Big Blue Disk 37/bbd37.zip/DFF.TXT

Text File | 1989-09-06 | 10KB | 195 lines

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|A║ |6Helpware |A║═════════════════ ^1Duplicate File Finder |A════════════════║ |6Helpware |A║
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^Cby
^CCarolyn Drain and David Leithauser


 ABOUT DUPLICATE FILE FINDER

     If you have a hard disk with many subdirectories, you probably have
 duplicate copies of some of your files or programs in several subdirectories.
 It is amazing how simple it is to end up with duplicate files.  It is common
 to copy a file from one subdirectory to another, and even more common to
 forget to delete the file from the original subdirectory, resulting in
 unnecessary duplication of files.  When the hard disk (or floppy) starts to
 get full, the easiest way to make more room is to delete some of these
 unnecessary files. Even before the disk starts to get full, these extra files
 slow down the access time because the computer has more files to search
 through.

    Finding all the duplicated files can be very time consuming if you try to
 do it manually.  ^1Duplicate File Finder^0 (DFF) does all the work for you.  It
 will automatically read all the file names from all the subdirectories of the
 disk you specify and check for duplication.  You may then view this list and
 optionally delete unwanted files from the list and from the disk.  DFF can
 also give you a printout containing an alphabetical listing of the duplicate
 files.


 RUNNING DUPLICATE FILE FINDER (DFF)

    When you run DFF, you will see its opening title screen followed by the
 main menu.  Press F1 while at the main menu to obtain onscreen help on using
 DFF.  Menu options are selected by moving the highlight bar to the desired
 choice and pressing the <ENTER> key.  The bar is moved by using the UP and
 DOWN ARROW keys; you may also press the first letter of a menu option to move
 the highlight bar to it.  As you cursor through the selections, the bottom
 line on the screen contains a brief explanation of each option.

 MAIN MENU SELECTIONS:

    Analyze Drive     -- Read all file names from specified drive and
                         locate duplicate files.

    View Duplicates   -- View the list of duplicate files and optionally
                         delete unwanted ones.

    Output Duplicates -- Output the list of duplicate files to your printer.


 ^1Analyze Drive

     You will be prompted for the criteria on which to determine duplication.
 The default is that the files have the same name.  You may further restrict
 this to same file size and/or same date and time.  See "Selecting Duplication
 Criteria" below.  You are then prompted for the drive to analyze.  Press a key
 from "A" to "Z".  You may also press the ESC key to abort this process. If you
 have entered a valid drive and there is a disk in the drive, all of the files
 on the disk will be read.  As each subdirectory is searched, its name will be
 displayed, as well as the number of files processed so far.  A system with a
 large number of files and/or a slow processor may take a while to analyze, so
 please be patient.  If you decide you do not want to analyze the specified
 drive, you may press the ESC key any time during the search phase; a box will
 pop up asking you if you are sure you want to abort -- answer appropriately.

     Once all the files have been read, the list of duplicates will be
 constructed.  You will then return to the main menu from which you may view
 this list (with optional deletion) or print it out.

    NOTE:  If you have analyzed one drive and then analyze another drive in the
 same session, the duplicate list in memory from the first is destroyed when
 the new one is constructed.  Therefore, once you have analyzed a drive, be
 sure to output it if you think you may want to reference it later.


     Selecting Duplication Criteria

         After selecting "Analyze Drive" from the main menu, you are
     prompted to select the criteria on which to base duplication of files.
     By default, the program checks for identical file names.  You may also
     have it check for same file sizes and/or same date and time.

         The box displays the two optional criteria, followed by an "off"
     or "on" for each.  To switch a criteria off or on, move the highlight
     bar to it and press the Space bar.  Once you are satisfied with both
     criteria settings, press the <ENTER> key.  You may also press the ESC
     key to return to the main menu, or the F1 key to obtain onscreen help.


 ^1View Duplicates

       The list of duplicate files is displayed on the screen.  The last row
 on the screen contains a list of the movement keys and functions available
 from within the viewer.   Functions include printing the list (F3), selecting
 a file for deletion (<ENTER>), deleting selected files (F2), onscreen help
 (F1), and returning to the main menu (ESC).

     Browsing the List:

         You may browse through the list by using the UP and DOWN ARROWS,
     PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN, and the HOME and END keys.  The ARROW keys
     scroll the list by one line.  The PAGE keys scroll the list a screen
     full at a time (approx. 19 lines).  Pressing the HOME key will send
     the highlight bar to the first file on the screen; if the bar is
     already at the top, it will move to the first file in the list.  The
     END key works in a similar manner toward the end of the list.

     Selecting Files for Deletion:

         To select a file to be deleted, move the highlight bar to the
     desired file and press the <ENTER> key.  The <ENTER> key acts a toggle
     between select and deselect.  If a file is already selected, pressing
     the <ENTER> key will deselect it.  Selected files (and non selected
     ones) are displayed as follows:
                                  Color                Monochrome
     Normal Display
       Not Selected --  Light Gray on Black     Light Gray on Black
       Selected     --  Bright White on Black   Bright White on Black

     Highlight Bar
       Not Selected --  Light Gray on Red       Reverse Video (dk. on lt.)
       Selected     --  Bright White on Red     Blinking Bar

         Repeat this procedure for each file you wish to delete.  When you
     have marked all of the files you want deleted, press the F2 key to
     start the deletion process.

     Deleting Files:

         Once you have marked a file or several files for deletion, press
     the F2 function key while in the viewer.  A box will appear asking you
     if you wish to confirm each individual file before it is deleted, or
     if you want to delete all marked files at once.  We recommend that you
     confirm each file individually; however, you may, of course, choose to
     do them all "in one fell swoop".  If you have chosen to confirm them,
     by pressing a "C" at the prompt, each file name and its path will be
     displayed in the box, and you will be asked whether or not to delete
     the file.  Answer "Y" or "N".  A "Y" will delete the file; a "N" will
     not delete it.  If you elected to delete them all, by pressing an "A"
     at the original prompt, each file and path will be displayed and the
     file will be deleted without asking you for confirmation.

        Regardless of the method of deletion you chose, you may abort the
     file deletion process at any time by pressing the ESC key.  Any
     remaining selected files will be not be deleted and you will return to
     the viewer.  If there are no more duplicate files after the deletion
     process, you will be returned to the main menu from which you may
     analyze another drive or quit.

     Printing Files:

         Pressing the F3 function key while in the viewer will print the
     list of duplicate files.  See the "Output Duplicates" section below.


 ^1Output Duplicates

       After selecting this option, you are prompted to ready your printer.
 Ready your printer by turning it on, setting it to "online", and placing
 paper in it.  At this point you may now press a key to start printing, or
 press the ESC key to abort printing.  The list of duplicate files will be
 printed with the file name in the first column, path name in the second, file
 size in the third, file date in the fourth, and file time in the fifth.  The
 drive letter is displayed in the first column of the row containing the
 column labels.  You may press the ESC key during printing if you wish to
 cancel the print out.


 ^1OPTIONS FOR RUNNING DUPLICATE FILE FINDER

    DFF can be run from the DOS prompt with the following options:

    M     Starts the program in monochrome mode. Use this option if
          you are using a composite monitor, or an LCD.

    C     Starts the program in color mode.  Use this option if you
          have a color graphics adapter (CGA, VGA, EVGA, etc.).

    Examples:

      >dff M               - Run DFF in monochrome mode.
      >dff C               - Run DFF in color mode

    NOTE:  This program automatically detects the type of monitor being used
           and adjusts accordingly.  However, due to the wide variety of
           computer hardware on the market, it is possible that the detection
           may not work properly on all systems.  This is the reason we have
           provided the options mentioned above.


    To run this program outside ^1Big Blue Disk^0, type: ^1DFF^0.

 DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FDFF.EXE