Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/OS2/FC2_102.ZIP/FC.INF

OS/2 Help File | 1994-03-28 | 52KB | 1,405 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 File Commander/2 is intended to be an OS/2 2.x version of the popular Norton
Commander(tm) DOS file manager / shell. It implements most of the features
provided by Norton Commander V3.0 and adds some features of its own that are
only possible under OS/2 and some others that many people think NC should have
had.

 If, as an OS/2 user, you find yourself running NC in a DOS session to do your
file manipulation, File Commander/2 will change all that, providing many
benefits over NC.

 File Commander/2 can also be used as an alternate shell if you don't like GUI
shells like WPS (or don't have enough memory to run it) but want something a
bit better than the command line. The philosophy of the program was once
described as a 'supercharged CLI' which I think sums up FC/2 quite well (Thanks
Kurt :-).

 For all those who've asked, I do intend to continue working on FC/2 for a
while yet so there should be several more versions to come. So feel free to
send me your suggestions for improvements and please report any bugs you
encounter.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Features ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following are some of the major features of File Commander/2:

o Mouse support.
o Full HPFS long file name support.
o Online help.
o Many configuration options.
o Built in file viewer and editor.
o Screen saver.
o Tree views for quick and easy directory changes.
o Ability to start OS/2 text mode, PM, DOS and Windows applications.
o User definable menu.
o Enhanced wildcard handling.
o Flexible file name filtering.
o Support for 4DOS/4OS2 descriptions


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Shareware ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 File Commander/2 is copyrighted software. However, you are encouraged to copy
and share the software with others according to the following requirements:

 File Commander/2 may be freely copied and shared with others, so long as no
charge is made for the software, and it is unmodified and copied in its
entirety, including program documentation. It may be distributed by electronic
means (modem, ftp etc), provided that all files are transmitted (archived)
together.

 Notice that shareware is copyrighted software. It is not "Public Domain"
software, nor is it "free" software. If you continue to use this program beyond
a reasonable "trial period", not to exceed 30 days, you must pay for it by
registering. See Registering for how to register.

o Your registration fee makes it possible for me to continue to improve the
  program and increases the likelihood that I will provide useful, cheap
  software in the future.

o IF YOU USE THE PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES, YOU MUST REGISTER.

o Your registration fee buys you the right to use the program beyond the trial
  period of 30 days. Your registration covers ALL VERSIONS of File Commander/2,
  past, present AND future. ie You'll only ever have to register File
  Commander/2 once.

o As a registered user, you'll be notified as new versions are released. Also,
  when possible, I'll send registered users new versions electronically.

 You may NOT charge anyone for a copy of this software other than a small
copying fee. You may NOT include this software with any commercial software
without the consent of the author.

 This software is supplied WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

 In no event shall the author be liable to you for any consequential, special
incidental or indirect damages of any kind arising out of the performance or
use of the software, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of
such damages. By using the software, you agree to these terms.

Norton Commander is a trademark of Symantec Corporation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Registering ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The registration fee for File Commander/2 is $29 Australian. If you are not an
Australian resident you can pay by one of the following means:

 1. An international draft made out for $29 Australian (Beware, some banks
    charge huge fees for these, check first).

 2. A cheque made out in your local currency for the equivalent of $35
    Australian (It costs me to cash foreign currency cheques at this end). I
    can't accept "Euro cheques" though.

 3. If you trust the postal service you can send cash in your local currency to
    the value of $29 Australian (example US$20 note). Registered mail
    recommended.

 Send payments to the address given in Contacting the Author. Please make
cheques payable to 'Brian Havard' (and please spell it correctly when writing
the cheque to keep my bank manager happy).

 Please include a Registration form (or note containing same information).

 Once you have registered, you will be sent a serial number that, with your
name, will allow you to 'register' the copy of the program you have. Once you
have done this your name will appear in the 'Info' panel and you will not see
any shareware reminders. If you have an email address, include it on the
registration form for fastest response. The next best alternative is a fax
number.

 If you would like a site licence for a number of computers, you can get a bulk
discount on the following scale:

Number  1-9     10+     50+     100+
Price   $29     $25     $20     $15

 The pricing is not cumulative so, yes, it's actually cheaper to get 10 than 9.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Registration Form ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


            File Commander/2 Registration Form
            ----------------------------------

Name:...................................................


Address:...................................

    ...................................

    ...................................

    ...................................


Fax:   .................................

Email:  .................................
[ ] Email uuencoded binaries of new versions (tick if required)


 I would like to register [   ] copy/copies of File Commander/2
at $29 Australian per copy.

                     Total A$ :  _______________


Comments:


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Where to find FC/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 To find the latest version of FC/2, try the following places:

o If you have access to internet ftp, try one of the following sites:

    1. ftp.cdrom.com:/pub/os2/2_x/diskutil/fc2_xxx.zip
    2. ftp.luth.se
    3. ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de
    4. archive.latrobe.edu.au

o Compuserve in the OS2USER forum section 4 (Applications).

o Fidonet sites can often get new versions fairly quickly.

o The Hobbes OS/2 CD-ROM from Walnut Creek.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Online Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 FC/2 has an online help facility that may be called up using the F1 key. For
it to work, you must have the file fc.hlp in the same directory as fc.exe. The
text called up will depend on what state FC/2 is in when F1 is pressed. There
are separate help texts for the following:

o The main FC/2 screen
o Each of the 5 Menus
o The Configuration window
o The Confirmations window
o The internal viewer
o The internal editor
o The history window
o The help window

 When there is more text than will fit in the window, you can use the Up / Down
arrow, Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys to move around or you can click
the mouse in the top or bottom thirds of the window to scroll it (like in the
Internal Viewer).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. The File Panels ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The file panels are central to most operations in FC/2. They allow you to
browse through the files on your drives, copy, move, rename and delete files
you select from them as well as view, edit or execute any file.

 Normally, one panel will be active and the other will be inactive. The active
panel is indicated by having its title highlighted. To change the active panel,
press the TAB key or click the mouse on the panel you wish to become active.

 At any time, either or both panels can be hidden, allowing you to view the
screen behind which will contain the output of any programs you've run. Press
Ctrl-O to hide / re-display all visible panels or Ctrl-F1/F2 to switch the
Left/Right panel on or off.

 If you feel that the information in a panel is no longer up to date, you can
press Ctrl-R to re-read the information displayed in the panel. Note that this
may take some time for Tree view panels if you have a large number of
directories on your drive.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Panel View Modes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The panels can display a list of files in several different ways. To change
the style of view, select it via the Menu (Left or Right, depending on which
panel you wish to change). You have the choice of:

Brief     Displays three columns of file names with no details. The status line
          at the bottom of the panel displays the details in as in Full view
          for the current file.

Full      Displays file names with their size and the date and time of last
          modification. The status line is devoted entirely to displaying as
          much of the file name as possible allowing you to see more of a long
          file name than in the main section of the panel.

Wide      Displays file names with their size, providing much more space for
          the file name. This mode is most useful when viewing HPFS directories
          with many long file names.

Tree      Views the overall directory structure of the current drive of the
          opposite panel. Unlike in the above modes, when a panel is in tree
          mode, it is linked to the opposite panel in that selecting a
          directory on the tree and pressing ENTER causes the opposite panel to
          view that directory.

Info      The Info panel displays drive summary information for the current
          drive of the opposite panel. Details listed include total space, free
          space, label, file system and serial number. You can quickly activate
          an Info panel using Ctrl-L.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2. Moving Around the Current Directory ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 When you have a list of files showing (which is most of the time) you can move
around the list using the following keys:

Up Arrow            Move up one file name.

Down Arrow          Move down one file name.

Page Up             Move up one screenful of file names.

Page Down           Move down one screenful of files names.

Home                Move to the first file name

End                 Move to the last file name.

Alt-[printable char] Move to the first file starting with [printable char]. If
                    you continue to type with Alt held down, FC/2 will look for
                    a file starting with the string you've typed.

Alt-Up              Move to the previous file name matching the partial name
                    entered using the above.

Alt-Down            As above but moves to next match.

 When the current panel is in Brief mode, The left and right arrow keys move
across one column.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3. Navigating around your drives ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 When moving to a particular dirctory, the first step is get the correct drive
showing. Press Alt-F1 for the left panel or Alt-F2 for the right panel to
display a simple dialog box showing the currently available drives. Select the
drive you want by pressing the appropriate letter, using the left / right
arrows to move the highligt and press ENTER or clicking on the letter with the
mouse. You can also change drives by entering a command in the form "d:" on the
command line.

 Once you have the right drive, you can move around your directories by moving
the cursor to a directory you want to change into and pressing ENTER. Selecting
".." moves to the parent of the current directory. Moving the cursor around the
list of files in the current directory is achieved using the Up / Down arrows,
Page Up, Page Down, Home and End. Double clicking the mouse on a directory name
has will also change into that directory. The full path of the current
directory is always shown on the top line of the panel.

Other useful keys for navigating around your drive are:

Ctrl-\              Move to the root directory of the current drive.

Ctrl-Page Up        Move to the parent of the current directory (same as
                    selecting "..").

Ctrl-Page Down      Move into the currently highlighted directory (same as
                    pressing ENTER except that the contents of the command line
                    is ignored).

A number of other methods can be used to find the directory you want,
including:

o Change directory tree
o Find File
o Recall stored path
o Tree view panel


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3.1. Change Directory Tree ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The Change Directory Tree can be used to quickly locate and display the
directory you're looking for. To activate it, press Alt-F10 or select it from
the Commands Menu. You can then either browse through the tree structure using
the same keys as used to browse through a file panel, or you can start typing
the name of the directory you are looking for.

 As you type, the view will jump to the first directory name matching what you
have typed so far. You can either keep typing until the directory you're
looking for is located or you can use Ctrl-Enter to find the next match of what
you've typed.

 When you've found the directory you want, press ENTER to make it the current
directory of the current panel. You can exit the Change Directory Tree at any
time by pressing ESC.

 If you have not previously viewed the tree of the current drive it must be
read and this may take some time on a large drive. Once it has been read, the
tree structure for the drive is saved to a file for future reference. Normally
this file (fc2tree.dat) is written to the root directory of the drive the file
describes. If you don't like this or if it's not possible (eg CD-ROM drives)
you can make FC/2 store all tree data files in one directory of your choice. To
do this, change the treedir setting in Options/Configuration to specify the
directory where you want the data files.

 If at any time you believe the tree being shown is not correct, you can
re-read the tree structure by pressing Ctrl-R.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3.2. Find File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The Find File function can be used to search the entire drive for a particular
file. To activate it, press Alt-F7 or select it from the Commands Menu.

 Type the name of the file you're looking for and press ENTER to begin the
search. The name can contain any of the wildcard characters described in
Tagging.

 As matches are found, they are listed with their full path in the Find File
window. You can stop the search at any time by pressing ESC. You can do this to
save time if the file you're looking for has been located but much of the drive
has yet to be searched.

 Once the search is over, the list of matches is displayed from which you can
choose one using the Up / Down arrows clicking with the mouse. Pressing ENTER
or double clicking the mouse on a file name will return to the file panel with
its current directory changed to that of the selected file and with the
selected file highlighted.

 If you do not want to see any of the files found you can press ESC to exit
Find File (or click Cancel) or press 'n' (or click New) to start another
search.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3.3. Storing and retrieving Paths ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 To make directory navigation easier, you can store the current directory path
in one of ten 'slots'. At a later point in time you may recall the directory
which causes the current panel to instantly move to the stored directory.

o To store the current directory, hold down Ctrl and Shift then press one of
  keys 0-9 on the numeric keypad.

o To retrieve a directory, hold down Ctrl then press one of keys 0-9 on the
  numeric keypad.

 If you forget which directories you've assigned to which keys, you can view
the contents of the slots using Alt-F5. This lists all ten stored paths from
which you can select one to change to using the Up / Down arrow keys and ENTER
or clicking on one with the mouse.

 If you do a 'Save Setup' before exiting FC/2, the directories you've stored
will be remembered the next time you start it up.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.4. Copying, Moving and Deleting Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 These three operations are all performed in a similar way. All can be
performed on either a single file or a group of files. To operate on a single
file, simply move the highlight bar to the file you want to copy/move/delete
using the keys described in Moving Around the Current Directory and press F5 to
copy, F6 to move and F8 to delete. These keys (along with the rest of the
function keys) are listed at the bottom of the screen so you don't have to
memorize them.

 If you want to operate on a number of files at once, you should tag the files
you wish to be affected (See Tagging)

 If you select copy or move, you will next be presented with a dialog box that
allows you to specify the destination directory and file name. The default
destination is the directory showing in the opposite panel. If this is what you
want, just press ENTER to proceed, otherwise use the arrow keys, Delete,
Backspace etc., to alter the path to what you want. You can also change the
file name if you wish.

 You can rename several files at once using wild card characters '*' and '?'.
For example, to change the extension of several files to .bak you would specify
the destination file as '*.bak'. The wildcard characters represent characters
taken from the source file name.

 If you select delete, you will be prompted with a confirmation dialog. If
you're sure you want to go ahead with the delete, press Enter, 'y' or click
'OK'. To back out, press ESC, 'n' or click 'Cancel'. If there are files tagged
you will be warned and asked a second time to confirm the delete. This is to
make sure you haven't forgotten that some files are tagged which can happen if
the tagged files have been scrolled off the panel. Either or both of these
confirmations can be disabled if you wish (See Confirmations).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.5. Tagging Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 There are several commands available to tag files. These are:

Insert                        Pressing the Insert key toggles the tag for the
                              currently highlighted file and moves the
                              highlight down to the next file allowing you to
                              repeatedly press Insert to tag multiple files.

Grey +                        Pressing the '+' key on the numeric key pad pops
                              up a dialog into which you can enter a file name
                              mask to specify which files should be tagged. The
                              following types of wildcard can be used in the
                              mask:

   *         Substitutes for zero or more characters of any value.
   ?         Substitutes for one character of any value.
   [a-d]     Substitutes for one character of value a, b, c or d.
   [^a-d]    Substitutes for one character of any value except a, b, c or d.
   [a-d^c]   Substitutes for a, b or d.

Grey -                        This is just like Grey + except that it untags
                              files that match the file mask.

Grey *                        Invert tagging. All untagged files become tagged
                              and all tagged files become untagged.

Compare directories           Selecting Compare Directories from the Commands
                              Menu tags all files that do not exist in the
                              directory of the opposite panel or are newer than
                              the copy there.

Mouse                         Clicking the right mouse button on a file name
                              toggles the tagging for that file. Holding the
                              right button down and moving the mouse will tag /
                              untag all files touched.

 Only Insert and Mouse allow you to tag directories. The other tagging methods
ignore directories.

 When any files are tagged, a summary of the tagged files is shown on the
status line of the panel. This shows the number of files tagged and their total
size.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.6. Creating a Directory ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 To create a subdirectory in the current directory, press F7 and enter the name
of the subdirectory you want to create into the dialog. If the current panel is
in tree view mode, the directory will be created in the directory the highlight
is currently on.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.7. Creating Workplace Shell Objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 File Commander/2 provides a quick and easy way to create Workplace Shell
Objects that is much easier than opening up your templates folder, dragging an
object out and filling in all the details for it. All you have to do is locate
the file you want an object for and press Alt-F6. There is a simple
confirmation dialog to make sure you mean what you've pressed.

 If the file is an executable (.exe .com .bat .cmd) a Program object is
created. For all other file types (including directories) a shadow object is
created the same as if you created a shadow of the file from the Drives object.

 Note that if you have tagged any files, objects will be created for all tagged
files. All objects are created on the desktop ready for you to drop them into
whichever folder you want them in.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.8. Starting Programs ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 There are several ways to start a program using FC/2.

 1. Move the highlight bar to an executable file (.exe .com .cmd .bat) and
    press ENTER.

 2. Move the highlight bar to a file which matches a defined Association and
    press ENTER.

 3. Select a program from the User Menu.

 4. Enter the program name on the Command Line.

 With all these methods, except the User Menu, you can start the program in a
separate session by pressing Alt-Enter instead of just Enter.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.8.1. Associations ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 An association is used to link data files to the program that uses them. To
create an association, add a line of the following form:

mask : program

to your fc.ini file using the Commands/Edit Associations menu option. This file
is created the first time you use Save Setup (See the Options Menu).

 You can also use the following when specifying the program:

!    Name of current file.
!p   Path of current panel.
!P   Path of opposite panel.
!f   Name of current file with full path.
!s   Path of current panel with trailing '\'
!S   Path of opposite panel with trailing '\'
!n   Nothing, but prevents automatic appending of current file name

 If none of the above are used, the name of the current file is appended.

EG

*.dsk:loaddskf ! a:
*.zip:pkunzip ! !P
*.inf:view
*.ico:iconedit
*.zoo:zoo x
*.tif*:pmview
(matches both x.tif and x.tiff)


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Command Line ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The command line provided by FC/2 operates in much the same way as your normal
OS/2 command prompt with a few extra features. The following keys are used to
operate the FC/2 command line:

Pasting file names

   Ctrl-J or Ctrl-Enter          Pastes the file name of the currently
                                 highlighted file into the command line. Note
                                 that if the character to the left of the
                                 cursor is alphanumeric, a recall from History
                                 will be performed instead.

   Ctrl-F                        Pastes the file name of the currently
                                 highlighted file with its full path into the
                                 command line.

Moving the cursor

   Left/Right Arrows             Move the cursor around the command line. Note
                                 that these keys do not operate the command
                                 line if the current panel is in brief view.
                                 Use Alt-Left/Right Arrows instead.

   Alt-Left/Right Arrows         Move the cursor around the command line
                                 regardless of which mode the current panel is
                                 in.

   Ctrl-Left/Right Arrows        Move the cursor one word left or right.

   Ctrl-Home                     Move the cursor to the start of the line.

   Ctrl-End                      Move the cursor to the end of the line.

Deleting characters

   Backspace                     Delete the character to the left of the
                                 cursor.

   Delete                        Delete the character under the cursor.

   Ctrl-Backspace                Delete the word to the left of the cursor.

   Esc                           Clear the entire command line.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. History ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 Command history is used to save you re-typing a command that is the same or
similar to a command you've entered before. There are several ways to locate
the command you wish to repeat:

Ctrl-E                        Recall previously entered command. Repeated use
                              steps through command history from newest entry
                              to oldest entry.

Ctrl-X                        Steps forwards through command history. Useful if
                              you overshoot using Ctrl-E

Ctrl-J or Ctrl-Enter          Recall previously entered command that matches
                              the text to the left of the cursor. Can be used
                              repeatedly to find successive matches. Note that
                              this function only operates when the character to
                              the left of the cursor is alphanumeric, otherwise
                              a file name paste occurs as described in Command
                              Line.

Alt-F8                        Displays a window containing a list of previously
                              entered commands from which you can choose. Once
                              you've highlighted the command you want using the
                              Up / Down arrow keys or the mouse, you can press:

   Enter               Re-execute command now.

   Alt-Enter           Re-execute command now in a separate session.

   Ctrl-Enter          Place command on the command line for editing.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 FC/2 includes a menu system to provide easy access to a range of functions.
Most of the functions on the menu can be activated by short-cut keys which are
listed on the menus. The menu system can be operated by keyboard, mouse or a
combination of both if you like.

Keyboard

 1. Activate the menu bar by pressing F9 or Ctrl-N.

 2. Select which menu you want by pressing the first letter of its title or by
    using the Left / Right arrows and pressing Enter.

 3. Use the Up / Down arrows to select the menu item you want and press Enter
    to activate it. Alternatively, you can press the key that is highlighted in
    the menu item's name.

 4. You can press Esc to back out.

Mouse

 1. Activate the menu bar by clicking the right mouse button on the top line.

 2. Click on the title of the menu you want to use.

 3. Click on the menu item you want ot activate.

 4. To dismiss the menu, click anywhere away from the menus.

 These should be taken as examples only. The menus operate in much the same way
as OS/2 PM menus.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. Left / Right Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The Left and Right menus contain exactly the same functions but apply them to
the appropriate panel.

Brief          Set panel to view files in Brief mode.

Full           Set panel to view files in Full mode.

Wide           Set panel to view files in Wide mode.

Info           Set panel to show drive summary information.

Tree           Set panel to view directories as a Tree.

On/Off         Toggle the visibility of the panel. Turning a panel off allows
               you to see the output of previously executed commands.

Name           Sort panel by file name

Extension      Sort panel by file name extension. The extension of a file name
               is from the last '.' onwards. Files with the same extension are
               ordered by name.

Time           Sort panel by file modification time and date. Files are listed
               from newest to oldest.

Size           Sort panel by file size. Files are listed from largest to
               smallest. Files of the same size are ordered by name.

Unsorted       Files are listed in the order provided by the file system.

Re-Read        Refresh the contents of the panel. Useful if another process has
               modified the contents of the panel's directory or if removable
               media has been changed.

Filter         Display a dialog that allows you to modify the file name Filter

Drive          Change the drive being viewed. A small dialog is displayed
               showing the currently available drives from which you can
               choose.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1.1. Filters ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The file name filter can be used to define which files you want to see and
which files you don't. It may contain up to 40, space separated file masks that
are tested from left to right. The first mask that matches a file name will
determine that file's visibility. To indicate an exclusion file mask, precede
it with a '!'. If a file name doesn't match any of the masks, it will not be
shown.

EG

*.exe *.com *.cmd *.bat       Show only executable files
!*.obj *                      Show all files except object files.
foo* !*.obj *                 Show all files except object files unless they
                              start with foo.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.2. Files Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Manual                   View User Manual.

User Menu                Display the User Menu.

View                     View the current file.

Edit                     Edit the current file.

Copy                     Copy Files.

Rename or Move           Move Files.

Make Directory           Create a Directory.

Delete                   Delete Files.

File Attributes          Display a dialog to alter File Attributes.

Select Group             Tag a group of files by file name mask.

Unselect Group           Untag a group of files by file name mask.

Invert Tagging           Toggle the Tagging status of all files in the current
                         panel.

Quit                     Exit File Commander/2.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.2.1. File Attributes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The File Attributes dialog allows you to modify the 'Read Only', 'Archive',
'Hidden' and 'System' attributes of a file or a group of files. To activate it
select it from the Files Menu.

 If no files are tagged, you'll be presented with a dialog displaying the
attributes of the currently highlighted file. You can use the Up / Down arrow
to move the cursor and Space to toggle the attribute the cursor is on or you
can click on the check boxes with the mouse.

 If you have any files tagged, you'll be presented with a slightly different
dialog. For each attribute, you can set, clear or leave alone that attribute
for all the tagged files.

 When you've set all the check boxes the way you want them, press Enter (or
click OK) to proceed or ESC (or click Cancel) to exit without changing
anything.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.3. Commands Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Tree                     Pop up the Change Directory Tree.

File Find                Locate a file using Find File

History                  View the Command Line History.

EGA Lines                Toggle 50 line mode.

Swap Panels              Swaps the positions of the left and right panels.

Panels On/Off            Removes or replaces the panels allowing you to view
                         the output of previously executed programs.

Compare Directories      Tags files according differences between the two
                         panels. See Tagging for details.

Register                 Turns a shareware copy of File Commander/2 into a
                         registered version. Once you have entered your name
                         and serial number, you will not see any reminder
                         messages and your name will appear on the Info panel.

Edit Associations        Starts the internal editor on you FC.INI file. Any
                         changes you make to associations will become active
                         immediately.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4. Options Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Configuration       Display the Configuration dialog allowing you to alter a
                    number of options.

Colours             Edit the Colour Scheme

Confirmations       Display a dialog that allows you to disable some of the
                    Confirmations.

Hidden Files        Toggles whether files with their hidden attribute set will
                    be shown on the file panels or not. When hidden files are
                    displayed, they are denoted by a 'Γûæ' character.

Path Prompt         Toggles the display of the current path on FC/2's command
                    line prompt.

Full Screen         Toggles whether the panels occupy the full screen length or
                    just half the screen.

Clock               Toggles whether a clock will be shown in the top right hand
                    corner or not.

Save Setup          Saves all current settings to the file 'FC.INI' so that all
                    FC/2 options will be set the same the next time you start
                    it up. This can be performed automatically on exit if you
                    wish by setting the autosave option (See Configuration).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4.1. Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 To view the configuration options, select 'Configuration' from the Options
Menu. Any options you change take effect as soon as you click OK (or move the
highlight to OK and press Enter). If you use Cancel, all changes you've made
are forgotten.

 To select an option to change either click on it with the mouse or use the Up
/ Down arrow keys to move to it. The current option is denoted by a '()'. To
alter non-string options, use the space bar to toggle the value.

 Moving up from the first option or down from the last option will highlight
one of the buttons at the bottom of the dialog. You can then use the Left /
Right arrows to move the highlight onto the button you want and Enter to
activate it. It's usually easier to use the mouse.

 If you want the changes to still be in effect the next time you start FC/2 you
need to select 'Save Setup' from the Options Menu otherwise the changes will be
lost when you exit. Alternatively, you can switch on 'Autosave Setup' seen
below.

The options are:

Viewer              The file name (with full path if not in a directory on your
                    PATH) of the file viewer to be used when you press F3. All
                    the '!' substitutions described in Associations can be used
                    when specifying a viewer or an editor. If this field is
                    left blank, the Internal Viewer will be used.

Viewer2             As for Viewer but specifies the viewer used when Alt-F3 is
                    pressed.

Editor              Similar to Viewer but specifies the editor used when F4 is
                    pressed. If left empty, the Internal Editor will be used.

Editor2             As for Editor but specifies the editor used when Alt-F4 is
                    pressed.

Help                Name of an Information Presentation Facility file (*.inf)
                    that is to be viewed when 'Manual' is chosen from the Files
                    Menu. The default is fc.inf (this file). If your fc.inf
                    file is not in a directory on your LIBPATH, you can give
                    the full path of where it is with this option.

Left                The directory the left panel will display on start up. If
                    left blank, the current directory for the session will be
                    shown.

Right               The directory the right panel will display on start up. If
                    left blank, the current directory for the session will be
                    shown.

Background          String added at the start of a command that causes it to be
                    executed in a separate session. Default value is 'start
                    /f'. See the OS/2 command reference for more options for
                    the 'start' command.

Treedir             The directory where tree data is stored. If left blank,
                    tree data will be written to the root directory of each
                    drive as "fc2tree.dat". The data stored is a representation
                    of the directory structure of a drive and is used to avoid
                    re-scanning the drive.

Autosave            Switching Autosave on causes FC/2 to automatically perform
                    a 'Save Setup' just before exiting the program.

Lines               Sets the number of lines on screen or in window. Can be 25,
                    28, 43, 50 or 60 for full screen sessions or any value of
                    at least 25 for a windowed session. Using a number that is
                    not one of those listed for a full screen session will
                    result in the number of lines being set to the next value
                    up.

Saver               The number of minutes of idle time before FC/2 activates
                    its screen saver. If set to 0, the screen saver will not
                    activate. Note that the screen saver only operates when in
                    a full screen session.

Numlock             Specifies if numlock should be fixed on or not. Affects
                    both FC/2 and any program started by FC/2 unless it is in a
                    separate session.

                    Note:  This does NOT work for a windowed session as PM
                    keeps its own idea of key lock status. However, it seems
                    that v2.1 of OS/2 does take some notice in that the
                    keyboard operates as though numlock was on but the light
                    stays off.

Mouspeed            When FC/2 is running in a full screen session, this option
                    specifies the sensitivity of the mouse. The default value
                    is 8 with smaller values giving a faster mouse and larger
                    values slowing it down.

Scrolldelay         The time (in milliseconds) that FC/2 waits between
                    scrolling each line when the mouse has been used to scroll
                    a panel or window. Only used when FC/2 is running in a full
                    screen session. Use of this option stops the text flying
                    past before you've had a chance to look at it.

Timemode            The type of time display used on the clock and when file
                    time stamps are viewed in the files panel (Full mode).

Codepage            If non-zero, FC/2 will switch to the specified code page.
                    Otherwise the default code page for the session will be
                    used. Can be used to change to a code page that supports
                    the graphics characters used by FC/2. For example, if your
                    CONFIG.SYS file contains the statement CODEPAGE=850,437 you
                    should enter 437 for this option.

Use132              When on, FC/2 will use 132 column display whenever
                    possible. 132 column mode is only supported on some video
                    cards and only in full screen sessions.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4.2. Colours ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The Colours dialog allows you to alter the colour scheme used by FC/2. To
activate it, select 'Colours' from the Options Menu

 You will be presented with a list of items in the colour scheme. Use the four
arrow keys to move to the item you wish to change and then use F to cycle
through forground colours and B to cycle through background colours. Holding
SHIFT at the same time will cycle backwards. There are a total of 16 foreground
and 8 background colours to choose from.

 When you're done, press Enter to use the changes you've made or ESC to forget
them. Note that the changes will only be remembered for next time if you use
'Save Setup' or have Autosave enabled.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4.3. Confirmations ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 Before doing anything significantly destructive, FC/2 will ask for
confirmation from the user to prevent accidental loss of data. If you are
confident in your use of FC/2 and don't want to be asked for confirmation all
the time, you can disable some of the more common confirmation prompts by
selecting 'Confirmations' from the Options Menu.

 A dialog displaying a list of confirmation types is then displayed with a
check box next to each one. An 'X' in a check box indicates that the
confirmation is enabled. To disable a confirmation, click its check box with
the mouse and click OK. The keyboard can also be used (Up / Down arrows and
Space, Enter when done).

The confirmations you can alter are:

Delete File/Empty Directory             The first prompt you see after pressing
                                        F8.

Delete Tagged Files                     The second prompt you see after
                                        pressing F8 when there are files
                                        tagged.

Delete Non-empty Directory              The prompt that asks you to type "YES"
                                        before doing a tree delete.

Quit FC/2                               The prompt shown when you press F10.
                                        With this disabled, F10 causes
                                        immediate exit.

"YES" prompt for Non-Empty Directory    Similar to Delete Non-empty Directory
                                        but instead of disabling the "YES"
                                        prompt altogether, it is replaced by an
                                        OK / Cancel choice, the default being
                                        Cancel.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Viewing / Editing Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 FC/2 allows you to view the current file with a choice of two viewers or to
edit the current file with a choice of two editors. To view a file, use F3 or
Alt-F3. To edit a file, use F4 or Alt-F4. The program used to view or edit is
specified in the Configuration dialog. By default, the built in Viewer and the
built in Editor

 If you wish to specify the file to view or edit by typing its file name, use
Shift-F3 for view or Shift-F4 for edit. If you specify a file to edit that does
not exist, you will be given the option to create it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.1. The Internal Viewer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

  The file viewer built into FC/2 is a basic text viewer that is perfect for
taking a quick look at your text files. You can use the mouse or keyboard to
scroll the text up and down (Keys: Cursor-Up/Down, Page Up/Down, Home, End).

 To scroll the text using the mouse, click the mouse in the top or bottom
thirds of the screen. Using the right mouse button pages up or down. When the
mouse is being used to scroll the text, the speed of scrolling is determined by
the 'scrolldelay' Configuration directive.

o If a line is longer than 80 columns it will be chopped off at that length and
  the remainder placed one the next line unless you use F2 to select Unwrap
  mode. With the text unwrapped, you can use the Left / Right arrows to scroll
  the text horizontally.

o You can search for a string using F7 (or Shift-F7 to find next). The search
  is case insensitive. The searching is much faster than the NC internal viewer
  (though that's not hard....).

o Will correctly interpret UNIX, PC or MAC line terminators (LF, CR/LF, CR) or
  even a mix of all three.

o F4 will toggle between ASCII and Hex view.

o I think I've got all the bugs out of it but if you ever think it has become
  confused, pressing Ctrl-L will repaint the screen.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.2. The Internal Editor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The built in editor is a very simple editor that allows you to make quick
changes to any plain text file.

o Like the viewer, the editor will read a file using any type of line
  terminator. When the file is written, however, all lines will be CR/LF
  terminated.

o Although there is no limit on the size of file you can edit, keep in mind
  that the whole file is loaded into memory so opening a multi-megabyte file
  may strain your swapper.dat file.

The following keys are implemented:

o Left/Right/Up/Down - As you'd expect
o Home - start of line
o End - End of line.
o Page Up/Down - Up/Down one page
o Ctrl-Home - Top of screen
o Ctrl-End - Bottom of screen
o Ctrl-Page Up/Down - Start/End of file
o Ctrl-Y - erase line
o ESC or F10 - exit editor (prompts to save if changes made)
o F2 - Save now without exiting
o F3 - Save now with prompt to change file name.
o F7 - Search for a word in the text (case insensitive)
o Shift F7 - Search for the same word again
o Ctrl-Q - Quote next character. This enables you to enter control character
  into the file that would normally be rejected. For example, pressing Ctrl-Q
  ESC would insert the ESC character into the text.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. The User Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 The user menu is a list of functions defined by you to help you carry out
common tasks. To create a user menu you need to create a plain text file (using
an editor like the OS/2 System editor "e.exe" or FC/2's internal editor) named
fc.mnu in the same directory as fc.exe. Here is an example user menu file:

S:Scan for viruses
    os2scan c: d:

D:Dos Window
    start /dos

F12:Pulse
    start pulse

U:Unzip to opposite panel
    cd !P
    unzip !f
    cd !p

 A line that starts in the first column is a description line. The key used to
activate the function is first and may be any single letter or number or one of
the function keys F1-F12. After a separating colon comes the description that
will appear in the menu when it is displayed.

 Any line that starts with a space or tab is a command and will be executed
when the preceding description is chosen from the menu. It may contain the same
'!' substitutions as associations.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. Using the Mouse ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can use the mouse to perform the following operations:

o Select a file by clicking button 1 on a file name.

o Tag/Untag a file by clicking button 2 on it.

o Execute a file or change into a directory by double clicking button 1 on it.

o Scroll the files up or down by clicking button 1 on the line directly above
  or below the files.

o Tag several files by holding down button 2 and moving the mouse. If, while
  button 2 is pressed, the mouse is moved onto the line above or below the file
  list, the panel will scroll, tagging all files that pass by.

o Select a function to perform by clicking on the function bar at the bottom of
  the screen. Using button 2 Selects the Alt function. This is particularly
  handy for changing drives (Alt-F1/F2).

o Activate the menu by clicking button 2 on the top line of the screen. The
  easiest way to make a selection is to hold button 2 down after activating the
  menu, "pull down" the menu you want and release button 2 when you have the
  correct item highlighted. Clicking outside the menu area will dismiss the
  menu.

o Whenever a dialog popup appears that contains push buttons that look like "[
  OK ]", you may click on these with mouse button 1 to select the indicated
  choice. Clicking button 2 will select the highlighted button.

o Whenever a dialog popup appears that requests a string input (eg Make
  Directory), button 1 may be used to position the cursor on the line and
  button 2 is equivalent to pressing ENTER. Clicking button 1 outside the
  dialog box or on a Cancel button, cancels the operation.

o When the results of a 'Find File' operation are showing, double clicking
  button 1 on a file name will cause FC/2 to jump to the directory the file is
  in (like pressing ENTER). The window can be scrolled by clicking on the top
  or bottom lines of the window.

o When using the internal file viewer, clicking button 1 in the top or bottom
  third of the screen scrolls the screen up/down. Using button 2 pages up or
  down.

o When using the internal editor, the mouse may be used to position the cursor
  on the currently displayed page.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. Notes, Hints and Tips ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o If you use 4os2 as your command interpreter, try to keep the contents of your
  4start.cmd to a minimum as it is run every time you execute an external
  command in FC/2.

o The fastest way to select a new drive for a panel using the mouse is to click
  the right mouse button on F1/F2 in the help bar at the bottom of the screen.

o FC/2's tree information is kept up to date if you create and delete
  directories using FC/2. The only exception to this is if a directory tree is
  copied or moved between drives.

o If you attach 4DOS/4OS2 descriptions to your files, they will be preserved if
  you copy or move them using FC/2.

o If you want your viewer or editor to run in a separate session (or want FC/2
  to be able to operate while using a DOS viewer / editor) add the 'start'
  keyword before the name of your viewer / editor.

o If you don't get the blue FC/2 icon when you install FC/2 onto your desktop,
  you've probably lost the EAs attached to fc.exe. Use InfoZip's unzip when
  unzipping the FC/2 distribution.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 14. Contacting the Author ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you have any comments, questions, suggestions or bug reports, you can
contact me by either of the following means:

Internet: [e-mail]
(at least until mid 1994)

Snail Mail:    Brian Havard
         16a Rennison St,
         Mordialloc 3195,
         Victoria
         AUSTRALIA


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15. Release History ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o 13/04/93 v0.1  Initial Release
o 28/04/93 v0.11
o 24/05/93 v0.12
o 07/06/93 v0.13
o 21/07/93 v0.14
o 12/08/93 v0.15
o 13/10/93 v0.16
o 17/01/94 v0.17
o 14/03/94 v1.00
o 25/03/94 v1.01
o 28/03/94 v1.02
o Future


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15.1. Version 0.17 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

New Features

o In associations, !p gives path of current panel, !P, opposite panel and ! by
  itself can be used any number of times in one association.

o Ctrl-F3-F7 change sorting of current panel.

o Hex view mode added to internal viewer

o Added WPS object creation for file under cursor (Alt-F6).

o History window (Alt-F8) added.

o Added tree view in panels.

o Added Directory change tree popup (Alt-F10 & F10 when copying / moving).

o The filter can now exclude files.

Minor enhancements

o When tagging files by holding down mouse button 2, files are no longer
  skipped if mouse is moved quickly.

o When a file is 'executed' via an association, the whole command is entered
  into history.

o FC/2 can now optionally set which code page it uses.

o Internal editor can now update hidden files.

o Ctrl-J & Ctrl-F now quote file names that contain spaces.

o The clock & timemode directives are now more sensibly organised

o Alt-Up/Down can be used to seek to previous/next matching filename when using
  Alt-letter/number to locate a file.

o Alt searching now works with all symbols, including shifted ones like ! @ { }
  _ +

o Alt-Backspace removes a character from the search string.

o Directory reading slightly faster.

Bug fixes

o Pressing enter in editor now counts as a change.

o Function bar now correct after Shift-F4

o When going up directory, after directory in parent has been added/removed,
  cursor is placed correctly.

o When full screen, when Ctrl-Break is pressed during file operation, mouse
  cursor does not disappear.

o When full screen, when Ctrl-Break is pressed at normal prompt, "Terminate
  FC/2?" prompt doesn't disappear immediately.

o When changing number of lines and cursor is lower than the new number of
  lines, it is now correctly positioned.

o In editor, decimal value of char in status line now unsigned.

o Can now rename directories so that only case is changed.

o Commands like "cd\blah" (no space) now work properly.

o Chars greater than 127 can now be searched for in viewer & editor

o Internal editor no longer trashes EAs when updating file.

o Stopped editor losing blank lines when several occur together.

o Fixed problem editor had moving into tabs from above or below.

o 4DOS descriptions on files with spaces in their names are now handled
  properly.

o Fixed problem with Alt-F1/F2 and network drives.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15.2. Version 1.00 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

New Features

o Popup of stored paths

o File Attribute change added.

o Directories can now be tagged for copy/move/delete operations.

o Online, context sensitive, text mode help.

o Auto save setup option.

o Will now work under Tshell.

Minor enhancements

o Added quote next key (Ctrl-Q) to internal editor.

o Added more '!' substitutions which can now be used in User Menu functions.

o Panel on/off status now saved in fc.ini

o Tree is now updated with information seen by reading file panels.

o The need to type "YES" to delete tree can be disabled. Replaced by OK, Cancel
  choice.

o When a match is found in the internal viewer, it is now shown several lines
  from the top of the screen.

o Unwrap in viewer.

o 'Save As' in editor.

o Create Object fills in 'Working directory'

o Create Object now works for tagged files.

o A value of 0 for the 'lines' configuration causes FC/2 to use the number of
  lines already showing.

o Find File will now find hidden files if hidden option enabled.

o Repeated use of same command only entered into history once.

o Home and End now work on command line if panels are off.

Bug fixes

o Fixed trap when using Page-Down in tree popup.

o Should no longer trap on exiting editor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15.3. Version 1.01 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

New Features

o Added 'Edit Associations' to Commands menu.

o Support for 132 column modes in full screen sessions added.

Minor Enhancements

o 'All' option added to second type of tree delete confirmation allowing
  quicker deletion of tagged directories.

o Command line colour now affects the output of executed commands.

o Pressing Ctrl now switches key bar as well as Alt.

o Added help for confirmations dialog.

o Home, End, Page Up and Page Down now work in History window.

Bug Fixes

o Odd lines in fc.mnu could cause the user menu to crash.

o If only right panel switched on at start up, it will be active.

o Tree will be kept up to date when moving tagged directories.

o Tick mark next to correct sort mode.

o History window would die if very long lines had been entered.

o Fixed bug that caused occasional random traps (well, one anyway).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15.4. Version 1.02 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Bug Fixes

o Major bug in memory management code introduced in V1.01 fixed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15.5. Planned for future versions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o Some form of archive handling.

o Ability to choose command when more than one association matches.

o Calculate total size of a tree.

o Maybe: Cut & paste in editor.

o Anything else I get around to doing......