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SHARC v8.76 1/18/89 The SHell for ARC's By: Jim Derr Member of Association of Shareware Professionals LIMIT OF LIABILITY SHARC 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. SHARC is a shell program to make viewing and working with ARC files user friendly. It is written in TURBOC with some screen I/O routines written in ASM. In order for SHARC do function you must have Phil Katz's PKARC and PKXARC (or PKPAK/PKUNPAK) programs, and Vern Buerg's LIST program. Please note that these programs are copyrighted and they can be obtain- ed from most BBS's. PKARC.COM/PKXARC.COM/PKARC.EXE/PKXARC.EXE/PKPAK.EXE/PKUNPAK.EXE PKWARE, INC. 7032 Ardara Ave. Glendate, WI. 53209 LIST.COM, by Vernon Buerg 456 Lakeshire Drive Daly City, CA. 94015 ARC is a trademark of System Enhancement Associates Inc. Wayne, NJ When running on a EGA or VGA system SHARC now supports 43 and 50 line modes!! SHARC is fast and lean. With it you can View, Extract, Add, Freshen, Update, Test, and do about most everything that you've become accus- tomed to doing with archive files. SHARC will search your path looking for PKARC/PKXARC and/or PKPAK/PKUNPAK, and LIST. If these can not be found, an error message will be displayed, and the program will terminate. To start-up SHARC simply enter "SHARC [d:\path\filespec]". You may specify wild cards in the filespec. If you use wild cards in the filespec SHARC will present you with a scrollable list of files that it found matching the filespec. Also included in the file list will be any directories that SHARC found. The directory names will be enclosed in greater than and less than symbols. I.E. <DIR1>. You can position the highlite bar on a directory name and press the enter key to view the files and directories that are contained in that directory. To move up one level in the directory tree highlite the directory entry that appears as <..>. As you change directories the full disk:\pathname will be displayed on the main screen. In addition the disk:\path that will receive extracted files is also displayed on the main screen. You can than choose the file you wish to work on by moving the highlite bar with the cursor keys and pressing the enter key. SHARC will then present you with a screen showing the contents of the ARC file. To perform a function, simply position the highlight bar and press the key(s) that corresponds to the function you want to perform on that member. Pressing the F1 key will open a window showing all valid command keys. The following functions are currently supported: Viewing a file - Simply press the return key or the ALT-V keys. This will temporarily unpack the file and will invoke the list program allowing you to view the file on your screen. The temporary copy of the extracted file will be placed in the current disk and directory unless you specified a work disk to be used by using the configuration program. Extracting a single file - E. This will extract the file that is being pointed to. The extracted file will be placed on the current disk in the current directory. You may optionally use the ALT-P command to direct the extracted files to a different disk and/or directory. Testing archive integrity - ALT-T This will test the integrity of the archive file and will report the results on the screen. Display Info about archive file - I This will display information about the archive file in a small pop-up window at the top of the screen. The information will include the number of files in the archive, the date of the newest file in the archive, the total size of all the files in the archive including the total expanded size and total compressed size. Delete a file from the archive - D This will delete the selected file from the archive file. Before the file is deleted a prompt will appear asking for verification of the delete. In addition any files that were previously tagged will have the tag cleared. Delete a group of files from an archive - CTL-D This command will prompt the user to enter a file-specification pattern for the files to be deleted. I.E. *.DAT will delete all files in the archive that have an extension of DAT. Before the files are deleted a prompt will appear asking for verification of the delete. Print a file from the archive - P This will print the selected file from the archive file. The file will be printed to lpt1. Add file(s) to archive - A Update files(s) in archive - U Move files(s) to archive - M Freshen file(s) in archive - F Each of these options will cause a small window to open at the bottom of the screen. The window will prompt you to enter a filespec. This filespec can include drive, path, and a filespec with wild cards. All files matching the indicated filespec will be added, updated, moved or freshened in the current archive file depending on which option you initially picked. Any files that were previously tagged will have the tag cleared. For example if you enter a U to update files in the archive and you enter c:\source\*.c when prompted to enter a filespec, than all files on the C drive in the source directory that have a file extension of C will be updated in the current archive file. List of files to add to archive - ALT-A List of files to freshen in archive - ALT-F List of files to move to archive - ALT-M List of files to update in archive - ALT-U Again each of these options will cause a small window to open at the bottom of the screen. The window will prompt you to enter a filespec. This filespec can include drive, path, and a filespec with wild cards. When you press the return key another window will pop-up on the left side of the screen showing you all the files that were found that matched the filespec you entered on the specified disk in the specified directory. You can then use the cursor keys to scroll the file list. Pressing the space bar will toggle the tagged status of the current highlighted file. When you are done tagging file press the return key and all files that you tagged will be added, freshened, moved, or updated in the current archive file. Specify where to put extracted files - ATL-P This options will prompt you to enter a drive and directory of where to place files that you extract from the archive. This location will remain in effect until you enter the ATL-P command again and clear the drive and directory or you change to another archive file. This command is used when you want to place extracted files in a location other than the current drive and directory. Extract all files from archive - ATL-X This command will extract all files from the archive file and place them in the current disk:\directory unless you specified a different extract location by using the ALT-P command. Delete all extracted files - ALT-D This command will delete all files in the current disk:\directory, or the one specified by the ALT-P command, that are also contained in the archive file. NOTE: it does not delete anything from the archive file. This is useful when you extract file from the archive file and then you want to quickly delete all the extracted files. Execute a file in an archive file - R This command will execute the EXE or COM file that is currently highlighted on the archive file list. The EXE or COM file will be extracted from the archive file and will be placed on the current disk in the current directory. You will then be prompted to enter any optional command line parameters that the program is expecting. The selected program will then be executed. After the program is run the extracted file will be deleted. NOTE: You can specify a different disk drive to place the extracted file on by using the SHARCFG program. This is useful when working with archive files that are on floppy disks. If you specify disk C as the work disk in the SHARCFG program the extracted file will be placed on the C drive, will be executed from the C drive, and then will be deleted from the C drive. Speed search - ALT-S This option will allow you to quickly find a file in an archive. A window will pop-up asking you to enter the first letter of the file you wish to find. The list of files on the screen will then be scrolled to the first file that starts with the letter you entered. Extract all tagged files - CTRL-E This option will extract all files that you tagged in the archive file. To tag a file simply press the space bar to toggle the tagged status. When a file is tagged it will be highlighted on the screen. Untag all tagged files - CTRL-U This option will untag all files that you previously tagged. Update the archive files time and date - CTRL-T This option will change the archive file's time and date to match the time and date of the newest file in the archive file. Show archive file comments - ALT-I This option will display the archive file comment and each comment that corresponds to every file in the archive file. Add/update the archive file comment - CTRL-X This option will allow you to add and/or update the comment information for the archive file. Add/update file comments - CTRL-C This option will allow you to add and/or update the comment information for each file contained in the archive file. Get password for the archive file - G This option will pop-up a window and will ask you to enter a password for the archive file. This password is used when extracted or viewing files in the archive file. If the archive file was initially built without a password do not enter a password. The password remains in effect until you clear it by entering this option again or until you change to a different archive file. Create a new archive file - C or F7 (USE C WHEN IN AN ARCHIVE DISPLAY WINDOW) (USE F7 FROM THE MAIN DISPLAY WINDOW) This option allows you to create a new archive file. First you will be prompted to enter the drive, directory, and name of the new archive file. Then you will asked if you want to add or move files into the new archive file. You will also be asked to enter an optional password. (If you enter a password all files added or moved to the archive file will be encrypted using the password. Do not forget the password you can not extract files from the archive file without the password and there is no way to determine the password if you forget it.) A window will then be opened and it will ask you to enter the filespec of the files you wish to add or move into the new archive file. This filespec can include a disk, directory, and filespec with wild cards. Another window will then pop-up on the left side of the screen showing all files that matched the filespec you entered. Tag the files you wish to add or move to the new archive file by pressing the space bar. When you are done tagging file press the return key and all tagged files will be added or moved into the new archive file. Show help screen - F1 This will display a help screen showing all currently supported commands. Any command can be entered while the help screen is displayed. Temporary exit to DOS - F10 This will temporarily clear the screen and exit to DOS. You can then execute and command you want. To return to SHARC type in EXIT at the DOS prompt and press return. Select a new archive file from original list - N Select a new archive file - F2 This option will prompt you to enter a new disk, directory, and filespec to find another archive file to work with. View a file - F3 (AVAILABLE ON INITIAL SCREEN ONLY) This option will allow you to view any file that is listed in the main file window. Simply highlight the file you wish to view by using the cursor keys then press the F3 key. The list program will be invoked allowing you to view the contents of the file. Delete a file - F4 (AVAILABLE ON INITIAL SCREEN ONLY) This option allows you to delete the file that is currently highlighted in the file window. Please note will be asked if you want to delete the file. Respond Y if you wish to delete the file, anything else will abort the delete. Display files statistics - F5 (AVAILABLE ON INITIAL SCREEN ONLY) This option will display the highlighted file's Date, Time, and Size. Sort the file list - F6 (AVAILABLE ON INITIAL SCREEN ONLY) This option will sort the file list that appears on the left side of the screen in ascending order. Any directories that are found will be sorted on top. Sort the Archive file list - F9 This option will allow you to sort the archive file list by Name, Extension, or Date. A small window will open up asking you how you want the list sorted. Enter a N, E, or D. Edit the selected file - F8 This option will extract the selected file onto either the default disk or the work disk specified via the configuration program. It will then invoke the editor specified via the configuration program passing the selected filename.ext to the editor. When you exit your editor SHARC will then MOVE the extracted file back into the archive and delete the extracted copy. Specify an ARCHIVE file mask - Z This option allows you to display only the files in the archive that match the file mask. The file mask uses the same wild card conventions as DOS. Toggle overwrite mode - O This option toggle overwrite mode on and off. When overwrite mode is in effect an 'O' will apppear in the upper right hand corner of the screen. When overwrite mode is in effect, and you extract a file from an archive, it extract the file even if it already exists on the traget disk:\path. Exit SHARC - ESC ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES Sharc will recognize the following environment variables if they are set: BIOS This will force SHARC to use BIOS for writting to the screen. MONO This will force SHARC to run in monochrome mode. SHARCEX You can set this variable to the disk and path where you want SHARC to write extrated file to. Examples: SET BIOS=Y SET MONO=Y SET SHARCEX=D:\WORK (This tells sharc to write extracted files onto the D disk in the \work directory. You can change this at any time after executing sharc by using the ALT-P command.) THE SHARCFG PROGRAM I have provided a program that will create a configuration file that is used by SHARC. The configuration program will allow you to modify SHARC'S default color setting, tell SHARC the name of the archive program you are using and the extract program you are using, customize the number of file per archive file SHARC can handle, customize the number of files per directory SHARC can handle, and specify a work disk to use when viewing and executing file from an archive file. This last item needs a little further explanation. When you start up SHARC it records the current disk and directory. When you view or execute a file from an archive file SHARC temporarily extract the file onto the current disk and directory. This work fine as long as the current disk is your hard disk. However if your current disk is a floppy and there is not enough room on the floppy to build the extracted file than SHARC will not let you view or execute the file. To get around this use the configuration program and when the prompt: ENTER WORK DISK DRIVE LETTER TO USE WHEN VIEWING/RUNNING FILE-> appears enter the disk drive letter of your hard disk or of your second floppy disk drive. SHARC will then use this disk to build the temporary extract files and will delete them when you are finished viewing or running the selected file from the archive. When running under EGA or VGA you can now tell SHARC to go into 43 line mode for EGA'S, and 43 or 50 line mode for VGA's. This is done via the configuration program. COMPATIBILITY ISSUES Sharc achives fast screen updates buy writing directly to video buffer memory. If your machine is not 100% compatible you can force SHARC to use BIOS routines to update the screen. This is accomplished by setting an environment variable BIOS equal to Y. I.E. SET BIOS=Y. Do this before executing sharc. For monochrome monitors a similar method is employed set the environment variable MONO equal to Y. I.E. SET MONO=Y. Please let me know how you like SHARC. Jim Derr 2425 Santa Cruz Ct. Santa Rosa, Ca. 95401 CSERVE ID 76266,2634 As usual any and all comments are welcome. If there are some features that are missing, drop me a note and I'll try to accommodate you if I think the feature is generally useful. WHERE TO FIND THE MOST CURRENT VERSION The following BBS's will have the most current version of SHARC: EXEC-PC ..................... 414-964-5160 MicroSellar ................. 201-239-1346 AV-SYNC ..................... 404-320-6202 Turbo Search ................ 617-545-9131 Vern Buerg's Bit Boutique ... 707-778-8944 Sonoma BBS .................. 707-792-0963 COM-ONE ..................... 415-284-9151 In addition it can also be found on COMPUSERVE in the IBMSW forum. Additional Stuff I have spent many hours on this program trying to make it as easy to use as possible and reasonably fast. I have also tried to be responsive to user comments and requests. Also note that the program is not crippled in any way. It is a fully functional program. Since this program has developed into a major undertaking all I ask is if you use it regularly PLEASE SEND A CONTRIBUTION OF $7.00, and keep shareware alive. Let your conscience be your guide. Jim Derr 2425 Santa Cruz Ct. Santa Rosa, Ca. 95401 Many thanks to the people that have given me feed back, comments, and suggestions for improving SHARC, especially Bob Jacobson and Mark Rapp of the Micro Sellers BBS.