CDFSFiler manual

Version: 0.04 Beta, 29th May 1998

This document has the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Installing CDFSFiler
  • Installing product enabler codes
  • Installing authorisation codes
  • Uninstalling CDFSFiler
  • Using CDFSFiler
  • The iconbar menu
  • The configuration window
  • Audio playback
  • Play lists
  • Using VirtuaCD drives
  • Shared CD-ROMs
  • CD-Net

Introduction

This application is a drop-in replacement for Acorn's CDFSFiler.

Like Acorn's CDFSFiler, it provides access to data CD-ROMs and, if ShareFS is present, the ability to share those CD-ROMs over the network.

Unlike Acorn's CDFSFiler, it also provides control over audio playback, access to VirtuaCD drives and caching of data accessed from CD-ROMs. It also incorporates the functionality of the CD-Net client application, providing easy access to CD-Net servers.

System requirements

For access to local CD-ROM drives (whether physical or virtual), you need CDFS 2.10 or later.

For the ability to share the CD-ROMs, you will need ShareFS installed and a working TCP/IP network connection.

For access to CD-Net drives, you need a working TCP/IP or Econet network connection.

The CDFSFiler licensing system

CDFSFiler uses a licensing system based on enabler and authorisation codes.

An enabler code tells CDFSFiler what you are allowed to do with your copy, and what features are enabled.

It is expected that the basic copy of CDFSFiler will be free, with the database functions of the audio player and the CD-ROM caching functionality being chargeable extras.

With that in mind, the installer requires licences for the optional extras. For the purposes of the beta test period, the installer will provide suitable enabler codes.

Installing CDFSFiler

Installing CDFSFiler for the first time is a simple process - simply run FilerInst. This application will take you through the steps needed to provide it with the information required to install the product:

  1. Your name, or your organisation's name
  2. The location for CDFSFiler.
  3. Which of the optional components you want installed.

Once these steps have been accomplished, the software will be installed.

Subsequent updates to the CDFSFiler product are achieved by re-running the installer. If it spots that it has a newer version of CDFSFiler than is currently installed, it will upgrade your copy for you.

Installing product enabler codes

Enabler codes are required in order to install any of the optional components. They consist of three parts, each with 6 characters in. There are no zeroes or ones, and the characters are all lower case. After entering the code, click on the "Continue" button.

If the enabler code does not have an expiry imposed on it, the installer will confirm the successful entry of the code.

If the enabler code does have an expiry date, the installer will display a window showing the enabler code, it's expiry date and a computer reference.

The window will also contain a text filetype icon which you can drag into a word processor or text editor to allow you to save the information presented without errors. This information must be sent to PEP Associates (regardless of who you bought the enabler code from) so that you can then receive the authorisation code for that enabler code.

Installing authorisation codes

Once you have received an authorisation code from PEP Associates, it needs to be installed by running FilerInst again and clicking on the "Install product authorisation code" button. The window will change to show an enabler code, it's description and expiry date. If you've got more than one enabler code needing an authorisation code, you can step through them using the up and down arrows to the right of the enabler code field.

When the window is displaying the correct enabler code, enter the authorisation code supplied by PEP and click on the "Continue" button. If the code is accepted, you will be returned to the main installation screen.

Uninstalling CDFSFiler

Obviously, we would prefer it if you didn't uninstall CDFSFiler, but in case you do want to, the installer has an option that will totally remove the files installed and restore Acorn's original CDFSFiler.

Using CDFSFiler

CDFSFiler starts in much the same way as Acorn's original, by placing icons on the iconbar for each CD-ROM drive. The look and feel of these icons depends on whether or not it has been configured to automatically detect the status of the drives.

The default is for the application to not automatically detect the status. This is because polling some drives while they are empty (particularly the ATAPI drives) can slow the computer down to an unusable level.

If the application is not detecting the status automatically then it principally check the status when you click on a drive's icon. However, if that status check reveals that the drive is not empty, CDFSFiler will then automatically check the status until the drive becomes empty, at which point it stops checking until you click on the icon again.

CDFSFiler uses a variety of icons to show the drive status and disc type:

  • drive empty
    This is a grey version of the CDFS icon.
  • data disc
    This is the normal CDFS icon. Note that this is also the icon that is used if the drive is not automatically polled (i.e., the original CDFSFiler look).
  • PhotoCD disc
    A CDFS disc with a film frame on it.
  • an audio disc
    A CDFS disc with a musical note on it. Note that if the disc is mixed-mode (i.e. both data and audio), the audio icon is used.
  • a playing audio disc
    The audio icon with a play symbol ( |> ) on it 
  • a paused audio disc
    The audio icon with a pause symbol ( || ) on it

What happens when you click on a drive's icon depends on the auto-polling setting and the drive's contents:

  • if auto-polling has been turned off, CDFSFiler first checks the current status.
  • if the drive is empty, either nothing will happen (auto-polling is turned on and the icon is grey) or you will get an error.
  • if the drive contains a data disc or a PhotoCD disc, a filer window for that disc will appear.
  • if the drive contains a disc with audio tracks, the audio player window will appear.

If you click on the icon with ADJUST, and the disc contains audio tracks, the drive will toggle between the playing and the paused state.

The iconbar menu

The menu that is displayed when you click on the icon with MENU varies slightly depending on the sort of drive (eg normal, VirtuaCD or CD-Net).  The options are as follows:

  • Info
    Leads to the normal application information window

followed by the drive specific options, followed by:

  • Share (if ShareFS option installed)
    Leads to the ShareFS submenu, allowing you to share or not share the disc.
  • CD-Net (if CD-Net option installed)
    Leads to the CD-Net submenu, allowing you to see what discs are available, mount a CD-Net disc or save the details of the existing mounts.
  • Choices
    Opens the configuration window

For normal drives, the drive specific options are:

  • Dismount
    Closes the filer windows for this disc.
  • Eject
    Closes the filer windows and ejects the disc.
  • Close drawer
    For drives that support the option, closes the caddy drawer.

For VirtuaCD drives, the drive specific options are:

  • About
    Displays the filename and description for the VirtuaCD image attached to that drive.
  • Remove
    Detaches the image from the drive.

For CD-Net drives, the drive specific options are:

  • About
    Displays information about the disc and which server is exporting it.
  • Map drive
    Allows the user to change the mapping of the disc to a different CD-ROM drive.
  • Dismount
    Allows the user to dismount the CD-Net disc.

The configuration window

Choosing the Choices option from the iconbar menu opens the configuration window. Across the top of the window are buttons for each of the sections, with the current section highlighted in blue. The various sections are:

  • Drive settings
  • Cache
  • Audio
  • CD-Net
  • General

At the bottom of the window are three buttons:

  • Cancel
    Cancels any changes you have made and closes the window  
  • Set and save
    Implements the new settings and saves them for when you next start CDFSFiler   
  • Set
    Implements the new settings but does NOT save them.  

Please note that some of the settings (CD-ROM drives, VirtuaCD drives and CDFS buffer size) require the computer to be rebooted before the change can be implemented. If you change these settings and then click on the Set button, you will be warned of this and told to either click on Cancel to forget about the changes, or click on Set and Save, and then reboot.

Drive settings

[Note: if there are no CDFS drives (virtual or physical), this section will not be accessible from the configuration window]

From here, you can set the following attributes for each drive:

  • auto-detect CD contents.
    Please be warned that this option may slow your machine down critically if used on an empty drive. If this happens, turn the option off. This is known to happen on some ATAPI drives.
  • auto-lock CD upon disc insertion.
  • default volume (for those drives that support it).
    If this option is available, you can also set the default volume from the current setting for that drive.

Note that the options for virtual CD-ROM drives cannot be changed.

Cache

[Note: this section requires the installation of the optional caching component. If the component is not installed, you will not be able to access this section of the configuration window]

Caching entails the storing of data retrieved from CD-ROM in a faster storage area, either memory or harddisc. Subsequent accesses to that data will retrieve it from the faster area, rather than from the CD-ROM drive, assuming that the data is still held in the cache.

This differs from the CDFS buffers in that the latter are only used for caching the catalogue information and not the actual data being retrieved from the disc. CDFS does NOT provide any form of data caching.

Data will get removed from the cache when space is needed for newer incoming data. The frequency of this removal depends on how much space is allocated to the cache.

The memory cache is, obviously, the fastest storage area for the cache. With RISC OS 3.5 and later, a dynamic area is used to hold the cache. On earlier versions of RISC OS, the system sprite pool is used in order to avoid fragmenting the RMA.

To set the cache size, simply drag the size bar, or click on the up/down arrows, or enter the required size in Kbytes or Mbytes. If you want to add some cache space on your harddisc, you can drag the cache file to the desired location. The default is to store the cache file inside the Wimp's scrap directory.

Note that CDFSFiler only knows how to determine the free space available on drives under ADFS, RAMFS and SCSIFS. If you want to create the cache file under a different filing system, you can do so, but the size bar will become greyed out.

Audio

[Note: some options within this section require the installation of the optional audio database component. These options have been marked § below. The section will be totally inaccessible if there are no CDFS drives available]

From here, you can set the facilities you require from the audio player:

  • Display volume bar
    This allows you to change the volume on a per-drive basis, from within the audio player window.
  • Display progress bar
    This causes a bar to be displayed in the player window which shows how far through the disc playback has reached. You can also drag on the bar to move playback to a specific part of the disc.
  • Display track/time information
    Causes the audio player window to show the current track being played and the current time (in a variety of formats: time into track, time remaining in track, time into disc, time remaining in disc).
  • Display title information (§)
    If track title information has been entered for this disc, selecting this option causes it to be displayed in the player window. An sub-option causes CDFSFiler to automatically option the track titles editor for discs that don't have any entries in the database.
  • Upon insertion of an audio CD, auto-play ...
    Causes audio CDs to be automatically played, according to three possible settings:
    • all discs
      will auto-play any audio CD upon it's insertion into a drive.
    • known discs (§)
      will auto-play an audio CD if it is in the database.
    • selected discs (§)
      will auto-play an audio CD if the titles entry for the disc specifies this option.
  • Eject after audio disc has finished playing.
    Causes the CD to be ejected once playback has finished. Caution should be exercised if using this option on a Risc PC with the flap up.
  • Time display
    Allows you to set the initial time format used. The player also has a sub-menu to allow you to change it temporarily from the player window.

CD-Net

[Note: this section requires the installation of the optional CD-Net component. If the component is not installed, you will not be able to access this section of the configuration window]

From here, you can customise the way the CD-Net client portion of CDFSFiler works:

  • Show one icon for each unique disc tag
    IF this icon is deselected, the discs window will contain an icon for each disc in each server, regardless of how many servers are exporting the disc.
  • If saved mount cannot be found when CDFSFiler starts
    This allows you to decide whether the mount should be forgotten about or should be kept as a grey icon.
  • If a mount is lost
    This allows you to determine CDFSFiler's behaviour when a mount is lost. The options include displaying an error box and keeping the mount as a grey icon.
  • When mounting a CD-ROM
    This allows you to determine CDFSFiler's behaviour when mounting a disc. The options include automatically opening the root directory and mapping the disc to a CD-ROM drive (thus enhancing the emulation of CDFS).

Grey icons will be restored as proper mounts if the server exporting that disc announces the re-appearance of the disc.

General

This window allows you to configure the number of CD-ROM drives, the number of VirtuaCD drives and the CDFS buffer size.

Audio playback

As discussed in the section on the configuration window, the audio player window has a variety of sections in it which can be turned on and off, depending on whether or not you want them or the screen space.

The principle controls on the window are a menu button for changing the time display, and the playback controls themselves. From left to right, these are:

  • previous track
  • back 10 seconds
  • pause
  • play
  • stop
  • forward 10 seconds
  • next track
  • eject

You can specify which track to play before you click on the play button by using the previous/next track buttons or by dragging on the blue progress bar. If you drag on the bar with SELECT, it automatically snaps to the start of each track. If you drag with ADJUST, you can start playback from any point on the disc. Once you release the mouse button, playback will automatically start.

Clicking MENU over the window displays the following menu:

  • Intro play
  • Random play
  • List play
  • Repeat play
  • Edit play list
  • Edit titles
Intro play

Intro play is the means by which the player will play the start of each track for a given length of time before automatically moving on to the next track. This menu entry allows you to turn the intro play option on or off. It also leads to a sub-menu which allows you to specify how long the intro should be.

Random play

This causes the player to play the tracks in a random order. The display changes to show the real track number in [square brackets]. Choosing this option toggles the feature on and off, but playback will be stopped each time.

List play

This option allows you to specify a play list to be played. Play lists are covered in more detail elsewhere in this manual.

Repeat play

This option causes the player to continually play the CD.

All of the above options can be used together for a thoroughly confusing playback :-)

Edit play list

This option takes you to the play list editor. It requires the installation of the optional audio database component.

The play list editor consists of three sections:

  • control over which play list you are editing, along with buttons for cancelling the edit, starting a new list, deleting the current list and saving the edit.
  • a left hand pane containing the complete list of tracks on the CD. If you have not entered titles for the tracks, the player will show "Track #1", "Track #2", etc.
  • a right hand pane containing the list of tracks in your play list.

Between the two panes are four further buttons:

  • copy selection to play list
  • remove selection from play list
  • copy entire list of tracks to play list
  • remove entire play list

There are many ways to manipulate the play list contents:

  • select the appropriate entries and then use the copy/remove button as required.
  • select the appropriate entries and then drag the entries. If adding to the play list, you can drag them into the required order in the list. If removing from the play list, simply drag out of the right hand pane and let go.
  • double-click on an entry to add it or remove it (depending on which pane
    the entry is in).
Edit titles

The title editor consists of:

  • the disc title field
  • a field for each of the tracks
  • auto-play selection
  • Cancel button
  • Export button
  • Save button

The export listing button allows you to share your titles for this disc with other CDFSFiler and SmartCD users. Clicking on the button produces a save window with the following additional buttons:

  • Include play lists
  • Include auto-play flags
  • SmartCD compatibility

The first two options exist because they are very much a personal preference and may not want to be shared with other users.

The third option exists because although the catalogue format used by CDFSFiler is very close to the one used by SmartCD, it isn't identical. Selecting this button causes extra information to be included which will help SmartCD to match the disc when the catalogue information is imported.

Play lists

Play lists are the ability to specify a selection of tracks and the order in which they are to be played. CDFSFiler allows you to name a play list as well, thus leading to the creation of "collections" of play lists.

When CDFSFiler is told to play from a play list, the operation of the player window changes slightly so that the look and feel is consistent with the play list contents, rather than the contents of the original CD.

The changes are as follows:

  • the number of tracks in the "disc" changes to the number of entries in the play list.
  • during playback of the list, the real track number is show in [square brackets].
  • dragging the blue progress bar allows you to scroll through the play list.

You can use intro mode, random mode and repeat play in conjunction with the play list option.

Using VirtuaCD drives

CDFSFiler improves the usability of VirtuaCD drives by taking on the management functionality of the product. In addition to being able to configure the number of virtual drives being used, users can attach VirtuaCD images simply by dragging the files onto the appropriate drive icon. Images can be detached by choosing the "Remove virtual CD" option.

Choosing the "Set and save" option from the configuration window also causes any current attachments to be saved. These attachments will automatically be restored when the computer is rebooted.

Sharing CD-ROMs

Sharing CD-ROMs requires the presence of ShareFS and the installation of the ShareFS support option. If both of these criteria are met then an additional submenu becomes available, offering two menu entries:

  • Not shared
    This removes this disc from the list of CD-ROMs being shared.  
  • Shared
    This produces a window allowing you to specify the name that will be used when the disc is shared. If the name already exists, an error is displayed.

Note that when a disc is dismounted or ejected, CDFSFiler automatically stops the disc being shared, in order to prevent errors being produced when someone remotely tries to access the disc.

CD-Net

CDFSFiler incorporates the functionality provided by the client application shipped with CD-Net. Through this, you can mount and dismount discs exported by CD-Net servers.

If no physical or VirtuaCD drives are available when CDFSFiler starts, it will place a CD-Net icon on the iconbar.

To see the discs that are available, choose the Discs ... option from the CD-Net submenu. From this window, you can change the look of the display (large icon, small icons, full info) and the sort order of the display (sort by name, sort by server address number). You can mount a disc, find out about a disc, dismount a disc and refresh the contents of the window (optionally specifying a server which would not normally be reached by the broadcast mechanism used by CD-Net).

CD-Net, as the name suggests, is most commonly used for the exporting of CD-ROMs. However, CD-Net can also export ADFS and SCSI drives, Nexus drives and Pockets Books (PocketFS is required). Mounting a drive that is not a CD-ROM results in a different icon being used (to indicate the sort of device mounted), and the option to map the drive to a CD-ROM drive being greyed out.

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Copyright © PEP Associates 1998
Last edited by webmaster@pep-assoc.co.uk on 19 August 1998.