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- EasyCat v1.01 January 4, 1989
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- An All Purpose Software Library Management System
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- Program by
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- Vernon E. Six, Jr.
-
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- User Documentation
-
- by
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- Bob Wales,
- Frank Grubbs and
- Vernon E. Six, Jr.
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- Copyright (c) 1988,89 by Vernon E. Six, Jr. and EasyWare Concepts
- All Rights Reserved World Wide
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- For the most current version of EasyCat please call The Data Emporium BBS (tm)
- Phone: 915/857-1974. 3/12/24/9600 Baud HST, 24hrs. FidoNet Node 1:381/1.0
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- TABLE OF CONTENTS
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- Item Page
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- A. EasyCat Licensing Terms and Disclaimer of Warranty............. 1
- B. Kudos.......................................................... 2
- C. Introduction................................................... 3
- D. Hardware Requirements.......................................... 4
- E. Operating System Knowledge..................................... 4
- F. EasyCat Distribution Files..................................... 5
- G. Starting EasyCat............................................... 5
- H. The Main Menu.................................................. 6
- I. Import File Descriptions....................................... 6
- J. Catalog a diskette............................................. 7
- K. Un-Catalog a diskette.......................................... 8
- L. Edit 'Omit' List............................................... 8
- M. Report Functions............................................... 8
- N. System Configuration........................................... 10
- O. Locate a file.................................................. 10
- P. Maintenance.................................................... 10
- Q. Categorizing your diskette collection.......................... 11
- R. Appendix A - Glossary.......................................... 12
- S. Appendix B - Diskette Categories............................... 14
- T. Appendix C - Release History................................... 17
- U. Appendix D - Plans for future releases......................... 21
- V. REGISTRATION FORM.............................................. 22
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- A. EasyCat Licensing Terms and Disclaimer of Warranty
-
- Copyright (c) 1988, 1989 by Vernon E. Six, Jr. and EasyWare
- Concepts. All Rights Reserved World Wide.
-
- EasyCat may ONLY be used and distributed under the following
- conditions:
-
- 1) You may use EasyCat for a period of up to thirty days
- to determine its suitability for your needs. If you
- continue to use EasyCat after a period of thirty days you
- MUST register your copy.
-
- 2) A registration fee of $24.95 is required for each copy
- of EasyCat that you continue to use for more than thirty
- days. Site licensing of EasyCat is available and will be
- individually negotiated. A registration form is included at
- the end of this documentation.
-
- 3) Non-Profit and Not-for-Profit corporations may obtain
- an exclusion from the registration and/or licensing
- requirements. Applications will be reviewed individually.
-
- 4) You may distribute EasyCat provided that no fee is
- charged, except for a nominal "diskette fee" or "connect
- time" charges. In any event, the entire fee shall not
- exceed $10.00.
-
- 5) You may NOT use or distribute EasyCat in conjunction
- with any commercial or governmental endeavor without prior
- written consent from the author.
-
- 6) You may NOT distribute EasyCat in modified form.
-
- 7) If you distribute EasyCat, it MUST be in the original
- "archive" as released by the author. You may not add any
- files, archive comments, re-archive it, etc.
-
- Send all registration fees, site licensing requests and
- requests for licensing and registration exclusion to:
-
- Vernon E. Six, Jr.
- c/o EasyWare Concepts
- P.O. Box 371481
- El Paso, Texas 79937-1481
-
-
- *** NO WARRANTY ***
-
- BECAUSE EASYCAT IS DISTRIBUTED AS "SHAREWARE", I PROVIDE
- ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
- APPLICABLE STATE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN
- WRITING, VERNON E. SIX, JR., EASYWARE CONCEPTS AND/OR OTHER
- PARTIES PROVIDE EASYCAT "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
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- KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
- LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
- FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE
- QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF EASYCAT IS WITH YOU. SHOULD
- EASYCAT PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL
- NECESSARY REMEDIES, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
-
- IN NO EVENT WILL VERNON E. SIX, JR. AND/OR EASYWARE CONCEPTS
- BE RESPONSIBLE IN ANY WAY FOR THE BEHAVIOUR OF MODIFIED
- VERSIONS OF EASYCAT. IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY
- APPLICABLE STATE LAW WILL VERNON E. SIX, JR., EASYWARE
- CONCEPTS OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY DISTRIBUTE EASYCAT AS
- PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY
- LOST PROFITS, LOST MONIES, OR OTHER SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR
- CONSEQUENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO
- USE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING
- RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THIRD PARTIES OR
- A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAM)
- EASYCAT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
- SUCH DAMAGES, OR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
-
- The author can be reached at the following address:
-
- Vernon E. Six, Jr.
- c/o EasyWare Concepts
- P.O. Box 371481
- El Paso, TX 79937-1481
-
- FidoNet 1:381/1.0
- Data (915) 857-1974, 3/12/24/9600 baud HST, 24hrs
-
- Please feel free to contact me at any time to share your
- comments about my software and/or licensing policy.
-
- My thanks to Alan Applegate for most of the wording in this
- license agreement and disclaimer of warranty.
-
-
- B. Kudos
-
- A number of people have been involved in the design,
- creation, development and testing of this program or have
- contributed to it in one way or another. I simply do not
- have room to thank them all here, but do want to take the
- time to thank these following individuals...
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- Frank "Feature Freak" Grubbs -- Frank was one of the first
- people to test EasyCat; even before it was a compiled
- program. Since then Frank has constantly came up with "just
- one more feature" that needed to be added. Hence, I now
- call him the "Feature Freak". A title he well deserves.
- Frank is by far the biggest help to the EasyCat project.
- Without him, I doubt it would be much more than it was when
- I first wrote it in dBASE III+.
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- Bob "Write a conversion utility" Wales -- Bob is my attorney
- and has been testing EasyCat almost as long as Frank has.
- Ever since the beginning Bob has continued to say, "Write a
- conversion utility that will convert XYZ Disk Catalog System
- Files to EasyCat." Sorry Bob, but it didn't make into this
- version. Make the next version. Bob was also the one to
- give me the first draft of the documentation.
-
- Meg "Nerdy Buddy" Schooley -- Meg has given me a ideas on
- how to make the software interface appeal to "non-computer
- nerds" as she puts it. Hope this is what you wanted Meg.
-
- And the list goes on. The following people were also a big
- help in getting this package complete... Mike Janke,
- Cabelle Clark, Murray Rothman, Jim McCrain and many others.
- If I missed anyone's name, I apologize.
-
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- C. Introduction
-
- EasyCat is an advanced, state-of-the-art, all-purpose
- diskette cataloguing system designed to make the task of
- organizing and maintaining your diskette collection much
- easier.
-
- EasyCat offers the following features...
-
- - Ability to add short descriptions as well as full length
- comments for each file in your collection. Comments for any
- file may be up to a full eight lines of text. An additional
- NOTE line is also available and can be useful for
- miscellaneous information such as "Part one of three",
- "Demonstration version", etc.
-
- - Extremely fast and easy-to-use menus.
-
- - Produces a wide variety of reports, including a listing by
- either filename or diskette volume label, duplicate
- filenames, etc.
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- - Permits extensive categorization of your diskette library.
- Categories are completely user-definable and are limited
- only by your imagination and needs.
-
- - Creates a text file (DIR.TXT) on each diskette to aid in
- swapping diskettes between your collection and someone
- else's collection.
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- For Sysops...
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- - Produces a standard "FILES.BBS" type file (for use with
- nearly every bulletin board package in existence) for one or
- all of your download areas.
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- - Allows file descriptions to be "imported" from a standard
- "FILES.BBS" type file instead of re-entering all the data.
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- - Automates file maintenance such as updating your
- "FILES.BBS" files, etc.
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- D. Hardware Requirements
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- EasyCat was developed on an IBM PC/XT Compatible computer
- with the following characteristics:
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- 640kb RAM
- Two 360kb diskette drives
- One 12mb hard drive
- 8mhz clock speed.
- Internal clock calendar
- PC-DOS v3.31
-
- EasyCat has been designed to operate on a hard disk. I
- think it would be impossible to operate EasyCat on floppy
- drives alone. Sorry 'bout that. You might be able to use
- EasyCat if you have 1.2mb or 1.4mb disk drives; but as the
- size of your diskette collection increases, things will
- become cumbersome.
-
- I have found that EasyCat takes approximately one megabyte
- of diskette space for a typical diskette collection
- containing one thousand files.
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- E. Operating System Knowledge
-
- I am going to assume that you have a working knowledge of
- the PC/MS-DOS operating system. Please refer to your DOS
- manual if you are unclear on something. It is simply beyond
- the scope of this document to cover all the aspects of DOS.
-
- You may, however, feel free to leave me a message on my
- bulletin board, The Data Emporium BBS (tm) if you have a
- problem concerning DOS. I will be more than happy to lend a
- hand if possible. The phone number is (915) 857-1974
- 3/12/24/9600 baud HST, 24 hours per day.
-
- NOTE: You must have LABEL.EXE (or LABEL.COM) and COMMAND.COM
- in your PATH in order for EasyCat to function properly.
- Failure to do so will produce unpredictable results.
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- F. EasyCat Distribution Files
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- The EasyCat Distribution Diskette (or Distribution Archive
- File) should contain the following files and only these
- files:
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- ABOUT_US.TXT - Information about EasyWare Concepts
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- EMPORIUM.DOC - Information about The Data Emporium BBS (tm)
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- EASYCAT.EXE - Main Program File
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- EASYCAT.DOC - This documentation
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- EMPORIUM.DOC - Information about The Data Emporium BBS (tm)
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- FILESBBS.SMP - Sample "FILES.BBS" format file
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- HELP.DBF - Online Help Part 1 of 3
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- HELP.DBT - Online Help Part 2 of 3
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- HELP.NTX - Online Help Part 3 of 3
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- README.1ST - Short description of this program and last
- minute notes
-
-
- G. Starting EasyCat
-
- Create a subdirectory on your hard disk called "EasyCat".
- Copy the EasyCat Distribution Files (un-archived) into this
- subdirectory.
-
- Change directories into the EasyCat subdirectory. Then type
- "EasyCat" at the DOS prompt and press the [Return] key.
-
- When EasyCat is run for the first time it will create
- several files. Below is a list of these files...
-
- SOFTWARE.DBF - Main Software database file
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- VOLUME.NTX - Index of SOFTWARE.DBF by volume label
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- FILENAME.NTX - Index of SOFTWARE.DBF by filename
-
- SCRATCH.DBF - Temporary database used for various
- functions such as reading actual diskette
- directory contents.
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- SCRATCH2.DBF - Temporary database used when cataloging a
- diskette.
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- SCRATCH2.NTX - Index of SCRATCH2.DBF
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- OMIT.DBF - OMIT database. Contains filenames that
- you do not want in your SOFTWARE.DBF
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- OMIT.NTX - Index of OMIT.DBF
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- DESC.DBF - Database containing imported file
- descriptions
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- DESC.NTX - Index of DESC.DBF
-
- EASYCAT.CFG - System Configuration values (colors,
- drive, etc.)
-
- EasyCat will create two additional files from time to time.
- Below are the names of these two files and their purpose.
- Should you ever see these files in your EasyCat subdirectory
- you may erase them. They serve only a temporary purpose.
-
- FILES.DIR - Used when generating reports
-
- $$TEMP$$.LST - Used when cataloguing a diskette
-
-
- H. The Main Menu
-
- After EasyCat has completed its initialization you will be
- presented with the Main Menu. You can move the light bar up
- and down by using the arrow keys on your keypad. To execute
- the highlighted function press the [Return] key.
- Alternatively, you may simply press the first letter of the
- function you wish to execute.
-
- Each function is described in detail below.
-
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- I. Import File Descriptions
-
- NOTE: This section is of primary to bulletin board system
- operators. However, others may want to use the "Import File
- Descriptions" function as well.
-
- The "Import File Descriptions" function will allow you to
- import file descriptions directly from an existing
- "FILES.BBS" format file. A sample "FILES.BBS" file has been
- included for your examination just in case your particular
- bulletin board system does not use such a file.
-
- If you so desire you can create a "FILES.BBS" format file
- with any ASCII word processor to save a considerable amount
- of time when cataloguing your diskettes. i.e. Create the
- descriptions, etc. with your word processor instead of the
- built in EasyCat editor. Just be sure to follow the format
- in the example file very carefully.
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- There are several advantages to importing file descriptions.
- Among them are:
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- 1) You need not re-type the file descriptions and
- sometimes lengthy comments.
-
- 2) You can extract portions of existing files (using your
- word processor) to be used for file descriptions and/or
- comments.
-
- EasyCat puts the imported file descriptions into a database
- called DESC.DBF for later use when you catalog a diskette.
-
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- J. Catalog a diskette
-
- This function will prompt you to insert a diskette in the
- drive which you select (see "System Configuration" below).
-
- EasyCat will then read the diskette directory contents and
- volume label. You will be given an opportunity to either
- accept or change the volume label. Note: Spaces are not
- allowed in volume labels.
-
- After you have accepted or changed the volume label, EasyCat
- will process the information it read from the diskette.
- EasyCat will remove those filenames listed in the OMIT.DBF
- file (see "Edit Omit List" below) and will look for any
- imported file descriptions for files that are not listed in
- the "DIR.TXT" file (if there is one on this diskette).
-
- When EasyCat has completed this process you will be given a
- chance to add or modify the "Description", "Comments" or
- "Note" for any file on this diskette.
-
- You may press [PgDn] or [PgUp] to scroll through the files.
- If you wish to modify the information for any file, simply
- press the [Return] key to commence editing. Press the
- [PgDn] key to return to the "View Mode".
-
- When you are satisified with all your modifications press
- [^End] (hold down the [Ctrl] key while pressing the [End]
- key). This will add the diskette to your Software Database
- and create a "DIR.TXT" file (see glossary... Appendix A) on
- the diskette being catalogued. Be sure to leave about 10kb
- free on each diskette to be sure there is enough room for
- the "DIR.TXT" file.
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- If you press the [Esc] key while in the "View Mode" you will
- abort the cataloguing of this diskette and will be prompted
- for the next diskette.
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- The "Description" field may contain as many as 43
- characters. This field will be seen in a variety of places
- such as the "Locate a File" function (see below) and in the
- various printed reports. You should try to be as
- descriptive as possible in the space provided. The use of
- certain keywords will be extremely helpful. e.g. WORD
- PROCESSOR, DATABASE, GRAPHICS, GAME, CAD, etc. These
- keywords can later be used to search for a file.
-
- The "Comments" field may contain as many as eight full lines
- of text. Comments are used to describe a file in much
- greater detail than the short "Description" field. Comments
- are extremely useful when browsing through a printed report
- to find a particular file. In order to get the most out of
- EasyCat, you should take the time to create descriptive
- comments for each file in your collection.
-
- The "Note" field should be used to point out any special
- characteristics of a file such as "File broken into two
- parts" or "Demonstration copy only", etc.
-
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- K. Un-Catalog a diskette
-
- To remove a diskette from your Software Database, select
- this function. You will be prompted for the diskette Volume
- Label. Be forewarned: The only way to get an
- "un-catalogued" diskette back into the Software Database is
- to re-catalog it with the "Catalog a diskette" option
- described above.
-
-
- L. Edit 'Omit' List
-
- The "Omit List" is a special database which contains a list
- of filenames that you do not want to be included in your
- Software Database.
-
- This list is extremely useful for omiting repetitive
- filenames such as AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, DIR.TXT,
- READ.ME, etc.
-
-
- M. Report Functions
-
- One of the most powerful capabilities of EasyCat is the many
- different reports it can generate. The reports can be even
- more meaningful if you take the time to categorize your
- diskette collection (see "Categorizing your diskette
- collection" below).
-
- When you select this function you will be presented with a
- menu containing a list of the different reports EasyCat is
- capable of generating.
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- Each report is described in detail below:
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- - Bulletin Board Listing (a/k/a FILES.BBS) -- This report is
- primarily for bulletin board system operators. EasyCat will
- generate a "FILES.BBS" format file for a specified category
- of files.
-
- - Sorted by filename -- This report will list all the files
- in a specified category. The files will be sorted in
- alphabetical order without paying attention to which
- diskette a file is on.
-
- - Sorted by volume label -- This report will list all the
- files in a specified category. The files will be sorted in
- alphabetical order and seperated by Volume Label.
-
- - Duplicate filenames -- This report will alert you to any
- possible duplicate files within your diskette collection.
-
- Simply select the one that best describes what you are
- looking for.
-
- The mechanics of generating each report are detailed below:
-
- - Bulletin Board Listing -- If you select this report you
- will be prompted for a category name (see "Categorizing your
- diskette collection" below). You will then be asked whether
- EasyCat should obtain the list of files from an actual
- directory or from a "FILES.DIR" format file (see glossary...
- Appendix A). Next you will be prompted for either the
- directory path or the path and filename to your "FILES.DIR"
- format file.
-
- The next prompt will be for the full path and filename of
- the "FILES.BBS" format file that EasyCat should create.
-
- - Sorted by filename -- If you select this report you will
- first be prompted for the desired output... 1) screen, 2)
- printer or 3) diskette file. You will then be prompted as
- to whether or not EasyCat should include file comments or
- not. Next, you will be prompted for the desired category.
-
- If you selected output to be to a diskette file, you will
- also be prompted for the full path and filename to create.
-
- - Sorted by volume label -- This report is exactly the same
- as the "Sorted by filename" report except files are grouped
- by their respective diskette.
-
- - Duplicate filenames -- This report is also exactly like
- the "Sorted by filename" report except only duplicate
- filenames are included.
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- N. System Configuration
-
- Since I fully realize that not everyone may have the same
- color preferences as I do...you can change any of the
- colors.
-
- You will also see two other system options on this menu...
- "Default Data Disk" and "Text File Path".
-
- The "Default Data Disk" field is used to tell EasyCat which
- diskette drive to use when you catalog a diskette.
-
- The "Text File Path" field is used to tell EasyCat where it
- can find your "BEG" and "END" files (see glossary...
- Appendix A).
-
-
- O. Locate a file
-
- When you choose this function you will be presented with a
- window containing a portion of your Software Database. You
- may use either the up or down arrows or the [PgUp] key or
- the [PgDn] key to scroll through you entire Software
- Database. By pressing the [Home] key you will be shown the
- first file. Pressing the [End] key will show you the last
- file.
-
- If you press any other key you will be shown the first file
- that begins with the key you pressed.
-
- By pressing [F2] you may search for a keyword or a phrase.
- Press [F3] to find the next occurance of the search string.
-
- When the file you want to locate is highlighted, pressing
- [Return] will immediately bring up a full screen of
- information on that particular file.
-
-
- P. Maintenance
-
- At certain points EasyCat marks records for deletion in the
- various databases that it uses. These records are not
- physically removed from the databases, but rather only
- marked for removal. This feature contributes to the high
- speed at which EasyCat operates.
-
- Because marked records are NOT physically removed, these
- databases may grow in size rather quickly. If these records
- are not physically removed periodically, EasyCat's speed and
- performance can be effected. Therefore, it is strongly
- recommended that you "pack" (physically remove marked
- records) the databases regularly. You may "pack" any of the
- three databases listed on the Maintenance Menu.
-
-
- 10
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- You may also edit and un-mark imported file descriptions
- from this menu.
-
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- Q. Categorizing your diskette collection
-
- Below are some suggestions about how I think you should
- organize your diskette collection. Please note that these
- are merely suggestions and EasyCat does not require that you
- follow these conventions. I think you will safe yourself a
- few headaches if you establish some sort of similiar system,
- however.
-
- Within my collection, I have several sets (categories) of
- diskettes. A particular category might be something like
- "DataBase Management Systems" for example, which I
- abbreviate as DBMS.
-
- Within my categories you will find only those programs and
- files that fall into that category. Using the example
- above... you will only find DataBase Management Systems in
- my category called DBMS. I number my diskettes via the disk
- volume label. Example: DBMS-0001, DBMS-0002, DBMS-0003, and
- so forth.
-
- Whenever EasyCat refers to a "category" it is referring to
- the leftmost portion of a Volume Label. i.e. DBMS would be
- the category for diskettes labeled "DBMS-0001", "DBMS-0002",
- etc.
-
- If all you specified for "category" was the letter "D" you
- would not only receive a report for the DBMS category but
- would also receive a report for any other category that
- begins with the letter "D".
-
- Appendix B describes the various categories that I use. You
- are more than welcome to use or modify these in any way you
- see fit.
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- 11
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- R. Appendix A - Glossary
-
- FILES.BBS
- ---------
-
- This is a normal text file that it used be nearly every
- bulletin board package available today to display a list of
- filenames in a "download" area. The format of this file is
- very carefully detailed in the file called "FILESBBS.SMP"
- included with EasyCat.
-
-
- DIR.TXT
- -------
-
- DIR.TXT is a file that EasyCat creates on each individual
- diskette within your collection. This file is very similiar
- to the "FILES.BBS" type file, but also contains the file
- size and date.
-
- DIR.TXT is a standard text (ASCII) file that can be viewed
- with the DOS TYPE command, your favorite word processor,
- LIST, etc.
-
- DIR.TXT has two main funtions: 1) to assist you in locating
- a file when you "thumb" through your collection and 2) to
- allow for the easy portability of diskettes between your
- diskette collection and someone else's diskette collection.
- Example: If you give someone a copy of a disk that you have
- cataloged with EasyCat, all they will have to do is catalog
- it with their EasyCat. The file descriptions, etc, will all
- be done for them via the DIR.TXT file that exists on that
- diskette.
-
- You should leave approximately 10kb free on each diskette
- for DIR.TXT
-
-
- DIRTXT.BEG
- ----------
-
- When creating a DIR.TXT file, EasyCat will copy the contents
- of this file to the beginning of the DIR.TXT file. Example:
- If you want each diskette to contain some information about
- you, your club or your BBS, you could provide that
- information via this file.
-
- NOTE: The left margin for this file must be indented at
- least one space on each side. i.e. columns 2 through 77.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 12
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- DIRTXT.END
- ----------
-
- This file has the identical purpose as DIRTXT.BEG but is
- placed at the bottom of the DIR.TXT file.
-
-
- Other BEG and END files
- -----------------------
-
- Whenever you create a "FILES.BBS" type file, EasyCat will
- expect to find a BEG and a END file. Example: If you were
- creating a "FILES.BBS" file for the DBMS category, EasyCat
- will expect to find a DBMS.BEG and a DBMS.END file. These
- files follow the EXACT same convention as the DIRTXT.BEG and
- DIRTXT.END files.
-
-
- DIRTXT.BAT
- ----------
-
- This is external batch file that you create and maintain.
- Whenever EasyCat writes a DIR.TXT file to a diskette, it
- will execute the DOS commands found in this batch file.
-
- I use DIRTXT.BAT to copy BROWSE.COM onto each diskette to
- assist me in viewing the DIR.TXT file. I also copy a few
- other files onto each diskette but they are not germane to
- this documentation.
-
- WARNING: Be sure to allow yourself enough free disk space
- when copying files, etc. EasyCat will _NOT_ detect errors.
- This is totally your responsibility.
-
-
- My DIRTXT.BAT file
- ------------------
- Rem %1 is the drive letter passed by EasyCat
- Rem
- Copy Read.Com %1
- Copy Read.Me %1
- Copy Emporium.Doc %1
- Copy About_Us.Txt %1
- Copy Go.Bat %1
-
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-
-
- 13
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
-
-
- S. Appendix B - Diskette Categories
-
- Within The Data Emporium BBS (tm) Software Library, the
- diskettes are broken down into topic oriented sets. The set
- names are listed below along with a brief description of the
- types of files/programs that you will find within each set.
- If you have any questions or comments please feel free to
- contact us.
-
- BAS Basic Programming -- Examples, libraries and
- several useful utilities to assist you in
- programming in BASIC.
-
- BAT Batch file utilities and examples -- Assist you in
- writing more productive DOS Batch files. Most
- give you more flexibility than what is provided by
- DOS alone.
-
- BBS Bulletin Board Software -- Files related to
- operating a computer bulletin board. Various
- utilities, etc.
-
- C Examples, libraries and several useful utilities
- to assist you in programming in C.
-
- COMM Telecommunications programs -- Support your use of
- your computer as a terminal to other computers and
- systems. There are several utilities provided
- that can enhance your systems abilities in
- transferring data, etc.
-
- DBMS Database Management Systems (DBMS) -- Assist you
- in collecting and managing information or data.
- The data you enter is stored in a "database". You
- can display, change, find, rearrange, analyze,
- relate, and print any data in your database.
-
- DISK Disk Utilities -- Deal with a disk as a whole.
- This includes such things as changing the
- interleave factors, partitioning, marking bad
- tracks, backup/restore, etc.
-
- DOS DOS Utilities are merely enhanced versions of the
- commands available within MS/PC-DOS itself. In
- short, the files and programs found here are just
- better mouse traps those those provided with DOS.
-
- FILE File Utilities -- Allow you to do such things as
- compress, manage, alter and otherwise manipulate
- files and their contents.
-
- FIN Financial Management Software -- Assists you in
- managing all aspects of your finances, such as
- checkbook management, general ledger, accounts
-
- 14
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- receivable, accounts payable, budget planning and
- much more.
-
- GAME Games -- Programs that are designed for those
- moments when you just have to stop doing serious
- things with your computer. You will find a wide
- assortment of all kinds of games (arcade, board,
- word, adventure, etc.)
-
- GRPH Graphics Applications -- Allow you to create and
- design pictures, graphs, charts, etc. with your
- computer. You will find such pacakges as complete
- presentation systems as well. NOTE: Graphing
- utilities that are a part of another application
- will be found in the same file area with that
- particular application program.
-
- HW Hardware Utilities -- Assist you in "tweaking"
- your hardware, i.e., set your turbo-pc to fast or
- slow, run diagnostics, park your hard drive heads,
- increase disk speed, etc.
-
- MENU Menu Systems -- Provide you with an alternative to
- remembering all those DOS commands, paths,
- sequences, and such when you want to use a program
- on your disk. Through the use of a Menu System
- you can merely press one or two keys to start the
- program you want. Menu Systems are ideal for
- people who share their computer or for people who
- are not very familiar with the actual workings of
- DOS.
-
- OFC Office Management Software -- Assists you in
- performing those everyday tasks around your
- office. You will find such things as tickler
- files, desktop organizers, calendars, employee
- review systems, etc.
-
- PRT Printer Utilities -- The files contained in this
- area will assist you in getting the most out of
- your printer. You will find utilities that allow
- you to send control codes directly to your printer
- from DOS, print sideways, alternate margins for
- even-odd spacing, etc.
-
- REF Technical Reference -- This area contains text
- files, articles, stories, how-to files, etc. for
- computer related topics.
-
- UNP Unprotection Software -- This area contains
- various schemes to UNPROTECT certain software that
- is copy protected. We do not recommend you use
- these to make 'Boot-leg' copies to give to
- friends, but rather aid in the ease and convience
-
- 15
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- of using your own software!
-
- WP Word Processors -- Helps you in the management of
- written correspondence within your home, office or
- school. You will find such programs as full
- fledged word processors, writing assistants,
- spelling checkers, word processor enhancements and
- various word processing utilities.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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-
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- 16
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- T. Appendix C - Release History
-
-
- December 7, 1988 0.25gamma
- ---------------------------
-
- Inital Gamma Release
-
-
- December 8, 1988 0.26gamma
- ---------------------------
-
- Fixed a nasty little bug that prevented EasyCat from
- creating a "DIR.TXT" file on the cataloged diskette.
- "DIR.TXT" is the actual meat of EasyCat and cannot be done
- without. The problem occurred when I tried to hurry and get
- 0.25 out the door. Thanks to Frank for pointing out this
- S.O.B. (Stupid Obscure Bug).
-
-
- December 9, 1988 0.27gamma
- ---------------------------
-
- Fixed the S.O.B. that caused the problem with importing file
- descriptions. This feature should work okay now.
-
- Added a screen update when changing between VIEW and EDIT
- modes in the "Catalog a diskette" procedure
-
- Totally changed the way the HELP facility works. I have
- written a procedure that allows me to add help screens AFTER
- the program is compiled. This saves a considerable amount
- of time.
-
-
- December 9, 1988 0.28gamma
- ---------------------------
-
- Fixed a S.O.B. that caused the help function to go nuts and
- lock up.
-
-
- December 11, 1988 0.29gamma
- ----------------------------
-
- Not released to Gamma Team. Internal (Vern and Frank only)
- for bug test.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 17
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- December 11, 1988 0.30gamma
- ----------------------------
-
- Fixed the screens in the Catalog a diskette function. Much
- nicer. Thanks Frank.
-
- Fixed the ^L in Edit mode... should have been ^Y. Thanks
- Meg.
-
- Fixed a few other bugs.
-
- Designed and installed the first in a (hopefully) long list
- of reports. If you have any ideas for new reports, please
- let me know.
-
- First rough draft at documentation and glossary. Where or
- where is Bob when I need him? <Grin>
-
-
- December 17, 1988 0.31gamma
- ----------------------------
-
- Not released to Gamma Team. Internal (Vern and Frank only)
- for bug test
-
-
- December 18, 1988 0.32gamma
- ----------------------------
-
- Added "Locate a file" feature to main menu. The following
- keys work in this function...
- PgDn - Scrolls down one page (ten lines)
- PgUp - Scrolls up one page
- DnArrow - Scrolls down one line
- UpArrow - Scrolls up on line
- End - Moves cursor bar to end of file
- Home - Moves cursor bar to top of file
- Alphakey - Moves cursor to first file that begins with
- pressed key i.e. Pressing the letter M
- will move the cursor bar to the first
- filename that begins with the letter M.
- F2 - Search (from top of file) for specified
- search string
- F3 - Finds next occurance of search string
- (entered in F2 window)
- Return - Displays total information about
- highlighted file
-
- Updated Reports to ask for a specific category
-
- Added "Sorted by volume" report
-
- When cataloguing a diskette (in the view mode) you can now
- press an key and move to the first filename that starts with
-
- 18
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- the pressed key (just like in the locate a file function
- above)
-
- If you catalog a diskette and then later remove a file from
- it and re-catalog it... EasyCat will retain the data about
- the file you deleted in the "Imported File Description"
- database. This way you can easily move files from one
- diskette to another without having to re-type all the data.
-
-
- December 24, 1988 0.33gamma
- ----------------------------
-
- Not released to Gamma Team. Internal for bug test
-
-
- December 25, 1988 0.34gamma
- ----------------------------
-
- Added the ability to "undelete" files when cataloging a
- diskette. Before, you could only delete a file.
-
- Added three maintenance functions. 1) Pack software
- database, 2) Pack imported descriptions database, and 3)
- Edit imported descriptions database.
-
- Fixed the bug that cause DIR.TXT to be single spaced.
-
- Added a "title" to reports that are for a specific category.
- i.e. "Listing sorted by filename for category: WP", etc.
-
- Fixed bug when cataloging a diskette and performing an Alpha
- Search. If the letter wasn't found unpredictable results
- occurred. This has been fixed. Now if you press a letter
- that isn't found you are taken to the last record.
-
-
- December 28, 1989 0.35gamma
- ----------------------------
-
- Added two more maintenance routines 1) allows you to pack
- "Omit" list and 2) allows you to completely "zap" the
- Imported Descriptions Database.
-
- Added a new report... Duplicate filenames.
-
- Fixed a nasty bug that would delete the imported file
- descriptions if you aborted the cataloguing of a diskette.
-
- Fixed a bug that was causing EasyCat _NOT_ to remove
- previous catalogued diskette from the Software Database.
- i.e. If you re-catalogued the same diskette.
-
-
-
- 19
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- January 3, 1989 1.00
- ----------------------
-
- Here its is... the first public release!!
-
-
- January 4, 1989 1.01
- ----------------------
-
- Ooooops. A typo creeped into version 1.00. Thanks to Al
- Kosanke for finding this little mite. The typo was in a
- variable name in the "Catalog a diskette" function. This
- typo WAS NOT in earlier version; only in version 1.00.
-
- Sorry about this.
-
-
-
-
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- 20
-
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-
-
-
-
-
-
- U. Appendix D - Plans for future releases
-
- 1) Report of diskettes added to your collection since a
- speified date.
-
- 2) Batch file generation for creating file areas on your
- bulletin board, etc.
-
- 3) Diskette "Free Space" report
-
- and any others that I can think of. <Grin>
-
- If you have a suggestion for improvements please let me hear
- from you. You can contact me by writing to the address
- above or by posting a message on my bulletin board, The Data
- Emporium BBS (tm), at (915) 857-1974, 3/12/24/9600 baud HST,
- 24hrs per day.
-
-
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- 21
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-
-
-
-
-
- V. REGISTRATION FORM
- -----------------
-
- If you purchased EasyCat directly from EasyWare Concepts in
- your own name, then your copy is already registered and you
- will receive all the benefits of registration. You do not
- need to send in a registration form.
-
- If you received EasyCat from a "Users' Group", "Software
- Library", "SIG", "Bulletin Board", etc. and have paid a
- small fee (usually either yearly dues or $3.00 to $10.00 per
- disk) you have NOT acquired a registration. The fee you
- paid was for the convenience of obtaining the diskette with
- EasyCat on it. The fee does NOT apply to the registration
- fee.
-
- You may register your copy by filling out the following form
- and mailing it to the listed address along with your check
- or money order.
-
-
- When you register for a fee of $49.95 you will receive:
-
- - The latest version of EasyCat (with your own personal
- serial number),
-
- - The latest Users' Manual,
-
- - Free Technical Phone Support for 1 year.
-
- - 20% commission on registrations from your copy
-
-
- When you register for a fee of $24.95 you will receive:
-
- - A license to use the copy of EasyCat currently in your
- possession.
-
- - Free Technical Phone Support for 90 days.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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-
- 22
-
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-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Mail checks to: Vernon E. Six, Jr.
- c/o EasyWare Concepts
- P.O. Box 371481
- El Paso, Texas 79937-1481
-
- Texas residents please add 8% sales tax. All funds must be
- in U.S. Currency. Make checks payable to Vernon E. Six, Jr.
-
- Your check will be supporting software distributed under the
- ShareWare concept and you will be contributing to the
- further development of EasyCat and other ShareWare products.
-
-
-
- Name ______________________________________________________
-
- Company ___________________________________________________
-
- Address ___________________________________________________
-
- City/State ________________________________________________
-
- Zip ___________________
-
-
- Serial Number on the Opening Screen _______________________
-
-
- How did you first learn about EasyCat or where did you first
- obtain a copy of EasyCat?
-
- ____________________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________________
-
-
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- 23
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