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                                     DA.COM                                   

             Size (recs) CRC   Version    Author/Latest Issue      Disk
               3k (19)   FDF1  3.0        Gene Pizzetta 9/89       Z3COM5

  1- Syntax/Options  2- Attributes  3- Limitations  4- Notes  5- Examples     


   DA is a  utility for manipulating and displaying file directory attributes.
Displays in lower-case, alphabetized, and paged.  Runs only under ZCPR3.

   Based on Eric Meyer's DA 2.2.
:1
 Syntax   DA {dir:}{<{afn}.aft>} {{/}{<options>}<attributes>}


   If no DIR or DU specification is given,  the current drive/user is assumed.
If a filetype is given without a filename,  then the filename is automatically
wildcarded.   If no filename or  filetype is  given,  DA defaults to all files
(*.*).
 Options - 1/2 

   If no drive/user or filename is given,  the  option/attribute  list must be
preceded by a slash (/).   Otherwise, the slash is optional.   If no option is
given,  DA  defaults  to  displaying  files  with  the attributes given in the
attribute list.  The options are:

     ~    Display files that do not have the specified
          attributes.

     +    Set specified attributes on the specified files or on
          all files.

     -    Clear (reset) specified attributes on the specified
          files or on all files.

     Q    Toggle observance of ZCPR3 Quiet flag.  Normally, DA
          observes the Quiet flag (no display when it is set).
          This option reverses that observance (display when flag
          is set; no display when it is reset).
 Options - 2/2 
 
   Only one option can be used and it must precede the attribute list.   The Q
option,  however,  can  be  used  with  or  without  other options, and can be
anywhere in the  option/attribute list.   Two Q's in the list will effectively
negate each other.
:2
 Attributes - 1/2 

The following are legal in the attribute list.

     R     READ ONLY (t1) -- file cannot be erased or modified.

     S     SYSTEM (t2) -- "hidden" file that does not appear in
           ordinary directory displays.

     A     ARCHIVE (t3) -- file has not been changed since last
           backed up.  (Only CP/M 3.0, and 2.2 BDOS replacements
           like ZRDOS and ZSDOS, fully support this attribute.)

     1     USER 1 (f1) -- user defined attribute.

   P or 2  PUBLIC (f2) -- file is public file under Plu*Perfect
           definition for such files.

   D or 3  DATESTAMP (f3) -- under DateStamper, no date stamping.
           Under DateStamper with ZSDOS, no access date stamping.
 Attributes - 2/2 

     4     USER 4 (f4) -- user defined attribute.

   W or 8  WHEEL (f8) -- file cannot be used or program run
           unless the Wheel byte is set, under ZRDOS and ZSDOS.

   You may include as many attributes as you want in the attribute list.  Well
. . . actually, you can't have more  than 11  elements in the option/attribute
list, or the rest will be ignored.   That's room for all  eight  user-settable
attributes, plus one attribute option and a couple of Q options.
:3
 Limitations 

   DA will not search for an ambiguous filename beginning with a slash, unless
a DIR or DU specification, or even just a colon,  precedes the slash.   Other-
wise, DA will think it has an option list and it will default to all files.

   DA can cope with a maximum of 255 matching files.   This should be adequate
for most people,  but if you  need  to  change  or display the attributes of a
larger number of files,  you  will  have  to  do  it  in  smaller groups using
ambiguous file masks.   I  hope  to  eliminate  this  limitation with the next
version.
:4
 DA Notes - 1/2 

   a. I was dissatisfied with all the  file  attribute  utilities  I had used.
      SFA, which comes with ZRDOS,  sets attributes, but doesn't display them.
      A separate program,  DFA,  is  required  for  that.   In  addition,  SFA
      requires typing three or four characters for each  attribute you want to
      set or reset.   FA, which comes with ZSDOS,  works well and quickly, but
      its display stretches 80 columns for each file,  so you can only display
      around 25 files at a time.  In addition,  the display doesn't page auto-
      matically and the filenames are not displayed in alphabetical order,  so
      finding what you want can be chore.   SETATT  resets  all attribbutes on
      files, unless they are in the option list to be set, a real drawback.
      
      My favorite such utility was  DA 2.2 by Eric Meyer,  but it defaulted to
      file directory mode, so I decided to make it  default to displaying file
      attributes.   What  started so  simple,  turned  into a major project to
      convert DA to a  ZCPR3  utility,  and to make the display similar to the
      ZCPR3 version of D.COM, which I recently released.   As a result,  about
      half the code in this version is new or heavily modified,  and little of
      the code is untouched.   It now  satisfies all  the  objections I had to
      other attribute programs, so I hope others will find it useful.
 Notes - 2/2 
 
   b. Vs 3.0 updates (9/8/89, Gene Pizzetta):
      - Rewritten as ZCPR3 utility, uses TCAP.  
      - Now supports user areas through 31.  
      - Initial disk reset eliminated.  
      - Now is a file  attribute  utility,  setting  them,  resetting them, or
        displaying them; no ordinary disk directory services remain.
      - New parser changed option delimiter to '/', but made it unnecessary if
        a filename or du is supplied.  
      - Will now  accept  a filetype (".TYP") without a filename; the filename
        will be automatically wildcarded.  
      - Now accepts named directory specifications.  
      - Now checks Quiet flag,  but Q  option makes DA operate opposite of the
        Quiet flag setting.
      - Now supports F8 (Wheel) attribute.  
      - No user patches,  but  RevVid  equate  in  source code  allows special
        version for terminals using reverse video highlighting.
:5
 Examples of Use - 1/4 

   a. da //  
   
      ->  displays brief usage information (as with most ZCPR3 utilities)

   b. C0>da
   
      ->  displays filenames and attributes of all files on current disk

      =====================================================================
      !!!time&dat --D-- RS- | da      com ----- -S- | slrmac  com ----W RSA
      d       com ----- -SA | da30    mac ----- ---
      =====================================================================
      5 Matching files found on C0:ASM

   c. A0>da d1:
     
      -> displays attributes of all files on drive D, user 1
 Examples of Use - 2/4 

   d. A0>da d1: sa   
   
      -> displays only system files that have been backed up

   e. A0>da /sa
   
      -> same display as above, but for current drive/user

   f. A0>da asm:.mac a
   
      -> displays all MAC files on C0:ASM that have been backed up.  Note that
         only ".MAC" was entered on the  command  line,  but DA expanded it to
         "*.MAC".

   g. A0>da asm:.mac /~a
   
      -> displays all MAC files that have not been backed up
 Examples of Use - 3/4 
      
   h. A0>da .com +r
   
      -> makes all COM files on drive A, user 0, read-only
   
   i. A0>da /-s
   
      -> makes all files non-system on the same drive/user

   j. A0>da turbo*.* +1pd4w

      -> sets the user 1 and 4 attributes,  along with the Public,  Datestamp,
         and Wheel attributes on matching files.

   k. A0>da turbo*.* +12348

      -> same as above with all numbers
 Examples of Use - 4/4 

   l. A0>da /-a

      -> resets all  archive  attributes on  the  current  drive/user,  so you
         can begin a total backup.

   m. A0>da *.doc +rqa
   
      -> If the ZCPR3  Quiet  flag is  off,  sets  the  read-only  and archive
         attributes on all DOC  files,  but  there  will  be no screen display
         at all.   If the  Quiet flag is set (on),  then the same command will
         cause the files and  attributes to be displayed,  just as if you used
         no Q option while the Quiet flag is off.
