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1990-12-01
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DirColor v3.8
Copyright (c) 1990 David Lipper
DirColor (DC.EXE) is a colorized directory lister. Type DC -?
for a help screen that will give you all the commandline switches and a
color key to the different extensions supported. DC supports 43/50 line
EGA/VGA modes; see the help screen (replicated below) for the appropriate
commandline switches. DC.EXE will handle directories with up to 10000 files,
if you have enough free memory. If you have a slow disk drive,
you may want to put it in your root directory so it comes up faster.
Instruction for using DC follow; I encourage you to read the revision
history (at the end of this document) for details which may not be mentioned
in the following section.
DC Color Modes
DIRCOLOR effectively has 4 different color modes; the default mode
displays files with different extensions according to a pre-determined
color code - 60 different file extension color codes are currently supported;
the help screen (in the program) contains a color key for these extensions.
This mode can be forced with the -y parameter (read on).
The second color mode, specified by the -x parameter, will cause each
file in the directory to appear in random colors, regardless of the file
extensions.
The third color mode, specified by the -c parameter, will display
each field in the directory in a dierent color - that is, all the filenames
will be in one color, the extensions will be in another color, and so on
for the filesize, attributes, and date. The colors for this mode change
every time you run the program, to keep things interesting.
The fourth color mode is achieved by combining the -x and -c parameters
("-c -x", not "-c-x" - notice the space), and will result in every file
entry AND every field being a random color.
Environment Variable DCPARAMS
There is an environment variable which you can use to set the default
options for DC to use. The variable is called DCPARAMS, and is defined by
entering "set DCPARAMS={options}" from the DOS command prompt (see your DOS
manual for more information on environment variables). If you have defaults
specified in DCPARAMS and want to use a different configuration, just enter
the new parameters on the DC command line, and any switches (parameters)
defining options mutually exclusive with switches in DCPARAMS will override
the defaults. For example, if you have a date sort specified in DCPARAMS,
and you want a directory sorted by extension, you would just specify the
extension sort switch on the commandline, and DC would do an extension sort;
if you then run DC without a sort switch specified, it will default back
to the date sort. A brief note about overriding the color mode switches:
If you have either -x or -c specified in DCPARAMS and want to use
the other one from the commandline and don't want the combination
effect, just specify -y before it, and the DCPARAMS default will be
reset before the rest of the commandline is evaluated. For example,
if DCPARAMS=-e -c and you want the -x effect, you would enter DC -y -x
from the command line. The -y would reset the -c, then the -x would
be evaluated.
Any option switch in DCPARAMS which is not specifically changed on the
commandline will remain in effect. Thus, if you have all your favorite color
mode and video mode switches in DCPARAMS and just want to change the sort,
you need only specify the new sort switch on the commanline, the color and
video option defaults (as set in DCPARAMS) will remain in effect.
If mutually exclusive switches are specified on the command line, only
the last one will be evaluated (except when using -y before -x or -c, see
above). I suggest you play around with the various switches, it's easier to
get the feel of DC through hands-on experience than by reading about it.
I've designed DC to be as convienient and functional a replacement for
the DIR command as possible (though old habits die hard, huh?).
DC is actually more than twice as fast as the DIR command, even using
BIOS video. (compare it to dir /w if you think that's just 'cause DC shows
twice as much in a screen) For listing huge directories with a sort, there
may be a slight initial delay, this is negligible, even on my relatively
slow 10 Mhz AT).
Sorting
The sort options are intuitive; they are as follows:
-e = ascending extention / name sort (start with .A, end with .Z);
files having the same extension are then sorted alphabetically
within thier domain.
-E = descending extension / name sort
-n = ascending name / extension sort
-N = descending name / extension sort
-s = ascending file size sort
-S = descending file size sort
-d = ascending file date sort
-D = descending file date sort
BIOS Video
The -b switch forces DC to use BIOS video routines (instead of direct
screen writes which is faster), and may be necessary depending on your
setup (like maybe if you're using Desqview or other similar software).
What I suggest is that you specify your most frequently used parameters
in the DCPARAMS environment variable, then specify any overriding parameters
on the command line when you need to, this would make DC the most convenient.
If you think I left out an important extension, send me e-mail
and I'll decide if I'm gonna add it. If you find some color combination
unreadable, leave me e-mail and I'll probably remove it; although I've
already excluded all color combinations which I find unreadable, I realize
that motitors vary.
Have fun. -Dave
_____________________________________________________________________________
HELP SREEN PRINTOUT:
DIRCOLOR v3.8 - Copyright (c) 1990 David Lipper
command syntax:
DC [/-h?] [-rm{43|50}] [-bxcy] [-unesdNESD] [pathname/filemask]
Environment variable DCPARAMS:
There is an environment varialbe, DCPARAMS, which can be set
to contain default commandline switches, but not a pathname or filemask.
Any parameters specified on the DC commandline will override the settings
in DCPARAMS. To have DC default to this help screen, set DCPARAMS=?
See DC.DOC or more information.
pathname/filemask can contain any valid drive/path specification
combined with any filename/extension/* wildcard (see examples)
Video mode options:
-r or -r43 or -r50 = use 25, 43 or 50 line mode respectively, reset on exit
-m or -m43 or -m50 = same as -r, but don''t reset screen mode
-b forces DIRCOLOR to use BIOS video, the default is direct screen s
NOTE: if you use -r, the screen will be cleared, use -m to keep the
directory on screen. If you have an EGA, use 43, if you have VGA, use 50.
Use -r or -m without the 43/50 to override the settings in DCPARAMS.
Color mode options:
-x causes DIRCOLOR to use random colors for all files
-c causes DIRCOLOR to use different colors for different fields
-y on commandline (only) overrides -x or -c in DCPARAMS
NOTE: -c and -x can be combined for completely random fields and filenames
See DC.DOC for more information.
Sort types:
-n,-N = name/extension | -e,-E = extension/name | -s,-S = size | -d,-D = date
(capital letters sort in descending order, lower case in ascending order)
-u unsorted - on commandline (only) overrides sort switch in DCPARAMS
Help:
-h or -? or ? or /h or /? = this help screen
All switches should be lower case, unless otherwise specified (-NESD).
Examples:
DC -- list current directory in standard 25 line mode
DC d:\monsters\.boo -- standard 25 line mode, dir of d:\monsters,
files with ".boo" extension
DC -r43 -x -- 43 line, reset mode, current dir, random colors
DC -m50 c:\turbo -- 50 line, don''t reset mode, dir of c:\turbo
DC \dos\copy.* -r50 -- 50 line, reset mode, files in \dos on current
or DC -r50 \dos\copy drive with filename "copy", any extension
DC *.exe or DC .exe -- all files in current directory with ".exe" extension
DC ico* or DC ico*.* -- files in current directory starting with "ico"
DC \win -e -b -- directory of \win on current drive, sorted by
extension in ascending order; use bios video
DC *.bat -n -y -- all files with ".bat" extension in current
directory, sorted by name in ascending order, use
extension colorcodes, even if -x is in DCPARAMS
DC -D c:\dos -r -- directory of c:\dos; 25-line mode, reset video
on exit; sorted by date in descending order
environment variable examples:
set DCPARAMS=-e -r50 -c or set DCPARAMS=-m43 -D -b
____________________________________________________________________________
Leave me comments / suggestions / bug reports and get the latest version on:
The Brentwood BBS (914)835-7898 1200/2400; 38,400 HST w/ subscription
Over The Edge BBS (914)747-4635 300-2400
This program is hereby dedicated to the public domain and is offerred as-is,
with no warrantees expressed or implied. In no event shall the author be held
responsible for loss resulting from the use or misuse of this program. If the
color combinations trigger an epileptic seizure & you bite off your tongue,
I won't pay for it to be sewed on again (no disrespect to epileptics
intended).
_____________________________________________________________________________
HOWEVER: I would like to encourage you to contribute to Greenpeace; humans
have been destroying the planet and driving species after species
into extinction for ages, Greenpeace is one of the few organizations
that appreciates the gravity of the situation and cares enough to
do something about it, and they work very hard and need all the
help they can get. Thanks alot. - Dave
_____________________________________________________________________________
revision history:
1.0 initial release
1.1 added lots of extensions & other stuff I can't remember
1.2 added .WPF, .BK!, .WRI, .CFG, .DAT, .MAP, .HR, .FNT, .REC, .SCR,
.DRV, .WKS, .WK1, .ASC, .ANS, .OV* (that means .OVL, .OVR, .OV1, etc.),
files without an extension, and probably some others I forgot about;
fixed 0 byte length of volume labels, now shows < VOL > instead.
Changed color for .DVR to make it more readable. DC now supports 60
different color combinations (if I counted right) not counting
unclassified files.
2.0 Rewrote code for commandline switches, now switches can be specified
in any order, there is no longer a space between the -m or -r switch
and the number speciying the mode (ex. now -m50 instead of -m 50).
Dircolor now supports a path/filemask commandline parameter, see the
help screen for examples. Planning to add sorting to the next version.
Added "xxxxxx Bytes in xxx Files" to the end of the directory.
2.01 Fixed a couple of minor bugs - the xx Bytes in xx Files message would
cause the first line to scroll off if there was an exact multiple
of 100 files in 50-line mode, 25 line mode was only using 24 lines,
now uses all 25; the textmode wouldnt get set to 43/50 if the -r/-m
parameter was specified before a path. Fixed.
2.02 Directories would sometimes display with the color attributes of a
file with no extension. Fixed.
3.0 Ok, I finally added directory sorting, and also a BIOS visdeo option.
I'd appreciate any bug reports or suggestions, since I'd like to make
the next version a beta (I would've made this a beta, but I had to
rewrite and add so much code to make it sort the directory, it may
have some quirks (although I didn't find any in testing). This version
supports up to 511 files per directory , which can be changed
if need be.
3.1 Added an environment variable, DCPARAMS, that can contain default
commandline parameters (but not a path or filemask). Any parameters
specified on the commandline override the ones in DCPARAMS. Also
added the -r and -m switches to force 25-line mode (to override
settings in the DCPARAMS environment variable). Now there are
2 .EXE files in the archive, DC.EXE and DCBIG.EXE; DC still has
a directory limit of 511 files, and needs about 45k to run; DCBIG.EXE
will handle directories with up to 2047 files, and needs about 85k
to run. If you run the programs in too little memory, the display
will probably contain garbage characters, and your memory will be
corrupted. If someone actually has a directory with 2047 files in
it, I'd appreciate some e-mail letting me know if it works ok.
3.2 Added -x option for random colors, -y to override -x in DCPARAMS;
added "Hit any key.." messages, added free disk space display. I
think I picked out all the unreadable color combinations for the -x
option, but if you come across one that is unreadable, send me e-mail
and I'll nuke it.
3.3ß Fixed the problem with the curor, F keys, etc. bouncing at the hit
any key prompt. Neatened up the listing of volume labels and
directories. Now the volume label is always listed first when
any sort options except the date sort are used. Directory names
will now be before the filenames in all sorts except the date sort,
and will be in alpabetical order (ascending) except in the descending
order date sort (-D), when they will be in descending order. Did away
with the big version of DC; DC needs a minimum of about 55k to run,
but if you have a directory with lots of files ( > 512 or so), you
will need more free memory. If there is not enough free memory,
DC will either terminate with a stack overflow message, or the screen
will have garbage characters on it. If you get garbage characters,
then just allow more memory for DC to run.
3.4 Fixed a bug in the extension sorts (-e,-E) that was ruining the sort.
Did away with internal memory allocation; now you will not get a
"not enough memory" DOS message if you try to run DC in less than 55k,
you can run the program in as little memory as you want (as long as
there's room for the code itself - 30k or so), but if there is too
little memory for the amount of files in the directory you want to
list, you will get garbage characters on the screen - if this happens,
just run it in more memory. This should not be any kind of problem;
With a directory having more than 2000 files, DC should use maybe 100k.
Now ESC will abort the program (at the "press any key" message).
3.5 Added the -u commandline switch to force an unsorted listing
regardless of the DCPARAMS settings. "." and ".." directory listings
were switched in some sorts. Fixed.
3.6 Added secondary sorts: -e,-E now do an extension/name sort; -n,-N
now do a name/extension sort. Now DC will work in a directory with
10,000 files, if you have the memory. Fixed the doc up a little
so at least it's current. I'm running out of ideas for this program;
any suggestions ? Maybe I'll just let it be.
3.7 Whoops. The free bytes number was the current drive, instead of the
specified one - Fixed, plus added the drive letter to that field.
Other minor changes.
3.8 Duh, ok, the obvious idea hit me - now there is a parameter (-c)
to make DC use a different color for each field in the display
(ie. name, extension, bytes, etc.) With the addition of this option,
various combinations of the color scheme parameters (-x,-c,-y)
become active; if both -x and -c are specified, a combination effect
will result: each field of each file entry will have it's own color.
If you have either -x or -c specified in DCPARAMS and want to use
the other one from the commandline and don't want the combination
effect, just specify -y before it, and the DCPARAMS default will be
reset before the rest of the commandline is evaluated. For example,
if DCPARAMS=-e -c and you want the -x effect, you would enter DC -y -x
from the command line. The -y would reset the -c, then the -x would
be evaluated. The -c switch will cause DC to use a different color
scheme each time it is run. I also fixed up my poor excuse for a doc;
I realized that I'd left many questions unanswered. And I redid the
help screen, it's actually kinda nice now. oh yeah, and I also included
a batch file to quick-demo the color modes in 25-line mode, although
personally I think 50-line mode looks much better.