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1995-11-19
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11KB
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Convert It!
Version 1.0k
Copyright 1995
by
Don McNiel, Author
What is it?
-----------
Convert it is a file conversion utility! It may be used to process
a single file, multiple files using DOS wildcards, or used to
process inbound TIC files.
Features
--------
- Detects file types by signature!
- Converts most archive type to RAR, ZIP, ARJ, or LZH!
- Adds a comment file if desired!
- Tottaly configurable!
- Can be used with any existing TIC program as it is called
before hand!
- Convert It! will maintain the nameing structure for inbound
FIDO style mail bundles as well as nodelist, and nodediffs!
Warranty
--------
Convert It! has no known bugs. But to cover my butt, it is only
guaranteed to take up storage space on any type of storage media!
It has been thoroughly tested by a select Beta team and myself
quite extensively to ensure proper operation.
Special Note.
-------------
I'm a programmer, not a novelist. I have tried to make this document
as complete as possible. If something is unclear to you, contact me
and I will try to explain it better. I also try to fix reported bugs
within 48 hours if I can duplicate the problem or receive detailed
information on your problems. Same goes for additions, if there is
something I can add to make my utilities easier/more convenient to
use, speak up! Any problem archives should be sent to me so I can create
a work around for that problem in the future.
How to install it
-----------------
1. Unzip it into it's own directory.
2. Make sure you have a line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file as follows :
SET COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM
This should specify where Convert It! can find your COMMAND.COM file.
3. Run VCONFIG.EXE
- Configure BBS Information.
- Configure Archive Paths/Filenames.
- Configure Mailer Paths.
- Configure Preferences.
4. That's it! Now read on to discover what Convert It! can do 4 U!
Command line switches.
----------------------
Here are the functions of the various command line options.
See the quick start menu to see how these are used.
/K - Convert It! will not delete the original archive after
conversion. This switch may be used when converting
archives from the dos prompt. This would not be recommended
when doing inbound TIC files, especially if you have a
Planet connect feed. ;)
/ID - Convert It! will determine the file type when this switch
is used.
(A later version will produce exit error levels that will
correspond to the supported file types for use with other
utilities.)
/TIC - Convert It! will process any TIC files found in the directories
as configured in VCONFIG.
/PC - Convert It! will process the Planet Connect ALLTICS.xxx file.
There is an option in VCONFIG to save this file after
processing if so desired.
/CRC- - Tells Convert It! not to check the validity of the file
CRC as contained in the TIC file.
[This may cause Convert It! to hang on certain LHA
archives that have CRC errors. This is due to a
Y/N prompting.]
/RAR - Convert It! will convert found archives to a RAR archive.
/ZIP - Convert It! will convert found archives to a ZIP archive.
/ARJ - Convert It! will convert found archives to a ARJ archive.
/LHA - Convert It! will convert found archives to a LZH archive.
Other Programs needed by Convert It!
------------------------------------
Below is a list of Archive files needed for Convert It! to function
properly. These files must be located in your DOS path. If these files
are not found, Convert It! will skip those archives.
PKZIP.EXE - Needed to create ZIP archives.
PKUNZIP.EXE - Needed to UnZip ZIP archives.
ARJ.EXE - Needed to proccess ARJ archives.
LHA.EXE - Needed to process LZH and LHA archives.
PKUNPAK.EXE - Needed to unarchive ARC archives.
RAR.EXE - Needed to process RAR archives.
Quick Start, Most common combinations Explained.
------------------------------------------------
In the examples below, /RAR, /ZIP, /ARJ, and /LHA can be freely
substituted for the same to acomadate your preferences.
1) To convert a single file :
CONV FILE.ZIP /RAR
This would convert FILE.ZIP to FILE.RAR. Adding the /K switch
after /RAR would cause FILE.ZIP not to be deleted after processing.
2) To convert files in a subdirectory :
CONV *.ZIP /ARJ
This would convert any ZIP archives found to the type ARJ.
(A *.* would convert any archives to type ARJ.) Add the /K switch
to keep original archives.
3) To Identify an file type :
CONV FILE.EXT /ID
This will determine the file type and write it to the screen.
Recognized file types are listed in appendix A.
4) To convert TIC files and their archives :
CONV /TIC /ZIP
This will convert TIC's found in the inbound directories to the
type ZIP. This will also update the *.TIC file with the converted
filename and the new file CRC.
5) To convert TIC files and proccess Planet Connects ALLTICS.* file :
CONV /TIC /ZIP /PC
This will do the same as example #4, but in addition, Convert It!
will PKUNZIP the ALLTICS.xxx file in the Satellite directory and
continue to process the inbound TIC files.
Files included in archive
--------------------------
VCONFIG.EXE - This is the setup program for Convert It!. This
is where you define your inbound TIC paths, BBS
information, and a few other options.
CONV.EXE - This is the Convert It! utility executable.
CONV.CFG - This file is created by VCONFIG.EXE and must be in
the same directory as CONV.EXE.
CONV.DOC - This document.
CONV.LOG - This is the log file created by CONV.EXE and contains
semi-detailed information on everything Convert It!
has done. Any entries that begin with a ! need
immediate attention!
CONV.ERR - This is the error file created by CONV.EXE if an
error should occur.
CONV.CMT - This is the file added to archives. This should be a
regular ascii file telling others about your system.
ADDNAMES.LST - This file is optional. If this file is found in the
Convert It! directory, a filename is picked from this
file at random and Convert It! will add CONV.CMT to
the archive being converted under the name extracted.
This file should contain a list of valid DOS filenames.
DELNAMES.LST - This file is optional. If this file is found in the
Convert It! directory, filenames from this file are
deleted from the archive being processed. Use this
with Caution!
This file should contain a list of valid DOS Filenames.
NOCONV.LST - This file is optional. If this file is found in the
Convert It! directory, Convert It! will scan this file
to see if *ANY PART* of the contents in this file is
contained in the filename to be converted. If .GIF is
listed in this file, GIF files will not be converted.
This is also usefull for .NO and .NA Fido Echolist files.
WHATSNEW.DOC - This is a text file containing Convert It!'s history.
REGISTER.DOC - This is a text file on how to register my programs via
snail mail or any other means.
B4UASK.DOC - This file contains helpfull hints on common problems.
Check this file if you have any problems.
BUGRPT.FRM - If you have any problems with Convert It!, and you have
already checked the B4UASK.DOC, fill this out and send
it to me. A simple 'It don't work' doesn't tell me
anything and the problem will continue. Be sure to
include your CONV.LOG, CONV.ERR, and CONV.CFG files
as well.
Registration / Evaluation Information.
--------------------------------------
- The registration for Convert It! is $15. See REGISTER.DOC for more
information!
- All future upgrades for my programs are free.
- Convert It! may be evaluated for 30 days. After that period it
must be registered to continue using this program. This is a very
generous evaluation period. During this evaluation period, the
program will function exactly like the registered version!
Support / Suggestions
---------------------
I can be reached at the following locations including the following
FIDO message area(s) : WILDCAT, WC_CHAT, PASCAL, and the Internet.
Look for more of my programs on my BBS!
Don McNiel
Rad Shak! BBS
FIDO : 1:291/39
Internet : support@radshak.com
Node 1 (316)524-8707
Node 2 (316)524-0405
The latest version can be FREQ'd from 1:291/39 with the name of
VIEWIT - ViewIt! Latest version!
REMDIR - Remote Directory latest version!
CONVIT - Convert It! Latest Version!
Appendix A - File Types Currently Recognized.
---------------------------------------------
The following file types are recognized by Convert It! These
file types are determined by signature, not extension detection,
and will determine the file type 99.99% of the time. The only type is
not 99.99% reliable is ARC type files, ARC files have one byte for a
signature and care should be taken when converting this type.
!UNKNOWN - Not a recognized file type.
!BBS - @CODE@ graphic display file.
!ANSI - ANSI graphic display file.
!TEXT - Text file.
!GIF - GIF graphic file.
!JPG 1 - Older JPG graphic file.
!JPG 2 - Newer JPG graphic file.
!FLI - FLI type animated graphic file.
!FLC - FLC type animated graphic file.
!EXE NEW - Newer type DOS executable file.
!EXE OLD - Older type DOS executable file.
!EXE WIN - Windows or OS/2 executable file.
!COM NEW - Newer dos executable.
!COM OLD - Older dos executable.
RAR - RAR compressed archive.
ZIP - ZIP compressed archive.
LZH - LZH or LZW compressed archive.
ARC - ARC compressed archive.
(* Windows is copyrighted by Microsoft.
GIF is copyrighted by Compuserve.
RAR is copyrighted by it's author.
ZIP is copyrighted by it's author.
LZH is copyrighted by it's author.
ARC is copyrighted by it's author. *)