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

Text File | 1989-09-11 | 14KB | 263 lines

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|A║ |6Helpware |A║══════════════════ ^1Disk Use Optimizer |A══════════════════║ |6Helpware |A║
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^Cby
^CDavid Leithauser and Jim Row

 ABOUT DISK USE OPTIMIZER

     There are many occasions in which you want to put a large number of files
 on as few disks as possible. The most common is when you want to back up your
 hard drive by transferring some of the files to floppy disks.  Another is when
 you want to give copies of some of your public domain programs to a friend.
 You would probably want to minimize the number of disks you must give away.
 Even if you are just keeping the software for yourself, you might want to
 squeeze the programs onto as few disks as possible.  This reduces your
 expense from buying disks and reduces the storage space you need.

     ^1Disk Use Optimizer^0 computes the arrangement of files that allows you to
 get your files onto the minimum number of disks.  It will tell you what this
 arrangement is, and automatically transfer (copy) the files for you.


 ^1RUNNING DISK USE OPTIMIZER (DUO)

    When you run DUO, 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
 DUO.  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:

    Read Directory   -- Read in file names from a specified directory.

    Edit File List   -- View the list of files and mark ones you do not
                        want to be copied (optional).

    Auto Copy        -- Copy the files in the list to one or more floppies,
                        optimizing the disk space used.


  ^1Read Directory

     You will be prompted for the directory to read, file mask to use, and
 whether or not you want to also read any subdirectories in the specified
 directory.  A box on the screen displays the current defaults: the current
 directory, a file mask of "*.*" (all files), and "Y" for reading
 subdirectories, too.  If you wish to change any of these, move the highlight
 bar to the desired field and enter in a new value.  The bar is moved using the
 UP and DOWN ARROW keys.

     The directory name must include the drive letter followed by a colon,
 and must be a valid DOS path name.  Examples:
          c:\utils\pctools    d:\DOS    d:\edit     a:    b:\dos

     The file mask may contain the wild cards, * and ?, and any other valid DOS
 file name characters.  You may also enter in a single file name.  Example file
 masks:
              *.*     --  all files
              *.txt   --  all files with an extension of "txt"
              book.?  --  all files with the name "book" and an
                          extension consisting of a single character
              pc*.exe --  all files beginning with "pc" and having the
                          extension "exe"

     To include subdirectories when reading in files, enter a "Y" in the third
 field.  If you wish to read just the files within the specified directory,
 enter a "N".

     When you are satisfied with the directory, mask, and inclusion of
 subdirectories settings, press the <ENTER> key while the highlight bar is on
 the third field to continue.  You may also press the ESC key to abort this
 process.  If there is already a file list in memory, you will be prompted for
 adding to the list or creating a new list.  Answer "Y" to add to the existing
 list and "N" to make a new one.

     If you have entered a valid directory name and file name or mask, the
 files in the specified directory, matching the specified mask will be read
 in.  If you have said "Yes" to reading subdirectories, files in the
 directory's subdirectories (if any) will also be read in, and the subdirectory
 names will be displayed on the screen as they are searched.  The total number
 of files will also be displayed.  Once all the files have been read in, you
 will return to the main menu from which you may edit this list (select files
 you do not want copied) and/or print the list out.

 NOTE: Files with a file size of ZERO (0) will NOT be read in.


 ^1Edit File List

       The list of files to be copied 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
 files to remove from the list (<ENTER>), removing 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.

     NOTE: While browsing the list, you may notice files with the same
     name and same file size.  They are probably in different directories
     or on different disks.  The optimization portion of this program
     will be faster and more efficient if you remove any duplicate files
     from the list of files to be copied.  See the following section on
     how to remove files from the list.  (You can use Duplicate File
     Finder, another utility contained in this issue, to remove duplicate
     files from your disk(s).)

     Selecting Files to Remove:

         To select a file to remove from the list (i.e. select files you do
     not want copied), move the highlight bar to the desired file and press
     the <ENTER> key.  The <ENTER> key acts as 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 remove.  When you
     have marked all of the files you want to remove from the list, press
     the F2 key.  This will remove the files from the list of files to be
     copied.

     Printing Files:

         Pressing the F3 function key while in the viewer will print the
     list of files.  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 files will be printed with the file name in the first column,
     path name in the second, and file size in the third. You may press the
     ESC key during printing if you wish to cancel the print out.


^1Auto Copy

     Upon selecting this option you will be prompted for the size of the
 diskette(s) the files are to be copied to.  The available sizes are displayed
 with a highlight bar on the default size.  Move the bar to the desired disk
 size and press the <ENTER> key.  The various sizes correspond to floppies as
 follows:

               180K  -  Single Sided, Double Density 5 1/4" disk
               360K  -  Double Sided, Double Density 5 1/4" disk
               720K  -  Double Sided, Double Density 3 1/2" disk
               1.2M  -  High Density 5 1/4" disk
              1.44M  -  High Density 3 1/2" disk

     After selecting the diskette size, the program will arrange the files in a
 manner that will optimize the usage of each disk, and will also minimize the
 number of disks used for the copy.  The time the program takes to perform the
 optimization will depend on the number of files you have selected to copy.

     If, during the optimization, a file is encountered that is too big to fit
 on the disk size you selected, a message will be displayed.  If you wish to
 continue with the copy process, answer "Y" (yes) to the prompt and the file
 will be removed from the list of files to be copied and the program will
 continue.  (Do not worry, no files are physically removed from your disk in
 this program.  All removals pertain only to removing file names from the list
 of names.)  Answering "N" will abort the Auto Copy process and return you to
 the main menu.

     When the optimization is complete, you will be presented with a list of
 the files arranged in groups corresponding to various disk numbers.  The list
 is displayed in a viewer similar to the viewer used in "Edit File List".  You
 may scroll through the optimized file listing using the ARROW keys, the
 PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys, and the HOME and END keys.  Preceding each group
 of files will be a file name beginning with "DISK #", followed by a number.
 For example, all of the files to be copied onto the first destination diskette
 will be listed together just after the words "Disk #  1".

     The following functions are available while viewing the optimized file
 listing:

       F1  - A help screen for using the optimized file list viewer.

       F2  - Begin copying the files.  See "Copying Files" below.

       F3  - Print the list of optimized files.  This will give you a
             printout showing which files will be on which disk number.

       ESC - Abort Auto Copy and return to the main menu.  The original,
             non-optimized file list is still available for editing or
             copying.

     Copying Files:

         Once you have chosen "Auto Copy" from the main menu, selected the
     size of diskette(s) the files will be copied to, and selected F2
     from the optimized file list viewer, the actual copying of the files
     will begin.

         You will be prompted for the destination drive for the copy.
     This is the drive you want to copy the files to.  Enter the
     appropriate drive letter.   At this point you may also press the
     ESC key and return to the main menu.  NOTE: The destination drive
     must be a floppy drive; it cannot be a fixed disk.

         Once you have specified the destination drive, you will be asked
     to insert a blank, formatted disk.  The maximum number of files that
     can be stored in a floppy disk's root directory is 112.  For this
     reason, the program will create a subdirectory on the diskette into
     which to copy the files.  The files for the first diskette will
     then be copied.  This procedure will continue for however many disks
     it takes to copy all the the files you have selected.

         If you are copying to and from the same drive, i.e. from "a" to
     "a", you will have to do some disk swapping during the copying
     process, as I am sure you have had to do before if you have a
     single drive system.  For this reason, we HIGHLY recommend that you
     write protect the source diskette, the one containing the file(s)
     you wish to copy.  (To write protect a disk, cover the square notch
     on the side of the disk with on of the small black or silver tabs that
     came with the disks.)   The program will tell you when to insert
     the source and when to insert the destination diskette.

        When the entire auto copy process is complete, you will return to
     the main menu.


 ^1OPTIONS FOR RUNNING DISK USE OPTIMIZER

    DUO 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:

      >duo M               - Run DUO in monochrome mode.
      >duo C               - Run DUO 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: ^1DUO^0.

 DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FDUO.EXE