═══ 1. About PM Control Center ═══ PM Control Center is an OS/2 2.0 32 bit application which allows you to: Arrange your favorite programs in 2 scrollable icon bars - one for system utilities, another for file browsers/editors. Add, Drag or Find files to a Files List. Use the list to "feed" the icon bar programs, view and update the extended attributes, save the list to a file for later recall, print the list for reference or drag them all off to the shredder or printer. Monitor the size and free space on a disk, monitor the size of a file and check the time. Please see the following sections for more information: PM Control Center Overview PM Control Center Tips Registration and Support Obligatory Disclaimer Revision History ═══ 2. PM Control Center Overview ═══ PM Control Center consists of 4 parts: 1. Utility programs 2. Browser programs 3. Files List 4. System Area 5. Extended Attributes ═══ 3. Registration and Support ═══ Registration This program is not FREEWARE. Registeration is $25 U.S. per copy. Site licenses can be negotiated on request. Registered users will receive a registered copy ( without the "hello" screen ) as well as notices of subsequent releases of PM Control Center and other Coolware products. The Shareware version may only be used for a 30 day trial period. Note: Please include your name, address and the version number you are registering. Send Registration to: Coolware PO Box 18863 Atlanta, GA 31126 PM Control Center may also be registered through the SWREG forum on CompuServe. The registration ID is 2143. This is the only method of registration for overseas customers unable to provide US funds. Support If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, feel free to forward them on paper to the above address or electronically via CompuServe id : 76500,2557 through private mail or the OS2SHARE forum. ═══ 4. Obligatory Disclaimer ═══ The PM Control Center program and all accompanying documentation are provided on an "AS IS" basis. This means that Coolware does not warrant, guarantee, or make any other representations regarding the use, or results of use, of PM Control Center or the documentation in terms of accuracy, reliability, correctness, currentness, or otherwise. Coolware will not be held responsible for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages including damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or otherwise arising from the use or inability to use PM Control Center, even if Coolware has been advised of the possibility of such damages. The use of this product is on an "AT YOUR OWN RISK" basis. ═══ 5. Revision History ═══ Date Version 3/17/1994 1.1 o Fixed problem found on systems without a printer. 2/23/1994 1.0 11/07/1993 1st Beta Release ═══ 6. PM Control Center Tips ═══ o Specify CMD.EXE or COMMAND.COM as a utility program . This will open an OS/2 or DOS command window when the button is pressed. o Specify ZIP.EXE (or your favorite archiver) as a browser program. Enter a "[Enter archive name:]" (without the quotes)in the parameters field. When you click this icon, you will be prompted for an archive name and the selected files from the Files List or open dialog will be archived. o If you find yourself looking at an icon on one of the icon bars and can't remember what it is, click it with the right mouse button. The title of the main window will momentarily change to the title of the clicked program. o Use PM Control Center to create 'mini' folders. Drag logically related folders and directories to the Files List and save it to a file ( OS2System.pcc, for example ) for later recall. You will find this to be much quicker than the Workplace Shell in many instances. ═══ 7. Utilities ═══ Programs which do not act upon particular files. The most common examples of these would be CPU monitors, disk utilities, etc. Utilities are displayed via their icons in a row of buttons across the top of the window. These programs do not interact with the Files List in PM Control Center. ═══ 8. Browsers ═══ Programs which act upon specific files. The most common examples of these would be text editors and picture viewers. Browser programs are displayed via their icons in a column of buttons just above the file list window. When the button for one of these programs is pressed, all files selected within the Files List are passed as startup parameters to the program. If the "pass all files at once" option is set in the settings window, all selected files are passed to one invocation of the program. If this option is not set, a seperate instance of the program is started for each selected file. If no files are selected or the "always prompt for files" option is set in the settings window, you are prompted for files to pass to the program. Note that if you have an editor/browser that doesn't accept file names as input parameters, you might as well put it in with the Utilities. ═══ 9. Files List ═══ A list of files that may be stored and recalled in a Files List Index and/or acted upon by Browser programs. Ideally, these are used for organizing files for a particular project or similar file types - bitmaps, command files, etc. In most situations, the Files List makes a nice scratch pad for collecting files. Only the names and locations (directories) of the listed files are stored - not the files themselves. Therefore, these Files List Snapshots take little disk space. PM Control Center remembers the last 8 Files List index files you've worked with and presents them as choices under the "File" menu option. This list may be populated in 4 ways: 1. Opening a previously created File List Index. 2. Selecting files via an "open file" dialog. 3. Dragging files in from the OS/2 drive folders. * 4. Searching a disk based on a specified file mask. Files in the Files List can be used to "feed" the browsers. If you select a file and click on a Browser icon, that browser will be started with the selected file as a parameter. In addition, files in the list may be dragged to the shredder, printer or any other OS/2 desktop object. The Files List also provides easy access to the most "user friendly" extended attributes of the files on your disks. * Note that you can drag just about anything from the desktop into the Files List. You can create a mini "desktop" by dragging folders into PM Control Center and using the "WPS open" option to open them. ═══ 10. System Area ═══ This is the bottom portion of the main window and displays various pieces of system information. It can be configured to display any or all of the following: o Files list summary - number of files and bytes displayed in the list. o Total and free disk space for a specified disk. o A graphical display of free space for a specified disk. o The name and size of a specified file. o Date and Time information. ═══ 11. Extended Attributes ═══ Extended attributes refer to the additional information OS/2 is capable of attaching to the files on your disks. PM Control Center is capable of listing 3 of the most useful types of extended attributes: Subject, Key Phrases and Comments. These attributes are textual and what you put in them is up to you. Extended attributes can be a very powerful file organization tool if you are consistent in your use of them. These attributes are stored in a hidden area on the disk, not with the file itself. Some DOS programs, unaware of the existance of these attributes, can "lose" the extended attributes. Therefore, if you use a DOS program on files with which you use extended attributes, ensure that the attributes are still there after running the DOS program a couple times. If they're gone, don't bother using the extended attributes for those files. ═══ 12. File Menu ═══ Use the choices on the file menu to maintain file lists and configure PM Control Center. The following menu items are available: Open Save Save as Settings Save Window Files List Files ═══ 13. Open ═══ Opens a previously created Files List file. Note that the files in this list are added to the list currently displayed if the "append" option is checked (the defalut) in the settings notebook. If the "append" option is not specified, the Files List is cleared before the contents of this file are added. ═══ 14. Save ═══ Saves the names of the listed files to the current Files List file. This file may be opened later to restore the current contents of the file list. ═══ 15. Save as ═══ Saves the names of the listed files to a new or existing Files List file. This file may be opened later to restore the current contents of the file list. ═══ 16. Settings ═══ Adds programs to the Utilities and Browsers button bars and configures PM Control Center's appearance and behavior to your personal tastes. ═══ 17. Save window ═══ Saves the current size and position of PM Control Center's main window. The next time PM Control Center is started, it will appear in the same place as it is when you select this option. This action does not recall the contents of the Files List. ═══ 18. Files List Files ═══ Provides quick access to one of the eight last accessed Files List files. Note that the files in this list are added to the list currently displayed if the "append" option is checked (the defalut) in the settings notebook. If the "append" option is not specified, the Files List is cleared before the contents of this file are added. ═══ 19. List Menu ═══ Use the choices on the list menu to populate or act upon the entire Files List. The following menu items are available: Add files Find files Print Sort files Refresh files Clear list Select all Deselect all ═══ 20. Add files ═══ Presents a dialog requesting file(s) to be added to the Files List. Note that these files are added to the list currently displayed if the "append" option is checked (the defalut) in the settings notebook. If the "append" option is not specified, the Files List is cleared before these files are added. ═══ 21. Select all ═══ Selects all files in the Files List. ═══ 22. Deselect all ═══ Deselects all files in the Files List. ═══ 23. Find files ═══ Populate the Files List with files based on a search criteria. Global file names are, obviously, supported. For example, the mask "c:\*.INI" would find every file with an extension of INI on your "C" drive. Note that the found files are added to the list currently displayed if the "append" option is checked (the defalut) in the settings notebook. If the "append" option is not specified, the Files List is cleared before the found files are added. ═══ 24. Sort files ═══ Sorts the files in the Files List based on the sort options specified in the settings notebook. ═══ 25. Print ═══ Prints the Files List based on the print options specified in the settings notebook. ═══ 26. Refresh files ═══ Verifies and updates the contents of the Files List. Use this action if, for example, you're updating a file in an editor and want to see that file's new size and time information in the Files List. Also, if you move or delete a file contained in the Files List outside of PM Control Center, use this action to update the list. ═══ 27. Clear list ═══ Removes all files from the current Files List. This action does NOT erase the files from your disk. ═══ 28. Edit Menu ═══ Use the choices on the edit menu to act upon selected files in the Files List. The following menu items are available: Annotate files Remove files Delete files Zero files WPS ppen WPS settings ═══ 29. Remove files ═══ Removes all selected files from the current Files List. This action does NOT erase the files from your disk. ═══ 30. Annotate files ═══ Presents a dialog in which you may update certain extended attributes of the selected files. The modifiable attributes are "Subject", "Key Phraese" and "Comments". ═══ 31. Delete files ═══ Deletes all selected files from your disk. You will be prompted for confirmation before the files are deleted. You may alternately drag the files to the OS/2 shredder. You will still be prompted for confirmation. ═══ 32. Zero files ═══ Erases the contents of the selected files from your disk. That is, the file remains listed on your disk, but it isn't taking up any disk space. You will be prompted for confirmation before the file contents are erased. The main reason for this strange action is to maintain a record of files you don't want. This is especially useful for electronic bulletin board users who want to avoid duplicate downloads of files they discovered they didn't need after all. Coupled with the extended attributes features of PM Control Center, this can also be a powerful file maintenance tool. (The extended attributes are NOT erased with the file contents.) ═══ 33. WPS open ═══ Allows quick access to OS/2's Workplace Shell processing. The actions performed here depend on the type of file/object selected in the Files List: 1. Data files are opened with their default associated program. 2. Folders are opened in their default view. 3. Executables and batch files are run. The default programs and views are specified via the OS/2 settings notebook for the particular objects. ═══ 34. WPS settings ═══ Opens OS/2's Workplace Shell settings notebook for the selected objects. From here you can perform common file maintenance functions such as renaming and setting file attributes and associations. ═══ 35. Quick Menu ═══ This choice provides fast access to certain Files List configuration options and sort overrides. The configuration options are temporary and are only made permanent when the settings notebook is opened. The following menu items are available: Sort View Append files Prompt files Single selection Auto sort ═══ 36. Sort - Quick ═══ Provides a fast sort override. For each quick sort provided, file name and directory are used to further qualify the sort if needed. ═══ 37. View - Quick ═══ Provides a fast way to change the "view" of the Files List. ═══ 38. Append files ═══ Tells PM Control Center to not clear the current contents of the Files List before adding the results of an "Open file", "Add files", "Find Files" or drag operation. ═══ 39. Prompt files ═══ Tells PM Control Center to always ignore the Files List when a Browser button is pressed and always prompt for input files. ═══ 40. Single selection ═══ Allows only one file in the Files List to be selected at any one time. ═══ 41. Auto sort ═══ Tells PM Control Center to sort files based on the criteria specified on the Sort page of the settings notebook as they are being inserted into the Files List. ═══ 42. Settings notebook ═══ Use the settings notebook to configure PM Control Center. The following pages/categories are available: Utilities Browsers Files List Files List Sort System Area Date/Time ═══ 43. Utilities page ═══ Use this dialog page to add, remove, arrange and update Utility programs. The following attributes are configurable for each program: Title: A textual name for the program. If you forget what a Utility icon button represents, clicking the right mouse button on the program icon button will display this text in the main window's title bar. Executable: Fully qualified name of the program file to execute. If you move a file to another directory after installing it in PM Control Center you can type in the new program location here. Parameters: These are program specific inputs and are passed to the program before the file names. The contents of this field depend on the program. You may instruct PM Control Center to prompt you for parameters before the program is started by placing the prompt text between square brackets in the Parameters field. For example, "-a [Enter archive name:]" would invoke a dialog with an entry field and the text "Enter archive name:". If you enter "c:\Back.zip" in the entry field, the final parameter string passed to the program would be "-a c:\Back.zip". Working directory: The directory in which the program is to "start up". This is usually only necessary for programs that require additional files that are not found in an environment variable path. The contents of this field depend on the program. Icon: The fully qualified name of an icon file. This icon will replace the program's default icon. Session: Tells PM Control Center how to run the program. If an application won't run, this is usually the reason. Program Default Let OS/2 figure it out. Presentation Mgr An OS/2 Presentation Manager application. OS/2 Window Run the program in a windowed OS/2 session. OS/2 Full Screen Run the program in a full screen OS/2 session. Windows Common Run the program in the same WinOS2 session as any currently running Windows programs. Windows Seperate Run the program in it's own WinOS2 session. DOS Window Run the program in a windowed DOS session. DOS Full Screen Run the program in a full screen DOS session. Add: Presents a dialog to specify a program or programs to add to PM Control Center. The program is added after the currently selected program. Remove: Removes the currently selected program from PM Control Center. The program is NOT erased from the disk. To change the order of the programs, use the "drag" mouse button (usually the right button) to drag it to it's new position. ═══ 44. Browsers page ═══ Use this dialog page to add, remove, arrange and update Browser programs. programs. The following attributes are configurable for each program: Title: A textual name for the program. If you forget what a Utility icon button represents, clicking the right mouse button on the program icon button will display this text in the main window's title bar. Executable: Fully qualified name of the program file to execute. If you move a file to another directory after installing it in PM Control Center you can type in the new program location here. Parameters: These are program specific inputs and are passed to the program before the file names. The contents of this field depend on the program. You may instruct PM Control Center to prompt you for parameters before the program is started by placing the prompt text between square brackets in the Parameters field. For example, "-a [Enter archive name:]" would invoke a dialog with an entry field and the text "Enter archive name:". If you enter "c:\Back.zip" in the entry field, the final parameter string passed to the program would be "-a c:\Back.zip". Working directory: The directory in which the program is to "start up". This is usually only necessary for programs that require additional files that are not found in an environment variable path. The contents of this field depend on the program. Icon: The fully qualified name of an icon file. This icon will replace the program's default icon. Open directory: If PM Control Center needs to prompt you for input files to a program, it presents files from this directory. File mask: Used to filter files from the Open directory when PM Control Center prompts you for input files to a program. Pass all files at once: Some programs can work with more than one file at a time. The OS/2 extended editor is an example of this kind of program. This option tells PM Control Center to start one instance of the program and give it all selected files as parameters. Session: Tells PM Control Center how to run the program. If an application won't run, this is usually the reason. Program Default Let OS/2 figure it out. Presentation Mgr An OS/2 Presentation Manager application. OS/2 Window Run the program in a windowed OS/2 session. OS/2 Full Screen Run the program in a full screen OS/2 session. Windows Common Run the program in the same WinOS2 session as any currently running Windows programs. Windows Seperate Run the program in it's own WinOS2 session. DOS Window Run the program in a windowed DOS session. DOS Full Screen Run the program in a full screen DOS session. Add: Presents a dialog to specify a program or programs to add to PM Control Center. The program is added after the currently selected program. Remove: Removes the currently selected program from PM Control Center. The program is NOT erased from the disk. To change the order of the programs, use the "drag" mouse button (usually the right button) to drag it to it's new position. ═══ 45. Files List page ═══ Use this dialog page to configure the appearance and behavior of the Files List. The following attributes are configurable: List View: Sets the container view of the Files List. Detail Contents: Specifies the file information and extended attributes to be displayed in the Files List details view. Split After: Specifies the column after which the split bar is to be placed in the Files List details view. Print: Specifies the file information and extended attributes to be printed. Always prompt for Browsers: Tells PM Control Center to always ignore the Files List when a Browser button is pressed and always prompt for input files. Append to Current List: Tells PM Control Center to not clear the current contents of the Files List before adding the results of an "Open file", "Add files", "Find Files" or drag operation. Auto Sort Files: Tells PM Control Center to sort files based on the criteria specified on the Sort page of the settings notebook as they are being inserted into the Files List. Single Files Selection: Allows only one file in the Files List to be selected at any one time. Font: Allows selection of the font to use in the Files List. ═══ 46. Files List Sort page ═══ Use this dialog page to set the sort criteria for files in the Files List. Files List. The sort is performed based on the values of 4 sort fields with the first field being the most significant and the fourth being the least significant. Only as many fields are compared as are needed to determine the sort value. That is, if "File Name" is the first sort field and "Directory" is the second, the directories are compared only when the file names are the same. Case is ignored when comparing textual data. Each field is sorted in ascending order unless it's corresponding "Descending" flag is set. ═══ 47. System Area page ═══ Use this dialog page to configure the appearance of the system area. The following attributes are configurable: Files List Summary: Displays the total number of files and bytes contained in the Files List. Disk Usage: Displays the total and free space of a specified drive in kilobytes and the percentage of free space. Disk Usage Graph: Displays a graph of the amount of free space on a specified drive - or is it the amount of used space ? Drive Monitor: Specifies the drive the Disk Usage and Disk Usage Graph areas are to monitor. File Monitor: Specifies a file whose size is to be monitored. Usually SWAPPER.DAT is monitored. Date/Time: Indicates that system time information is to be displayed. Refresh Rate: Specifies how often the system information is to be updated. The range is from 1 to 60 seconds. Font: Allows selection of the font to use in the System Area. ═══ 48. Date/Time page ═══ Use this dialog page to configure the appearance of the system area time display. This field is configured through a rather ugly format string. This string may contain any text as well as predefined substitution variables. For example, "Today is %A !" would result in "Today is Wednesday !" - on Wednesday, of course. The following substitution variables are available: %a: Abbreviated name of the day of the week. %A: Full name of the day of the week. %b: Abbreviated name of the month. %B: Full name of the month. %c: Date and time in default format. %d: Day of the month (01 - 31). %H: Hour (00 - 23). %I: Hour (01 - 12). %j: Day of the year (001 - 366). %m: Month (01 - 12). %M: Minute (00 - 59). %p: AM or PM. %S: Second (00 - 69). %U: Week number of the year from Sunday (00 - 53). %w: Day of the week from Sunday (0 - 6). %W: Week number of the year from Monday (00 - 53) %x: Default date format. %X: Default time format. %y: Year without century (00 - 99). %Y: Year with century. %Z: Time zone name. %%: A percent sign. ═══ 49. File find dialog ═══ Populates the Files List with files based on a search criteria. Global file names are, obviously, supported. The "Search subdirectories" tells PM Control Center to search any subdirectories within the starting directory specified in the search mask. For example, the mask "c:\*.INI" would find every file with an extension of INI on your "C" drive. The file find function "remembers" the last 12 search masks you used. Note that the found files are added to the list currently displayed if the "append" option is checked (the defalut) in the settings notebook. If the "append" option is not specified, the Files List is cleared before the found files are added. ═══ 50. Annotate dialog ═══ Allows modification of certain extended attributes of the selected files. The modifiable attributes are "Subject", "Key Phrases" and "Comments". There are no hard and fast rules as to the contents of these fields. As long as you are consistent in your use of them, they can be very useful file organization tools. The size of the columns for "Key Phrases" and "Comments" in the details view of the Files List adjust themselves to the text entered. No automatic wrapping is provided. The entry fields for these columns are sized to a reasonable width. If you want to preserve this width, you must press enter when/before the text scrolls horizontally. If you want a smaller or larger column size, press the enter key at the desired width. ═══ 51. Print dialog ═══ Prints the "details" view of the current Files List. Only the columns you have checked as printable in the settings notebook are printed. The first time you print something you should click the font button and set an appropriate font for the printer. It will print without doing this, but it probably won't be pretty. There are two check boxes on the font dialog: One for the display and one for the printer. If you check both boxes, only fonts available on both devices will be presented. If you check only one box, all fonts for the chosen device are presented. Check both boxes if you want the printed font to match the display. ═══ 52. Specify parameters dialog ═══ This dialog is displayed when you include a prompt specifier in the parameters setup field of a browser or utility program. The "[Enter parameters:]" portion of the parameter string will be replaced by the text entered in this dialog before being passed to the invoked program. ═══ 53. About Coolware ═══ Coolware PO Box 18863 Atlanta, GA 31126 CompuServe id : 76500,2557. Coolware has been providing shareware to the OS/2 community since OS/2 version 1.3. Coolware's philosophy is to provide open ended software that you, the user, adopt to your particular working style. Coolware products can be found on CompuServe in the OS2USER and/or OS2SHARE forums with the COOLWARE keyword. All prices are in US dollars and subject to change without notice. All products may be registered online through CompuServe's SWREG forum. Current Coolware products can be found on many electronic bulletin boards. However, because there are so many BBSes these days support can only be guaranteed (electronically) through CompuServe. US mail will, of course, be supported as well. Current Coolware products include: Directory Enforcer The premiere OS/2 directory compare utility. PM Control Center Two user definable "button bars"; Program launching; File listing, finding and maintenance; Disk monitor, File monitor and clock. PM Scrapbook Personal Information Manager/Database with address books, to-do lists and note pads organized in a graphical tree format. ═══ 54. Directory Enforcer ═══ free CompuServe SWREG id#: N/A This 32 bit Presentation Manager application compares the file contents of 2 directories. Select newer/older/equal files and perform basic file maintenance and manual refreshes or backups. Ideal for insuring files are current across your hard drives, network drives and floppies. The file listing window contains symbols denoting which files are newer. Files may be selected for manipulation manually or by date/time comparisons. Copy, Move and Delete commands are provided for file refreshing and backup. Protect and Unprotect commands are available for safegaurding files. Configure the Edit and Compare functions to call the programs of your choice. This program is featured in the VNR Computer Library publication 'Your OS/2 Consultant'. ═══ 55. PM Control Center ═══ $25 CompuServe SWREG id#: 2143 This 32 bit Presentation Manager application allows you to group your favorite programs and files in one convenient window for quick access and execution. The programs you specify for the button bars can be used to run without input or manipulate files from an "Open file" dialog or a list of files. This list may be populated manually, through a find function or by dropping files and folders on it. This list can be saved for later recall and printed. From the list, you can open the file, access it's settings, set it's extended attributes, and use drag/drop to move/copy/delete/print it. Will also monitor your disk space and size of a file (such as SWAPPER.dat) and tell you the date and time. A must have for your start up folder ! ═══ 56. PM Scrapbook ═══ $35 CompuServe SWREG id#: 1318 This 32 bit Presentation Manager application allows you to store any number of personal information "objects" in a file. These objects are organized in the familiar parent/child heirarchy (like the directories and subdirectories on a hard drive). The number and depth of these objects are limited only by your computer's memory. Unlike most personal information managers, PM Scrapbook accommodates the need to organize the seemingly senseless acquisition of textual information we all live and breathe by. This program is featured in the Sam's Publishing publication 'OS/2 2.1 Unleashed !'. ═══ 57. Coolware Order Form ═══ Name: __________________________________ Date: ___-___-______ Address: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ E-Mail ID: _______________________________________________________ Where did you find this product: _______________________________ Comments/Suggestions: __________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ┌───────┬────────────┬────────────────────────┬──────────────┐ │Qty │Unit Price │Description │Total │ ├───────┼────────────┼────────────────────────┼──────────────┤ │ │* │Directory Enforcer │ │ ├───────┼────────────┼────────────────────────┼──────────────┤ │ │$25.00 │PM Control Center │ │ ├───────┼────────────┼────────────────────────┼──────────────┤ │ │$35.00 │PM Scrapbook │ │ ├───────┼────────────┼────────────────────────┼──────────────┤ │-------│------------│Total order │ │ └───────┴────────────┴────────────────────────┴──────────────┘ Remit to: Coolware PO Box 18863 Atlanta, GA 31126 * Directory Enforcer is included free with all other products. Please enclose $5 US shipping and handling if it is the only order being placed. Note: Funds must be drawn on a US bank. Prices subject to change without notice. Corporate and quantity pricings are available upon request.