                                Software Catalog 
                     (c) Copyright 1986, Software Creations 

    Thank you for using Software Catalog -- the program that lets you keep
    track of ALL of your floppy disks.  Using Software Catalog is similar to
    using a library card catalog.  It indexes all of your files by name, by
    extension and by disk volume label.  If you didn't label your disk when
    you formatted it (most people don't), it lets you label it on the spot.
    When you change the contents of a floppy, Software Catalog lets you
    update your catalog index with a single keystroke.  Removing a disk from
    the file is just as easy.  And when you want to find a file you can list
    your catalog to the screen, or to your printer. 









    First, 2 terms you should know: 

              Source disk: The disk you want to add to your catalog 

              Catalog: the file where your catalog is kept.  This file
              includes all of the file information and several indexes.

    Each feature of Software Catalog is started by pressing one of the
    Function keys on the left of your keyboard.  To be reading this right
    now, you must have pressed F9.  But here they are in order: 

              F1 -- Add New Disk lets you do just that.  Insert a floppy
                    disk into your Source Disk Drive and press F1.  Its
                    directory is read and all of its files are added to your
                    catalog index.  Software Catalog checks first to see
                    that another floppy with the same disk label isn't
                    already in your catalog.  It also checks to see that
                    your floppy has a label. 

              F2 -- Update Disk lets you update your catalog when you change
                    the contents of a floppy disk.  Insert the disk in your
                    Source Disk Drive and press F2.  Once the program has
                    confirmed that your source disk is already in your
                    catalog it removes all of the 'old' file information
                    from your catalog.  It then adds all of the current file
                    information from the floppy into the catalog.  If this
                    disk isn't in your index, Software Catalog will let you
                    know.  In that case, use F1 to add it. 

              F3 -- Remove Disk allows you to remove all of the entries for
                    a particular disk from your index.  You will want to do
                    this when you decided to erase all the files from a
                    floppy.  When you press F3 you will be asked for the
                    volume label of the disk you want removed from the
                    catalog.




              F4 -- Label lets you put a label on the floppy in the Source
                    Disk Drive if it doesn't have a label.  On a future
                    version, it will let you relabel a disk that already has
                    a label. 

              F5 -- List Labels gives you a quick way to see all of the
                    different disks that are contained in your catalog.  All
                    of the Disk labels are displayed on your screen. 

              F6 -- List Files will let you list your whole catalog sorted
                    in three different ways: 

                        1. By Disk Label Order.  This list gives you a
                           sorted list of each of your floppy disks. 

                        2. By File Name Order.  This listing will group all
                           of your files together no matter which disk they
                           reside on.  For instance, if you have 10 disks
                           with a file called 'autoexec.bat', they will all
                           be grouped together in this listing.  Look
                           through this listing if you remember a file's
                           name, but can't remember which disk it is on.
                           Another use for this list is to find all the
                           copies of the same file.  You can delete uneeded
                           copies from some of your diskettes.  If you do
                           this, don't forget to Update those disks
                           afterwards. 

                        3. By File Extension Order.  This list gives you a
                           quick way to find all of your '.C' files or all
                           of your '.EXE' files, or whatever. 

              F7 -- Choose this to create a listing file of your complete
                    catalog.  You can print it out later if you wish.  It is
                    called sc_cat.lst and is located in your default
                    directory. 




          The listings show all of the information found in a normal DOS
          'dir' command.  The last item in the listing, marked Attr, shows
          you if a file is a System, Hidden or Read-only file. 

              F9 -- Help you have already figured out! 

              F10 - Exit will let you return to DOS.












    The DOS Command line (for advanced DOS users only): 

    Software Catalog needs to know which drive you are using for your floppy
    disk, and where your catalog file is located.  By default, the catalog
    is considered to be on the present drive in the current directory in a
    file called sc_cat.dbf.  The file that contains this text is sc_cat.hlp
    in the same directory. 

    To make operation simple, a batch file named sc.bat was created which
    lets you use Software Catalog with the default settings.  If you have a
    hard disk, it assumes your Source disk is drive A.  If you have a dual
    floppy system, it assumes your catalog and the help file are on the
    default drive and your Source disks will be on the other drive. 

    When you type 'SC' at the DOS prompt you are actually running sc.bat.
    For complete use of Software Catalog you need only type 'sc'.  But if
    you are a more advanced DOS user you may want to customize Software
    Catalog.  You can created different Catalogs in different DOS
    subdirectories.  You can also specify which floppy drive you wish to use
    for your Source disks. 

    You can provide this information in two ways: 

         1.  DOS command line: 

              >sc_cat -sa -cc:\catpath\catalog.db 

    This sample command line shows how its done.  Following the program name
    there are two 'switches'.  The -s switch is followed by the Source Disk
    Drive designation.  The -c switch is followed by the Catalog pathname.

         2.  The DOS environment: 

    If you don't like typing long commands you can use the DOS 'set' command
    as follows: 

              set sc_cat=<full path prefix> 

    For example, suppose you want your catalog to reside in the subdirectory
    \data\catalog of your hard disk (drive c:).  In your autoexec.bat file
    you can add the following line: 

              set sc_cat=c:\data\catalog\ 

    Now your default catalog file named sc_cat.dbf will be found in that
    subdirectory.  Notice that this is a prefix designation, so you need to
    include the final '\'.  The filename gets tacked on. 

    If you use the SET command, you should copy this file (sc_cat.hlp) to
    that directory, and you should create a catalog file in that directory
    using the sc_cc.bat file provided on your master diskette. 


    Some thoughts about FreeWare: 

    We think this program will be of use to alot of Personal Computer users.
    If you try it, and like it we'd like to here from you.  Send us your
    idea for improvements, tell us about any bugs you have found.  Send us
    your ideas for other products that you would like to see. 

    The Freeware concept is well known to many pioneering users of personal
    computers (circa 1970s).  It works like this: Try a program out that you
    find on a bulletin board or an information service.  Maybe a friend or
    an associate has passed it on to you.  If you use it, and decide you
    like it, send a contribution to the creator.  $35 seems to be a good
    number.  If you don't like it, or realize it isn't a program that you
    would use, erase the disk and that's the end of it.  We encourage you to
    pass this program along to others within the following guidelines: 

              * you CANNOT charge for it. 
              * you must pass along ALL the files in the package without
                alteration. 

    We at Software Creations like the Freeware concept.  If we were to try
    to recoup our costs to develop this program we would have to advertise
    alot and sell alot at a fairly steep price.  We don't expect your
    donations will help us begin to recoup our investment, but they will
    defray the materials costs.  We will send you the latest version, and
    put you on our mailing list of products and services that we offer. 


    Credits are as follows: 

              The database management kernal is called Btrieve and is from
              Softcraft, Inc.  It is used with permission. 

              The Windows are from a Freeware package called Windows4C from
              WindowSoft. 

              The program was written in Lattice C. There are lots of DOS
              and BIOS calls which were written with our own SC_TOOLs
              packages. 









    About Software Creations: 

    We are a consulting firm specializing in custom software for the IBM PC
    and similar machines.  We have been Designing software since 1975 and
    have concentrated on the PC since it entered the world (1982).  It would
    be our pleasure to assist your firm with any projects you are
    anticipating. 

                               Software Creations 
                                16 Jeannine Road 
                            Bellingham, MA 02019-1043 
                         617/966-1054 (9-6 eastern time) 
