How To Use The Search Screen

First, set the search method in the "Search By..." box at the lower left corner of the screen.  To search by keywords, click the "Keyword" button.  To search by the DOS file name, click the "File Name" button.  Keyword searches are available only for catalogs containing keyword information extracted from CorelDRAW®  (version 3 or 4) drawing files.  For catalogs covering other types of files, the Keyword button will be grayed.

Next, type the search key in the input field.  The list immediately below the input field will scroll as you type.  When the desired key comes into view, click with the mouse to select it, or press the tab key and use the arrow keys to navigate through the list.

As soon as a key is selected, a list of the related files appears in the large box to the right. Each file shows the DOS file name, the volume identifier of the disk, and the directory path name where the file can be found. If you cannot see the entire path name, single click on the file and the path name will be displayed in the message bar at the bottom of the screen.

Applications can be launched by double clicking on a file in the large box on the right.  Only files with an extension associated in the Windows File Manager can launch an application.

See Also:

Search Screen Layout

Global Search


Contents

Overview

How To Use The Search Screen

Search Screen Layout

File Menu

Open Catalog

Build New Catalog

Unload To Text File

Options Menu

Global Search

Copy Selected Path Name to Clipboard


OPEN CATALOG

This menu selection opens an existing catalog for search operations.

If the catalog has keyword information, it will open in keyword sequence. Otherwise it will open in file name sequence.

The name of the "last open catalog" is stored so that the same catalog will re-open the next time ROMCAT is started.


SEARCH SCREEN LAYOUT

1.	Input field - where the search key is entered.

2.	Shows keys from the catalog closely matching the search key.

3.	Selects the index used for the search.  Used only for catalogs with both keyword and file name indices.

4.	Thumbnail preview box.  Used only for catalogs built the preview bitmaps, and displays only when a file is highlighted in the large scroll box (#5 on the legend).

5.	Search result box.  If the full path is not viewable, single click any entry to display the name on the message bar.  Double clicking an item launches the application associated in the Windows File Manager.

6.	Mesasge bar.  Show information and reports problems.  Also shows the full path name of any file highlighed in the large box.  This should come in handy on lower resolution screens when the entire path name is not visible.


OVERVIEW

ROMCAT was designed to catalog the directory structure of one or more CD-ROM's or floppy disks to a hard-disk resident catalog for lookup.  In addition, it was also designed to collect search information from CorelDRAW®  (version 3 and 4) drawing files.

The extract of information from CorelDRAW®  files is based on a "best guess" of the file structure.  Whereas data appears to have extracted correctly for files available at the time of writing, it is reasonable to assume that variant formats may exist for which data cannot be extracted.

See the program's Help/About box for copyright and disclaimer information.

CorelDRAW is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation.

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.


BUILD NEW CATALOG

ROMCAT can build a catalog covering multiple CD-ROM's, hard disks, floppy disks, or any combination of these.

Multiple disks can be indexed under one catalog, facilitating cross-disk searching for a particular file.

ROMCAT can also extract keyword and preview bitmap information from CorelDRAW®  drawing files.  This has been tested with version 3 and 4 files.  Including the preview bitmaps significantly enhances search functions, but also requires more disk space.

From the file menu, select "Build New Catalog".

You will first be asked to provided a title.  If entered, this will be shown on the title bar of the search window.  If omitted, the DOS file name of the catalog is shown.

Next, you will be prompted for the DOS file name under which the catalog is to be saved.  Use a standard DOS file name.  ".ROM" is the default (and recommended) extension.

You will be prompted for the drive letter of the first disk to be read.  Check at this time the options to collect preview bitmaps and keyword information according to your preference.  These options have no effect if no ".CDR" files are on the disk(s) to be read.  Mount the first disk and press Enter.

You will return to be preceding screen after each disk.  When you have read all disks, click on "Finished Reading Disks."

The catalog will include the DOS label of the each disk for identification of a file's location.  For disks with no labels, the program will prompt for a pseudo label to be used in the catalog (the disk's label will not be changed).

Numerous tables will be built, sorted, and written to disk, then the newly built catalog will be opened and you may begin searching.

To place your catalogs as icons on the Windows Program manager, the command line in the program's attributes needs to specify the name of the catalog to open, e.g.:  c:\path\ROMCAT.EXE  MYCAT.ROM.  The ".ROM" extension is required.  Alternately, you can just use the File/Open Catalog to switch between catalogs.

See Also:

Catalog File Limits


Unload To Text File

For those who need to extract the catalog data for other purposes, this menu option can be used to get an extract of the catalog's data.

Data can be exported with either comma or ASCII-tab delimiters.  Each field can be optionally wrapped with double quotes.  These formatting options are commonly available for import to spreadsheet and database programs.

The extract can be done by either the DOS file name index or the keyword index (if available).  There is no provision to export preview bitmaps.


Global Search

If searching by either of the indices doesn't yield results, this menu selection will initiate an intensive search.

The program will prompt for some text, and will locate the text anywhere in DOS file names as well as keywords.  Matching occurs regardless of upper/lower case.

After the catalog search completes, a box with the results will be shown.  This box is pushed to the lower right corner of the screen so as much as possible of the main screen remains visible.  As you navigate through the results list, the main screen updates to show the related files.  When you exit, the last hit remains as the current position on the main screen.  Note: the search index (Keyword vs. File Name) may be changed; set it back if necessary.


Copy Selected Path Name to Clipboard

This menu selection is available when the highlight is currently on a file item in the large scroll box on the right hand of the screen.  When selected, the full path name of the highlighted file will be placed on the Windows clipboard.  The drive letter may or may not be included.

Use this to save time retyping the file name when opening or importing in another application.  Many applications will allow you to do a Shift+Insert key combination to paste the contents of the clipboard into the "File Name" field when opening or importing a file.


Catalog File Limits

These are the design limits of the catalog file.  The program has not been tested under these extreems:

Number of files: 4,177,920 when running on a 386, 486 or later; 262,124 if running on a 286

Number of directory paths: 65,535 when running on a 386, 486 or later; 65,531 if running on a 286

Number of disks: Each disk's volume ID counts as one "directory path"

Number of draw file keywords: 4,177,920 when running on a 386, 486 or later; 262,124 if running on a 286

Maximum catalog file size: approximately 1024 megabytes.