═══ 1. How to use FM/2's help ═══ The best way to use FM/2's help is to look at the Contents (which you'll get if you press CTRL+F1 at the main window). To find something on a specific topic, click the Search button at the bottom of the help window and enter some text. For a couple of examples: To find out about changing a volume label, enter "Label" as the "Search for:" text, check the "All sections" checkbox, then press [Enter]. To find out how to open a new FM/2 window, enter "Open" as the "Search for:" text, check the "All sections" checkbox, then press [Enter]. If you'd like a printout of any of the topics in the online help, click the Print button at the bottom of the help window. If you're stuck in a dialog, click that dialog's Help button. That will usually take you directly to appropriate help. One note of caution: if you call up help for a dialog, be sure to dismiss the help before dismissing the dialog. Many of the dialogs run in threads other than thread 1, and there's a long-standing OS/2 bug that causes weird behavior if you do it the other way around to a dialog run in a thread other than thread 1. Trust me. So, if you're totally new to FM/2, how to get started? First, run the OS/2 Tutorial if you need help on the basics of using a mouse in general or using one with OS/2 in particular. Next, read the help section titled Terminology so we'll understand each other a bit better. Then plunge into the General Help topic to find out how to look at, Move, Copy, Rename and Compare files and directories (the basics). That will get you started, and we'll give you hints along the way about other places you might like to look (like Hints :-) when you're ready. Command line help is in the READ.ME file that accompanied the archive, since you should have read that before trying to start FM/2. You did, didn't you? There is one thing you should keep in mind about FM/2. FM/2 is extremely powerful and has a lot of features, but you don't have to use or even know them all. Most people will use only a few of FM/2's features on a regular basis (and not everyone will use the same combination), and that's fine -- find what works best for you and use it. If you find yourself needing some other feature, call up the help, find it, and use it -- it'll be there whenever you need it. But don't feel that, somehow, by not using every little nook and cranny of the program that you're missing out on something. The idea is to use what you need; pick your tools from the arsenal and get some work done. ═══ 2. Terminology ═══ Some definitions: GUI = Graphical User Interface WPS = WorkPlace Shell, OS/2's GUI PM = Presentation Manager, OS/2's graphical supersystem B1 = Mouse button 1, usually the left button B2 = Mouse button 2, usually the right button B3 = Mouse button 3, usually the middle button. Not all mice have three buttons. OS/2 will let you redefine the buttons using the WPS' Mouse object in the System Setup folder. Chord = Pressing B1 and B2 simultaneously Context menu = a popup menu obtained directly on an object of interest by clicking B2 while the mouse pointer is over the object. Context menus usually have options tailored for the specific object. Pulldown menu = the action bar menu just under the title bar of a window. If you don't know what a title bar is, run the OS/2 tutorial. System menu = the icon at the top left of most PM main windows. You can close a window by double-clicking the System menu icon with B1. Click once and you get a menu (called, oddly enough, the system menu). Toolbar = an array of buttons, usually with pictures on them, that you can click with your mouse to cause commands to be activated -- a sort of menu for illiterates. Toolbox = a collection of buttons in a toolbar. FM/2 allows you to have several toolboxes which you can load into the toolbar as desired. Dialog = a specialized input or informational window that's transient. You use it, then it goes away. Dialogs generally have their own specialized help available via a Help button. Direct Editing = a method of changing the text of an object, as when you change the name of an object on the WPS by pointing at it, holding down the ALT key and clicking the text with B1. FM/2 supports direct editing of file system object names as well as Subject and Longname fields in Details view. Default action = what happens when you double-click an object in a container (or put the cursor on it with the arrow keys and press [Enter]). Accelerator keys = key combinations that allow you to quickly give a program a command without going through menus or toolbars. For example, FM/2's accelerator key to get help is CTRL+F1 (usually written ^F1 -- ^ is shorthand for CTRL). Drive Tree = the special window that's always open in FM/2 displaying your drives in "tree" format. If subdirectories are available, there will be a "+" sign to the left of the drive which you can click to show the subdirectories. Note that floppy drives (A: and B:) aren't checked for subdirectories until you access them. Double-clicking a drive or directory in the Drive Tree opens a Directory Container or switches the current Directory Container to "look" into that directory. Directory Container = a special window that "looks" into a particular directory and shows you what's in it. Archive Container = another special window that "looks" into an archive file and shows you what's in it. Collector = yet another special window that serves as a temporary storage place for file system objects you place into it. Objects in the Collector are a little like WPS Shadows in that they take up no additional space on your drives -- they just represent the objects so you can manipulate them. Filter = what you do when you selectively remove some of the file system objects from a container by giving filemasks and/or attribute masks to "filter" what's displayed. Filtering affects only what shows; the files and directories remain on the drive. Mask = a filemask that can contain wildcard characters (* and ?) and select one or more files. In FM/2, filemasks can usually contain multiple masks separated by semicolons. Current object = the object upon which commands will act (also called the cursored object). The current object in a container is indicated by a dotted outline around the object. The current object may or may not also be highlighted. There can only be one current object in a container. Highlighted objects = objects in a container which are indicated by a different color (usually darker) background. If the current object is also highlighted, commands affect all highlighted objects. Tree view = a container view similar to an inverted tree, with roots at the top and leaves at the bottom. The FM/2 Drive Tree is an example of this sort of view, as is the default view of an OS/2 WPS Drive object. Icon view = a container view showing the object's name below the object's icon. Name view = a container view showing the object's name beside the object's icon. Text view = a container view showing only the object's name. Details view = a container view showing full object information in rows. A detail container is split into two sides with one vertical scrollbar serving both sides, and two separate horizontal scrollbars. MLE = Multi Line Edit control. This is something like a text editor. They can (and do) come in all sizes. ═══ 3. General Help ═══ FM/2's main purpose is to show you what's on your file system and let you sling what's there around. Here we'll cover the basics. Some familiarity with OS/2's WPS (WorkPlace Shell) is assumed. If you need refreshing, run the OS/2 Tutorial. There are several ways to view a directory with FM/2, just as there are with the WPS. Icon, Name, Text and Details views all offer different perspectives into the directory being "looked at" (see Terminology). Views showing icons can use full-sized icons or smaller "mini-icons" to save space. Details view can show a great deal of information about file system objects, and you can customize what is shown with the Details Setup submenu (under the Views menu or a Directory Container window's context menu). You can also place some limits on the amount of detail that FM/2 loads from the file system with the Toggles page of the Settings notebook. This can speed up FM/2's scanning of directories but can also make for duller screens and less information being presented to you. My advice to you is to enjoy the bells and whistles OS/2 and PM provide. Take a moment to set up the look of your Directory Container windows to match your taste -- everyone likes something different. Then meet me back here and we'll talk about manipulating those objects you see... As we talk about manipulating objects, keep firmly in mind the concepts of "current object" and "highlighted objects" (see Terminology). The current object is the one on which commands act (it has the dotted outline around it). If the current object is also highlighted, all highlighted objects will be affected. Renaming file system objects: The simplest way to rename a file system object is to point at it with the mouse cursor, hold down the ALT key, and click the text of its name. OS/2 produces a mini MLE text entry field where you can type in a new name (this is Direct Editing). When finished, click the object and a rename is performed. Note that you can even move the object to another directory when you do this. (Also note that in Details view you can direct-edit the Subject field to change an object's Subject and the Longname field to change an object's Longname.) Using this method will not allow you to overwrite an existing file. You can use drag and drop (as detailed below for Move) or the menu command Rename or the toolbar to allow overwriting. Moving file system objects: There are several ways to move a file system object. The best and most intuitive is drag and drop. Using this method, you "grab" the file system object by pressing and holding B2 while the mouse pointer is over the object, then begin to move the mouse (still holding B2). The object's icon should begin to move with the mouse pointer. " Drag" this icon to where you want to move it (for instance, if you want to move a file from C:\ to D:\, drag the file to the Drive Tree's D: object). When the object is where you want it, release B2 and the move is done. When dragging an object into a Directory Container, remember that to place it into the directory into with the Directory Container "looks" you need to drop it on container "whitespace" (a part of the container not occupied by an object). For convenience, the two recessed status areas at the top of the container are considered whitespace. If you get confused when dragging object(s), press the F1 key. This will give you some information about what you're doing. Pressing the Escape key will abort the drag. Note that you can't move a file or directory onto another file, only into a directory (moving into container whitespace in a Directory Container window is the same as moving into the directory the Directory Container "looks" into, and a minimized Directory Container window is "all whitespace"). Also note that the object you grab becomes the current object, and if it's also highlighted you'll drag all highlighted objects (you'll see visual feedback to this effect). You could, of course, also select "Move" from the Files menu or a context menu, or click the Move toolbar button, or type the accelerator key ^m (hold the control key down and type "m"). In this case, you'll get the Walk Directories dialog where you can enter a target directory. Copying file system objects: The procedure for copying file system objects is very similar to that for moving them. When you begin to drag the object, and until you release it, hold down the control (CTRL) key. You'll notice that the dragged icon is "ghosted" to give visual feedback that a copy, not a move, is being performed. Note that you can copy a file onto an archive file as well as into a directory. You can also "clone" a file by dropping it into the directory where it already resides -- you'll get a rename dialog that will allow you to change the name, creating a file exactly like the other with a different name. As for move above, there is a "Copy" menu item and a toolbar button, and ^c is the accelerator key. There is one other type of drag and drop operation called a "link drag." To link drag, hold down the control and shift keys while dragging. You'll see a "rubber band line" extend from where you grabbed the icon to the mouse pointer as a visual cue. Link dragging is usually used within FM/2 to do compare operations (see also Link Sets Icon toggle). What you drag will be compared to what you drop it on. Note, however, that if you drag to a WPS object (like the desktop or other folder), OS/2's version of a link drag is performed, which usually results in a shadow object being created. Double-clicking an object in a Directory Container window causes a default action to take place. What that action is depends on the type of object and how you've configured FM/2. Here's a breakdown: If the object is a directory, the Directory Container switches to look into that directory. If it's a file, FM/2 first checks to see if you've assigned any Associations that match the filename and signature (if applicable). Next, FM/2 tries to view the file as an archive. If it's not an archive, FM/2 checks to see if the file's an executable and runs it if so. Then INI and HLP files are checked by extensions and viewed as such. If all else fails, FM/2 views the file using the configured or internal viewer. Other commands are accessed via pulldown or context menu commands or toolbar buttons. You can read about them by selecting the highlighted words "context menu" in this paragraph. But you now know how to perform the file system maintenance basics: Move, Copy, Rename and Compare. You are now, as the Smothers Brothers said, educated. ═══ 4. Files Menu ═══ The Files pulldown menu displays the same menu that would be obtained as a context (popup) menu over the current object in the current window. If you select the Files menu when a window that doesn't use it is active, you'll see "n/a" (not applicable). Generally speaking, it's best to leave the Files menu for folks who either don't have a mouse or don't really understand how OS/2 works, and instead work from the context menus. ═══ 4.1. Commands submenu ═══ Commands are programs that can be run on selected objects by picking the programs by an assigned title from a dynamically built submenu of FM/2's Files pulldown menu. When commands are displayed in the submenu, visual queues are given as to the behavior of a given command. Commands that are checked will run once for each selected file. Commands that are framed will prompt the user to edit and accept the command line before running. FM/2 provides accelerator keys for the first twenty commands in the submenu. The accelerators are listed beside the command's title for reference. This provides a "macro key" capability. Don't overlook the power of Commands. This is a simple way of extending FM/2 to do things that it can't do on its own, to automate things, and to merge those old command line utilities with a PM selection shell (FM/2). ═══ 5. Views Menu ═══ The Views pulldown menu displays the same menu that would be obtained as a context (popup) menu for the current window (but not for any objects in the window -- in other words, a context menu requested over whitespace). If you select the Views menu when a window that doesn't use it is active, you'll see "n/a" (not applicable). Generally speaking, it's best to leave the Views menu for folks who either don't have a mouse or don't really understand how OS/2 works, and instead work from the context menus. ═══ 6. Utilities Menu ═══ FM/2 offers several utilities to make your life a little easier: Collector Undelete Files Kill Processes Instant Batch File Command Line INI Viewer View Bookshelf ═══ 6.1. Collector ═══ The Collector is a temporary place to hold objects that you want to manipualate later; it allows you to temporarily group objects regardless of where they're physically stored in the file system. No physical (disk) storage is used; the Collector just holds the objects (something like WPS shadows) until you're ready to do something with them. You might think of it as an additional clipboard containing names of file system objects. Note that objects in the Collector, unlike objects in main tree and directory containers, show their full pathnames. You can drag file system objects from and to the Collector. Be careful where you drop the objects; directories and files already in the Collector are "targets." If you drop on a directory, the files are moved or copied to the directory, not into the Collector. The Collector allows you to manipulate the files it contains just as you would in a main tree or directory window. Popup menus are available just as they are in a main window. The popup for the collector container obtained over container whitespace allows clearing the container and collecting files from the clipboard (a good way to import a selection from some other program that might save a list of files, one file per line). Additionally, the pulldown menu gives you access to a Seek and scan function. This leads to a dialog that lets you search for and Collect files based on filemasks and text content. ═══ 6.1.1. Seek and scan ═══ This dialog allows you to search for files (by filemasks and, optionally, text within the files) and Collects the files found. In the Filemasks entry field you can enter one or several filemasks. To enter multiple masks, separate them with semi-colons. Example: "C:\*;D:\*.TXT". In the Search text entry field you can enter text that must be found for the file to match. All files matching the filemask(s) are searched for this text. If no text is entered, a simple file find is performed. Simple regular expressions are supported. These can be briefly summarized: '*' matches any string '?' matches any single character '['XYZ']' matches any of X, Y or Z ' ' matches 0 or more whitespace characters C matches C The Include Subdirs checkbox controls whether the search extends into subdirectories. If the box is checked, subdirectories are searched. The Absolute checkbox disables regular expressions in the Search text entry field. The Case Senseitive checkbox, if checked, makes text searches case sensitive. Otherwise they are not ('c' matches 'C' and 'c'). The Say files as found checkbox tells FM/2 to display the filenames it finds based on the filemasks as it encounters them, if checked. The Search files checkbox, when checked, tells FM/2 to look inside files for the text in the Search text entry field. This has no effect if no search text was entered. The Search EAs checkbox, when checked, tells FM/2 to look at the text EAs of files for the text in the Search text entry field. This has no effect if no search text was entered. The Larger entry field can be used to find files larger than the number of bytes input (zero means all files). The k button next to the entry field multiplies the value by 1024 for you to make kilobytes instead of bytes. The Smaller entry field works the same except that it causes files smaller than the number of bytes input to be found. When used together (both fields are nonzero), files found will be greater than the Larger field's value and less than the Smaller field's value. The Newer and Older entry fields work similarly. When non-zero, these fields cause the search to find only files newer or older than the number of days entered. The m buttons multiply the value by 30 for you to make "months" instead of days. The AllHDs button prompts you for a single simple filemask (one without a drive or path) then builds a Filemasks string that will search all hard drives for that mask. The file search is performed using the current Collector Filter's attribute values. Click Okay when ready to search, or Cancel to exit without searching. Quicky instructions: type a mask into the Filemasks entry field (for example, "C:\*.BAK") and press [Enter]. ═══ 6.2. Undelete Files ═══ This leads to a dialog that interfaces with UNDELETE.COM to allow you to undelete files. The drive that will be operated on is determined by the highlighted object in the directory tree. This dialog filters out files that already exist on the disk. You can always go directly to UNDELETE.COM if you have the need for more control. This is provided only for convenience. ═══ 6.3. Kill Processes ═══ This leads to a dialog that allows you to kill most renegade processes. If you run into a window that just won't close, or one that hides itself but doesn't quite go away, this may let you kill the hung process. ═══ 6.4. Instant Batch File ═══ This leads to a dialog that lets you quickly hack together a batch (command) file and run it (the currently highlighted tree directory will be its default directory). The command file isn't saved; think of it as an "extended command line" which allows you to enter more than one line at a time (for instance, when several tests must be made). ═══ 6.5. Command Line ═══ This brings up a windowed OS/2 command line. F9 is the accelerator key for this command. ═══ 6.6. INI Viewer ═══ INI files are a form of data file that OS/2 provides to applications and utilizes itself. This viewer dialog allows you to take a peek inside them. Two special INIs are used by the system. They are the User INI (usually OS2.INI) and the System INI (usually OS2SYS.INI). Both are usually located in the \OS2 directory of your boot drive. FM/2 will tell you where they are when you view them. Applications normally use private INI files named after the application. For example, FM/2's INI is FM3.INI and its executable is FM3.EXE. A record in an INI is composed of three parts: An application name, a keyname, and data. This three-part format is represented in the dialog by three listboxes. When you choose an application name and a keyname, you see the data associated with them. This dialog allows you to delete an application name from an INI (deleting all keynames and data associated with it) with Edit->Delete Application, or to delete individual keynames, deleting the data associated with them with Edit->Delete Keyname. The Files->User Profile command loads the user INI (usually OS2.INI) and the Files->System Profile command loads the system INI (usually OS2SYS.INI). The Files->Other Profile command allows you to pick an INI file to load. The Files->Refresh command will refresh the contents of the listboxes from the INI file on disk; handy if a background process might modify it. The Utilities->Backup Profile creates a backup of the current profile. You get to specify the filename. The Utilities->Change System Profiles command lets you change the User and System profiles that OS/2 uses. The Utilities->Replace System Profiles command lets you replace the default system profiles with new profiles; the old files are physically overwritten. You can also drag from and to the top two listboxes in this window. If you drag from the left window, you drag the current application name, all its keynames, and all the data associated with the keynames. If you drag from the right window, you drag the current application and keynames, and all the data associated with the keyname. You can either move or copy the record(s) using the standard key modifiers (you did read the General Help topic, didn't you?). This window is reached via the Utilities pulldown menu on FM/2's main window, or by selecting (double-clicking) an INI file in a directory window, or by starting it from the FM/2 folder. The double-click behavior can be changed by specifying an association for *.INI under FM/2's main Config->Edit Associations pulldown. You may wish to do this, as FM/2's INI Viewer isn't meant to be the sort of full-featured dedicated INI maintenance application that, for example, INIMaint is. You can alternatively specify a Command using FM/2's main window menu Config->Edit Commands to run a more powerful INI editor against selected files as desired, using this internal viewer for browsing. ═══ 6.6.1. Adding an INI record ═══ To add an INI record, fill in the three entry fields on the screen. The appname and keyname pair, together, should form a unique ID, or you'll end up replacing existing data rather than adding new data. Then click Okay. Click Cancel to abort. ═══ 6.6.2. Changing OS/2's INIs ═══ FM/2 lets you change the INIs that OS/2 uses while OS/2 is still active. This, together with the Backup Profile command, allow you to create and use alternate profiles. Note that this doesn't change the physical INI files, it just points OS/2 at the new files; when you reboot, the files specified in CONFIG.SYS are used. There are a couple of potential uses for this function. You might use it to maintain different desktops and switch between them. You might use it to allow you to copy backed up profiles to OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI (the default OS/2 profiles -- do this by first switching to a different set of profiles, then copying your backups onto OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI, then restoring OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI as the system profiles. You can't do this normally as the system profiles are readonly and can't be overwritten.). Note that when the change occurs, OS/2 will restart the WPS. It's recommended that you back up your system INIs before using this and shut down all other running processes first. ═══ 6.6.3. Replacing OS/2's INIs ═══ This dialog physically replaces the OS/2 system INIs with the INI files you select. The change is permanent. Note that when the change occurs, OS/2 will restart the WPS (twice). It's HIGHLY recommended that you back up your system INIs before using this and shut down all other running processes first. (Use of this after having used the Change System Profiles command probably won't do what you expect unless you first change back to the system defaults.) ═══ 6.7. View Bookshelf ═══ FM/2 presents a listbox containing all the .INF files found in the directories listed in your BOOKSHELF environment variable (see SET BOOKSHELF= in CONFIG.SYS). You select the .INF file(s) you want to view, then click the View button. If you selected more than one .INF file, FM/2 calls VIEW.EXE in such a way that all the files are presented at once (a single contents page appears listing the contents of all the .INF files). Warning: Don't select more than one filename with the same title (left column of listbox) -- View.exe will choke if you do, and be unable to read any of the files. You can enter text into the entry field below the listbox, and FM/2 will try to find the first listbox entry with matching text as you go. If you click Select FM/2 will highlight all matching entries (hint: empty the entry field and click Select to unhighlight everything). If you click Filter FM/2 will remove all but highlighted items from the listbox (Rescan will refill the listbox). The AddDirs button will copy the contents of the entry field and add it to the directories listed in the BOOKSHELF environment variable. It should be in the same format as the HELP environment variable uses, fully qualified directory names separated by semi-colons. The next time you use the Bookshelf Viewer, FM/2 will remember this input and use it. This is an internal addition; your CONFIG.SYS and environment are not modified. When you're done with the dialog, press [ESCape] or click Cancel. Any open .INF files remain open until you close them (hint: F3 will close an .INF file). Note: this dialog is shared by the View Bookshelf and View Helpfiles commands. If you click on either while this dialog is up, the dialog is simply brought to the foreground. Close it if you want to switch function. (This doesn't apply if you started this from the Bookshelf Viewer object in the FM/2 WPS folder.) ═══ 6.8. View Helpfiles ═══ FM/2 presents a listbox containing all the .HLP files found in the directories listed in your HELP environment variable (see SET HELP= in CONFIG.SYS). You select the .HLP file you want to view, then click the View button. You can enter text into the entry field below the listbox, and FM/2 will try to find the first listbox entry with matching text as you go. The AddDirs button will copy the contents of the entry field and add it to the directories listed in the HELP environment variable. It should be in the same format as the HELP environment variable uses, fully qualified directory names separated by semi-colons. The next time you use the Bookshelf Viewer, FM/2 will remember this input and use it. This is an internal addition; your CONFIG.SYS and environment are not modified. When you're done with the dialog, press [ESCape] or click Cancel. Any open .HLP file will remain open until you close it. Note: this dialog is shared by the View Bookshelf and View Helpfiles commands. If you click on either while this dialog is up, the dialog is simply brought to the foreground. Close it if you want to switch function. (This doesn't apply if you started this from the Helpfile Viewer object in the FM/2 WPS folder.) ═══ 7. Config Menu ═══ FM/2 can be configured as you like it using the commands under this submenu. It is highly recommended that you step through the items in this submenu when you first begin to use FM/2, both to familiarize yourself with the available configuration options and to make FM/2 work the way you like it to work. To change fonts and colors, FM/2 uses the WPS Font and Color Palettes. The Config menu contains commands to call up these objects for you. This submenu affects general FM/2 behavior. Each class of container has its own configuration menu that allows you to set the type of view, filtering, and so on. To get the popup menu that controls the container's appearance, request a context menu while the pointer is over an empty area of the container, or select the Views pulldown submenu. Toolbar Associations Commands Edit Archiver Data Settings notebook ═══ 7.1. Toolbar ═══ The toolbar is a collection of buttons that invoke some of the commands in the pulldown or popup menus. Placing the mouse pointer on a button and pressing and holding B2 displays brief help for the button on the titlebar. Some of the buttons will allow objects to be dragged onto them; for example, you can drag objects onto the trashcan to delete them. Note that the hotspot of the mouse pointer itself should be over the button before releasing, not the icon being dragged (icons are slightly offset from the mouse pointer to give better target visibility). Target emphasis is provided in the form of a black outline around the button, and the arrow pointer turns into a hand when above a toolbox icon. This toolbar submenu is a conditional cascade menu, meaning that if you click other than on the boxed arrow a default command is executed (the toolbar is toggled off and on), but if you click on the boxed arrow you get a submenu of items you can select (the other choices are Text Toolbar, which will cause the toolbar to appear as "normal" buttons with text on them, or Toolbar Titles, which will cause text to appear below the toolbar bitmap buttons). Toolbar buttons are user-configurable. To change the toolbar, click mouse button two (usually the right button) while the mouse pointer is over a button to pop up a context menu. You can get the "Load Toolbox" dialog by clicking B2 on a blank area of the toolbar, and the "Add Button" dialog by chording on a blank area of the toolbar. For advanced/curious users: Information on what buttons are in the toolbar is kept in a file named FM3TOOLS.DAT. This file is an ASCII (plain text) file that contains information defining the toolbar. The file contains comments that explain its format. FM/2 allows you to create customized toolboxes that can be loaded as required to provide toolboxes for specific activities. ═══ 7.1.1. Reorder Tools ═══ This dialog, accessed from the context menu of a tool button, allows you to rearrange the order of the toolbar's tool buttons. You take selected items from the left listbox and Add them to the end of the right listbox with the Add>> button. When you've moved everything to the right listbox, click Okay. Click Cancel if you change your mind. In reality, you don't need to move everything to the right listbox. You can move only what you want moved to the top of the list, then click Okay. Anything remaining in the left listbox is added to the end of what's in the right listbox. The <Settings... pulldown menu item. Some container types have their own individual settings, usually available via a popup menu requested on container whitespace (or the Views pulldown menu). Note that settings changes don't take effect unless and until you close the notebook by clicking the Okay button. See also: Toggles page Window toggles page External programs/paths page Directory Container views page Directory Container sort page Collector Container views page Collector Container sort page ═══ 7.2.1. Toggles page ═══ The checkboxes on this page are on/off switches. The items are checked if they are on, not checked if they are off. Following is a description of the available toggles: Confirm delete controls whether FM/2 will ask you to confirm the deletion of files (deleting directories always requires confirmation). It is recommended that you leave this option on; FM/2 will let you confirm all files on which you're acting from one dialog, so it has minimal impact and provides a safety net. Uppercase names and Lowercase names control how FM/2 pretreats filenames before inserting them into the container. The default is not to change the case of the filenames at all. Changing these toggles will have an effect on the next rescan. If Unhilite after action is on, highlighted objects in the container are unhighlighted after you perform some command on them. The Verify disk writes toggle turns system-level write verification on and off. This is like typing VERIFY ON or VERIFY OFF at a command line. Normally FM/2 updates the container as things change; for instance, if you're deleting several files, the container is updated after each file is deleted. If you uncheck Immediate updates, FM/2 updates the container after an atomic action completes (i.e. after all files moved by one operation have been moved). This speeds up processing but allows the container to be temporarily "out of synch" with the real state of affairs. If Load Subjects is checked, FM/2 loads object descriptions from their standard WPS .SUBJECT EAs during scans. If you change the state of this toggle, you'll need to rescan to get the change to show up in FM/2's containers. Note that only the Details view shows Subjects. Subjects may be direct-edited when showing in the container. You can also pick Subject from a context menu, whether Subjects are being loaded during scans or not, to view and optionally change the object description. You can turn this off to marginally increase scanning speed. If Load Longnames is checked, FM/2 loads the .LONGNAME extended attribute for non-HPFS drives. This attribute usually contains a long name for objects that should be restored if the object is moved to an HPFS drive. As for Subject, Longnames are only shown in the Details view. You can turn this off to marginally increase scanning speed. If Don't load file icons and/or Don't load directory icons are checked, FM/2 won't load the icons of objects from the file system but instead uses defaults. Although this can speed up scanning, it makes for boring containers. This is PM, folks, enjoy the bells and whistles! The Follow Drive Tree toggle causes FM/2 to "follow" the current selected directory in the Drive Tree (when you move the cursor in the tree, the directory container changes to show the files in that directory without you having to press [Enter] or double-click the directory). The Don't move my mouse! toggle keeps FM/2 from moving your mouse (to place it in the center of a popup menu or over the Okay button in some dialogs). Some people like the help, others don't. Take your pick. The Double-click Opens toggle, if on, causes FM/2 to always open a new Directory Container window when a Drive Tree directory is double clicked. Link Sets Icon changes the action of a link-drag. If this toggle is set, a link drag causes FM/2 to try to set the icon of the target to the icon of the first dropped object (if the first dropped object has no .ICON EA and is not an icon file, the target's icon is reset. Note that OS/2 sometimes buffers this info and an icon change may not show up immediately). If not set, a link drag causes FM/2 to do a compare of the target with the dropped objects. If Default action Copy is checked, FM/2's windows perform a copy rather than move by default (note the highlighting on the mouse pointer as your cue). Instead of pressing the CTRL key to change a drag from a move to a copy, you'll need to press the Shift key to change a drag from a copy to a move (don't ask me why). Note that this is the opposite of the standard OS/2 behavior, so know what you're doing. I remind you that pressing F1 when you have a target in an FM/2 window will display some help on what the drag command would have performed. FM/2 usually performs copy and move actions at the lowest "normal" priority available. If you'd like FM/2 to use a true "idle" priority, check the Idle Copy toggle. Warning: if a DOS program is running, even in the background, idle priority threads slow way down. Performance at true idle with DOS programs running may not be acceptable. If the Show archiver activity toggle is checked, FM/2 runs archiver windows in the foreground. Normally it runs them in the background, minimized, so you'd have to use the task list to pull them to the foreground if you want to see them. ═══ 7.2.2. Window toggles page ═══ The Save state of dir windows toggle, if checked, causes FM/2 to "remember" the directory windows that are open when you close FM/2 so that it can open them again when you restart FM/2. If you turn this on, be sure to play with the Free Tree and Autotile toggles under the Windows menu to acheive the desired effect (everyone will want a different effect). You'll probably want to omit any directories from the command line if you turn on this toggle. If you turn on Autotile (it's on by default), FM/2 will retile the windows in many cases to try to keep things neat. If you check the Free Drive Tree toggle, FM/2 will allow you to move the Drive Tree Container. Otherwise it "pins" it in the upper left corner of the client window. If Split Status is checked, you get two status lines at the bottom of the FM/2 window instead of one. The left status line typically contains information about the current container, the right about the current object in the container. ═══ 7.2.3. External programs/paths page ═══ This page allows you to set the generic external programs that FM/2 uses to view files, edit files, compare files and scan archives for viruses. It also has a couple of other fields discussed below. The Find button can be clicked to bring up a dialog that will let you point-and-click on a file or directory name that will be imported to the current entry field. For example, if you're in the Editor entry field and click Find, you'll get a standard OS/2 open dialog which you may use to find your editor executable. FM/2 uses an internal MLE viewer/editor if you have no viewer or editor configured here. It's recommended that you fill these fields in with whatever viewer and editor you like rather than use the internal. The Ext. Path Otherwise, FM/2 assumes you want to place extracted files into the same directory in which the archive resides (though it'll let you override manually). The Printer field lets you specify the device to which FM/2 will print text files. By default it is PRN (LPT1). You can also just drag a file to a system printer object; the FM/2 printer is really intended only for situations where the WPS printers are unavailable. (The Find button doesn't work for this field.) Examples: Editor: "EPM.EXE %a" or "Q.EXE %a" or "E.EXE %a" or "CMD.EXE /C START /C /FS EMACS.EXE %a" Viewer: "LSTPM.EXE %a" or "LIST2.EXE %a" Compare: "COMP.COM %a" or "CMD.EXE /C MYCOMP.CMD %a" Virus: "OS2SCAN.EXE %p /SUB /A" The following replaceable "metastrings" can be used in command lines: %$ drive letter %a full pathnames %c command processor specified in %COMSPEC% %f filenames, no paths %e extensions %p path (d:\directory) %% a percent sign ═══ 7.2.4. Directory Container views page ═══ This settings page lets you set the type of view that will be used in new Directory Container windows. Directory Containers that are already open won't be affected. Icon In Icon view, the object's name appears below its icon. Name In Name view, the object's name appears beside its icon. Text Text view is the fastest view for a container to maintain, but provides the least information on the objects it contains. Detail Details view shows a great deal of information on the objects it contains, including file sizes, dates, and times, but it is the slowest view for a container control to maintain. Mini Icons is a toggle controlling whether icons are shown full size or in miniature in views that show icons. The Field Titles group (analogous to the Views->Details Setup submenu) allows you to control what is shown in a Details view. Each possible field in the details view is shown. If the field is checked, FM/2 will show it. If not, it won't. ═══ 7.2.5. Directory Container sort page ═══ This page lets you set the type of sort for Directory Containers. Directory Containers that are already open won't be affected immediately (see Resort context menu command), but will use the new sort type the next time they're resorted or rescanned. You can also tell FM/2 to always display directories ahead of or behind files. Note that Last access date and Creation date are only meaningful for HPFS file systems; FAT file systems do not track this information. The difference between Pathname and Filename is only apparent in the Collector. With the former, the entire pathname of the object is used to sort. With the latter, only the filename portion is used to sort. FM/2 maintains separate sort criteria for Drive Tree, Collector, Directory Container and Archive Container windows. This page affects only Directory Container sorting. The Collector has its own page; use a context menu or View pulldown menu for other container types (like the Drive Tree). ═══ 7.2.6. Collector Container views page ═══ This settings page lets you set the type of view that will be used in new Collector windows. If the Collector is already open it won't be affected unless you close and reopen it. Icon In Icon view, the object's name appears below its icon. Name In Name view, the object's name appears beside its icon. Text Text view is the fastest view for a container to maintain, but provides the least information on the objects it contains. Detail Details view shows a great deal of information on the objects it contains, including file sizes, dates, and times, but it is the slowest view for a container control to maintain. Mini Icons is a toggle controlling whether icons are shown full size or in miniature in views that show icons. The Field Titles group (analogous to the Views->Details Setup submenu) allows you to control what is shown in a Details view. Each possible field in the details view is shown. If the field is checked, FM/2 will show it. If not, it won't. ═══ 7.2.7. Collector Container sort page ═══ This page lets you set the type of sort for the Collector. If the Collector is already open it won't be affected immediately, (see Resort context menu command), but will use the new sort type the next time it's resorted or rescanned. You can also tell FM/2 to always display directories ahead of or behind files. Note that Last access date and Creation date are only meaningful for HPFS file systems; FAT file systems do not track this information. The difference between Pathname and Filename is only apparent in the Collector. With the former, the entire pathname of the object is used to sort. With the latter, only the filename portion is used to sort. FM/2 maintains separate sort criteria for Drive Tree, Collector, Directory Container and Archive Container windows. This page affects only Collector sorting. ═══ 7.3. Associations ═══ Associations are programs that are run when files matching specified filemasks (and optional file signatures) are selected (double-clicked). You can use this facility to cause editors specific to different datafile types to start when the datafile is selected. For instance, if you associate "*.ICO" with "ICONEDIT.EXE %a" the icon editor will be started with the selected icon file when you double-click an icon. Signatures provide a mechanism to further test a matching file to determine that it is the proper type. For example, all OS/2 .INF (information) files have the string "HSP" at position 0 of the file. By using signature "HSP" at offset 0 for the filemask "*.INF" and assigning the commandline "VIEW.EXE %a" to the association, any OS/2 .INF file will be read using VIEW when selected, but non-OS/2 files that have an .INF extension will not match this association. To add an association, fill in the entry fields and set the radio buttons and checkboxes that control session type as desired (these are explained in more detail in the help for Editing Commandline except for Prompt, which causes a dialog to appear that allows editing the command line before it is run), then click Add.. To delete an association, select it in the listbox, then click Del. To change an association, delete it, edit the entry fields, radio buttons and checkboxes, then add it. The Find button brings up a standard OS/2 open dialog that you can use to point-and-click at the desired executable file. It's pathname will be entered into the command line entry field. The Environment MLE control lets you enter environment strings for the program to inherit. Generally speaking, this is only for running DOS programs as any strings entered here are interpreted as DOS settings. For example, IDLE_SECONDS=5 would adjust the DOS setting IDLE_SECONDS to 5. Names of DOS settings are as shown in the Settings notebook for a DOS program. The following replaceable "metastrings" can be used in command lines: %$ drive letter %a full pathnames %c command processor specified in %COMSPEC% %f filenames, no paths %e extensions %p path (d:\directory) %% a percent sign ═══ 7.4. Editting Commands ═══ This dialog allows you to edit the commands that are available in the Commands submenu. To add a command, fill in the entry fields and set the radio buttons and checkboxes that control session type as desired (these are explained in more detail in the help for Editing Commandline except for Each, which means that the command will be run once for each selected file, and Prompt, which means that the command will display a dialog that allows the user to edit the command line before running), then click Add.. To delete a command, select it in the listbox, then click Del. To change a command, delete it, edit the entry fields, radio buttons and checkboxes, then add it. The Find button brings up a standard OS/2 open dialog that you can use to point-and-click at the desired executable file. It's pathname will be entered into the command line entry field. The Environment MLE control lets you enter environment strings for the program to inherit. Generally speaking, this is only for running DOS programs as any strings entered here are interpreted as DOS settings. For example, IDLE_SECONDS=5 would adjust the DOS setting IDLE_SECONDS to 5. Names of DOS settings are as shown in the Settings notebook for a DOS program. The following "metastrings" can be used in command lines: %$ drive letter %a full pathnames %c command processor specified in %COMSPEC% %f filenames, no paths %e extensions %p path (d:\directory) %% a percent sign ═══ 7.4.1. Reordering Commands ═══ This dialog, accessed from the Edit Commands dialog, allows you to rearrange the order of Commands. You take selected items from the left listbox and Add them to the end of the right listbox with the Add>> button. When you've moved everything to the right listbox, click Okay. Click Cancel if you change your mind. In reality, you don't need to move everything to the right listbox. You can move only what you want moved to the top of the list, then click Okay. Anything remaining in the left listbox is added to the end of what's in the right listbox. The <