Windows Expert/Windows Expert.iso/utility/winnav.zip/WINNAV.DOC

Text File | 1991-11-25 | 8KB | 154 lines

WINNAV.EXE

Douglas Boling                        December 31, 1991 (Utilities)


WINNAV.EXE is an easy to use Windows' file management utility.
It lets you open files and launch applications; move, copy, rename
and delete files and directories; provides full file information
and lets you set file attributes. Compatible with Real, Standard,
and 386 Enhanced Windows 3.0 modes.

Format:  WINNAV

USING WINNAV

The easiest way to learn WINNAV is to run it. You can load the
program with the File Run command from the Program Manager, or you
can create an icon in the Program Manager window. To do the latter,
simply select File New, Program Item, and then enter a description
and path for WINNAV.EXE. Or, to avoid typing, select Browse and
search your directories until you find WINNAV. Click on it and it
will automatically be entered on the command line.

     Once started, WINNAV brings up a window containing a number of
list boxes. Just how many boxes are displayed simultaneously depends
on the number of pixels on your screen and on the size of your Windows
system font. A typical VGA setup will show a total of four boxes, but
to accommodate ultra-high resolution monitors, WINNAV can produce as
many as ten.

     The thin box on the left always lists the available drives, with
the current drive highlighted. The remaining, wider list boxes hold
the names of the directories and files on the selected drive. If you
highlight a directory, the box to its right will immediately display
the subdirectories and filenames in that directory. Highlight one of
these subdirectories, and the process repeats itself in the next box
to the right until you reach the subdirectory level you want.

     If the default path contains more directory levels than there
are list boxes available to show their contents, the highest-level
directory/filename list box will automatically scroll off-screen when
you open up a new listing by highlighting a subdirectory. At any time,
however, you can restore the display of off-screen columns by using
the horizontal scroll bar beneath the list boxes. The Tab key will
take you from one list box to another if you're not using a mouse.

     WINNAV can be maximized to fill the entire screen or minimized
down to its File Drawer icon. When you resize the WINNAV window to
an intermediate size, the display automatically reconfigures itself,
again to display the maximum number of list boxes possible.

     Menu bar functions that operate on files or directories are
listed in the Files menu. The Help menu contains only one menu item,
which displays the obligatory About WINNAV box. The View menu option
brings up the Configure menu. Selecting this item allows you to set
the WINNAV defaults and customize both the number and the functions
of the buttons seen in the column to the right side of the list boxes.

     The buttons provide one-click execution of the functions
available through the menu bar. As detailed below, up to ten function
buttons can be displayed. In addition to the six default buttons, you
can add buttons to display file information, set attributes, exit,
and bring up the configuration menu itself. On the other hand, if want
to free up more screen space for another list box, simply select View
Configure and enter 0 for the Num of Buttons item. Any button can be
assigned to any WINNAV function, and however the buttons are
configured, all functions remain accessible through the menu bar.

     You can open a selected data file with the Open button, from the
File Menu selection, or by double-clicking. WINNAV immediately looks
at the WIN.INI association table to see whether you have associated
the file extension with a particular application. If so, that program
will be launched and will open the highlighted file. If there is no
association, WINNAV tries to open the data file with NOTEPAD.EXE, its
default editor. Through the configuration dialog box you can change
the default editor to any DOS or Windows program that will accept a
filename on its command line.

     A highlighted program file can be launched on its own from the
File Menu, by double-clicking it, or by hitting the Run button.
WINNAV determines that the file is a program by comparing the
extension with the Programs entry in WIN.INI. When the current
selection is a directory instead of a file, the Open menu option and
its corresponding button are disabled.

     The Copy function operates on either files or directories.
Select Copy and a dialog box opens. Here you can enter the destination
information by typing on the command line or by selecting a directory
or file from the list boxes. In this and in all appropriate WINNAV
dialog boxes, the Tab key will move you among the items with which
you can interact, should you prefer this to using a mouse. If you're
copying a file, you can change the name applied to the copy. If a
directory is selected, WINNAV copies all the files in the directory
under their same names, but it gives you the option of including or
excluding any subdirectories. And then you hit Enter or click on OK.

     The Delete function also works on either individual files or on
directories. If a directory is selected, all files and subdirectories
in the directory are deleted and the directory is removed. To prevent
accidental deletions, a dialog box asks you to confirm the delete. The
confirmation dialog box can be disabled from the configuration dialog
box.

     Move combines the Copy and Delete functions. As with the Copy
function, WINNAV can move either individual files or complete
directories. In addition, you can type the destination information or
select a file or directory from the list boxes.

     The Rename function can also be applied to the currently selected
file or to a directory. If you Rename a directory, only its name, not
its contents, is affected. You should be careful not to Rename
directories with executable files in them unless you intend to fix any
paths used by the Program Manager to launch files. To change the
paths, select the program in the Program Manager, then select the
Files Properties menu item. From there, you can enter the new name of
the directory containing the program.

     The Attrib function lets you modify the Archive, System, Hidden,
and Read-Only attribute flags of your current selection. When this
function is activated, a dialog box comes up that displays the current
settings and provides check boxes for modifying them.

     The MkDir option lets you create a directory on another drive or
add a directory to the current path. For the former, simply select
MkDir and enter the full path specification. For example, if you're
in D:\WIN and you want to create C:\PCMAG\UTILS, simply type the
latter on the command line. To add a directory to your current path,
however, simply enter the name of the directory. For instance, if
you're in D:\WIN and you want to create a subdirectory WINUT, enter
WINUT on the command line.

     The Info button (or Properties item from the File Menu) opens a
dialog box that displays the name, file type, file size, attribute
status, and the date and time the file was last modified.

     The Config function, accessed from the View Menu, lets you
customize WINNAV's operations. Here you can individually disable the
default file delete and directory delete confirmation, select whether
you want hidden and/or system files shown, and choose whether you want
directories listed before or after files in the list boxes. Here also
you can configure the buttons and provide an alternative filename for
the default editor or application. As before, the Tab key will take
you among the selectable items and the Enter key will register your
selections if you find this easier than using a mouse.

     All configuration data is saved in a file called WINNAV.INI.
WINNAV reads this file each time it is launched. When you select the
Exit function, the current size of the window is also saved to
WINNAV.INI. This way, the next time WINNAV is launched, the program
will create a window of the same size and in the same position as well
as with the previous configuration settings.