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1990-05-07
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FMSARC - The FMS Archive Indicator Fixer
Version 1.30
Copyright 1989 by Michael Walsh
Walsh MicroSystems BBS
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 677-2966
24 hours a day
1200/2400/9600 HST
Compuserve 76675,1476
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FMSARC V1.30 Copyright 1990 by Michael Walsh Page 2
INTRODUCTION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FMSARC was conceived after I realized that my disk was too small
for the files I was receiving. After a while, it became
necessary for me to start to back files up and delete them from
the drive in order to make room.
What FMSARC does is set an indicator in the FMS directory for
files that are in the directory but not on the disk. At position
33 in each line of an FMS directory is a space; this position is
otherwise unused. Files that are found in the directory but not
on disk are flagged with an asterisk (*) in that space. The
result looks something like this:
File Name Size Date Description Dir
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FILE1.FIL 10000 12-20-89 File Number 1 TXT
FILE2.FIL 10000 12-20-89 *File Number 2 TXT
In this example, FMSARC found FILE1.FIL on the drive and did NOT
find FILE2.FIL. Note that the asterisk appears just before the
description. When the user has selected color for display
preference, the asterisk stands out in the same color as the file
date.
This lets users know immediately what files are available
immediately and what files need to be requested from the SysOp.
I wrote this to automate the process and save a bunch of time.
FMSARC also creates a file summarizing the changes made. This
file can be used as a bulletin or as a list of files backed up
off the drive.
It will work with all FMS directory line lengths. It doesn't
care whether you have 40 character descriptions or 44 character
descriptions. It will not alter any part of the directory other
than position 33 of each line that contains a file name.
Extended descriptions are untouched.
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FMSARC V1.30 Copyright 1990 by Michael Walsh Page 3
INSTALLATION/PREPARATION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Installing and using FMSARC is easy. You can even run it as part
of your daily or weekly maintenance, automating the ENTIRE
process if you like.
First, you need to get a list of the directories all of the files
are stored in. Then, using the DOS command SUBST, substitute a
drive spec for each directory. You will probably need to put a
line in your CONFIG.SYS file of the form:
LASTDRIVE = d:
where d: is the highest drive spec you are using.
That done, running FMSARC is a snap. The syntax is:
FMSARC <fms directory name> <drives to search> [-C<changes file>]
[-N] [-T<Title>]
where:
<fms directory name> is the file containing the FMS directory
<drives to search> is the list of substituted drives
and optionally:
[-C<changes file>] is the file to write the changes summary to
[-N] to write a file containing files not in the FMS but found
[-T] to change the title of the Changes bulletin
EXAMPLE:
To check an FMS directory named FMS.DIR against the files on
drives C:, D:, E: and F: and write the changes to a file called
BULLET7 on drive B: with the title "MAIN FILE AREA", the command
would be:
FMSARC FMS.DIR CDEF -CB:BULLET7 -TMAIN FILE AREA
Note that there are no spaces in the drive specs. Do not use a
space between the -C switch and the pathname for the changes file
or the -T switch and the title.
FMSARC will then read the directories of the drives you selected,
read and correct the FMS directory based on the files it could
find, and then write the corrected FMS directory and changes
summary files.
Since no user input is needed, it can be run as part of daily
maintenance on the board if you like. The summary file argument
can take a full pathname, and defaults to FMSARC.CHG if omitted.
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FMSARC V1.30 Copyright 1990 by Michael Walsh Page 4
A SCREED ON FREEWARE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I am a firm believer that SysOps who make no money from their
BBS's should not have to pay someone hard earned money in order
to make their lives a little easier. Therefore, all of the
programs and utilities I release are released free of charge and
the expectations of monetary gain.
All too often I run into a good piece of software that I would
love to run on my BBS (mostly DOORS, but could be anything) but
the author demands money to get a "registered version" that has
full functionality. In other words, pay me so that I can make
more money while you just pay. ARRRGGGHHH! Are there no other
SysOps out there that feel as I do? I had hoped that the spirit
of RBBS (completely FREE of "registration") would have pervaded
the community, but alas, there are too few of us out there.
None the less, I will continue to buck the trend. I just hope
that one day we can all get together and help each other out to
make the BBS community a better place WITHOUT the profiteering
that pervades it now.
If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements that can
be made to FMSARC, please contact me at my BBS or via Compuserve.
I will answer all mail and endeavor to make this utility one that
we can ALL enjoy.
---Michael Walsh
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