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INFOMANIA Text Librarian -- Documentation ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °main-help INFOMANIA HELP ∙MAIN-MENU ══════════════ What is∙INFOMANIA To use this help browser, press TAB to move to the highlighted topic you desire, then press ENTER -- or, double-click the mouse on the same location. Press ∙F10 to return to your previous location. SHIFT-F10 returns you to the program immediately. For more information on using this hypertext system, press F1 now. Each section is enclosed between two solid bars (as you see on this screen). If you have an IBM-Proprinter II compatible printer, you can print out this entire file by pressing ALT-P while browsing. Other topics: ∙CREATE a new database ∙TIPS ∙OPTIMIZATION ∙EDITOR ∙POP-UP boxes ∙FILE locations ∙SUPPORT ∙SPECIFICATIONS ∙DOS command line switches ∙DISCLAIMER ∙ASP notice ∙ADVERTISEMENT ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °infomania What is INFOMANIA? ────────────────── INFOMANIA is a text file librarian and indexer. With it, you can store all your text files on floppy disks (instead of your hard drive) yet have quick access when you need information. Or, just better manage the text files on your hard drive(s). Infomania scans each file as you build your library and remembers every word that contains three letters or more. When you need information, simply type in a couple of words and the program will display every file you have that contain those words in a fraction of a second. You may then select a file to view with the built-in file viewer. If the proper floppy disk is not in the drive, you are given the name of the floppy to insert. The file is then displayed at the first position of the last search term you specified. You are then able to read, print, copy excerpts from the file and then return to your previous list to review another. You can also browse through the names of all the disks, directories, and files in your library and easily select one to be displayed. The editor provided allows you to view, edit, print, or otherwise manipulate your gathered text if desired. Things I use it for: -- I collect news stories from various online sources. I have at this time probably 1,000 articles on health research. With INFOMANIA I can quickly locate a story on a particular topic. -- To store software documentation. Sometimes one program interacts with another, and this helps me to stay informed when I add a new program or piece of hardware. Also, if I need to refresh my memory about a particular function of a program, this makes it easy. -- Indexing information saved from public online bulletin boards for future reference. It makes it much easier to find that obscure piece of information that you know you saved somewhere, but you just can't remember where you put it! I encourage you to tell me any new uses you find for it. I have taken great pains to minimize the amount of disk space used by the program and its data files. At the time of this writing, when used with a lot of small files filled with technical jargon and big words (the most space-using scenario,) it uses about 9-10% of the total amount of disk space consumed by the text files to store its data. However, as the program's dictionary grows and it encounters less and less new words, the disk usage approaches only 1.34 bytes for each unique word in a file being indexed on an uncompressed drive. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °main-menu MAIN MENU ───────── See also: ∙MAIN-HELP You can make a selection from the menu in any of the following ways: -- Use the arrow keys, then press ENTER. Or, -- Press the first CAPITALIZED letter of a selection. Or, -- Click the mouse on the desired function. The Main Menu Selections are: ┌──────────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────┐ │ FILE │ REVIEW │ MAINTENANCE │ HELP │ ├──────────────┼─────────────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┤ │∙open_Editor │∙Search_the_database │∙Index_files │∙Help F1 │ │∙eXit_program │--- view files by -- │∙Preferences │∙Registration │ │ │∙First_indexing_date │∙Delete_all_data │ │ │ │∙Name │ │ │ │ │∙Disk/path │ │ │ │ │------ other ------- │ │ │ │ │∙Word_list │ │ │ │ │∙sTatistics │ │ │ └──────────────┴─────────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────┘ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °pop-up POP-UP Boxes ──────────── Pop-up boxes are used to select files, words, and other actions. One line is highlighted in the list. To move the highlight bar, you can use the following keys: Up arrow () -- move up one item Down arrow () -- move down one item TAB -- move down about 8 items without changing pages SHIFT-TAB -- move up about 8 items without changing pages HOME -- move to top of the selection box END -- move to the bottom of the box °ctrl-home CTRL-HOME -- move to the first item on the first page °ctrl-end CTRL-END -- move to the last item on the last page PGUP -- move up one page PGDN -- move down one page In addition, ENTER will the select the highlighted item. The ESCape key will exit without making any selections. Mouse users: -- Click the mouse on the sidebar to move down the list proportionately to the position of the mouse pointer, form multiple pages. For example, to move to the middle of a long list of words (normally the M's or N's) point the mouse to the middle of the sidebar and click. -- Move up and down a page at a time by clicking on the top or bottom borders of the box. -- Select an item by double-clicking on it. -- The right mouse key will exit, similar to the ESCape key. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °open_editor Open the∙Editor FILE Menu ─────────────── The Editor is provided to allow you to create and/or edit files using text from your archived files. The F3, ALT-C, and ALT-A commands allow you to mark and copy text to a temporary file (TEMP.SEQ). You may then use the ALT-V command to insert that text into your new file. The editor provided is the same used to browse your archived files as well as this help file. However, in the latter two cases, it begins in BROWSE mode so many commands are initially inaccessible to prevent you from accidentally altering your files. The editor initially opens a file called UNTITLED.TXT. You may either edit this file and write it as a new file when done, or open a new file before doing any editing. If you only edit the UNTITLED.TXT file, any text will remain there for future sessions. If you have more than one file open and close out UNTITLED.TXT before another file, INFOMANIA will remember the last file you closed out when you return to the editor after doing something else (such as a search). But when you exit INFOMANIA, the default edit file reverts back to UNTITLED.TXT for the next session. This is a simple (yet versatile) ASCII based sequential text file editor. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °exit_program Exit the Program FILE Menu ──────────────── This ends the program and returns you to the operating system. All data is automatically saved at this time, though it normally is also saved each time you return to the main menu. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °search_the_database SEARCH FILES REVIEW Menu ──────────── See also: ∙WILDCARDS From this selection you can perform a nearly instantaneous search of all your files. The program displays all indexed files that contain ALL the terms you specify here (in the case of wildcard terms, only one of the possible matches needs to be present for each term.) The procedure, therefore, is to enter the words that you know must be used in any discussion of a subject for which you are seeking information. The more words you specify, the narrower the search will be. The words can appear anywhere in the file. If you specify only one word, all files that contain that word will be displayed. To save disk space and run time, as well as to reduce the possibility of missing files that contain wanted information, positional information is not tracked. Therefore, you may get a few false matches at times with certain search phrases. For example, if your search term is "floppy disks", the following phrases will produce a match when found in a file: -- "In the case of floppy disks, the procedure is..." -- "If your disks are only of the floppy variety, you will need to..." -- "During the frisbee tournament, one of the flying disks happened to strike a floppy-eared rabbit from behind." As you can see, by not searching for an exact match for "floppy disks" we get the third match, which has nothing to do with floppy disks. However, we also get the second match which would not have been found otherwise. When a search fails to find any files, the search terms you typed in change color to indicate one of the following: -- FOUND The word is present in the master wordlist. -- IGNORED You have specified that this word be permanently ignored; the program assumes that it could be in any file. -- TOO SMALL The word you specified is not indexed; it is assumed that it could be in any file. -- NOT FOUND You have not indexed a file containing this word. When a search is successful, a list of files will be displayed that contain the search term(s) you entered. You may then view any of these files by pressing ENTER (or SHIFT-ENTER if you are using an alternative viewer; see ∙PREFERENCES for more information). INFOMANIA will prompt for for a disk, if necessary, then display the file at the first occurrance of the LAST search term you entered. If you want to see files from the beginning, enter a single character such as a period (.) at the end of your search terms. See also: ∙VIEW_FILES ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °first_indexing_date FILE LIST by DATE REVIEW Menu ───────────────── The "First indexing date" choice will produce a list of all files that are indexed. This is somewhat faster than the alphabetical listing by∙NAME since the list does not need to be sorted. The files are listed in order of indexing, with the most recently indexed file appearing first. Files that appear dimmed are not indexed. See also:∙VIEW_FILES ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °name ALPHABETICAL File List REVIEW Menu ────────────────────── This choice will display the files listed alphabetically by name instead of order indexed. You can easily find a file by clicking the mouse on the sidebar in approximately the percentage distance down as the file would appear in an alphabetical list. In other words, for a file beginning with the letter "N", click halfway down and the files in the middle of the list will be displayed. See: ∙VIEW_FILES ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °word_list WORD LIST EDITING REVIEW Menu ───────────────── You are able to edit the master word list, deleting and permanently ignoring whichever words you please. The program displays the word along with the total number of files containing that word. The following keys will be in effect: SPACEBAR Mark the word to ignore∙PERMANENTLY DELETE ∙DELETE the word (but don't ignore future occurrences) F6 Perform a∙WORD_SEARCH ALT-F6 ∙CONTINUE Searching ENTER View file list for the highlighted word See:∙VIEW_FILES SHIFT-ENTER Use the∙ALTERNATIVE file viewer/manipulator ESC Exit and save any changes ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °disk/path DISK/PATH LIST REVIEW Menu ────────────── This selection allows you to browse through your archived disk, path, and file lists. The first thing you will see is a list of all disks you have indexed. Select one by highlighting it and pressing enter. Next you will be shown a list of all paths on that disk. Select one to see the files stored there. Then you can view any file by highlighting it and pressing ENTER. You can print a listing of all your disks and paths by pressing ALT-P. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °statistics STATISTICS REVIEW Menu ────────── Use this to see a number of statistics about the files you have indexed such as total number, disk space scanned, size and remaining space in the master wordlist, etc. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °index_files Index Files MAINTENANCE Menu ─────────── This is where the main storage of information takes place. INFOMANIA stores each word in a file into its index. This index is what is used to perform a search without having to scan each and every file in your archives. Remember, your disk must have a∙LABEL to be indexed. You can process just one∙INDIVIDUAL file, or index a whole∙GROUP in one directory. When processing files, the program will go through a number of steps: ∙READING File ∙IGNORING Exceptions ∙EDIT File Word List ∙MERGING Words ∙SAVING Words You can∙CHANGE the processing status (i.e. terminate processing) by pressing any key during the READING or MERGING steps, or by pressing ESC while editing the file word list. °update UPDATING files: If a file has been modified and you re-index it, it will be done in UPDATE mode. This is quite a bit slower than the normal indexing of a new file, since INFOMANIA must check each word in the master word list to see if it was used in the earlier version, then delete it if necessary. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °preferences PREFERENCES MAINTENANCE Menu ─────────── Move the cursor and press the space bar to change an option. You can set: ∙SOUND on or off ∙EDIT_LIST edit the file word list ∙DEFAULT_DRIVE the default indexing drive ∙ALTERNATIVE file viewer/manipulator ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °sound Sound see: ∙PREFERENCES ───── You can turn off the various beeps the programs uses to alert you by removing the check mark. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °edit_list Edit File Word Lists see: ∙PREFERENCES ──────────────────── Editing File Word Lists: This selection will allow you to specify whether or not you are prompted to review the word list of each file before it is MERGED with the main wordlist during indexing. ( see ∙INDEX_FILES ) There are some advantages and disadvantages to this. Advantages to Editing File Word Lists: You can use this opportunity to ignore frequently encountered, yet insignificant words like "the", "and", "though", etc. Once you permanently ignore a word here, it will no longer show up on the wordlist in future files. You can catch misspellings that you would never search for and that would only take up disk and memory space in your master wordlist. These you would probably only∙DELETE but not ∙PERMANENTLY since you would not expect to encounter such words again. Disadvantages: You must stay with the computer while it is processing a group of files. You might decide to∙PERMANENTLY ignore words that you previously included in earlier files, thus not saving any space in the wordlist since those words are still there for the earlier files. Remember though, you can always edit the MASTER word list and∙DELETE or ∙PERMANENTLY ignore any words there. Generally, most people would edit the wordlist for the first few files until a reasonable exception list is built up (EXCEPT.INF) and then turn off the editing and clean up any unwanted words later. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °default_drive Default Indexing Drive see: ∙PREFERENCES ────────────────────── This specifies the disk drive that INFOMANIA first goes to when indexing new files. It is set to drive A when you first receive the program, but you can change it to any drive from A-Z. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °alternative Alternative File Viewer/Manipulator see: ∙PREFERENCES ─────────────────────────────────── This function sets up the DOS call that is executed when you press SHIFT_ENTER while viewing a file list. The default is LIST.COM with the term /F%1 in the parameter field. The net result is that LIST.COM displays the highlighted file at the first occurrence of your search term, if any. LIST.COM will handle very large files, unlike the built-in editor/browser which is limited by memory. However, there is much flexibility possible here. INFOMANIA passes the alternative command(s) to DOS, followed by the file name, followed by anything in your "optional parameters" list. The %1 option will pass the current search term to the program. For examples, suppose the file MYFILE.TXT is highlighted when you are viewing the resulting file list from a database search. The following setups will produce the listed effects: DOS Command Parameters Results ─────────── ────────── ─────── TYPE >>COMPILE.TXT Appends a copy of the file to COMPILE.TXT COPY A:\ Puts a copy of MYFILE.TXT on drive a: PKZIP -A B:STUFF Adds MYFILE.TXT to STUFF.ZIP on drive B: C:\DOS\FIND /I "%1" >>FOUND.TXT Copies lines containing your search term to FOUND.TXT using DOS's FIND.COM; the quotes around %1 are required by FIND.COM Remember, INFOMANIA inserts the filename between the DOS command(s) and the optional parameters. If you just want to execute a DOS command, you can use the editor. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °delete_all_data DELETE ALL DATA MAINTENANCE Menu ─────────────── This selection will delete all your data (in the current data directory.) Use this to start indexing over from scratch. This will not, however, remove your EXCEPT.INF file (which stores your permanently ignored words.) You may either delete this file from DOS, if necessary, or edit it with the built-in editor. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °help HELP HELP Menu ──── The HELP selection takes you into this hypertext system. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °registration REGISTRATION HELP Menu ──────────── The REGISTRATION selection will display your installation date and, if registered, your name. If not registered, it will shown how long you have before the end of your evaluation period. Then you will be given to opportunity to fill out a registration form. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °multiple Multiple Databases ────────────────── You can maintain more than one database using the same copy of INFO.EXE. The way to do this is to simply start INFO from a different directory. For example, suppose your main program is in the C:\INFO directory. You decide to store your computer documentation in the sub-directory COMPUTER. Move to the empty COMPUTER subdirectory, then type: C:\INFO\INFO to run the program. INFOMANIA will ask you if you want to∙CREATE a new database. You could do the same thing with another directory called LETTERS. It might be easier, when running from subdirectories, to create a batch file called INFO.BAT with this line: @C:\INFO\INFO.EXE %1 Or, put C:\INFO into your path statement. You can use the same EXCEPT.INF file (which stores the ignored words) which would reside in the C:\INFO directory, or you could use a special one by creating an empty EXCEPT.INF file in the desired directory by using the built-in Editor. You can add words to ignore (one per line, but no specific order) if you like. See∙FILE locations for information on where your program and data files should be placed. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °File File Locations ────────────── INFOMANIA needs the following files in the same directory as the INFO.EXE program: CONFIG.INF Main configuration file INFO.HLP \ F-PC.HLP | The help files and index. HYPER.NDX / The data files can be either in the same directory, their own, or both if you are using∙MULTIPLE databases: DATA.INF DISKS.INF PATHS.INF FILES.INF VECTORS.INF WORDS.INF EXCEPT.INF If EXCEPT.INF is found in the data directory, it is used for that database. Otherwise, the program uses the copy found (or created) in the same directory as INFO.EXE. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °wildcards Wildcard Searches ───────────────── A wildcard search term is one that contains an asterisk (*). Valid positions are at the beginning of the word, the end, or both. Thus: *word will find WORD, SWORD, BUZZWORD, etc. word* will find WORD, WORDS, WORDING, etc. *word* will find all the above, plus SWORDS, SWORDFIGHT, etc. A list of all matching words from the master word list will be displayed. You may then select which words you are interested in finding. If you just want one of the words listed, you can simply highlight that word and press ENTER. Alternatively, you can mark words using the SPACEBAR that you want included in the search. If you have any marks present, it doesn't matter which word is highlighted when you press ENTER. When searching files, only one (but at least one) of the marked words of a particular wildcard need be present in a file to select that file (provided, of course, that the other terms you typed in are present) If, when reviewing wildcard matches, you decide that none of the words present will do (but you want to continue the search) press ESCAPE and that one wildcard will be cancelled, i.e. the search will proceed as though you never typed it in. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °view_files VIEWING FILES ───────────── When viewing a list of files, the following keys are active: SPACEBAR Displays a little more information about the file, i.e. the full PATH and its creation date or last update. ENTER Will display the highlighted file. If the proper disk is not in the drive, you will be prompted to insert it. If the file is too large for available memory, the viewer will read in as much as will fit. DELETE Delete all references to the highlighted file. If a word is only indexed to this file, it will remain in the master wordlist, but the count will be zero. °can't A file NAME will only be deleted from the list if it is the most recently indexed file, i.e. at the top of the list. Otherwise, the name will appear dimmed. I am working on improving this situation. ESCAPE Exit without viewing any files. If a file has been deleted from the index or its indexing was terminated prematurely, its name will appear dimmed. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °individual Indexing an Individual File ─────────────────────────── Select∙INDEX_FILES from the MAINTENANCE menu. The current directory will be displayed in alphabetical order. You can use the up and down arrow keys to position the highlighting bar, or you can press the first letter of the file name you wish to index to move the bar closer to your file. The PAGEDOWN and PAGEUP keys also will work here. Move to the previous or root directories by selecting the ".." or "." entries, respectively. You can specify a different drive or path by pressing the backslash (\) key. If you edit the path and just specify a directory, be sure to add a backslash (\) to the end so the program knows to insert the "*.*" filespec. Otherwise, you'll probably get a "No files found." message. If the directory is very full, it may take a second or two while the files are sorted. When you've highlighted the desired file, press ENTER. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °group Indexing a Group of Files ───────────────────────── To process a group of files under the same directory, move to that directory as described above in the section on Indexing an∙INDIVIDUAL File. Then press the SPACEBAR. INFOMANIA will then scan all the files in the directory and display them along with the following marks: The file has been marked for indexing. The program does this by default if the the file has not been indexed and does not end in an extension of .BAK, .EXE, .COM or .ZIP. The file is also marked if it had been indexed but has changed since then. √ This means the file has been indexed and has not changed. ! The file was previously indexed, but has been modified. ? This same file name exists on a different disk or directory. You may then modify the list using the following keys: SPACE Mark/Unmark the highlighted file. DELETE Unmark all files. You can then mark just the ones you want. ENTER Begin indexing all marked files. ESCAPE Exit without processing any files. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °reading Reading File ──────────── During this stage of processing, all the words (with more than two letters) are read into memory and alphabetized. This step is normally fairly quick. There is a limitation on the amount of space available to hold the wordlist from each file (see∙SPECIFICATIONS for more information); however, this space is consumed by the first occurrance of each word only. A large file with many different words may require more than one pass to process. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °ignoring Ignoring Exceptions ─────────────────── This step takes the word list from the file just scanned and deletes all words that you have∙PERMANENTLY ignored. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °edit Edit File Word List ─────────────────── This is where you can check words that were found in a file and decide if you want to add them to your index. By default, all words are added. However, you may want to delete misspellings (or correct them in your file) or∙PERMANENTLY ignore words to save space in your master word list. These functions are similar to those used when editing the master word list. See∙WORD_LIST You can choose to ignore this step by default by selecting∙PREFERENCES in the MAINTENANCE menu and removing the check mark, or by pressing a key during the∙READING File step for this session only. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °merging Merging Words ───────────── This is when the words in a file are indexed and any new words are added to the master list. You can not exit this step once it has started. Doing so by resetting the computer (or pressing CTRL-BREAK) will probably create some real problems in your data index. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °saving Saving Words ──────────── After processing either a single file or a group of files, the master word list is saved to the disk. This helps ensure data integrity. If a file is indexed but the revised wordlist is not saved (for example, the power goes off before this step) any new words in the file will not be found on searches, and the program will think that different words added later are found in the files just processed, even though they don't exist there. The upshot of this is, make frequent backups of your *.INF files to prevent having to go through lengthy file UPDATES. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °WORD_SEARCH Search for Words ──────────────── See also:∙Continue Search This function allows you to search for words (from the current position) with any of the following attributes: -- A matching word. Enter a word (or the first few letters) and INFOMANIA will search the word list and display that word, if found, or the next word on the list. -- Words occurring less than N times. Enter a numeric value here, and the program will find the next word in the list occurring fewer times than your specification. To find a word, for example, that is not used in any of your stored files (this can happen if you delete a file from your file list) enter the value 1. Entering a 2 will help you find misspellings that you may wish to delete from the wordlist to save space. -- Words occurring greater than N times. This will find words that are used excessively. You may want to delete some of these, again to save space. Words such as "THE", "SHE", "OFTEN", etc. usually show up here. Use a number that is less than your total number of files stored, but greater than a reasonable percentage. For example, if you have a 1000 files stored, you may want to consider deleting words used in more 200 files since you'll want to narrow any searches to less than that number anyway. To search for word occurrances from the beginning of the wordlist, press ∙CTRL-HOME first. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °continue CONTINUE Searching ────────────────── This will continue a∙WORD_SEARCH started with the F6 key from the current position without you having to re-enter the GREATER or LESS-than value. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °delete DELETING WORDS ────────────── There are two ways to delete words. The first, normally done by pressing the DELETE key while editing a word list, will simply delete the word from the current list. Any subsequent occurrances will cause the word to appear in the list again. °permanently When you mark a word to IGNORE PERMANENTLY, it will be deleted from the list and also stored in a separate file, called EXCEPT.INF. The word will then be ignored whenever it is encountered in the future. You can edit EXCEPT.INF if you like, removing or adding any words that you deem appropriate. Be sure, however, to keep just one word to a line. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS ────────────── Written in F-PC (Forth by Zimmer/Smith) File Word Buffer: 15,000 Bytes (Occupied by each unique word in a file plus two bytes per word.) Will normally accomodate about a 30-90K text file, depending on the content. Any files using more space will automatically trigger the MULTIPLE PASS mode. Words scanned are ASCII characters from A-Z and a-z. Control characters and other non-alphabetic bytes are ignored. You can, therefore, scan .EXE files for text, though it will not be very pretty when viewing the file. The result will be even less pretty if you modify it! Minimum Word Length: 3 bytes; shorter words are ignored. Maximum Word Length: 15 bytes; longer words are truncated. Maximum File Length: Unlimited Maximum Line Length: Unlimited Maximum Number of Files: 65,534 Maximum Number of Disks: 32,766 Maximum Number of Paths: 32,766 (plus root directories) Memory Available for Master Wordlist: Varies according to conventional DOS memory available, but normally between 220,000 and 320,000 bytes for 530K and 630K systems, respectively. If you use the long screen EGA or VGA mode (using DOS's MODE command,) you will have about 15K less memory available. Each word consumes its number of bytes+1 of memory. You could reasonably expect to store from 22,000 to 37,000 unique words, depending on DOS memory available. This program uses no expanded or extended memory. Search Time: Varies according to computer, but usually a fraction of a second. Maximum Path Length: 64 bytes, including drive specification and file name. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °optimization OPTIMIZATION ──────────── TIME: ──── INFOMANIA was written to conduct searches as fast as possible. You'll find the search time to be no problem. The main time consumption will be while indexing files. This can be speeded up quite a bit by using a disk cache such as SMARTDRIVE, but a RAMDISK WILL MAKE THINGS GO MUCH FASTER! An example of a batch file called PROCESS.BAT using a RAMDISK on drive E: (Data and program are in the directory C:\INFO): @echo off xcopy c:\info\*.inf e:\ rem Copy the data files e: rem Go to the RAMdisk attrib *.inf -a rem Turn off Archive bit c:\info\info.exe rem Run the program xcopy e:\*.inf c:\info /m rem Copy changed files back c: rem Return to drive C: This should only be necessary when indexing a large number of files at one time. It is, however, the most SECURE way to index your data. If the power should go off during processing, you won't need to worry about garbled data files; just begin where you started when you ran the batch program before. DISK SPACE: ────────── You will probably cut your disk usage by one half if you put the program and data files on a STACKER or DOUBLESPACE drive. MEMORY: ────── Delete any misspellings or other words you're not likely to look for from the master word list. Don't get too carried away with this, though, or you'll decrease the usefulness of this program. AVOIDANCE OF FRUSTRATION: ──────────────────────── Back up your *.INF files often after indexing new files. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °tips TIPS ──── °label Disk Labels ─────────── All disks must have a unique LABEL. You will not be permitted to index an unnamed disk. You can create a disk label from the EDITOR or this HELP screen by pressing CTRL-ENTER to send a command to DOS. Example: <CTRL>+<ENTER> then LABEL A:MYDISK1 will create a disk label called "MYDISK1" on the floppy in drive A. When opening a file, INFOMANIA checks the drive on which that file was originally indexed for the correct disk. If it is not there, you are prompted to insert it. You can abort by pressing ESCAPE. °shift-f9 Editing Files ───────────── The file browser will allow you to edit an indexed file (by pressing SHIFT-F9), but next time you view it you will get a warning that it has been updated. You can re-index it, but be aware is takes quite a bit longer to update a file than it does to store a new one. The program uses DOS's file date stamp to check for updates. Editing File Word Lists ─────────────────────── Leave the "Edit file word lists" option on when first building your index. This will give you an opportunity to build a good∙PERMANENTLY ignored word list. But remember, it's much easier to leave a word in and remove it later than to remove a word and have to re-index a group of files when you later realize it would be useful. Slow Indexing ───────────── If the indexing seems painfully slow, check the∙OPTIMIZATION section. Deleting Files ────────────── The only time that you can delete a file from the file list is when it is the last file you processed. You can delete the last few files (one at a time) starting with the most recently indexed. This is one of the situations I hope to improve upon in the next release. For the time being, though, try to just index the files you know you want, and delete unwanted files before doing any more. You can, of course, delete all references to any file, but the file name will still appear on the file list (dimmed). File Contents Hints ─────────────────── If you organize your text files into subdirectories by topic, it will be easier to get an idea of the content of a file when it is displayed after a search (by using the space bar), without having to actually open the file and read it. Incompatible File Formats ───────────────────────── Since may word processors use a format that make viewing nearly impossible with INFOMANIA's file editor/browser, it will be very helpful to save your archive files from these programs in a simple ASCII format. For example, Word for Windows documents saved in the "DOS Text with Layout" format will look be very readable as well as save a bunch of disk space. Spelling Errors ─────────────── Misspelled words will use up extra storage space in your master word list and may cause you to miss a file while searching. It is recommended that you spell-check your files before processing. If you later find a misspelling (while browsing through the wordlist, for example) you can edit that file after pressing∙SHIFT-F9 then∙DELETE the word from the word list, and then∙UPDATE the file. Assembling Clippings ──────────────────── You can clip portions of many files and assemble them into a file for further manipulation by using the∙*COPY* function of the browser, then opening a new file and pasting the text. You can then copy from another file and insert into your new file at whichever location you prefer. After the data is assembled, you can use ALT-P to print it, if desired. Printing One Clipping ───────────────────── To print just one portion of one file, use the∙*COPY* function to mark and copy the desired contiguous text, then open the TEMP.SEQ file and press ALT-P to print it. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °create CREATING A NEW DATABASE ─────────────────────── To create a new database, exit to DOS, move to an empty directory and execute INFO.EXE (from whichever directory it resides.) INFOMANIA will ask you if you wish to create a new database. Press "Y". If you wish to use a separate∙PERMANENTLY ignored list, before you begin indexing files create a new file (from the editor) called EXCEPT.INF. It doesn't need to contain anything, but you can add a few words if you like -- one word per line, in any order. See also:∙FILE locations ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °change CHANGE PROCESSING STATUS ──────────────────────── This screen is displayed when you press a key during the∙READING or∙MERGING steps while processing a file. There are four choices available: CONTINUE -- Proceed as though you never pressed a key. (DON'T) REVIEW WORD LIST -- Toggle the∙EDIT_LIST mode SKIP THIS FILE -- Don't index this file. Applies only if you pressed a key during the∙READING step. TERMINATE INDEXING -- Don't process any more files. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °DOS DOS COMMAND LINE SWITCHES ───────────────────────── The following switches can be used from the DOS command line. Each will execute the specified function, then exit the program. ADD {d:}{path}FILENAME -- Index one file. No wildcards allowed. FIND {word1 word2 ... wordn} -- Search the database for word(s). STATS -- Display program storage statistics. HELP -- Enter hypertext help system. /? -- Show these option. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °disclaimer LIMIT OF LIABILITY ────────────────── INFO.EXE is distributed as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied. The author will assume no liability for damages either from the direct use of this product or as a consequence of the use of this product. --------- This program may be freely distributed as long as every file is included intact, and no fee is charged except for a media fee not to exceed $10. The distribution files are: README.1ST - Upgrade Notice FILE_ID.DIZ - Zip description file INFO.EXE - Main program INFO.HLP - Main Help F-PC.HLP - Editor help HYPER.NDX - Help index pointers FIXINFO.EXE - Updates earlier versions INFO.REG - Registration form ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °support SUPPORT ─────── Let me know what you think of the program! You can reach me at: - 73160.676@compuserve.com - BSuttonDC@aol.com - b.sutton1@genie.geis.com Alternatively, you may write to: Dr. Brian Sutton 8202 Cosme Road Odessa, Florida 33556 Support is provided at no charge to unregistered users during the thirty day evaluation period and to registered users for an additional minimum of six months. I want to be sure this program works as well as possible for you. INFOMANIA is written in FORTH (F-PC). ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °advertisement Also Available From This Author ─────────────────────────────── -- JobLOG -- JobLOG is a tool you can use to keep track of the time you spend on various computer projects. It can be set up to run automatically and without user input, letting you concentrate on your computer work. You can then review time spent on your projects and send time logs for billing purposes to your printer or a disk text file for use with a word processor. JobLOG is not a TSR. -- Custom Programming Services -- Make your computer work the way you want it to. Custom programming can save time and money in the long run by tailoring programs specifically for your business. Large or small projects undertaken. Unleash more power from your computer and let the software do all the work! Call (813) 920-0882. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ °asp ASP Ombudsman Statement ─────────────────────── This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀u