your screen.  Thus, the speed of
        scrolling will vary, depending on the data you're LOOKing at.

   14.  In PATCH mode, press [Alt+a], to truncate a file after the cursor,
        or [Alt+b], to truncate before the cursor.  Previously, you pressed
        [Alt+y] to truncate, and then answer the "Before or After" question.
        You can still use [Alt+y], too.

   15.  With path string displays, such as those resulting from [Alt+w] or
        [Alt+t], the displayed string may be edited before use.

   16.  The "pause" indicator for commands defined in EDDY.USE is changed.
        It is now "|" (the DOS piping symbol) instead of a hyphen.

   17.  The HELP screens and menus have their own color attributes, not tied
        to those used for other EDDY screens (but HELP colors are the same
        as menu colors).  These colors may be customized as desired.

   18.  Volume serial number display and update are now supported. Press
        [^v] for these functions.

   19.  You may enter a FIND string containing all "?"s.  This will match
        with strings containing all LETTERS.

   20.  When a batch mode execution finishes, "ERRORLEVEL" will be set
        according to the results - 0 for successful update, 255 for no
        matching files, other values corresponding to DOS error codes.

   21.  The files making up the EDDY distribution package have been changed.
        EDDYHELP.COM and EDDYLOOK.COM are now combined, along with the new
        MENU functions and UPDATE processing, into the single EDDY.AUX file.

        EDDY.HST, EDDY.WHY and EDDY.REG are now called EDDY_HST.DOC,
        EDDY_WHY.DOC and EDDY_REG.DOC, respectively.