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1991-09-16
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DUPLICATE FILE LOCATOR
Version 3.02
Table of Contents
Topic Page
1 Introduction to DFL. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1 DFL Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 System Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Archive Support & Registration Info. . . . 6
1.5 Software License . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Using DFL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1 Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.1 /? List Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.2 /d Drive List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.3 /w Working Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.4 /f Filename Mask. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.5 /m Scan Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1.6 /l List Output File & Auto Mode . . . . . 9
2.2 Environment Variables. . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2.1 DFLDISK= Working Disk . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2.2 DFLSAV= Save File Directory. . . . . . . 10
2.3 The Interactive Interface. . . . . . . . . 11
2.3.1 Menu or Non-menu Access. . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3.2 Help System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.3 Scan Status Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.4 Scan Style Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.5 Disk Status Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3.6 Duplicate List Window (Non-menu mode). . . 12
2.4 Running DFL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.1 Unattended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.2 A Fresh Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.4.3 Resorting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.5 Duplicate File Search Modes. . . . . . . . 13
2.5.1 Name Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.5.2 Alias Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.5.3 Length Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.5.4 Partial Name Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.6 The Filename Mask. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.7 The Drive Scan List. . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.8 Saving the Duplicate List. . . . . . . . . 15
3 DFL Online Functions . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.1 The Menu Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.2 The Duplicate Window . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.1.3 The File View Window . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2 Global Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2.1 ESC Menu & Non-menu Toggle. . . . . . . 17
3.2.2 Alt-H Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2.3 Alt-S Setup Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.2.4 Alt-R Run Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.2.5 Alt-E Exit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.2.6 Alt-X Exit DFL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.7 Home Top of List . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.8 End Bottom of List. . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.9 PgUp Next Page in List . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.10 PgDn Previous Page in List . . . . . . . 19
3.2.11 F1 Call for Help . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.12 SF1 Display Help Topics . . . . . . . . 20
3.2.13 F2 Drive Selection . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.2.14 F3 Name Mask Selection . . . . . . . . 20
3.2.15 F4 Scan Mode Selection . . . . . . . . 20
3.2.16 F5 Begin Scan. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.17 SF5 Resort Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.18 F6 Select First File for Comparison. . 21
3.2.19 F7 Start Binary File Comparison. . . . 21
3.2.20 F8 Delete One or More Files. . . . . . 21
3.2.21 F9 Save Duplicate List . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.22 F10 View File Contents. . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.23 'F' Start ASCII File Comparison . . . . 22
3.2.24 'T' Toggle File Tag . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.25 'U' Untag all Files . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.26 'S' Shell to DOS. . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.27 ^C-Z Display Drive Statistics. . . . . . 23
4 DFL Archive Subsystem. . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2 Defining an Archive. . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2.1 Basic Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2.1.1 Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2.1.2 Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.2.1.3 Enable/Disable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.2.1.4 Screen Save. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.2.2 Archive Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.2.2.1 Lister Program & Parameters. . . . . . . . 26
4.2.2.2 Deleter Program & Parameters . . . . . . . 26
4.2.2.3 Extractor Program & Parameters . . . . . . 27
4.2.2.4 Compressor Program & Parameters. . . . . . 27
4.3.3 The Test Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.3.4 Archive Lister Output. . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.3.4.1 Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.3.4.2 Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.3.4.3 Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.3.4.4 Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.3.4.5 Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5 DFL File Viewing System. . . . . . . . . . 30
5.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.2 Screen Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3 Viewer Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3.1 F1 - Quick Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3.2 Home & End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3.3 Page Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3.4 Arrow Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.3.5 ^Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.6 ^PgUp & ^PgDn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.7 ^Right & ^Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.8 'W' - Mask High Bits . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.3.9 'T' - Tab Toggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6 Useful Topics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.1 DFL Temporary Files & Directories. . . . . 32
6.2 DOS stack overflow . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.3 Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.3.1 Online Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.3.2 Exit Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
1 Introduction to DFL
In this section, a brief introduction to the capabilities of DFL
is provided. Complete information on all of these topics is
provided in subsequent sections.
This manual sometimes mentions other software programs or
products. In all such cases, any trademarked material is the
property of the rightful owners.
1.1 DFL Overview
Duplicate File Locator is a complete software system used to
locate, view, compare and delete duplicate files on your computer
system. No matter where the files reside: in various subdirecto-
ries, on network drives, or even in archive files of various
formats, DFL will find them for you, and allow you to view,
delete or retain them as you see fit.
After DFL has assembled a list of all of the files to be consid-
ered, DFL will search for duplicates in one of two ways. We call
these NAME mode and ALIAS mode. In NAME mode, DFL searches its
file list for files which have the same name; in ALIAS mode, DFL
looks for files which have the same data. For example, in NAME
mode, DFL could tell you that one of your files "SOURCE.C" has
been copied into any number of places. In alias mode, DFL will
tell you that "SOURCE.C" and "SOURCE.BAK" have exactly the same
contents.
DFL version 2.61 could build a list of approximately 8,000 files
over any number of drives. Beginning with DFL version 3.01, we
have introduced a virtual memory system to help us build large
lists of files. We can now build a list limited only by the free
disk space you have to hold our data tables. DFL will need
approximately 1 megabyte of disk space for every 25,000 files.
DFL provides a number of options particularly useful in NAME
mode. For example, different versions of files sometimes have
the version number as part of the file name. For example, DFL
has been released in the past as "DFL110", "DFL130", "DFL150" and
"DFL261". By using the 3 character masking option, DFL will
locate all of these as NAME mode duplicates. In this way, you
can see which is the most recent version resident on your system
or network. We allow you to set any number of characters as the
width to match.
In NAME mode, files with the same or similar names are located,
but the contents may be different. DFL gives you the option of
comparing any two files to see if the contents are the same. In
ALIAS mode, this comparison is already done for you as part of
the search process.
Many of use, especially BBS sysops, use file archive programs to
get more files on our disks. DFL will use your archive programs
to search for, view or delete files stored inside your archive
files. We have tested DFL with ZIP, PAK, ZOO, LZH and ARC ar-
chive programs successfully. While we haven't tested DFL with
all versions of these programs, or any other programs, we know of
no reason why DFL should not work. If you have any problems in
this area, or any other, please let us know so we can take appro-
priate steps. DFL will even find duplicates which reside in
different archive formats.
After DFL has searched the file list, any duplicate files are
displayed in the "duplicate window", with the drive and path
along which each file was found, the file length, and the file
date and time.
You may scroll through the duplicate window, compare pairs of
files, view individual files, and tag files for deletion. In
addition, you may write the contents of the duplicate window to
an ASCII file so you can review the list off-line.
DFL will allow you to compare files using either a binary, byte-
by-byte comparison, or by using your ASCII file comparison pro-
gram FC.EXE. The ASCII comparison is particularly helpful in
checking the differences between to versions of the "same" file.
1.2 System Requirements
DFL.EXE will run on any PC XT/AT or compatible machine, using any
80x86 processor chip, monochrome or color display, under MSDOS
2.0+ in about 340k of memory. Additional memory is needed to
interface with external archive systems. For some, this is only
90k. Others need 190k. Check the documentation for the specific
archive programs you use. DFL runs in about 540k of memory (or
less) with the ZIP, PAK, ZOO, LZH and ARC archive programs.
1.3 Technical Support
For you registered users, DFL offers COMPLETE ARCHIVE SUPPORT.
This means that files which are compressed and stored in archives
can be handled exactly like normal files. They can be viewed,
deleted or compared to other files regardless of the type of
archive(s) in which they reside. Their host archives will be
treated as directories. Also, though implemented only as a
setup/diagnostic feature, DFL has the ability to add files to
archives using the corresponding archive's compression formats.
DFL includes a comprehensive 'archive definition' subsystem which
will allow you to customize it to interface with up to 10 differ-
ent archive compression/extraction systems. Registered DFL comes
with several popular archive systems predefined, although you
must obtain the archive programs with their respective vendors.
DFL REGISTERED USERS RECEIVE:
1. The latest version.
2. Any releases issued to correct bugs found in your version.
3. COMPLETE ARCHIVE SUPPORT. See above.
4. Telephone support.
5. A 30 day money back, satisfaction guarantee.
6. Reduced registration fee for future versions.
7. Notification of the next new feature release of DFL.
As a registered user, you may reach us in the following ways:
1. Write: W. S. Ataras Engineering
40 Laughton Street
Upper Marlboro, Md. 20772
2. Voice mail: 1-301-249-1141 (East coast)
Voice mail: 1-408-648-3662 (West coast)
3. BBS: Ed's 1-408-384-3658
Leave message to BILL ATARAS.
Look for DFL*.*
4. Phone: 1-301-249-5184
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time
5. CompuServe: William Ataras
70322,1514
IBM System\Util. Forum
1.4 Registration Information
This is the REGISTERED version of DFL. You will automatically
receive any new releases issued to correct bugs identified in
this version at no additional charge. In addition, you may
register for future versions at reduced rates in order to have
the most up-to-date features of DFL economically. See the up-
grade order form included on your distribution disk for details.
We appreciate your registration, and hope that DFL is of continu-
ing value to you in the future. If you discover bugs in DFL,
please tell us; if you are satisfied with DFL, please tell your
friends and associates, and pass on to them your copy of the
SHAREWARE version of DFL included on your distribution disk.
Unfortunately, in our society, it is necessary for us to let you
know that we can only be responsible for what we do. W. S.
Ataras Engineering and its affiliated individuals hereby disclaim
all warranties relating to this software, whether express or
implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We will not
be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or
similar damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if
we or an agent of W. S. Ataras Engineering has been advised of
the possibility of such damages. In no event shall our liability
for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use
software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person using
the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of
the software.
1.5 Software License
The software license agreement is shown below.
DFL (tm) Duplicate File Locator Version 3.02
Copyright 1991, W. S. Ataras Engineering
All rights reserved.
You are free to use DFL on any single computer, provided:
- no fee is charged for its use
- it is not modified in any way
You are free to distribute the SHAREWARE version of DFL on your
distribution disk provided
- no fee is charged for its use, copying or distribution
- it is not modified in any way
The files on your distribute disk can be identified as follows:
DFL302R.EXE - Your personal registered copy of DFL
DFL.SAV - The default configuration file
DFL.DOC - This file providing the manual for DFL.
READREG.ME - Read Me file with misc. notes
DFL302.ZIP - Your SHAREWARE copy of DFL and related files.
This shareware distribution file contains
DFL302S.EXE - The shareware executable program
DFL.SAV - The default configuration file
DFL.DOC - The manual
ORDER.DOC - The program registration order form
DFLREAD.ME - Read Me file with misc. notes
2 Using DFL
2.1 Command Line Options
DFL can be invoked from the DOS command line, or from within a
batch file, These command line options allow you to configure
and run DFL without any interaction. They are described com-
pletely below.
The command line has the form: DFL [options], where each option
begins with a slash and is followed by a space if there are any
subsequent options on the command line.
The above options are used to set DFL's startup operating parame-
ters. All of these parameters (except '/w=' - Working disk) can
be changed online via the functions described below. For details
on each of the online functions, please examine the corresponding
context help as described below.
2.1.1 /? List Options
This option is used to obtain a complete screen of help informa-
tion which describes all of the other command line options. DFL
will display the screen and return to the DOS command line. You
can then compose the command line which you need.
EXAMPLE: DFL /?
2.1.2 /d Drive List
This option is used to specify the drives to be scanned in the
subsequent processing. If this option is not used, only the
current default drive will be processed.
EXAMPLE: DFL /d=cd
2.1.3 /w Working Disk
This option is used to direct DFL to use a specific disk, rather
than the default disk, as the working disk. The working disk is
used for virtual memory caching
/w= - Working disk. Default - Current.
Specifies an alternate disk for virtual memory caching. This
option overrides the DFLDISK environment variable above. DFL's
performance can be increased by caching to a faster device such
as a ramdisk. DFL needs about 1meg of disk space for every
25,000 files. Also, DFL extracts archived files to the working
disk for the View and Comparison functions. The working disk
should have enough free space to hold any two archived files as
well as the virtual memory itself.
At startup, the root directory of the working disk is searched
before the path for the external archive programs (defined under
'Archive Laws') and file compare program (defined under 'FC.EXE
Laws'). You can greatly enhance archive processing by insuring
that the desired archive programs are in the working disk root
directory prior to running DFL.
EXAMPLE: DFL /lw=d
2.1.4 /f Filename Mask
This option is used to select the files which participate in the
file data acquisition process. DFL begins its processing by
forming a list of all files, on all of the scanned disks, which
match the file name mask. Once this list is built internal to
DFL, it will begin to look for duplicates by name or content. If
one or more of the archive file processing functions are active,
DFL will include in the file data list any matching files found
within the archives.
/f=[Scan Mask]
The default file name mask is *.*. In the example below, DFL
will acquire data only on C-language source files.
EXAMPLE: DFL /f=*.c
2.1.5 /m Scan Mode
This option is used to set the duplicate search mode. If this
option is not used, DFL will default to the name mode.
/m=[Scan Mode]
If this option is not used, DFL will default to Name mode. The
list of valid options is:
Mode Parameter Comment
-------------------------------------------------------
Name /m=name Find equal file names
Length /m=length Find equal file lengths
Alias /m=alias Find equal file contents
Name 1-11 /m=n1...n11 Find 1st 'n' equal name letters
EXAMPLE: DFL /m=n4
2.1.6 /l List Output File & Auto Mode
This option is used to identify a file name to contain the dupli-
cate information. DFL will process automatically based on the
options given, and defaults for the options not given. Then, the
contents of the duplicate window will be written to this file.
DFL will exit to DOS when processing is complete.
/l(a/w)=[List file]
If the option letter is followed by "a", the new information will
be appended to the existing file; if the option letter is fol-
lowed by "w", the file, if it exists, will have its contents
discarded before writing the dup info. The default is "w".
EXAMPLE: DFL /lw=LIST write dup info to file "LIST"
DFL /la=LIST append new dup data to the end of "LIST"
2.2 Environment Variables
There are two DOS environment variables which can be used as
described below.
2.2.1 DFLDISK = Working Disk
Use "SET DFLDISK=[drive letter]" in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or from the
DOS command line to define a working disk for DFL. The working
disk is used for virtual memory caching. The '/w=' command- line
option described below overrides this. The default is the cur-
rent disk.
DFL's performance can be increased by caching to a faster device
such as a ramdisk. DFL needs about 1 MB of disk space for every
25,000 files. Also, DFL extracts archived files to the working
disk for the View and Comparison functions. The working disk
should have enough free space to hold any two archived files as
well as the virtual memory files.
At startup, the root directory of the working disk is searched
before the path for the external archive programs (defined under
'Archive Laws') and file compare program (defined under 'FC.EXE
Laws'). You can greatly enhance archive processing by insuring
that the desired archive programs are in the working disk root
directory prior to running DFL.
2.2.2 DFLSAV = Save File Directory
Use "SET DFLCFG=[directory spec] in your AUTOEXEC.BAT or from the
DOS command line to define the directory which contains the
DFL.SAV file. DFL uses the following priorities in determining
this directory:
1. Check the DFLCFG environment variable.
2. Search the current directory for DFL.SAV.
3. Search the path for DFL.SAV.
4. If the Dos version is 3.0+, use the DFL.EXE host directo-
ry.
DFl.SAV is used to store the Archive Definitions and other mis-
cellaneous data. If it does not already exist in the directory
determined above, it will be created and initialized.
The basic idea is that once you tuck away DFL.EXE & DFL.SAV
somewhere on your path, you won't have to worry about them any-
more.
2.3 The Interactive Interface
When DFL initializes, you will see a menu bar at the top of the
screen, three status windows below the menu bar and a big window
at the bottom of the screen. The status windows are described
below. The large window at the bottom is the Duplicate Window.
That is where the list of duplicate files will appear.
You can interface with DFL in either of two windows. DFL begins
in the first window, the pull down menu window. While in a menu,
use the Up and Down arrow keys to move the menu cursor bar. You
may activate the function under the bar by striking <ENTER>.
Context sensitive help can also be obtained by striking <F1>. To
jump to another menu, either strike its hot key or use the Left
and Right arrow keys to cycle around. All functions and menus
can be accessed independently with their corresponding hot keys.
The second window is the Duplicate Window. To jump between the
Duplicate Window and the menu window, strike the <ESC> key.
While in the Duplicate Window, use the Up and Down arrow keys to
move the cursor bar through the file list. Your relative posi-
tion in the list will be indicated by a small horizontal bar on
the left border. If the path for a file is too wide to fit in
the window, it may be scrolled by using the Left and Right arrow
keys.
Remember that you can activate any function with its hot key.
You need not use the menus.
Once you master the hot keys, you'll find it easy to configure
DFL, build the list of duplicates, and examine the results.
2.3.1 Menu or Non-menu Access
DFL has two primary windows: the Menu window and the Duplicate
List window. The Menu window is used to enter commands under
normal circumstances. It also offers context sensitive help for
each menu function before the functions are selected.
You use the ESC key to switch between windows. However, as you
gain experience with DFL, you may want to remain in the duplicate
list window and execute the functions directly. The designated
keys to do this are described below; they are also listed in the
pull-down windows.
2.3.2 Help System
DFL is equipped with a complete, on-line, context sensitive help
system. At virtually any time, you can press the F1 key and
obtain specific help about the menu choice which is highlighted.
Press the ESCAPE key to return to the program.
If you need more help after looking at the context help window,
press F1 again to obtain access to the entire help text. You can
then scroll through the help information using the cursor control
keys. Press ESCAPE from this help window and you will again
return to the menu system.
Help is also available when you are viewing a file. Again, press
F1 to access help information specifically written to give you
assistance about the file viewing functions available.
2.3.3 Scan Status Window
You will find the following items in the upper three windows on
the main screen. These windows report basic statistics deter-
mined while DFL is running.
Directories - Total directories scanned.
Files - Total files scanned.
Duplicates - Total duplicate files found.
Dupe Bytes - Total bytes in the duplicate files.
2.3.4 Scan Style Window
Mask - Current scan mask.
Mode - Current scan mode (Alias/Name/Length/Name 1-11 ).
2.3.5 Disk Status Window
Disk - Current drive being displayed.
Disk total - Total bytes on current drive.
Disk free - Total free bytes on current drive.
Disk dups - Total bytes in duplicate files on current drive.
2.3.6 Duplicate List Window (Non-menu mode)
After the list of duplicate files has been generated, the list
appears in the duplicate list window. You can move between the
duplicate list and menu windows by simply pressing the ESCAPE key
whenever DFL is waiting for a key-stroke.
All of the cursor keys are active while you are in the duplicate
list window. The horizontal motion cursor keys will move you
from one entry to another in the main menu bar at the top of the
screen. The vertical cursor motion keys will move you through
the sub-menu items for each main function. Select any function
by pressing the ENTER key.
2.4 Running DFL
DFL can be run in three different ways: from the DOS command
line, from a batch file, and interactively using the menu system.
2.4.1 Unattended
You can run DFL unattended by installing the DFL command line you
want to use, making sure to include the list file option (/l).
This option directs DFL process using either the default parame-
ters or the command line parameters, to write the duplicate list
to a file automatically and then return to DOS.
2.4.2 A Fresh Start
If for any reason you wish to rebuild the list of files, you can
activate the "BEGIN SCAN" function in the "RUN" menu. Any exist-
ing list will be discarded. Normally, this is not needed since
DFL maintains a list of all files found internally. But, suit
yourself.
2.4.3 Resorting
Before DFL can locate the duplicate files, it must first build a
list of all of the files on the disk or disks to be processed.
If enabled, this will also include files stored in archive files.
After the list is built, DFL will sort the list according to the
mode selected: alphabetically if NAME mode has been selected, or
by file length if ALIAS mode has been selected.
After using the list as it was originally prepared and sorted,
you may change the mode and resort by commanding DFL to start
using the "RESORT" option in the "RUN" menu. In this case, DFL
will use the previously accumulated list of files.
2.5 Duplicate File Search Modes
There are four duplicate search modes available. They are de-
scribed in the next four paragraphs.
2.5.1 Name Mode
In NAME mode, DFL will look for files which have the same name.
If your hard disk is like mine, you may have several copies of
COMMAND.COM, for example, in various directories. By building a
list of files and sorting the list alphabetically, files with the
same name will be adjacent in the list. DFL will then display
groups of two or more files with the same name in the duplicate
window. A blank line will separate each adjacent group.
The files in each group are selected based solely on a name
match. This means that, although the names are the same, the
contents may not be. For example, you will probably locate a
large number of "README" files. Practically every program I buy,
or shareware program I try, has one.
To see if the contents are the same, DFL gives you the option of
comparing the contents of any two files. The use of this option
is described in detail elsewhere in this manual.
2.5.2 Alias Mode
In ALIAS mode, DFL will look for files which have the same con-
tents, regardless of their names. To do this, DFL begins by
building a list of files. It then sorts the list by file length.
Obviously, files can only be the same if their lengths are the
same. Once the list is sorted by length, files with the same
length are adjacent in the list. DFL then compares all combina-
tions of files of the same length. Only files having the same
contents are added in groups to the duplicate window.
In ALIAS mode, files in each group are known to have the same
contents. You still have the option of comparing pairs of files
using the file compare function.
2.5.3 Length Mode
In length mode, DFL will look for files having the same length.
The files are not checked automatically to see if they have the
same contents. You must use the file compare function on indi-
vidual pairs of files manually to check for matching contents.
2.5.4 Partial Name Mode
In the partial name mode, files are added to the duplicate window
if the first few characters of their file names are the same.
From the mode select menu, you can set the length of the number
of required matching characters to any number from 1 to 11. For
example, if this mode is run with a three character match re-
quirement, the files "DFL261.EXE" and "DFL.ZIP" will be shown as
duplicates. Obviously, the file comparison function must be used
to check for duplicate contents.
2.6 The Filename Mask
A file name mask can be used to limit the search to files match-
ing the given mask. For example, you can process only executable
files by using the mask "*.EXE" or "*.COM".
2.7 The Drive Scan List
DFL can process any number of disk drives. Using the "SELECT
DISKS" function in the "SETUP" menu, you can turn on or off any
combination of the available drives. All drives turned on will
be processed in a single processing run.
2.8 Saving the Duplicate List
After DFL has generated the list of duplicates, you may want to
postpone your review of the list until a later time. DFL can
help by allowing you to write the list to an ASCII text file.
You can then print the file, or edit it with any editor, as you
see fit.
3 DFL Online Functions
3.1 Overview
When you operate DFL in the interactive mode, there are three
active windows, plus several status display windows available.
These will all be discussed below.
DFL has three active windows: the menu window, the duplicate list
window, and the file viewing window. The menu window gives you
access to all of the program functions using a system of pull-
down sub-menus. The duplicate list window is used to display the
groups of duplicate files after your disk drives have been ana-
lyzed. And the file viewing window is used to view any file from
the list in the duplicate window.
3.1.1 The Menu Window
The first window available is the MENU window. In this window,
you can access most of the DFL functions. The arrow keys are
used to move from function to function, with the current function
highlighted using reverse video. The horizontal cursor keys move
you from one primary function to another. For the primary func-
tion selected, the appropriate sub-menu will be displayed.
The vertical cursor keys are used to move from one sub-function
to another. For all of these functions, a context sensitive help
window can be called up simply be pressing the F1 key. This
window will explain the current function.
You activate the current function by pressing the ENTER key. DFL
will go on to perform whatever function you have requested. All
of the functions available in the menu window will be described
below.
In addition to accessing functions using the cursor and ENTER
key, DFL will also accept function commands directly at any time.
Certain keys will immediately activate corresponding functions.
These hot-keys are listed in the sub-windows and described below
as well.
3.1.2 The Duplicate Window
The DUPLICATE window is used by DFL to present the list of dupli-
cate files. After your disks have been processed, DFL will
display all duplicates as separate groups in the duplicate win-
dow. Along with each file name, you will see the path to the
file, the size of the file, the date it was last written, and the
time of the last write.
Files which are contained in an archive of some type will be
marked by an asterisk. The last file name in the path for such a
file will have the normal archive suffix. This will indicate the
type of archive which contains the file. For example, if the
suffix is ".ZIP", then the file was found in an archive processed
by the programs offered by PKWARE, Inc.
You can scroll through the list of files in this window, compare
any two files, view any file, delete any single file, tag and
delete any number of files, or write the list of duplicates to an
output file for later processing. How to perform these functions
is described in various sections below.
On the left vertical frame of this window, a small marker appears
and indicates your relative position in the full list of dupli-
cates. This marker moves from top to bottom as you scroll toward
the end of the list. This helps you estimate where you are in
the total list.
3.1.3 The File View Window
The file VIEW window allows you to view any file listed in the
duplicate window. Often, this will help you in deciding whether
or not to delete a file. While you are in the duplicate window,
a single file is highlighted at any given time. You can immedi-
ately view the file by pressing the F10 key. The VIEW window
will open and replace the duplicate window with the contents of
the selected file.
You can scroll through the file, left and right, up or down,
using the cursor control keys. You can also move to the begin-
ning or end of the file by pressing the HOME and END keys.
Naturally, a help window can be accessed using F1 to describe all
of the active keys available.
3.2 Global Functions
All of the functions available using the cursor movement and
ENTER keys can be accessed directly using the global function
keys described below. In general, most of these keys are active
only while you are in the MENU or DUPLICATE windows.
3.2.1 ESC Menu & Non-menu Toggle
The ESCAPE key provides a number of utility functions. It is
used to toggle between the MENU and DUPLICATE windows. When you
are viewing a file or a help screen, the ESC key is used to
return to the prior MENU or DUPLICATE window.
3.2.2 Alt-H Help Menu
You can access context sensitive help at most times by pressing
the Alt-H key. Immediately, a window will open with information
regarding the specific function you are considering.
If you press this key combination while in a context sensitive
help screen, you will move into the full help system. From
there, you can access all of the normal on-line help topics.
Exit from either help screen by pressing the ESC key.
3.2.3 Alt-S Setup Menu
The setup menu is used to configure DFL for the specific process-
ing run you are beginning, and can be accessed by pressing the
Alt-S key. You may also define the archive functions you want to
include in the processing run.
DFL can access any of the popular archive programs by executing
the proper external program. It is your responsibility to ac-
quire your favorite programs and define for DFL the method needed
to use the program. By accessing your personal archive system in
this way, DFL is not locked into any proprietary archive system,
and you aren't either. As these programs evolve, you need only
update the information in the DFL configuration file through the
setup menu.
3.2.4 Alt-R Run Menu
The run menu is used to start a DFL processing run, and can be
accessed by pressing the Alt-R key. If you have already built a
list of files, you can have DFL resort the list for a different
mode, and then build a new list of duplicates. In this way, you
can save some time when making a series of different processing
runs.
3.2.5 Alt-E Exit Menu
The exit menu is used to exit DFL and return to DOS, or to shell
to DOS temporarily, and can be accessed by pressing the Alt-E
key.
When you exit to DOS, all of the file list information accumulat-
ed by DFL is lost, unless you have written the duplicate list to
a file.
You can shell to DOS to do whatever miscellaneous functions you
desire. Since DFL uses a virtual memory system to store its
internal data tables, a lot of memory is available to execute DOS
functions, and the file list information is not lost. If you
have shelled out to DOS, you can return to DFL by typing "EXIT"
at any DOS prompt.
3.2.6 Alt-X Exit DFL
You can go directly to the DFL exit function by pressing Alt-X.
DFL will request confirmation of your desire to exit before
proceeding.
3.2.7 Home Top of List
In the duplicate window, you can move to the beginning of the
list by pressing the HOME key. The position marker on the left
window frame will move to the top of the frame.
In the file view window, pressing the HOME key will move you to
the beginning of the file being viewed.
3.2.8 End Bottom of List
In the duplicate window, you can move to the bottom of the list
by pressing the END key. The position marker on the left window
frame will move to the bottom of the frame.
In the file view window, pressing the END key will move you to
the end of the file being viewed.
3.2.9 PgUp Next Page in List
In the duplicate window, you can move up one screen full of
duplicate files by pressing the PAGE UP key.
In the file view window, you can move up one screen of file
information by pressing the PAGE UP key.
3.2.10 PgDn Previous Page in List
In the duplicate window, you can move down one screen full of
duplicate files by pressing the PAGE DOWN key.
In the file view window, you can move down one screen of file
information by pressing the PAGE DOWN key.
3.2.11 F1 Call for Help
At any time, you can obtain help about the current topic by
pressing the F1 key. If you are already in a help window, you
will move to the full DFL help window. In this window, you can
scroll through all of the help information available on-line.
3.2.12 SF1 Display Help Topics
At any time, you can press the Alt-F1 and open a menu of DFL help
topics. You can then scroll through this window using the cursor
keys, and select a topic of interest by pressing the ENTER key.
Another window will then pop up giving information on the topic
of interest. From any of these topic windows, you can move to
the full help window by pressing F1, or return to the topic
selection window by pressing ESC.
3.2.13 F2 Drive Selection
By pressing the F2 key when in either the duplicate or menu
windows, you will move to a window which will allow you to select
the disk drives which will participate in the file search.
DFL defaults to the current drive. To select a different drive
or multiple drives, use this option. You will be presented with
a window containing a list of the available drives. Simply
position the cursor bar over any drive letter and toggle it to
'Yes' or 'No' using the space bar. When DFL begins processing,
the drives that were toggled to 'Yes' will be scanned.
3.2.14 F3 Name Mask Selection
By pressing the F3 key when in either the duplicate or menu
windows, you will move to a window which will allow you to define
the scan mask.
The Scan Mask is used to determine which files DFL will remember
while scanning the disk(s). The standard DOS filespec including
wildcards is accepted.
For example, using '*.*' as the mask will force DFL to consider
EVERY file during the scan. Or, you may scan every file begin-
ning with 'A' by using 'A*.*'.
3.2.15 F4 Scan Mode Selection
By pressing the F4 key when in either the duplicate or menu
windows, you will move to a window which will allow you to define
the scan mode.
There are four different scan modes available. Like all dupli-
cate file locator programs, you can use DFL to search for files
with duplicate names. In addition, DFL provides three additional
modes. These are described below in more detail.
Name - DFL will find files with identical names.
Length - DFL will find files with equal lengths.
Name1-11 - DFL will find files with the first N matching name
letters.
Alias - Also known as 'Content', an Alias scan can be time
consuming, but very eye-opening. This method will
find files with identical contents, archived or not.
3.2.16 F5 Begin Scan
By pressing the F5 key when in either the duplicate or menu win-
dows, you will begin disk scanning using the mode and mask .
3.2.17 SF5 Resort Scan
By pressing the shift-F5 key when in either the duplicate or menu
windows, you will resorting the internal file list using the mode
and mask.
3.2.18 F6 Select First File for Comparison
By pressing the F6 key while in the duplicate window, you will
identify the currently highlighted file for use in the file
comparison process. The file line will begin blinking until some
other file is selected.
If you press F6 while on a selected file line, you will de-select
the file, and it will stop blinking.
3.2.19 F7 Start Binary File Comparison
If you press F7 while in the duplicate window, you will start a
binary file comparison process between the file currently high-
lighted and the file selected with the F6 key. This comparison
will be performed as a binary, byte-by-byte comparison. DFL will
report the results of the comparison in a status report window.
3.2.20 F8 Delete One or More Files
When you press F8 from within the duplicate window, you will
delete all tagged files. If no files are tagged, then you will
delete the file currently highlighted in the duplicate window.
Any file or group of files, archived or not, can be. Before DFL
begins the delete process, you will be asked to confirm the
request. If you answer no, or have no tagged files, you will be
asked if you want to delete the file under the cursor bar. Write
protected files are not deleted.
Note that, when files are deleted, any sole survivors from their
group are removed from the duplicate window but not deleted from
disk.
3.2.21 F9 Save Duplicate List
When you press F9 from the duplicate window, you will activate
the DFL function which writes the list of duplicate files to an
ASCII file of your choice. You will be prompted for the file-
name. This process may be aborted at any time by hitting the Esc
key.
Use LPT1: or PRN to write directly to the printer. The pathname
field begins in column 51. Paths which are longer than 30 char-
acters may cause some 80 column printers to wrap lines.
3.2.22 F10 View File Contents
By pressing F10 from within the duplicate window, you will active
the file view function. The view window will automatically open,
replacing the duplicate window.
You may view any file marked by the cursor bar, archived or not,
by selecting this function. While in the file viewing subsystem,
use the F1 key obtain a list of the various keystrokes and op-
tions that are available.
3.2.23 'F' Start ASCII File Comparison
By pressing the "F" key while in the duplicate window, you will
activate the ASCII file comparison routine.
This function causes DFL to run and display the results of the
external program FC.EXE Flaws in the Setup menu. The default is
FC.EXE, the DOS file compare program. However, you may define
your own provided the of the program goes to the DOS standard
output device. Examine the documentation for the program you
choose to use.
The two files may be of different lengths. Comparing binary
files may produce a lengthy or useless list of differences. This
function is normally used to compare the current version of a
file and its backup copy. If the files are different, the com-
pare program will attempt to re-synchronize to similar lines in
the two files. Because of the way this compare program works,
you will be presented with a display of the differences between
the two files.
3.2.24 'T' Toggle File Tag
By pressing this key while in the duplicate window, you can tag
or un-tag a file for future deletion. The file currently high-
lighted by the cursor bar will be tagged or untagged with an
arrow character appearing or disappearing on the left side of the
duplicate window.
Later, every tagged file can be deleted automatically by the
delete function.
3.2.25 'U' Untag all Files
By pressing this key while in the duplicate window, the delete
tags will be cleared from all of the files which may have been
tagged.
3.2.26 'S' Shell to DOS
This function causes DFL to shell out to DOS. DFL will remain
resident in about 320k of memory. To return to DFL, simply enter
the command 'EXIT' at the DOS command line.
3.2.27 ^C-Z Display Drive Statistics
Keys Cntl-C through Cntl-Z select the status at the top of the
main screen to reflect the corresponding disk.
If selected in the menu window, these keys will present you with
the list of available disks. From there, simply position the
cursor bar over a desired disk and hit the ENTER key.
For each disk, you will see the total used bytes, total free
bytes and total duplicate bytes.
4 DFL Archive Subsystem
4.1 Overview
The DFL archive handling system is a method which will allow you
to use DFL with your favorite archive processing programs. For
example, many people choose ZIP, PAK, ZOO and ARC formats to
maintain their archives. In some cases, you may have several of
these archive types present on your disks.
DFL can use any of these programs because we actually shell out
invisibly, as far as you are concerned, whenever we need to
access one of your archives. Because we use your archive pro-
grams, DFL will always remain current with the latest archive
program technology.
4.2 Defining an Archive
To use your choice of archive program, we provide a menu driven
configuration process to gather the necessary information. This
process is described below.
Naturally, it is your responsibility to purchase or register your
particular archive programs. DFL will merely use the programs
you provide. Just as you have registered for DFL, please regis-
ter the archive programs you use as well.
4.2.1 Basic Parameters
When you stop to think about it, performing the DFL functions
requires only four of the many archive program functions. These
are:
a) output a list of the files in the archive
b) extract a file from the archive
c) delete a file from the archive
d) compress a file and add it to an archive
4.2.1.1 Title
This is simply used as a reference. Currently, it only appears
in the list window where you previously selected this definition
and in the output duplicate list. It can be any string of your
choosing, preferably something meaningful.
4.2.1.2 Extension
DFL uses the file name extension to identify which files are
archives. For example, using 'ZIP' will cause DFL to access
files with a 'ZIP' extension according to the corresponding
definition.
If the Archive Lister can obtain a file list, the archive will be
treated as a pseudo-directory accessible as outlined by the
definition. Otherwise, DFL assumes its an ordinary file.
4.2.1.3 Enable/Disable
This is a Yes/No option allowing you to enable or disable an
archive during the scan. When an archive is disabled, files with
extensions that match the Archive Extension field will be treated
as regular files subject to the Scan Mask and Mode.
Archives can be quickly enabled or disabled in the Archive List
window where the Definitions are selected.
4.2.1.4 Screen Save
This is a Yes/No option telling DFL whether to restore the dis-
play screen after executing any of the corresponding archive
programs. It is not necessary for most programs. We use this
function to compensate for any ill-behaved archive programs which
may be distributed.
Start with Screen Save OFF. Later in the definition process, DFL
will attempt to create and list a sample archive to help you
describe the Lister Output format. If the screen display becomes
damaged, this option should be set ON.
4.2.2 Archive Programs
As stated before, we have tested DFL with as many different
archive programs as we have been able to find. The list includes
ZIP, PAK, LZH, ZOO, and ARC. With the proper configuration
information, the versions of these programs which we were able to
obtain all worked perfectly.
To enable you to modify your DFL configuration to match a differ-
ent program you may come across, or to adapt to future versions
which may be released, DFL is equipped with a menu driven system
to help.
Some of the archive programs we tested include numerous functions
for your convenience. DFL, however, requires only a very basic
sub-set of the possible functions.
Perhaps the greatest challenge you may have with you archive
files is related to the use of encryption. At least one of the
archive packages offers file encryption for security reasons.
The password must be provided to access the archive file. Since
the password must be provided on the DOS command line which
activates the archive program, and this command line is part of
the DFL configuration information, to use encryption, all of your
archives must have the same password, and the password itself
must be included in the DFL configuration file. Most security
experts would object to this procedure. We have no alternatives
to offer at this time.
4.2.2.1 Lister Program & Parameters
This is the name of the program which DFL will run when attempt-
ing to get the list of files contained in an archive. DFL will
search the Dos Path for the given archive lister program name.
You need not enter the extension. DFL tries 'COM' and 'EXE'. To
obtain any help from the program, hit <F2>.
At startup, DFL searches the DOS Path for this program. This
makes it easy to run DFL on other machines without worrying about
Paths and other related garbage.
You will provide the name of your archive program and any command
line options needed to obtain a list of the files within an
archive. In short, this function is the equivalent of "DIR" for
and archive file.
These specify the parameters for the archive lister program.
These are the same parameters that would normally be entered on
the command line. Use '%1' to represent the Archive Filename.
To obtain any help from the program, press <F2>.
For example, if you are using the ZIP system, the line
PKUNZIP -v archive.zip' equates to DFL parameters:
PKUNZIP(.exe) - the program
-v %1 - the command line parameters
Those familiar with the ZIP system will recognize this as the
command which generates a list of the files within an archive.
DFL will redirect the program output to an internal file from
which the necessary information will be read.
4.2.2.2 Deleter Program & Parameters
This is the name of the program which DFL will run when attempt-
ing to delete a file contained in an archive. DFL search the Dos
Path for a given name. You need not enter the extension. DFL
tries 'COM' & 'EXE'. To obtain any help from the program, press
<F2>.
At startup, DFL searches the Path for these programs. This makes
it easy to run DFL on other machines without worrying about Paths
and other related garbage.
This specifies the parameters for the Deleter program. These are
the same items that would normally be entered on the command
line. Use '%1' to represent the Archive Filename. '%2' repre-
sents the archived file. To obtain any help from the program,
press <F2>.
For example, if you are using the ZIP system, the line
PKZIP -d archive.zip equates to DFL parameters:
PKZIP(.exe) - the program
-d %1 %2 - the command line parameters
Those familiar with the ZIP system will recognize this as the
command which deletes a file from an archive.
4.2.2.3 Extractor Program & Parameters
This is the name of the program which DFL will run when attempt-
ing to extract a file contained in an archive. DFL will search
the Dos Path for a given name. You need not enter the extension.
DFL searches for both 'COM' & 'EXE' if necessary. To obtain any
help from the program, press <F2>.
At startup, DFL searches the Path for these programs. This makes
it easy to run DFL on other machines without worrying about Paths
and other related garbage.
This specifies the parameters for the Extractor program. These
are the same items that would normally be entered on the command
line. Use '%1' to represent the Archive Filename. '%2' repre-
sents the archived file. To obtain any help from the program,
press <F2>.
For example, if you are using the ZIP system, the line
PKUNZIP archive.zip equates to DFL parameters:
PKUNZIP(.exe) - the program
%1 %2 - the command line parameters
Those familiar with the ZIP system will recognize this as the
command which extracts a file from an archive.
4.2.2.4 Compressor Program & Parameters
This is the name of the program which DFL will run when attempt-
ing to add a file to an archive. DFL will search the DOS Path
for a given name. You need not enter the extension. DFL tries
both 'COM' & 'EXE' if necessary. To obtain any help from the
program, press <F2>.
At startup, DFL searches the Path for these programs. This makes
it easy to run DFL on other machines without worrying about Paths
and other related garbage.
This specifies the parameters for the Compressor program. These
are the same items that would normally be entered on the command
line. Use '%1' to represent the Archive Filename. '%2' repre-
sents the archived file. To obtain any help from the program,
press <F2>.
For example, if you are using the ZIP system, the line
PKZIP archive.zip equates to DFL parameters:
PKZIP(.exe) - the program
-ex %1 %2 - the command line parameters
Those familiar with the ZIP system will recognize this as the
command which adds a file to an archive using maximum compres-
sion.
4.3.3 The Test Run
As each archive function is defined, DFL will request a test run.
Type 'y' or 'Y' to have DFL test each specific program as it is
defined.
The following procedure is used by DFL automatically:
1. Create a 32k dummy file.
2. Add it to a dummy archive using the Compressor.
3. List the dummy archive using the Lister.
4. Extract the dummy file using the Extractor.
5. Delete it from the archive using the Deleter.
When the DFL configuration process is complete, all of these
temporary files are deleted.
4.3.4 Archive Lister Output
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of configuring DFL for and
archive system are the steps needed to teach DFL how to read the
output file generated by the archive lister program.
After a sample run of the archive lister program, DFL will dis-
play the output file and have you position the cursor to certain
specific fields in a file data line. DFL uses this process to
make an internal table which gives the position in each line
where the various fields begin, the field width, and other
properties.
4.3.4.1 Name
Use the cursor left and right movement keys to locate the first
column of the name of a file within the archive.
DFL will ask if the field is right justified, its rightmost
character will always be in the same column. If the field is
left justified, its leftmost character will always be in the same
column.
Enter 'R' or 'r' if it is right justified.
Enter 'L' or 'l' if it is left justified.
4.3.4.2 Extension
Some archive lister programs output separate the file name and
extension. In this case, DFL must treat the extension as a
separate field and later concatenate it to the name.
In response to the DFL query, enter 'Y' or 'y' if there are no
spaces between the file name and extension.
4.3.4.3 Length
Define the position and width of the file size within a line of
the sample lister output file. Follow procedures similar to
those described for defining the file name field, and respond to
the prompts given.
4.3.4.4 Time
Define the position of the file time field within a line of the
sample lister output file. Follow procedures similar to those
described above, and respond to the prompts given.
4.3.4.5 Date
Define the position of the file date field within a line of the
sample lister output file. Follow procedures similar to those
described above, and respond to the prompts given.
5 DFL File Viewing System
5.1 Overview
While operating in the duplicate window, you have the option of
viewing any file. The present viewing feature provides only an
ASCII display. Thus, you may not be able to make sense out of
what you see when viewing binary files such as .EXE or .COM
files.
Active the file viewer by pressing F10 while the desired file is
highlighted in the duplicate window.
The details of the file viewing feature are described below.
5.2 Screen Layout
When the viewer is activated, a new window is opened, filling the
screen with text from the file. The top line gives the line and
column number of the character in the upper left corner of the
window, along with the path and name of the file.
5.3 Viewer Commands
The viewer has a distinct set of command keys identified.
5.3.1 F1 - Quick Help
The list of active keys and their assigned functions will pop-up
in a window when you press the F1 key.
5.3.2 Home & End
Pressing the HOME key will move the display window to the begin-
ning of the file being viewed.
Pressing the END key will move the display window to the end of
the file being viewed.
5.3.3 Page Keys
The PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys can be used to move the viewing
window up or down one page of text at a time.
5.3.4 Arrow Keys
The cursor control keys are used to scroll the viewing window up
or down one line at a time, or left or right one column at a
time.
5.3.5 ^Home
The Cntl-HOME key will immediately scroll the viewing window such
that the first column of each file line is in the left-most
column of the screen.
5.3.6 ^PgUp & ^PgDn
Using Cntl-PAGE UP and Cntl-PAGE DOWN will cause an animated
scroll of the viewing window up or down a full page of text.
5.3.7 ^Right & ^Left
Pressing the Cntl-LEFT or Cntl-RIGHT keys will cause an animated
scroll of the viewing window left or right 40 columns.
5.3.8 'W' - Mask High Bits
Since some text files are written with 8 bit ASCII characters,
and others have the eighth bit set to zero, DFL gives you the
option of blanking out the eighth bit if the characters displayed
are confused.
Press the W key to toggle the bit 8 mask on or off.
5.3.9 'T' - Tab Toggle
The readability of text files can sometimes be improved by chang-
ing the number of columns assigned to each tab character. By
pressing the T key, DFL will alternately select tab spacings of
0, 4 or 8 columns.
6 Useful Topics
6.1 DFL Temporary Files & Directories
When DFL initializes, it attempts to create the following files
in the root directory of the working disk (See sections 2.2.1 &
2.2.2):
1TMP????.DFL - Subdirectory for archive file extraction.
2TMP????.DFL - Subdirectory for archive file extraction.
REDIR???.DFL - File for capturing output of external programs.
VIRT????.DFL - Virtual memory file.
VIRT????.DFL - Virtual memory file.
VIRT????.DFL - Virtual memory file.
VIRT????.DFL - Virtual memory file.
These files are created only during the archive definition &
testing process:
FILE????.EX - Dummy file to be archived.
TEST????.aaa - Dummy archive to be created.
The extension is variable, ARC, ZIP etc.
The ?'s represent numbers from 0000 to 9999. These numeric con-
structs are used to insure unique filenames for the following
reasons:
1. It is conceivable that when an external program receives
control from DFL such as the Shell (See section III.3) or an
archiver (See section IV.2.b), it crashes the system. When the
system is rebooted, the temporary files would still be present
(and possibly hidden or protected) the next time DFL ran. See
section IV.4, Troubleshooting.
DFL adheres to our policy of non-destruction when creating
temporary files of any kind. That is, no matter how slim the
chance of one of these files belonging to another program, DFL
will not overwrite or delete them to make way for its temporary
data. Rather, temporary filenames are dynamically generated to
insure that with each run DFL has unique disk workspace.
2. A different logical drive spec may in reality, refer to the
actual working disk. Or, the working disk spec may refer to a
different logical drive. This can cause confusion when DFL
scans both disks.
3. Any of these files may already exist for a purpose other
than DFL.
On exit, DFL deletes these files.
DFL may not be able to create these files if there are not enough
free entries in the root directory of the working disk. If this
occurs, DFL will exit with an error message (See section VI.3)
and you will need to use a different working disk or delete some
files in the root directory. See section IV.4, Troubleshooting.
When manipulating archived files (viewing, comparing etc.), you
may notice that the file appears to be in one of the temporary
directories above. This is normal.
6.2 DOS Stack Overflow
There have been some situations reported where DFL has failed due
to a "STACK OVERFLOW." This was reported by a couple of users
who had one of those 3rd party disk caching programs. To solve
this, we have expanded the internal stack used by DFL substan-
tially, and the problem has not been seen again when the PC TOOLS
cache program "PC-CACHE.COM" is in use.
However, the stack overflow problem did recur when a different
cache program was in use. This was eliminated by changing CON-
FIG.SYS to include the statement "STACKS=8,512". The original
statement was "STACKS=0,0". This change provides additional
stack space for OS programs. We have not carried out extensive
experiments with all of the available cache programs, and there
may be a combination of cache program and STACKS statement which
cause the DFL stack to overflow. If you find such a problem,
please experiment with your STACKS statement. If this does not
solve the problem, by all means report it to us. We will need to
know the version of DOS you are using, which cache program and
parameters you have, your CONFIG.SYS file, and the type of memory
used for your cache. This will help us solve this problem for
you and anyone else who runs into it.
6.3 Error Messages
6.3.1 Online Errors
Many of the self-explanatory errors are signaled by a beep from
the speaker. These are errors such as:
1. Typing past the end of an entry space.
2. Entering an invalid character in a filespec.
3. Typing 'Z' when asked to entry 'Y' or 'N'.
4. Etc...
Other error and status report messages appear on the screen to
give you specific information if importance. These messages are
identified below in alphabetical order.
6.3.1.1 "<filespec> not created."
This error may occur when you are configuring DFL to use your
particular archive program. During the configuration process,
DFL will test run your archive program to confirm that the con-
figuration information is correct.
When DFL test ran the archive program, trying to add a dummy file
to a non-existent archive, the new archive was not created. This
indicates that something may be wrong in your definition to DFL
on how to run the "add file" option of your archive program. You
should have seen some kind of error message from the archive
program. Perhaps the program needs more memory to run. Try
removing any TSRs from memory before running DFL. DFL uses about
340k. The archive programs we have tested with DFL require less
than 200K to run. Since DFL itself uses 340K, you should have at
least 540K available. Run "CHKDSK" to see how much memory is
available on your system.
6.3.1.2 "A disk drive must be selected to begin processing"
This error will occur if you try to start DFL without selecting
at least one disk drive for processing. Select function <F2> and
choose at least one disk for DFL to scan.
6.3.1.3 "Can't create <filespec>"
This error may occur when you are configuring DFL to use your
particular archive program. During the configuration process,
DFL will test run your archive program to confirm that the con-
figuration information is correct.
When DFL attempts to test run the external archive programs, it
first creates a 32k dummy file to be archived. This error could
indicate a lack of directory space, a lack of disk space, or that
the file <filespec> already exists. Identify the specific cause
of the problem and retry.
6.3.1.4 "Can't extract that file."
In attempting to View an archived file, DFL was unable to extract
it from the host archive. Select function 'R' to see the output
of the last run archive program. If the archive extractor pro-
duced any error messages, they will appear. You may need to free
more memory prior to running DFL. Also, some archives contain
files that have been encrypted with a password. The only way DFL
can extract these files is if you add the appropriate password
option to the extractor program's parameter line. See section
4.2.2.
6.3.1.5 "Can't find that program. Try again."
You are trying to enter the name of an external program. If it is
not on the path, you must specify drive and directory along with
the filename. If you do not specify the extension, DFL will try
COM and then EXE before giving up.
6.3.1.6 "Can't log to disk"
You tried to display the statistics of an invalid drive.
6.3.1.7 "Can't open current file."
DFL was unable to access either the marked file or the file under
the cursor bar for the comparison function. If the file is ar-
chived, select function 'R' to see the output of the last run
external program. If the archive extractor produced any error
messages, they will appear here. You may need to free more memory
prior to running DFL. Also, some archives contain files that have
been encrypted with a password. The only way DFL can extract
these files is if you add the appropriate password option to the
extractor program's parameter line. See section IV.2.b.
If the file is not archived, then you are faced with a situation
where DFL has in memory the name of a file the was scanned
moments earlier but doesn't exist now. This can happen if you are
running in a multitasking environment and other programs are
'diddling' things in the background. Perhaps one of the back-
ground programs deleted the requested file. DFL has no way of
knowing what other programs or TSRs are during in the background.
6.3.1.8 "Can't open marked file."
DFL was unable to access either the marked file or the file under
the cursor bar for the comparison function. If the file is ar-
chived, select function 'R' to see the output of the last run
external program. If the archive extractor produced any error
messages, they will appear here. You may need to free more memory
prior to running DFL. Also, some archives contain files that have
been encrypted with a password. The only way DFL can extract
these files is if you add the appropriate password option to the
extractor program's parameter line. See section IV.2.b.
If the file is not archived, then you are faced with a situation
where DFL has in memory the name of a file the was scanned
moments earlier but doesn't exist now. This can happen if you are
running in a multitasking environment and other programs are
'diddling' things in the background. Perhaps one of the back-
ground programs deleted the requested file. DFL has no way of
knowing what other programs or TSRs are during in the background.
6.3.1.9 "Can't run C:\COMMAND.COM"
There was some problem in loading and executing COMMAND.COM for
the Dos Shell function. The path and filename of the command
processor are sought using the environment variable COMSPEC. If
that is not found, DFL defaults to C:\COMMAND.COM.
6.3.1.10 "DFL is unable to run that program"
There was some problem in loading and executing the corresponding
archive program. It may be too big, or not exist at all.
6.3.1.11 "DFL temporary files have been damaged. Must exit."
When the Dos Shell function is invoked, DFL hides and protects
all of its temporary files and directories. On return from the
Shell, they are unhidden and unprotected. If DFL is unable to
restore any of them, it must exit.
6.3.1.12 "Different size files can't be the same."
The binary byte-by-byte comparison function is useless for dif-
ferent length files. Use the external ASCII comparison program
for different length ascii files.
6.3.1.13 "FC.EXE produced no results."
The ASCII comparison just performed produced no output.
6.3.1.14 "Files are not equal." & "Files are the same."
Possible results from the binary comparison.
6.3.1.15 "Must specify '%1' and '%2' parameters."
DFL must pass the archive extractor, adder and deleter programs
at least two parameters: the archive filename and the archived
file. You must indicate where these belong with '%1' and '%2'
respectively as if they were run from the command line.
6.3.1.16 "Must specify '%1' parameter."
DFL must pass the archive lister program at least one parameter,
the archive filename. You must indicate where it belongs with
'%1' as if it was run from the command line.
6.3.1.17 "No duplicate files in list. Function canceled."
The requested function will not operate without a list of dupli-
cates.
6.3.1.18 "No file is marked."
You must mark a file using the F6 key that you wish compared to
the one under the cursor bar.
6.3.1.19 "No files have been tagged. Function canceled."
The untag function will not work if there are no tagged files.
6.3.1.20 "No output available"
The See Results function will only show you the output of the
last executed external program if it was captured. Currently,
there is none.
6.3.1.21 "Not enough memory." & "Out of memory."
The requested function needs more memory. Usually, this is about
4k. If you see this error, you're really pushing the envelope.
Try to remove any TSR programs or reduce the size of the environ-
ment space.
6.3.1.22 "Problem creating dummy file"
To test the archive definition, DFL creates a 32k dummy file
named TEST????.aaa. See section 6.1. This error indicates that
DFL was unable to create the temporary file.
6.3.1.23 "Problem extracting current file."
The file comparison functions must extract any compressed files
before performing the compare. Select function 'R' to see the
output of the last run external program. If the archive extrac-
tor produced any error messages, they will appear here. You may
need to free more memory prior to running DFL. Also, some ar-
chives contain files that have been encrypted with a password.
The only way DFL can extract these files is if you add the appro-
priate password option to the extractor program's parameter line.
See section 4.2.2.
6.3.1.24 "Problem extracting marked file."
The file comparison functions must extract any compressed files
before performing the compare. Select function 'R' to see the
output of the last run external program. If the archive extrac-
tor produced any error messages, they will appear here. You may
need to free more memory prior to running DFL. Also, some ar-
chives contain files that have been encrypted with a password.
The only way DFL can extract these files is if you add the appro-
priate password option to the extractor program's parameter line.
See section 4.2.2.
6.3.1.25 "Problem running <archive lister>"
This error will occur during the disk scan if DFL cannot execute
the lister program for an archive type that has been enabled.
You may need to free more memory prior to running DFL. Select
function 'R' to see the output of the last run external program.
If the archive lister produced any error messages, they will
appear here.
6.3.1.26 "Problem running FC.EXE. Check FC.EXE rules under
setup."
This error will occur if DFL cannot execute the ascii comparison
program. You may need to free more memory prior to running DFL.
Select function 'R' to see the output of the last run external
program. If the program produced any error messages, they will
appear here.
6.3.1.27 "Problem running that program"
This error will occur if DFL cannot execute one of the archive
programs during the test run. You may need to free more memory
prior to running DFL. Select function 'R' to see the output of
the last run external program. If the program produced any error
messages, they may appear here.
6.3.1.28 "Problem writing <filename>"
The duplicate list output function encountered an error while
writing the given file. If you're writing to a floppy, make sure
the disk is formatted and properly inserted in the drive. Also,
you may have run out of disk space, especially if the duplicate
list is long.
6.3.1.29 "That extension is invalid."
If any of these characters are used in the extension field of the
archive definition, it will be declared invalid- ".*?\/:". This
doesn't include the quotes.
6.3.1.30 "That is a DIRECTORY. Hit a key..."
This error will occur if you enter an invalid list output file-
name.
6.3.1.31 "That is a HIDDEN or SYSTEM file. Hit a key..."
This error will occur if you enter an invalid list output file-
name.
6.3.1.32 "That is a READ ONLY file. Hit a key..."
This error will occur if you enter an invalid list output file-
name.
6.3.1.33 "That's not a file !"
This error is caused by attempting to perform one of the file
operations on the blank divider lines between the groups in the
duplicate list window.
6.3.1.34 "The viewer couldn't open that file"
The viewing system was unable to access the file under the cursor
bar. If the file is archived, then DFL attempted to extract it.
Select function 'R' to see the output of the last run external
program. If the archive extractor produced any error messages,
they will appear here. You may need to free more memory prior to
running DFL. Also, some archives contain files that have been
encrypted with a password. The only way DFL can extract these
files is if you add the appropriate password option to the ex-
tractor program's parameter line. See section 4.2.2.
If the file is not archived, then you are faced with a situation
where DFL has in memory the name of a file the was scanned mo-
ments earlier but doesn't exist now. This can happen if you are
running in a multitasking environment and other programs are
'diddling' things in the background. Perhaps one of the back-
ground programs deleted the requested file. DFL has no way of
knowing what is happening while TSRs or background programs are
active.
6.3.1.35 "The viewer needs about 16k more memory"
The viewing system needs about 16k of memory. If you see this
error, you're pushing the envelope. Try freeing some TSRs before
running DFL.
6.3.1.36 "Too many lines/entry. May not work."
The format of the archive lister output should not take more than
about 15 lines per file entry.
6.3.1.37 "Unable to open the file. Hit a key..."
The duplicate list output function was not able to open the given
file. If you're writing to a floppy, make sure the disk is for-
matted and properly inserted in the drive.
6.3.1.38 "Use caution in selecting an output path"
In preparing to write the duplicate list, DFL changes back to the
original disk from where it was invoked. If it has trouble doing
that, this warning will be displayed before you are prompted to
enter the output filename. It means that the disk configuration
has probably changed since DFL was started and subsequent caution
is advised. This may happen if you run DFL from a floppy and
remove the floppy.
6.3.1.39 "Why compare a file to itself ?"
This is self-explanatory.
6.3.1.40 "Why view a file of 0 length ?"
This is self-explanatory.
6.3.1.41 "You must edit the definition before enabling it."
You can't enable an undefined or uninitialized archive type.
6.3.2 Exit Errors
The error messages below are reported when the execution of DFL
must be aborted due to some fatal error condition.
6.3.2.1 "Virtual memory file CRITICAL READ error..."
An interpretation window will accompany this message. This error
may occur if you run out of disk space or an actual error occurs
on the working disk.
6.3.2.2 "Virtual memory file CRITICAL SEEK error..."
An interpretation window will accompany this message. This error
may occur if you run out of disk space or an actual error occurs
on the working disk.
6.3.2.3 "Virtual memory file CRITICAL WRITE error..."
An interpretation window will accompany this message. This error
may occur if you run out of disk space or an actual error occurs
on the working disk.
6.3.2.4 "Virtual memory file READ error..."
An interpretation window will accompany this message. This error
may occur if you run out of disk space or an actual error occurs
on the working disk.
6.3.2.5 "Virtual memory file SEEK error..."
An interpretation window will accompany this message. This error
may occur if you run out of disk space or an actual error occurs
on the working disk.
6.3.2.6 "Virtual memory file WRITE error..."
An interpretation window will accompany this message. This error
may occur if you run out of disk space or an actual error occurs
on the working disk.
6.3.2.7 "Disk specified by '/w=' unavailable."
The requested working disk is not accessible by DFL.
6.3.2.8 "Bad filename mask in '/f=' option."
The filename mask follows standard Dos filespec syntax including
wildcards. Use 'A*.*' to scan all files beginning with 'A'. Use
'*.EXE' to scan all EXE files.
6.3.2.9 "Syntax error in '/d=' option."
To specify drives 'C:' and 'D:' as the scan disks use 'DFL
/d=cd'. This is not case-sensitive. The command line options
are all separated by spaces. Type 'DFL /?' to obtain a help
listing with an example of each option.
6.3.2.10 "Syntax error in '/f=' option."
To use '*.bak' as the filename mask type 'DFL /f=*.bak'. This is
not case- sensitive. The command line options are all separated
by spaces. Type 'DFL /?' to obtain a help listing with an exam-
ple of each option.
6.3.2.11 "Syntax error in '/l(a/w)=' option."
To specify c:\dfl.lst as the output file, use 'DFL
/lw=c:\dfl.lst'. To append the duplicate list output to
c:\dfl.lst, use 'DFL /la=c:\dfl.lst'. These are not case-sensi-
tive. The command line options are all separated by spaces.
Type 'DFL /?' to obtain a help listing with an example of each
option.
6.3.2.12 "Syntax error in '/m=' option."
To use the ALIAS mode type 'DFL /m=alias'. This is not case-
sensitive. The command line options are all separated by spaces.
Type 'DFL /?' to obtain a help listing with an example of each
option.
6.3.2.13 "Syntax error in '/w=' option."
To specify drive 'D:' as the working disk use 'DFL /w=d'. This
is not case- sensitive. The command line options are all sepa-
rated by spaces. Type 'DFL /?' to obtain a help listing with an
example of each option.
6.3.2.14 "Bad output filename."
The error results if the file specified by the command line
option '/l(a/w)=' is not accessible by DFL. If the file is on a
floppy, make sure the disk is formatted and properly inserted in
the drive.
