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1992-09-30
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198 lines
Combat Arms BBS
P.O. Box 913
Portland, Oregon 97207-0913
Voice: (503) 223-3160
BBS: (503) 221-1777
Fido 1:105/68
September 30, 1992
RENUM.DOC
Version 1.7
Hi! I am sending you a program I wrote and am asking that
you please test it for me. Once the testing is completed and all
bugs removed, this program will be placed in the public domain
and be freeware, not shareware, without any cost to the user.
I am presently running Wildcat version 3.55 on the Combat
Arms BBS. It works well but now all local and Echo Mail messages
are stored within the Wildcat message base (if you're not
familiar with Wildcat, think "Hudson message base format"). That
is all ok but when I write a netmail message I write it from my
front-end (D'Bridge version 1.30) editor. The D'Bridge editor
creates "regular" *.MSG files. The problem was that the numbering
of those *.MSG files got totally out of whack and that frustrated
me. I searched around for a *.MSG renumbering program and even
had try to locate some stuff for me but never found anything to
suit me.
And that is where this program was born. I called it RENUM
for all of the obvious reasons. The program will renumber all of
the *.MSG files in any subdirectory, BUT only one subdirectory at
a time (more on that later). I have tested the dickens out of the
program and have re-written it six times, each time improving it
somewhat. Thus this is revision 1.6 of RENUM. The program will
renumber *.MSG files, regardless of the type of front-end program
you are using.
Included in RENUM.ZIP is yet another ZIP file called
TEST_MSG.ZIP. TEST_MSG.ZIP contains 110 little *.MSG files, each
80 bytes long and each with the following message string in it:
This is a sample message file that can be deleted when
the work is all done.
What I would like you to do is to format a floppy diskette
(360K or larger) in drive A: with the system files on it (using
the DOS command FORMAT A:/S). Once that is accomplished, I would
like for you to unZIP RENUM.ZIP onto that DOS formatted floppy.
That way there will be nothing on that floppy except what is in
RENUM.ZIP plus the DOS system files. There is no possible way for
a-n-y other files on your drive to be impacted by my program.
Then close the drive door to A: and re-boot.
If everything goes as planned, your computer will boot up
and read the bare bones CONFIG.SYS I've written. It will then
begin to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file I wrote. The AUTOEXEC.BAT
program will change the prompt, path and ask you for the date and
time. If you have a clock chip, simply hit the ENTER key twice.
Otherwise enter the date and time as necessary.
Next the AUTOEXEC.BAT file will create a subdirectory on A:
called RENUM and the TEST_MSG.ZIP file will be unZIPed into that
subdirectory (you can put more files into a subdirectory that
into a root directory) using the copy of PKUNZIP.EXE that I have
supplied. The AUTOEXEC.BAT will change to the A:\RENUM
subdirectory and the RENUM.EXE will be activated.
RENUM.EXE will scan the subdirectory, looking for *.MSG
files and count them. The *.MSG files will then be sorted in
memory and then renumbered on the disk. The dates of the *.MSG
files will not be changed, however, nor will the *.MSG files be
sorted on your disk. That requires a program like Norton's DS.EXE
or the like to re-sort the file allocation tables (F.A.T.) and
that is not the job of RENUM.
If you find that there are problems in running RENUM on your
system, please send me a netmail message describing in as much
detail as possible the following:
1. The DOS version you're running and who makes it. All
bets are off if you're using DRDOS. It might work, but
no guarantees.
2. The specific computer you're using (and BIOS version if
possible) and the amount of RAM.
3. What problems, if any, you encountered.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ W A R N I N G ║
║ ║
║ AFTER COMPLETING THE TEST, YOU M-U-S-T ║
║ OPEN THE DRIVE A: DOOR AND RE-BOOT ║
║ YOUR SYSTEM IN ORDER TO RE-ESTABLISH ║
║ YOUR ORIGINAL PATHS, CONFIG.SYS, ETC. ║
║ ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝
I originally wrote RENUM on a genuine 4.77 MHz 8088 IBM PC
with 640K of memory with MicroSoft's MS-DOS 5.0. It should run on
your system with no problems. It runs on my BBS (33 MHz 80486
clone). However, in order to protect your system during the
testing, things will be slower because the floppy is being used
rather than the hard drive. On a hard drive and a fast system,
RENUM flies! Yes, it is horribly slow on a floppy. But it is very
s-a-f-e and provides a valid test.
If you find the program performs well and want to try it out
on other directories you may have that contain "real" *.MSG
files, you must realize that I have told the program to delete
any copies of LASTREAD it finds in the directory. I did this so
that the LASTREAD point does not get screwed up. When RENUM.EXE
is finished is creates a new LASTREAD file with the highest
number *.MSG file as the last one read. If you intend to use this
on your "real" *.MSG files, you will have to put RENUM in a
subdirectory that is in your PATH statement (such as C:\DOS).
Also, I recommend that you first archive a copy of all your *.MSG
files in that subdirectory (doing something like PKZIP
OLD_MSGS.ZIP *.MSG) before you experiment on real messages. That
way if things screw up (not likely) then you have only to delete
the *.MSG files and haul them out of the archive file and you're
back in business. I have tried this version on my BBS and it
quickly renumbers the netmail messages that I wrote using
D'Bridge with no problems. Because I have no way of knowing which
front-end you're using, etc. I caution you to first backup the
*.MSG files in any subdirectory you wish to try this program out
on. RENUM should not be a problem but I don't want to bet on that
yet.
RENUM works well at my end and pokes along on a 4.77 MHz
8088. It will probably go a lot faster on your equipment. I've
included some code to tell you how long things take. I'd be
interested in the times it takes on your system.
I added color and corrected an error that miscounted the
number of *.MSG files in the subdirectory in Version 1.6. If you
have a monochrome monitor, it will not matter. The color coding
is (theoretically!) "smart" so that it works on a monochrome,
CGA, EGA or VGA monitor.
Something I've been thinking about is the addition of a
configuration file that would be read by RENUM.EXE. In that
proposed configuration file you would put the paths to those
subdirectories containing *.MSG files you wanted renumbered. Then
when RENUM was fired up, it would go through each of the
subdirectories in the configuration file. If you think this would
enhance the program, please let me know. Other ideas are also
welcomed.
Any precautions? Yes, there is one that I am aware of and do
not intend at this time to fix. The program works just peachy
UNLESS you have a *.MSG file with a number greater than
10,000,000 (such as 10000001.MSG). In that event the program will
choke. But, that raises the question of what you're doing with a
*.MSG file with a number that big!
On other thing. I have had fits getting this program to run
on a 12 MHz AT clone "turboed" to 26 MHZ and using MS-DOS 5.0.
Others who have tested RENUM report it works fine. The reason for
this use of the floppy is to eliminate all possibilities of
interference from TSR's, etc. Once the program is stable, I will
find a solution to problems such as experienced on the
turbocharged AT.
This version of RENUM will work with up to 999 *.MSG files
in a subdirectory. In order for it to accommodate much more, the
amount of RAM memory you have becomes a consideration. On the
other hand, do you have a subdirectory with more than 999 *.MSG
files in it? I never did. But if you do, I do not have a clue as
to what the current version of the program will do. In the next
release I will get it to accommodate up to 1,999 files in a
subdirectory if I hear any complaints from testers of this
program.
I look forward to your assistance in "beta testing" this
program and welcome your suggestions. The file RENUM.DOC contains
the same text as this message. If you are aware of another
program, besides this one, called RENUM let me know and I'll
change the name. I am not aware of such a program name. Versions
of this program prior to 1.7 were called MSGRENUM but I was
advised by Bob Hay on 105/54 that a program with a similar name
was copyrighted by a David Nugent in 1989. Version 1.7 is being
released as an attempt to stop the further distribution of the
incorrectly named program. My apologies to David, wherever he is.
Regards,
Richard M. Bash, B.S., M.P.A.
1:105/68
September 30, 1992