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1989-04-26
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DISK CATALOG SYSTEM (CATDISK)
USER'S GUIDE
Version 4.10
April 26, 1989
Copyright (C) 1986, 1989 By Rick Hillier
All Rights Reserved.
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Licensing And Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Public Domain And Shareware Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ASP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What You Should Have Received . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Initial Note On Archive Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Configuring CATDISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Upgrading From V3.61 or Later . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
General Considerations When Configuring CATDISK . . . . . . 10
Sample Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
IMPORTANT NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Starting CATDISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3. USING CATDISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Using The Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Option 1 - Set Drive For Cataloging . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Option 2 - Settings And Toggles Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1 - Set Current Report Destination . . . . . . . . . . 17
2 - Toggle Archive Extract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3 - Set Current Catalog File . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4 - Pause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5 - Add/Update File Comments While Cataloging . . . . . 18
6 - Printer Report Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
ESC - Return To Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Option 3 - Labeling A Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Option 4 - Cataloging A Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Option 5 - UnCataloging A Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Option 6 - Show Diskette Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Option 7 - Show Files For A Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Option 8 - Show Files For An Archive . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Option 9 - Show Selected Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Option 0 - Show ALL Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Option F1 - Add/Change File Comments . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Option F2 - Show Files By Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Option F3 - Temporarily Exit To DOS . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Option <drive_letter>: Show Disk Directory . . . . . . . 39
Option ESC - Exit To DOS . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Appendix A - The Scroll Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Appendix B - Archive Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Appendix C - Duplicate Filenames And Cataloging Hard Drives . . 43
Appendix D - Support And Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Appendix E - Questions And Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Appendix F - CATDISK PLUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Appendix G - Other Programs Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
CATDISK V3.81 Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 1
1. I N T R O D U C T I O N
OVERVIEW
Overheard: "I know I have that file in an archive on a disk SOMEWHERE!
If only I could FIND it!"
Sound familiar? Many people I know are in this predicament.
Enter CATDISK, the disk cataloging system. CATDISK can help you
organize your disks in such a way that it is easy to find a file from
within a large collection by creating a collective directory of all the
files contained in your collection. See the FEATURES section below for
a listing of CATDISK's capabilities.
FEATURES
. Completely menu-driven and very easy to use.
. Easy to use configuration utility allows customization of many of the
program's features.
. All screen colors can be customized to your liking.
. Command line options can be stored in the DOS environment area
negating the need to memorize them.
. Cataloging/Uncataloging functions are completely automatic.
. A disk volume label can be changed from within CATDISK.
. Can support up to 32,767 files or 2,000 disks per catalog,
whichever comes first.
. Supports multiple catalog files.
. This limit can be reduced through the configuration utility to better
optimize memory usage.
. Supports sub-directories up to 32 levels deep with an upper limit of
256 directories per disk being cataloged.
. Able to read the directory contents of .ARC, .LBR, .ZIP, .LZH, .LZS,
.ZOO and LBR files. See the appendix on ARCHIVE SUPPORT in this user
manual for further details.
. Supports 256 each of .ARC, .PAK, .ZIP, .LZH, .LZS, .ZOO .LBR files
per directory being cataloged.
. ARC, LBR, PAK, ZIP, LZH, LZS and ZOO file extraction is optional and
can be decided while running the program.
. You can attach a 30 character comment to each file in the catalog.
This can be done either while cataloging a disk, or at a later time.
. Summary report shows disk capacity, space used and space free on
each disk in the catalog to aid in optimization of disk usage.
. Files can be viewed by DOS wildcards, Volume ID, ARCHIVE ID, or by
keywords or phrases in the file comments.
. Reports can be sent to screen, printer, or disk file.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 2
LICENSING AND DISTRIBUTION
CATDISK is copyright and has been released for distribution as
SHAREWARE. Please note that a great deal of effort and time has been
invested in the development of this program. You are granted a license
to try CATDISK for a reasonable trial period without risk. If, after
this time, you find the program useful and intend to use it in managing
your disk collection, you are expected to register.
The base registration fee is $15. This will entitle you to continue to
use CATDISK beyond a reasonable trial period as well as entitle you to
program support. You will find a registration form at the end of this
user manual that outlines the procedures for registering your copy of
the program. Should you decide that you would like the latest release
(or a pending release if you already have the latest) appropriate
information is contained on the same form.
Please keep in mind that I must have a registration form on file for
you before I can offer product support.
Operators of electronic bulletin boards (Sysops) are encouraged to post
CATDISK for downloading by their users.
CATDISK may be uploaded to and downloaded from commercial systems such
as CompuServe, the Source, and BIX, so long as the only charge paid by
the subscriber is for on-line time and there is no charge for the
program. Those copying, sharing, and/or electronically transmitting
the program are required not to delete or modify the copyright notice
and restrictive notices from the program or documentation; anyone doing
so will be treated as a contributory copyright violator.
If you are passing this program on to others, uploading it to a
bulletin board system, or including it in a users group library, do not
separate the files contained in this ARC file - pass the ARC file on to
the intended party. This ensures that those who receive the program
will have all the correct configuration utilities and documentation
necessary to get CATDISK up and running quickly. A listing of what
files you should have and the purpose of each is listed later in this
manual.
The CATDISK documentation may not be modified by users. The program may
not be separated from the documentation when distributed. Printed or
Photocopies ("Xeroxed") copies of the CATDISK documentation (i.e., this
manual) may not be distributed or sold without the written permission
of the author.
No other person other than the author, Rick Hillier, may accept payment
or royalties for this program.
This license to use CATDISK does NOT include the right to distribute or
sell CATDISK. Distribution terms are detailed on the next page.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 3
PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SHAREWARE LIBRARIES
Distributors of "public domain" or user-supported software libraries
must obtain written permission to distribute copies of CATDISK. No one
may use CATDISK as a promotion for any commercial venture or as an
enticement for the user to pay for any program, product, or service
unless they have received the express written permission of the
program's author.
In order to distribute CATDISK, a dealer or disk vendor must comply
with the following conditions:
(1) You must obtain written permission from Rick Hillier to
distribute CATDISK. If you receive no reply, write again:
my silence does NOT constitute permission, and you may not
distribute "pending" receipt of permission.
(2) A maximum disk fee as set by Rick Hillier in the vendor
contract must not be exceeded. CATDISK may not be included
on any disk sold for more than this maximum, including CD-ROM
or optical disks, without express written permission from
Rick Hillier.
(3) Vendors may not modify or delete ANY files on the disk.
Vendors may add a "GO" program, and/or a reasonable number of
small text files designed to assist or provide a service to
the user, but these added files must be easily identifiable
and end-users must be allowed to delete the added files.
(4) Vendors must make a reasonable effort to distribute only the
most recent versions of CATDISK. All vendors who have
requested and received written permission to distribute
CATDISK will be notified of updates as they are released.
(5) All disk vendors must comply with any and all vendor
guidelines or vendor requirements set forth by the
Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP); for more
information about ASP, contact its chairman, Jim Button, at
Buttonware in Seattle. Violation of any ASP guideline or
requirement automatically revokes permission to distribute
CATDISK.
Until formal requirements are adopted by the ASP, you must comply with
the following guidelines: Vendors must make an attempt to educate users
on the nature of Shareware. Catalogs, advertisements, order forms, and
all disks sold should contain ASP-approved or recommended wording
describing the nature of shareware, and should explicitly state that no
part of disk sale revenues are paid to the programs' authors. When
vendor catalogs or advertisements carry both Shareware and PD programs,
the Shareware programs must be differentiated from the public domain
programs in some way (in the description, with an asterisk, by listing
the registration fee, etc.).
ASP
CATDISK is a Shareware program conforming to standards as established
by the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) located at
325 118th Ave. S.E., Suite 200, Belleview, WA 98005.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 4
2. G E T T I N G S T A R T E D
WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED
CATDISK is distributed in the form of an ARC file conforming to
SEAWare's ARC utility V5.30 or later. This ARC file should contain six
files which are as follows:
CATDISK.EXE The CATDISK program file.
CDISKCFG.EXE The CATDISK configuration program.
CDISKCVT.EXE Conversion utility for converting old CATDISK files to
the newest format - See the README.1ST file before
running.
CATDISK.DOC The manual you are now reading.
CATDISK.HST Revision history of CATDISK.
README.1ST Urgent program notes - IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ
THIS!
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
IBM PC/XT/AT or PS/2 or true compatible computer.
DOS V2.00 or above.
At least one floppy disk drive (Hard Drive Highly Recommended).
256K system RAM - if more is available, CATDISK will have greater
internal capacity for reading new files off of the
disks being cataloged and will run more efficiently.
INITIAL NOTE ON ARCHIVE FILES
At various points in this user manual, references to ARCHIVE files are
made. This is a collective term describing a file that actually
contains more than one file. The contained files may or may not be
compressed. Currently, this refers to LBR, ARC, PAK, ZIP, LZH, LZS and
ZOO files.
CONFIGURING CATDISK
Many features of CATDISK may be permanently set from the configuration
program, "CDISKCFG.EXE". When you start this program, please make sure
that the program file "CATDISK.EXE" is in the current drive and
directory, otherwise you will get an error message.
Upon startup, the configuration program will read the current settings
defined in "CATDISK.EXE", after which, the configuration screen will be
presented. You may change any given item on this screen by using the
<Cursor UP> and <Cursor DOWN> keys to highlight the title of the
desired field. The bottom portion of the screen will contain any
additional information as well as any instructions on how to change the
selected item.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 5
A discussion of the 10 items on this list follows:
1) SCREEN UPDATE METHOD
You may choose between having your screen updated by using your
computer's built in BIOS routines, or by using a faster DIRECT
screen update method. Using the BIOS is much slower than using
direct access, but maintains compatibility with such operating
environments as TopView, Desqview, and DoubleDOS.
Choosing DIRECT screen access is much quicker, but will be
incompatible with most multitasking programs such as the above
mentioned due to the fact that they cannot handle "ill-behaved"
programs that write directly to the screen.
If you chose DIRECT screen access, a second test is made if you
have a GRAPHICS display connected in your system. Some video
adapters have the nasty side effect of producing static, or "snow"
when the video memory is accessed directly. This test will do
multiple direct access to the video ram on your graphics adapter.
When you hit a key to stop the test, you will be asked if you saw
static on the screen.
If you answer "Y" to the prompt, CATDISK will check for horizontal
retrace before writing to the display. This will result in a
slightly slower screen response than normal, but it is almost
negligible.
If you are not running under a multitasking system, or are using
DoubleDos in dual screen mode, I would recommend that you use
DIRECT screen access, as it's much quicker.
2) COLOR OR B & W
This option is self-explanatory. The appearance of the setup
screen will depend on the setting of this field.
3) DISK CACHE SIZE
This field will enable you to set the DISK CACHE size. Setting it
to zero will disable the cache (i.e. turn the feature off).
Setting it to a number greater then zero will turn it on and will
enable CATDISK to keep the most recently read sectors of the
CATALOG FILES in memory, resulting in much faster scans through the
catalog file when looking for a group of files.
Some hard disks use their own device driver, and are incompatible
with this caching method. If this is the case, CATDISK will warn
you of this condition if caching is enabled, but is incompatible
with your hard disk. Under these circumstances, the caching
feature will be turned off during that program run... use this
configuration option to permanently disable the cache and eliminate
the warning at each startup.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 6
4) NUMBER OF LINES PER PAGE
The number of lines per page field will enable you to tell CATDISK
the number of lines of data (EXCLUDING headings) that it should
place on each page of printer or disk output. This may be any
number between 0 and 255. Entering zero will disable page breaking
and the output will be presented in a continuous stream with one
title at the top.
5) PRINTER STARTUP STRING
The printer start up string is a series of ASCII codes (entered
here as their Ascii VALUES) that will tailor your reports to the
format you desire. For example, I use an Epson printer and like to
set it to 1/8" spacing and get 80 report lines per page. To do
this, I send a startup string of "<Esc> <0>" to set this print
mode. To enter this string in the configuration program, I would
enter it as "027 048" without the quotes. The numbers are simply
the ASCII values of the characters I wish to send. If you have a
setup string entered here and wish to clear it, simply hit <Return>
in response to the prompt in the bottom area of the screen.
6) PRINTER FINISHING STRING
The printer finishing string is commonly used to reverse the
startup string entered above and is entered in exactly the same
way. In the example above, I would use "<Esc> <2>", which would be
entered as "027 050" without the quotes. If you have a setup
string entered here and wish to clear it, simple hit <Return> in
response to the prompt in the bottom area of the screen.
7) DEFAULT ARCHIVE EXTRACT STATE
This will control the way CATDISK handles any ARCHIVE files that
it might encounter when cataloging your disks.
If you set it to OFF, CATDISK will NOT extract any archive files
that it finds on your disks.
If you set it to ON, CATDISK will expand EVERY ARCHIVE file that it
finds on your disks.
If you set it to QUERY, CATDISK will ask you for permission to
expand an ARCHIVE file each time it encounters one.
This can be changed temporarily while running CATDISK.
8) DEFAULT CATALOG DRIVE
The default catalog drive is the drive that CATDISK will assume you
wish to use for labeling disks and reading them for cataloging
purposes. This drive may still be changed at startup time (see
STARTING CATDISK), or from the menu when catdisk is running.
If you are running on single floppy based system, I would recommend
that you set this drive to the same drive ID that CATDISK will be
run from. CATDISK will prompt you to enter the appropriate disks
at the appropriate time, and will eliminate potential problems with
the disk caching feature if enabled (See the file README.1ST).
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 7
9) CATALOG FILE DIRECTORY
The catalog file directory is the location in your system that
CATDISK will look for and create its catalog files. This path may
contain a drive designator, so that the catalog files may reside on
a different drive than CATDISK itself, such as a ramdisk (in this
case don't forget to copy the files to a real disk before you turn
off or reboot your machine).
If this field is blank, the default drive and directory will be
used.
10) DISKS/FILES PER CATALOG
The maximum number of disks and files per catalog is simply that.
When CATDISK starts, it allocates its work space according to this
setting. There are currently four possible settings; which one you
pick is largely dependent upon the environment in which CATDISK is
to be run.
These settings are: DISKS # FILES
2000 32767 (32K)
1500 24576 (24K)
1000 16384 (16K)
500 8192 ( 8K)
COLOR CUSTOMIZATION
If you are running on a color monitor and have the color setting in the
main configuration set to COLOR, you may set your own screen colors if
you happen to dislike the color scheme that comes with CATDISK. To do
so, simply hit <F9> from the configuration screen and follow the menus.
Once you have selected this option, you will see a menu that will allow
you to select some general colors such as screen background and border
color (CGA type displays only - EGA and VGA have no effect), as well as
an option to reset the author's (that's me!) colors should you really
make a mess of the color scheme and wish to start over.
The other options will bring up menus that pertain to the various
screens that you might encounter in your usage of CATDISK. When you
reach these, there will be an option available for each item that will
change its foreground or background color. Selecting an option will
step you through the possible color range for that particular item.
Sound confusing? Try it for yourself... it's really quite easy. For
starters, try setting everything to green on cyan <grin> (if you don't
have a strong stomach, don't bother).
Once you have set all the fields set to your desired settings, you may
instruct CDISKCFG to save the current settings by pressing <F10>. Upon
completion, you will be returned to DOS.
If you do not wish to save the changes you made, simply hit <Esc>, and
you will be returned to DOS, while the previous configuration will
remain unscathed.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 8
DEFAULT SETTINGS
1) Screen Update Method: BIOS
2) Color or B & W: B & W
3) Disk Caching: 0 K (Disabled)
4) Output Lines Per Page: 58
5) Printer Startup String: Nothing
6) Printer Finishing String: Nothing
7) Default ARCHIVE Extract State: ON
8) Catalog Drive: A:
9) Catalog File Directory: Default Drive and Directory
10) Maximum Disks/Files per Catalog: 1000/16384
11) Color Scheme: Authors Colors
UPGRADING FROM V3.61 OR LATER
Before copying the new program files to your work disk, you might want
to rename the executable file from the previous installation
(CATDISK.COM or CATDISK.EXE) to another name. The configuration
utility, CDISKCFG.EXE has the ability to read the configuration
information from the release that you were using for easy installation
into this release. This can save you some time in setting the program
up for your preferences, particularly if you've customized all the
screen colors.
Example - Upgrading from V3.71 to this release:
Procedure:
1) Rename your old CATDISK.EXE to CAT371.EXE (this file holds the
configuration information from the last installation.
2) Run the configuration utility, CDISKCFG.EXE.
3) Hit <F8>. CDISKCFG will ask you for the file name of the old
program file. Answer "CAT371.EXE" (without the quotes).
4) A list of supported version numbers will appear at the bottom of
the screen, with the first entry highlighted. Use the arrow keys
to select V3.71 from the list.
5) Hit <Return> or <Enter> on your keyboard. CDISKCFG will read in
the previous configuration information from CAT371.EXE and display
it on your screen.
6) Delete CAT371.EXE - it's no longer needed.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 9
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN CONFIGURING CATDISK
When setting CATDISK up, there are a few things you should consider:
If you have a hard disk, you should use it for maintaining your catalog
files (i.e. set your catalog file directory to somewhere on your hard
drive).
If possible, set your video update method to DIRECT. CATDISK runs
faster in this mode.
If you are using a hard drive or a ram disk to hold your catalog files,
you should NOT use CATDISK's caching feature. The cache built into
CATDISK is meant to aid those with floppy disk based systems when doing
multiple searches through the catalog file. Using the cache while
updating a catalog files imposes additional overhead on the operation.
It is negligible on floppy based systems, as the bottleneck in the
operation is the disk itself - on hard drives, it is noticeable. If
possible, using one of the commercially available disk caching systems
is recommended, as they incorporate features into their programs such
as being able to use extended and expanded memory and the like that are
not feasible to include in CATDISK.
When setting your printer up for printing reports, try to set the
printer startup string such that the complete catalog listing (i.e.
files, stats and comments) can be printed.
The best setting for the default ARCHIVE extract state is QUERY. Many
archives do not need to be fully extracted as the name of the archive
filename itself is all that is necessary in order to identify what is
on that particular disk. By using some discretion in deciding which
archive files need be extracted, you can dramatically reduce the size
of your catalog files (as well as the time needed to update and search
them). Some however, need to be extracted (for example, MISC.ARC).
This setting gives you the best of both worlds.
When setting the default drive and directory for your catalog files, be
sure and include it in your DOS PATH as well. Although this is not
necessary, it will enable you to run CATDISK from anywhere in your
system without having to change to that directory before running
CATDISK. Setting the PATH for this is only beneficial to those using
hard drives.
When setting the maximum number of disks and files that can be
maintained in a catalog file, the best setting should be the LOWEST one
that will contain your largest catalog file. This will maximize the
amount of free memory left over that CATDISK can use to store file
information being read from disks being cataloged, sorting information,
caching information, and the like.
Keep in mind that, if you should have a catalog file grow to your set
maximum, you can always re-configure CATDISK (memory permitting, of
course) to accommodate a larger configuration, unless you are already
at the highest setting. When you next run CATDISK after making these
changes, your catalog file will then be able to grow to the new
setting.
If you are running on floppy drives, use the 8K setting for disks/files
per catalog. Your files will never exceed this limitation.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 10
SAMPLE CONFIGURATIONS
Scenario: One Hard Disk (C:) and a floppy drive:
Make a directory "C:\CATDISK" and copy the files CATDISK.EXE
and CDISKCFG.EXE to it. Set the configuration to:
1) Screen Update Method: <your option>
2) Color or B & W: <your option>
3) Disk Caching: 0 K (Disabled)
4) Output Lines Per Page: <your option>
5) Printer Startup String: <your option>
6) Printer Finishing String: <your option>
7) Default ARCHIVE Extract State: <your option>
8) Catalog Drive: A:
9) Catalog File Directory: C:\CATDISK
10) Maximum Disks/Files per Catalog: <your option>
11) Color Scheme: <your option>
Add C:\CATDISK to the DOS PATH and you will be able to call
up CATDISK from anywhere in your system.
Scenario: Two floppy drives:
Take a blank disk and copy the files CATDISK.EXE and
CDISKCFG.EXE to it. This will be your CATDISK program disk.
Set the configuration to:
1) Screen Update Method: <your option>
2) Color or B & W: <your option>
3) Disk Caching: <your option>
4) Output Lines Per Page: <your option>
5) Printer Startup String: <your option>
6) Printer Finishing String: <your option>
7) Default ARCHIVE Extract State: <your option>
8) Catalog Drive: A:
9) Catalog File Directory: B:\
10) Maximum Disks/Files per Catalog: 500/8192
11) Color Scheme: <your option>
When starting CATDISK for the first time, insert the
program disk in drive A: and take a blank formatted disk and
insert it in drive B:. This will be your data disk. When
CATDISK has loaded and has displayed the title screen, you
may remove the CATDISK program disk from the A: drive. This
will now be the drive from which disks being cataloged will
be read.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 11
Scenario: One floppy drive:
Take a blank disk and copy the files CATDISK.EXE and
CDISKCFG.EXE to it. This will be your CATDISK program disk.
Set the configuration to:
1) Screen Update Method: <your option>
2) Color or B & W: <your option>
3) Disk Caching: <your option>
4) Output Lines Per Page: <your option>
5) Printer Startup String: <your option>
6) Printer Finishing String: <your option>
7) Default ARCHIVE Extract State: <your option>
8) Catalog Drive: A:
9) Catalog File Directory: A:\
10) Maximum Disks/Files per Catalog: 500/8192
11) Color Scheme: <your option>
When starting CATDISK for the first time, insert the
program disk in drive A: and start CATDISK. You will need to
add the command line option /IP (initial pause - see later
in this manual).
Once CATDISK has loaded, it will pause and ask you to insert
your data disk. If this is the first time you are running
CATDISK, use a blank formatted disk.
When you catalog a disk, you must first remove the data disk
and insert the disk to be cataloged BEFORE activating the
catalog function. When CATDISK is done reading the disk, it
will ask you to re-insert the data disk.
IMPORTANT NOTE
If you are running CATDISK on a single drive system, I would recommend
the above configuration for two reasons, even though DOS can make the
one drive act like A: and B:.
1) Perhaps the most important reason; if you've activated the disk
caching feature, is that failure to do so may cause a loss of data
on disks other than your data disk, particularly when you label a
disk. The reason being that the cache built into CATDISK references
the PHYSICAL hardware, not the logical drive that DOS creates (i.e.
A: and B: use the SAME piece of equipment).
By setting CATDISK to the above configuration, it will be aware that
the above situation exists and take the correct action when carrying
out critical functions.
2) This will allow CATDISK to prompt you for the appropriate disks,
thus avoiding the DOS prompt "Insert disk for drive B:" and the
like.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 12
STARTING CATDISK
CATDISK is started from the DOS command line by issuing the following:
CATDISK parameters
- where parameters may include any of the following:
/NP - Specifying this commandline option will cause
CATDISK to eliminate the pause after cataloging/
un-cataloging a disk. It will also eliminate the
"Insert a disk in drive X:" prompt unless it is
absolutely necessary.
/NW - Under normal circumstances, when you catalog a
disk containing a Volume ID that already exists
in the current catalog, CATDISK will issue a
warning to that effect, and will ask you for
verification before proceeding to catalog that
disk. The reason behind this is that there is
always the possibility of two different disks
having the same Volume ID. Cataloging one would
mean that the files from the other would be
un-cataloged in the same process.
If you specify the /NW option on the command line,
this warning will be suppressed, and the disk will
be cataloged without further delay.
/NS - Suppress status indicators during processing. This
speeds up processing time. Status indicators are
there simply to indicate that the computer is
actually doing something useful. Try it either way
and set it to your liking.
/AC - Turn the auto comment feature ON at startup.
Normally, CATDISK, upon completion of cataloging a
group of files from a disk will immediately
return to the menu. Activating this feature from
the commandline (or from the menu) will cause
CATDISK to proceed to the section where you may
add/modify the file comments for the volume that
you just cataloged.
/Ffilename - The default filename that CATDISK uses is "CATDISK"
which may be overridden with this parameter.
Note that there is no space between the /F and the
filename.
/SD - CATDISK can display screen information for your
catalog in two different formats. The default is
to show the Filename, Volume ID, Arc ID, size,
date, time and attributes for each record. There
is a second display format that omits the file
attributes, but shows the sub-directory that the
file occupies on its disk. Setting this option
will make the second format the starting report
type.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 13
/CO - similar to above, but the third display format that
shows file comments will be the default.
- *** NOTE: If you specify both /SD and /CO at startup, the LAST one
that you specified on the command line will take effect.
/ASK - normally, CATDISK will process a request for a
report and send it to the location as set in the
toggles section of the program (discussed later in
this manual). Some may find it handy to have
CATDISK prompt for a report location each time a
report is requested. This feature will make this
the default at startup.
/Px - Set printer output format to report type x, where x
is in the range (0-2).
x Value Report Type
------- -----------
0 Show regular file statistics
1 Show file comments
2 Show file statistics and comments
(selecting this report style assumes that
your printer is set to produce 132 column
reports)
/D: - Catalog files from drive D: where D: is one of
[A - {last drive in your system}].
/IP - Initial Pause. This parameter will cause CATDISK
to pause after it is loaded so that you may remove
the program disk (not needed during the session)
and insert the data disk. This option is only
needed if you are running on a single drive system.
The slash "/" may be substituted by either a dash "-" or a space " ".
Eg. CATDISK /FGAMES/NS/AC/CO/P2/B: or CATDISK A:
- entering CATDISK ? will bring up a help message indicating the above.
**NOTE: You may also put the command line options in a DOS environment
string using the DOS "SET" command. This command (examples are below),
may be placed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that you will not need to
remember which command line options to use to obtain your favorite
setup, or for that matter, to type them!
- example: SET CATDISK=/FGAMES/NS/AC/CO/P2/B:
When you start CATDISK under these circumstances, simply type "CATDISK"
<Enter> and the above options will automatically be invoked.
Please note that if you enter any command line options when starting
CATDISK, the DOS environment area will be ignored.
Once CATDISK has been successfully started, a title screen will appear.
Hit any key to ascend to the main menu.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 14
3. U S I N G C A T D I S K
USING THE MENUS
The major options available from CATDISK such as the main functions
that you see in the opening menu after the title page disappears can be
selected in two different ways.
The first, and easiest is just to hit the indicated key beside the
desired option.
In response to a few requests from registered users, I have also
implemented a "point and shoot" method of selecting items from a menu.
Simply use the cursor keys to position the flashing arrows in the
inverse box that indicates the keystroke required to activate the
desired option and hit <Return> (or <CR> to you C programmers). This
will carry out the same function as if you had struck the key in the
inverse box.
One advantage that the second approach has to the first is that those
of you who do not touch type numbers very well (or have a tendency to
hit the key beside the one you are after) have another avenue to use to
navigate through the menus of CATDISK.
Another is that once you have activated a function such as cataloging a
disk, you need only type <Return> to re-activate that function as
CATDISK will remember the last option you activated (quite handy if you
are cataloging multiple disks, as the <Return> key is larger than
most... you aren't as apt to miss it).
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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OPTION 1 - SET DRIVE FOR CATALOGING
This function allow you to set the drive from which the files to be
cataloged will be read. Simply select letter from (A - x) to select
the drive with that DOS letter designation, where x is the last drive
that CATDISK detected in your system configuration. The change will be
noted immediately in the status area at the top of the screen.
*** NOTE: If you are running with one floppy drive only and have
turned the caching option on from the configuration utility,
do not set this option to a drive other than the one on
which the catalog files reside (probably A:). Failure to do
so could cause loss of data on your disks.
See the SAMPLE CONFIGURATIONS section covered earlier in
this section. You have been warned!
Users with a hard-disk, single floppy configuration, who are running
CATDISK from the hard disk will NOT experience this problem and may
proceed as normal. It's ONLY if the same PHYSICAL drive is being used
for the CATDISK work files AND the disk to be cataloged that the
above precautions must be taken.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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OPTION 2: SETTINGS AND TOGGLES MENU
The options available in this sub-menu will allow you to control the
behavior of some of the features of CATDISK. You can get to this menu
by selecting option #2 from the main menu.
The options available on this menu are:
Sub-option 1 - Set Current Report Destination
----------------------------------------------
Selecting this option will affect the report destination and whether or
not CATDISK will ask you where the report should go. Each time you
select option 1, CATDISK will run through through a sequence of five
possible locations (Screen, LPT1, LPT2, Disk, or ASK ME).
Selecting one of the first four will cause CATDISK to immediately
generate a report to the selected destination IMMEDIATELY upon
selecting it. You will not be prompted any further, unless you have
selected DISK, in which case, you will be asked for a filename in which
to place the report.
If you select ASK ME, CATDISK will prompt you for a report location
(one of the first four in the list) each time you ask it to generate a
report.
I usually leave this setting set to SCREEN as, most of the time, I
browse through my catalog files on the screen. You, however, may find
it handy to set this to ASK ME, especially if you jump to report
locations frequently. If this is the case, you may, if you haven't
already, add the command line option /ASK to your current list of
options. This will override the default location of SCREEN at startup,
negating the need to set it manually each time you start CATDISK.
Sub-option 2 - Toggle Auto ARCHIVE Extract
-------------------------------------------
Although this setting is permanently set from the CDISKCFG utility, it
is can sometimes be convenient to be able to change it during a CATDISK
session. Selecting option 2 will run the Auto ARCHIVE Extract setting
through three possibilities, OFF, ON, or QUERY. The current setting is
shown near the top of the screen in the status area.
If this feature is turned OFF, any file searches through the catalog,
with the exception of OPTION #0 - Show All Files, will NOT show any
files that reside in an archive file. The archive file's presence will
still be shown in the listing.
If this feature is turned ON, CATDISK will extract the archive
directory of any archive it encounters in its search.
If it is set to QUERY, CATDISK will prompt you as to whether it should
extract the archive directory of any archive that it encounters in its
search before proceeding to do so. Reports generated will act as if
the feature is turned ON.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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Sub-option 3 - Set Current Catalog File
----------------------------------------
Although the catalog filename may be set upon starting up CATDISK, is
may also be convenient to be able to change the current file from
within a CATDISK session. Select option #3 from the main menu, and you
will be prompted for a new catalog file to use. Any valid dos filename
will do. Be sure to specify the NAME portion only; do not include the
file extension portion. If the name you specify is valid, it will then
be used for all subsequent catalog updates and queries (This is
reflected at the top of the screen). If not, an error message will be
issued and no change will be made to the current catalog file name.
If you are switching to a catalog that already exists,and it will not
fit into the configuration you defined in the configuration program
(maximum disks/files per catalog), you will get an error message and
the catalog file setting will be left unchanged.
Sub-option 4 - Pause For Disk Change or At End of Catalog Update
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Under normal circumstances, CATDISK will pause at strategic places,
either to allow you to view what has just happened (cataloging and
un-cataloging), or to prompt you to insert a disk in drive X:
(labeling or reading directories, etc). If you turn this toggle off,
CATDISK will only prompt you for a disk when absolutely necessary. In
addition, there will be no pause at the end of a catalog update; you
will immediately be returned to the main menu, or to the comment entry
screen if you have the AUTO COMMENT feature turned on.
Sub-option 5 - Add/Update File Comments While Cataloging
----------------------------------------------------------
If this toggle is turned off, CATDISK will proceed back to the main
menu upon completion of the process of cataloging a disk. If you wish
to add comments for some/all of the files that you have just
cataloged, you may turn this toggle on. When this is the case,
CATDISK will catalog files in the normal manner, but upon completion,
you will be taken to another screen that will allow you to scroll
through the files you just cataloged and add/update the comments for
each file shown. See Option F1 - Add/Change File Comments for details
on how this section of the program works.
Sub-option 6 - Toggle Printer Report Type
------------------------------------------
CATDISK currently supports three printer report styles, which are
detailed here. The particular report style that you desire may be set
with this toggle, and will be reflected in the toggles portion of the
menu screen.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 18
STATISTICS: This is the default report style (unless overridden on the
command line), which is to show the path, filename, volume
id, ARCHIVE id, as well as the size, date, time and DOS
directory attributes of each file listed.
This report style corresponds to the command line option
/P0, and will fit on an 80 column printer.
COMMENTS: This report style will substitute file comments for the
size, date, time, and DOS directory attribute.
This report style corresponds to the command line option
/P1, and will fit on an 80 column printer.
BOTH: This report style will show all of the fields from the two
above reports. Please note that it assumes that you
either have a 132 column printer, or an 80 column printer
set to compressed mode.
It corresponds to the command line option /P2.
Sub-option <Esc> - Return To Main Menu
--------------------------------------
Exactly what it says.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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OPTION 3: LABELING A DISK
Selection of option #3 on the main menu will allow the VOLUME LABEL of
a disk to be set or changed. Upon selection, CATDISK will attempt to
read the current label of the disk. If none is present, you will be
notified of this, and will be given the opportunity to create a volume
label for that disk. See the DOS manual on volume labels for more
information. If a label already exists on the disk, its name will be
shown as a reminder, and you will be given an opportunity to change the
label name. Just enter the new label name and hit <CR>.
If the label name was valid, the change will be made, otherwise, an
error message indicating such will be issued and you will return to the
main menu.
If you do not wish to enter or change the disk label, simply hit <ESC>
at the volume label prompt and you will immediately return to the main
menu with no changed made to the disk label.
When the volume label has been successfully changed or created, CATDISK
will check to see if the old label, if any was present, exists in the
current catalog file. If so, you will be given an opportunity to have
CATDISK automatically change the old volume id references to the newly
entered one. If the disk that you re-labeled is one that actually is
in the catalog, answer <Y>es to the prompt. CATDISK will take care of
the rest. This feature can be a great time saver, as it eliminates the
need to uncatalog the disk under the old volume id, and re-catalog it
under the new name.
If the disk is not in the catalog, answer <N>o to the prompt. Answering
<Y>es under these circumstances will not damage the catalog file, but
will cause confusion as to what disk the altered catalog records reside
on.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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OPTION 4: CATALOGING A DISK
This selection will initiate cataloging of the files on the selected
catalog disk as shown in the status area at the top of the screen. The
volume label will be read, and if it doesn't exist, you will be given
an opportunity to enter a volume label for the disk. If you hit <ESC>
at the label prompt, the operation will be aborted and you will be
returned to the main menu without cataloging your disk. After entering
the label name for that disk, you will be asked if you wish to write
that label to disk. If you answer <Y>es, the disk will be labeled and
cataloging will continue. If you answer <N>o, the label will not be
written, but the disk will be cataloged under the name that you gave
it. This will allow easy cataloging of write-protected disks.
Please note that volume labels created by Peter Norton's "Volabel"
utility may contain lower case characters. CATDISK will convert the
labels to upper case before adding them to the catalog. This will
enable you to manipulate and uncatalog any of these disks. The
physical volume label on the disk will be left unchanged.
If the label on the disk to be cataloged already exists in the
catalog, you will be notified of this situation, and will be given an
opportunity to abort the operation. This feature has been added as a
safeguard against a situation where two disks of the same volume id may
be overriding each other and clobbering the catalog contents of the
other disk. If you specified the "/NW" option on at startup, this
warning will not be issued.
Once the label has been found, the directory and any archive or library
entries (if the ARCHIVE auto extract feature option is turned on - it
is by default) will be read (if the ARCHIVE auto extract is set to
QUERY, you will be asked for verification before a given archive or
Library will be read). This process will be repeated for each
sub-directory on the disk as well. All existing levels of
sub-directories will be searched.
Upon completion of this, the catalog summary file and master catalog
will be updated to reflect the current directory/directories of the
disk. If any files have been added, they will be added to the catalog;
if any files have been changed, they will be updated; if any files
have been deleted, they will be removed from the catalog.
Keep in mind, that deletion of an ARCHIVE file will cause any files
existing within that ARCHIVE file to be uncataloged. Also, turning the
Auto ARCHIVE Extraction feature OFF, or answering <No> to a Extract
ARCHIVE prompt to a cataloged ARCHIVE will cause any files in an
ARCHIVE file on that disk to be uncataloged as well.
Should the disk become full when the cataloging process is underway,
the process will be aborted with an error message. The old catalog
file will remain intact (i.e. no changes made), but the summary file
will reflect either the presence of the new disk, or the current status
of that disk if it already existed in the catalog. This means that the
catalog file will not be accurate as to what's on the disk that you
attempted to catalog. If this error is encountered, you should either
try to free up some space on disk on which the catalog file exists, or
move the .DTA and .SUM files to another disk (see CONFIGURING CATDISK
for details on how to access catalog files on other drives and
directories) and retry the operation.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 21
This operation is completely automatic and does not require any further
input from the operator once started, unless, of course, the ARCHIVE
extract state is set to QUERY.
If you have turned on the auto-comment feature either from the
command line or from the toggles menu, you will be taken to a section
of the program that will allow you to add/update file comments.
See "<F1> - Adding/Updating File Comments" later in this manual for
details.
Please keep in mind that CATDISK has an internal limitation of being
able to read in only the first 5000 files of the disk being cataloged.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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OPTION 5: UNCATALOGING A DISK
There may be times when you will wish to remove a disk's files from the
catalog. Select option #5 from the main menu, and you will be asked to
enter the VOLUME NAME of the disk to be uncataloged. Enter it and hit
<CR>. If the volume label doesn't exist in the catalog, then you will
be notified and returned to the main menu.
If the volume label is found in the catalog, its entry will be deleted
along with all the file names under it.
If you do not wish to carry out this operation, hit <Esc> at the volume
label prompt and no action will be taken.
Should the disk become full during the catalog update process, the
process will be aborted with an error message, and the old catalog file
will remain intact. Typically, this error should not occur, unless you
have added more files to the disk, or another program has used up more
disk space (such as a database expanding a file). Should this error
occur, the summary file will no longer contain a reference to the
diskette that was uncataloged, but the catalog file will still contain
references to that diskette.
Should this be the case, you should either free up some space on the
disk, or copy the .SUM and .DTA files to another disk (see CONFIGURING
CATDISK for details on accessing catalog files on other drives and
directories), catalog the diskette in question, and uncatalog it again.
This will remove any references to that disk from the catalog file.
If you do not have access to that disk anymore (you may have erased
it), simply take a blank diskette, add one file to it, and label it the
same as the diskette you wish to uncatalog. Carry out the above
procedure, and you will obtain the same results.
In practice, this should not happen, as you would have needed
sufficient disk space to create the catalog file in the first place.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 23
OPTION 6: SHOW DISK SUMMARY
Selection of option #6 from the main menu will cause CATDISK to display
an alphabetical list of VOLUME NAMES and some pertinent statistical
information for each. This option is handy if, say, you have a bunch
of utility disks and want to add a 14K utility program to one of them.
This report can be quite useful in making efficient use of existing
working diskettes.
All the statistical items shown should be self-explanatory, except one;
that is, the Slack % factor. The disks on which DOS stores it files
are divided into allocation units called clusters. The size of each
cluster varies with the type and size of disk. When DOS allocates
space on a disk for a file, it is allotted in one cluster units to the
file. Some common cluster sizes are 512 bytes on 160-180K diskettes,
and 1024 bytes on 320-360K diskettes. Some hard disks have larger
cluster sizes.
Anyway, let's say, for example, that you have a file of 256 bytes. On
a 360K diskette, DOS will allocate 1024 bytes to the file, even though
it is only 256 bytes long. This means that three-quarters of that
cluster is unused, or that you have 75% slack for that file. The
figure that you see on the summary report is the overall slack
percentage of all the files on the disk.
Depending on where you have set your output destination, the following
options are applicable:
Printer: A hardcopy summary report will be printed on your printer.
The disk volume names will be echoed to the screen as they
are sent to the printer. Hitting <Esc> at any time during
report generation will abort it and return to the main menu.
Disk: A listing in the same format as the hardcopy summary report
will be produced in a diskette file. The default name for
this file is one with the same name as the current catalog
filename with an extension of ".LST". This may be overridden
at the time that the report is generated. Hitting <Esc> at
any time during the generation of the report will abort it
and return to the main menu.
Screen: This will allow you to browse through your summary report on
the screen. Keystrokes available are as follows:
<Cursor UP> - move up one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll down to make room for
the new line appearing at the top.
<Cursor DOWN> - move down one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll up to make room for the
new line appearing at the bottom.
<PgUp> - move up one page (15 lines) in the report.
<PgDn> - move down one page (15 lines) in the report.
<Home> - move to the beginning of the report.
<End> - move to the end of the report.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 24
<Grey Plus> - move down through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<Grey Minus> - move up through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<Esc> - return to the menu.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 25
OPTION 7: SHOW FILES FOR A VOLUME
Selecting option #7 will cause CATDISK to display an alphabetical list
of files for a particular disk. If you have the report destination set
to "ASK ME", you will be asked for a report location. After the report
destination is established, you will be asked for a volume ID. Simply
enter it and hit <Return>, or hit <Esc> to return to the menu without
producing a report.
Depending on where you have set your output destination, the following
options are applicable:
Printer: A hardcopy file report will be printed on your printer. The
filenames will be echoed to the screen as they are sent to
the printer. Hitting <Esc> at any time during report
generation will abort it and return to the main menu.
Disk: A listing in the same format as the hardcopy file report will
be produced in a diskette file. The default name for this
file is one with the same name as the current catalog
filename with an extension of ".LST". This may be overridden
at the time that the report is generated. Hitting <Esc> at
any time during the generation of the report will abort it
and return to the main menu.
Screen: Upon entering the search spec, scanning of the catalog will
commence. If you have status indicators turned on, a counter
will increment each time a matching file is found. If at the
and of the search, no files were found, an error message will
be issued and you will be returned to the main menu.
When the search has completed successfully, the file names
will be shown alphabetically, along with the volume name,
archive name, and other directory information for that file.
Applicable options are as follows:
<Cursor UP> - move up one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll down to make room for
the new line appearing at the top.
<Cursor DOWN> - move down one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll up to make room for the
new line appearing at the bottom.
<PgUp> - move up one page (15 lines) in the report.
<PgDn> - move down one page (15 lines) in the report.
<Home> - move to the beginning of the report.
<End> - move to the end of the report.
<Grey Plus> - move down through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 26
<Grey Minus> - move up through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<N> - change report format to show a standard
(normal) file report. This is the default if
you do not specify either /SD or /CO when you
start CATDISK.
<S> - change report format to show sub-directories.
If a sub-directory begins with a tilde (~),
that means that the sub-directory shown is a
sub-directory past the first level (i.e.
a sub-directory within a sub-directory).
If you wish to have this report format come
up by default when starting CATDISK, simply
add /SD to your command line with which you
invoke CATDISK.
<C> - change the report format to any comments you
might have entered for the shown catalog
entries. If you wish this display format to
appear by default, use the /CO option when
starting CATDISK.
<Esc> - return to the menu.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 27
OPTION 8: SHOW FILES FOR AN ARCHIVE
Selecting option #8 will cause CATDISK to display an alphabetical list
of files for a particular archive. If you have the report destination
set to "ASK ME", you will be asked for a report location. After the
report destination is established, you will be asked for a Archive to
list. Simply enter it and hit <Return>, or hit <Esc> to return to the
menu without producing a report.
Depending on where you have set your output destination, the following
options are applicable:
Printer: A hardcopy file report will be printed on your printer. The
filenames will be echoed to the screen as they are sent to
the printer. Hitting <Esc> at any time during report
generation will abort it and return to the main menu.
Disk: A listing in the same format as the hardcopy file report will
be produced in a diskette file. The default name for this
file is one with the same name as the current catalog
filename with an extension of ".LST". This may be overridden
at the time that the report is generated. Hitting <Esc> at
any time during the generation of the report will abort it
and return to the main menu.
Screen: Upon entering the search spec, scanning of the catalog will
commence. If you have status indicators turned on, a counter
will increment each time a matching file is found. If at the
and of the search, no files were found, an error message will
be issued and you will be returned to the main menu.
When the search has completed successfully, the file names
will be shown alphabetically, along with the volume name,
archive name, and other directory information for that file.
Applicable options are as follows:
<Cursor UP> - move up one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll down to make room for
the new line appearing at the top.
<Cursor DOWN> - move down one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll up to make room for the
new line appearing at the bottom.
<PgUp> - move up one page (15 lines) in the report.
<PgDn> - move down one page (15 lines) in the report.
<Home> - move to the beginning of the report.
<End> - move to the end of the report.
<Grey Plus> - move down through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 28
<Grey Minus> - move up through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<N> - change report format to show a standard
(normal) file report. This is the default if
you do not specify either /SD or /CO when you
start CATDISK.
<S> - change report format to show sub-directories.
If a sub-directory begins with a tilde (~),
that means that the sub-directory shown is a
sub-directory past the first level (i.e.
a sub-directory within a sub-directory).
If you wish to have this report format come
up by default when starting CATDISK, simply
add /SD to your command line with which you
invoke CATDISK.
<C> - change the report format to any comments you
might have entered for the shown catalog
entries. If you wish this display format to
appear by default, use the /CO option when
starting CATDISK.
<Esc> - return to the menu.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 29
OPTION 9: SHOW SELECTED FILES
Selecting option #9 will cause CATDISK to display an alphabetical list
of files. If you have the report destination set to "ASK ME", you will
be asked for a report location. After the report destination is
established, you will be asked for a filespec. This filespec follows
the conventional DOS filespec search conventions including wildcard
searches. Hit <Esc> to return to the menus without generating a
report.
Examples:
*.* - search for everything.
*.COM - search for files ending in .COM
A*.EXE - search for files starting with A and ending in .COM
CATDISK.COM - search specifically for CATDISK.COM
*.?Q? - search for files with an extension containing Q as
its second character.
??.DOC - search for files with two letters as it filename and
.DOC as its extension.
Please refer to the DOS manual for further information on file
searching patterns.
Depending on where you have set your output destination, the following
options are applicable:
Printer: A hardcopy file report will be printed on your printer. The
filenames will be echoed to the screen as they are sent to
the printer. Hitting <Esc> at any time during report
generation will abort it and return to the main menu.
Disk: A listing in the same format as the hardcopy file report will
be produced in a diskette file. The default name for this
file is one with the same name as the current catalog
filename with an extension of ".LST". This may be overridden
at the time that the report is generated. Hitting <Esc> at
any time during the generation of the report will abort it
and return to the main menu.
Screen: Upon entering the search spec, scanning of the catalog will
commence. If you have status indicators turned on, a counter
will increment each time a matching file is found. If at the
and of the search, no files were found, an error message will
be issued and you will be returned to the main menu.
When the search has completed successfully, the file names
will be shown alphabetically, along with the volume name,
archive name, and other directory information for that file.
Applicable options are as follows:
<Cursor UP> - move up one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll down to make room for
the new line appearing at the top.
<Cursor DOWN> - move down one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll up to make room for the
new line appearing at the bottom.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 30
<PgUp> - move up one page (15 lines) in the report.
<PgDn> - move down one page (15 lines) in the report.
<Home> - move to the beginning of the report.
<End> - move to the end of the report.
<Grey Plus> - move down through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<Grey Minus> - move up through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<N> - change report format to show a standard
(normal) file report. This is the default if
you do not specify either /SD or /CO when you
start CATDISK.
<S> - change report format to show sub-directories.
If a sub-directory begins with a tilde (~),
that means that the sub-directory shown is a
sub-directory past the first level (i.e.
a sub-directory within a sub-directory).
If you wish to have this report format come
up by default when starting CATDISK, simply
add /SD to your command line with which you
invoke CATDISK.
<C> - change the report format to any comments you
might have entered for the shown catalog
entries. If you wish this display format to
appear by default, use the /CO option when
starting CATDISK.
<Esc> - return to the menu.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 31
OPTION 0: SHOW ALL FILES
This option, if viewed on the screen will product a report in the same
manner as option #9, except that ALL files in the catalog will be
included in the list. It is similar to choosing option #9 and
searching for "*.*". The only difference is that the catalog scan will
not take place, as it is not necessary for this function. If you have
the report destination set to "ASK ME", you will be asked for a report
location before any further action takes place.
Depending on where you have set your output destination, the following
options are applicable:
Printer: A hardcopy file report will be printed on your printer. The
filenames will be echoed to the screen as they are sent to
the printer. Hitting <Esc> at any time during report
generation will abort it and return to the main menu.
Disk: A listing in the same format as the hardcopy file report will
be produced in a diskette file. The default name for this
file is one with the same name as the current catalog
filename with an extension of ".LST". This may be overridden
at the time that the report is generated. Hitting <Esc> at
any time during the generation of the report will abort it
and return to the main menu.
Upon selecting one of the above two options, CATDISK will
present a menu allowing you to specify how you want the
report sorted. You may sort this report by filename, Volume
ID, or ARCHIVE ID. Simply hit the key beside the appropriate
sort spec, and CATDISK will take care of the rest.
If you decide that you do not want to generate a report at
this time, you may press <Esc> to return to the main menu
without taking any further action.
If, during the sorting process, CATDISK runs into a disk
problem (such as a full disk, or a disk media problem (read
or write error), the process will be aborted and no report
will be produced.
Screen: When the screen is selected as the report destination, the
only option is to have ALL files in the current catalog shown
alphabetically, along with the volume name, archive name, and
other directory information for that file.
Applicable options are as follows:
<Cursor UP> - move up one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll down to make room for
the new line appearing at the top.
<Cursor DOWN> - move down one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll up to make room for the
new line appearing at the bottom.
<PgUp> - move up one page (15 lines) in the report.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 32
<PgDn> - move down one page (15 lines) in the report.
<Home> - move to the beginning of the report.
<End> - move to the end of the report.
<Grey Plus> - move down through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<Grey Minus> - move up through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<N> - change report format to show a standard
(normal) file report. This is the default if
you do not specify either /SD or /CO when you
start CATDISK.
<S> - change report format to show sub-directories.
If a sub-directory begins with a tilde (~),
that means that the sub-directory shown is a
sub-directory past the first level (i.e.
a sub-directory within a sub-directory).
If you wish to have this report format come
up by default when starting CATDISK, simply
add /SD to your command line with which you
invoke CATDISK.
<C> - change the report format to any comments you
might have entered for the shown catalog
entries. If you wish this display format to
appear by default, use the /CO option when
starting CATDISK.
<Esc> - return to the menu.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 33
OPTION F1: ADD/CHANGE FILE COMMENTS
There are two places from which this feature can be activated; either
at the conclusion of the cataloging process, or from the main menu.
If you select <F1> from the main menu, you will get a sub-menu that
will allow you to specify one of two methods for deciding which files
to bring up on the screen for commenting.
If you select sub-option #1, you will be asked to specify a disk
volume. Upon entry of such, CATDISK will go through the catalog and
bring up a list of files that currently reside on that disk volume.
If you select sub-option #2, you will be asked for a filespec on which
to base the search. It functions quite similarly to option #9 (see it
for details).
If you have the auto-comment feature turned on (either from the command
line or the toggles menu), this section will be activated as if you had
specified the Volume ID of the disk that you just cataloged; those
files will appear on the screen.
Once CATDISK has found a group of files for commenting, they will
appear on the screen in a format similar to the "COMMENT" screen output
format, the main difference being that one of the comments (or blanks)
are highlighted in an inverse field.
To change a comment, simply move the highlight to the file that you
wish to comment, and start typing. When you are done, hit the <Return>
key.
Other editing keys are as follows:
<Left Arrow> - move cursor one character to the left.
<Right Arrow> - move cursor one key to the right.
<Home> - move cursor to the beginning of the line
(once you have started typing).
<End> - move cursor to the end of the line
(once you have started typing).
<Ctrl>-<End> - erase from the cursor to the end of the line.
<Del> - delete the character at the cursor and shift the
characters on the right to the left.
<Backspace> - delete the character before the cursor and shift the
characters on the right to the left.
<Ins> - toggle insert/overstrike mode
- in insert mode the cursor will be slightly fatter
than the one in overstrike mode.
<Esc> - cancel the changes and restore the line to its
original contents.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 34
In some (and probably most) cases, the file list will be too large to
fit on the screen. The list may be browsed through by using the keys
on the cursor keypad. Their functions:
<UP> and <DOWN> will move the highlight bar up or down one file. If
you at a screen margin, and there are still more
files to be browsed, the listing on
the screen will scroll in the
appropriate direction. If you can't move any more,
you will hear a short beep.
<PgUp> and <PgDn> will move you 15 files forward or backward in the
list. If you can't move any more, you will hear a
short beep.
<Home> and <End> will move you to the beginning or end of the group of
files respectively.
When you are done adding/changing file comments, hit <Esc> to return to
the main menu.
Two options that do not appear on the screen are:
<F9> - Repeat Last Entered Comment: This is handy if you want to
repeat a single comment at different places in the list where
<F10> (see below) won't suffice, as the comment desired is not
directly above the current position. If no comment was
previously entered, or the last entered comment was blank, no
action will be taken.
<F10> - "Ditto": Pressing this key will copy the comment from the
entry above. It is handy if you want to copy a comment down a
consecutive list of files, or one that was already previously
entered at an earlier time, if it is directly above the current
position. If the comment above is blank, or you are at the top
of the list, no action will be taken.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 35
OPTION F2: SHOW FILES BY COMMENT
Selecting option <F2> will cause CATDISK to display a list of files in
accordance with a comment search spec that you supply. After selecting
a report destination, you will be asked for a comment search spec that
you wish the report to be based on.
Just enter the string that you want to search for in the catalog's
comments section and hit <Enter>, or hit <Esc> to abort the process
without generating a report.
Here's how the comments are sourced for your search spec. You enter a
"phrase" or "substring" that you want to search for in the file
comments.
The "phrase" may be an entire comment that you want, it can be just one
word, or even just one letter. When catdisk compares your "phrase" to
a comment, it checks to see if that "phrase" is contained anywhere in
that comment. If it does, that file will appear in your report.
Example: "SOURCE" would match: CATDISK V4.10 source code
CATDISK V4.10 Source code
CATDISK V4.10 SOURCE CODE
Source
... etc ...
Please note: I have had some of my beta-testers ask for wild cards in
the comment search (for example, they might not know whether they had
"Word Processor" or "Word Proc" for a comment). This is not really
necessary in this case, as, in the above case, entering "PROC" would
match both comments.
Depending on where you have set your output destination, the following
options are applicable:
Printer: A hardcopy file report will be printed on your printer. The
filenames will be echoed to the screen as they are sent to
the printer. Hitting <Esc> at any time during report
generation will abort it and return to the main menu.
Disk: A listing in the same format as the hardcopy file report will
be produced in a diskette file. The default name for this
file is one with the same name as the current catalog
filename with an extension of ".LST". This may be overridden
at the time that the report is generated. Hitting <Esc> at
any time during the generation of the report will abort it
and return to the main menu.
Screen: Upon entering the search spec, scanning of the catalog will
commence. If you have status indicators turned on, a counter
will increment each time a matching file is found. If at the
and of the search, no files were found, an error message will
be issued and you will be returned to the main menu.
When the search has completed successfully, the file names
will be shown alphabetically, along with the volume name,
archive name, and other directory information for that file.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 36
Applicable options are as follows:
<Cursor UP> - move up one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll down to make room for
the new line appearing at the top.
<Cursor DOWN> - move down one line in the report. The screen
contents will scroll up to make room for the
new line appearing at the bottom.
<PgUp> - move up one page (15 lines) in the report.
<PgDn> - move down one page (15 lines) in the report.
<Home> - move to the beginning of the report.
<End> - move to the end of the report.
<Grey Plus> - move down through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<Grey Minus> - move up through the report 1/15th of the
total length of the report (see the appendix
regarding the SCROLL BAR later in this
manual).
<N> - change report format to show a standard
(normal) file report. This is the default if
you do not specify either /SD or /CO when you
start CATDISK.
<S> - change report format to show sub-directories.
If a sub-directory begins with a tilde (~),
that means that the sub-directory shown is a
sub-directory past the first level (i.e.
a sub-directory within a sub-directory).
If you wish to have this report format come
up by default when starting CATDISK, simply
add /SD to your command line with which you
invoke CATDISK.
<C> - change the report format to any comments you
might have entered for the shown catalog
entries. If you wish this display format to
appear by default, use the /CO option when
starting CATDISK.
<Esc> - return to the menu.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 37
OPTION F3: TEMPORARILY EXIT TO DOS
This option, although not really necessary, has been added in response
to the numerous requests that I have had for this feature (shows that I
am really paying attention to those suggestions, eh?). By selecting
this option, CATDISK will be temporarily suspended and you will be
returned to the DOS prompt. You may carry out any normal function that
you would ordinarily be able to carry out from DOS, provided that there
is enough memory remaining in which to run your desired program.
When you are done, simply type "EXIT" and hit <Return> to return to
CATDISK.
Please note that due to the fact that this option will in all
probability not be invoked all that often, it does not show on any of
the menus. It is, however available from the main menu by pressing
<F3>.
Please note that if you have the disk cache active at the time you use
this function, the contents of the cache will be pitched before calling
DOS.
When you are finished with DOS, and wish to return to CATDISK, simply
type "EXIT" and hit <Return> to return to CATDISK. Please be sure and
replace any disks that you had in your drives before returning to
CATDISK.
Possible errors that you may encounter when you use can vary greatly.
Possibilities are: 1) There is not enough memory to load a second copy
of the command interpreter (usually
COMMAND.COM), or that memory has been corrupted
by a resident program.
2) If you get an error after returning from DOS, it
usually means that you've loaded a resident
program while out in DOS. You should refrain
from doing so.
3) Generally, this means that CATDISK was unable to
find COMMAND.COM on the drive and directory
defined by the SET COMSPEC= environment string
(see the DOS manual for details on the SET
command). This is usually set to the location
from which COMMAND.COM was loaded when the
system was booted. If COMMAND.COM was not found
at the boot location, the root directory of the
current drive is attempted.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 38
OPTION <drive_letter>: SHOW DISK DIRECTORY
To activate this feature, simply type the drive letter of the disk
whose directory you wish to view. If you haven't included the /NW
option in your command line when you started CATDISK,you will be
prompted to insert a disk for drive D where D is the drive letter that
you typed.
You will then be asked for a filespec to match. This is the same as
the filespec prompt in OPTION #9 - SHOW SELECTED FILES. Upon doing
this, the label and directory contents will be read just like they
would if they were about to be cataloged, but instead of adding them to
your catalog, they will be shown directly on the screen in the same
format as option #7 - Show Files For A Volume. The archive scanning
feature functions as normal throughout the program.
Upon entering the search spec, scanning of the catalog will
commence. If you have status indicators turned on, a counter will
increment each time a matching file is found. If at the and of the
search, no files were found, an error message will be issued and you
will be returned to the main menu.
When the search has completed successfully, the file names will be
shown alphabetically, along with the volume name, archive name, and
other directory information for that file.
Applicable options are as follows:
<Cursor UP> - move up one line in the report. The screen contents
will scroll down to make room for the new line
appearing at the top.
<Cursor DOWN> - move down one line in the report. The screen contents
will scroll up to make room for the new line appearing
at the bottom.
<PgUp> - move up one page (15 lines) in the report.
<PgDn> - move down one page (15 lines) in the report.
<Home> - move to the beginning of the report.
<End> - move to the end of the report.
<Grey Plus> - move down through the report 1/15th of the total length
of the report (see the appendix regarding the SCROLL
BAR later in this manual).
<Grey Minus> - move up through the report 1/15th of the total length
of the report (see the appendix regarding the SCROLL
BAR later in this manual).
<N> - change report format to show a standard (normal) file
report. This is the default if you do not specify
either /SD or /CO when you start CATDISK.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 39
<S> - change report format to show sub-directories. If a
sub-directory begins with a tilde (~), that means that
the sub-directory shown is a sub-directory past the
first level (i.e. a sub-directory within a
sub-directory).
If you wish to have this report format come up by
default when starting CATDISK, simply add /SD to your
command line with which you invoke CATDISK.
<C> - change the report format to any comments you might have
entered for the shown catalog entries. If you wish this
display format to appear by default, use the /CO option
when starting CATDISK.
<Esc> - return to the menu.
OPTION ESC: EXIT TO DOS
Select this option when you are finished with CATDISK to terminate its
operation. Upon exit, you will be returned to the DOS prompt.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 40
APPENDIX A - THE SCROLL BAR
When bringing up a screen report, you may have noticed a hatched bar on
the left border of the screen with an inverse 'T' at the top of it and
an inverse 'B' at the bottom. This is a scroll bar, which indicates
roughly where you are located along the full length of the current
report. Additionally, this feature will allow you to roughly position
yourself in the report by hitting the <Grey Plus> and <Grey Minus>
keys. These keys will move you forward and backward respectively along
this scroll bar. These moves correspond to a move of one fifteenth of
the total length of the report in the selected direction, as will be
reflected in the page number which will be automatically set.
The scroll bar position will also wrap from the top to the bottom if
you are at the top and hit the <Grey Minus> key. The reverse is also
true for the <Grey Plus> key.
In a long report, this represents a much nicer way of getting to, say,
the files beginning with "R" without having to hit the <PgDn> key a
hundred times. Remember... the scroll bar is used to ROUGHLY position
yourself among a group of files in a screen report.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 41
APPENDIX B - ARCHIVE SUPPORT
This version of CATDISK currently supports the archive utilities from
System Enhancement Associates and PKWare, PAK files (similar to ARC
files) created by the PAK utility from NoGate Consulting, ZIP files
created by PKWare's PKZIP utilities, LZH files created by the LHARC
utility from Haruyasu Yoshizaki, LZS files created by the LARC utility
from K. Miki and the public domain Library Utility (LU).
CATDISK can extract directory information from archives created with
SEAWARE'S ARC utility, version 5.30 or earlier, PKWare's PKPAK version
3.61 or earlier, or any compatible archive generating program. These
files commonly have a file extension of .ARC, and any files with this
extension will be examined by CATDISK to see if it is a valid archive.
If so, the directory information of each file in the archive will be
extracted and added to the catalog if the Auto Archive Extraction
feature is turned ON. Files extracted from an ARC file will have a
file attribute of "*ARC".
Similar to the above, any files with a .PAK extension will be examined,
and if appropriate, the directory information will be extracted from
the file in question. Files extracted from a PAK file will have a file
attribute of "*PAK".
ARC or PAK files created with utilities other than the ones listed
above should work with CATDISK, but are not guaranteed.
Files created with PKWare's PKZIP family of utilities are fully
supported. These files usually have an extension of .ZIP, and any file
found with this extension will be examined by CATDISK to see if it is a
valid ZIP file. If this is so, and the Auto Archive Extraction Feature
is turned ON, the directory information of each file in the library
will be extracted and added to the catalog. Files extracted from a ZIP
file will have a file attribute of "*ZIP".
Although ZIP files can contain subdirectory information, this is not
the subdirectory that will appear in the catalog listing. The reason
for this is due to the fact that the primary purpose of CATDISK is to
be able to locate a given file. In order to be able to do so, the
subdirectory of the ZIP file itself is shown. The destination of the
file when being UNZIPPED is not relevant.
Additionally, files created with Haruyasu Yoshizaki's LHARC utility are
fully supported. These files commonly end with a .LZH extension. Any
files with this extension will be examined by CATDISK to see if it is a
valid LHARC file. If so, and you wish the directory contents to be
extracted (via the program setting), the process will be carried out.
Files extracted from a LZH file will have a file attribute of "*LZH".
Files created by the LARC utility from K. Miki are supported in the
same way as those created by the LHARc utility mentioned above. Files
extracted from these files will have a file attribute of "*LZS".
Files with a .ZOO extension will be examined to determine whether they
are a valid ZOO file. If so, and Archive extraction is enabled, the
directory contents of the file will be read and included in the catalog
file. Files extracted from ZOO files will have the attribute "*ZOO".
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 42
Files created by the Library Utility (LU) and conform to the fifth
revision of the formal definition of the library file format are also
fully supported. These files commonly have a file extension of .LBR,
and any files with this extension will be examined by CATDISK to see if
they are valid .LBR files. If this is so, and the Auto ARCHIVE
Extraction Feature is turned ON, the directory information of each file
in the library will be extracted and added to the catalog. Files
extracted from a LBR file will have an attribute of "*LBR".
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 43
APPENDIX C - DUPLICATE FILE NAMES AND CATALOGING HARD DISKS
A number of users have made a request to have CATDISK show a list of
files that have been duplicated over a number of diskettes. There is
no need for an extra option to support this request, as the existing
reports that may be derived from options #9 and #0 show files in
alphabetical order. Any duplicate files will be clustered together,
and it is quite easy to spot duplicate files in this manner. If you
choose option #9 and ask for a specific file (i.e. no wildcards), ALL
instances of that file in the catalog will be reported.
Even though CATDISK is capable of reading a hard disk and cataloging it
to some degree (the first 5000 files), it was never meant to catalog a
hard disk, as there are many excellent hard disk managers on the market
that do a commendable job of allowing you to browse through your file
structure; far better than CATDISK would enable you to.
The whole idea behind CATDISK is to maintain a catalog of the files on
your removable media, such as floppy diskettes, and removable hard
disks such as those found in a Bernoulli box, such that finding them
does not require you to insert the disks each time you are looking for
a file. With a non-removable hard disk, the files are all online and
cataloging them is, for the most part, un-necessary.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 44
APPENDIX D - SUPPORT AND UPDATES
As I said in the introduction, I will only offer advice and technical
support to those who contribute via the SHAREWARE concept. Users who
do contribute will be notified when updates and new products are
available. Anyone wishing to offer advice and suggestions are most
welcome to do so.
I may be reached on CompuServe at I.D. # 73307,333, or on The PEARL
BBS in WATERLOO, Ontario, Canada, under my name, Rick Hillier.
You may also correspond via your FAX machine, if you have access to
one. My FAX number is (519)-884-4887. This is the best daytime number
at which to get an immediate response.
Telephone support (or any support for that matter) is available to
registered users only. My voice line is (519)-888-6763. Best time to
reach me at this number is in the evening hours (6 pm to 10 pm Ontario
Time).
Those of you who register your copy of CATDISK and wish to receive an
update to the latest version (from me and not The PEARL), please
include an extra $10.00 with your registration to cover materials and
shipping costs. I will send you the latest version of CATDISK upon
receipt of your registration. Please specify the version of CATDISK
that you currently have, or better yet, use the registration form at
the end of this user manual. If there have not been any updates made
since your version, I will wait until the next release of CATDISK to
send your update.
To receive CATDISK on a 3.5" diskette, please add an additional $2.50.
Optionally, you may include a diskette and diskette mailer with your
registration plus $5.00 to cover shipping costs, and I will send you
the latest version of CATDISK.
ATTENTION OUT OF TOWN CATDISK USERS
The most up to date version of CATDISK is always available on The
PEARL, which may be reached at (519)-576-6754, 24 hrs. a day. Please
note that The PEARL is a pay board (normally $25/year), but I have made
arrangements with the Sysop to obtain memberships for CATDISK
subscribers who include an extra five dollars with their subscription,
along with their first name, last name, and a password to use on the
board. One restriction must be made on this offer... you must live at
least 100 miles outside the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada area in
order to qualify. You will be validated immediately upon my receiving
your check or money order.
Please note that if you are not a regular member of this BBS, or
haven't taken advantage of the above upgrade offer, YOU WILL NOT BE
ABLE TO ACCESS THE PROGRAM.
Even if you do not wish to have a PEARL membership, you can still see
what changes and revisions have been made to date by going to the
bulletins section of the board. You do not have to be a registered
PEARL user to use this feature.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 45
If you do have a question, or a bug report, or whatever, in your
correspondence, please indicate the following:
1) The version of CATDISK that you are using.
2) The version of DOS that you are using.
3) Your hardware configuration (Model, memory size, printer, etc.)
4) Any resident software that you have loaded in memory at the time.
(i.e. Sidekick, SuperKey, Disk Caches, Print Spoolers, Ramdisks,
etc.)
This information will help me to track any problems and to suggest
reasonable solutions to your problems.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 46
APPENDIX E - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
As CATDISK has developed over the past while, I have received many
questions regarding the operation of CATDISK. The most common are
addressed in this section of the manual.
Q. When I go to catalog a new disk, CATDISK aborts the catalog file
update with an error message that the disk is full, even though
there is still room on the disk containing the catalog files.
A. When CATDISK updates a catalog file, it does so by merging the new
information in with the old, building a new file from the old in the
process. The catch here is that, at the end of the catalog file
update, BOTH files actually exist, thereby taking up roughly double
the size of the original catalog file. At the end of this
procedure, if successful, CATDISK deletes the old file and renames
the new temporary file to what the original catalog file was called.
The reason this is necessary is that, while re-cataloging a disk,
there is a possibility that files were removed from that disk. This
method of updating the catalog provides a convenient mechanism for
removing those files from the catalog.
Q. Would it be possible for CATDISK to support ARCHIVES within
ARCHIVES?
A. Unfortunately, the answer is no. In order to read the directory of
an archive within another archive file, the original one must first
be expanded into its separate files. Firstly, with the ever
evolving compression methods employed with new versions of the
archive utilities, this would be beyond the scope of this program.
Secondly, there would always be the possibility of overwriting an
existing file of the same name. It's just not feasible.
Q. In the summary report, I see disk entries for which the amount of
free space and the amount of space used adds up to more than the
capacity of the disk itself. The % slack factor is also wrong.
A. You probably have a corrupted file allocation table on that disk,
and could be in for some serious trouble. Format a fresh disk and
transfer the files to it, and re-catalog it from that new disk.
Q. After starting the cataloging process on a diskette, I discovered
that the label on the diskette was wrong. Would it be possible to
abort the process, change the label and start over?
A. Once the cataloging process is started, it cannot be stopped. If
you've run into a situation like that above, let CATDISK finish the
task, and use option #3 to change the label on the diskette.
CATDISK has a mechanism to automatically change the old volume label
to the new one throughout the catalog files. It's quick and
painless.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 47
Q. We have file comments for each file entry in the catalog file.
Would it be possible to have comments for each disk in the summary
file?
A. At present, no, although this is not carved in stone. The main
reason for this is that CATDISK keeps the entire disk summary in
memory at all times. A comment on each disk would significantly
increase the memory requirements of CATDISK.
Q. I have some self-booting games. Would it be possible to create a
dummy entry for that disk in the catalog?
A. Doing this would defeat the purpose for which CATDISK was written.
Self-booting games (those that CATDISK won't read) do not have a
directory in the conventional sense. As there are no files per se
there is nothing to look for on the diskette. You need only locate
the disk itself in order to use it.
Q. I have many disks with numerous insignificant files on them such as
printer drivers, etc. Would it be possible to catalog only selected
files from these disks?
A. Unfortunately, not at this time. In order to keep the shareware
version of CATDISK simple to use as possible, all files get
cataloged hands free. However, CATDISK PLUS, a commercial release
of this program with many enhancements described in more detail in a
later appendix, will handle this type of operation.
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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APPENDIX F - CATDISK PLUS
Since its initial release in October of 1986, CATDISK has gone through
many changes and has received tremendous support from the many
corporations and individuals who have sent in their registration fees.
CATDISK is currently in use world-wide in more applications than I
could have possibly dreamed of. Judging from this response, I can
safely say that the SHAREWARE system is alive and flourishing as a
viable means of making quality software available at reasonable cost.
Along the way, many individuals have requested features in the program
that are not feasible in the current design of CATDISK. In creating
this program, I set out to make the operation as simple and automatic
as possible. Those requests that melded in with the current design
have been implemented, and those that will compliment same will be
implemented in the future.
However, there have been numerous requests for features that would
complicate the design of the shareware version of CATDISK - good
requests.
Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that a
commercial release of the program, CATDISK PLUS, which will be produced
by my software company, The DATAMEN Inc. The initial release date is
expected to be in the third quarter of 1989.
Please keep in mind that this shareware version will continue to be
enhanced and supported - it's still "my baby"!
Features include:
. A windowed desktop environment with pull down menus for ease of use.
. Online context-sensitive help.
. Support for the 43 line EGA and the 50 line VGA screen modes.
. Full color customization.
. All the functional features of the current shareware release.
. The ability to selectively catalog files from your disks via three
methods, all of which can be used at once: inclusion filespecs,
exclusion filespecs, and the ability to pick and choose list of
of files as read from the catalog disk.
. A greater variety of reporting features will be available as well
as a custom report generator where you can design your own report.
. Comment entries for each disk in the catalog.
. Longer file comments.
. Greater capacity for catalog size.
. And many more!
One major consideration is that CATDISK PLUS will require a hard disk.
Suggested retail price for this product is $69.95 Cdn + $8.00 for
shipping and handling. Dealer inquiries are welcome.
Please address all inquiries to:
The Datamen
405 Barrington Lane
Waterloo, ONTARIO
Canada N2T 1H9
Phone: (519)-888-6763
FAX: (519)-884-4887
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
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APPENDIX G - OTHER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE
For all you avid golfers out there, my software company, The DATAMEN,
Inc. has a golf handicap system available, called HANDICAP II, that
goes way beyond just calculating a simple golf handicap.
Among the many features of this program are:
. Pull down menus for ease of use.
. On line context sensitive help.
. Storage capacity for up to 100 different golf courses.
. Storage capacity for up to 32767 rounds of golf.
(score and number of putts on each hole can be logged)
. Instant retrieval of past played games, and the ability to browse
through them.
. An expanded handicap card that is more informative than a standard
handicap card.
. A report showing your average score on each hole on each course.
- good for spotting habitual trouble holes.
. A report showing your average putts on each green on each course.
- good for spotting habitual troublesome greens.
. A report showing how often you hit each green in regulation.
- good for analyzing your tee-to-green game on each hole.
. Many more statistical reports of interest to you.
. Full housekeeping routines to correct mistakes (but I'll bet that
you never make any, right?!?)
. Support for most popular printers.
. ALL reports may be viewed on the screen or printed on your
printer.
. Pop up windows are used extensively, adding to the ease of use of
the program.
We also have a clubhouse version available with all of the above plus:
. A simple date-differential entry system for those who do not wish
to have all the detail of the enhanced reports.
. Capacity to maintain handicaps for up to 32767 members (you are
only limited by disk size).
. Full system manager functions available only to authorized users.
. A handicap listing (in alphabetical order by member name) of the
handicaps of all the members in the system.
. This version of HANDICAP II may be used on multi-user systems
without user file conflict.
Ordering Information
The GOLFERS version of HANDICAP II is available for $69.95, and the
CLUB HOUSE version is available for $295.00.
Please note that these prices are in Canadian funds.
They may be ordered from: The Datamen, Inc.
405 Barrington Lane
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2T 1H9
Phone: (519)-888-6763
FAX: (519)-884-4887
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 50
CATDISK V4.10 REGISTRATION FORM
------- ----- ------------ ----
Name: ______________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Phone: _______________________ CompuServe ID Number
(If applicable) ___________
____ Registration(s) of CATDISK @15.00 ea ___________
____ Registration(s) on The PEARL BBS @ 5.00 ea ___________
(See "OUT OF TOWN CATDISK USERS" in appendix D)
____ CATDISK Upgrade(s) (You Supply Diskette & Mailer) ___________
@ 5.00 ea
____ CATDISK Upgrade(s) (I supply 5.25" Diskette & Mailer) ___________
@ 10.00 ea
____ CATDISK Upgrade(s) (I supply 3.5" Diskette & Mailer) ___________
@ 12.50 ea
(Ontario Residents Add 8% Provincial Sales Tax) ___________
NOTE: Check or money order should be made payable to Rick Hillier
*** Note: Site licenses are available. Please contact Rick Hillier
directly for further details.
You must be registered to qualify for an upgrade
Type of PC Used: ________________________ DOS Version: _______
Hardware Configuration: ______________________________________________
What Resident Software Do You Run: __________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Comments and Suggestions: ____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Diskette Catalog System (CATDISK) V4.10 Copr (C) 1986,1989 by Rick Hillier
Page 51