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ALBION (------) Version 1.07 Uncle Carl's Famous File Utility <--------------------------------> RELEASE DATE: August 21, 1993 (C)Carl J. Hafner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- 1) DISCLAIMER Distribution 2) INSTALLING ALBION Running Albion 3) SELECTING A FILE File Options Display 4) THE VOLUME LABEL 5) FOLDERS 6) REPOSITIONING ALBION 7) CREDITS 8) ABOUT VERSION 1.06 ABOUT VERSION 1.07 VERSION HISTORY FORWARD ------- Albion is designed to give you that little bit of extra control which is lacking from the GEM desktops "Show Info" option. It combines elements familiar to you from the Show Info option, the Format option and combines it with features from the popular programs "FastBits" and "Thrasher". By popular demand, the "extended filename" option has been added back, allowing you to choose from up to 251 "extended file characters" (to be added as part of your filename) ! 1) DISCLAIMER ---------- The author cannot be responsible for any damage to your equipment, other software or hardware products, or physical or mental well being caused by the use, misuse, abuse or inability to use this program. The author also makes no guarantee as to the compatibility of this program with other software or hardware products. By using this program you are agreeing to accept FULL responsibility for ANY and ALL circumstances arising from it's implementation. If you do not agree with these terms AND understand them, DO NOT use this program. WARNING ------- ======================================================================== Since Atari does not generally allow users to use "extended characters" within filenames, it seems probable that implementing such a procedure MAY have adverse effects. Quite a number of people have reported that they have been using these "extended characters" for years without any problems. It is up to YOU and YOU ALONE, however, to decide whether or not you would like to take this "risk". Even though Albion allows access to these "extended characters", the author IN NO WAY recommends, endorses, condones or otherwise suggests that you use these "extended characters". Under the above disclaimer, YOU and YOU ALONE agree to accept FULL responsibility for ANY and ALL circumstances arising from the implementation of this program. As a "safety net", Albion WILL NOT accept the characters ":" (colon), "\" (backslash) and "." (period), since these are characters used by TOS to determine directories. ======================================================================== DISTRIBUTION ------------ You are free to copy and distribute the Albion package as long as the files... ALBION.PRG \ ALBION.TXT \ OTHERTTL.TXT \ NEWTERMS.TXT are included, are NOT modified in ANY way, and NO FEE of ANY type is incurred upon the recipient for the Albion files _themselves_ . 2) INSTALLING ALBION ----------------- You will need to change the last 3 letters of ALBION.PRG to ACC to begin it's installation as a desk accessory (DA). Next, copy the file ALBION.ACC to the root directory of your "boot" drive. If you have more than 5 DA's installed you will need to disable one or more of them by changing the last 3 letters of it's name to ACX. GEM has a limit of 6 DA's. Lastly, reboot, or reset, your computer. This will allow GEM to reload your accessory choices. When the desktop appears merely select Albion from the GEM "Desk" menu. RUNNING ALBION -------------- To use Albion as a regular program (PRG) simply change the last 3 letters of it's name to PRG, and double-click on it's name to load it. 3) SELECTING A FILE ---------------- The _first_ thing you must do is select an "active" drive from the drive buttons along the top of the panel (A-P). This is done simply by clicking on the button of the drive you desire. After this you must click on the SELECT button. This will call up a fileselector to the drive you have specified. Select a file you require information on and click on OKAY in the fileselector. FILE OPTIONS ------------ Albion will then examine the file and present you with the specifications of that file by "selecting" the appropriate buttons. R\W: READ\WRITE allows a file to be read and written to. Read Only: Allows a file to be read only. Hidden: Allows a file to be hidden from GEM. FastLoad: Sets an executable files "FastBit" (TOS 1.4 or above). Stamp: Sets the files Time and Date to the current Time and Date. Thrash: Completely zeroes out a files contents & then deletes it. Filename: The name of the file. DISPLAY ------- When a file is selected, its name,time,date and length will be displayed within the copyright box at the top of the panel. Below this will be the specifications of the selected file... READ\WRITE - READ ONLY - HIDDEN ------------------------------- A file must be either read\write, read only or hidden. Click on one of these buttons to select it. FASTLOAD -------- FastLoad only affects machines with TOS version 1.4 or later. It can be selected and de-selected merely by clicking on it. It should be noted that the LAST program in your AUTO folder and your FIRST DA should ALWAYS have the FastBit turned OFF. This allows GEM to clear it's memory correctly. When the FastBit is set, the memory past where a program ends is NOT cleared, which allows for a faster loading. Some programs expect this memory to be cleared and are therefore not compatible with this feature. If you are experiencing problems, try turning the FastBit off. STAMP ----- Clicking on the STAMP button will either select, or de-select it. Stamping a file sets a files time and date to the current time and date. THRASH ------ THRASHing a file is a 2 part event. First the file is opened and the contents OF that file are completely zeroed out. This means that larger files will take longer to zero than shorter ones, since there is more information to wipe out. Next the file is renamed and then deleted. When GEM deletes a file, it merely places a marker in front of the filename stating that it can be over-written. The contents of that file are still intact, as is 99% of the filename. That file CAN be restored through the use of a file restoration program. It can also be read through the use of a sector editor. Sensitive information can still be accessed if this file were merely deleted by the GEM trashcan. It will remain intact until it is over-written by other files. THRASHing a file basically replaces the contents of that file with "nothing". If you were to view a THRASHed file in a sector editor you would FIND nothing. The old filename is then replaced with a generic name and then deleted. That way a nosey person couldn't even find out the name of the file which used to be there ! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CAUTION: You CANNOT recover a THRASHed file. Thrashing a file in no way makes any illegal system calls to accomplish it's task. It is merely a more efficient way of deleting files. It DOES NOT "mess around" with your FAT (File Allocation table) table itself. It only uses built-in system calls. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FILENAME -------- The FILENAME is of course the name of the file. Albion checks to see if you have changed the name of the file, and then renames it if necessary. This selection box works in the same way as GEMs Show Info box and fileselector with ONE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE. This line allows you to enter ANYTHING which can be typed in. If you are entering a "proper" filename, you will NEED to move the cursor (using the spacebar) to the right side of the line (past the period) to enter the files extender. Hitting the period key will only enter the period character (which Albion will eventually reject). You may also, for example, enter "control characters" by merely holding down the [control] key while entering a character. OKAY ---- When you click on OKAY, Albion checks to see which buttons are selected and if the filename has been changed. It then sets the file in accordance with the options you have chosen. SELECT ------ Clicking on SELECT will call up the fileselector. Clicking on OKAY or CANCEL in the fileselector without selecting a file clears the Albion box and returns you to the default setting. This allows you to return to the "Volume Name" and "Folder" Options. CHARS ----- Calls up a screen which contains all 256 of TOS's "extended characters". On the bottom left is a "filename line", ________.___ . If you have selected or entered a filename on the main panel, its name will be placed here. Click on one of the filename's characters to select it. Once selected, click on ANY of the above "extended characters". The extended character will then appear in place of the "selected" character. Selecting OKAY passes this name (and you) back to the main panel. The WAIT button cancels this page without making any changes. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NOTE: You CANNOT select CHR$(0) (which is used by GEMDOS as a null terminator), CHR$(32) (also used by GEMDOS), CHR$(58) (which is the colon ":" ), CHR$(92) (which is the backslash "\" ) or CHR$(46) (which is the period "." ). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- GEMDOS and/or TOS likes to convert lower case letters into uppercase letters when naming a file. You may therefore NOT be able to use the lowercase letters. I could have gotten around this by writing directly to the FAT (file allocation table) but thought that was too risky. ANY tiny mistake could trash the drive. You can try, and Albion WILL pass the lowercase letters on to GEMDOS/TOS, but they may not "stick". Excluding these exceptions, you STILL have 225 characters with which to work ! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- NOTE: If you'd >>REALLY<< like to use lowercase letters, you can, AT YOUR OWN RISK, use a sector edit to change the characters to lowercase. REALIZE that you ARE messing with the FAT table !!! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- %-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%_%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-% READ THE WARNING AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS TEXT FILE !!! %-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-% EXIT ---- Click on EXIT to quit Albion without any changes. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Albion has a new "buffer clearing" routine which eliminates any memory fragmentation which might occur if it were run as a "resident" DA. This new routine will take about 1.5 seconds longer than the old routine, but will assure that no memory fragmentation occurs. A notice will appear in the "black box" whenever this feature is invoked. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4) THE VOLUME LABEL ---------------- This is the name GEM gives to a disk when it is formatted. Select a drive letter and click on LOCATE VOLUME to see if that disk contains a "volume label". If it does, then the name, or label, will appear on the filename line. You can then change the name of that label and click on the CREATE VOLUME BUTTON to create a new name, or label. CREATE ------ To create a new volume label from scratch, simply select an active drive button, enter a name on the FILENAME line and click on CREATE VOLUME. DELETE ------ You must first HAVE a volume label if you wish to DELETE it. Use the method above to locate the volume label. Then hit the ESC key so that the filename line is blank. Lastly, click on CREATE VOLUME. Albion will interpret a blank line as a request to DELETE a volume label (only). You cannot use use this method to delete selected files. NOTE: Only buttons relevant to the task at hand will be selectable. 5) FOLDERS ------- CREATE ------ Click on this button WITHOUT entering a filename. A description of this feature will appear in the copyright box. Hit any key to proceed through the message. DELETE ------ Click on this button WITHOUT entering a filename. A description of this feature will appear in the copyright box. Hit any key to proceed through the message. You can ONLY delete EMPTY folders. RENAME ------ Click on this button WITHOUT entering a filename. A description of this feature will appear in the copyright box. Hit any key to proceed through the message. You can ONLY rename folders if you have TOS 1.4 or newer. 6) REPOSITIONING ALBION -------------------- To "move" Albion you need only place the mouse arrow cursor OVER the Copyright box. Next click and HOLD DOWN the LEFT mouse button. The arrow will become an open hand and a thin outline will surround Albion. While holding down the LEFT button, move the mouse around the mouse pad. The outline of Albion will follow, indicating it's prospective location. When you are satisfied with the new position, release the button. Albion will then redraw itself at the new location. To "center" Albion merely click on the parent box (the box containing ALL of Albions features). Unless... If you are running Albion as a "resident DA" ( a normal GEM DA ), Albion will memorize it's screen position when you select EXIT. When you call Albion from the GEM Desk menu, Albion will redraw itself at it's previous screen location. Clicking on the "parent" box in this instance will return Albion to its "memorized" position. This will remain in effect until you reboot our computer. NOTE: You CANNOT "center" Albion by clicking between the Okay, Select and Exit buttons. 7) CREDITS ------- FastBits,Thrash & Albion (C) Carl J. Hafner. Thanks to Larry D. Duke for additional TT compatibility and merged .RSC . RSC file written with Digital Researchs Resource Construction Set. GEM is a trademark of Digital Research. TOS is a trademark of Atari Corporation. 8) ABOUT VERSION 1.06 ------------------ Starting with Version 1.06, Albion is FREEWARE ! It STILL remains the property of the author, but there is no fee to use it ! It is also the last planned release of Albion since HeidiSeek now contains ALL of the features of Albion plus ALOT more ! If any bugs are discovered within Albion I WILL release a fix, but I have no plans on adding any new features. ABOUT VERSION 1.07 ------------------ HeidiSeek does NOT currently support extended characters. VERSION HISTORY --------------- 1.07 - Fixes a bug which caused Albion to jump into the menubar, another one which wouldn't "flag" files containing only a single letter and one which set the "read only" flag out of sequence (leading to a crash if you selected "read only" and any other option). Re-enabled "extended characters" and folder options. 1.06 - Adds FormDoIt! compatibility. Improved screen bordering. 1.05 - Adds TT compatibility. Albion "alert boxes" now follow Albion around the screen (GEM alerts still "center" themselves on the screen. This has nothing to do with Albion. You won't see the GEM alerts unless you make a mistake anyway). Resident DA location memorization. Access to "Volume" made easier. New clearing routine averts possible memory fragmentation in "resident" DAs. Made drive "A:\" the default drive. Merged RSC file. 1.0 - Original Version.