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Text File | 1996-09-27 | 16.7 KB | 327 lines

The Concept of MegaD and it's design. MegaD started from wanting something to label disk with, something quick and easy, that I would not have to type a single line in if I did not want to. I wanted it to have the ability to display as many volumes at one time as I wanted to, thus the multiple window format. At the time I was using DiskMaster(tm) as my directory utility. I had one very large complaint. My system only had two floppy drives, no hard drive and waiting for a directory to be loaded that had been loaded once before was a waist of my time. Thus, buffered or cache reads of the directory were a must in my program. After the multiple, cache directories were working, I was saving my work to disk with DiskMaster(tm) and the thought hit me. Why not just add a few directory utility type commands to this and I would solve my complaints of reading a disk directory more than once. Almost a year latter MegaD still would not print labels but it was doing a nice job working with files. Finally after a couple of years writing and learning. (Yes I'm just a novice programer.) MegaD 1.00 was released, then MegaD 1.01. MegaD 1.10 was then created from suggestions and comments from the registered users. It had some more good ideas implemented such as a print spooler. This version, MegaD 1.10, was never released to shareware. Registered users received it but I did not feel like giving my work away anymore. This version, MegaD 2.00, was release as Try-ware. If it is unregistered it will not save or read it's internal preferences. I received many complaints about the crippling of MegaD 2.0 and with 3.0 I decided that this would be toned down to limiting the user a buffer limit of five volumes. MegaD 2.00 was a complete rewrite of the original program. I learned though the years, as we all do, and when I went back into the code of MegaD to make it Workbench 2.0 compatible I found that for it to do what I wanted it to do in the future it would require major code changes. This recoding took more than a full year. The added feature to MegaD 3.0 are Gadget Sets, full ARexx support, Hot Keys and extensive use of the AmigaGuide library. Due to it's history, MegaD is very unique in it's design and structure. It does not go along with the general rules of other directory utilities. The very first and most obvious is the multiple window format. One of the advantages of this is MegaD will coexist easily on the Workbench. It allows windows to be place or moved out of the way to reach icons. Under 2.0 this makes the main control window usable as an Application Window. It gives you the ability to work in more than two directories. With this multiple window concept, the limit of just deleting files from one directory was removed. This is a word of warning. MEGAD WILL DELETE ALL MARKED FILES IN ALL OPEN WINDOWS! It will warn you if doing so unless you tell it not to with the 'Warn before delete' flag found in the Set defaults. There are some disadvantages to this. Multiple windows tend to become very confusing if your not use to them. Thus the two window mode was added. This tends to work like the average directory utility. Two windows, left and right, Device gadgets up the center and command gadget across the bottom. Even in this mode extra windows can be forced out by use of the 'Lock' gadget at the top. If both window are locked and a new directory is requested, a free floating window will be opened to give it a home. The below answers to the questions, assume some familiarity with the program, MegaD. If you are new to MegaD, I suggest that you read the MegaD.Tutorial for step by step instructions. There is also the MegaD.Doc file that explains each function without the step by step approach that tutorial file provides. NOTE: Most of the below questions were asked by users or beta testers. Why can't I copy within the same volume? MegaD comes default with a menu set in the Windows menu 'Use limits'. The limits are found just above this item in the same menu. They default to 2 volumes per screen and one 1 window per volume. This tells MegaD that you can only have 1 window open for the volume, this makes it difficult to work within the volume in more than one directory. There are a number of ways to change this or override the 'Use limits'. 'Lock' override. (my favorite) Move within the volume until one of the directories you want to work from is being displayed in the directory window. Select the 'Lock' gadget of that window. On the first request for a new directory list, a new window will open to work within. Continue moving within the volume to reach the second directory you wish to work in. Should you need more that just two windows you may continue repeating the steps 'Lock'ing windows you want to keep on the screen as you go. User 'Dest'ination override. This requires that at least two Directory Windows are open to the screen. First move to one of the directories you want to work from. Then select the 'Dest'ination gadget of the other volume window that you do not need on the screen. Now within the directory window you want to work out of select a sub-directory or parent directory of the volume. The user defined 'Dest'ination gadget will force the directory to be loaded into the other window. Now you may move within the other window to locate the directory you want to work in. Remember that the window is a destination window and you may need to change the destination gadget to do what you want once both directory window are on the screen that you want to work from. Change limits or uncheck the 'Use limits' menu. The varieties are endless here and make it difficult to describe all the ways that you may move to your needed window. Sometimes it will be a simple move to a directory to get the windows you want, some times you may need to move though 20 directories to get to where you want. Two simple rules to follow for all of the above. One, once you've found a directory you want to work out of, 'Lock' it. This way you may continue looking though directories and MegaD will not close that window. Two, Should you come across the directory that you want to be the destination directory of the task you going to perform, select both the 'Dest'ination and the 'Lock' gadget of that window (follow rule One.) This forces destination, yet prevents MegaD from trying to place any other directory list in that window. Can MegaD replace the Workbench? There are some specialty that Workbench handles and MegaD does not such as changing or reading .info files. You can execute almost any .info file that is a TOOL (Executable) or a PROJECT (Data) .info file. By double clicking any of these .info file (Activate Auto Boot must be checked in you Option Menu.) You will be given the option to Auto Boot that file. This works much the same way as actually double clicking the Icon of the file if you were working from the Workbench. Should you double click a directory .info file then MegaD will load that directory as if you double clicked the directory entry itself. How can I keep the .info files with my copied files? The Keep .info with file option in the Option menu does what it says. If this option is checked you will be telling MegaD to do just that. If you are using the Hide .info option and the info files are omitted from the list, the .info files will still be worked on. When commands are called to work on the actual file such as Copy, Move, Delete, Rename. If you call Copy on a selected file and the file has a hidden .info file. It will be copied along with the file. If you delete a file. Its corresponding file will be deleted. If the Hide .info option is not in use you will be able to override this option by deselecting the .info file once it is automatically selected. NOTE: the Keep extension option only select and unselects the extension files. If they are hidden in the list they will not be worked on like the .info files are. Can MegaD replace the CLI or SHELL? Not as well as it replaces the Workbench, but you can execute CLI type programs from within MegaD by a simple double click. In fact any executable file can be started by a double click. What happens, is a window will open with a string gadget to enter what you would like to attach to the line that will execute the double clicked file. (Do not use the Multitasking Workbench (No IO!) option if doing this!) An example of this would be to go to your C: directory. Double click the date program. A Program Control window will open. Set the execute type to Multitasking Execute W/Hold. If your not using Workbench 2.0 you will have to set the Workbench screen to front at start and the MegaD screen to front at end checks. Hit the Use gadget. A CON: window will open for the command to run in. The date will be displayed and being you used the Hold option the window will wait for a return. Hit return and the CON: window will close. Should the C command needs some type of argument it can be added in the Flags to add after Program Name. To create an example of this double click the Avail program in your C: directory. The Program Control requester will open. Once again set the execute type to Multitasking Execute W/Hold. This time in the Flags to add after Program Name string gadget type FAST. Hit the Use gadget. A CON: window will open and should everything go right you will see a number printed on the first line. Press return to close this window. This set of events can be use on any executable file that is used on a command line. It is actually easier to do this type of work from a CLI or SHELL but It can be done within MegaD. How do I add flags before or after the command line? MegaD Program Controls can call programs that need Flags before the data file name or after the data file name or both. This means you may do some pretty handy things from a double clicked AutoBoot, User Gadget, or Menu Set. You can train it to archives, compile programs, and other task by a quick call. One of the best uses I have found for it is Unpacking .lzh files. LhArc, LHA, and LZ are a few archivers that allow you to define the destination directory for the unpacked files. This is a quick session of setting an Auto Boot Definition to do this. 1. Select a few .lzh files in a directory window. 2. Select LhArc from the directory that you keep it. 3. Select Add To Auto Boot in the Project menu. 4. Once the request window opens for you to enter the information required for the Auto Boot Definition enter e in the Flags to add after program Name string gadget then enter RAM: in the Text to append to end of Command Line string gadget. Set the Execute Type gadget to Multitasking Execute and select Use. You can now double click any .lzh file and it will be unpacked to the RAM: disk. How does MegaD handle multiple AutoBoots that recognize the same data files? A good example of this would be your wide variety of graphic file handlers. Such as Mostra (graphic viewer) and DPaint (paint program). If AutoBoots are set for both of these programs that recognize the same type of data file and you double click this type of data file. A requestor will open with Mostra and DPaint in different gadgets. You will be able to select the program you want to manipulate this double clicked file for this time. How can I get MegaD to load certain directories at startup? MegaD has an option that will force the load of any directories that you want, up to nine of them. It is done by the adding an -L behind the string entered into the device definition gadgets in the Set Defaults window. If you have drive df0: and drive df1: simply add -L to the end of the string i.e. DF1: = DF1:-L, and it will load those volumes at startup. You may also want to have a defined destination directory or Lock the loaded directory to the screen once it is loaded. To do this add 'D' for 'Dest' and/or another L for 'Lock' to the flags. So DF1:-L would now be DF1:-LD for Load and 'Dest' or DF1:-LLD for Load, 'Lock' and 'Dest'. How can I get MegaD to display the total bytes for all selected files not just Source files? By selecting the area of the main window MegaD will ether display all files and bytes selected or it will display source files and bytes that will be copied to the active directory. If you are using the Two Window mode you can access this information from the Byte gadget. How can I define where the request windows are opened on MegaD? In conjunction with the Save window positions flag in the Preferences, Set Defaults window, all windows except the directory windows and text windows remember where they were once they are closed. If you dislike any of the location where the windows opens, simply move them where you would like them and then close them. After doing this with all request window during a session remember to Save Preferences. This will keep track of the location within the preference file MegaD2.pf. Why can't I quit MegaD sometimes? You have started other programs with MegaD and they are still running. What happens as MegaD start another program, it allocate memory from the system to keep track of it. Much like Workbench does. Should MegaD quit at this time you will lose valuable memory from your system. Including the memory that the called program is using. If you need the memory that MegaD is using at the time your best bet is to Use the 'Free Volumes' Gadget. This will return memory in use for loaded Volumes. Then select the Iconify function. This will close all MegaD windows and the MegaD screen if it has one. This may give you back enough memory to do what you wanted to quit MegaD for. Otherwise you will have to quit all called program by MegaD and then Quit MegaD. The print spooler will warn you that you may cancel the current print job and if you answer yes the print will be canceled and MegaD will close down. How can I get MegaD to come up Iconified? This is done by checking the flag Iconify at start in the Preferences, Set defaults window. Now when you start MegaD it will be in Iconify mode. This is very useful when MegaD is added via the User-Startup file. If User-Startup is used start MegaD with this line. run >nil: <nil: MegaD >nil: <nil: Or you may place MegaD in the WBStartup drawer. If you place MegaD in the WBStartup drawer you need to set the DONOTWAIT tool type in the MegaD.info file. Under Workbench 2.0 the icon for the iconified MegaD is an Application Icon. This means that you may drag any Workbench Icon over the top of the MegaD Iconified Icon and drop it. If it was a drawer icon it will load that directory into a directory window. If it was a text file it will load it into a text window. If it was a program that you have trained MegaD to handle as an AutoBoot it will call the AutoBoot for that program. This makes for quick easy calls during the Iconified mode. Can I tell MegaD to place its settings files in directories other than in its current directory? Yes. This is done though the MegaD.info file. By using the Workbench Information function you can set create a tool type of SETTINGS=<My_Data_Directory> <My_Data_Directory> can be any directory you want to have MegaD place the MegaD2.pf file and the MegaD.dic (if you are using one.) A good example of this would be to set the tool type to SETTINGS=S: This tells MegaD to use your system startup sequence drawer for any files it would create or use. At this writing there are only two. MegaD2.pf and MDMaster.dic that MegaD creates. There are only Two files that it reads. MegaD2.pf and the dictionary file that is set at default to MegaD.dic but may be changed to any name you wish from set defaults.