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- EXTENDED DISKETTE DIRECTORY PROGRAM
-
-
- XDIR
-
-
-
- VERSION 3.3
-
-
-
-
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -2-
-
- INTRODUCTION
-
- Have you ever lost track of which diskette contained a
- particular file? Do you spend a lot of time searching for
- files and also for a diskette with enough room to store a
- particular new program? If these problems are affecting you,
- then this program should make your work much easier.
-
- XDIR will read the directory information directly from
- your diskettes and keep these entries in a separate file
- listed under an ID which you assign to your diskette.
- Ideally this ID will be written on the label of the diskette
- itself. In the future, as the contents of your diskettes
- change you may delete or add their file contents to the
- master file from XDIR.
-
- XDIR also allows you to enter a comment field for each
- file to allow you to keep track of anything you wish about
- each file. This information is entered through an editor
- included as one of the menu options.
-
- You may wish to maintain separate files of certain
- groups of your diskettes. For example, you may wish to have
- separate files for your financial programs, your game
- programs, and your word processing programs and files.
-
- XDIR allows you to select a subset of the master file
- and either display it on the screen or print it out. This
- would allow you to have a separate printout for your basic
- programs, your OBJ files, and perhaps your EXE files. The
- program allows great flexibility in this regard.
-
- It is also important to be able to find a diskette with
- enough room to be able to store a new program you may have
- written. XDIR calculates the amount of free space left on a
- diskette and will give you a printout of all your diskettes
- and the amount of space left on each.
-
- Hardware Requirements
-
- At least 64KB of memory
-
- A 64KB machine will be able to run the CREATE
- option but other options will only be able to handle 50
- records. A 96KB machine will be able to read in 425
- records while a 128KB machine can handle 850.
-
- 2 diskette drives
-
- 80 column display (may be attached to either display
- adapter)
-
- The IBM 80cps printer (or equivalent) will enhance the
- operation.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -3-
-
- CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.3
-
- 1. I fixed the bug that caused the diskette inserts to
- be done incorrectly if you selected the individual mode.
- The bug caused ones that you selected to contain all the
- records from those that were skipped. No permanent damage
- was done to your files, just the printout was incorrect.
- This only affected diskette inserts and only if you selected
- manually those that you wanted printed.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -4-
-
- CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.2
-
- 1. Fixed the scrolling problem in display mode.
-
- 2. The Logo for XDIR will appear first followed by a
- prompt for the filename in the case where a filename was not
- specified on the command line.
-
- 3. The Create Option will issue a low tone when the
- diskette in drive B may be changed. This is a reinforcement
- of the message that appears.
-
- 4. The error tone is now shorter than before.
-
- 5. I fixed the bug which sometimes caused the cursor to
- change shape.
-
- 6. Added a Miscellaneous options menu for displaying
- the master files on the diskette and handling labels on the
- B: drive.
-
- 7. The Add/Replace option reads the diskette label and
- if none, allows labeling.
-
- 8. Individual diskette inserts may now be printed. If
- only a few diskettes have changed, you may now select which
- ones you desire.
-
- 9. The Print records option asks for a filename. I now
- check to make sure that you don't specify the name of the
- space file or master file by mistake.
-
- 10. I have added a better calculation of the maximum
- number of records which can be handled. This should take
- care of any DOS extensions which may be resident. This
- number is now displayed on the menus.
-
- 11. I have added a new option to the EDIT commands. It
- is ^D (Ctrl-D) which will duplicate the comment which
- appears directly above it on the screen. This is handy when
- you have many files which are for the same program.
-
- 12. I have changed the help on the EDIT screen to
- indicate ^ when I am talking about the Ctrl Key.
-
- 13. I have added a progress indicator for the
- Replace/Add option to let you know what is going on.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -5-
-
- CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.2
-
- 14. I have changed the definition of Home and End in
- the EDIT screen. Home will now move the cursor back to the
- beginning of the comment field and End will move it 1
- character past the end of the current comment field. I now
- have ^PgUp and ^PgDn do what these keys used to do.
-
- 15. I have fixed the bug which caused the subset
- searching of the Read option to function incorrectly.
-
- 16. I rearranged some of the menus to improve
- readability.
-
- 17. If records are sorted by DISKID (as indicated by
- the message at the bottom of the menus) and the Print
- Records option is chosen from the display option menu, the
- format of the printout is different. This automatically
- prints out blank lines at each DISKID change. This will
- make it easier for club librarians to publish lists of their
- programs.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -6-
-
- CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1
-
- 1. You will notice that the EXE file is significantly
- smaller than before. I have written my own file I/O routines
- and removed the PASCAL library for file I/O. This makes the
- program smaller and makes the program run faster.
-
- 2. Sub menus now have options to go to the other
- submenu.
-
- 3. The problem with null filenames has been fixed.
-
- 4. The CREATE menu has been changed to allow only
- ENTER for signifying a new diskette has been inserted. Also
- if your diskette has not been labeled, you will type the
- DISKID right on this same panel. An option has also been
- added for writing a label on your diskette. An audit trail
- has also been added.
-
- 5. I have attempted to catch most diskette writing
- errors and not apend the program. This means that if your
- diskette fills up, you will be informed and the program will
- terminate that option.
-
- 6. The editor has been changed to scroll the input area
- for faster comment entry. The data is only scrolled if the
- input area is at the top or bottom.
-
- 7. I now convert all DISKIDs entered into capital
- letters. I currently do not do that to old files. You may
- have to use an editor on your old files to do this
- conversion if you wish to do deletes on old files.
-
- 8. The memory I check for is that which is installed in
- your machine. I allocate space for the array according to
- how much memory is installed. If you have DOS extensions, I
- do not presently account for this extra space. If you are
- using close to the maximum file size, be aware that your
- program may end abruptly.
-
- 9. I have removed most of the PASCAL library routines
- to reduce the space required for the program. This has
- resulted in missing some error conditions. I will hopefully
- fix this in future releases.
-
- 10. The maximum filesize for a 128K machine has been
- raised to 850 records and for 96K to 425.
-
- 11. I now use DOS function calls 11 and 12 to read the
- directory information. This should help those of you who
- have 80 track drives. Please check this out and let me know
- if it works. Making this change resulted in a simpler
- program with more potential function but it changed the
- "rhythm" of the create and Add/Replace option.
-
- 12. The program will now load in a 64KB machine but
- only operate in a limited manner as explained above.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -7-
-
- GENERAL INFORMATION
-
- After loading the program you will see a menu. All
- operations are performed by selecting options from this
- menu. You only have to type the number of the option you
- wish to invoke. In this program you will not have to press
- the enter key for any single character responses. The
- details of the menu operations will be covered in the next
- section.
-
- The program uses 2 files to store the data you are
- using. One of these files is the data file which contains
- the list of directory entries read from your disks and the
- other file is the space file which contains the amount of
- space left on each of the disks which you entered. The
- program will automatically check how much memory you have
- installed and adapt itself accordingly.
-
- When you invoke the program you should specify the
- filename you wish to use. This filename is the first part of
- the name used by the program. For example, if you had
- entered XDIR XYZ to invoke the program, then the 2 files the
- program will be using will be XYZ.DAT and XYZ.SP. This
- filename can be changed with one of the menu options.
-
- The program will detect if you are using double-sided
- diskettes and read in the extended directory and calculate
- the space remaining automatically.
-
- As another user-friendly feature the menus will
- indicate how the data in storage has been sorted. It will
- also tell how many records are currently in storage and the
- name of the master file you are using.
-
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -8-
-
- HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
-
-
- Getting Started
-
- Make sure your A drive is the default drive by entering
- A: as a command to DOS. Then insert the program diskette
- into the A drive and enter the command XDIR fname where
- fname is the filename you wish to use as explained earlier.
- If you forget to enter the fname parameter, the program will
- prompt you for one. After the program is loaded, a logo will
- be displayed with a reminder to remove the program diskette
- and replace it with the data diskette. Press any key to
- continue with the program.
-
-
-
- How to Operate - Main Menu
-
- This section will cover the various options you will
- see on the main menu.
-
- 1 - Create file - This is the option you chose to
- create the file on the disk. This will probably be the first
- one you would choose the first time you run the program. It
- will erase the file on disk if it exists and then allow you
- to put the diskettes into your B: drive one at a time and
- type in an ID for each one. You should be sure to write this
- ID on the diskette label for future reference. The ID field
- can be up to 8 characters of your choice as long as there are
- no embedded blanks. Please note that this information is
- written directly to disk, nothing is left in memory when you
- have finished. To complete this option, just press the
- Esc key. If you wish, you may put a file on your diskette
- with the DISKID as the filename and LBL as the extension.
- The Create option will look for this file and use the
- filename as the DISKID for this diskette. If it does not
- find such a file, you will be prompted for the DISKID.
- Further information on CREATE follows later in this
- document.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -9-
-
- HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
-
- How to Operate - Main Menu (continued)
-
-
- 2 - Read in file from Diskette - If you wish to process
- the data file on the disk, you must use this option first.
- Most other options work from the in-memory copy of the file
- on disk. This option checks the amount of memory you have
- installed and limits the size of what you can read in
- accordingly. A message is displayed if the entire file
- cannot be read in. After selecting this option, you will be
- asked to specify the search argument for reading in data. If
- you press the enter key you will select all files, otherwise
- you may specify a subset - such as all your Basic programs.
- Information on how to specify the subset will be given
- later.
-
- 3 - Write File to Disk - The contents of the memory
- array is written back to the master file on the disk erasing
- the previous contents. If you had wanted to preserve the old
- contents of the file, you could use the option to change the
- master file name and then use this option. This would create
- a new file and write out the array to it. You must first be
- sure that there is enough room on the diskette to store the
- new data. You will be warned if a subset of files had been
- read in and you try to write them out. This requires a
- second response to perform the write.
-
- 4 - Change Master File Name - This will change the
- current filename being used by the program. Any future
- reading or writing of files will be done with this filename.
-
- 5 - Delete DISKID from file - this option will read in
- the file into memory and remove those DISKIDs which match
- the DISKIDs you specify as those to be deleted. If files are
- currently residing in memory, you will be warned and given
- an opportunity to cancel.
-
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -10-
-
- HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
-
- How to Operate - Main Menu (continued)
-
- 6 - Edit Comment Fields - As mentioned earlier there is
- a 28 character user specifiable comment field contained in
- the file. This field is entered and edited with this option.
- It is maintained by the other options and become part of
- your file. It can be displayed either on your screen or the
- printer. More details for the editor will be given later in
- this document.
-
- 7 - Replace/Add diskette - this works similarly to the
- Delete diskette option in that it reads the file into
- memory. However, after reading it in it asks you to put your
- replacement diskette in the B drive and press Enter. The
- directory information is read from the diskette. All files
- which were on the old version of this diskette and the new
- version will have the size and date updated thus saving the
- comments. Any file on the old version and not on the new
- version will be discarded. Any file on the new but not on
- the old will be written out to the file.
-
- 8 - Sort Options - Typing this number will cause a new
- menu to appear. This new menu will be described later on in
- this write-up.
-
- 9 - Display Options - this option will also cause
- another menu to appear giving all the options for
- displaying/printing.
-
- A - Miscellaneous Options - this option will select the
- menu which allows master files to be checked on the default
- drive and check/change labels on the diskettes in the B:
- drive.
-
- Esc - Pressing this key will cause the program to
- terminate. If any editing was done without saving, the
- program will warn you and give you an opportunity to cancel
- termination.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -11-
-
- HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
-
- How to Operate - Sort Menu
-
-
- When you select the Sort options from the main menu,
- another menu will be displayed offering you the following
- options:
-
- 1 - Sort by Filename,Size,Date,ID - This option sorts
- the in memory file in the indicated order. A message is
- displayed to indicate that a sort is being done. With 700
- records to sort,it can take 10-15 seconds, so please be
- patient.
-
- 2 - Sort by DISKID then Filename - Same as option 1 but
- sorted as indicated. This sort is quicker due to fewer
- fieldsbeing checked. It can take up to 10 seconds to sort
- 700 records.
-
- 3 - Sort by Last Date Modified - same as above except
- for the different sort field.
-
- 4 - Sort on Comment Field - sometimes it may be useful
- to have the data sorted by comment field. You may wish to
- use some special coding for the first few characters of the
- comments so that this sort will be more useful to you.
-
- 5 - Sort Diskette Space Summary - This sort will put
- the space summary records in order by DISKID. This is
- extremely quick and therefore no sorting message is put on
- the screen.
-
- 9 - Display options - This option will take you to the
- Display options sub-menu.
-
- A - Miscellaneous Options - This goes directly to the
- Miscellaneous options menu.
-
- Esc - Pressing this key will return you to the main
- menu.
-
-
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -12-
-
- HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
-
-
-
- How to Operate - Display Menu
-
-
- When the Display option is selected on the main menu,
- another menu will be displayed offering many choices as
- described below:
-
- 1 - Display Records - The contents of the array are
- displayed on the screen. The PgUp and PgDn keys will be used
- to scroll through the data shown on the screen. The Esc key
- will be used to return to the menu.
-
- 2 - Print Records - This option displays the same
- information as option 1 but the information may either be
- printed on the IBM 80cps printer or put into a file. The
- option will prompt you for the filename to be used for the
- printout. The default is preset to lpt1: but may be changed
- to any file desired. This may be useful if you are using a
- different file number for you printer or wish to store this
- output in a file for use by some other program. Printer
- control characters are only included if you leave the file
- as lpt1: or lpt2: or lpt3:.
-
- 3 - Display Diskette Space Summary - The information
- for the amount of space left on the disks contained in the
- master file is displayed on the screen. The same options
- exist here as exist for option 1.
-
- 4 - Print Diskette Space Summary - Same as above but
- the information is the space summary for the diskettes.
-
- 5 - Print Diskette Inserts - You may select this option
- to print inserts for your diskette envelopes. These will be
- of the correct size to just fit in the envelope with the
- part sticking out having the diskette id printed in double
- width style. Also included on this insert is the amount of
- space remaining on the diskette and all the files listed in
- alphabetical order listed 5 across in condensed type. If you
- have not sorted the memory array by DISKID, this option will
- do it for you. You will be asked if you wish to be prompted
- for individual inserts or if you wish all printed.
-
- 8 - Sort options - Selecting this option will take you
- to the Sort options sub-menu.
-
- A - Miscellaneous Options - this will take you directly
- to the miscellaneous options menu.
-
- Esc - Pressing this key will return you to the main
- menu.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -13-
-
- HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
-
- How to Operate - Miscellaneous Options Menu
-
- 1 - Display Master Files on Default Diskette - this
- option will access the default diskette drive and display
- the filenames of those files whose extension is DAT.
-
- 2 - Delete Label on Drive B: - The B: drive is checked
- for a label and if one is present, you may delete it.
-
- 3 - Check Label on B: drive - This option will check
- for a label and if present allow you to relabel the
- diskette.
-
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -14-
-
- HOW TO USE THE PROGRAM
-
-
-
- How to Operate - Create Menu
-
-
-
-
- This menu displays an audit trail of the last DISKIDs
- that were processed. The most recent one is shown in high
- intensity. It is a circular list. All data entry is done on
- this menu. The status of automatic labeling is shown.
-
- There are 3 options on this menu.
-
- F1 - will redraw the screen. This is useful if you are
- using automatic DISKID labeling and you mistakenly left the
- write-protect tab on. This is explained below. This option
- will clear the screen of any error messages. It will also
- remove the audit trail of DISKIDs already processed.
-
- F2 - This toggles the automatic diskette labeling mode.
- If this mode is on and your current diskette has no label,
- one will be written to your diskette. This is a zero
- length file with a file extension of LBL. Since a directory
- entry is written to your diskette, the write-protect tab
- should be removed if you turn the option on. If you forget,
- DOS will present you with the usual error message to
- Abort,Retry , or Ignore the error. I would not suggest
- Aborting as your program will terminate. If you chose
- Ignore, the program will continue without writing the label.
- If you remove the tab and reinsert the diskette, you may
- choose the Retry option. These error messages will remain on
- the screen. If you wish to clear up the screen use the
- F1 key. This will redraw the screen, but remove the audit
- trail.
-
-
- Esc - will return you to the master menu.
-
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -15-
-
- REFERENCE MATERIAL
-
- Specifying Subset When Reading from File
-
-
- When you enter option 2 you will be prompted to enter
- the search parameter for which data you wish read in from
- the file. If you press the enter key without typing
- anything, the entire file is selected for processing. If you
- enter any parameter, only a subset of the file will be read
- in. This subset may be selected in a manner similar to the
- syntax for the DOS DIR command. For example:
-
- If you enter *.BAS as the argument you will get only
- those files which have an extension of BAS. If you had
- entered ABC*.* you will get a subset consisting of all files
- beginning with ABC and with any extension. You may also make
- use of the ? wildcard allowed by DOS DIR. If you want all
- files selected which have an extension of XYZ and have a
- 4 character filename beginning with Q you would enter
- Q???.XYZ as the argument.
-
-
-
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -16-
-
- REFERENCE MATERIAL
-
- Explanation of Editor Commands
-
- The editor screen has been designed to give you a
- partial look at how the particular entry you are editing
- fits in with the others in the file. You will see 17 files
- on the screen with the input area indicated in reverse
- video. This input area is scrolled up and down on the
- screen. The data will be scrolled if the input area is at
- the top or bottom of the screen.
-
- In the upper right corner is an indicator which tells
- you which record, by number, you are editing and how many
- total there are in the file.
-
- At the bottom of the screen is a list of all the
- commands and keys which are valid for the editor. These
- commands are explained below:
-
-
- (up arrow) - Pressing this key will move the editing
- field one row toward the top of the screen. If you try to
- scroll past the top of the file you will hear a beep.
-
- (down arrow) - Same as above but the active entry will
- be the next lower one in the file.
-
- (right arrow) - the cursor is moved one position right
- on the comment field. If the cursor reaches the end of the
- comment field, it will automatically recycle back to the
- beginning of the field.
-
- (left arrow) - same as above but the cursor moves to
- the left. If the cursor moves to the left out of the comment
- field it cycles back to the end of the comment field.
-
- (TAB Key) - Pressing this key moves to the next tab
- stop which is every 10 spaces in the comment field.
-
- (S-TAB) - this function is accomplished by pressing the
- Shift key and holding it while you press the Tab key. This
- moves the cursor back to the previous tab stop.
-
- XDIR VERSION 3.3 PAGE -17-
-
- REFERENCE MATERIAL
-
- Explanation of Editor Commands
-
-
- PgUp - When you select this command, the input area
- will be scrolled toward the top of the file by 9 records.
-
- PgDn - Similar to the above function but the display
- will be scrolled toward the bottom by 9 records.
-
- ENTER - pressing the ENTER key will perform the same
- function as the down arrow - moving the input area 1 record
- down toward the end of the file.
-
- ^C - Hold the Ctrl key while pressing the C key. This
- will bring back the old comment from the file in memory.
- This will only work if you have not yet pressed any of the
- keys which move the input area on the display.
-
- Esc - pressing this key will return you to the main
- menu. Any data entered in the editor is retained in the
- in-storage array.
-
- ^PgUp - This moves the input area to the top of the
- file.
-
- ^PgDn - The input area is moved to the end of the file.
-
- BKSPC - This is the key to the left of the Num Lock key
- and is labeled with a left pointing arrow. This works by
- deleting the character to the left of the cursor and
- shifting everything to the left 1.
-
- Del - The character at the cursor position is deleted.
-
- Ins - Pressing the Insert key will put the editor in
- insert mode. The Ins at the bottom of the screen will blink
- indicating that Insert mode is active. Characters will be
- inserted at the cursor location and other characters will be
- shifted to the right. If there is no more room for
- inserting, the speaker will beep.
-
- ^S - Hold the Ctrl key and press the S key and the
- in-storage file will be written back to diskette.
-
- Home - This key will move the cursor back to the
- beginning of the comment field.
-
- End - This key will position the cursor one character
- past the end of the current length of the comment field.
-
- eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee