═══ 1. Overview ═══ To see a list of Contents, press Control C General Features File Freedom is a program designed to help in the organization and movement of files. It has features to allow for the examination, compression and manipulation of files which are intended to simplify and speed this process. With it's integrated Info-Zip support, it also assists with back-ups of critical files as well as evaluations of new software. Create Desktop objects with the click of a button. File Freedom provides two different methods for file handling - Drag And Drop file management with which most users will be familiar, and it's alternative file management method which is described first. File Freedom's alternative file management method is based on the concept of 'Source' and 'Destination' file movement. Using Copying a file(s) as an example: A destination is chosen for the file movement by moving to the drive and/or directory desired. Click on the destination button (or press F7) and the destination is set. Then, move to the drive/directory where the file(s) are stored that must be copied. Highlight the files and press the copy pushbutton (or press Control C). Simple as that! It must be remembered that all file movements, whether it is copying or moving or unzipping, will go the Destination directory. To copy files to the same directory, but with a different name, simply make the destination the same as the source (press F7) and change the file name in the copy dialogue. Drag and Drop file management is fast and easy. Selected files can be dragged to a Drive Letter Icon by holding down the right mouse key, and dropped on the desired destination drive. Files may also be dropped on the Directory Tree window (described below). The default operation is to Move files, but this can be changed to Copy by holding down the Control key before releasing the right mouse button. If the desired operation is to Zip a group of files, or Unzip a file to a destination, these options are available when the Drag and Drop dialogue appears after the files are dropped on the Drive Icon. The Drag and Drop Dialogue also allows the user to select the sub-directory on the drive chosen, or to enter a path for a directory not yet created. One important point to remember is that the mouse pointer must be over one of the selected files when the drag operation is started. If it is not, the file underneath the mouse pointer will be acted on instead. This allows the user to operate on single files without selecting them. File Freedom also uses a split screen which divides the current source into two views: Directory Tree and Files. This allows somewhat easier movement between sub-directories. Folders in the tree view can be double-clicked on to open that folder in the files view. In the files view, double-clicking on a sub-directory will open that sub-directory in the files view but limits movement up or down to one level at a time. The divider that separates the two windows can be adjusted either left or right. Fonts and Colors can be dropped on the various parts of the File Freedom window. These will be saved along with the size and position of the window for the next time the program starts. Menu Help Settings Notebook Keys Mouse Usage Tool Bar Drive Table Status Bars Directory Tree Window Files Window Zip Viewer Installing Other Viewers/Players Installing User Programs PMSeek - Search Tool Link Colors and Fonts Default Settings Registration Information Uninstalling File Freedom ═══ 2. Keys ═══ Key Use and Special Keys Hot Keys are provided for file manipulation features such as Copy, Move etc. Pressing any alpha-numeric key, without using the Shift, Ctrl or Alt keys, will move the cursor (selection box) to the first file or folder that starts with that letter. If the key is held down, all files starting with that character will begin to be selected. Pressing the Enter key is the same as double-clicking on an item with the mouse. If the item is a sub-directory, it will cause the directory to open. If it is a file, it will call up the viewer that has been selected for that file extension. If the file extension does not have a viewer listed for it, the defaut viewer (which is normally an ascii viewer) will be called, unless the file is an executable file with an exe extension, in which case the program will be started. Grey + - Causes the file within the selection box to be marked/unmarked (toggled) and moves the selection box to the next file. SpaceBar - Marks/Unmarks the file within the selection box. Tab - Moves the focus between the Tree window and the Files window. PageUp - Moves the selection box a page up in the list. PageDown - Moves the selection box a page down in the list. Home - Moves the selection box to the beginning of the list. End - Moves the selection box to the end of the list. Up Arrow - Moves the selection box up one item in the list. Down Arrow - Moves the selection box down one item in the list. Ctrl a - Change File Attributes Ctrl c - Copy File(s) Ctrl d - Delete File(s) Ctrl e - Move the Divider Right Ctrl f - Move the Divider Left Ctrl m - Move File(s) Ctrl r - Rename File Ctrl t - Create Directory Ctrl v - Name View (File Names Only) Ctrl w - File Flowed View (File Names in Multiple Columns) Ctrl x - File Icon View Ctrl y - File Detail View (Show File Attributes and Size) Ctrl z - File Headings (Display Headings over Attributes in Details View Only) Ctrl Left Arrow - Switch to Preceding Drive Ctrl Right Arrow - Switch to Next Drive F1 - Help F2 - Zip Files using Info-Zip F3 - UnZip Files using Info-Zip F4 - Test Zip File Integrity F5 - UnMark All Marked Files F6 - Mark All Files F7 - Set Current Directory as Destination Directory F8 - Swap Source and Destination Directories F9 - Print File F10 - Menu F11 - Edit File F12 - Settings Notebook Alt - Menu Alt F4 - Quit Alt F5 - Restore from maximize Alt F7 - Move window Alt F8 - Size window Alt F9 - Minimize window Alt F10 - Maximize window Alt Space - System Menu Shift F2 - Force Zip Viewer Shift F3 - Unzip to New Dir Shift F5 - Sort Files by Name Shift F6 - Sort Files by Date Shift F7 - Sort Files by Size Shift F8 - Sort Files by Extension Shift F11 - Search (PMSeek) Shift F12 - Refresh Display Control F3 - User's Program 1 Control F4 - User's Program 2 Control F5 - User's Program 3 Control F6 - User's Program 4 Control F7 - Create Desktop Object ═══ 3. Tool Bar ═══ Using the Tool Bar The Tool Bar contains single-click pushbuttons for many of the most often used features. Hot keys are also available for all features except for the Push Button which can change the tool bar position (see below). Tool Bar Push Button Descriptions To identify the function of a tool bar button, simply move the mouse pointer to the push button and a short description of the button's function will appear on the upper Status Bar at the bottom of the window. Tool Bar Shape and Position The Tool Bar can be oriented in either a vertical position along the right side of the main window, or it can appear horizontally along the top of the window, under the menu. This is done by pressing the first pushbutton on the Tool Bar. It will also fold itself into two columns if the space for it is constrained by the size of the window. Hiding the Tool Bar The Tool Bar can be hidden from view for those who prefer to use the keyboard equivalents and want to reclaim the screen real estate taken up by the Push Buttons. One thing to remember is that since the Drive Bar moves with the tool bar when it is repositoned from/to vertical/horizontal, place the drive bar in the orientation you desire before hiding the Tool Bar. To hide the Tool Bar, press Control-F12 or click on the ToolBar menu item under Help for Settings ═══ 4. Drive Bar ═══ Using the Drive Bar On start-up, File Freedom creates a Drive Pushbutton for every drive the system has identified and positions a row of Drive buttons under the Tool Bar. A single click will change to the drive indicated. Drives can also be changed using the Ctrl + Left or Right arrow keys. The Drive Bar will follow the Tool Bar around if the tool bar is re-oriented. ═══ 5. Status Bars ═══ Status Bar Descriptions There is a status bar in each of the two main windows and two status bars along the bottom of the frame. The Status Bar in the Tree window indicates the Drive that is current and displays how many free bytes are on that drive. The Status Bar in the Files window shows the path to the files currently being displayed. The first (top) Status Bar along the bottom of the frame indicates how many files and bytes are in the Source directory currently displayed. If files are selected, this information changes to show also how many files have been selected and what their accumulated byte-count is. This status bar also displays a mini-help line for the pushbuttons in the Tool Bar when the mouse pointer is positioned on a pushbutton. The second (bottom) Status Bar along the bottom of the frame displays the current drive and path of the Destination directory. If the path is longer than 80 characters, the path after the drive designator is foreshortened and periods inserted as indicators. ═══ 6. Directory Tree Window ═══ The Tree Display The Tree window presents the directories contained on a drive or partition, arranged in alphabetical order. Moving Around The directory names are displayed beside a folder icon that represents the state of the directory, open or closed. The words 'Folder' and 'Directory' will be used interchangably. To move to directory name that begins with a known letter, simply press that letter and the selection box will move to the first directory that begins with that letter. To move to the next directory name beginning with the same letter, press the letter again. Moving around the window can also be done by using the mouse and scroll bars or the PageUp, PageDn, Home, End, Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys. Opening and Closing a Folder Move the selection box to the folder. To open the folder, press the Enter key or double-click on it with the mouse pointer. Opening a folder that is not a descendant of the folder currently open will close the folder that is open. Closing a folder will also close any descendant folders that are open. When a folder is opened, the contents will be displayed in the Files Window. A folder can also be closed with a single mouse click. This will not disturb the display in the Files Window. ═══ 7. Files Window ═══ The Files Display The Files window presents the files and sub-directories contained in a directory, sorted in alphabetical order from name or extension, or sorted by size or date. The sorting method defaults to Sorting by Name on start up but can be changed to any other sort order during the session. The class of file displayed can also be controlled via the Show Hidden Files and Show System Files filters. There are also four different views of files available, File Detail, Files Icon, Files Flowed and Default. With the Files Detail View there is also an option that allows column headings to be displayed which identify which column is the Date column, the Size column etc. Sorting and the other viewing options are found under the View Menu item. Moving Around Sub-directory names that appear in the Files window are followed by a backslash. These sub-directories may be opened by a double-click or by selecting and pressing the Enter key. To move to a file or directory name that begins with a known letter, simply press that letter and the selection box will move to the first name that begins with that letter. To move to the next name beginning with the same letter, press the letter again. Moving around the window can also be done by using the mouse and scroll bars or the PageUp, PageDn, Home, End, Arrow Up and Arrow Down keys. Selecting Files Move the selection box to the file. Pressing the space bar once will mark the file. Pressing the space bar again will unmark the file. This can also be done with a single click of the mouse on the file. Multiple selections can be made in any manner. The Grey + key will also mark or unmark a file (if it is already marked) and advance the selection box to the next file. Files can also be marked when a letter search is made by holding down the letter. Again, if a file is already marked, it will be unmarked. Finally, all the files in the Files window may be marked at once by clicking on the Mark All button on the Tool Bar and all files can be unmarked by clicking on the UnMark All button. Viewing Files File Freedom has built in connections that allow file viewers to be attached for various file formats. These viewers are external programs that can be activated from within File Freedom by double-clicking on a file name in the Files window. The viewers used can be selected from the Settings Notebook under the Viewers choice. Some default viewers are pre-set to take advantage of the viewers that come with the Multimedia programs in the Bonus Pak. While there are other freeware viewers that also are quite good, the pre-set viewers are generally already installed on the system. If these viewers are not installed, others may be subsituted or added as desired. See the section on Viewers in the Settings Notebook for instructions on adding or changing viewers. Running Programs from the Files Window Files that have an exe extension can be run in the same manner that files are viewed. Double-click on the file or put the cursor over the file and press enter. Be aware, however, that not all programs will run simply because they may need a set-up procedure to be run first, or may need access to other paths that have not been configured. If it is not desireable to have programs run in this way, this default action can be overridden by designating a viewer for files that have the exe suffix. The viewer could be a do-nothing cmd file or simply a text viewer. ═══ 8. Zip Viewer ═══ Using the Built-In Zip Viewer Info-Zip's Unzip.exe must be installed to use the Zip Viewer. See Archiver for details. If the user selects and presses Enter (or double clicks) on a Zip file, by default the built-in zip viewer will open a window and display the contents of the archive. If the archive has a comment attached, it will automatically be displayed as well in a smaller window within the main window. Clicking the mouse anywhere outside of the comment window will cause the Comment Window to close. It may also be closed by double-clicking on the titlebar icon. The display of the contents will include file names, compressed and uncompressed sizes, method of compression, percentage of compression, date of file creation, time, CRC, individual file comments (if available), number of files in archive, total uncompressed and compressed bytes in archive, and percentage of compression for total archive. The selection bar may be moved to a file of interest and the file extracted to the destination directory (set in File Freedom) by pressing the spacebar. By pressing the Enter key or double-clicking on a file, the file may be viewed with the same viewers that are used elsewhere in File Freedom. These viewers are set-up in the Settings Notebook and are tied to the extension of the file being viewed. There is also an option to force the use of the Zip Viewer (Force Zip Viewer) under the Options menu. This enables looking inside self-extracting Zip executables whose extension is "exe" and other zip packages with non-standard file extensions. Installing a Different Zip Viewer or Shell If a different Zip Shell or Viewer is preferred, the default Zip Viewer can be replaced simply by defining a Viewer for the zip extension in the Viewers set-up. This user-defined viewer will also respond to the Forced Zip Viewer option. To go back to using the built-in Zip Viewer, just delete the viewer and extension pair previously defined. Note If the default built-in viewer is used, a zip file found within a zip file may also be viewed in the same manner. This ability is limited to two layers of zip files. Help for View File Help for Extract to File to Destination Help for Delete File Help for View Zip File Comment Help for Quit ═══ 9. Installing Other Viewers/Players ═══ Using Third Party Viewers/Players Viewers are configured in the Settings Notebook on the Viewers page. File Freedom provides links for as many file viewers as desired. These can be graphics viewers, WAV players, document viewers or any other kind of specialized file handler that will take a file name as a command line parameter. Once installed, they are activated simply by double-clicking or pressing Enter on a Filename. As a added feature, the viewer name can be a Rexx .cmd file. This enables the use of Rexx batch files for setting up more complex viewers. The file name is passed as a parameter to the Rexx script. By default, File Freedom is set to use the OS/2 multimedia viewers for examining graphics files and sound files. If the Multimedia package was not installed with Warp, these viewers will be missing. Some may prefer other, more capable, viewers however. A very capable and fast freeware graphic viewer is GBMV written by Andy Key. It is available on Hobbes (hobbes.nmsu.edu) as "os2/graphics/gbm.zip". For viewing text files and file types that haven't been designated, the EPM editor (the Enhanced Editor) running in a read-only mode is the default. This can be replaced by any viewer or by other freely available viewers such as "pmview5b.zip" also available on Hobbes. It is a freeware text viewer from the PC Magazine Utilities collection. Many other freeware and shareware file viewers can also be found there. Note that the default action for exe files is to run the program when the file is double-clicked on. If a viewer is specified for files with the exe extension, this default action will be unavailable. For more instructions on Setting Up Viewers, see Viewers. ═══ 10. Installing User Programs ═══ Creating Links to User-Defined Programs It is possible to run external programs from within File Freedom. Links are provided for four programs determined by the user, which can be executable programs (OS/2, Windows or PC/DOS programs) or Rexx cmd files. These User-Defined programs can be handed (optional) command line parameters as well as (optional) a filename when a file is currently selected. Each program can also accept a defined working directory. This makes it simple to set up a link to a program if it has an object already on the desktop. Simply copy the settings that are specified in the settings notebook for that object. These are entered in the User page of the Settings Notebook. ═══ 11. PMSeek - Search Tool Link ═══ The PMSeek Search Tool PMSeek is a great program that comes with OS/2 and can be found in the OS2/APPS directory. It will search for duplicate files or text within files in any drives you select. It is a great asset and has many other features I will leave for you to discover. Using PMSeek A link has been provided for PMSeek so that it can be run from within File Freedom. It has it's own pushbutton as well as a hot key (Shift F11) and a menu position under Options . It is also simple to use. To search for duplicate files, highlight a filename and push the PMSeek Pushbutton. The program will pop up (complete with it's own online Help) with areas indicating drives to search, editor selection (you can directly edit files located) and a listbox containing files found. You can also run programs selected from this list of found files. To search for text within a file, it is not necessary to select a file before calling PMSeek. Just summon PMSeek and fill in the Text to Search For (if any) area. Then select the drives to search and file pattern to search under and press Enter. ═══ 12. Mouse Usage ═══ Basic Mouse Use The mouse is used within File Freedom to operate push buttons on the Tool Bar and Drive Bar, select files and Menu choices, and drop colors or fonts onto the program window. A single-click selects, while a double-click acts as the Enter key. ═══ 13. Colors and Fonts ═══ Changing Colors and Fonts Colors and fonts can be changed by dragging them from the system Font Palette or Mixed/Solid Color Palette and dropping them on various parts of the File Freedom windows. It would be a good idea to keep the Files window titlebar the same color as the upper Status bar (Source status bar) to highlight the connection between the Source status information and the actual Files (source) display. ═══ 14. Default Settings ═══ Restoring the Default Settings Sometimes experimentation can lead to a hopeless blend of fonts and colors. For these instances, the out-of-the-box default colors and fonts can be restored by running File Freedom with a -d parameter. This can be done by closing the program and clicking on the File Freedom icon with the Right mouse button. This will display the Pop-Up menu for the program object. Select Settings from the menu and the first screen presented will be for Program Settings. In the Optional Parameters field, enter "-d" and close the pop-up menu. Re-start the program and the fonts and colors will return to their defaults. If the "-d" parameter is not removed, the program will continue to re-start with default settings regardless of changes made. FILEFRDM.INI File Many other settings for such things as divider line position, viewers, paths for the source and destination, Editor and User Program settings, are saved each time the program is closed in a file named FileFrdm.ini. If this file is deleted while File Freedom is not running, these settings will be lost and the program will restart with it's default settings (the INI file will be recreated) . File Freedom re-writes the ini file each time it is closed, so deleting it from within File Freedom will not be effective. ═══ 15. Registration Information ═══ Registering File Freedom File Freedom is distributed electronically in a demonstration form so that OS/2 users can try before they buy. This demonstration form can become a registered version with the addition of a registration code available via E-mail. The unregistered demo will allow use for 1 month. This does not mean use for a cummulative total of 30 days, but rather for a time period of 30 days during which period File Freedom functions fully without reminders or limitations. At the end of the demonstration period, if registration has not been made, File Freedom will cease to operate. For the desperately poor, this can be overcome by continually setting back the system clock to a time before expiry. A registration form suitable for printing is included in the File Freedom package. Adding a registration code at any time will re-enable File Freedom, preserving all settings. The registration code is added by running the install program (ffinstal.exe) and choosing the Install with Registration Code mode. File Freedom is, I hope, reasonably priced and all comments concerning price or features are encouraged. Single User Registration - $10.00 US (or for Residents of Canada - $10.00 CAN plus applicable taxes: GST in all provinces plus PST in Ontario) Registration codes, if possible, will be sent electronically, so be sure to include your email address. If you don't have an email address, the registration codes will be sent by mail, or if you prefer, by fax. Postage or Fax charge is $1.00. Make Cheques or Money Orders payable to Bruce Henry and mail along with Registration and order form included in the shareware zip file to: Bruce Henry Red Paint Software 425 Hespeler Rd. Suite #209 Cambridge, ON Canada N1R 8J6 Registration can also be made through BMT Micro. See the BMTMicro.frm (order form) included in the zip package or visit their Web site at www.bmtmicro.com. Please send all inquiries, bug reports and comments to the above address or email me at: brhenry@kw.igs.net Copyright (C) 1996, 1997 Bruce Henry FILE FREEDOM IS PROVIDED AS IS AND COMES WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. IN NO EVENT WILL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE. Thanks for trying File Freedom. ═══ 16. Uninstalling File Freedom ═══ Uninstalling In the event that, for whatever reason, it is desirable to remove File Freedom from your system, this is very easy. Simply run the uninstal.exe program from the directory that File Freedom has been installed into. It will remove the program related files, remove the Desktop Object and clean all references to itself from the OS2.INI file. At the end of this operation, the uninstall program itself must be deleted manually. ═══ 17. Menu Help ═══ Menu Choices Choose a Menu Heading: Help for Files Help for Directories Help for Drives Help for View Help for Options Help for Settings ═══ 17.1. Help for File Menu ═══ Refresh Display Copy Move Delete Rename UnMark All Mark All Change Attributes Quit ═══ 17.1.1. Refresh Display ═══ Refreshing the Current Display When using other programs concurrently with File Freedom, or possibly using an external program from within File Freedom, the display of files and directories upon returning may no longer reflect the current reality. To quickly rebuild the display with current information, use the Refresh Display option. ═══ 17.1.2. Copy ═══ Comparing 'Copy' Between Systems Copying files with OS/2 uses rules different than Dos which mainly concern the possibility of HPFS formatted partitions and the resultant use of long filenames and filenames with extra periods and/or embedded spaces. If your partitions are all FAT type partitions, filenames are limited to standard 8.3 (eight character name, three character extension) format. Use of wildcards, however, is still slightly different than Dos. A single asterisk used as a wildcard to reference a filename will reference both the name and the extension instead of the name only. This is why, in the Copy Dialogue box, a single asterisk is presented in the Filename entry field. Accepting the default asterisk will copy the filename in whole, without changes. It is possible, however, to edit the filename and Destination path. Using Wildcard Characters with HPFS Use of wildcard characters with long filenames support in HPFS is slightly different. Some examples will illustrate the differences best. Examples: When the filename is "longfilename.with.many.dots" "Copy c:\longfilename.with.many.dots d:\*" will produce "longfilename.with.many.dots" "Copy c:\longfilename.with.many.dots d:\*xx" will produce "longfilename.with.many.dotsxx": "Copy c:\longfilename.with.many.dots d:\*.*xx" will also produce "longfilename.with.many.dotsxx" "Copy c:\longfilename.with.many.dots d:\*.xx" will produce "longfilename.xx" "Copy c:\longfilename.with.many.dots d:\*.*.xx" will produce "longfilename.with.xx" "Copy c:\longfilename.with.many.dots d:\*.*.??xx.yy" will produce "longfilename.with.maxx.yy" Copying Files with Drag and Drop Using Drag and Drop to copy files is done by selecting the files with the cursor/spacebar/grey+ or with a mouse single click. Dragging the selected files to the Drive Letter Icon (or Directory Tree window) is done with the right mouse button held down, and dropping them on the target is done by releasing the button. The default operation is Move but can be changed to Copy by holding down the Control Key. If the mouse is not over one of the selected files when the drag is started, the single file under the mouse pointer will be dragged instead. This enables the user to operate on a single file without selecting it. The Drag and Drop dialogue is presented when the file(s) is dropped. All of the options described in the Copy Dialogue (below) are available, as well as the options to Zip, Unzip, Copy or Move files. A tree structure is shown which allows the user to choose the directory. Copying Files without Drag and Drop Files will be copied to the directory/drive chosen as the Destination. A destination is chosen for the file movement by moving to the drive and/or directory desired. Click on the destination button (or press F7) and the destination is set. Then, move to the drive/directory where the file(s) are stored that must be copied. Select the files to be copied and press Control C or click on the Copy Files Icon. A Copy Dialogue appears which presents an entry box with the Destination Path entered, and a Filename entry box with a single asterisk. Below the entry fields there is a check box which must be checked if the copy process must overwrite files in the destination directory. The Destination Path can be edited should the wrong destination path be selected, and the Filename can be edited as well, with or without wildcard characters. If files are to be copied to the same directory that they are found in, the names must be changed, since files cannot be copied onto themselves (this would be meaningless). Press the Enter key twice to copy, or click the mouse on the "OK" button. To cancel the copy operation, click on "Cancel" or use the tab key to select the Cancel button, then press Enter. Creating a Destination Directory on the Fly As mentioned above, the Destination path can be edited and a different destination directory substituted. This does not have to be a sub-directory that already exists. If the Destination directory needs to be created, a message box will pop up and request confirmation that this is what is desired. An opportunity exists to cancel the Copy or proceed and create the Destination directory on the fly. A few rules must be followed when specifying a new directory name. If any subdirectory names specified in the path name do not exist, the subdirectory is not created. That is to say that a new directory can only be added to a path that already exists. Upon successful creation of the new directory at the end of the specified path, the files are copied to this new Destination as they would be normally. ═══ 17.1.3. Move ═══ Moving Files with Drag and Drop Using Drag and Drop to move files is done by selecting the files with the cursor/spacebar/grey+ or with a mouse single click. Dragging the selected files to the Drive Letter Icon (or Directory Tree window) is done with the right mouse button held down, and dropping them on the target is done by releasing the button. The default operation is Move but can be changed to Copy by holding down the Control Key. If the mouse is not over one of the selected files when the drag is started, the single file under the mouse pointer will be dragged instead. This enables the user to operate on a single file without selecting it. The Drag and Drop dialogue is presented when the file(s) is dropped. The option to edit the destination directory name is presented, as well as the options to Zip, Unzip, Copy or Move files and the option to overwrite existing files. A tree structure is shown which allows the user to choose the directory. Moving Files without Drag and Drop Moving files is a simple operation with File Freedom. A destination is chosen for the file movement by moving to the drive and/or directory desired. Click on the destination button (or press F7) and the destination is set. Then, move to the drive/directory where the file(s) are stored that must be copied. Simply select the files to move and press Control M or click on the Move Files button on the Tool Bar. A dialogue is presented that displays a scrollable list of the file names selected. This is to enable last minute removal of files from the list. Double-click on a file name to remove it from the list. Files in the destination directory that have the same file name will not be overwritten unless the check box below the list has been checked. The Move dialogue also presents an entry box with the Destination Path entered. The Destination Path can be edited should the wrong destination path be selected, and even a directory that doesn't yet exist can be specified (see below). To cancel the Move operation, click on Cancel or use the tab key to select the Cancel button, then press Enter. Click on Move to complete the operation. Creating a Destination Directory on the Fly As mentioned above, the Destination path can be edited and a different destination directory substituted. This does not have to be a sub-directory that already exists. If the Destination directory needs to be created, a message box will pop up and request confirmation that this is what is desired. An opportunity exists to cancel the Move or proceed and create the Destination directory on the fly. A few rules must be followed when specifying a new directory name. If any subdirectory names specified in the path name do not exist, the subdirectory is not created. That is to say that a new directory can only be added to a path that already exists. Upon successful creation of the new directory at the end of the specified path, the files are moved to this new Destination as they would be normally. ═══ 17.1.4. Delete ═══ Deleting Files and Empty Sub-Directories Files and Sub-Directories can only be deleted from the Files Window. Read-only files cannot be deleted by Delete. To delete a read-only file, you must first remove the file's read-only Attribute, then delete the file. Multiple files can be selected for deletion. Press the Delete button on the Tool Bar and the files will be presented in a list. To remove a file from the list, double-click on the file name. Press 'Delete' and the files will be removed. If a storage directory for the drive has been defined with the SET DELDIR command, the UNDELETE command may recover the deleted file. Deleting Directory Trees containing Files and/or other Directories Delete can also be used to delete complete directory structures that may contain files. This is a very powerful tool and so when File Freedom encounters a directory marked for deletion that is not empty, it queries the user for permission to continue with the operation. If CANCEL is chosen at this time, the other selected files and directories will still be deleted but the directory in question will be skipped. Proceed with caution! Delete and 'ACCESS DENIED' A common error message encountered when attempting to delete files or directories is ACCESS DENIED. This message usually means that a file with Read-Only or System attributes has been found in one of the directories. This will cause the Delete routine to abort. The file causing the problem will be easily found since it will be the next file still highlighted or in the next directory still highlighted. Use the Attributes pushbutton or press Control-A to change attributes. See Change Attributes. ═══ 17.1.5. Rename ═══ Renaming Files Renaming files follow all of the rules for Copying Files to another name. Only a single file can be renamed at a time. The original file name is presented for editing or replacing. Be careful when using wildcard characters. The results may not be what you expected! ═══ 17.1.6. UnMark All ═══ Unmark All Files All files that have been selected in the Files window will be unmarked. The cursor position will be remembered. ═══ 17.1.7. Mark All ═══ Mark All Files All files in the Files window will be selected. The cursor position will be remembered. ═══ 17.1.8. Change Attributes ═══ Change File Attributes File Attributes include the standard Archive, Read-Only, System and Hidden attributes as well as Time and Date attributes. Editing of EAs (Extended Attributes) is not supported at this time. A list of files can be processed at one time. Check the appropriate box to set the attribute, leave the box unchecked to remove an attribute. Time is set via Spin Buttons and defaults to the current time and date. The time in Seconds has not been included. The standard attributes and the Time and Date attributes can be set in one operation or separately. Press the appropriate pushbutton. Press the Cancel pushbutton to exit without changes. ═══ 17.1.9. Quit ═══ Quiting File Freedom Using Quit is the same as a double-click on the Title Bar Icon. Window position, size, fonts and colors will be saved for the next use. The Hot Key for this is Ctrl-Q. ═══ 17.2. Help for Directories ═══ Create Directory Set Destination Swap Source and Destination ═══ 17.2.1. Create Directory ═══ Creating a New Directory A new Directory will be created in the current Source directory. You will be prompted for the name to give the directory. ═══ 17.2.2. Set Destination ═══ Setting the Destination Directory The Destination Directory is the default destination of any file movement. The current Destination Directory is displayed on the lower Status Bar at the bottom of the window. The startup Destination and Source Directories can be set in the Settings Notebook under Paths. ═══ 17.2.3. Swap Source and Destination ═══ Swap the Source and Destination Directories After a File copy or other file movement operation has completed, choosing this feature will instantly move you to the target of the operation. It also makes the current Source Directory the new Destination Directory. ═══ 17.3. Help for Drives ═══ Next Drive Previous Drive ═══ 17.3.1. Next Drive ═══ Changing to the Next Drive The Next Drive is the drive to the right of the current drive, in the Drive Bar directly below the Tool Bar. If the current drive is the last drive in the table, the Next Drive will be the first drive in the Drive Bar (wraparound). The Hot Key for this is Crtl-Right Arrow. ═══ 17.3.2. Previous Drive ═══ Changing to the Previous Drive The Previous Drive is the drive to the left of the current drive, in the Drive Bar directly below the Tool Bar. If the current drive is the first drive in the table, the Previous Drive will be the last drive in the Drive Bar (wraparound). The Hot Key for this is Crtl-Left Arrow. ═══ 17.4. Help for View ═══ Display Detail Headings File Details View File Icons View File Flowed View Name View Sort By Name Sort By Age Sort By Size Sort By Extension Show Hidden Files Show System Files Move Divider Right Move Divider Left ═══ 17.4.1. Display Detail Headings ═══ Display Detail Column Headings When the File Details View is chosen, this option will display column headings over the appropriate columns. For instance, File Name, File Size, and so on. ═══ 17.4.2. File Details View ═══ Displaying File Details Choosing this option displays the File Name, File Size, File Attributes, File Date and File Time in sequence. This option can be combined with Display Detail Headings. Adjust the display divider to fit all the information in the Files Window. ═══ 17.4.3. File Icons View ═══ Display File Icons Choosing this option displays the File Name alongside the System designated Icon or Program Icon. Filename/Icon pairs are displayed in multiple columns that flow across the screen horizontally. ═══ 17.4.4. File Flowed View ═══ Display Files in a Flowed View This option displays file names only in multiple columns that flow across the screen horizontally. ═══ 17.4.5. Name View ═══ Display File Names Only The Name View is a simple view of the file names only in a single column. ═══ 17.4.6. Sort By Name ═══ Files Sorted by Name In this view, files are sorted by the first letters in a file name. The cursor selection box will remember it's position over the current file. ═══ 17.4.7. Sort By Age ═══ Files Sorted by Date In this view, files are sorted by the file date and time. The cursor selection box will remember it's position over the current file. ═══ 17.4.8. Sort By Size ═══ Files Sorted by Size In this view, files are sorted by file size. The cursor selection box will remember it's position over the current file. ═══ 17.4.9. Sort By Extension ═══ Files Sorted by File Extension In this view, files are sorted by the first letters found in the File Extension. If the file name does not have an extension, it will come first in the list. The cursor selection box will remember it's position over the current file. ═══ 17.4.10. Show Hidden Files ═══ Hidden Files Filter Hidden files will be displayed if this option is checked. The check mark is toggled with each mouse click. This option can be combined with the Show System Files option. ═══ 17.4.11. Show System Files ═══ System Files Filter Sytem files will be displayed if this option is checked. The check mark is toggled with each mouse click. This option can be combined with the Show Hidden Files option. ═══ 17.4.12. Move Divider Right ═══ Move the Divider Right The line that separates the Files Window from the Tree Window can be moved to the right to give a greater proportion of the available display area to the Tree Window at the expense of the Files Window. ═══ 17.4.13. Move Divider Left ═══ Move the Divider Left The line that separates the Files Window from the Tree Window can be moved to the left to give a greater proportion of the available display area to the Files Window at the expense of the Tree Window. ═══ 17.5. Help for Options ═══ Print File Edit File Search (PMSeek) Force Zip Viewer Zip File Unzip File Unzip to New Dir Test Zip File User Option 1 User Option 2 User Option 3 User Option 4 Create Desktop Object ═══ 17.5.1. Print File ═══ Print the File This is a simple copy file to printer operation that occurs in the background and is not followed by a form feed. This is good for printing out small snippets of text that may only take a few lines. For more demanding printing, use Edit File which will (if EPM or other full-featured editors are used) provide formatted output in your choice of fonts. ═══ 17.5.2. Edit File ═══ Edit the File Plug your favourite editor into the Editor setting in the Settings notebook. The EPM editor, which is available in a 32-bit version now, is set as the default. If you do not have EPM (the Enhanced Editor) installed, you're missing out on a very configurable free editor. ═══ 17.5.3. Search (PMSeek) ═══ Search for Duplicate Files or Text A link is provided to an OS/2 application called PMSeek.Exe. If a file is selected before calling PMSeek, a search can be made for duplicate files. Searches can also be made for text in files. For more information, see the extensive online Help within PMSeek or see PMSeek - Search Tool Link ═══ 17.5.4. Force Zip Viewer ═══ Using the Zip Viewer for Files with Extensions other than ZIP To force File Freedom to use the Zip Viewer (either built-in or user configured) with a file that has an extension other than zip, use this option. It permits looking inside of self-extracting exe files as well as other Zip compatible files with non-standard file extensions. ═══ 17.5.5. Zip File ═══ By default, files will be added to the zip file if the file name already exists. This can be changed by changing the parameters in the Archiver parameters line in the Settings Notebook. Zipping Files with Drag and Drop Using Drag and Drop to Zip files is done by selecting the files with the cursor/spacebar/grey+ or with a mouse single click. Dragging the selected files to the Drive Letter Icon (or Directory Tree window) is done with the right mouse button held down, and dropping them on the target is done by releasing the button. If the mouse is not over one of the selected files when the drag is started, the single file under the mouse pointer will be dragged instead. This enables the user to operate on a single file without selecting it. The Drag and Drop dialogue is presented when the file(s) is dropped. The option to edit the destination directory name is presented, as well as the options to Zip, Unzip, Copy or Move files. A tree structure is shown which allows the user to choose the directory. Multiple files can be compressed and added to a zip file at once. After you have accepted the Drag Drop selections, you will be prompted for a zip file name and the compressed zip file will be placed in the Destination directory. Zipping Files without Drag and Drop A destination is chosen for the zip file by moving to the drive and/or directory desired. Click on the destination button (or press F7) and the destination is set. Then, move to the drive/directory where the file(s) are stored that must be compressed. Then, select the file(s). Pressing F2 or clicking on the Compress Files button can zip a single file or a group of files. The created zip file is deposited in the destination directory. Multiple files can be compressed and added to a zip file at once. You will be prompted for a zip file name and the compressed zip file will be placed in the Destination directory. Zipping Directory Trees Complete directory trees can be zipped by selecting a Directory in the Files Window and pressing F2. Only one directory can be zipped at a time. If other directories or files are selected, only the first directory will be chosen and the other files and directories will be ignored. Again, you will be prompted for a zip name and the zip file will be placed in the Destination directory. The tree will be zipped using -rS parameters (this archives all files and preserves pathnames) and the parameters in the Settings Notebook will be ignored. Zipping Entire Drives The entire Source Drive can also be zipped. To zip the drive, do NOT select any files or sub-directories and press F2. You will prompted for a zip name and then a message box will pop up and ask you if you want to carry on and zip the complete drive. If you answer yes, the zip file containing the contents of the Source Drive will be placed in the Destination directory. The drive will be zipped using -rS parameters (this archives all files and preserves pathnames) and the parameters in the Settings Notebook will be ignored. Zip Info File compression and archiving are done with Info-Zip's Zip 2.1. This is a freeware file compression/decompression set of programs (Zip 2.1 and Unzip 5.2) that produce and read zip files compatible with the popular zip format. This link requires Version 2.1 which has just been released. It provides compatibility for file names with embedded spaces, which was not available in version 2.01 and so due to programming considerations, Version 2.01 will not work with File Freedom. See the Readme file for sources for Info-Zip's latest versions. The directory holding Zip.Exe must be included in the Config.Sys path statement or the fully qualified path/name (including the drive) must be entered into the Program Name line on the set-up page, or it must be the File Freedom home directory. Additional parameters can be added in the Archiver parameters line in the Settings Notebook. ═══ 17.5.6. Unzip File ═══ Unzipping Files with Drag and Drop Using Drag and Drop to Unzip a file is done by selecting the zip file with the cursor/spacebar/grey+ or with a mouse single click. Dragging the selected file to the Drive Letter Icon (or Directory Tree window) is done with the right mouse button held down, and dropping it on the target is done by releasing the button. If the mouse is not over the selected file when the drag is started, the single file under the mouse pointer will be dragged instead. This enables the user to operate on a single file without selecting it. The Drag and Drop dialogue is presented when the file is dropped. The option to edit the destination directory name is presented, as well as the options to Zip, Unzip, Copy or Move files. A tree structure is shown which allows the user to choose the directory. Once the file is dropped, it will be automatically unzipped to the chosen destination. UnZipping Files without Drag and Drop A destination is chosen for the uncompressed file(s) by moving to the drive and/or directory desired. Click on the destination button (or press F7) and the destination is set. Then, move to the drive/directory where the file is stored that must be uncompressed. Now, select the zip file and simply press F3 or click on the Uncompress Files button. The file will be unzipped to the destination directory. To Unzip files to a destination directory that is created 'on the fly' and has the same name as the zip file, see Unzip to New Dir. File de-compression and unarchiving are done with Info-Zip's UnZip 5.2. This is a freeware file compression/decompression set of programs (Zip 2.1 and Unzip 5.2) that produce and read zip files compatible with the popular zip format. This link requires Version 5.2 which has just been released. See the Readme file for sources for Info-Zip's latest versions. The directory holding UnZip.Exe must be included in the Config.Sys path statement or the fully qualified path/name (including the drive) must be entered into the Program Name line on the set-up page, or it must be the File Freedom home directory. Additional parameters can be added in the Archiver parameters line in the Settings Notebook. ═══ 17.5.7. Unzip to New Dir ═══ UnZipping Files to a New Directory First, select the zip file. Using this feature is the same as Unzip File with an added bonus. A new directory with the same name as the zip file is created on-the-fly in the Destination directory and the files are unzipped into this new directory. This feature is only available from the Options menu or by pressing Shift F3. This feature, combined with the Create Desktop Object feature, make it easy to unzip and evaluate new software. When evaluation is complete, select the directory and delete the directory and it's contents with Delete. ═══ 17.5.8. Test Zip File ═══ Testing the Zip File Select the file to be tested (for CRC errors) and press F4. When the check is complete, press Alt, then C to close the window. File de-compression and unarchiving are done with Info-Zip's UnZip 5.2 This is a freeware file decompression program that reads zip files compatible with the popular zip format. This link requires Version 5.2 which has just been released. See the Readme file for sources for Info-Zip's latest versions. The directory holding UnZip.Exe must be included in the Config.Sys path statement or the fully qualified path/name (including the drive) must be entered into the Program Name line in the Archiver page in the Settings Notebook, or it must be the File Freedom home directory. The Test Zip File procedure shares this line with the UnZip File procedure. The file test examines the CRC value of the files in the selected zip file and displays the results in a window. This window is persistent to allow the user to see the results of the test and must be closed with a double-click on the Title Bar Icon or via the pull down menu. ═══ 17.5.9. User Options ═══ User Defined Programs A link is provided for four programs determined by the user, which can be executable programs or Rexx cmd files. Each User Program will also accept optional command line parameters. If a file is selected when the User Program is initiated, the command line parameters will be be passed as a first parameter, and the filename will be passed as a second parameter. If a file is not selected the program will still be initiated, but only the optional parameters will be passed. If optional parameters are not specified but a file is selected, the filename will become the first and only parameter passed to the program. These are entered in the User page of the Settings Notebook. ═══ 17.5.10. Create Desktop Object ═══ Creating a Desktop Object the Easy Way If you want to create a Desktop Program Object, just select the program file you want to appear as an object on your Desktop and press Control F7. This will create a program object on the desktop with a working directory the same as the program directory. Some fine tuning may be required in some cases, but most programs should run as is. ═══ 17.6. Help for Settings ═══ Settings Notebook ToolBar ═══ 17.6.1. Help for the Settings Notebook ═══ The Settings Notebook within File Freedom contains settings for User-Configurable options. This is found in the Menu under Settings and is different from the settings notebook for the File Freedom Object found in the Desktop menu for this object. Once options have been configured, pressing the "Done" pushbutton below the Settings Notebook will dismiss the notebook and save any changes made. It is the same as double-clicking on the titlebar icon. For Help on an individual page, choose one of the following: Paths Viewers Editor Archiver User ═══ 17.6.2. Paths ═══ Source and Destination Path Settings This is where the default paths for the Source and Destination directories can be set. If these fields are left blank, File Freedom will start with the directory that the program is found in, as the Source and Destination directories. ═══ 17.6.3. Viewers ═══ File Viewer Settings File Freedom provides links for as many file viewers as desired. The directories holding these viewers (including cmd files) must be located within the Config.Sys path statement, or they must be the File Freedom home directory. The default viewers can be edited or deleted except for the viewer associated with which can only be edited. The use of EPM as a viewer in read-only mode (browse mode) is designated by entering in the viewer entry field and this is the default for . This prevents accidental editing of the file being viewed. The viewer for is the viewer for all file types (with or without extensions) that don't have a designated viewer, with the exception of exe files which will run by default when double-clicked on. To use PMView as the viewer instead of , simply place the cursor in the Edit Viewer Name entry field and replace with pmview.exe. To use epm in normal editing mode as the viewer, replace with epm.exe. Other default viewers can be edited in the same way. File viewers for other file types can also be added. Click the mouse pointer in the Add extension entry box and type in the file name extension for the file type desired, then press Enter. The cursor will move to the Edit Viewer Name entry box where the name of the viewer is then entered. Be sure to include the program name extension. As a added feature, the viewer name can be a Rexx .cmd file. This enables the use of Rexx batch files. The file name is passed as a parameter to the Rexx script. To delete or edit a viewer, select the viewer by first clicking on the Drop-Down list symbol under the File Extensions heading and then selecting from the list by double-clicking on the extension. The matching viewer will appear in the Edit Viewer Name box. To delete the pair, press the Delete button. To change the Viewer, simply edit the viewer name and press Enter. To restore the default viewers, press the Defaults button. Note To understand the implications of installing your own Zip viewer instead of the built-in viewer, see Zip Viewer. ═══ 17.6.4. Editor ═══ Editor Settings The name of your favourite PM (or Dos, Windows or non-PM OS/2) editor can be entered here, along with command-line parameters. Be sure to include the program name extension. The directory where the editor program is located must be the File Freedom home directory, or it must be in the Config.Sys path statement or a fully qualified Drive:\Path\Name must be entered as the program name. The file selected at the time the editor is invoked will also be handed to the editor as a second parameter. The editor can be invoked without selecting a file, however. ═══ 17.6.5. Archiver ═══ Archiver Settings The Archiver Settings are found on the Archiver page of the Settings Notebook which is accessed with F12 or found under the menu item Settings. The Zip.Exe and Unzip.Exe program names and parameters are entered here. Zip.Exe is used by ZIP FILE and Unzip.Exe is used by UNZIP FILE, TEST ZIP FILE and ZIP VIEWER. If the program names alone are entered, the executables must be in the File Freedom home directory, or in the path statement as listed in the Config.Sys file or, if the path statement in the Config.Sys file does not contain the directory where the executables can be located, fully qualified path/names must be entered such as "H:\progs\zip.exe" and "H:\progs\unzip.exe". Info-Zip's Zip.Exe 2.1 and Unzip.Exe 5.2 or greater must be used. Additional command-line parameters can also be added for Info-Zip's Zip and Unzip programs. A common parameter for Zip or Unzip would be -j to exclude pathnames, either on creation (zip.exe) or unzipping (unzip.exe). The extra parameters added will have no effect on the ZIP VIEWER or on TEST ZIP FILE. ═══ 17.6.6. User ═══ User Program Settings There are four pages of User-Defined Program settings. The small arrows must be used to turn to the second, third and fourth pages. Each page contains the settings for one program. Enter the program names (including extensions) here as well as (optional) command line parameters and (optional) a working directory. The directory where the user programs are located must be in the Config.Sys path statement or a fully qualified Drive:\Path\Name must be entered as the program name. See Installing User Programs for more details. Note Windows 3.1 programs and PC/DOS programs will be opened as Windowed applications instead of Full-Screen. ═══ 17.6.7. ToolBar ═══ Toolbar Visibility If this menu item is checked, it indicates that the ToolBar is visible. If it is unchecked, the ToolBar is currently hidden. To toggle the visible state of the ToolBar, click on this item or press Control-F12. See Tool Bar for more information. ═══ 17.7. View File ═══ Viewing Files in the Zip The selection bar may be moved to a file of interest and, by pressing the Enter key or double-clicking on a file, the file may be viewed with the same viewers that are used elsewhere in File Freedom. These viewers are set-up in the Settings Notebook and are tied to the extension of the file being viewed. ═══ 17.8. Extract File to Destination ═══ Extracting Single Files from the Archive The selection bar may be moved to a file of interest and the file extracted to the destination directory (set in File Freedom) by pressing the spacebar. ═══ 17.9. View Zip File Comment ═══ Viewing Archive Comments There are two kinds of Comments that may be found in a Zip file. One Comment is attached to the file as a whole and is usually a description of the contents, or sometimes an advertisement. This is the Comment that is displayed with this command. Once displayed, this comment will disappear with a mouse click anywhere esle on the screen. The other kind of Comment is attached to individual files within the archive and these are displayed (if available) at the end of the file description in the main Zip Viewer window. ═══ 17.10. Quit ═══ Quitting the Zip Viewer This command will dismiss the Zip Viewer window and return you to the main File Freedom window. ═══ 17.11. Deleting Files from the Archive ═══ Deleting Single Files from the Archive The selection bar may be moved to a file of interest and the file deleted from the zip by pressing the Del key.