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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PC-Directory Ver 1.6 * * Copyright 1991 RSE Inc * * 11/7/91 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * These instructions are for those who have experience using DOS and understand concepts such as sub-directories, pathnames, AUTOEXEC.BAT files, memory resident programs, hot keys, etc.. If you're not comfortable with these terms then you might want to try our program "FileNotes" instead. It gives you the file notes of PC-Directory but has a simpler file manager. FileNotes can be found on your local BBS under the name PCFN??.EXE. *** Overview *** Filenotes. With PC-Directory's (PC-Dir) filenotes you can leave 160 character reminders to yourself, and others, on the contents, status, or purpose of each of your files. It's excellent for describing archive files, files that have multiple users, or simply as an aid to remembering what's in your files. What's apparent today may draw a total blank tomorrow. Leave yourself a filenote. Filenotes are easy to create and display. You can display them individually for each file, or you can review all the filenotes in a particular directory at one time. You can also look at all the filenotes on the entire disk. But perhaps PC-Dir's best feature is its ability to search all the filenotes on the disk for a particular phrase or keyword. For example, let's say you want to find all files dealing with a specific client. PC-Directory will easily provide you with a list of all files on the disk whose filenotes contain the clients name. The Catalog program (Registered Users Only) Registered users of PC-Directory get a utility called CATALOG. Combined with PC-Dir's filenotes, the CATALOG program creates the ultimate catalog for anyone who uses floppy disks. Whether you use floppies to archive important files, as backups, or everyday use, CATALOG and PC-Dir make organizing, documenting, and locating your files much easier. CATALOG copies the directories and filenotes of hundreds of floppy disks and stores them on a single disk. Then, when you need to find a file you can use PC-Dir to search for the filename, view all the filenotes or perform a filenote search. And you only need to do it on one disk instead of on hundreds. To speed things up you can even locate this catalog on your hard disk. Think about this for a minute. Normally, if you're looking for a specific file, and all you remember is that its on a floppy disk somewhere, then you have to examine each floppy disk individually. With CATALOG you only need to examine one disk, and it will tell you which floppy the file is on. You can use PC-Dir to search ALL of your floppy disks for a particular filename, in one simple operation. Even better, you can do a keyword/phrase search of all the filenotes on all your floppy disks. Like I said, it creates the ultimate floppy disk catalog. It's an added benefit of becoming a registered user of PC-Dir. There's more! In addition to its filenote functions and the CATALOG program, PC-Dir also has a powerful integrated file manager. It's comprehensive, fast, and yet easy to learn and use. You'll find one touch commands for many DOS functions and additional capabilities that DOS never gave you. Features such as tag copy, tag delete, tag move, file search, text search, tree listing of directories, and much more. *** How much? *** PC-Directory is user-supported shareware. As such, you are encouraged to freely distribute copies of the PCD16.EXE file to whomever you please, as long as you don't charge anything for the copies. Please don't distribute the individual PC-Dir files as it defeats the virus check, and causes other complications. Only distribute PCD16.EXE. If after evaluating PC-Dir you decide to continue using it, then you need to register by sending $48 +$1 shipping to: PC-Directory Visa or MC customers 1157 57th Drive SE call or FAX (206) 939-4105 Auburn, WA 98002 Compuserve: 72371,1557 Add $1 extra for 3.5 disk, and $5 extra for overseas orders. Registered users receive the following benefits: 1. Technical support, the latest version of PC-Directory, and a "decoder" which converts all future versions to registered versions. 2. The CATALOG program we discussed earlier. 3. The CONFIG program that lets you select: Color, which key PC- Dir uses as its "hot key", and how much memory PC-Dir uses. 4. Our other shareware products, including FileNotes, Playback, Conjecture, Remind Me!, PC-Images, Nabbit, Hide-It and more. 5. Our sincere thanks for supporting our efforts. A Manual containing printed documentation for all of our shareware products (including PC-Directory) is available for an extra $5. Those using PC-Directory in a commercial environment must register. Site licenses are available. Please write for details. *** Let's get started. *** * Go to the disk and/or subdirectory where the PC-Dir files were extracted. * If you haven't done so already, run the GO.BAT file by entering "GO" at the DOS prompt. This creates some dummy subdirectories to practice in. * If you'd like to be able to run PC-Directory from any subdirectory on any disk, then either copy DDIR.COM and PCD.COM to one of the subdirectories listed in the "PATH" statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, OR enter "modbat" at the DOS prompt. Your original AUTOEXEC.BAT file will be saved as AUTOEXEC.OLD just in case you want to restore it. (Registered Users Only) Run the CONFIG.COM program by entering "CONFIG" at the DOS prompt. The CONFIG program lets you configure PC-Dir for your display, choose "color" as the default, choose what hot key is used to activate the memory resident version of PC-Dir, and decide how much memory you want the program to use. If you chose not to use the memory resident version of PC-Dir you may enter "DDIR" (or "DDIR/C" for color) at any DOS prompt (instead of the DOS "DIR" command) and PC-Directory will appear, instantly providing you with a sorted directory listing, complete with filenotes. If you want PC-Dir to run memory resident then you first need to load it into memory by entering "PCDIR" (or "PCDIR/C" for color) at the DOS prompt. If you want PC-Dir loaded automatically whenever you boot your computer then put the phrase "PCDIR" in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you don't have a hard disk, try putting PCDIR.COM on your DOS disk. Once PC-Dir is loaded into memory, you can activate it at any time, within most applications, by simply pressing its "hot key" (Alt-D by default). When you exit the program (by pressing Q to Quit), PC-Dir you will return to your original application, as tho nothing had happened. A beeping sound while you're trying to activate PC-Dir indicates the program is unable to activate at this time. It continues trying until the beeping stops (about 5 seconds) and then gives up. Try again in a few moments. *** Getting Around *** PC-Dir starts by listing all the files and subdirectories in the current directory, and placing the hi-lite bar on the first file or subdirectory listed. You use the hi-lite bar to select the file you're interested in. Move the hi-lite bar using the up, down, left and right cursor keys, or by clicking on the filename if you have a mouse. You can also jump the hi-lite bar to the first file beginning with a certain letter by pressing J (for jump) followed by the first letter of the file you're interested in. If there are more than 40 files in the directory then use the Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys to move between pages of the directory listing. To PgUp and PgDn with a mouse, simply click on the up and down arrows. *** Using filenotes *** -Displaying a files individual filenote: With AutoFilenote display on: hi-lite the desired file. If it has a filenote it will pop-up automatically With AutoFilenote display off: hi-lite the desired file and press the space bar. To toggle between AutoFilenote display on and off, press K for Konfigr and then press A. See Konfig. -Creating or changing a filenote: * Hi-lite the desired file * Press the Insert key * Type in the filenote, up to 160 characters. Press ENTER when done. Note: to eliminate a filenote, press the Insert key and then F1. -Viewing all the filenotes in the current directory: * Hi-lite the "FILENOTE" file * Press V to View the "FILENOTE" file -Viewing all the filenotes on the entire disk: * Press Alt-F to select FindFile (more on FindFile later) * Enter "FILENOTE" as the file to search for * When the list of all the "FILENOTE" files appears then: Select a particular file and press V to View it -Search all filenotes on the disk for a particular phrase or keyword: * Press F to select FNsrch (filenote search) * Enter the phrase or keyword to search for. It need not be an entire word, it can even be a single letter. * A list of all files with a filenote containing the phrase or keyword will be displayed. * You may select any file in the list and view it (by pressing V), or go to the directory where it resides (by pressing G) Note: you can use this function to list all the files on the disk that contain filenotes. Just enter as your keyword a common letter such as "e". A list of all the files whose filenotes contain the letter "e" would then be listed. *** Using the CATALOG program (Registered Users Only) *** Although we are going to talk about the Catalog program now, I wouldn't actually create a Catalog until after you're familiar with PC-Dir. The process will be easier to understand then. -Creating a Catalog * Go through all your floppies individually, determine what they are (using PC-Dir's View function if appropriate), and create filenotes for each file. This step isn't necessary but filenotes are indispensable when it comes to identifying and locating files. * Use the CATALOG program (by running CATALOG.COM and following the instructions) to create a master directory disk of all the individual floppies. The CATALOG program creates a new subdirectory called "CATALOG" on the disk of your choice. You can create your Catalog on a floppy or on your hard drive. We recommend your hard drive because subsequent operations (filename searches, filenote searches, sorting, listing, etc..) will all be done much faster. -Adding a disk Each time you add a disk to the CATALOG, the program gives you a disk number that you should write on the floppy disk. The program then creates a new subdirectory in the CATALOG subdirectory using the disk number as the subdirectory name. The disk's directory listing and filenotes will be kept in that subdirectory. -Deleting a disk from the Catalog Use DOS or PC-Dir to delete all the files in the reference number subdirectory. For example, if you wanted to eliminate disk 6 from the CATALOG, you'd go to the "\CATALOG\0006" subdirectory and delete all the files in that directory. Then move to the parent directory, "\CATALOG" and delete the subdirectory with the disk number as its name. -Using the Catalog The Catalog contains all the file information normally found in a directory listing (except file size) and also includes any filenotes. Therefore, it acts just as tho the files were actually there. You can use PC-Dir to sort the listings, search for a specific file, do filenote searches, etc. However, since the files aren't really there, you won't be able to do text searches, or View the files. IMPORTANT: PC-Dir lets you decide whether you want to include the CATALOG files and subdirectories in your file searches, filenote searches, and tree listing of directories. You can choose to Include or Exclude the CATALOG files/directories by pressing K for Konfigr, and then pressing "C" to toggle between Include and Exclude. The program initially defaults to Exclude. See Konfigr in the next section for more details. *** PC-Directory's file management functions *** PC-Dir's menu of available functions are listed at the bottom of the display. Notice there are two lines. To activate a particular function on the first line, just press the hi-lighted letter associated with each function. For example, to View a file, you'd press V since the V in View is hi-lited. For those functions on the second line, you must press the Alt key as you press the hi-lited letter associated with the function. To select a particular function with a mouse, just click on the function name. The following is a brief explanation of what each function does. From left to right: -Quit Pressing Q quits the program. You can also press the Escape key if you find that easier. There is another way to exit the TSR version of PC-Directory. If you would like to paste the name of the hi-lited file at the cursor location of the calling application, then press P for Paste. For example, you load your word processor and it asks which file you want to edit. You can't remember, so you press the hot key to activate PC- Dir. When you find the file you want, hi-lite it if you haven't already, and then press P for Paste. PC-Dir will quit, you'll be returned to your word processor, and the name of the file will be typed in at the cursor. You can also use this feature to launch programs at the DOS prompt. Just activate PC-Dir from the DOS prompt, hi-lite the file you want to run, and then press P for Paste. -Sort Press S to sort the directory listing. You will have the option of sorting the listing by Name, Extension, Size, or Date. This is not only handy for easily locating files, but it also comes in handy for tagging certain groups of files, for example, all those over a certain size. -DriveChg Pressing D lets you change to another disk drive. -Copy To copy files: first tag all those files you want to copy, move to the directory or disk where you want them copied, and then press C to initiate the copy process. One more time: Tag the files to be copied Move to the disk or directory where you want the files copied (using View, LstDirs, or DrvChg) press C to initiate the copy process If you press C to initiate a copy and nothing happens then you've either not tagged any files or you're trying to copy the tagged files to the same directory from where they came. -Rename Pressing R lets you rename the hi-lited file. -FNsrch Press F to initiate a search of all the filenotes on the disk for a particular phrase or keyword. The search is not case sensitive. PC-Dir will display any files whose filenotes contain the phrase/keyword you input. The filenames will be listed to the left of the display and the selected file's filenote will appear on the right. An additional menu will appear that lets you view the selected file, or go to the directory where the file resides. Remember, Catalog files will not be included, unless you've used Konfigr to Include them. See Konfig. -View Pressing V lets you instantly view the contents of the hi-lited file. When you View a file an additional menu appears. You can page through the file using PgUp and PgDn. You can press V to exit the View function and return to the directory listing. You can press the Insert key to create a filenote for the file you're viewing. Or you can turn on/off Wordstar view, as explained in the next paragraph. Some word processors don't create standard ASCII files and may look funny when viewed by PC-Dir. Many of these use the WordStar format. Depending on the current setting, pressing W will turn WS (WordStar) on or off. You can also use View to move around between directories on the same disk. Viewing a subdirectory will move you to that subdirectory. Viewing the single dot file moves you to the root directory, and Viewing the double dot file moves you to the next lowest (parent) directory. -Tag Pressing T tags the hi-lited file and moves the hi-lite bar to the next file. You can copy, move, and delete groups of files. You define these groups by tagging the files to be included. See Copy, Delete, and Move. -Move Pressing M moves the tagged files to this directory. Moving files differs from copying in that the file is removed from the original directory and placed in the destination directory. On the other hand, copying creates a duplicate file in the destination directory. Moving files is much faster than copying them. ** You may only move files to another directory on the same disk, while you may copy files to any directory on any disk. ** To move a single, or group of files from one directory to another: Tag the file(s) to be moved Move to the subdirectory where you want the files moved (using View or LstDirs) press M to initiate the move process -Konfigr lets you chose the setting for three important functions of the program. When you press K for Konfigr the three functions will be shown and their current setting will be hi-lighted. To change the setting, simply press the first letter of the function. For example, let's say that currently CATALOG files are excluded from file searches and filenote searches. To include them you would press K for Konfigr. Then press C to toggle the Catalog setting from Exclude to Include. This is what the settings control: Text Search: The difference between the two options is that the WordStar search drops the hi-bit of each character in the file before comparing it to your input, the ASCII search doesn't. Neither is case sensitive. Unless the hi-bit is important (if you're not sure, then it isn't) leave this setting on WordStar. If the hi-bit is significant then choose ASCII. The default is WordStar. AutoFilenote: By pressing A you can toggle between AutoFilenote display on and off. With AutoFilenote display on, a file's filenote is automatically displayed when the file is hi-lited. With it off, you must hi-lite the file and press the Space Bar to display its filenote. Catalog: This determines whether the files and directories in your Catalog are included in filename searches, filenote searches, and the "tree" listing of all the directories. Since most of the time you'll use PC-Dir to work on your current files, the program defaults to the "Exclude" setting. Make sure you change this setting if you want to "Include" the Catalog files and directories in your operations. -LstDirs Pressing L lists in "tree" form all the directories on the disk. You can move to any one of them by clicking on the directory name with a mouse, or hi-liting the directory name and pressing V for View or G for Goto. If the tree listing instantly appeared and you've added or deleted a subdirectory since the last time you pressed L for LstDirs, then you'll want to update the tree listing by pressing U for Update. -InsFN Press the Insert key to create a filenote for the hi- lited file. To delete a filenote, enter a filenote of only one character. -Delete Press the delete key (or click on Delete) to delete the hi-lited file. If there are any tagged files you'll be given the option of deleting all tagged files. Be careful, tag delete is a powerful function. Once files are deleted they're gone, you'd need a file recover utility to get them back. BE CAREFUL! *** Explanations for the Alternate (Alt) functions *** -SrchTxt Press Alt S to search files in the directory for the text you specify. Unless you've changed it using Konfig, the search will be a WordStar search, where the hi-bit of each byte is set to zero before the comparison is made. See Konfigr for details. PC-Dir searches from the hi-lited file to the end of the directory list, or until you press the Escape key. This can be very handy. For example, if you know the file you're looking for was created after a certain date, you could sort the directory by date, hi-lite the first file with the beginning date and then initiate the search. That way you wouldn't have to search all the files in the directory. Or if you know the file you're looking for has a certain extension, you could sort the directory listing by extension, hi-lite the first file with that extension, and press Escape when all files with that extension have been searched. This feature can be a real time saver. PC-Dir tags any file that contains your text. If you View a file containing your text, the selected text will be hi-lited. -Duplicate Pressing Alt D duplicates the hi-lited file, giving it the new name you specify. -ChgAtts Alt C lets you change the attributes of the hi-lited file or subdirectory. You simply tag those attributes you want and finish by pressing the Return or Enter key. -FindFile Pressing Alt F searches the entire disk to find the filename you specify. Global characters (* and ?) are accepted. A list will be created showing the full pathnames of all files that match your input. You can move to the directory containing any of the files by clicking the file you're interested in or by hi-liting it and pressing G. You can view any of the files by hi-liting them and pressing V. Remember, Catalog files won't be included unless you've used Konfigr to Include them. See Konfigr. -TagFuncs Instead of tagging files individually you may want to do group tags. Pressing Alt T brings up another menu which lets you: Remove tags Removes all tags Tag: All Tags all files in this directory Before Date Tags all files in this directory dated on or before the date you specify After Date Tags all files in this directory dated on or after the date you specify Extension Tags all files in this directory with the extension you specify. Date + Ext Tags all files in this directory with the extension you specify and dated on or after the date you specify. These tag functions can be useful for many operations but perhaps one of the best is as an intelligent backup. For example, you can tag only those files created after your last backup and then use the copy function to copy those files to your backup disk. Or, if the only files you're really concerned about all have the same extension, you can narrow the list even further by tagging by Date and Extension. Or, lets say you want to archive all files created before a certain date. It's easy with the "Tag Before Date" function and Copy. -MakeDir Pressing Alt M makes a new subdirectory with the name you specify. -Print Pressing Alt P prints the hi-lited file. You can press Esc at any time to stop the printing, however, since most printers have a buffer, the printing may continue for a while. *** Removing PC-Directory from memory *** You may remove PC-Dir from memory by pressing entering "pcdir /u" at the DOS prompt. DO NOT REMOVE PC-Directory FROM MEMORY IF THERE ARE OTHER MEMORY RESIDENT PROGRAMS LOADED AFTER IT. Failure to heed this warning will likely result in the computer locking up, in which case you will have to turn the power off and start over again. *** Memory (Registered users only) *** If you receive any "Memory Full" messages while using PC-Dir, then you might want to consider increasing the memory PC-Directory has to work with. You can do this using the "CONFIG" program we discussed earlier. When asked "Adjust memory limits?" press Y for Yes and follow the instructions. Only use as much memory as you need to. *** Get in the habit *** To appreciate PC-Dir you need to get in the habit of using it often. The best way to do this is to use PC-Dir any time you would normally use the DOS "DIR" command. There's no reason to use the DOS "DIR" command again. PC-Dir is faster, easier, and much more useful, providing a sorted directory listing instantly and one touch file management functions. And, of course, PC-Dir has file notes. And unlike DOS, it's available anytime you want it, within most any application. It won't be long before you'll wonder how you ever got by without it. *** Further Information *** Use PC-Directory's View function to review the following files: HINTS.TXT Suggestions on how to better utilize PC-Directory. HELP.TXT Answers to the most commonly asked questions. UPDATE.DOC History of changes starting with version 1.5. If you run into any problems and you can't find an answer in these instructions or in the "HELP.TXT" file, then give us a call at (206) 939-4105. Technical support is only provided to registered users, so have your registration number handy. *** About our company *** We are a small family business striving to develop quality software and offer it at reasonable prices. We depend on our user registration fees to remain in business. If you're using our software, please register. We have a "Shareware disk" of all our shareware software. Users who register will receive a free copy. Others can receive a copy by sending $5 ($6 for 3.5 disk) to: RSE Shareware Disk 1157 57th Drive S.E. Auburn, WA 98002 Thank you. *** Copyright Notice *** PC-Directory (tm) is copyrighted 1991 by RSE Inc. *** Disclaimer *** RSE Incorporated specifically disclaims all warranties expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The software itself is licensed "As Is", without any express or implied warranties whatsoever. In no event shall RSE Incorporated, its distributors or dealers, be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including, without limitation, special, incidental, consequential or other damages. In no case shall any liability exceed the price paid for the software.