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Copyright by Marcel Lemke, December 1997 Manual of the archiver ACE 1.1 ──────────────────────────────── 1. Features 2. Required/recommended/known problems 2.1. ACE 2.2. The senior SFX-module or UNACE 2.3. The junior SFX-module 3. Command line 3.1. Help 3.2. Commands 3.3. Switches 3.4. Errorlevels 4. User interface 4.1. The second directory 4.2. In a normal directory 4.2.1. Screen 4.2.2. Function keys 4.3. In an archive 4.3.1. Screen 4.3.2. Function keys 4.3.3. File options 4.3.4. Archive options 4.4. Other keys 4.5. The options window 5. Archive creation: archive options 6. Compression ratio, time and memory 7. Encryption 8. Comments 9. Multi-volume archives 10. Repair 11. Authenticity verification 12. The SFX-modules/UNACE 13. Error messages 13.1 ACE 13.2 SFX-modules/UNACE 14. Support of non-ACE archives 15. Support of long filenames (LFNs) 16. Language ! 17. Disclaimer ! 18. Registration 19. Contact, support, information, latest files, ACE-sources 20. About me (the author of ACE) 21. Thanks 22. Comment 23. Glossary: trademarks/terms ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1. Features ───────────── ACE supports the following major features: * good compression ratio at high speed using large dictionaries and solid archiving * fast extraction and updates * user interface to make archiving more comfortable * support of long filenames at WINDOWS 95 (tm) * ACE.EXE works with different languages; (English, German, Dutch ..) * interface includes a "second directory" as a target directory for operations * creation of multi-volume and self-extracting archives * two SFX-modules: SFXJR and SFXSR * supports RAR-, ZIP- and ARJ-archives * detects archives and shows them marked on screen * self-check in ACE.EXE to protect against virus-attacks * works under WIN_95 and DOS with nearly the same performance * processing of archives with many files (number depends on free memory) * encryption of archived files * addition of recovery records increases probability of full recovery of damaged archives * comments for archives and files 2. Required/recommended/known problems ──────────────────────────────────────── 2.1. ACE ────────── * MS-DOS 3.0 or above * 80386 with at least 1.5Mb free memory to run the program * a temporary drive for its operations * to update solid archives with 1Mb dictionary there must be additional 2.9Mb free * enough space at the TEMP drive for temporary files and archives * an ega/vga-compatible video card recommended to get best speed and compression ratio: * 80586 (Pentium or compatible) * 10 Mb free memory * fast temporary drive * disk cache to minimize time spent accessing diskdrive (integrated in WIN_95) when using WIN_95: * no other running programs Using a 386-DOS-extender, ACE does not run under WINDOWS 3.xx without EMS or XMS. If you have any problems with that use the pif file "ace.pif" to start ace. Running ACE with QEMM v8.03 might cause rare system crashes. (caused by a bug in this version of QEMM) There might be also a problem with some programs like UMB_DRV which we could patch. To get a list of those problematically programs visit Harald Feldmann's site: http://www.xs4all.nl/~feldmann 2.2. The senior SFX-module or UNACE ───────────────────────────────────── * MS-DOS 3.0 or above * 8086 or higher * enough free EMS or XMS memory for the extraction of archives with dictionaries larger than 256K 2.3. The junior SFX-module ──────────────────────────── * MS-DOS 3.0 or above * 8086 or higher * 320k free memory 3. Command line ───────────────── 3.1. Help ─────────── Only the important, common operations are supported at the command line. To get the help screen below type "ACE.EXE /?". ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── Usage: ACE <command> [-<sw1> ...] <archive> [<base_dir>\] [<files>/@<filelist>] (..examples..) <Commands> a Add files to archive m Move files to archive cf Add comment to files r Repair archive cm Add main comment s Convert to SFX d Delete files from archive t Test files in archive e Extract to current directory u Update archive f Freshen files in archive x Extract files with full path l List files in archive reg Register ACE <Switches> av[-] Add AV rr[-] Add recovery record bw Black and white mode s[-] Create solid archive c[-] Show comments sfx[-/jr] Add (junior) SFX-module cfg- Use defaults std Standard output mode cm[-] Add main comment tk Keep archive time d<size> Set dictionary size tl Set archive time to last file ep Exclude paths out<file> Moves output to <file> err<file> Error output file v Autodetect volume size m<0..5> Set compression level v<size> Set vol. size to <size>*1000 k Lock archive z<file> Comment file p<pass> Set password y Assume yes on all queries r Recurse subdirectories yo Overwrite existing files ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── A commandline error will produce output of detailed information about this error. If you want to extract file to another directory than the current type "ACE x <archive> <directory>\ <files>". The file <filelist> may contain a list of files (wildcards allowed). Each file in this list must be listed on a separate line. If there is no file specified at all, all files (*.*) will be handled (use -r to recurse subdirectories). To move the output to screen and into a file in parallel use "-out<file>" instead of ">><file>". 3.2. Commands ─────────────── a - Add adds (compresses) the specified files to the archive d - Delete deletes the specified files from the archive e - Extract extracts (decompresses) the specified files from the archive without directory structure f - Fresh freshens the files in archive; this means if any specified file is newer than an existing! file in the archive the file in the archive will be replaced l - List lists files of archive m - Move the result is the same like using ADD and then deleting the specified files r - Repair this creates a new archive "REPAIRED.ACE" and adds all recovered files from the specified archive s - Convert to SFX converts an existing ace-archive to a self-extracting one; you can specify which sfx has to be used by "-sfx" or "-sfxjr" t - Test tests all archived files for integrity u - Update freshens (see Fresh) existing files and adds nonexisting files x - Extract in contrast to the "e"-EXTRACT comment, this will extract files with full directory structure cf - Add file comment after the input the comment will be added to all specified files cm - Add main comment adds a new main comment or replaces the old main comment of an archive reg - Register ACE calls the registration function of ACE; you will have to input a valid general or personal key 3.3. Switches ─────────────── av[-] - Add AV switches the authenticity verification (registered version only) at the creation of new archives on/off bw - Black/white status controls and warnings will be displayed in black & white c[-] - Show comments allow or disallow comments to be displayed during the extraction of an archive cfg- - Use defaults the configuration file will be ignored by setting the defaults the defaults are: * show comments * do not test after add * do not store archives * do not use current password * solid archiving * dictionary size of 1Mb * compression level=normal * no lock or main comment cm[-] - Add main comment add a main comment at archive creation when on d - Dictionary size sets the dictionary for compression in kilobytes; possible values are 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024 ep - Exclude paths specified files will be archived without directory structure err<file> - Log on errors All errors occuring during the run will be appended to <file>. k[-] - Lock switches locking of new archives after their creation on/off; locked archives can not be modified anymore m<0..5> - Compression level sets the compression level to 0=store, 1=fastest, 2=fast, 3=normal, 4=good or 5=best p<pass> - Password this password will be used for encryption and decryption of files r - Recurse subdirectories all files of the specified directories will be added as well rr[-] - Add recovery record turns the adding of recovery data after archive modifications on/off s[-] - Create solid archive indicates whether to make new archives solid or not sfx[-/jr] - Add SFX-module turns the creation of self-extracting archives on or off; "jr" states to add the junior SFX-module instead of the senior one std - Output in standard mode; if not specified everything will be output in windows; if the switch "-out" is used or if stdout does not point to the console device the standard output mode will be used automatically tk - Keep archive time keeps original file time of the archive tl - Set archive time to last file sets the file time of the archive to the file time of the latest file in the archive out<file> - Output to <file> moves outputs to <file> v - Autodetect volume size creates multi-volume archive; detects volume size automatically, to fill destination disks completely v<size> - Set volume size creates multi-volume archive; sets volume size to <size>*1024 bytes z<file> - Comment file content of <file> will be used as comment at the creation of a new archive or when using the commands "cm" or "cf" y - Yes on all queries questions like "File already exists:\<file> Overwrite?" and "Extract: Use current password?" will be answered with yes automatically yo - Overwrite during extract and add operations, existing files will be replaced without asking Options not explicitly set will be set according to the default, or according to the saved preferences. 3.4. Errorlevels ────────────────── ACE, UNACE and the SFX modules can return the following values as result of an operation: errorlevel meaning 0 no error; operation was succesful 1 insufficient memory 2 no files specified 3 the specified archive or list file was not found 4 disk full 5 could not open file 6 read error 7 write error 8 invalid command line 9 CRC error 10 other error 11 file already exists 255 user break (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Break or Cancel) 4. User interface ─────────────────── 4.1. The second directory ─────────────────────────── ACE supports source-destination technique. The files of the current source directory/archive are listed on the left side of the screen. The destination directory, also called second directory, is mentioned at the bottom of the right side of the screen. To exchange the source for the destination you will have to press <tab>. The fastest way to set the destination equal to the source is <shift+tab>. 4.2. In a normal directory ──────────────────────────── 4.2.1. Screen ─────────────── A (split) example with explanation for the screen in a normal directory is listed below. filenames filesizes filetimes current source directory │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ──────│ut──────────│─ ───────│──│─ │──────────── ────────────────── ╔═════│════════════│═══════════│══│D:\LISTEN ══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ │ame Si│e Date│ │ime ║ ACE-ARCHIVER v1.1b UNREGISTERED ║ ║ .. │ |>UP--DIR<│16.02.97│20:46║ Copyright by Marcel Lemke ║ ║ cd-list ace| 114100│ 4.02.97│12:18║─────────────── Memory─────────────────║ ║ cd01file lst| 86103│13.01.97│23:28║ Free memory ┐ 21.687K ║ ║ cd02file lst| 139560│16.01.97│15:33║ Add, update, fresh, sol-de┐e│e 1024K ║ ║ cd03file lst| 100331│13.01.97│23:26║ Extract, view ┐ │ │ 1024K ║ ║ cd04file lst| 127981│13.01.97│23:23║───────── Temporary direc│o│y│─────────║ ║ cd05file lst| 161393│13.01.97│23:20║ Path ┐ │ │ │ C:\TEMP ║ ║ cd06file lst|┐ 128233│13.01.97│23:16║ Space ┐ │ │ │ │222.608K ║ ──────cut──────│───── ──────────── ──────────── ────────│─│─│ │ │───── │ │ │ │ │ │ filename-list boundary; space at temporary directory │ │ │ │ adjustable by mouse path of temporary directory │ │ │ │ │ │ maximum decompression dictionary │ │ maximum compression dictionary │ displays free memory The decompression/compression dictionary maximum is only estimated. It might be possible to decompress/compress with a larger dictionary than displayed. ──────────── ──────────── ────── ║───────── Archive information ─────────║ information about selected archive ───Sol-archive CD-LIST.ACE Type ACE ║ ║────────────── Settings ───────────────║ general password present? ───Encrypt files with password Disabled ║ ║ Compression level Normal ║ ┌ ║ Dictionary size 1024K ║ The settings can be ────────┤ ║ Add recovery record Disabled ║ changed by mouse. └ ║ Add auth. verification Disabled ║ ║ Make always solid Enabled ║ ║ Create always SFX Disabled ║ default main comment file present? ───Add default comment file Disabled ║ ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ║───────── Second directory───────(tab)─║ ║ │ │ │ ║ D:\ ┐ ║ ╚═════════════════════ Free: 339.456K ┐╩═════════════════════│═════════════════╝ 1Help 2Add ┐View 4Fresh 5Copy │ 6Move 7MkDir 8Dele│e 9Option 10Quit ──────cut───────│──── ──────────── │──────────── ───────│────────── │ │ │ description of function keys │ second/destination directory space on current drive 4.2.2. Function keys ────────────────────── Most keys have the same functions when the source is an archive. This includes Help (F1), View (F3), Freshen (F4), Copy (F5), Move (F6), MkDir (F7), Delete (F8), Option (F9), Quit (F10), Drive (Alt+F1), Update (Alt+F4), EGA-M. (Alt+F9) and the sorting F-keys Ctrl+F3..F7. These functions will not be explained in chapter 4.3.2. again. F1 - Help displays a short help on ACE F2 - Add similar to RAR: adds the selected files to an archive in the current directory F3 - View views the file at the cursor in "text mode" F4 - Fresh freshens the 2nd directory with the files of the first directory F5 - Copy copies the selected files to the 2nd directory it can be used in archives, too; in this case files will be added or extracted F6 - Move copies (or adds/extracts) files and deletes them after a fully successful operation F7 - MkDir creates a new subdirectory F8 - Delete deletes selected files/directories F9 - Option displays the options window of the program F10 - Quit quits ACE Alt+F1 - Drive changes the current drive Alt+F2 - Solid same like Add (F2); creates solid archive Alt+F3 - SFX same like Add (F2); creates self-extracting archive Alt+F4 - Update updates the 2nd directory with the files of the first directory Alt+F5 - MkCopy this is one of the more complex functions: an archive will be created in the 2nd (normal) directory and the selected files will be added to it Alt+F6 - MkMove the relation between MkCopy and MkMove is the same as it is at Copy and Move; after a successful MkCopy the selected files will be deleted Alt+F7 - MkArch creates a new archive in the current directory Alt+F8 - Repair creates a new archive "REPAIRED.ACE" and adds all recovered files from the archive at the cursor Alt+F9 - EGA-M. switches EGA/VGA-cards to 50lines mode; as a result more files can be displayed at the same time Ctrl+F1 - View ACE.DOC views the file ACE.DOC if present in the directory where ACE is started from; can be used as an extended online-help Ctrl+F3..Ctrl+F7 - Sort order sets the order of the listed files to name, extension, time, size or unsorted At operations like "copy" the selected subdirectories are always recursed. 4.3. In an archive ──────────────────── 4.3.1. Screen ─────────────── Here is an example of the screen displayed when in an ACE-archive: description of archive (LFN)filenames filesizes source (archive) │ │ │ │ │ ──────│ut──────────│─ ──────────── ─────│────── ───────────│────── ╔═════│════════════│═════════ D:\LISTEN\listen.ace ╦═════════════│═════════════╗ ║ │ame Si│e Packed Date Time ║ │ ║ ║ .. │ |>UP--DIR<│ │ │ ║ Sol-archive ┤ LISTEN.ACE ║ ║ cd-files lst| 114100│ 17008│ 4.02.97│12:18║ Archivetype ┘ ACE ║ ║ cd01file lst| 86103│ 27704│13.01.97│23:28║ Created 12.4.1997 ║ ║ cd02file lst| 139560│ 32432│16.01.97│15:33║ Main comment Absent ║ ║ cd03file lst| 100331│ 8236│13.01.97│23:26║ File comments Absent ║ ║ cd04file lst| 127981│ 11436│13.01.97│23:23║ Passwords Absent ║ ║ cd05file lst| 161393│ 25444│13.01.97│23:20║ Recovery record Absent ║ ║ cd06file lst| 128233│ 2888│13.01.97│23:16║ Lock Absent ║ ║ cd07file lst| 102686│ 40960│13.01.97│23:13║ Auth. verif. Absent ║ ║ cd08file lst| 92187│ 6364│13.01.97│23:09║ Dictionary ┐ 1024K ║ ║ cd09file lst| 101686│ 35068│17.01.97│20:28║ Files │ 12 ║ ║ cd10file lst| 120157│ 4444│ 4.02.97│01:39║ Total length │ 1.355K ║ ║ hd-files lst| 114100│ ┌ 9736│ 4.02.97│12:18║ Packed length │221.720 ║ ║ | │ │ │ │ ││ ║ Ratio │ 15.9% ║ ║ ┌| │ │ │ │ ││ ║ Version to extr┐ │ 1.1 ║ ║ │| │ │ │ │ ││ ║ Host OS ┐ │ │ MS-DOS ║ ──────cut────│─────── ─────│────── ────│──│──── ─────────── │ │─│──── │ size of ──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ packed files filetimes ─┴──┘ │ │ │ │ operating system ──────┘ │ │ filename-list boundary; where archive is │ │ adjustable by mouse created on │ │ minimum version ─────┘ │ of ACE required required size to extract and of dictionary modify archive to extract 4.3.2. Function keys ────────────────────── This chapter explains only the functions which differ from the functions available with normal directories. See chapter 4.2.2. for the other ones. F2 - Extr extracts the selected files to the current directory Alt+F2 - Solid when applied to a non-solid archive, the archive will be recreated into a solid archive; see chapter 4.3.4. (recreate) Alt+F3 - SFX in case the archive is not already self-extracting, it will be turned into one Alt+F7 - FilOpt this will call up the file options window; see chapter 4.3.3. Alt+F8 - ArcOpt calls up the archive options window; see chapter 4.3.4. Alt+F10 - Test tests the files of the archive for their integrity 4.3.3. File options ───────────────────── The options of the selected files can be changed by pressing <Alt+F7>. A menu will be opened with "Encrypt" and "Edit file comments". "Encrypt" lets you enter a password (if there is no general one). All selected files will be encrypted with this password. If a file is already encrypted, the old password will loose its validity. "Edit file comments" reads the comment of the first file in archive which is selected. You will be able to modify this comment before ACE writes it to all selected files. 4.3.4. Archive options ──────────────────────── By pressing <Alt+F8> you will get a list with "Recreate", "Lock archive", "Edit main comment", "Add recovery record", "Add auth. verific." and "Add SFX-module". Take note of the following when using "Recreate": Recreate extracts all files of the current archive to the temporary directory. After extraction you might be asked whether it is okay to overwrite an existing archive (the one you just extracted from). If an error occurs during this stage, or if you cancel the process, the old archive will be gone. Do not panic! The extracted files in the temporary directory will not be deleted and the archiver will set the current directory to the temporary one. But you will have to rebuild the archive yourself. (You may use "add" for this). When recreating a multi-volume archive to a normal archive the volumes won't be deleted. You have to do this yourself. "Lock archive" provides protection against further modifications of the archive. No add of files, add of comments etc. will be allowed any more. "Edit main comment" reads the comment of the archive. You will have the possibility to modify the comment before it is written back to the archive. "Add recovery record" - see chapter 10. Repair "Add auth. verific." - see chapter 11. Authenticity verification "Add SFX-module" - the archive will be made self-extracting; result is the same when pressing <Alt+F3> 4.4. Other keys ───────────────── There are several hotkeys you have to know about. Alt+C - Switch colour mode toggles colour on/off Alt+D - Select dictionary size displays window to choose dictionary for compression Alt+J - DOS shell runs the operating system command interpreter (usually COMMAND.COM) Alt+M - Select compression level see chapter 6. for the function of the compression level Alt+S - Save setup saves the current adjustments of the program Alt+T - Set temporary directory asks for a new temporary directory There are also keys to select a group of files. These are: Insert/Space - selects file at cursor "+" - selects group of file by specified string "-" - unselects group of file by specified string "*" - reverses selection 4.5. The options window ───────────────────────── Press <F9> to change the options of ACE. A part of the appearing window can be seen below. ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── ║ ┌─ Archive options ───────────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ [x] Make always solid [ ] Add auth. verif. │ ║ ║ │ [ ] Add recovery record ( ) Use senior SFX-module │ ║ ║ │ [x] Default comment file (*) Use junior SFX-module │ ║ ║ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ Detect archives ────────┐ ┌─ Show archives ───────────┐ ║ ║ │ ( ) No detection │ │ [x] Highlight archives │ ║ ║ │ (*) By extension │ │ [x] Arrange archives │ ║ ║ │ ( ) By file content │ │ [x] Archive information │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ Add ────────────────────┐ ┌─ Extract ─────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ [ ] CRC-Check after add │ │ [ ] Use current password │ ║ ║ │ [ ] Store archives │ │ [x] View comments │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ Ok ▄ Cancel ▄ [ ] Command line log file ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── In case there is no mouse to change the archiving settings in the main screen, you can modify the important ones at "Archive options". ACE can detect archives by extension or by file content. Detection by extension is much faster than detection by file content, but does not detect self-extracting archives. If you don't like this option at all choose "No detection". The detected archives can be displayed in different ways. "Highlight" highlights them from the other files listed in the file list. Switching on "Arrange archives" will list all archives between subdirectories and the other files. "Archive information" will display archive information when the cursor is placed on the archive name for a short moment and the archive is being identified as such. To verify proper operation of the software during compression and decompression, activate the option "CRC-check after add". If an error is detected, the source files won't be deleted (during move), but the old archive won't be restored either. Archives are generally uncompressible. To save time during compression, switch on "Store archives". This will store all ACE, RAR, ZIP, ARJ and LHZ files automatically when detected. Enable the option "Use current password" to avoid the question "Extract: Use current password?". With "View comments" you may choose not to display file and archive comments. "Command line log file" declares a log file which is used as a default when running ACE in commandline mode. This saves space at the parameter list. 5. Archive creation: archive options ────────────────────────────────────── Every time a new archive has to be created within the GUI, you will be asked for the archive options. ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── ║ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌─ Dictionary ──┐ ║ ║ │ [x] Solid │ │ ( ) 32 K │ ║ ║ │ [ ] SFX │ │ ( ) 64 K │ ║ ║ │ [ ] Encrypted │ │ ( ) 128 K │ ║ ║ │ [ ] Recovery rec │ │ ( ) 256 K │ ║ ║ │ [ ] Auth verific │ │ ( ) 512 K │ ║ ║ │ [ ] Main comment │ │ (*) 1024 K │ ║ ║ └──────────────────┘ └───────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─ Volume size ────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ (*) none │ ( ) 1.2 M │ ║ ║ │ ( ) Autodetect │ ( ) 1.44 M │ ║ ║ │ Thnd │ ( ) 2.88 M │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── You can set the dictionary size, the volume size and the basic options the archive will be created with. An explanation of the options can be found at these chapters: "Solid", "Dictionary" - 6. Compression ratio, time and memory "Encrypted" - 7. Encryption "Recovery rec" - 10. Repair "Auth verific" - 11. Authenticity verification "Main comment" - 8. Comments "Volume size" - 9. Multi-volume archives 6. Compression ratio, time and memory ─────────────────────────────────────── There are several options that improve compression. Some affect the memory requirements, others affect the time needed to compress or update. "Solid archiving" takes advantage of the fact that all files in an archive can be viewed as one continuous stream of data. When updating (adding or deleting) such an archive, ACE needs to re-read all previously compressed data in order to maintain that continuous stream since any file added or removed will have to be, or has been, part of it. Solid archiving is therefore a more time consuming process than regular archiving. The benefit of solid archiving is stronger compression of your data. You should not use solid archives when a large archive requires frequent updates and time is an essential factor. Note that solid archiving does not slow down extraction of the whole archive when compared to non-solid archives. The best way to increase compression is to increase the dictionary size. This will also increase the memory requirements at compression and decompression. Please bear in mind that the full version of ACE requires a 386+ CPU and a 32-bit DPMI host. UNACE and the SFX module do not have this limitation. When uncompressing you will need enough memory to build the dictionary used during compression. That means if you used a 1024 Kb dictionary during compression, you will need this same dictionary during uncompression. Your target machine must be able to provide this much EMS or XMS memory. When using 256 Kb dictionaries, conventional memory may be enough. The limit of SFXSR for dictionary size in conventional memory is 512 Kb, but few machines will have enough free memory to accommodate this size. The dictionary size of SFXJR-archives is limited to 256K anyway. Compression level has no effect on memory use. It is an algorithm optimization and thus affects only time. The default compression level is a compromise between time and ratio. If there is a need for better compression, like compressing for use on the internet, set the compression level to "good". 7. Encryption ─────────────── You are able to encrypt archived files to protect your sensitive data against unauthorized access. This program does not use RSA so it may be distributed in the United States of America. Encryption can be added while compressing or afterwards. To encrypt files being added to an existing archive, set the password at the main screen, if you are creating a new archive, you may also set the password in the archive options window. To encrypt after compression, enter the archive and press <Alt+F7>. Choose "Encrypt" from the appearing file options window (see chapter 4.3.3.). Only the selected files will be encrypted. In order to process files in a solid archive, you need to enter the correct passwords for each of these files since they have to be ana- lyzed for processes. When adding to an archive the compression password will be set to the general password, which can be set at the main screen. The same applies to the decompression password during extraction. Changing the compression password in the archive option window or changing the decompression password at requests will not affect the general one. On the command line you can set the general password by using the "p"-switch. To protect against hackers passwords are not saved in archives or in the configuration file. You will have to keep them in your mind. The author of this program is not able to recover lost passwords! For security you should choose a long password which nobody except you knows or can find out. The program distinguishes between upper and lower case, the maximum length of a password is 56 characters. 8. Comments ───────────── There are two types of comments: the archive comment and the file comment. The archive comment is displayed during every extraction from the archive. The file comment, which is linked to a specific file in the archive, is only displayed when that file is being extracted. If you wish to use the content of a file as main comment: declare a "default comment file". This can be done at the main screen or at the commandline by using the "z"-switch (3.3. Switches). The file will be used as a main comment for each archive that will be created. Another way is to input the comment when creating a new archive. Set the option "Main comment" at the archive options (5. Archive creation: archive options). The file comments have to be added after the adding of the files. Use the file options window (4.3.3. FILE OPTIONS) or the "cf"-command to comment the selected files. The main comment can be modified later, too. See 4.3.4. Archive options and the "cm"-command (3.2. Commands). The maximum size of the comments is 32 Kb. Due to the screen resolution the maximum size of the comments entered manually is 4Kb. 9. Multi-volume archives ────────────────────────── To span a large archive over several disks you will have to split the archive. The best way to do this is to create "multi-volume" archives. Handling multi-volume archives is nearly as easy as handling "normal" archives. A disadvantage of multi-volume archives is that ACE has no possibility to add to them. Once created the archive can't be modified. To create a multi-volume archive you have to set a volume size at the archive options window: ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── ║ ┌─ Volume size ────────────────────────┐ ║ ║ │ ( ) none │ ( ) 1.2 M │ ║ ║ │ ( ) Autodetect │ (*) 1.44 M │ ║ ║ │ K │ ( ) 2.88 M │ ║ ║ └──────────────────────────────────────┘ ║ ──────cut──────────── ──────────── ──────────── ────────────────── The autodetection feature creates volumes according to the space on the destination disk. The minimum of the size is 65Kb. If there is not enough space to save the archive you will be asked to change the destination. Before a new volume is created ACE will prompt you to change the destination. This helps to create archives directly onto floppy disks. The volumes are named this way: <archive>.ACE, <archive>.C00, <archive>.C01 .. <archive>.C99, <archive>.100 .. <archive>.999. So the limit is 1001 volumes per archive. To decompress a file of a solid multi-volume archive ACE needs all previous volumes. So be careful with your volumes! 10. Repair ──────────── Use this function to recover the files of a damaged archive. It is activated by pressing <Alt+F8> (chapter 4.2.2.) in the shell or by using the "r"-command in commandline mode. Above all solid archives are very susceptible to damages. To lower the risk you should add recovery records to your important archives. Such a record contains data about the whole archive to replace damaged sectors. The record size depends on the archive size: archive size ?..64K 64K..512K 512K..1024K 1024K..? record size 1K 2K 4K 8K The size increase is small, but the safety increase is a lot. You should enable "add recovery record". If a damaged archive does not contain a recovery record or if the archive is too damaged to restore it, ACE will scan for files in the archive. Because it is unlikely that the whole archive will be recovered by this, corrupted files are likely to be produced during extraction. 11. Authenticity verification ─────────────────────────────── This feature is available in the registered version only. By registering ACE you are able to provide archives with your personal sign. You must add authenticity verification when distributing an ACE-archive in a commercial setting. AV does not only provide users with background information on the archive, it may also contain a copyright message for its contents. See chapter 18. Registration for information how to register ACE and to get an authenticity verification-string. 12. The SFX-modules/UNACE ─────────────────────────── A self-extracting archive contains a small executable, called SFX-module. This makes extraction without an extra program possible. ACE provides two SFX-modules - a junior and a senior one. The junior SFX-module(SFXJR) is much smaller (3.9K) than the senior SFX-module (SFXSR) (23K). But is slower and provides dictionary sizes up to 256K only. ANSI-comments are not supported by the SFXJR, too. Since UNACE and the senior SFX-module are almost the same they have the same possibilities: * print of authenticity verification and ANSI-comments * use of EMS or XMS * decryption The SFX-modules do not expect any parameters. But optionally you can specify a destination to extract the files to. They will extract all files the self-extracting archive contains. Usage: <senior SFX-archive> [destination directory] <junior SFX-archive> [destination directory] UNACE handles all files, too. The only parameters UNACE expects is the command and an archive: Usage: UNACE <command> <archive> [destination directory] where <command> is one of: e Extract files l List archive t Test archive integrity v List archive (verbose) x Extract files with full path ACE is significantly faster than UNACE or the SFX-modules in decompressing large archives. 13. Error messages ──────────────────── 13.1. ACE ─────────── There are several error messages which ACE could display. If you don't know how to interpret the message read this list. The first part of a double framed box is the message where "\" is a line break. Below each message is an explanation. The list is alphabetically ordered. ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║Archive is already solid:\<archive> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ You tried to make an archive solid which is already solid. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Authenticity verification-check error.\ ║ ║ AV has been manipulated or does not match yours. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ You can not modify archives with a strange authenticity verification. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Copy is not possible.\ Directories are equal. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Source and destination must differ. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Copy of this file to current archive-dir impossible. ║ ║ Resulting filename too long. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ ACE limits the resulting filenames in their length when adding files ║ ║ to an existing directory in archive. This is because the path lengths ║ ║ are limited under DOS. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not create destination file.\ Disk-access-error. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The destination disk has been removed or is damaged. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not create directory:\ <directory> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Disk is write-protected or name contains unallowed char. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not create directory.\ Disk might be write-protected. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Creation of subdirectory failed caused by write-protection or a too ║ ║ long path of the resulting directory. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not create directory.\ Name is used by a file. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Creation failed because of an existing file using the same path. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not create file in current temporary directory.\ ║ ║ Disk is write-protected or directory does not exist. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ A reason might be also that the path of the directory is to large. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not delete file or directory.\ Access denied. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The disk is write-protected or the concerning file has been opened by ║ ║ another program already. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not find executable:\ <executable> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The file is not in a PATH-directory or in the same directory like ACE ║ ║ or even does not exist. (see 14. Support of non-ACE archives) ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not read disk in drive <drive>.\ Enter new drive. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Disk of current drive has been removed. Change drive or insert disk. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not read disk in drive <drive>.\ Insert disk. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Destination disk has been removed. Change destination or insert disk. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not open archive:\ <archive> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Archive is possibly read only. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not open archive for update (probably read only!): ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Archive is probably read only. You can not use update commands such ║ ║ as "a", "m", "u", "f", "cf" and "cm" on those archives. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not open file:\ <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Stated file can not be read because opening failed. ║ ║ See also "Error opening file.\ Access denied." ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║CRC-check error. Archive broken or password incorrect.\ ║ ║ Recreation failed. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Recreation failed caused by corrupted files and the corruption is ║ ║ caused by an archive damage or by an incorrect password. Use repair ║ ║ to recover files of a damaged archive. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Directory does not exist:\ <directory> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ You entered a directory as temporary directory which does not exist. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error creating archive\ <archive> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Similar to "Error creating volume" ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error creating volume\ <volume-name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The creation of a new volume failed, the destination disk might be ║ ║ write-protected. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error opening file.\ Access denied. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Opening of a file failed. There are two reasons possible: ║ ║ 1) The FAT (or a directory) of the drive where the file is on is ║ ║ damaged. Use a disk utility for the repair. ║ ║ 2) The file is already used by another program. Quit this one first. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error reading file.\ Probable cause is a damaged disk. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The disk where the file is on is damaged or the hardware connection ║ ║ is loose. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while creating destination file\ <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Destination disk is write-protected or the path of the destination ║ ║ file is too long. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while reading ACE.KEY.\ Registration check failed. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ There was an error in opening or reading ACE.KEY. This stops the ║ ║ check if ACE has been registered. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while reading archive.\ Archive is broken. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Try to repair the archive. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while reading archive.\ File not found or archive broken. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The declared archive does not exist or the archive has been damaged. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while reading\ <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Damaged source disk or loose connection of source drive. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while recreating archive <archive>.\ ║ ║ Files can be found at <directory>. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ If the original archive has been overwritten and an error occurs it ║ ║ won't be restored. To keep the files of the archive they won't be ║ ║ deleted from the temporary directory. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while saving setup at\ <directory> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ ACE tries to write the ACE.CFG to the directory where the ACE.EXE is ║ ║ located in. This error occurs when the concerned disk is write- ║ ║ protected, damaged or full. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while writing\ <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Damaged destination disk or loose connection of destination disk. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Fatal error\ The file ACE.EXE has been modified.\ ║ ║ File possibly infected by a virus. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Check your disks for viruses. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║File compressed with unknown method.\ Decompression not possible. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ A later compression method has been used to compress file. Look for ║ ║ an higher version of ACE to decompress. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║File does not exist:\ <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ This is displayed when the default comment file does not exist. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Invalid compression level.\ Possible values: 0..5 ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Invalid compression level has been entered at command line. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Invalid list file.\ Found binary character. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The at the command line entered file is not a list file. ║ ║ (see 3.1. Help) ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Invalid volume size.\ Must be greater than 64K. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Minimum volume size is 65Kbytes. See 9. Multi-volume archives. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Length of temporary path might cause problems. Choose shorter one. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Some operations need a very short path length of the temporary ║ ║ directory to process archived files with large paths. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Modify of archive requires higher version of ACE.\ ║ ║ Call technical support or use given web-sites. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The archive has been created by a newer version and can not be ║ ║ modified by yours. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Modify of locked archives impossible.\ Create new archive to do so. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ A lock protects archives against modifications. Use recreate. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Modify of volumes impossible.\ Change archive-options first. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ As explained in 9. MULTI-VOLUME ARCHIVES such archives can not be ║ ║ modified. Use recreate to join volumes to a single-volume archive. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║No files specified.\ Operation aborted. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ No files specified at command line to process operation on. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not all selected files copied.\ Deleting will not happen. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ This is caused by an error while copying/compressing/decompressing. ║ ║ Not all destination files has been successfully created. None of the ║ ║ selected files will be deleted. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough memory or dictionary of archive too large.\ ║ ║ Reduce compression dictionary size. Then try again. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ There is not enough memory to extract, analyze or repack compressed ║ ║ files. If this error turns up when deleting or updating an solid ║ ║ archive choose a smaller compression dictionary. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough memory to handle filenames.\ ║ ║ Make more memory available. Then try again. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Too many files in an archive or directory to keep paths in available ║ ║ memory. Free memory by quitting other programs etc. Then try to enter ║ ║ the archive or directory again. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough memory to perform operation.\ ║ ║ Select smaller dictionary size and try again. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ There is not enough free memory to carry out an operation. If this ║ ║ operation was add, delete or recreate choose a smaller compression ║ ║ dictionary and repeat operation. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough space to save new archive.\ Enter new destination path. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The archive doesn't fit to current destination. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough space on destination-disk to copy\ <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Make enough space free to copy the stated file. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough space on destination drive to extract\ <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Make enough space free to extract the stated file. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough space on temporary drive\ to create temporary archive. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Update of archives requires the creation of a temporary archive which ║ ║ usually becomes larger than the original archive. Make sure about ║ ║ enough space on the temporary disk. Declare a directory at the ║ ║ environment variable TEMP or TMP where is enough space available. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Number too long or containing\ unallowed char. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The entered string is not a valid number. Only digits are allowed, ║ ║ maximum length is 9. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Passwords do not match.\ Try again. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Compression password demands two inputs of the same string. This ║ ║ makes sure that you input the correct password. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║[PMODE/W]: DPMI Host Is Not 32bit! ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Quit your 16bit DPMI programs (WINDOWS, Borland Pascal..). ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║[PMODE/W]: 80386 required! ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ A 80386 or higher is required to run ACE.EXE. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Second directory is part of first directory.\ ║ ║ Delete would effect copied files. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ If ACE would delete the selected files the copied files would be ║ ║ deleted, too. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Specify full path of:\ <directory> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ You did not enter the full path of the temporary directory. ║ ║ Example: C:\TMP ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Tried to overwrite directory with file.\ <file> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The path of the file is already used by a directory in the archive. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Unable to repair archive by recovery data.\ ║ ║ Recovery data damaged. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The recovery record of the archive has been damaged what prevents ACE ║ ║ from repairing by those. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Unable to repair archive by recovery data.\ ║ ║ Too many bytes damaged. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The damage of too many sectors of the archive prevents full recovery ║ ║ of the archive. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Warning\ You wanted to use SFXJR on an archive with\ ║ ║ a dictionary greater than 256k. Switching to SFXSR. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ As stated in chapter 12. the SFXJR has a maximum of 256k ║ ║ decompression dictionary. Because of this the SFXSR has to be used ║ ║ at the "s" command. ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Some other known problems are: 1) ACE requires EMS or XMS. Try to run ace by the pif file ACE.PIF if you have any memory problems under windows. 2) Running ACE with QEMM v8.03 might cause rare system crashes. 13.2. SFX-modules/UNACE ───────────────────────── Because of the reduced functionality of UNACE and the SFX-modules there are less messages: ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║Could not create destination file. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Unprotect the disk in your current drive. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not create directory. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Possibly there is a file with the same name or the disk is ║ ║ write-protected. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Could not delete file or directory. Access denied. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Disk is write-protected or file is used by another program. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║CRC-check error ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Extraction produced corrupted file. Archive has been damaged. ║ ║ In case the archive contains a recovery record try to repair. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Critical error on drive ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ If you removed the source or destination disk - do not wonder! ║ ║ But it is also possible the disk is damaged. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error: archive is broken ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Structure of archive destroyed. Use ACE to repair the archive ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error opening file <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The concerning file has already been opened by another program or ║ ║ disk is damaged. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error occurred during extraction ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ This is mostly stated after another fatal error or after pressing ║ ║ Ctrl+C. The program will be aborted. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Error while reading archive. File not found or archive broken. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ This error occurs if the next volume of a multi-volume archive can't ║ ║ be accessed at the same directory or if the volume is broken. ║ ║ In the second case use the repair-function of ACE. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║File compressed with unknown method. Decompression not possible. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Look for a higher version of UNACE or ACE to decompress. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║First volume of archive required! ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Since UNACE extracts all files of an archive you have to use the ║ ║ first volume to begin extraction. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Invalid archive file: <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ The specified file is not an archive or the archive is broken. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Not enough memory or dictionary of archive too large. ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ There is not enough free EMS/XMS available according to the dictionary║ ║ size of the archive to extract. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Read error ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Disk has been removed or is damaged. ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Tried to overwrite archive <name> ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ You tried to extract a file using the same path like the currently ║ ║ processed archive. Move the archive to another directory to extract ║ ║ the it to this directory. (use: UNACE <destination directory>) ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║Write error ║ ║───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────║ ║ Possibly the destination disk is full. ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ 14. Support of non-ACE archives ───────────────────────────────── Using the user interface of ACE you can enter RAR, ZIP and ARJ archives. You may use Extr(F2), Copy(extraction), View, Test, Delete, Repair and MkACE(Alt+F2) on these archives. MKACE generates a copy of these archives in ACE format, the originals will be kept. ACE uses the most popular programs to realize these operations. These are: RAR - RAR.EXE ZIP - PKZIP.EXE (TEST) PKUNZIP.EXE (COPY=extraction) PKZIPFIX.EXE (REPAIR) ARJ - ARJ.EXE These programs have to be in the same directory as ACE or the direc- tories have to be declared in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file in the PATH-variable (see your DOS-manual). The author of ACE recommends you use the latest versions of the other archivers when using ACE archives on non-ACE archives. 15. Support of long filenames (LFNs) ────────────────────────────────────── ACE can read long filenames (LFNs) when ran under Windows 95 only (not under pure DOS 7.00). It will display those names in the shell. You can adjust the list boundary between the filenames and filesizes to watch the longer names. ACE will also store those LFNs in archives. You should be careful when doing so. If you aim to extract files not under Windows 95 the filenames will have to be converted at extraction. This conversion is done by all programs send along with this package: ACE, UNACE, senior SFX-module and junior SFX-module. 16. Language ────────────── Up from ACE 1.1a there will be language or message-files called ACE.MSG. Those files contain compressed messages of a certain language. If there is no ACE.MSG, it can not be read, or is damaged, ACE will use English as default. The ACE packages will come along with different directories named by languages. Each of them will contain the specific message file. You have to copy one to your ACE-directory to use another language. Since ACE.MSG is compressed, you need some extra files to be able to translate the messages in there. Please contact me if you like to do so. Thanks! 17. Disclaimer ──────────────── Marcel Lemke, the author of ACE, disclaims any liability for any damage caused by using or misusing this software. You use the programs included in an ACE package at your own risk. The author cannot be held responsible for data loss or other damages and any consequences from this loss or damages. 18. Registration ────────────────── ACE is shareware. After 30 days you will have to register the program if you like to continue to use ACE. Distributed archives might be checked whether created with a registered version of ACE or not. Take care! The unregistered ACE package may be freely distributed. The unauthorized distribution of a registered ACE package or a part thereof is prohibit- ten. Free distribution means that the distributor has to charge no fee for the ACE package (cost of sales excluded) and it has to be indicated that the ACE package is unregistered shareware. To become a registered user of ACE you have to think about a string you wish to use for your AV (see 11. Authenticiry verification). Fill out the registration form (REGISTER.FRM, REGISTER.DE for Germany), include money or cheque, bank account number and signature and send it to the address listed on the form. The license you get is not transferable to a third party. To use ACE on more than one CPU, see the LICENSE.DOC file. Read the file LICENSE.DOC for more information about registration and distribution. If you want to register ACE online, take a look at the Snow Cave BBS or the Tysk BBS. ** Special offer ** for all ACE users who register in Holland ! You now receive Hamarsoft Memory Pirate 1.1 (HMP) free of charge when registering ACE 1.1 with Hamarsoft. HMP is a memory manager that operates in real-mode (important for games) and uses only 64 bytes resident memory. With HMP you can have up to 160 Kb more DOS memory by loading all device drivers and TSRs in upper memory. Contrary to protected-mode memory managers, like EMM386 and QEMM, you will actually have 160 Kb more total memory ! and your PC does NOT run in virtual-86 mode ! HMP works only on PCs equipped with the Intel (R) TX and VX Chipsets. Most modern PCI based Pentium computers are equipped with these chips. This offer is valid until december 24th 1997. For more information, check the Hamarsoft page at http://www.xs4all.nl/~feldmann 19. Contact, support, information, latest files, ACE-sources ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Registered users may contact the e-merge GmbH to get technical support: Phone: +49 (0)251 43000 Fax : +49 (0)251 43052 or via email: ace@emerge.de To get information via FAX call Erik Nebelung (Tysk-BBS) at +49-(0)3573-662640 For comments or to report bugs send email to: mlemke6413@aol.com via FIDO-netmail: 2:2432/344.4 or mail to: Marcel Lemke Ziegelstr. 2 15752 Prieros GERMANY For sources like the free UNACE sources or UNACE.DLL, links and other information on ACE take a look at: http://members.aol.com/mlemke6413/ace.html FIDO: You can also get help in the FIDO-echo PACKER.ACE.GER. If possible, write German please. The latest version of ACE is available at: web sites: http://members.aol.com/mlemke6413/ace.html http://www2.rz.hu-berlin.de/~h0444ovz/ace.html http://www.xs4all.nl/~feldmann http://www.dnet.co.uk/users/snowcave FTP: ftp.elf.stuba.sk /pub/pc/pack ftp.kiae.su /msdos/arcers ftp.simtel.net /pub/simtelnet/msdos/arcers ftp.coast.net /SimTel/msdos/archiver garbo.uwasa.fi /pc/arcers Mirror sites of ELF.STUBA.SK ──────────────────────────── ftp.it.net.au /mirrors/sac/pack (Australia) sunsite.univie.ac.at /pub/compression/ftp.elf.stuba.sk (Austria) ftp.vse.cz /pub/msdos/SAC/pc/pack (Czech) ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de /pub/msdos/mirrors/stuba/pc/pack (Germany) ftp-beer.bke.hu /vol1/pub/sac/pc/pack (Hungary) cert.unisa.it /pub/PC/SAC/pack (Italy) ftp.pwr.wroc.pl /pub/pc/sac/pack (Poland) ftp.nsysu.edu.tw /PC/SAC/pack (Taiwan) BBSs: Gray Beast-BBS +49-(0)5425-4405; REACE, UU, A3 - Supportbox; SysOp: Juergen Peters; Fido: 2:2432/344 Tysk BBS +49-(0)3573-662620; ACE ONLINE registration; SysOp: Erik Nebelung; Fido: 2:249/3050 For downloading ACE only, just enter "ACE" as the user name and the password at the login. Using this possibility you do not need input any personal data. Snow Cave BBS +44-(0)1662-247887; ACE ONLINE registration; SysOp: Steve Stacher; Fido: 2:443/888 (read REGISTER.DOC for more information) 20. About me (the author of ACE) ────────────────────────────────── I am born in the year 1979 in Koenigs Wusterhausen, a town near Berlin (capital of Germany). I grew up in Prieros - a village not far from Koenigs Wusterhausen. In 1992 I left the primary school to attend the grammar school. Today there is my 13th school year (the last one) and my sets are mathematics and computer science. My interests are bicycling and other sports as well as reading. (and from time to time partying ;) ) Up from the 7th school year I learned Pascal from an older mathematician who used the computer to demonstrate interesting things a better way. Later I occupied myself with Assembler - in order to write my own fast graphic routines. At the same time I started experiments in data compression. So I programmed in two subjects in parallel: computer animations (3d texturing) and data compression. When I got to know that no one of my friends has enough engagement to push up a 3d game (or sth. similiar) and my compressor beat the other pupular archivers I decided to spend most of my time ACE. Especially for this I learned C. I also got some expierience in Visual Labs, Visual Basic and MS Access Basic. In expectation of the end of my school education I am looking for good offers regarding to professional training. Please contact me if you have those or know of other persons who have. Thank you! 21. Thanks ──────────── I would like to thank all the people who help(ed) me to push up ACE. This means all the beta-testers and the people helping me to distribute ACE, especially: Harald Feldmann, Szymon Grabowski, Daniel Pantke Horst Hackenbruch Juergen Peters George Shadoff Grischa Brockhaus Christian Frömmel Andreas Haupt Hendrick Glowatzki 22. Comment ───────────── Please help me to improve ACE. This means not only registering! Send me comments, questions and suggestions. 23. Glossary: trademarks/terms ──────────────────────────────── There are some names of programs/trademarks mentioned in this document: MS-DOS, WINDOWS 3.xx, WIN_95, RAR, ZIP, ARJ, LHA, PKZIP, PKUNZIP, PKZIPFIX, PMODE/W, QEMM v8.03. They are acknowledged and belong to their respective owners. Explanation of some terms: AV - Authenticity Verification; consists of a string and some checksums; serves as proof that the archive is original and states who created it; see 11. Authenticity verification CRC - Cyclic Redundancy Check; a mathematical method used to validate extracted data Dictionary - filedata buffer; used in the compression algorithm; serves for finding matches in the already compressed data EMS/XMS - generally regarded as memory above the first 1Mb; is managed by an EMM (EMM386.EXE) or a XMM (HIMEM.SYS); see the manual of your DOS for more information how to install an EMM or XMM SFX - SelF eXtracting describes archives in EXEcutable file format which; can extract the archived data by itself Solid - method to improve compression; all files are compressed as one data stream Volume - part of multi-volume archive; large archives can be stored on several disks by splitting them into volumes