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DIRECTORY SCANNER Ver 2.21 by LCDR Nat Martino Pacific Missile Test Center (Code 4002) Point Mugu, CA 93042-5000 (805) 989-1390/1391 Autovon (351) DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL =================== DIRECTORY MOVEMENT ===================== The Function Keys F1 thru F8 allow the user to move the directory highlighter from one directory to another. Moving the highlighter from directory to directory does not change the user into the newly highlighted directory until the user strikes the carriage return [CR] key. The directory function keys do the following: F1 - Move the directory highlighter backward/up to the previous directory. F2 - Move the directory highlighter forward/down to the next directory. F3 - Move the directory highlighter to the root directory. F4 - Move the directory highlighter to the very last directory. F5 - Move the directory highlighter to the directory displayed at the top of the display screen. F6 - Move the directory highlighter to the directory displayed at the bottom of the display screen. F7 - Scroll up the display of the directory structure. F8 - Scroll down the display of the directory structure. ************ You need to hit the * REMEMBER * carriage return [CR] to ************ change/enter a directory. Currently there is a limitation of a maximum of 100 directories for any one drive. Exceeding this limit will result in an error message. See "CTRL-L" option. ================== FILE INDICATOR MOVEMENT ================= Upon entering a directory that contains one or more files, the first file in the directory is marked with 2 small triangluar indicators, one on each side of the file name. This indicates which file is the current "indicated file", and further file information about this file is displayed at the bottom of the display screen. To change the "indicated file" the file indicators are moved from file to file through the use of the cursor arrow keys on the numeric keypad. The arrow and related keys work as follows: Up Arrow Key - Move to the previous file Down Arrow Key - Move to the next file - 1 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL Left Arrow Key - Move to the file in the column to the left Right Arrow Key - Move to the file in the column to the right Home Key - Move to the first file on the display screen End Key - Move to the last file on the display screen PgUp Key - Display previous page of file names PgDn Key - Display next page of file names The PgUp/PgDn keys are active only when the currently displayed directory has more files than can fit on a single screen/page. Currently there is a limitation of a maximum of 250 files per any one directory. Exceeding this limit will result in an error message. See "CTRL-L" option. ======================== COMMANDS ========================== ****** ATTRIBUTE TAGGED FILES ****** Option "A" This option allows the user to change 3 of the attribute bits on all files that are tagged. Depressing "A" with no files tagged will result in an error beep. Once files have been tagged this option becomes available. Activation of this option will allow the user to turn on/off the read-only bit, the system bit and the hidden bit, by toggling the "r", "s", and "h" keys respectively. Changing the file's attribute bits only takes effect when the carriage return key is depressed. The user should toggle the attribute select keys ("r", "s" & "h") to the desired states, then hit the carriage return to activate the desired changes. -------------------------------------------------------------- ******* ATTRIBUTE DIRECTORY ******** Option "CTRL-A" This option allows the user to change the same 3 file attribute bits that Option A (above) changes, except this option works on the attribute bits of the highlighted directory. The significance of changing the read-only or system bits of a directory is unknown. Turning the hidden bit of a directory on will hide the directory from the normal DOS "dir" command. The DS program can see the directory regardless of the condition of the hidden bit. The user may want to hide a directory so that other people that use the same machine do not rummage through the hidden directory. This assumes the other users do not know or have access to the DS or other programs that show the directory regardless of the hidden bit. The user is prohibited from changing the attribute bits on the root directory of any drive. All sub- directories are fair game. - 2 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL -------------------------------------------------------------- ************* BACKUP ************* Option "B" The backup option will execute the "ds_bkup.exe" program. It will prompt the user for the type of backup (ie: to floppy disks or to a second hard disk) and the backup drive destination. It will then present a display screen identical to the main DS program with the exception that the "indicated file" is now marked with only a trailing indicator. All files displayed will have 1 of 3 characters preceeding the filename. The 3 characters and their significance are: "+" indicates the file has its archive bit set, or that the user would like to set the archive bit on. [sp] indicates the file does not have the archive bit set, or that the user would like to clear the archive bit. "-" indicates that the user would like to delete this file. In the manual mode the user is presented with the opportunity to modify the archive bit of a file by changing the character preceeding the file name. The actual changes to the file's archive bit are not implemented until the user processes his/her desired changes by hitting the "p" key. The "p" key processes changes and will set/clear the archive bit on files with "+"/[sp] respectively, and delete those files marked with a "-" preceeding the file name. The actual backup (copying to backup) is done only on those files that have their archive bit set on. In the manual mode, the backup of a directory is accomplished by the user pressing the "x" key. The "x" key will eXecute the backup of a directory. If there are no files in the selected directory that need backing up (ie: no files have their archive bits set) then pressing "x" will appear to do nothing, and you are left in the same directory to choose additional options. If the directory does need backing up, then the backup procedure will commence and if the backup is to floppy disks, the user will be prompted to enter the appropriate backup diskettes. The auto/manual mode refers to the capability of moving from directory to directory manually or automatically. In the manual mode, the user must move from one directory to the next through the use of the F1-F8 keys and the carriage return. In the auto mode, the backup program automatically moves on to the next directory after it has completed operations in a given directory. The user may switch back and forth from the manual mode and auto mode through the use of the "m" and "a" keys. To enter the auto mode from the manual mode simply depress the "a" key. To enter the manual mode from the auto mode simply depress the "m" key. - 3 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL In the auto mode, if a directory requires backup and the user is backing up to floppy disks, the user is prompted for inserting the proper backup disks. If the user does not desire to backup the currently displayed directory, the user may skip that directory by depressing the ESC key. The program will then move on to the next directory and check for required backups. The user is automatically placed in the manual mode at the completion of the auto mode (ie: when the auto mode has completed processing the last directory). Auto mode backup to another hard disk does not require prompting for backup disks; however, the user may still be prompted for possible obsolete backup files (see below). Auto mode backup to another hard disk requires the destination directory have the identically same full pathname as the source directory with the exception of the drive id (ie: 1st character). The backup program maintains 3 user selectable copy options. They are: Precautionary Copy - A precautionary copy is the copy to backup of a file which did not have its archive bit set. The file is copied to backup even though the archive bit was not on as a precaution because the backup program could not find a file by the same name on any of the backup disks for the current directory. The default for this option on start up is "no" do not do precautionary copying of files. For this option to work correctly, the user must insert all backup disks for a particular directory in the correct sequential order and answer "y"es to the prompt on the final backup disk. Obsolete Backups - An obsolete backup file is a file the program finds on a backup disk but does not find a file by the same name in the directory which the user is backing up. The default for this option on start up is "identify" possible obsolete files. Delete Duplicate Backups - Duplicate backups are 2 files on 2 different backup floppy diskettes of 1 directory that have the same name. The default for this option on start up is "no", do not delete duplicate backup files. For this option to work correctly, the user must insert all backup disks for a particular directory in the correct sequential order and answer "y"es to the prompt on the final backup disk. All 3 of the above copy options can be changed by the user by selecting the "d" (for defaults) key, and then toggling either the "p", "o" or "d" keys for Precautionary Copy, Obsolete Backups, and Duplicate Backups respectively. One of the options available while in the manual mode is the "Restore-.bat" option. This option will construct, in the root directory of the drive to be backed up, 2 batch files that can be used to reconstruct the directory structure and restore all backup files, should the need to reformat the hard disk become necessary or should the user desire to switch over - 4 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL to a new hard disk. If you are backing up to floppies, the 2 files are "ds_f1.bat" and "ds_f2.bat". If you are backing up to a second hard disk, the files are "ds_h1.bat" and "ds_h2.bat". This option should be executed each time the user makes some sort of change to the directory structure (ie: mkdir/rmdir) on the hard disk in question. -------------------------------------------------------------- ********* COMMAND ENTER ********** Option "C" The command entry option allows the user to enter any command they would enter at the normal DOS command prompt. Whatever is entered by the user is passed on to a second copy of "command.com". Upon completion of the command, the DS program resumes. This option allows the user to start up a second command processor by issuing the command "command". To terminate the second command processor the "exit" command would be given. -------------------------------------------------------------- ******* COPY TAGGED FILES ******** Option "Alt-C" The copy tagged files option will copy those files that are tagged (see Option "T" below) to a specified directory. The user will specify the desired destination directory. If the user desires to make a second copy of a file in the same directory, specify only the new name of the file. If the user specifies only a drive specification such as "a:", the program will copy the tagged files to the current directory on that drive. If the user does not specify a destination directory but simply enters a carriage return, the program will copy the tagged files to the directory which is currently highlighted. When choosing this last method of specifying the destination directory, prior to entering the carriage return the user may change the highlighted directory with the use of the F1 thru F8 keys. The program will not allow the user to copy a file or files to the same directory without specifying a new filename. In other words, no copy will take place if the user simply enters a carriage return and the highlighted directory also happens to be the current directory. This prevents the system from trying to copy a file onto itself and consequently clobbering itself. -------------------------------------------------------------- ********** DRIVE CHANGE ********** Option "D" The drive change option allows the user to switch to a different default drive and display the directory structure information of the new drive. When switching off a hard disk, all directory structure information about that drive and other pertinent program information (ie: current colors) is first - 5 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL copied to the device driver "ds_drive.sys" memory location. This is done so that when switching back to that hard disk it is not necessary to do the lengthy disk I/O process to recover the disk directory structure information. -------------------------------------------------------------- ****** DELETE TAGGED FILES ******* Option "Alt-D" The delete tagged files option will allow the user to delete those files that have been tagged (see Option "T" below). This option will first request a confirmation that the user really wants to delete all those files marked. The default confirmation response is "Y", so depressing any key except "N" (and ESC) will delete all tagged files. -------------------------------------------------------------- ****** DIRECTORY ADD/DELETE/CHANGE ****** Option "CTRL-D" The directory modification option will allow the user to add or delete directories, and also to change the name of specified directories. Once the option is selected, the 3 sub-options are displayed. If the user desires to delete or change the name of a directory, the specified directory must be highlighted thru the use of the F1-F8 keys. If the user desires to add a directory, the PARENT directory of the new directory must be highlighted. Some additional constrains on each sub-option are: Add Directory: 1. The addition is denied if the current number of directories is already at the max directory limit. 2. The new directory name must be valid. 3. The new directory name must have a full pathname and screen print name each less than 40 characters. 4. The addition is denied if the addition would exceed the space allowed for saving drive info in the DS_DRIVE.SYS driver. (see CTRL-L) Delete Directory: 1. Deletion is denied if the user is currently in the specified directory (ie: right side file display matches left side highlighted directory). 2. Deletion is denied if the highlighted directory is not empty (ie: has subdirectories or files still attached). 3. Deletion is denied if the highlighted directory is the root directory. Change Name: 1. The new directory name must be valid. 2. The new directory name must have a full pathname and screen print name each less than 40 characters. 3. The change is denied if the change would exceed the space allowed for saving drive info in the - 6 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL DS_DRIVE.SYS driver. (see CTRL-L) 4. The change is denied if the change would cause an increase in the full pathnames of subdirectories which would exceed the space allowed for saving drive info in the DS_DRIVE.SYS driver. 5. Based on limited testing to date by the author, the change name option only appears to work on PC/MS DOS 3.0+. Apparently DOS 2.x does not support changing of directory names. More investigation on this issue will be done for future releases. Upon completion of a valid add/delete/change, the program will adjust the directory tree display and allow the user to make additional add/delete/changes. To terminate the directory modification option, hit the ESC key. -------------------------------------------------------------- ****** EDIT INDICATED FILE ******* Option "E" The edit option will allow the user to edit the current "indicated file". The user must have a file (your favorite editor) by the name of "edit.com" or "edit.exe" in your path. The DS program does not provide an editor, but simply attempts to execute a .com or .exe file by the name of "edit" and if successful, passes to it the name of the current indicated file. Upon termination of the editing process, the DS program resumes where it left off. -------------------------------------------------------------- *********** FIND FILE *********** Option "F" The find option will allow the user to search the current default drive for a specified file. The user provides the name of the file, which can include the "*" and "?" wildcard specifiers. The find option will then commence a search of all directories starting from the root directory. When a matching file is found in a directory, the program stops in that directory and displays the files of that directory. Additionally, the matching file will become the current "indicated file". This option only finds the first matching file in the directory. If there are additional files that match (which is likely with "*" and "?") in the same directory, the user must spot these additional files visually. Additionally, the first matching "indicated file" may not be listed alphabetically first. Once the program has halted in a directory that has a matching file the following options are available: Arrow Keys \ Home / End } - Work as they normally do PgUp / PgDn / 'L' or 'l' Key - Will list the indicated file - 7 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL Note: Directory movement keys F1-F8 do not work here. The user has 3 additional options to continue/terminate: Esc Key - Continue searching directories F9 Key - Terminate search option in the currently displayed directory. F10 Key - Terminate search option in the directory from which the search option was started. If Esc is chosen, upon completion of the final directory the user is placed in the original directory from which the find option was activated. Note: The find option disregards the user's current select & sort options (see ALT-S) while searching for matching files. During execution, the find option uses a select of "*.*" and a sort of filename ascending. Therefore, display of directories which contain matching files may be different and contain more files than the user is expecting to see. Upon termination of this option, the user's original select & sort options are in effect. If, however, the user exits this option through the use of the F9 (current directory) key, the select/sort options are as desired but the file display is left as the find option displayed it with "*.*" displayed in ascending filename order. -------------------------------------------------------------- ****** FREE ON OTHER DRIVE ******* Option "ALT-F" This option will allow the user to find out the available space (free bytes) of any drive without having to switch off the current drive. This option would most appropriately be used when tagging files on the current drive to copy to another drive. In this way the user can get a rough estimate as to how many files can be tagged and copied to the other drive. The number of free bytes on the other drive will be displayed in the lower right corner of the box border, just above the display of the number of bytes tagged on the current drive. Due to the nature of file space allocation by DOS (in clusters of varying sizes on different media), you will not be able to copy as many bytes from one media to the other media as specified in this option. In other words, expect to copy fewer than the number of free bytes displayed by this option. -------------------------------------------------------------- *********** HELP MENU ************ Option "?" The help menu will print a one page summary of all available options. - 8 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL -------------------------------------------------------------- *********** LIST FILE *********** Option "L" The list option will allow the user to list the contents of the current "indicated file". The user should have a file (your favorite lister program) by the name of "list.com" or "list.exe" in your path. If neither file is found in the path, the indicated file will be listed via the DOS "type" command. An outstanding lister program by Vernon D. Buerg is available in the "shareware" environment which is highly recommended for your use. -------------------------------------------------------------- ***** LIMITS OF THE PROGRAM ****** Option "CTRL-L" This option will show the user the limits of the current "DS.EXE" program and its supporting "DS_DRIVE.SYS" device driver. Normally the user should never need to exercise this option. However, should one of the program limits be exceeded, an alarm will sound and a message will be displayed that states "Exceeded Program Limits". The user can then use this option to determine which program limit was exceeded. Hopefully the program will continue to operate, disregarding the directories or files that exceeded the program limits. As the size of the data structures supporting this program are determined at compile time (vice execution time), currently the only remedy for exceeding the program limits is to either rearrange your directory/file structure to conform to the program limits, or contact the author for another copy of the program with limits extended to values more appropriate to your particular system. The limits for "DS.EXE" are reasonably easy to understand. The limits for "DS_DRIVE.SYS" need some explanation. Number of FDisks maintained: Limit = The number of fixed disks the driver can maintain Used = Show which fixed disks the driver is maintaining ie: C- indicates Drive C: and no 2nd fixed disk -- indicated no drives as yet retained by driver CD indicates 2 fixed disks C: & D: Bytes Allocated per FDisk: Limit = Maximum amount of space (bytes) allocated per Disk Used = How many bytes the current drive is using up in the driver, or would use up if it is not yet maintained by the driver. -------------------------------------------------------------- ******* MOVE TAGGED FILES ******** Option "M" The move tagged files option allows the user to move those files tagged (see Option "T" below) to another directory on the SAME drive. Moving files from directory to directory is - 9 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL quicker and more efficient than copying all the tagged files to the destination directory and then deleting all the same files from the source directory. The user can either specify the desired destination directory or enter simply a carriage return. If the user enters only a carriage return, the program will move all the tagged files to the directory which is currently highlighted. When choosing this method of specifying the destination directory, the user may change the highlighted directory with the F1 thru F8 keys prior to entering the carriage return. Additionally, the highlighted directory must be different from the current directory (the one in which the tagged files are in) for this method of entering only a carriage return to work. -------------------------------------------------------------- ****** PRINT TAGGED FILES ******** Option "P" The print tagged files option allows the user to send to the print spooler a maximum of 10 tagged files. This option simply sends to the standard DOS "print" command the first 10 tagged files. Once sent to the print spooler, it is recommended that you exit the DS program completely to enhance or increase the speed of printing the desired files. If the user remains in the DS program, the speed of printing the files is drastically reduced as the print spooler must compete with the DS program for cycle time. -------------------------------------------------------------- ********** RENAME FILE *********** Option "R" The rename option allows the user to rename the indicated file to a new name. -------------------------------------------------------------- ******** RESCAN DIRECTORY ******** Option "ALT-R" The directory rescan option will rescan the directory structure of the current default drive. This option may be necessary if you switch floppies in a floppy drive. It may also be used on a hard disk if you make or delete directories without using the directory modification (CTRL-D) option. This option can be used in place of exiting the DS program and re-entering it with "ds c" to rescan the "c" drive. -------------------------------------------------------------- ******** SCREEN REFRESH ********** Option "S" The screen refresh option will allow the user to redraw the entire screen. This may become necessary should a DOS message like "Abort, Retry or Ignor" disrupt the screen. - 10 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL -------------------------------------------------------------- ******** SELECT & SORT ********** Option "ALT-S" The select & sort option allows the user to specify alternate sorts of the files in a directory. Additionally, it allows the user to filter out some files by allowing entry of a file match parameter to use rather than accepting the default file match parameter of "*.*". Upon program initialization the defaults are a filter of "*.*" with a sort by filename in ascending order. After selecting this option the user may change any/all the defaults. Depressing the space bar will toggle the sort option through the 5 sort types of no sort, name, extension, size and date. Depressing the up arrow or down arrow will toggle the sort direction to ascending or descending respectively. Entry of any other valid character will allow the user to change the file match parameter. Depressing the carriage return character after valid file filter parameter characters will change the file filter to the newly specified file filter. Depressing the carriage return character without any new file filter entered will change the file filter back to "*.*". The new sort and file select filter take effect upon termination of the sort/select option, upon pressing the ESC key. After terminating this option the new sort option will be displayed on the 1st of the 3 bottom status lines, right after the "Help = ?" message. Additionally, if the file select filter is anything other than "*.*", it will be displayed above and slightly to the right of the sort type/direction in the display border. -------------------------------------------------------------- *********** TAG FILE ************* Option "T" The tag file option is used as a precursor to other options such as the copy tagged files option. When this option is selected, the current indicated file is set to reverse video and the next file becomes the current indicated file. -------------------------------------------------------------- ********* TAG ALL FILES ********** Option "Alt-T" The tag all files option allows the user to tag all the files in the current directory in preparation for execution of another option. -------------------------------------------------------------- ********** UNTAG FILES *********** Option "U" The untag option allows the user to untag a file that has been tagged by mistake. - 11 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL -------------------------------------------------------------- ******** UNTAG ALL FILES ********* Option "Alt-U" The untag all files option allows the user to untag all the files that are currently tagged. -------------------------------------------------------------- ******** VOLUMN ID TOGGLE ********* Option "CTRL-V" The volumn id toggle option will turn on/off the display of the default drive's volumn label. The volumn id will be displayed in the lower left corner of the display border when available and turned on. The default on start up is toggle off. -------------------------------------------------------------- ********* EXECUTE FILE *********** Option "X" The eXecute file option allows the user to execute the current indicated file if its file name extension is ".com", ".exe", ".bat", or ".bas". Files with a .com or .exe extension are executed directly (ie: are not passed thru the command processor so no I/O redirection is possible). Files with a .bat extension are submitted to a secondary command processor. Files with a ".bas" extension are passed as a parameter to the execution of a file by the name of "basica.exe". Prior to the execution of any of these files, this option allows the user to enter command line arguments which are passed to the indicated program as it goes into execution. -------------------------------------------------------------- ********* EXECUTE FILE *********** Option "ALT-X" This eXecute file option is the same as the one above (X), but allows redirection of I/O as the indicated file and its arguments are executed through the command processor. ====================== COLOR CHANGES ======================= The DS program will allow the user with a color/graphics monitor to change the color of the foreground, background and display border. The following keys are used: Grey "+" Key - Change/Increment the display foreground color. The foreground cycles thru 16 colors. Grey "-" Key - Change/Increment the display background color. The background cycles thru 8 colors. - 12 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL Delete Key - Change/Increment the display border color. The border cycles thru 8 colors. Color changes should be done while the default drive is a hard disk so that when switching drives the colors will be retained. The color information is written/retained in the device driver "ds_drive.sys" memory area when shifting off the hard disk. If the user exits DS and then activates it again, the old colors (from the previous session of DS) will be read from the "ds_drive.sys" memory area and used in the new session. The initial start up colors of the DS display are determined in one of two ways. 1) The user specifies a "set DS=0F14" statement in the environment (most appropriately in the autoexec.bat file) prior to initial execution of the program. The set statement will place the 'DS' variable into the environment for program access. The 'DS' variable is formatted as follows: DS=rFBb where r F B b represent: ||||| |||||- border color (0 - 7) ||||-- Background Color (0 - 7) |||--- Foreground Color (0 - F hex) ||---- Recursion Level Indicator (always 0 ) |----- no spaces in variable definition Colors are specified as follows: 0 = Black 8 = Gray 1 = Blue 9 = Light Blue 2 = Green A = Light Green -\ 3 = Cyan B = Light Cyan \ Must 4 = Red C = Light Red \ be 5 = Magenta D = Light Magenta / Upper 6 = Brown E = Yellow / Case 7 = White F = High-intensity White -/ Example: set DS=0F14 will set foreground to Hi White (F) background to Blue (1) & border to Red (4) The easiest way to determine the correct parameters to enter with the "set DS=0xxx" command is to activate the program, cycle through the colors with '+' '-' and <bs> until you have the colors you want, then depress the CNTRL and HOME keys simultaneously. The "Cntrl-Home" option will show you the correct parameters to enter for the currently selected colors. 2) If the user does not place the 'DS' variable in the environment as described above, the foreground and background - 13 - DS - DIRECTORY SCANNER USER'S MANUAL display colors will be the default colors in use at the time the DS program is initially executed. The border color is choosen by the program to ensure it does not conflict with the foreground or background colors. Upon exiting the DS program the DOS default colors that were in use prior to the execution of DS are reactivated. Should the user desire to change the DOS default colors prior to exiting the DS program, the user can select the "Cntrl-End" option. The "Cntrl-End" option will allow the user to retain the current DS program colors upon returning to DOS. This option requires the "ansi.sys" device driver to have been installed at power up. ======================= EXIT OPTIONS ======================= Two exit options are available: F9 - Exit in the directory that is currently highlighted. F10 - Exit in the directory from which the DS program was originally started. - 14 -