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- INSTRUCTIONS FOR FMAN
-
- FMAN.EXE is a compact PC/AT DOS File Manager program that lets you maintain
- Annotated Directory Listings. This means that you can create descriptions of
- your files on disk. When you use FMAN, the directory listings will be
- accompanied by the file descriptions. FMAN also gives you convenient access
- to a number of standard and enhanced DOS utilities. You can Move, Copy or
- Delete files, Sort directories by file Name, Extension or Date (newest
- first), and Search for files on the current drive. You can also Run
- executable programs from FMAN (including command line entries), and View
- ASCII text files. FMAN was created in part using the QuickPak Professional
- subroutine library from Crescent Software, Ridgefield, CT.
-
- It is recommended that you keep FMAN.EXE in a directory that is in the DOS
- PATH. That way you can start the program from any directory. When you start
- FMAN, you will see a Directory Screen which shows the current directory name
- and all its files and sub-directories. If you have entered descriptions of
- the directory entries (using the F9 option described below), they will also
- be displayed. Here is an example of the Directory Screen for an annotated
- directory on the C: drive called UTIL:
-
- ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
- ║ DIRECTORY: C:\UTIL\*.* ║
- ╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
- ║ .. Parent Directory on Current Drive -- ║
- ║ [-A-] A Drive ---------------------------- ║
- ║ [-B-] B Drive ---------------------------- ║
- ║ [-D-] D Drive ---------------------------- ║
- ║ DIR1 Subdirectory DIR1 ------------------ ║
- ║ DIR2 Subdirectory DIR2 ------------------ ║
- ║ bridge.exe 106507 07-12-96 08:36a Contract Bridge Card Game ---------- ║
- ║ bridge.doc 11812 07-12-96 08:33a On-Line Help for Bridge ------------ ║
- ║ pcdesk.exe 71947 07-04-96 08:00a Memo Calendar & Address Book Program ║
- ║ pcdesk.doc 13527 07-04-96 08:00a On-Line Help for PcDesk ------------ ║
- ║ plotter.exe 121819 07-17-96 08:38a Data Plotting & Analysis Program --- ║
- ║ plotter.doc 31576 07-17-96 08:32a On-Line Help for Plotter ----------- ║
- ║ read.exe 73883 07-18-96 11:00a ASCII Text Editor ------------------ ║
- ║ read.doc 8886 07-18-96 11:01a Text File Describing Read ---------- ║
- ║ readme.exe 49435 01-17-96 07:45a Handy Text Viewing Program --------- ║
- ║ plotter1.dat 27608 07-17-96 08:30a Data File for Plotter -------------- ║
- ║ util.l@g 1585 07-21-96 02:34p Directory LOG file created by FMAN - ║
- ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
- BYTES FREE = 255,041,536 F1 = FUNCTION BOX
-
- Note that FMAN will attempt to create a ".L@G" file in each directory to
- store and retrieve the file descriptions. This means that Write Protected
- drives (such as CD-ROMS) cannot support the Directory Log feature, or most
- other disk operations (although you can still execute programs and browse
- text files).
-
- The Directory Screen allows you to navigate to all drives and directories
- (assuming the ".L@G" files can be written). Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys,
- PAGE UP and DOWN, or the HOME and END keys to move the Highlight Bar. Press
- ENTER to go to the highlighted directory or drive. Selecting the ".." token
- moves you up one directory.
-
- If the Highlight Bar is on an executable file (*.COM, *.EXE or *.BAT) you
- can press ENTER to run the program. You will be prompted to enter a COMMAND
- LINE for the program. Press ENTER again for none, or press ESCAPE to cancel
- the option. If the Highlight Bar is on an ASCII Text File, pressing ENTER
- will let you view the file contents. If the Highlight Bar is on any other
- file type, or FMAN can't handle the file, pressing ENTER will cause a beep,
- and the Directory Screen will be redisplayed.
-
- Use the SPACE key to MARK a highlighted file for disk operations (see below).
- Marked files are indicated by the "√" character. Press ALT-M to mark all the
- files in the directory, and ALT-C to unmark all the files. The size in bytes
- of all marked files will be displayed at the bottom of the Directory Screen.
-
- Press F1 to see the FUNCTION BOX. This is a concise list of the operations
- and features available in FMAN. The Function Box disappears automatically
- when you press any option key or move the Highlight Bar. Following is an
- example of the Function Box and a summary of the options:
-
- ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
- ║ FMAN - FILE MANAGER OPTIONS ║
- ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════╣
- ║ F2=Change/Make DIR F9=Edit DIR LOG File ║
- ║ F3=Copy Marked Files F10=Foreground Color ║
- ║ F4=Move Marked Files F11=Background Color ║
- ║ ALT-F4=Remove DIR F12=Directory Tree ║
- ║ CTRL-F4=Delete Files ENTER=Run Program or ║
- ║ F5=Search for Files View Text File ║
- ║ F6=Sort by File Name SPACE=Mark/Clear Files ║
- ║ F7=Sort by Extension ALT-M/C=Mark/Clear All ║
- ║ F8=Sort by File Date ESC=Quit File Manager ║
- ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
-
- F2 ........ Change/Make Directory. Enter the path name of a directory you
- want to view. If the directory doesn't exist, it will be created.
-
- F3 ........ Copy Files. After you have marked your selected files, enter
- the full name of the target directory where you want the files
- copied. The target LOG file will be updated automatically.
-
- F4 ........ Move Files. After you have marked your selected files, enter
- the full name of the target directory where you want the files
- moved. The source and target LOG files are updated automatically.
-
- ALT-F4 .... Remove Directory. Enter the name of the directory you want
- removed. The directory must not have files in it, with the
- exception of the LOG file, which is deleted automatically.
-
- CTRL-F4 ... Delete Files. Be sure to only mark the files you want to delete.
- You will get the chance to confirm the deletion of each file, or
- you can press [A] to delete ALL the files immediately. The LOG
- file is updated automatically.
-
- F5 ........ Find Files on the current drive. Enter the name of the file you
- want to search for. You can use the DOS wild card characters
- (? and *). If you enter a path as part of the filename, then
- only that path and its subdirectories will be searched.
-
- F6 ........ Sort Files in the directory by Name in descending alphabetical
- order.
-
- F7 ........ Sort Files in the directory by Extension in descending alpha-
- betical order.
-
- F8 ........ Sort Files in the directory by Date (newest first).
-
- F9 ........ Edit the Directory Log. The file descriptions for each
- directory are stored automatically in files with ".L@G"
- extensions. In the editor you can use F3 to search the Log
- file, and F7 to send the annotated listing to your printer.
- Press CRTL-ENTER to save your changes, or ESCAPE to cancel.
-
- F10 ....... Change the Foreground Colors for FMAN. The screen colors remain
- in effect until you change them. But the settings are stored in
- the Directory Log files, so it is possible to arrive at a dir-
- ectory in which different screen colors had been defined.
-
- F11 ....... Change the Background Color for FMAN. Note that if you cycle
- through the background colors you will eventually return to the
- default color settings (yellow, white and cyan on black).
-
- F12 ....... Show the Directory Tree for the current directory and its
- sub-directories. This feature makes use of the DOS tree.com
- program. If the program is not found, an error message will
- be given.
-
- ENTER ..... 1) Change Drive or Directory. 2) Execute a COM, EXE or BAT file.
- You will be prompted for an optional COMMAND LINE for the
- program. Press ENTER again for no command line, or press ESCAPE
- to cancel the option. When the program terminates, you will be
- returned to FMAN (note that FMAN takes about 100K bytes when
- resident in memory). 3) If the highlighted file is an ASCII text
- file, press ENTER to view its contents. While in the text viewer
- you can use F3 to Search the file and F7 to Print the file.
-
- SPACE ..... Mark a highlighted file for any of the above disk operations.
-
- ALT-M/C ... Mark (M) or Clear (C) all the files in the directory. The
- combined size of all marked files is reported at the bottom
- of the Directory Screen.
-
- ESC ....... Press ESCAPE to quit FMAN and return to DOS.
-
- If an operation causes an error (such as trying to delete a read only file),
- an error message will be displayed at the bottom of the FMAN screen. Below
- is a list of some DOS error codes that may be referenced in FMAN.
-
- ERROR # DESCRIPTION ERROR # DESCRIPTION
-
- 25 Device Fault 67 Too Many Files
- 52 Bad File Name or Number 70 Permission Denied
- 53 File Not Found 71 Disk Not ready
- 57 Device I/O Error 72 Disk-Media Error
- 61 Disk Full 75 Path or File Access Error
- 64 Bad File Name 76 Path Not Found
-
- You should find FMAN versatile and easy to use. It is a valuable resource
- for maintaining detailed descriptions of file names limited by the DOS
- 8-plus-3 naming convention. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure
- that FMAN operates dependably. However, as with all File Managers, it is
- your responsibility to use the program correctly. The author can assume no
- responsibility for deleted files or other loss of data which may result from
- your use of the program.
-
- SHAREWARE
-
- FMAN is distributed as Shareware. Feel free to share the program and its
- files with others. However, if you continue to use FMAN, you must register
- the program by sending $19.00 US to:
-
- Robert Lindsay Wells
- 1405 Lynn Avenue
- Clearwater, FL 34615
-
- When you register, you will receive the latest version of FMAN with the
- shareware reminders removed, a sheet summarizing features in the program,
- one free upgrade to any future version of the program, a full-featured ASCII
- Text Editor (READ) as a bonus utility, and three months of technical support
- by telephone or E-Mail. Please register today!
-