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Text File | 1991-06-13 | 21.6 KB | 506 lines

RIR - Rock dIRectory Purpose Rock Directory (RIR) is a substitute command for DOS's directory (DIR) with a multitude of additions. The syntax and output of RIR is virtually identical to that of DOS's "DIR" command, making it easy to learn; but for the power user, the output can be tailored in many ways to make it just the way you like it. RIR's important documentation is built in (type RIR ?), but this text expands on that information. Uses RIR accepts the /W and /P parameters just as DOS's DIR command does, as well as DOS 5.0's latest additions to DIR. RIR is of great use to those who have a large number of compressed files. Its automatic detection of compressed files makes it easier to use than most methods of viewing the contents of compressed files; it displays them along with a directory's other files. It also shows additional information on other file types, such as the dimensions of GIF image files. One of RIR's biggest advantages is the ability to tailor the appearance of the directory listing (for example, making file names appear in lower case letters), and saving your "default" options in an environment variable, which can automatically be set from an autoexec.bat file. RIR also lets you give more precise "file specifications," for example RIR can show all files *not* ending in ".bak", or all files starting with an A *or* B. If your DOS version is earlier than 5.0, then you'll also appreciate the DOS 5.0 DIR options included in RIR. DOS 5.0 includes the following options (in addition to the old /P and /W): /? for help, /A to show hidden and other files, /O to sort the order of the file list, /S to show files in the specified directory and its subdirectories, and /B to list files without any file information. All of these options, along with the environment variable setting, are included in RIR. As magazines begin to publish tips for DOS 5's DIR, you'll be able to use the same tips with RIR. (I'm not sure the /O syntax is exactly the same yet, but it's quite close). Features Some of the features RIR provides that DIR does not are: A single key can be used to pause/restart the display, and ESC can be used to halt the display, as with many of the other Rock utilities. RIR displays the contents of compressed files, such as ".ARC" and ".ZIP" files. RIR can display directory listings with two to six files per line if desired (/2 to /6 options). RIR allows you to display files in lower case (/AL option), display hidden files (/H option), show times in 24-hour format (/24 option), display file attributes (/FA option) and more, if you prefer those settings. RIR will display file descriptions created with Norton's FI or 4-DOS's DESCRIBE programs. RIR will also list the size & palette range of ".GIF" and ".PCX" image files. It can optionally list the memory required to run .EXE files (/EC option). RIR can display the names of erased files (works on most non-networked disks; note that RIR cannot unerase the files - such resurrection requires a separate program). RIR accepts multiple "filespecs"; for example, you can list all files matching *.COM and *.EXE in one command. Files and directories can be displayed in different colors, according to your color and file specifications. RIR can translate its output (although not built-in help or all error messages) to French, for folks who speak it, folks learning it, or folks wanting a change of pace! Some of the features from MS-DOS 5.0 that RIR duplicates: Default parameters can be set through the RIRCMD environment variable (see below for an explanation). Directories can be "recursed", so that a single RIR command can show the contents of a directory along with the contents of all its subdirectories - you can list every file on a disk with one command (use /S option). Files can be listed one per line, without additional file information, with the /B parameter. The full pathname of the file is included. This is handy for finding files anywhere on a disk with the /S parameter or for "piping" filenames to the input of other programs. Compressed Files The compressed file formats that RIR can decipher are: .ARC, .DWC, .LBR, .LZH, .LZS, .MD, .PKA, .PAK, .ZIP, .ZOO Note that RIR does not decode self-extracting compressed files, which end in .COM or .EXE. What are compressed files? Not everyone uses, or needs to use, compressed files. This section is for those who are confused by what the term "compressed file" means. A compressed file is a single file created to store one or more other files in a "compressed" format to save space. A special compression/decompression program is required to do this, such as "ARC" or "PKZIP," both available from most shareware distribution sources or bulletin board systems. Compression is used for several reasons; to save space with old files that are rarely used, to fit a lot of data on floppy disks, or to send file through telephone lines more quickly. You might squeeze five 100K text files into a single 200K compressed file, store it on a floppy, and when you need it again, decompress it into the original five files. Those who download files with modems usually receive the files in a compressed form - it's faster to download smaller files, and with some systems, time is money! It's often convenient to view the contents of compressed files without actually decompressing them. Most decompression programs can show the contents of files compressed in their own format, but each compression program has its own file format. RIR shows you the contents of many formats of compressed files. Syntax This section is rather long, and is not required reading; if you're a new user, just skim the examples so you know RIR's capabilities, and when you want to do those things, use this section as a reference (or type RIR ? the same info). RIR [d:][path][filespec] [options] [AND/BUT NOT filespec] Options /P Pause after each screen page of display /W List files with up to five filenames on each line /1 - /6 List 1 to 6 filenames on each line (default /1) /S List files in the specified dir and all subdirs /FR Traduis à le français - Translate output to French /? Show RIR's built-in help information /INFO Show information about the Rock utilities /ORDER Output a Rock Utilities order form Examples rir Show current dir, with compressed files rir /p Show current dir, pausing every screen rir /w Show current directory, 5 files per line rir c:\new\*.* Show files in the directory c:\new rir a: /2 Show directory of A:, 2 files per line rir ? > PRN Send the help screens to the printer rir ? > file.txt Send the help screens to file "file.txt" rir /order > PRN Print the Rock Utilities order form Control Keys ESC Stop the program immediately Others Pause the program until next key pressed Control Options /A:att Show only files with the attributes specified att can be R H S and/or A: ReadOnly, Hidden, System, or Archive (e.g., /A:H shows just hidden) /O:ord Displays files sorted in the specified order ord can be N E S D and/or T: Name, Extension, Size, Date, or Time (e.g., /O:N sorts by name) append dash to to the letter to reverse the sort (e.g. /O:D-T- sorts reverse chronologically) /E Include Erased files/dirs (not w/all disks/DOS's) /FA Show file attributes of all files/directories [RHSDA]=ReadOnly/Hidden/System/Directory/Archive /H Include Hidden files/directories in list /1STnn Show only 1st nn files/dirs (/1ST20 shows 1st 20) /ND /JD No Directories or Just Dirs shown /NK No one-key pause/abort /1K Enable one-key pause/abort even when redirected /I Ignore RIRCMD environment variable (see below) Output Options /LJF Left-Justify Files ("fname.ext" not "fname ext") /24 /12 Show times in 24- or 12-hour mode; USA default /12 /M /D /Y Show dates starting with month, day, or year /AU /AL All Upper or All Lower case files and directories /ALF All Lower case names for Files (not directories) /SVS Show Volume serial number (for DOS 4.0+ disks) /T Text lines only, e.g. <-- instead of <── /JFS Just Free Space (only give bytes free at end) /EC EXE comments; show required memory for EXE files /NEC No Expansion of Compressed files /NC No Comments (right half of 1-column listing) /NFS No File Stats at all (no time/date, size) /NCF No Compressed File comments (# & size of contents) /N4D No 4-Dos comments (ignore 4-DOS file descriptions) /NFI No FI comments (skip Norton FI file descriptions) /NV /NT No Volume label or No program Title shown at top /NH No header at top at all (no "RIR", volume, etc.) /NF No footer at bottom at all (no files, free space) /B Show just filenames with full paths, no other info /BIOS Use slower BIOS output instead of direct writes Yet More Examples! rir not *.bak Show all except .BAK files rir *.com and *.exe Show all .COM and .EXE files rir *.exe but not r* Show .EXE files not starting with R rir \*.bak /b /s Find all *.BAK files on current disk rir \ /a:a /b /s >bu Log all files needing backup to "bu" rir /o:d-t- /1st20 Show the most recent twenty files rir /fr /d /24 French output w/European date & time rir /nfs /nh /nf /nd Just files; no dirs or anything else rir /e /h Show all files, even hidden & erased rir /ljf /alf /nh Left-justified, lowercase, no header Colorized Directory Listings RIR has the ability to list files in different colors, for example showing all *.EXE in red. To do this, a special color definition file (example given below) tells what colors to use, and the /C parameter (described below) tells RIR that you want to use that special color file. Color Options /C"file" Color directory entries according to directions in "file" /CN Color name only, not file size, time, etc. (use with above /C) Examples rir /C"c:\colors.rir" Show directory using defs in c:\colors.rir rir /C"d:\my.cls" /CN Same, but only colorizing file name A sample color definition file is included with RIR (called COLORS.RIR), and a smaller version is shown below: default file lgray default dir lblue *.COM lred *.EXE lred *.BAK gray *.DOC white *.ARC lmagenta *.ZIP lmagenta You can edit or create your own color definition file with any text editor. The lines beginning with "default file" and "default dir" color tell RIR what colors to use if a file or directory don't fall under any of the other file specifications in the file (e.g., a file named "uh.oh" would be colored light gray, because it does not fall under the category *.com, *.pas, etc.) The other lines tell what colors to use for other files, for example all *.COM files will be shown in "lred", or light red. Possible color names include: Black Red Magenta Blue Green Cyan Brown LGray Gray LRed LMagenta LBlue LGreen LCyan Yellow White Blank lines or lines beginning with a semicolon are ignored in the color definition file. If you use RIR's color feature, the "environment variables" section below will be very useful to you. By adding a command such as SET RIRCMD /C"C:\COLORS.RIR" into your autoexec.bat file, RIR will use display listings in color automatically, without your having to type in the color file name each time you run it. Environment Variables If you use certain options a lot, save typing with the RIRCMD environment variable to set RIR's default parameters, for example type "SET RIRCMD /P". An environment variable is a piece of information you record from the DOS command line to be used by various programs. Each environment variable consists of a one-word name and an associated value for the variable, generally a set of words or symbols. If you type "SET" from the DOS command line, you'll see your current environment variables. Common ones include "prompt" and "path", usually set in an autoexec.bat file. Most DOS handbooks contain a more in-depth discussion of environment variables and their typical uses. To set an environment variable, you type something like "SET NAME=WHATEVER VALUE", creating a variable called "NAME" with the associated value "WHATEVER VALUE", which resides in DOS memory until you turn your machine off. If you type "SET" now, DOS will list "NAME" along with any previously set environment variables. How does RIR use environment variables? If you use certain options almost always, you can save typing by setting a variable called "RIRCMD" with the options you typically use with RIR. Every time you run RIR, it will first check the RIRCMD variable to see if you set any options that you want used every time you run RIR. For example, type "SET RIRCMD /P /24" from the DOS command line to have RIR use the /P and /24 options until you turn the system off, or add it to your autoexec.bat to set the parameters each time you boot your system, so RIR will always use the /P and /24 options. Customizing output If you have several sets of default options that you like to use with RIR, here are two suggestions. One is to have separate batch files that run RIR with a particular set of command-line options, for example "WDIR.BAT" might contain the line "RIR %1 /W /P /AL". Another approach is to have batch files that set the RIRCMD environment variable, for example "WDIR.BAT" could similarly contain the line "SET RIRCMD /W /P /AL", so that after you run wdir once, you can just run RIR, and it will use those parameters. File Attributes If you use the /FA parameter, each file will be followed by a pair of bracket with attribute codes between them, such as "[RHSDA]". Only some of the letters will appear between brackets for any particular file or directory. The letters stand for the following: R - Read only H - Hidden S - System D - Directory A - Archive Trouble-shooting If you have problems displaying RIR's output, or get CGA "snow", try using the /BIOS parameter. Some programs (like FANSI, PC-Kwik, other TSRs, and many speech synthesizers) require BIOS output to work properly. Miscellaneous Tips Tip for RAM disk users: To make RIR (or any program or batch file) run faster, copy it to your RAM disk, then put the RAM disk's path first in your PATH environment variable. For example, if your RAM disk is D:, add to your autoexec.bat: COPY C:\ROCK\RIR.EXE D:\ PATH D:\;C:\ROCK;C:\DOS;.... Tip for DOS 4.0+ users: To speed everything up, use DOS's FASTOPEN program (it should be in your DOS directory). For example type FASTOPEN C:=100 to speed up your C: drive. DOS will then remember where the last 100 files it opened are located, letting it open them faster. Don't use FASTOPEN with other disk caches & optimizers! Tip for 4DOS users: You can type DIR to run RIR! Type "ALIAS DIR D:\RIR" (assuming RIR is in the root directory of D:), or add the alias to your aliases file if you have one. If you want to use 4DOS's built-in DIR after that, type *DIR instead of DIR. Ordering Information Type "RIR /INFO" for information on the Rock Utils, or "RIR /ORDER" for an order form. You can print the order form by typing "RIR /ORDER >PRN", or route it to a file with "RIR /ORDER >FILE.TXT", and then edit the file before printing. In summary, for $22, you get a registered copy of the Rock Utilities, a set of 30 programs which includes RIR. That gets you a nice printed manual along with the latest copy of the Rock Utilities. Remember to specify disk size! Mail a check to Rock Systems at 101 N Main Street, Suite 150-125, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Your support is very appreciated! Credits RIR's compressed file directory routines came from several sources, including Phil Burn's PIBCAT, a public domain disk cataloging system, and Don Williams' Fast File Find program. And thanks to everyone who's provided so many suggestions!! Example - show current directory The arrows following the extensions in the following examples indicate that the file is contained within the compressed file preceding it. In the example below, the file "TTOOLS.ZIP" contains the files "TTOOLS.TPU", "TTOOLS.PAS", and "READ.ME". Note that the default directory listing is easier to read than the listings with two or five-files per line. Two user-created file descriptions are listed in the first example; creating them requires other programs. The other three comments, to the right of the files, were created by RIR based on information in the file, for example the dimensions of the "GIF" image file. The last file listed is an erased file, which is shown because of the /e option. C:\DATA>rir /svs /e RIR-Rock dIRectory 1.31, (C) 1991 Rock "RIR ?" for options Volume in drive C is Devel Volume Serial Number is 1515-15E1 Directory of C:*.* . <DIR> 01-07-91 1:36a .. <DIR> 01-07-91 1:36a BART GIF 191529 12-15-90 10:33a 800x600 256 colors BINOBJ EXE 11088 08-29-88 5:00a This comment made w/FI PRINT TP5 2917 07-21-89 11:27a This one made w/4-DOS FILEINFO FI 522 12-28-90 1:47a Contains 1 file comment TPC EXE 61926 05-02-89 5:50a TPUMOVER EXE 32784 08-29-88 5:00a TURBO EXE 156321 05-02-89 5:50a TURBO TPL 44352 05-02-89 5:50a TTOOLS ZIP<╕ 26752 11-01-90 8:45p 3 files in 42974 bytes ttools tpu─┤ 34426 12-31-86 6:46p ttools pas─┤ 7309 12-31-86 6:42p read me ─┘ 1239 12-30-86 9:31p ?RINT TP4 3104 07-21-89 5:50a Erased 12 File(s) 531295 bytes 6100992 bytes free Example - show in wide mode, no header (normally 5 files/line) C:\DATA>rir /w /nh /jfs . .. BART GIF TEMP BAK BINOBJ EXE FILEINFO FI PRINT TP5 TPC EXE TPUMOVER EXE TURBO EXE TURBO TPL TTOOLS ZIP═══ ttools tpu──ttools pas──read me 11 File(s) 6100992 bytes free Example - single column, left-justified filenames, all lowercase, 24-hour mode, no comments, no header, no footer, no expansion of compressed files, and no directories listed. (First sets the rircmd variable so won't have to retype it next time!) C:\DATA>set rircmd /ljf /al /24 /nc /nh /nf /nec /nd C:\DATA>rir bart.gif 191529 12-15-90 10:33 binobj.exe 11088 08-29-88 5:00 print.tpf 2917 07-21-89 11:27 fileinfo.fi 522 12-28-90 1:47 tpc.exe 61926 05-02-89 5:50 tpumover.exe 32784 08-29-88 5:00 turbo.exe 156321 05-02-89 5:50 turbo.tpl 44352 05-02-89 5:50 ttools.zip 26752 11-01-90 20:45 Example - list the five most recent files. This example assumes "rircmd" was as in the last example, and just adds two more options to sort and to list the first five files. C:\DATA>rir /o:d-t- /1st5 fileinfo.fi 522 12-28-90 1:47 bart.gif 191529 12-15-90 10:33 ttools.zip 26752 11-01-90 20:45 print.tpf 2917 07-21-89 11:27 tpc.exe 61926 05-02-89 5:50 Example - Same, but include hidden files and show the attributes. The second file is hidden, indicated by the H at the right, the first three have the archive bit set (meaning they haven't been saved by a backup program since last modified), and the last file is read-only, so it can't be erased accidentally. See documentation for RFA (Rock File Attributes) for a more complete discussion of the topic. C:\DATA>rir /o:d-t- /1st5 /h /fa fileinfo.fi 522 12-28-90 1:47 [ A] secret.cod 12 12-18-90 14:23 [ H A] bart.gif 191529 12-15-90 10:33 [ A] ttools.zip 26752 11-01-90 20:45 [ ] print.tpf 2917 07-21-89 11:27 [R ]