Contents

 CompuServeCD Disc Index Help Contents

Introduction

Overview of the CompuServeCD Disc Index

How To...

Navigate the CompuServeCD Index

Switch Indexes

Search Disc Indexes

Refine a Search

Copy Files from Discs

Open Files and Run Applications

Associate Files

Print Index Information

Exit

Reference

Keyboard Controls


Overview

Overview of the CompuServeCD Disc Index

The CompuServeCD Disc Index is a standalone Windows application published with each issue of CompuServeCD.  It is designed to provide expanded access to the content on each CD ROM.  This is accomplished by providing a searchable listing of all the files and directories on each disc.  In addition, the index contains a text description for many of the files on the disc.

The index is cumulative, allowing you to search for specific files on the current or previous editions of CompuServeCD, copy files from CompuServeCD discs to a hard drive, run applications and other files from the discs, and print information about files.

In addition to its standalone capabilities, the disc index also functions from within the CompuServeCD magazine whenever you click on a "folder" icon to access specific material on the disc.


Navigate Index Window

How To Navigate in the CompuServeCD Index Window

In the upper left of the CompuServeCD Index window you'll find a Directory Listing that allows you to navigate the index manually and shows you the hierarchical path to all available data.  The highlighted item in the Directory Listing is the current directory.  The files contained in that directory are displayed and can be browsed in the field below the Directory Listing.

Clicking on a directory will display the files and subdirectories it contains in the file list in the lower left window. Double-clicking on a directory will expand it, showing any subdirectories it contains.  Double-clicking an expanded directory entry will collapse it.  You can also use the items contained in the Tree menu.

In addition to the menus, there are five index functions accessible from the row of buttons located on the upper right of the window including Search, Open, Copy, Print and Help.

On the right side of the window information about the selected file is displayed, including file name, path, type, and size; and a scrolling field for a text description of the item that can be much more informative than the 8 characters allowed in a DOS/Windows base filename.

At the bottom of the screen a status bar displays a dynamic description of any portion of index window you move the mouse over.


Switching Indexes

Because CompuServeCD includes indexes for past issues as well as the current month's, you can open the index file for a past issue, even if that issue's disc is not loaded in your CD ROM drive (although there must be a CompuServeCD disc in the drive).

You can always tell which issue's index you are currently in by:

The directory listing window's second item from the top.

The checked menu entry under the Index menu.

To switch to a different index, you can double-click the "Indexes" entry at the top of the directory list window.  This will replace the directory tree with a list of all the available indexes on the disc currently in your CD ROM drive.  Double-clicking one of these will open that index.

Alternatively, you can simply choose the index you want to open from the Index menu.

Note:  Although you can browse and print the information from a past issue's index without loading that disc into your CD ROM drive, attempting to Run or Copy files from a past issue's index will display a dialog box asking you to load that disc into your drive.  In other words, each issue's index contains information about the files on a number of issues, but the files themselves are only on that issue's disc.

Anytime the Disc Index displays a dialog box asking you to insert a CompuServeCD disc into your CD ROM drive, you can eject the current disc by clicking the Eject button (which is only visible if your system can eject discs, and only enabled if there is a disc currently in the drive.)  The Disc Index then waits for the proper disc to be loaded.  When you've done so, after the few seconds required for the spin-up time, the Disc Index will continue.  You can also cancel or exit by clicking the Cancel or Exit button in this dialog box.


Searching

  Search Disc Indexes

The CompuServeCD Disc Index allows you to search for files and/or directories on one or more monthly issues.

The Search dialog box can be displayed by clicking the Search button (the first of the five buttons in the upper right of the window), or by selecting Search... from the Index menu.

Select Index(es) to Search

Because the CompuServeCD Index is cumulative, you can select the index or combination of indexes you wish to search.  This is done by clicking the Search: drop-down list in the upper left of the search dialog box.  The default is to search the current index.  Other options are to search all indexes or to pick specific indexes from a list of all the indexes on the disc currently loaded in your CD ROM drive.

Entering Search Parameters

Once you have selected which index(es) to search, you can perform a search using any or all of four Search Parameters:

File Type

Filename

Where

Description

Clicking on the File Type: drop-down list in the upper right of the Search dialog box will display a list of standard file types commonly found on CompuServeCD Discs.  Selecting one of these file types will restrict your search to only those files, speeding up the search operation.  For example, the easiest way to find all the movie files on a disc is to select "Movie Files" from the File Type list and then click the Search button.

The Filename: field allows you to search for any specific file or files by name.  Wildcards are supported.

For example, a file named "find_me.txt" could be searched for by typing its name into this field and then clicking the Search button.  Typing "f*.txt" (without the quotes) into the Filename field would also find this file, as well as any other files whose names start with the letter "f" and end with the ".txt" extension.

The Where: field allows you to restrict your search by where the file is located on the disc.  To do this, enter a complete or partial path into this field.  For example, to find only files in the Education department, you could type "\EDUC" (without the quotes) into the "Where:" field.  Then you could select "Text Documents" from the "File Type:" drop-down list and click the Search button.  When the search is complete, all text documents in the "\EDUC" directory tree would be displayed in the Search Results window.

The Description: field allows you to search for files and/or directories that contain a specific word or phrase in their description, as seen in the Disc Index application when you click on a file.  Only part of a word needs to be entered in order to find that word, and so wildcards are not necessary in this field.  If you want only a whole word to be found, you can check the "Match Whole Word Only" option that appears when you have entered any text in the "Description:" field.  The search can be made case-sensitive by checking the "Case Sensitive Search" option, which also appears when any text is entered into the "Description:" field.  For more information on these options, see Refining a Search.

When entering Search Parameters, you do not need to enter information in all the fields.  If information is entered in more than one field, only files that match all the criteria will be found.  If a field is left blank, its criterion will not be considered in the search.

During a search, a window displays the volume currently being searched and the number of matches found so far. You may cancel a search at any point by clicking the Cancel button on this window.  When the search is complete, the CompuServeCD Index displays a list of all matching files and directories in a Search Results list in the File List window.

You may then view information, Open or Copy the files in the Search Results window.  Pressing the "Return" button above the Search Results window will close it and return to the directory and file that were selected before the search began.  The "GoTo" button will close the Search Results window and take you to the volume, path and file of the selected item in the Search Results window.


Refine a Search

Refining a Search

While it's easy to conduct simple searches based only on File Type or Filename, they often produce extensive results, sometimes hundreds of files and directories, many of which may not be what you are looking for.

Rather than browse dozens or even hundreds of items in an overly long Search Results list, you can refine your search parameters to focus more closely on those items that contain only the specific information you want.  To make your search easier, the CompuServeCD Disc Index uses Wildcard characters in file names.

Using Wildcards in File Names

A wildcard is a special character used to represent one or more characters in a file name.  The CompuServeCD Index uses three wildcards:

Asterisk (*)

The asterisk stands for one or more characters when searching a file name.  For example, if you  knew there were Bach MIDI files, but couldn't remember their exact name or location, entering *Bach* would find any file with "Bach" as part of its name.

Question Mark (?)

The (?) stands for any one character in a file name.  For example, if you were searching for a file but could not remember if the spelling was Alladin or Aladdin, the following term would apply:

Al??din

Number Sign (#)

The (#) works like the (?), but stands for any single digit in a file name.

One Caution...

Though wildcards let you broaden a search to catch similar words, they can sometimes make your search too broad by matching literally thousands of terms!  So, at times you may need to revise your search term to make it more specific, and then perform the search again.

Searching by Description

Searching by Description functions much like the text search capability of a word processor or text editor:  Searching by a word in the Description text field will find every occurrence of that word or word fragment  in the volume(s) you've selected for your search.

For example, entering "car" in the Description field will find car, cart, cardboard, carbuncle, carbine, Encarta, cartel, Carolina, etc.

To make your search more specific you can check the Case Sensitive Search or Match Whole Word Only boxes.  Thus, searching on "car" with Match Whole Word Only selected would only return "car," not any word that contains "car".

In general, using the "File Type:" parameter will produce the fastest searches.  For example, searching for all bitmap files on a certain disc could be done by typing "*.bmp" (without the quotes) into the "Filename:" field, or by selecting "Windows Bitmaps" from the "File Type:" field.  The method that uses "File Type:" will produce a faster search.


Copying

 Copy Files from CompuServeCD Discs

You can use the CompuServeCD Index to select multiple files and/or directories and copy them to your hard drive.

To Copy, first select the files to copy by holding down the Ctrl or Shift keys and clicking file names:

Ctrl-click selects or deselects files one at a time.

Shift-click selects or deselects ranges of files.

Or simply drag the mouse over the filenames while holding down the left mouse button.

Once you've selected the files you wish to copy,  click the Copy button or choose Copy... from the File menu.  A dialog box will appear that shows you the files and/or directories you have selected, the number of files selected (including any in selected directories), and the total size in bytes of all selected files (including any in selected directories).  You can then either type in the desired output directory, or click the "Browse" button to pick the output directory from a list of all directories on your system.  If you use the Browse method, the dialog box displays the available space on the target drive, so you can see if there is enough room for all the files you've selected to copy.  You will be notified if there is not enough room, and the copy will not be performed.


Open & Run Files

 Open Files and Run Applications from the CompuServeCD Disc Index

There are two ways of opening files or running applications from the Disc Index.  You can open/run the file directly, by double-clicking its name or choosing Open from the File menu; or you can open/run the file with additional command-line parameters by selecting the file and clicking the Open/Run button or choosing Run... from the File menu.  This method also allows you to specify whether the application should be run normally, minimized, or maximized.

If there are two files selected when the Open/Run button is pressed (or Run... is chosen from the File menu), and one of them is an executable file, then they are arranged into a command line automatically.

Clicking the OK button will run the command line exactly as it was entered.

When opening non-executable files, the Disc Index relies on the associations you have set up in Windows.  If you get an error message stating that there is no association for a file you have tried to open, you can set one up without leaving the Disc Index if desired.

Another option that relates to opening files or running applications is the Minimize On Use menu item under the Options menu.  Selecting this option will cause the Disc Index to be minimized just before it opens or runs any file or application.


Associating Files

Associations

When attempting to open a non-executable file, the Disc Index relies on the associations you have set up in Windows.  Associations are a way of telling the operating system how to handle non-executable files.  Associations are based on file type, as determined by its extension (the last 3 characters of the filename, after the period).

Many of the files commonly found on CompuServeCD discs already have default associations which were set up automatically when Windows was installed on your system.  For example, the default association for files with the extension .WRI is Windows Write.  As long as this association has not been changed, opening a file with this extension will cause Windows Write to execute and then load the file you selected.

Other file types are not given a default association when Windows is set up.  These file types can be associated by application setup programs (eg., the Video for Windows Setup supplies associations for .AVI movie files), by the user, or have no association at all.

If you attempt to open a non-executable file from the Disc Index, and receive an error message saying "There is no association for the selected file", then you have two options.  One would be to use the Open/Run button or select Run... from the File menu.  This allows you to type in the name of the program you would like to use to open the selected file.  The other option is to select Associate... from the File menu and set up an association for files with that extension.

Let's use a file called 'read.me' as an example.  Files with this name are often supplied with application programs, both commercial and shareware.  You would expect a file with this name to be a text file.  To open this file from the Disc Index, you could select it, click the Open/Run button (or select Run... from the File menu), press the Home key to move to the beginning of the command line, and then type "notepad " (or the name of a text viewer/editor of your choice).  The command line would then look like this:

notepad read.me

Clicking the OK button would then start Notepad and load the 'read.me' file.

This option works fine for the occasional file with an unusual extension.  However, if you find yourself doing this over and over for the same extensions, it makes sense to set up an association for them.  To do this from the Disc Index, first select the 'read.me' file by clicking on it, and then select Associate... from the File menu.  This displays a dialog box that allows you to choose which executable file to use as the association for any file ending with the ".me" extension.  If you choose Notepad (located by default in the directory where Windows is kept on your system), then from that point on Notepad will be used to open files with this extension.

Associations can be changed simply by re-associating a file's extension with a different executable file.

Note:  If you know the executable file you wish to use is in your system's Path (like Notepad), then you can simply type in its name in the "File Name:" field instead of navigating through your directory structure to find the file.


Printing

 Print Index Information

The Disc Index can print information about files.  To display the Print dialog box, click the Print button or choose Print... from the Index menu.

You can print:

The contents of the File List or Search Results window (with additional information)

The contents of the Description field attached to the selected file

Both.

The Disc Index prints to your system's default printer, as set up in your Control Panel.


Shortcuts

 Keyboard Controls

Pressing the Tab key will move the focus, in the following order:

File List or Search Results Windows

Search Button

Open Button

Copy Button

Print Button

Help Button

Directory Listing Window

Shift-Tab will move the focus in the reverse order.

Directory Listing Keyboard Shortcuts

In addition to clicking the scroll bar, the arrow keys, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys can also be used for moving around in the Directory window.

The + and - keys will expand or collapse the selected directory, respectively.

The * key will expand the selected branch, and Ctrl- * will expand the entire directory tree.

(Note: many keyboards have gray +, -, and * keys located on the numeric keypad.  Using these keys will avoid having to use the shift key to access the normal + and * keys.)

Pressing the Enter key is equivalent to double-clicking the selected directory.

Pressing a letter key or number key will cause the next item starting with that character to be highlighted.

File or Search Results Listing Keyboard Shortcuts

In addition to clicking the scroll bar, the arrow keys, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys can also be used for moving around in the File or Search Results window.

Pressing the Enter key is equivalent to double-clicking the selected file.

Pressing a letter key or number key will cause the next item starting with that character to be highlighted.

You can select multiple files by:

Holding down the Shift key while clicking with the mouse (selects a range of files)

Holding down the Ctrl key while clicking with the mouse (selects or deselects individual files)

Dragging the mouse over files while holding the mouse button down

Choosing Select All from the File menu or Pressing Ctrl-/ (selects all files)

Choosing Select Files... from the File menu (allows wildcard selection - eg. "*.exe")

Index Function Shortcuts

When one of the command buttons has the focus, pressing the Enter key or the spacebar has the same effect as clicking the button.  In addition the corresponding menu commands for each button can be accessed by pressing the underlined letter in the menu text while holding down the Alt key.

Description field

Although there is no button or menu command for copying selected description text to the clipboard, it can be done by selecting the text and pressing Ctrl-C.


How to Quit

How to Quit the CompuServeCD Index

There are four ways to quit the index:

Select Exit from the File menu

Double-click the Control Box (upper left of the screen)

Select Close from the Control Menu

Press Alt-F4.


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