Table of Contents

Introduction

Disclaimer Agreement

Menus

LinkPage Generation

Main Tab

Configuration Tab

Information Tab

Context Menu

ShortCuts

Tips

Error Messages

About the Author

Linkman is Copyright (c) 1997 by Thomas Reimann.  All rights reserved.

Windows95,  RegEdit, and Internet Explorer are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation.

Netscape Navigator is a trademark of Netscape Inc.


Introduction

Welcome to LinkMan.

LinkMan is a link file management tool to help you

manage your bookmarks and favorites.

The program supports three different URL database formats.

These include:

Netscape Navigator Bookmarks

Microsoft Internet Explorer Favorites

LinkMan Data

The program keeps all the databases at the same time in memory,

you can switch between the url trees.

Linkman was designed to allow you to open, view, edit, sort, move,

copy and merge URL links between the various database formats.

URL links can be opened with the current default browser.

The remainder of this help file will provide you with all the

information you need to know.


Menus

LinkMan has four pull-down menus on the menus bar.  The menu

commands are used to to access program commands,  editing

commands, saving commands, and the online help.

The following sections will describe the various menu commands:

Program Menu Commands

The Program menu provides access to commands for exiting

the program under various conditions.

The following commands are provided:

Exit

Exit with no Autosave

Edit Menu Commands

The Edit menu provides access to editing, and searching commands.

The following commands are provided:

Add

Replace

Cut

Paste

TCopy

TPaste

Find

DirSort

AlphaSort

Clear

Save Menu Commands

The Save menu provides access to commands for saving the various

URL databases as well as the LinkMan configuration information.

The following commands are provided:

Save Bookmarks

Save LinkPage

Save Favorites

Save Linkman Data

Save Configuration

Save Favorites Location

Help Menu Commands

The Help menu provides access to this help file from the program.

You may access the table of contents or you may search for keywords.

The following commands are provided:

Contents


Main Tab

General Information

The Main Tab provides access to all of the functionality of LinkMan.

The user has access to all three URL link databases, to the links

withing those databases, to commands to edit, sort, and merge

links between the databases, and to commands to convert between

the various database formats.  Additionally the user may generate an

HTML file from the Linkman Data database which may be used as a

Home Page or search page for the users browsers.

Button and Editfield Sections

The Main tab is made up of several sections which effect the various

databases and provide the user with access to LinkMan's functionality.

The following sections are on the Main tab:

URL Tree

General Command Buttons

Common Command Buttons

Navigator Bookmarks Buttons

Explorer Favorites Buttons

Linkman Data Buttons

Database and Links Editfields

Database File Locations


Configuration Tab

General Information

The Configuration tab is used to configure the LinkMan options.

Commands and editfields are available for setting all of the

programs default states, On Start options, On Close options,

and LinkPage generation options.

The following sections will define the various parts

of the Configuration tab.

General Button Commands

The General Button Commands are used to exit LinkMan

with various exit conditions.  The following buttons are available:

Exit

Exit no autosave

Database Locations

The database location editfields, and their associated browse

buttons, provide the ability to change the default location and

name of the various database files/folders.

The following fields and buttons are provided:

Linkman Data

Linkman Data Browse Button

Bookmarks

Bookmarks Browse Button

LinkPage

LinkPage Browse Button

Favorites

Favorites Registry Button

Startup Checkboxes

AutoLoad

AutoSave

AutoExpand

AutoSort

Option Checkboxes

The startup selection checkboxes determine what data is

displayed when the program initially starts.  The user may

also select whether the program will ask for approval.

If this field is not checked and the user attempts to exit

the program without saving the current database, then all

changes will be discarded.

The following checkboxes are provided under the StarUp selections:

Section on StartUp

Show scanned nodenames

Start maximized

Save window size

Save window position

Ask for save changes

Save Configuration button

LinkPage Selections

The LinkPage selections provide a method of defining how

the HTML file is generated.  There are selections to set the

colors used for background, text, and links when the LinkPage

is generated.  This section also provides access to setting

some of the textual and graphics controls for the page.

The following commands and fields are provided:

Background Color

Text Color

Link Color

Visited Links Color

Table Color

Color preset buttons

Columns

Celpadding

Fontsize

Celspanning

Horizontal rule

Show empty cells

On Close Selections

The On Close settings (Convertion on exit) commands allow

the automatic generation and conversion of various databases

into other formats automatically when the LinkMan is closed.

The following fields are provided:

Bookmarks -> Linkman Data

Bookmarks -> Favorites

Favorites -> Linkman Data

Favorites -> Bookmarks

Linkman Data -> Bookmarks

Linkman Data -> Favorites


Information Tab

General Information

The Information Tab provides information about the program

version as well as statistical data about each of the URL databases.

The following sections are available on the Information tab:

Program Information

Program information about LinkMan is provided on this tab.

The information describes the program location, version

information, author information, and contact information.

The following information is available:

Copyright notice

Author and program home page

Feedback information

Version and build information

Statistical Information

The Information tab also provides some statistical

information about the various browser databases.

The following information is available:

Link counts


LinkPage Generation

Linkman gives you the possibility to generate a html page from your links.

The first step is to convert your Bookmarks/Favorites to Linkman Data

using the Gen Tree button. Then you have to enter the filename

in the LinkPage editfield and press the Save button located in

the right of the editfield or press the Save As P button.

You can change the outlook of the Linkpage in the Configuration tab.

You can use the LinkPage as the Link section for your

internet site or use it for Offline Browsing.

Some design examples.


Context Menu

The Context Menu is accessed by highlighting a link or a folder in

the URL Links window and then right clicking the mouse. The context

menu provides commands that may be used to manipulate  the links

and also to copy or move links between databases.

The following commands are available in the context menu:

Cut

Paste

Rename

AlphaSort

Attach Category

Insert Category

Copy To

Navigator Bookmarks

Explorer Favorites

Linkman Data

Clipboard

Move To

Navigator Bookmarks

Explorer Favorites

Linkman Data


Shortcuts

[General]

F2: Name

F3: Location

F4: Category

F5: Headline

F6: Bookmarks filename

F7: Linkman Data filename

F8: LinkPage filename

F9: Focus tree

Shift Enter: Focus tree

Strg + < : Insert 'http://' into the location editfield

Strg + f : Find

Ins: Add Item

F12: Exit

Shift + Esc: Exit with no autosave

[Tree]

Space: Rename

Del: Cut

Shift + Del: Paste

Enter: Edit

Alt + Enter: Insert category

Category:

Strg + Alt + Enter: Attach category

Url:

RigthCursor: Rename

Strg + Enter: Launch the link in the default browser


Error Messages

URL:Hypertext Transfer Protocol - default tool not associated


About the Author

LinkMan was designed and written by Thomas Reimann.

"I'm an electrotechnics major living in Coburg/Germany.

Coburg lies in Bavaria - about 300 km to the north from Munich.

I'm 21 years old and using computers for about 13 years."

Photos from Coburg:

http://www.fh-coburg.de/coburg/bb/bb_uk.html


disclaimer
Disclaimer Agreement

Users of Linkman must accept this disclaimer of warranty:

" Linkman is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties,

expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties

of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes

no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result

from the use of Linkman."


default tool not associated
URL:Hypertext Transfer Protocol - default tool not associated ...

[may occur after doublecliking a link]

This error occurs if you haven't a default browser or the

hypertext protocol isn't associated correctly.

To correct this do the following:

1. Double click 'My Computer'

2. Select View/Options from the menu

3. Go to the File Types

4. Search for 'Url: Hypertext Transfer Protocol'

    (not 'URL: Hypertext Transfer Protocol with Privacy'

5. Click 'Edit'

6. A new window occurs - click 'Edit'

7. Browse for your default browser ...

8. For Netscape use

 a) netscape.exe -h (no home page)

 b) Check use DDE

 c) DDE Message %1

 d) Application Netscape

 e) Topic WWW_OpenURL


contact
Contact the Author

Any feedback , bug reports , problems , fresh ideas and suggestions email to:

E-mail:  Shark@Flix.de

Ultimatum Productions: http://ultimatum.home.pages.de


cut
The cut command deletes the selected link respectively the

category and puts it to the buffers. You can get the link/category

back with Paste in the Context Menu.


paste
The paste command puts the content of the buffer at the

selected position in the active url tree.


exit
The exit command is used to exit from the program.

If any changes has been done Linkman asks whether

to save them or not. Any 'on exit' configured tasks will

be processed  and then the program will terminate.


exit no autosave
The exit no autosave command is used to terminate the program.

None of the 'on exit' options are processed. The program simply terminates.


tcopy
The tcopy command is used to copy any highlighted text

to the system clipboard. The text may then be pasted using

the TPaste command.


tpaste
The tpaste command is used to copy text from the system

clipboard to the currently selected editfield (input box).

The last item (if text) that was previously copied or cut to

the clipboard will be pasted.  Use the TCopy command

under the Edit menu to copy text to the clipboard from

this program.


dirsort
The dirsort command will sort the currently active URL database

which is displayed in the URL Links tree.  All items are sorted

alphabetically. Folders are always given higher precedence, and

will therefore be above all URLs in any given branch of the database.

If you would like to sort all items alphabetically with no preference

given to folders, then use the AlphaSort command.


alphasort
The alphasort command is used to sort the currently active URL

database which is displayed in the URL Links window. All items

are sorted alphabetically and no preference is given to folders or URLs.

URLs within a folder stay within the folder and are not moved out of it

in a purely alphabetical manner. If you wish to have folders always

listed above URLs within the same branch of the database then see

the DirSort command.


find
The find command is used to search for a string anywhere within the

URL Links window.  The search will therefore be conducted in the currently

active URL database.  Each search always starts at the beginning of the

database, so there is no need to reposition the currently highlighted item.

The search will always search the entire database whether or not it has

been expanded.  If the found text is in a section which has not been

expanded, then the section(s) will automatically be expanded.

The searches are always case insensative.


clear
The clear command is used to clear the contents of

the URL links tree. This has the effect of starting a

completely new URL database.


save bookmarks
The save bookmarks command is used to write out the current

contents of the Netscape Navigator Bookmarks database.  This

command will overwrite any existing Bookmarks file and therefore

any data in the existing file will be lost.  The file is saved to the

location  specified in the Bookmarks editfield.  If you wish to write

the Bookmarks database out to a different file then use the Save As

button under the Navigator section of the Main tab.


save linkpage
The save linkpage command is used to write out the contents

of the Linkman Data tree. This command will overwrite any existing

LinkPage of the specified name and therefore any existing data

in that file will be lost.  The file is saved to the location specified

in the LinkPage editfield.


save linkman data
The save linkman data command is used to write out the

current contents of the Linkman Data database. This command

will overwrite any existing Linkman Data file and therefore any

data in the existing file will be lost. The file is saved to the location

specified in the LmdFile editfield. If you wish to write the Linkman

Data tree out to a different file then use the Save As button

under the Linkman section of the Main tab.


save configuration
The save configuration command is used to write out the current

configuration to the Linkman.cfg file located in the Linkman directory.


save favorites location
The save favorites location command is used to update the

system Registry with the location of the Favorites folder as specified

on the Configuration tab.  Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows95/NT

use a registry entry to specify the location of the Favorites folder.

This normally defaults to c:\windows\favorites.  The location can

normally be changed by editing the registry, with a tool like RegEdit

or by simply renaming the favorites folder in Windows Explorer or

some other shell program.  This command provides a simple and

easy way to change the location.


contents
The contents command is used to invoke this help file

and to display the Contents topic.  From there you may

access all of help.


add
The add command is used to add a new url to the tree.

You have to enter the url name and the location first.

The link will be placed at the selected position in the tree.


replace
The replace command is used to replace the selected link

with the data entered in the name and location editfields.


Tips

Launch the links in the default browser

Use LinkPage as a homepage for offline browsing

Automatic generation and conversion

Drag & Drop


offline browsing

To insert a linkman generated page as a homepage into

Internet Explorer:

Go to IE and select the following menus: View/Options/Navigation and enter

the filename in the address-editfield - e.g. c:\Utils\Linkman\MyLinkPage.htm .

Now it will be easier to browse offline.

Netscape Navigator:

Go to Navigator and select the following menus: Edit/Preferences.../Navigator,

click 'home page' and enter the filename in the location-editfield - e.g.                                          d:\data\database.htm

To use Netscape Navigator 4 as an offline browser -

you have to patch navigators executable with 'NSPATCH V 1.00'

available at http://www.mwso.com/ , then select edit/preferences.../

advanced/cache , set mem cache to 0 , disk cache to 10-50 MB and

click 'never'.

After setting the linkman-generated *.htm file as the homepage

you can see on the color which pages are in the cache and which

not and browse all the stuff without an internet connection.


launch the links
To launch a url in your default browser double-click an item

in the URL tree.


gen tree
The gen tree button converts Netscape Navigator Bookmarks or

Internet Explorer Favorites to Linkman Data tree.


design examples
Linkpage Design Examples

Columns: 5

Celpadding: 2

FontSize: 1

Celspanning: 0

Show empty cells: checked

Color preset: Sunset

Columns: 4

Celpadding: 1

FontSize: 3

Celspanning: 20

Show empty cells: non checked

Color preset: Ocean


rename
The rename command is used to change the url

name. To change the location click on the url,

edit the location editfield and click replace.


add cat
The add cat command is used to add a new category

to the active tree at the selected position. You have to

enter the category name first.


headline
The headline is used for the linkpage [displayed on the top]

and for Navigator Bookmarks.


attach category
The attach category command is used to attach a subnode

to an existing category. You have to select the category first.


insert category
Thei insert category  command is used to insert a new category

beside an existing category. You have to select the category first.


copy to favorites
The copy to explorer favorites  command copies the

selected url/category to the Internet Explorer Favorites tree.


drag drop
You can use drag & drop to change the position

of the links respectively categories in the tree.


copy to bookmarks
The copy to navigator bookmarks  command copies the

selected url/category to the Netscape Navigator tree.


copy to linkman data
The copy to linkman data command copies the selected

url/category to the Linkman Data tree.


copy to clipboard
The copy to clipboard  command copies the location of the

selected url respectively the name of the selected category to

the clipboard.


move to favorites
The move to navigator bookmarks command moves the

selected url/category to the Netscape Navigator tree.


move to linkman data
The move to linkman data command moves the selected url/category

to the Linkman Data tree.


Url Tree

The url tree is the place where Linkman displays the links and

categories. You can switch between Netscape Navigator Bookmarks ,

Internet Explorer Favorites and Linkman Data with the respective buttons

and access some functions with the Context Menu when pressing the

right mouse button.


General Command Buttons

Expand

Collapse

Exit

Exit no autosave


common commands buttons
Common Command Buttons

Add cat

Save

save

saVe

Clear

Find

TCopy

TPaste

Cut

Replace

Add

Dirsort

Alphasort


Navigator Bookmarks Buttons

Load

Reload

Append

Gen Tree

Save As...

Backup

Scan Htm

Gen Favs


Explorer Favorites Buttons

Load Url

Reload

Gen Tree

Save

Scan Htm

Gen Bms


Linkman Data Buttons

Load

Reload

Append

Gen Bms

Save As L

Save As P

Save All ...

Gen Favs


Database File Locations

Bookmarks:

The path and filename of the navigator bookmark file,

defaults to ...Navigator/Users/Name/Bookmark.htm.

LmdName:

The path and filename of the Linkman *.lmd file.

LinkPage:

The path and filename of the Linkpage to be generated.


expand
The expand command is used to open all

categories in the active tree.


collapse
The collapse command is used to close all

categories in the active tree.


navigator bookmarks
Netscape Navigator Bookmarks

The links of this browser are stored in an ASCII file called

Bookmark.htm. There isn't a fixed location for this file, it could

be the navigator/program dir or the navigator/users/username dir.


explorer favorites
Microsoft Internet Explorer Favorites

Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows95/NT use a Registry entry

to specify the location of the Favorites folder. This normally defaults

to c:\windows\favorites. Linkman finds the favorites location automatically.

Each link is stored in a separate file with the extension url, so

linkman needs more time to load the Favorites than for the

Navigator Bookmarks or Linkman Data.


Linkman Data

Lmd is the Linkman-own ASCII format to store the links

and categories. You can edit the generated *.lmd file with

any text editor or load it back into Linkman.


load bookmarks
The load bookmarks button displays a file dialog for selecting

the Netscape Navigator Bookmarks file. After clicking open the

bookmarks will be loaded and displayed in the url tree.


reload bookmarks
The reload bookmarks button has the same function as the

Load button without displaying the file dialog. The filename

will be taken from the bookmarks editfield.


append bookmarks
The append bookmarks button has the same function as the

Load button with one difference . The bookmarks will be merged

together with the existing Netspace Navigator Bookmarks tree.


gen favs
The gen favs button converts Netscape Navigator Bookmarks or

Linkman Data to Internet Explorer Favorites tree.


gen bms
The gen bms button converts Internet Explorer Favorites or

Linkman Data to Netscape Navigator Bookmarks tree.


save as bookmarks
The save as... bookmarks button is used to write out the

current contents of the Netscape Navigator Bookmarks tree.

This command will open a file dialog and after asking for the

filename save the links database to the selected file.


backup
The backup bookmarks command is used to backup the

contents of the Netscape Navigator Bookmarks to a file

called Bookmarks.htm located in the linkman directory.


scan htm
The scan htm button is used to extract url's from

any htm file. This command scans for http: , ftp: ,

gopher: , news: and mail to: links.


load linkman data
The load linkman data button displays a file dialog for selecting

a *.lmd file. After clicking open the Linkman Data file will be loaded

and displayed in the url tree.


reload linkman data
The reload linkman data button has the same function as the

Load button without displaying the file dialog. The filename will

be taken from the LmdFile editfield.


append linkman data
The append linkman data button has the same function as the

Load button with one difference . The links will be merged together

with the existing Linkman Data tree.


save as linkman data
The save as l button is used to write out the current

contents of the Linkman Data tree. This command will

open a file dialog and after asking for the filename write the

links database out to the selected file. If no extension is

specified the program adds the .lmd extension automatically.


save as linkpage
The save as p button is used to write out the contents

of the Linkman Data tree. This command will open a file

dialog and after asking for the filename generate the

LinkPage. If no extension is specified the program adds

the .htm extension automatically.


save all
The save all... button is used to write out the current contents

of the Linkman Data tree. This command will overwrite any existing

Linkman Data file and any existing LinkPage - therefore any data in

the existing files will be lost. The files are saved to the locations

specified in the LmdFile and LinkPage editfields.


reload favorites
The reload favorites button is used to scan the favorites

directory, load all url's and categories and display them in

the Internet Explorer Favorites tree.


load url
The load url button is used to load a single url file located

for example in the favorites directory. The url will be added

to the Internet Explorer Favorites tree.


save favorites
The save favorites command is used to write out the current contents

of the Internet Explorer Favorites tree.  This command will overwrite any

existing Favorites data and therefore any data in the existing directory will

be lost. The data is saved to the location specified in the Configuration tab.


automatic generation
To convert and save automatically on exit - e.g. Netscape Bookmarks into

LinkPage go to the Configuration tab, check Convertion on exit: Bookmarks > Linkman Data ,

autosave Bookmarks and autosave LinkPage.


show scanned nodenames
If the show scanned nodenames box is checked Linkman shows

the category names when loading/saving in the status bar.


celpadding
Celpadding is the distance between the url and the cell border.


editfields
Headline:

a, if Navigator section is active: the headline of bookmark.htm.

b, if Linkman section is active: The headline in the *.htm

    generated file  [homepage].

Cat:

The name of a new category.

Name:

The name of the url - e.g. Nonags Freeware.

Location:

The url - e.g. http://nonags.com.


horizontal rule
With horizontal rule checked Linkman places a rule between

the tables in the LinkPage.


celspanning
A celspanning of 50 means if a urlname is longer

than 50 chars Linkman will display the name in

two cels instead of one.


autoload
The autoload checkboxes are used for selecting which databases

should be loaded on program startup.


autosort
The autosort checkboxes are used for selecting which databases

should be dirsorted on program startup.


autoexpand
The autoexpand checkboxes are used for selecting which databases

should be expanded on program startup.