Power Utilities

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Power Utilities / Power Utilities.iso / ek / fmngr230 / fm.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1990-11-02 | 79.9 KB | 2,113 lines

The File Manager 2.3 THE FILE MANAGER 2.3 Written By: Mike Gillen Distributed By: CGT Computer Graphics and Text P.O. Box 1564 Kenner, LA 70063-1564 (504) 468-7819 Copyright 1990 by Mike Gillen Release date November 3, 1990 The File Manager 2.3 Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Legal Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 What is FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Files Included . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Disk Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Hard Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Floppy Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 FMINST.EXE Installation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Changing Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Video Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Customize Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sort Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Programmable Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Save Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Reference Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 F1 -- Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 F2 -- Mark/Unmark all files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 F3 -- Change drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 F4 -- Change file mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 F5 -- Sort files by name/ascending . . . . . . . . . . 13 ALT-F5 -- Sort files by name/descending . . . . . . . 13 F6 -- Sort files by extension/ascending . . . . . . . 13 ALT-F6 -- Sort files by extension/descending . . . . . 14 F7 -- Sort files by size/ascending . . . . . . . . . . 14 ALT-F7 -- Sort files by size/descending . . . . . . . 14 F8 -- Sort files by date and time/ascending . . . . . 14 ALT-F8 -- Sort files by date and time/descending . . . 14 F9 -- Arc/Unarc Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 F10 -- Execute Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 ALT-A -- Change file attributes . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ALT-C -- Copy file(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ALT-D -- Delete file(s) or remove directory . . . . . 16 ALT-E -- File encryption/decryption . . . . . . . . . 17 ALT-F -- Reread files in current directory . . . . . . 17 ALT-K -- Change Programmed Function Keys . . . . . . . 18 ALT-L -- Change Listing/Editing Program . . . . . . . 18 ALT-M -- Move file(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 i The File Manager 2.3 ALT-N -- Create new directory . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 ALT-O -- Change video lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 ALT-P -- Print file or directory . . . . . . . . . . . 19 ALT-R -- Rename file or directory . . . . . . . . . . 20 ALT-S -- Display system statistics . . . . . . . . . . 20 ALT-T -- Display disk directories . . . . . . . . . . 20 CTRL-T -- Rescan disk directories . . . . . . . . . . 20 ALT-U -- Unarchive file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ALT-X -- Exit the File Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ALT-Z -- Archive File(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ENTER -- Change directory or view file . . . . . . . . 21 Space Bar -- Mark/Unmark current file . . . . . . . . 22 A-Z/0-9 -- Go to file or directory that begins with key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Command Line Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 /C -- force FM into color mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 /B -- force FM into black and white mode . . . . . . . 23 /M -- force FM into monochrome mode . . . . . . . . . 23 /S -- eliminate snow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 /Z -- force FM to use ROM BIOS video . . . . . . . . . 23 /R## -- change the amount of video lines . . . . . . . 23 /D# -- change the screen save delay time . . . . . . . 24 /F[mask] -- change the file mask . . . . . . . . . . . 24 /L[progname] -- specify external lister or editor . . 24 /N -- do not create DIR_INFO.FM file . . . . . . . . . 24 /? or /H -- display a help screen . . . . . . . . . . 24 Programmable Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 The DIR_INFO.FM File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Mouse Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Pop-up Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 FYI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 ii The File Manager 2.3 Introduction This program is not Public Domain nor is it Free. It has been distributed in Shareware form so that you may try the program for a limited evaluation period of 21 days. After this period you must register the copy. The fee for registra- tion is $25.00 U.S. Dollars. Upon registration, you will receive a registered update of this program that does not include the opening title screen. This will be sent to you at no cost when you register the FM program. We offer free phone support for registered users from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Central time. We will NOT accept collect calls. The number is (504) 468-7819. Legal Disclaimer Here at CGT (Computer Graphics & Text), we believe in quality programs. We have done everything possible to insure that this program will operate correctly on many different IBM compatible machines. However, due to the shear number of differ- ent devices currently on the market, neither CGT, its owners and/or representatives, or Mike Gillen can be accountable for any form of loss, tangible or intangible, due to the use or inabili- ty to use this program. By using this program you agree to the terms outlined above. Please feel free to copy this program and distribute it as long as you don't receive ANY fee or funds for the distribu- tion and the files contained herein are not modified in any form. We have site licenses available for businesses at extremely reasonable prices call us and ask about it. What is FM The File Manager allows you to do your file management, whether on a hard disk or on floppies, in a user friendly envi- ronment. There are a lot of programs on the market that allow you to do things similar to FM, but we at CGT feel that FM's command structure and syntax is very intuitive and easy to learn. FM can operate as a menu system, since you can run almost any program from within it, but that is not its purpose. FM was created for easy management of files where a large number of files are involved. Files can be manipulated within FM in almost any way. And FM is fast. You never need to wonder what FM is doing, because its functions are displayed on the screen as it performs them. 1 The File Manager 2.3 Many months of work have gone into the development of FM. We want to bring you quality software at reasonable prices. FM has been thoroughly tested; however, not every circumstance can be determined ahead of time. If you find any problems with FM, or you feel that a feature was left out and should be implement- ed, please feel free to contact CGT. We are a service oriented company and we will do our best to satisfy your needs. Requirements FM requires DOS 2.1 or higher although DOS 3.x is recommend- ed. There are no special video requirements for FM and it should run on any video system, including a DesqView multi-window environment. FM takes approximately 150K of memory, but once loaded into memory no other disk access is necessary except for the help file. This means that you can run FM from a floppy, then remove the floppy and replace it with another. Then by telling FM to reread the directory, it will display the directory of the new floppy. Files Included FM.EXE -------- The File Manager. FMINST.EXE ---- The FM installation program. FM.HLP -------- The FM help file. FM.DOC -------- This document. FMORDER.FRM --- Order form. README.1ST ---- Important installation notes. History Version 1.0 o Original version, not released publicly. Used in-house only. Version 1.1 o Original shareware version. Many bug fixes. Version 1.2 2 The File Manager 2.3 o Added pop-up menus, windows, and dialogue boxes. o Lengthened statistics and file windows to show more information and files. Version 2.0 o Added file encryption/decryption. o Added mouse support. o Added system statistics. o Sped up many of the internal algorithms. o Increased video speed writes. o Built in more compatibility including DesqView detection. o Added EGA 43 and VGA 50 line support. o Added disk directory window. o Added user defined file mask. o Enabled files to be sorted in descending as well as ascending order. o Added support for running 4DOS 3.0 BTM batch files and executable extensions. o Enabled files to be left marked after batch copying allowing for easier deletion after copying. o Added options for making and removing directories. o Added much more error checking for disk operations. Version 2.1 o Added file and directory printing capabilities. o Added the ability to bring up a list of directories on any disk for moving and copying files to when ALT-T is pressed when the directory prompt window is displayed. o Fixed a problem with moving and copying files from a subdirectory to the root directory on the same drive when no drive specification was given and only a backslash was entered. o Removed the /T switch. o Changed the ESC key action from submenus where pressing ESC would abort the menu system, now pressing ESC from a submenu brings you back to the main menu. o Removed all shareware crippling, now the only difference between the shareware and registered version is the opening shareware screen and the EXE file integrity check. o Added screen burnout protection; see the /D switch for more information. o Fixed a problem where some strings would be too long to print in its window and nothing would display. o Added F3 repeat to prompts that may require long string inputs. 3 The File Manager 2.3 o Directory information is now saved in the file DIR_INFO.FM in the root directory of a hard drive for faster starting. o Added Alt-L command to change file listing or editing program. o Created installation program for registered version only. o Made many other ascetic and error checking improvements. Version 2.2 o Removed the EXE integrity check in order to allow the installation program to work with the shareware version. o Fixed a problem where on some systems the highlighted file bar would not stop immediately when the arrow key was released. o Added context-sensitive, fully cross-referenced and indexed help system. This entailed adding a separate help file. o Fixed a problem that caused a lock-up when the directory window was accessed in a directory that was not contained in the DIR_INFO.FM file. o Added complete interactive editing of all input prompts. This allows editing of file names for renaming, etc. o Added programmable function keys with replaceable parameters allowing custom built commands. o Added execution menu. o Some ascetic changes and minor bug fixes. Version 2.3 o Added /N switch to tell FM not to create the DIR_INFO.FM file. o Added ALT-O command to allow user to change from 25 to/from 43/50 line video modes from within FM. o Added Arc/Unarc menu to allow user to unarchive a com- pressed file from within FM. This also allows archiving marked files with compression programs that support response files. These commands are accessed with the ALT-U, ALT-Z and F9 commands. 4 The File Manager 2.3 Disk Installation Hard Disk To install the File Manager on a hard disk system, copy the files FM.EXE and FM.HLP to a directory on your hard disk that is included in your DOS path. (For more on the DOS path, see your DOS reference manual.) FM will run with no further installation; however, to customize the defaults, such as colors, video type, etc., use the FMINST.EXE program explained below. Floppy Disk To use the File Manager on a floppy disk only system, copy FM.EXE to either your boot disk or your utility disk. Once your system is booted, place the disk containing the File Manager into the drive and type FM. Once the File Manager has been started it does not need to access itself on the disk, so you may swap disks as many times as you like and use the Alt-F command to tell FM to read the new disk. For more, see the Alt-F command in the reference section of this manual. To customize the defaults, suck as colors, video type, etc., use the FMINST.EXE program explained below. The help system will not be function in this situation since the FM.HLP file will not always be available. It must reside either in the current disk and directory, in a directory on your DOS path, or in the directory specified with the FMINST.EXE program. FMINST.EXE Installation Program The FMINST.EXE installation program allows you to change all of the defaults in the File Manager. To use FMINST type FMINST [/Fd:\path\name] [/B] at the DOS prompt. The commands in brackets are optional and explained below. /F[d:\path\name] The File Manager must be in the same directory and must not have been renamed. If it is in a directory other than the current one or it has been renamed, use the /F switch like this FMINST /F[d:\path\name] where d: is the drive the File Manager resides on, path is the full directory name of the directory where FM resides, and name 5 The File Manager 2.3 is the name of the FM file. If FM is in the current directory but has been renamed, you only need to specify the new name, like this FMINST /F[name] If FM is on the same drive but in a different directory, you only need to specify the path and name, like this FMINST /F[\path\name] If FM is on another drive, you must specify the full drive, path, and name. /B This will force the installation program to use black and white mode. If you have trouble reading the text in the program or are using a LCD display, you may need to specify this switch when running FMINST.EXE. Changing Colors You can change all of the colors that FM use to display text on your screen. Below is an explanation of the default colors and what they are used for. Main Screen Normal Text The normal text on the main screen is light grey on blue by default. This is how FM displays the files in the file window. Main Screen Highlighted Text The highlighted text on the main screen is white on blue by default. This is how FM displays the file and statistics window borders, the main hot key references, the copyright and title, and the current directory.. Main Screen Statistics Text The statistics text on the main screen is yellow on blue by default. This how FM displays the statistics in the statistics window and the labels for the main hot keys and current directo- ry. Highlighted File The currently highlighted file is white on red by default. This is how the current file will appear in the file window. It is also the color used to point to marked files. Highlighted Directory 6 The File Manager 2.3 The currently highlighted directory is white on red by default. This is how FM will display the current directory in the directory window. Popup Window Border The popup window borders are white on green by default. This includes all popup windows, such as the help window, prompt windows, directory window, popup menus, and popup information windows. Popup Window Text The popup window text is black on green by default. This will be the text in all windows that use the popup window border color. Input Prompt Text The input prompt text is black on light grey by default. This is how FM displays all prompts where information is required to be typed in. This is how the center on the window will appear, the border will be in the color specified by the popup window border color. Error Message Border The error message borders are white on red by default. This not only includes error messages, but popup windows that ask for confirmation when FM does a destructive process, such as deleting files or overwriting exiting files when copying. Error Message Text The error message text is yellow on red by default. This is how FM displays text in popup windows that use the popup window border color above. Nonselectable Menu Items The nonselectable menu items are red on green by default. The menu colors are defined by the setting of the popup window colors above. Clear Screen Normal Text The clear screen normal text is light grey on black by default. This is the color FM will clear the screen in when you shell to DOS, run a DOS command, list or edit a file, and exit to DOS. If your DOS environment is normally white on blue, then set this color to match your normal DOS screen color. Clear Screen Highlighted Text The clear screen highlighted text is white on black by default. This is how FM displays highlighted text when it clears the screen using the clear screen normal text above. 7 The File Manager 2.3 Video Defaults The video defaults can be set according to your video adapter/monitor and your tastes. The defaults which can be modified are explained below. Screen Rows FM defaults to 25 rows but can use EGA 43 or VGA 50 row modes. Use this to set the default FM will use. If FM changes the amount of rows, it will reset the adapter to its original state when you exit. What this means is, if you are in 43 row mode and FM is set for 25 row mode, when you start FM it will switch to 25 row mode. When you exit FM it will reset the screen to 43 row mode. You can override this setting with the /R switch. See the section on command line switches for more information. Default Video Mode By default FM will use mode the mode your video adapter is currently in. This means that if your adapter in is black and white mode, FM will use black and white mode, or if you are in color mode, FM will use color mode. By setting this default you can force FM to use color, black and white, or monochrome modes. This means that if you set FM for color mode and you are in black and white mode, FM will use color mode regardless of the current video setting. However, FM will always leave the video system in the mode it was in when it was started. This means that if you are in black and white and you set FM for color, FM will use color mode, but will reset the mode to black and white when you exit. You can override the setting in FM with the /C (color) switch, /B (black and white) switch, or the /M (monochrome) switch. For more information, see the section on command line switches in this manual. Screen Save Delay Time Use this to specify the amount of time FM will wait to blank the screen when no key has been pressed. The default time is 5 minutes. Valid times are 0 to 9 minutes. By specifying a time of 0, you will disable the screen saving feature. The time entered must be a whole number. You can override the setting with the /D switch. For more information, see the section on command line switches in this manual. Times are approximate. Check for Snow This tests your screen to see if static appears on your screen during screen writes. FM uses direct memory access for all of its screen writes by default. This can cause static (snow) on some older CGA adapters. If you have this problem, use this to tell FM to write to the screen with no snow. This slows 8 The File Manager 2.3 the screen writes, but not by much. You can also specify snow checking with the /S switch. For more information, see the section on command line switches in this manual. Customize Defaults This allows you to set the defaults FM will use for file listing/editing, printer port, and file mask. These can all be changed either from within FM or by command line switches. File List/Edit Program Use this to specify a file listing or editing program you want FM to use when ENTER is pressed on a highlighted file. The editor or lister will be called just as if you had entered the following command at the DOS prompt. PROGRAM FILENAME.EXT You can override this setting when you start FM by using the /L switch or change it within FM with the Alt-L command. For more information, see the section on command line switches or the Alt- L command in this manual. The maximum length of the command is 30 characters and no spaces are allowed. The program should reside in a directory specified in your DOS path, but you may specify the full path and file name if you are using DOS 3.x or higher. Printer Port The default printer port FM uses is PRN. If your printer is on a different port you can specify it here. This can also be changed from within FM with the Alt-P command. For more informa- tion, see the section on the Alt-P command in this manual. You can also specify a file name for FM to print to. If a file name is specified, FM will print to that file in the current directo- ry, and if the file already exists, it will be overwritten. File Mask The default file mask FM uses is *.*. You can specify any valid DOS file mask using both the ? and * wildcards. For more on wildcards, see your DOS reference manual. This does not affect the way FM reads the directories on your disk, only files within the current directory. This can be changed from within FM by pressing F4 or using the /F switch. For more information, see the section on the F4 Change File Mask command or the section on command line switches in this manual. FM Path FM needs to know what directory it will be residing in so it can find its help file. Enter the drive and directory in this 9 The File Manager 2.3 form: d:\path. A trailing backslash is not necessary. This will default to the current working directory the first time you run FMINST. If you delete the directory string, FM will search the DOS path for its help file. Arc Program This is the program that FM will call to archive the cur- rently highlighted file or marked files. The command that FM will issue is in this form ArcProg [filename.ext/@response.fil] If you wish to place any switches for the archiving program here, they will be placed in the command prior to the filename. Many archiving programs use this syntax. Unarc Program This is the program that FM will use to unarchive the currently highlighted file. Sort Order This allows you to specify the default sort order FM uses. The default is for FM to sort the files by name in a ascending order. You can set whatever default you wish to use. The files can be sorted in any order you wish once you start FM. This only affects the sort order when you first start FM. For more on file sorting, see the sorting commands in the command reference section of this manual. Programmable Function Keys This allows you to make permanent changes to the Control Function Keys in FM. These keys will perform whatever DOS command you program them to perform when they are invoked. There are also several replaceable parameters you may place within the strings you enter for the keys. For complete instructions on the replaceable parameters and their uses, see the section on Pro- grammable Function Keys in this manual. You can change the key assignments from within FM; however, the changes will be lost when you exit. The only way to change the assignments permanent- ly is to use the FMINST installation utility. 10 The File Manager 2.3 Save Changes This allows you to save the changes you have made to the FM.EXE file. FM does not use a separate configuration file. The changes you make are written directly to the EXE program file. If you get an error when trying to save your changes, the EXE file has most likely been set as read-only. Use FM to change the file attribute of the EXE file and then try again. 11 The File Manager 2.3 The File Manager Reference Manual F1 -- Help The F1 help key will bring up the help system. Which exact help screen you get when pressing F1 depends on the task you are currently performing. The help system is completely context sensitive. Some help screens will have cross references to topics that are related to the current help screen. To access these other screens, highlight the topic name and press ENTER. All help screens will allow you to jump to the help index by highlighting the help index catagory that is always in the lower left-hand corner. In the index you will find all of the help categories listed and you can access the entire help system through here. Many of the screens contain more than one page of information. The page you are currently on and the total number of pages will always appear in the upper right-hand corner. If a help catagory has more than one screen, you may press Page Up and Page Down to navigate the help catagory. Pressing ESC will exit from the help system. F2 -- Mark/Unmark all files The F2 key will mark or unmark all of the files in the current directory. If less files are marked than the total number of files then all of the files will be marked. If all of the files are marked then they will all be unmarked. If only a few files are marked and you want to unmark the files without unmarking each one individually, then press the F2 key twice. The first press will mark all of the files, the second press will unmark all of the files. Marking works on copies, deletes, and moves only. It does not affect any other commands. For instance, if there are 20 files in the current directory and you have marked 15 of them individually using the Space Bar (see Space Bar in this section) and now you wish to unmark them, you do not have to go back to each file individually. Just press F2 and FM will mark the other 5 files, now press F2 a second time and FM will unmark all of the files. Also, if you wish to copy, move, or delete almost all of the files in the current directory (say 15 out of 20), instead of marking each file you want to work with, press F2 and mark all of the files, then unmark the files you do not want to perform the command on using the Space Bar on each file. F3 -- Change drive The F3 key will prompt for a new drive. No colon is needed and no return is needed after the drive letter is pressed. Just enter the letter corresponding to the drive you wish to change to 12 The File Manager 2.3 and FM will change the drive. F4 -- Change file mask The F4 key will prompt you for a new file mask. After entering the file mask FM will reread the files in the current directory and display only the files that match the file mask. After entering certain masks, the directories may not be dis- played in the file window. To change to a new directory use the ALT-T command to bring up the directories window. The default mask is *.*. The /F command line switch will also allow you to bring up FM with a different default mask. See the section on command lines switches for more information. If a mask besides *.* has been entered, then pressing ENTER alone when the file mask prompt window is displayed will change the mask to *.*. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. To specify a default filemask at the command line, use the /F switch. For more information, see the section on command line switches in this manual. F5 -- Sort files by name/ascending The F3 key will sort the files alphabetically by name in ascending order. This is the default sort used when FM is first started. Sorting the files does not affect markings; if a file was marked it will remain marked. The sort order is always displayed in the status window. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. ALT-F5 -- Sort files by name/descending The ALT-F5 key combination will sort the files the opposite order of the F5 key by sorting the files by name in descending order. This becomes the new default until explicitly changed. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. F6 -- Sort files by extension/ascending The F6 key will sort the files alphabetically by extension in ascending order. It works the same as the F5 key except the sort order is by extension. This also changes the default sort order to the extensions, so if you change the directory, drive, or reread the current directory the sort order will remain on the extensions. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. ALT-F6 -- Sort files by extension/descending 13 The File Manager 2.3 The ALT-F6 key combination will sort the files in the opposite order of the F6 key by sorting the files by extension in descending order. This becomes the new default until explicitly changed. You can customize this feature with the FMINST instal- lation program. F7 -- Sort files by size/ascending The F7 key will sort the files by size with the smallest being first. It does not affect the markings and changes the default sort order to size. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. ALT-F7 -- Sort files by size/descending The ALT-F7 key combination will sort the files by size with the largest file being first. This is the opposite of the F7 key. This becomes the new default until explicitly changed. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. F8 -- Sort files by date and time/ascending The F8 key will sort the files by date and time with the oldest being first. The files will first be sorted internally by time and then by date. This will cause files of the same date to be sorted by time. It does not affect the markings and changes the default sort order to date and time. This becomes the new default until explicitly changed. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. ALT-F8 -- Sort files by date and time/descending The ALT-F8 key combination will sort the files by date and time with the newest files being first. This is the opposite of the F8 key sort order. This becomes the new default until explicitly changed. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. F9 -- Arc/Unarc Programs Pressing F9 will allow you to change the currently set archive and unarchiving programs. These programs can be perma- nently set with the FMINST installation utility. See the Alt-U and Alt-Z command for more on how to use this facility. F10 -- Execute Menu Pressing F10 will bring up a menu allowing you to enter a DOS command, shell to DOS, or run the currently highlighted file. All options are explained below. FM will remember the drive, directory, video mode, and other environmental factors whenever a DOS command or program is executed and change them back to their 14 The File Manager 2.3 original state if they were changed during execution. Enter a DOS command Any valid DOS command may be entered. The DOS command input prompt window will always contain the last command entered. You may edit this command or just press enter to accept it. Shell to DOS You may choose this option to shell to DOS. This will allow you to work at the DOS prompt until you wish to return to FM. To return to FM type EXIT at the DOS prompt. Remember that when you shell to DOS FM is still loaded into memory. To return to DOS and free the memory FM is using, use the ALT-X command to exit to DOS. Execute current file This will execute the currently highlighted file as if the name was typed at the DOS prompt. Only files with COM, EXE, or BAT extensions can be run by DOS, therefore, pressing F9 while a file with a different extension is highlighted will result in an error message. You can also run 4DOS 3.0 BTM (batch-to-memory) files if you are using the 4DOS command interpreter. This feature enables you to run any program as long as it can fit into available memory. The available DOS memory is always displayed in the status window. Many DOS enhancers and extenders allow you to specify other executable extension, so FM will attempt to run any file; however, only files that are valid for your operating system will be executed. ALT-A -- Change file attributes Pressing ALT-A will display the currently highlighted file's attributes. You can change the attributes by toggling them on and off with A for archive, H for hidden, R for read only, and S for system. Changes will not be made to disk until ENTER it pressed. ESC will allow you to abort the changes. If ENTER is pressed and no changes were made, FM will act as though ESC was pressed. ALT-C -- Copy file(s) Pressing ALT-C will copy the currently highlighted file if none are marked, if files are marked it will copy all marked files regardless of the current highlight setting and if the currently highlighted file is not marked, it will not be copied. You will be prompted for a drive and directory to copy to. Renaming while copying is not allowed. While copying FM will check to make sure a file by the same name does not exist in the destination drive and directory. If one does you will be prompted whether or not you wish to over- 15 The File Manager 2.3 write the existing file. FM will check to make sure that there is enough room on the destination drive for the file being copied. If there is not you will be prompted whether to continue or not. This gives you three choices: ESC will abort the copy process; ENTER will try to recopy the current file; and any other key will skip that file and go to the next one. This will allow you to back up an entire subdirectory to floppies by marking all of the files and then copying them to the floppy drive. When there is not enough room left to copy, you can swap disks and then continue with the current file by pressing ENTER. FM will NOT split a file between disks, so you cannot copy a file that is larger than the total disk space of the destination drive. When you are being asked to enter a destination drive and directory to copy to, you may press ALT-T to get a list of the directories on the destination drive. You will first be asked for a drive specification to copy to. Then a list of all the directories on that drive will appear in a window. To choose the destination, just move the highlighted bar to the desired direc- tory and press ENTER. The directory will be entered into the input prompt window for you. You may then edit this directory name or press ENTER to accept it. If you are copying marked files you will be asked whether to unmark these files or not when the copying process is finished. The default is yes, but entering N will leave the files marked. This allows you to copy the files and then delete or move them after they have been copied without having to remark them. ALT-D -- Delete file(s) or remove directory Pressing ALT-D will delete the currently highlighted file if none are marked. If files are marked it will delete the marked files regardless of the current highlight and if the currently highlighted file is not marked it will not be deleted. You will be prompted whether or not to continue with the delete command. The default is NO. If you really want to delete the files then pressing Y is the only way to do so. There is no way to override this prompting. This is for your protection to prevent acciden- tal deletion of files. If no files are marked and a directory is currently high- lighted, then FM will attempt to remove that directory. If FM cannot remove the directory, then the directory may not be empty. Change into the directory and delete or move the files and/or directories it contains, then move back to the parent directory and try removing it again. FM will then be able to remove the directory. ALT-E -- File encryption/decryption Pressing ALT-E will bring up the file encryption option. 16 The File Manager 2.3 This allows you to encrypt or decrypt a file. A minimum of four characters must be used for a pass phrase, and up to 68 may be entered. The longer the phrase, the better the encryption. Hint: Always work with a copy of the file when decrypting. This ensures that if anything goes wrong, you still have the original encrypted file that hasn't been changed. File encryption is a destructive and dangerous process if not done with care and intelligence. When a file is encrypted the original file is overwritten with the encrypted file making the original contents unretrievable. If you are unsure whether a file is encrypted or not, view it first. If you can read any of the file (if any of it is in plain English) then it is not encrypted. 99% of all executable files, such as COM and EXE files, will have some readable text in them somewhere, also. FM has no way of telling if a file has already been encrypt- ed. The encryption process does not leave any clues or password keys within the file. This is done for a safer encryption making it extremely hard for anyone to ever crack the password for your files. If you accidentally decrypt a file that was not encrypted, then by encrypting it with the password you used, you can re- trieve the contents. If you use the wrong password on an encrypted file while you are decrypting it, you must follow the steps below in order to retrieve the contents. Say you have a file that is encrypted and the password is "open sesame" and you decrypt it using "open sesime". Your file has not been lost. You must backtrack your steps exactly. First ENCRYPT the file using the wrong password (this is the opposite of the last step you took, decrypting with the wrong password), in this case "open sesime". This puts the file back into the original encrypted form. Now decrypt your file using the correct password, "open sesame". Your file will then be in its original form and nothing is lost. ALT-F -- Reread files in current directory Pressing ALT-F will clear the file window and reread the files in the current directory using the current sort order. FM only rereads the directory automatically when a multiple delete or move is made, or a new directory is created. If you use the F10 key to run a DOS command to unzip or unarc a file, the files will not be displayed when you return to FM. To display these new files you must explicitly tell FM to reread the files in the current directory by pressing ALT-F. If for some reason you feel the files read are just not right and there should be more or less of them, pressing ALT-F will force a reread of the directo- ry. It also clears all marks and resorts all of the files using the current default sort order. 17 The File Manager 2.3 ALT-K -- Change Programmed Function Keys Pressing ALT-K will allow you to view and edit your pro- grammed function keys. Any changes made here will not be perma- nent and will be lost when you exit FM. To change the permanent settings of these keys, use the FMINST installation utility. For complete information on how to use the programmable function keys, refer to the section on Programmable Function Keys in this manual. ALT-L -- Change Listing/Editing Program Pressing ALT-L will allow you to change the file listing or editing program from within FM. The maximum string length of this command is 30 characters and no spaces are allowed. The program entered will be sent to the DOS command interpreter followed by the name of the currently highlighted file in this form PROGNAME[options] FILENAME.EXT just as if it had been typed at the DOS prompt. You can custom- ize this feature with the FMINST installation program. To specify a default program at the command line, use the /L switch. For more information, see the section on command line switches in this manual. If a lister or editor has been previously set with the FMINST installation program or the /L switch and you no longer wish to use that lister and you do not want to specify another lister/editor, then pressing ENTER by itself after pressing ALT-L and bringing up the lister/editor prompt window will cancel that lister/editor. This will cause FM to use its internal file scrolling routine. To specify another lister/editor again, just press ALT-L and type in the new name. ALT-M -- Move file(s) Pressing ALT-M will move the currently highlighted file if none are marked. If files are marked it will move the marked files regardless of the currently highlighted file and if the currently highlighted file is not marked it will not be moved. You will be prompted for a directory to move the files to. Files can only be moved on the current disk drive, they cannot be moved from one drive to another. Also, a file cannot be moved to a directory if a file by the same name already exists in that directory. When you are being asked for a destination directory to move the file(s) to, you may press ALT-T to list all of the directo- ries on the current drive. To choose one to move the file(s) to, move the highlighted bar to the desired destination directory and 18 The File Manager 2.3 press ENTER. The directory will be entered into the input prompt window for you. You may then edit the directory name or press ENTER to accept it. ALT-N -- Create new directory Pressing ALT-N will prompt you for a name for a new directo- ry. The directory will be created as a subdirectory of the current directory. Any valid DOS file name characters may be used. The directory name can consist of 8 characters followed by an optional period and a 3 character extension. FM will then automatically reread the files and directories to add the new directory to its windows. ALT-O -- Change video lines Pressing ALT-O will cause FM to change to/from 25/43/50 line modes. All monitors support 25 line mode, EGAs support 43 line mode, and VGAs support 50 line mode. If your monitor supports any mode besides 25 lines, you can use this to change back and forth between the modes. The default mode FM will use can be set with the FMINST installation utility. ALT-P -- Print file or directory Pressing ALT-P will bring up a menu offering you three choices. The first choice, print Current File, is only valid when a file is highlighted in the file window. If a directory is highlighted it cannot be selected. Selecting this choice will print the currently highlighted file. The printing is not formatted, therefore, it will only work with pre-formatted documents, such as; text files that are pure ASCII, batch files, and program documents like this one. It will attempt to print anything if your printer can print it. The second choice, print Directory, will print a listing of the current directory including all files and directories just as they are displayed on the screen. This allows you to get a hardcopy of the directories on your drive. The third choice, Change Port, allows you to change the port that FM uses to print to. The default port is PRN, but any valid port is acceptable, such as; LPT1, LPT2, COM1, COM2, etc. You can also specify a disk file name. This name will be used to print to and will be saved in the current directory. You may save a copy of your directory listing by changing the port to a file name, such as DIR.LST, and then choosing the print Directory option. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installa- tion program. To specify a default port at the command line, use the /P switch. For more information, see the section on command line switches in this manual. ALT-R -- Rename file or directory 19 The File Manager 2.3 Pressing ALT-R will allow you to rename the currently highlighted file or directory. You will be prompted for the new name. It must be a valid DOS file or directory name consisting of a maximum of 8 characters followed by an optional period and 3 character extension. Only valid DOS filename characters can be entered. ALT-S -- Display system statistics Pressing ALT-S will bring up a window displaying a brief listing of the statistics of the system FM is running on. This will enable you to tell many things about a system when informa- tion about the system is needed. ALT-T -- Display disk directories Pressing ALT-T will bring up the directory window. This window will display all of the directories that are on the current disk drive. You can browse through these and press ENTER to change to the one you want. Pressing ESC will abort the process. If there is a directory change, FM will automatically detect this and read the files in the new directory. CTRL-T -- Rescan disk directories Pressing CTRL-T will force FM to rescan the directories on the current disk and save the new information in the DIR_INFO.FM file. Use this feature when you have made or removed directories with DOS or another program. Also, if you believe the list of directories is not accurate, press CTRL-T so FM will reread the directories and make a new list. For more information, see the section of the DIR_INFO.FM file. ALT-U -- Unarchive file Pressing ALT-U will cause FM to call the currently set unarchiving program passing it the name of the currently high- lighted file in this form: UnarcProg [options] [filename.ext] The options must be entered into the unarchiving programs entry line. To set the unarchiving program use the F9 key or to set it permanently, use the FMINST installation utility. ALT-X -- Exit the File Manager Pressing ALT-X will quit FM and return you to DOS. Why anyone would ever want to do that is beyond me. Once you enter FM you'll never want to leave. 20 The File Manager 2.3 ALT-Z -- Archive File(s) Pressing ALT-Z will cause FM to call the currently set archiving program. The command passed to this program will depend on whether there are marked files or not. If there are no marked files, FM will pass the command in this form Arcprog [options] [filename.ext] In this case, filename.ext are the name and extension of the currently highlighted file. If there are marked files, FM will pass this command Arcprog [options] [@response.fil] In this case, FM will generate a response file using a unique file name. This file will hold the names of all the marked files. Many programs support response files. Check the manual on your favorite archive program to see if it supports them. Most of the more popular ones do. The response file is automati- cally deleted after the call to the archiving program has been made. The options are commands you have placed in the archive program string using the F9 command or the FMINST installation utility. ENTER -- Change directory or view file Pressing ENTER will make FM take one of two actions depend- ing on whether the currently highlighted entry is a file or a directory. If it is a file, the file will be opened and viewed. If it is a directory, FM will change to that directory. Both actions are described below. If a directory is highlighted, you will change to that directory. Directories are marked with the <DIR> symbol next to its name. When you are in a subdirectory a directory will appear at the top of the file list with the name '..'. This '..' entry represents the parent directory of the current directory and is used to move up the directory tree to the previous directory. This directory cannot be renamed or deleted. If a file is highlighted, it will be listed to the screen. The file will scroll and can be paused by pressing any key and continued by pressing another key. Pressing ESC will stop the scrolling and return you to the directory listing. The /L switch allows you to use your favorite file listing utility or editor instead of the default scrolling or you can change the listing or editing program from within FM with the Alt-L command. See the section on command line switches or the Alt-L command for more information. You can customize this feature with the FMINST installation program. 21 The File Manager 2.3 Space Bar -- Mark/Unmark current file Pressing the space bar will mark an unmarked file or unmark a marked file. It will then move the highlight to the next file unless the highlight is on the last file, in that case it will remain on the last file. To mark or unmark all of the files, see the information on the F2 key. A-Z/0-9 -- Go to file or directory that begins with key Pressing a letter or number between A-Z or 0-9 will move the highlight to the next file that begins with that letter or number. If no file past the current file matches, FM will start searching from the beginning of the list and move the highlight to the first match it finds. If no files match a beep will sound. This works for the first character of the file name no matter what the current sort order is. 22 The File Manager 2.3 Command Line Switches FM allows 11 command line switches when it is started. They are: /C -- force FM into color mode. /B -- force FM into black and white mode. /M -- force FM into monochrome mode. /S -- eliminate snow on older CGA adapters. /Z -- force FM to use ROM BIOS video instead of direct memory video. This will cause the display to be quite a bit slower; however, it will make FM compatible with almost any system that is IBM ROM BIOS compatible and not 100% IBM hardware compatible. /R## -- change the amount of video lines FM uses, where ## equals 25, 43, or 50. FM can use EGA 43, VGA 50, or default 25 line video. FM will detect the amount of lines currently being used and default to that. For instance, if 43 line EGA mode is being used, FM will use 43 lines by default. Using /R25 will force FM to use 25 line mode. FM will always leave the video mode and lines the same as it was set when FM was started. No space is allowed between the /R and the number of lines specified. By default, FM will check the current video mode when it is started. If the mode is set to 40 or 80 column black and white, FM will automatically switch to 80 column black and white mode. If it is 40 or 80 column color, then FM will use 80 column color mode. If you force FM to use a mode other than the current mode when it was started, FM will automatically change the mode to what it was set at when it was started when you exit. For instance, if you are using a color monitor and the current mode is 40 column color and you start FM with the /B switch, FM will change the mode to 80 column black and white. When you exit FM it will change the mode back to 40 column color. FM is DesqView aware and should run properly in a multi- window DesqView environment. This detection is automatic. 23 The File Manager 2.3 /D# -- change the screen save delay time. This specifies the amount of time FM will wait before blanking the screen during inactivity. The default time is 5 minutes, but this can be changed to any value between 0 and 59. When 0 is specified then this feature will be turned off and FM will not blank the screen. # must be a whole number, decimals are not allowed. This feature will prevent damage to your monitor during long periods of inactivity. Pressing any key will restore the screen to its original state before it was blanked. No space is allowed between the /D and the number of minutes specified. Times are approximate. /F[mask] -- change the file mask that FM starts with. For instance, entering /F*.C will cause FM to only display the files that have an extension of .C. The mask can also be changed from within FM with the F4 key. The current mask is always displayed in the status window. No space is allowed between the /F and the specified mask. /L[progname] -- specify external lister or editor. This switch allows you to specify an external file listing utility or editor, such as 4DOS's built in LIST command or QEdit. C:\>FM /LLIST This command will run 4DOS's LIST command when ENTER is pressed when a file is highlighted. The currently highlighted file name will automatically be added to the command, so when ENTER is pressed the actual command sent to DOS will be in this form: LIST FILENAME.EXT An extension is not required, but the program must be in a directory that is included in your DOS path. No space is allowed between the /L and the program name. /N -- do not create DIR_INFO.FM file. By default, FM creates a file called DIR_INFO.FM in the root directory of hard disks to store directory information. Use this switch to tell FM not to create the file. FM will never create the file on floppy disks. /? or /H -- display a help screen displaying all valid command line switches. C:\>FM /? 24 The File Manager 2.3 This will display a help screen explaining all of FM's command line switches. Valid switch characters are / and -. All switches must start with one of these two characters. The letter following the switch character can be either upper or lower case, case is not significant. FM reads its command line switches backwards. In other words, the last switch specified on the command line is read first, then the next to last, and on down. What this means is that if you specify 2 switches that contradict each other, the first one specified will override the last one. For instance, if you type the following command C:\>FM /B /C you will be telling FM to start in black and white mode and color mode on the same command line. FM will use black and white mode since it was the first switch specified. What this means is you can create a batch file with the switch options you use the most, but these can easily be overridden. Take the following batch file for instance. ECHO OFF FM %1 %2 %3 /B /R43 This batch file tells FM to run in black and white mode using EGA 43 line mode. Assuming the name of the above batch file is F.BAT, typing the following command will override the switches in the batch file and run FM in color mode using 25 lines. C:\>F /C /R25 DOS will replace the %1 parameter with /C and the %2 parame- ter with /R25. Then when the command line is interpreted, the /C and /R25 command switches will be specified first overriding the /B and /R43 switches that are contained in the batch file. You can customize all of the video defaults with the FMINST installation program. These will become the new defaults when FM is started from the command line with no switches, but they can all be overridden with switches even after installing with FMINST. For more information on installing defaults into FM, see the section on the FMINST installation program in this manual. 25 The File Manager 2.3 Programmable Function Keys FM allows you to program the Control F1 through Control F10 keys to perform any valid DOS command. But FM also allows you to place replaceable parameters within the commands. This will allow you to build several custom commands from one string depending on the environment. A list of valid parameters fol- lows. ~F -- When FM finds this parameter in a CTRL-F-key string, it will replace it with the full file name and extension of the currently highlighted file. For instance, if you program CTRL-F1 to be; QEDIT ~F then you highlight the file MYFILE.TXT and press CTRL-F1, FM will run the DOS command; QEDIT MYFILE.TXT calling up QEDIT and telling it to load the currently highlighted file. ~f -- This works just like the ~F parameter; however, it is replaced with the currently highlighted file's name only. No extension will be added. ~e -- This works the same as above; however, it is replaced with only the currently highlighted file's extension. ~D -- This will be replaced by the current drive and directory in the form d:\path\. A trailing backslash will automatically be added. ~d -- This will be replaced by the current drive in the form d:. The colon will automatically be added. ~P or ~p -- This is perhaps the most powerful replaceable parame- ter. It instructs FM to pause before running the command and allows you to enter a string that FM will replace the ~P with. For instance, if you program the CTRL-F1 key to be; FORMAT ~P then when you press CTRL-F1, FM will pause and an input prompt window will appear. This will allow you to type in any parame- ters for the Format command you wish. You may want to type b: or a: or a: /s /4. Any string you type will replace the ~P. 26 The File Manager 2.3 The DIR_INFO.FM File FM saves the directory structure of your drive in the file called DIR_INFO.FM that is stored in the root directory of the drive that the information pertains to. This file is updated whenever a directory is made, removed, renamed, or the current directory is not found in the file when the directory window is displayed. This file is searched for whenever FM is started from or when you change to a drive. If the file is not found, the directory structure is searched and the file is created automati- cally. Once the file has been created, FM will not have to search the entire drive for the directory information each time it is started. This means that FM will come up almost instanta- neously after the file has been created. If a directory is removed or made using DOS or another program, then there are two ways to update the DIR_INFO.FM file. One is to delete it and then restart FM. This will make FM reread the directory informa- tion and create a new file. The other is to press CTRL-T to force FM to rescan the directories on the current drive; however, no information will be saved to disk if you are on a floppy drive. The DIR_INFO.FM file is never created on a floppy disk, only on a hard disk for faster starting. Mouse Support FM has built in mouse support. FM's mouse support emulates the cursor keys, the ENTER key, and the ESC key. The right button emulates the ESC key and will bring up the pop-up menus or abort any command that ESC will abort. The left button emulates the ENTER key and will perform any function that the ENTER key will perform, such as; changing directories, etc. Mouse movement will emulate the cursor keys and move through the files and/or directories. The menus use full point-and-shoot mouse control. When the menus are called up, the mouse cursor will appear and you can choose any menu item by placing the mouse cursor on that item and clicking the left mouse button. Pop-up Menus Pop-up menus are available by pressing the ESC key when at the main file window. By pressing ESC or the right mouse button a main menu will pop-up allowing you to choose any of the File Manager's commands in a point and shoot fashion with either the 27 The File Manager 2.3 keyboard or a mouse. Pressing ENTER or clicking the left button will choose the highlighted item, pressing ESC or clicking the right button will leave the menus and return you to the file window. FYI FM is written in C and assembler using the Turbo-C 2.0 command line compiler, Turbo Assembler 1.0, and the CXL 5.2 function library. All source code editing is done using QEdit 2.10. The main system FM is developed and initially tested on is a CompuAdd 286/12 with EGA color video. The operating system is MS-DOS 4.0 with 4DOS 3.0 used as the main command interpreter. This document was originally created with WordStar 5.5 and then converted to WordPerfect 5.1. 4DOS is a registered trademark of J.P. Software DesqView is a registered trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems Turbo-C is a registered trademark of Borland International, Inc. QEdit is a registered trademark of Applied Systems Technologies CXL is copyright Mike Smedley WordStar is a registered trademark of MicroPro International Corporation WordPerfect is a registered trademark of The WordPerfect Corporation 28 The File Manager 2.3 Order Form Please send me _____ copies of The File Manager at $25.00 U.S. dollars each. This entitles me to free phone support and notification of upgrades. Name:_____________________________________________ Company:__________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________ __________________________________________________ City:__________________ State:_____ Zip:__________ Phone (_____) _____-__________ Louisiana residents, please add 8% sales tax. Payment enclosed:______________ Tax (if applicable):___________ Total enclosed:________________ Site licenses are available at very reasonable prices. Please send all enquiries and/or payments to: The File Manager CGT Computer Graphics and Text P.O. Box 1564 Kenner, LA 70063-1564 What version do you have:_________ Release date:_________________ Where did you obtain The File Manager from?______________________ _________________________________________________________________ Comments:________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Thank you for using the File Manager