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DTA.DOC
-------
Instructions for DTA.COM
Version 1.61 (3 Oct 1991)
(c)1987-91 E. Meyer
DTA.COM is a super directory utility that will run on any PC/MSDOS system
(version 2 or higher). "DTA" stands for Directory-Tree-Attributes; it is a
replacement for the DIR, TREE, and ATTRIB commands of DOS, as well as a
WHEREIS utility. Though small, DTA has many features including:
* alphabetized color directory with file sizes and free space
* optional wide mode or full mode (with attributes and time/date)
* select items to display by attributes, time/date, or file size
* display several groups of files, or all except certain files
* change any file attributes or time/date
* treat directories either separately or together with files
* alphabetized compact directory tree; optional full mode with sizes
* optionally search entire drive (all directories) for files
The syntax and options of DTA are compatible with my ARCOPY (archive/
copy), DIRCMP (directory compare), and DLT (delete) utilities, which work well
together.
USING DTA
---------
SYNTAX: A>dta {fspec1} {{,}fspec2...} {/options} ("{}"=optional)
where each "fspec" may include a drive, path, or wildcards;
either spaces or commas may separate multiple filespecs;
"/" is the delimiter for option letters.
If the drive or path is omitted from the first filespec, it defaults to
the current DOS value; for subsequent ones, to the same as the previous one.
If the filespec is omitted it defaults to "*.*". If it is a directory name,
the contents of the directory are displayed.
Options are discussed in detail below. If none are specified, you will
get a compact, informative directory display.
You can pause or abort during operation of DTA by typing ^S or ^C.
Output can be directed to a file or other device in the standard fashion:
A>DTA FILESPEC /OPTIONS >DEVICE.
INTERPRETING THE DISPLAY
------------------------
SIZES are measured in kilobytes (1k is 1024 bytes) or megabytes (1m is
1024k, or 1,048,576 bytes). DTA displays them in kilobytes up to 999k; beyond
that, to the nearest tenth of a megabyte (1.0m, etc). The "items total"
amount is simply the sum of the individual file sizes shown; the "items use"
amount is the total disk space those files actually occupy. (If any
directories are shown, the sizes of their contents are not included.) Because
allocation clusters on a disk can vary from 128 bytes (on a RAMdisk) to 4k (on
a hard disk), the space consumed by each file can be a fraction of a k less or
several k more than its displayed size; thus, depending on disk media, the
"use" amount may be a bit less, or significantly more, than the "total" of the
displayed sizes. The "used/free" space shown by DTA is for the entire drive.
ATTRIBUTES, when displayed, show as a letter ("A,H,R,S") if set, or as
"." if clear. The Archive attribute indicates to a backup utility that a file
has been changed recently, and needs to be backed up; the bit is cleared by
the utility when it does so. (Simple backup utilities that work well with DTA
include the DOS XCOPY command, and my own ARCOPY.COM.)
The Read/only attribute prevents a file from being changed or deleted,
though it can be read and copied. The Hidden and System attributes both
exclude items from normal searches: they cannot be accessed at all by ordinary
MSDOS file commands. Ordinarily only the DOS boot files MSDOS.SYS and IO.SYS
have these attributes. (If you do NOT want to see hidden or system items, use
"/sh".)
TIME/DATE, when displayed, appears in US format unless you have changed
this default, or another format (Euro,Num) was used with the /B,/L,/@ options.
DTA OPTIONS
-----------
By default, DTA will display a list of all files specified, along with
their sizes, and some disk space information. You can modify this consid-
erably with a variety of options. One "/" must precede any options; further
slashes may be used or not, as desired.
/? = help. Gives version message, brief summary of usage and options.
There are options to scan the directory tree, instead of the current dir:
/T = tree: show it, starting at specified or current directory.
/G = global: search for specified files throughout the tree.
Then there are options affecting the appearance of the display:
/F = full: for directory, show attributes and time/date also.
(automatically selected for single file display)
for tree/global search, show file size information.
/W = wide: just like DIR /W, five columns with no file sizes.
/N = narrow: use only half the usual number of columns.
/P = pause: after every 24 lines, pause for a keystroke.
Then there are options to select what items are chosen for display:
/X = except: select only items other than those named.
/D = directories: select directories instead of files.
/U = universal: select both directories and files.
/B = before: select files before specified date,time.
/L = later: select files later than specified date,time.
/K = size: select files by specified size ("+"=greater, "-"=less).
/A,H,R,S = select only items with the specified attributes:
Archive; Hidden; Read/only; System.
/a,h,r,s = select only items WITHOUT these attributes.
Finally, you can specify:
/@ = set time stamp on items to date,time.
/C = change items to have the following specified attributes.
Be careful with the /@,/C options, because they actually CHANGE the DOS
time stamp and attributes for files! Time stamps, especially, provide
valuable information about the age and revision of a file, and should not be
changed without good reason.
With the /B,/L,/@ options, the date and/or time should follow the option
letter; if both are specified, separate them with a comma. If the time is
omitted, it defaults to 0 hours (12 AM); if the date is omitted, it defaults
to TODAY. If both are omitted, /@ defaults to today, now; /B,/L default to
today, 0 hours. DTA recognizes U.S., European, and Numeric formats for
entering each, by the punctuation used:
U.S.(M/D/Y,H:MMa-p) Euro (D.M.Y,H:MM) Num (Y-M-D,HHMM)
3/25/90,1:45p = 25.3.90,13:45 = 90-3-25,1345
(If you add the /A or /P option after a Euro format time, insert a slash or
space so it doesn't look like a U.S. format time.) The date "00/00/00" may be
used to set a blank or zero timestamp; otherwise the year must be 80 or above.
With the /K option, the file size in "k" (from 0 to 999) should follow
the option letter; files of that size only will be listed. Add a "-" after
the size to include smaller files as well, or a "+" to include larger ones.
Note that the file attribute options are case sensitive (uppercase=set,
lower=clear). Those listed alone, or before the "C" option letter, are used
for file selection; those after it, represent changes to be made. The /C
option can also be used alone, with NO following attributes, simply to cause
attributes to display instead of file sizes (no attributes will be changed).
The options /T,G,X do not allow multiple arguments; and a number of
combinations of options are invalid (/U or /D with /K,E,L,G; /T,G,X with one
another; /G with /@,C; etc).
The best way to make DTA usage clear will be by a series of examples.
EXAMPLES: FILES and DIRECTORIES
C>dta a:\*.doc *.txt
Show all files *.DOC and *.TXT in the root directory on A:.
C>dta a:\*.sys /xf
Show all files EXCEPT *.SYS, with "full" display (attributes and time/date).
C>dta /d
Show all subdirectories in the current directory.
C>dta \work /u
Show all files AND subdirectories in C:\WORK.
EXAMPLES: SIZES and TIMESTAMPS
C>dta d: e: /k0
Show only empty (0k) files in the current directory on drives D: and E:.
C>dta \work /l
Show only files in directory C:\WORK created or modified since... today.
C>dta /b9/1/89
Show only files in current directory dated before 9/1/89.
C>dta *.doc /l/b1700
Show only files *.DOC dated today before 5:00 PM.
C>dta log /@1.9.89,13:20
Modify the file LOG to have the timestamp 9/1/89, 1:20 PM.
EXAMPLES: ATTRIBUTES
C>dta /c
Show all files in current directory with their attributes.
C>dta /A
Show only files in current directory marked with the Archive attribute.
C>dta a: /SH
Show only files in current directory on A: which are System and Hidden.
C>dta a:*.sys /Hca
Select only Hidden files *.SYS on A: and clear their Archive attribute.
EXAMPLES: TREE and GLOBAL SEARCH
C>dta \work /tp
Show the directory tree starting from C:\WORK, pausing after each screenful.
C>dta *.bak /gk100+
Show all directories on drive C: containing files *.BAK of 100k or larger.
QUIZ
All right, can you decide what the following commands would accomplish:
A>dta /fun >prn B>dta a: /c /p
A>dta *.xyz /lsAca C\SUE\WORK>dta \ /f/d/H
C\SUE\WORK>dta ../tf B>dta *.bak /xbk9-@
(If this seems cryptic at first, you'll catch on. You probably won't need all
these options; many exist only to allow you to get hard copy exactly the way
you want it. Again, you can always type "DTA /?" for help.)
CUSTOMIZING DTA
---------------
You can use DEBUG or a similar utility to change DTA's default time/date
format, as well as text colors (on IBM PC compatibles). Use of contrasting
colors can make the display more easily readable. All values below are in
hexadecimal.
ADDRESS ORIGINAL
IN DTA.COM VALUE FUNCTION POSSIBLE VALUES
0102 01 Default format 00=numeric, 01=US, 02=European
0103 01 Use color? 01=test, 00=NO, FF=YES
0104 07 Message color 00-FF \
0105 0F Name color 00-FF >see below
0106 07 Attribute color 00-FF /
COMPATIBILITY: With 0103 set to 01, DTA can usually detect whether it's
running on a PC compatible and should use color. If it fails to recognize
your computer properly, or you simply don't want color output, you can
override the test by changing 0103 to 00 or FF, for No or Yes.
COLORS: Specify each color by a pair of hex digits for background and
foreground, according to the following codes:
0 = BLACK 4 = red 8 = GREY C = bright red
1 = blue 5 = magenta 9 = bright blue D = bright magenta
2 = green 6 = brown A = bright green E = yellow
3 = cyan 7 = WHITE B = bright cyan F = BRIGHT WHITE
For example, "17" means "blue background, white text".
All monochrome screens can display black, white, and bright white; in
some cases, grey may also be visible.
Colors 8-F should generally be avoided as background colors because they
produce blinking video. On EGA/VGA displays, if blinking video is disabled,
the whole range of background colors will be available.
EXAMPLE: To change to numeric time/date format as default, type "DEBUG
DTA.COM", then "E0102 00", then "W", then "Q".
Please distribute copies of DTA with original settings only, to avoid
confusing other users.
ERROR MESSAGES
"<out of memory>" - Not enough free memory to run DTA, or over 1000 items
to list (try a more restrictive filespec).
"<invalid argument>" - Invalid or conflicting option, bad path, illegal
character in filename, that sort of thing. Think and try again.
"0 items" - No such file (or directory) was found. (If you expected
there to be some, check your arguments again...)
HISTORY
DA 1.0 (Sep87) - First release, based on my previous CP/M utility DA.
1.1 (Aug88) - Improved parsing; select AND change attributes; new options.
DTA 1.2 (Oct88) - Added /T tree option; DA is now called DTA.
1.3 (Sep89) - Added /G search, /E,L,@ options for time/date.
1.4 (Mar90) - Added /X (except) option; removed /V (version) option.
1.5 (May91) - US/Euro/Numeric date,time; /E changed to /B(efore).
1.6 (Sep91) - Multiple filespecs; added /K (size) option; file selection
options work with /G; improved, color display.
1.61(Oct91) - Minor display fixes.
DTA and its documentation are (c)1987-91 Eric Meyer, all rights reserved.
They may be freely distributed, but not modified or sold for profit without my
written consent. (Libraries may charge no more than $6 for a disk.) The user
takes full responsibility for any damages resulting from the use of this
program.
Eric Meyer
3541 Smuggler Way CompuServe [74415,1305]
Boulder, CO 80303 USA