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F I L E / A R C H I V E F I L E / A R C H I V E Version 2.00 A file archiving system for ___________________________ IBM PC's and compatibles ________________________ R E F E R E N C E G U I D E R E F E R E N C E G U I D E TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page Topic Page ______________________________________________________________ License Agreement......................3 Introduction...........................4 Getting Started........................6 Chapter 1 General............................9 Chapter 2 Reviewing/Adding Entries..........11 Chapter 3 Analyzing/Archiving Files.........15 Chapter 4 Reviewing/Recalling Archived Files19 Chapter 5 Printing Catalog Report...........21 Chapter 6 Changing Configuration Parameters.22 Chapter 7 Helpful Hints/Suggestions.........26 Appendix A Summary of Keyboard Functions.....30 2 _______________________________________________________________ LICENSE AGREEMENT LICENSE AGREEMENT This product is licensed to you for your personal use or for use in your business or profession. It is copyrighted by Marcor Enterprises, Indianapolis, Indiana which retains ownership and all rights to all materials associated with it. Marcor Enterprises grants you the right to reproduce, distribute and use copies of this software product, subject to the limitations specified below, and on the express condition that you do not receive any payment, commercial benefit, or other consideration for such reproduction or distribution (except for covering your own costs), or change this license agreement or the copyright notices which appear in the software, documentation, and magnetic media. Limitations Limitations You may make and keep one (1) back-up copy of the software for your personal use, provided that (i) you copy all the copyright, trademark, and other information included with this product onto your backup diskette, and (ii) you are a registered user of this product. Also you may distribute copies to other persons, but solely for their evaluation (i.e., to decide whether to continue using the product and therefore register), and provided that you include all copyright notices and material included in the original package. THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AS TO THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AS TO MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, PERFORMANCE, OR MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, PERFORMANCE, OR OTHERWISE. ALL WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. BY USING THIS PRODUCT, OTHERWISE. ALL WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. BY USING THIS PRODUCT, YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER MARCOR ENTERPRISES NOR ANY OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER MARCOR ENTERPRISES NOR ANY OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AFFILIATES, OWNERS, OR OTHER RELATED PARTIES WILL EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AFFILIATES, OWNERS, OR OTHER RELATED PARTIES WILL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE OR BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS PRODUCT, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER WHETHER BASED ON PERFORMANCE OF THIS PRODUCT, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE ARE NOTIFIED OF SUCH POSSIBILITY IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE ARE NOTIFIED OF SUCH POSSIBILITY IN ADVANCE. (SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF ADVANCE. (SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.) APPLY TO YOU.) You may not reverse-engineer, disassemble, modify, decompile or create derivative works of this product. You acknowledge that this product includes certain trade secrets and confidential information, all of which is the copyrighted intellectual property of Marcor Enterprises. All rights are reserved. This product must not be sold or otherwise provided as part of a larger system, or as a part of a more inclusive product or service, without express written consent and licensing from Marcor Enterprises. The rights to receive any such financial or other benefit, and to modify the product 3 _______________________________________________________________ or employ its components in any kind of derivative work, are reserved exclusively by Marcor Enterprises. This license and your right to use this product is terminated if you fail to comply with any of the terms or conditions of this license agreement. Marcor Enterprises 8857 Commerce Park Place Suite D Indianapolis, Indiana 46268 (317) 876-9376 Copyright (C) 1989-90, Marcor Enterprises IBM and IBM PC are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. 4 _______________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION File/Archive is a system to help you with the increasingly complex job of managing your data and the computer resources they consume. There is an old axiom that says "The demand for resources will always grow to meet (and exceed) the resources available". Computers are a classic example of the truism of this saying. No matter how much additional memory a computer gets, the programs get more sophisticated and use up that memory. The same is true of disk storage capacity. The cost per character of storage keeps falling, the capacity of disks - hard disks in particular - keeps growing, and you just keep putting more and more data on them. Before you know it, you have so many files, you can't keep track of them, and the job of getting rid of old files becomes a major headache. Sometimes it seems easier to just buy another or bigger disk than it is to continually try to clean out "old stuff". Unfortunately, this is not at all cost effective - like being "penny wise and pound foolish". File/Archive solves this problem. It will periodically scan your files, and, based on criteria you previously established, automatically select those files that appear to be no longer "active". You can store a lot of data on diskettes for the cost of one hard disk. The trick is in having a process in place that will do it systematically, automatically, and, most of all, keep track of it all. File/Archive doesn't know exactly how you use each of your files, but it can pick out files like text files, spreadsheets, documents, etc. that haven't been used in a long time. And it has a wide range of criteria it can use to find those files that are probably no longer active. It can show you the information about them and let you decide whether you still need them in your "active" storage area. You don't do this exercise every day, but neither do you wait for a year to pass. You can do it as often or as infrequently as you like, and all automatically. When you are shown a file that you don't routinely need, but also don't want to erase, you just say "Archive it". File/Archive will then automatically transfer it to a diskette and keep a record of what has happened. Some time in the future, when you need that file, File/Archive will tell you where it is, go get it, and put it back on your hard disk. It's that simple! Anti-Virus Guard Anti-Virus Guard File/Archive has a special feature which detects the possible presence of a computer virus. Every time you start either of the programs it performs this check if you have started the program from the drive and directory where the program resides. If you start it from a different directory (such as from the root directory and execute the program by entering FILARC\FA), the check is not performed. If everything appears to be in order, a small checkmark is displayed in the lower left corner of the main menu. If something is wrong, a small "x" will flash at that location. Should this happen, you should compare the program size and date/time stamps with the original program on the distribution disk. You should be 5 _______________________________________________________________ able to correct the situation by replacing the suspect program with the original. 6 _______________________________________________________________ GETTING STARTED GETTING STARTED File/Archive may be installed on your hard disk using the automatic procedure provided. It assumes that your hard disk is drive C: and will install the system in a sub-directory called FILARC. It gives you the install the system in a sub-directory called FILARC. It gives you the opportunity to override these parameters if you wish. It will also create opportunity to override these parameters if you wish. It will also create two batch files in the root directory of drive C:, but, again, will give you the opportunity to override this. It will not install either of these you the opportunity to override this. It will not install either of these files if either one already exists. files if either one already exists. Installing File/Archive Installing File/Archive 1. Place the distribution disk in Drive A. Set the current or default drive to A: Note: The distribution disk you receive is probably a 5.25 inch diskette unless the distributor it came from offers 3.5 inch diskettes. If your A: drive is a 3.5 inch drive and you have a B: drive for 5.25 inch diskettes, you can put this distribution disk in the B: drive and copy all the files to a newly formatted disk in your A: drive by entering COPY B:*.* A:. entering COPY B:*.* A:. You could also enter, at the DOS prompt: ASSIGN A=B. This will cause You could also enter, at the DOS prompt: ASSIGN A=B. This will cause all references to drive A: in the installation procedure to act on drive B:. If you do this, be sure to reset these values when you are done by entering ASSIGN and pressing enter. Refer to your DOS manual done by entering ASSIGN and pressing enter. Refer to your DOS manual on the ASSIGN command. 2. Type INSTALL and press ENTER You can also specify your own parameters initially by entering INSTALL You can also specify your own parameters initially by entering INSTALL x: name where "x" is the name of the drive you wish to use and "name" x: name where "x" is the name of the drive you wish to use and "name" is the name of the directory you wish to use. 3. A menu of instructions will appear telling you about the directory that will be built. If you wish to use a different drive letter or directory name, you should press Ctl-Break and reply "Yes" to the question "Terminate batch job?" Then re-enter INSTALL with your own question "Terminate batch job?" Then re-enter INSTALL with your own parameters as described above. 4. When the system has been installed, another screen of instructions will appear before the batch files are installed. Again, you will be given an opportunity to interrupt or cancel the installation and supply your own parameters. To run the batch file procedure independently, set the current drive and directory to where File/Archive was installed, Then enter INSTBAT and directory to where File/Archive was installed, Then enter INSTBAT x: name where "x" is the drive to be used and "name" is the name of the x: name where "x" is the drive to be used and "name" is the name of the directory where the File/Archive system was installed. 7 _______________________________________________________________ The batch files which will be built are: FAM.BAT FA.BAT This procedure will not run if either of these files already exists in This procedure will not run if either of these files already exists in ____ your root directory. your root directory. These batch files are not absolutely required if you wish to use your own technique for running the system. 5. Once the system has been installed you should add FA to your 5. Once the system has been installed you should add FA to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This way, File/Archive will automatically determine AUTOEXEC.BAT file. This way, File/Archive will automatically determine whether any files should be examined for possible archiving. If no analysis is necessary, it will return directly to DOS. 6. File/Archive is distributed with configuration parameters which tell it to run in black & white. By choosing the Configuration Menu from the Master Menu, you can change the system to operate in color. You may select any color you wish for foreground, background, border, highlighting, and emphasized characters. See Chapter 7, Changing Configuration Parameters. TECHNICAL NOTES TECHNICAL NOTES File/Archive operates on IBM personal computers and on IBM compatible computers. It requires DOS vers 2.1 or later, 256K of memory, and, obviously, a hard disk is recommended. A printer is optional (for printing the archive catalog). When File/Archive is run, the current directory must be set to the directory where the programs reside. (The installation procedure takes care of this automatically.) 8 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 1 Chapter 1 General General All of the functions of File/Archive are accessed from the Master Menu which appears when you run program FAM.EXE. In addition, you may include the optional parameters CHK and ALL. When you add entries for Directories to be analyzed, one of the pieces of information you specify is how often you want them scanned. Similarly, in the Configuration Menu, you can specify how often you want File/Archive to even look at the directories. If you include the parameter CHK when you first begin the program (e.g. FA CHK), File/Archive will look at all the directory entries regardless of what is in the configuration parameter, but it will still only display the directories that should be analyzed. (When you run the master menu program, FAM.EXE and select Analyze/Archive Files, it will always look at the entries just as if you had entered the CHK parameter.) If you start either program with the ALL parameter (e.g. FAM ALL or FA ALL), then all directory entries will be displayed, regardless of when they were last analyzed. File/Archive will not necessarily look at every directory in your computer. It will only look at those directories for which you have made an entry from the Add Directory Menu. The independent archive program, FA.EXE, performs the same functions as the Analyze/Archive Files option on the Master Menu. If you choose not to use the operating procedures provided on the distribution disk, be sure that the current directory is the same directory where the programs are located; File/Archive looks in its own directory for the control information it needs. While the Master Menu is being displayed, you can press Alt-V and a special menu will be displayed which shows the current version of File/Archive as well as the serial number of your system. Pressing any key will return you to the Master Menu. If, for any reason you need to contact us for assistance, you should have this information available. To select a particular function, you either use the cursor keys to highlight the desired line and press Enter, or you can simply press the highlighted letter of the desired option. 9 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Reviewing/Adding Entries Reviewing/Adding Entries Adding/Modifying Entries Adding/Modifying Entries Selecting this option from the Master Menu allows you to review all existing directory entries, make changes to them, and add new ones. Naturally this is the first step in originally setting up the system for your particular computer. When you select the Add option on this menu, you will see the menu for specifying a directory to be analyzed for archiving files. All of the required fields of information are already filled in. They are taken from the default information in the configuration file. All these default values can be changed to anything you wish in the Configuration Menu. See Chapter 7, Changing Configuration Parameters. The first item on the menu is the name of the directory to analyze. Here you enter the complete path to the directory you want as well as it's name. You must follow the same rules required by DOS including the "\" character. Do not put a "\" at the end of the name. Example: C:\SALES\REGION\SLSFORCE Any time you make an entry in any of the fields on this menu, the field is highlighted to show you a change is pending. When you press the Enter key, the new information is accepted and the highlight is removed. If you press Esc, the field is restored to its original value and the highlight is removed. The next ten fields allow you to specify some rules about the kinds of files you want File/Archive to look for or specifically ignore. With the cursor on any of these ten lines, function key F2 will toggle between Include and Exclude for that line. If you press the Enter key on the first line without entering anything, File/Archive will automatically insert "*.*". It will not allow you to have both "*.*" and Exclude since this would tell the system "Don't look at anything"; nor will it allow you to specify Exclude with an empty line. The wildcard characters "*" and "?" can be used just like they are in DOS file specifications. Refer to your DOS reference manual for more information on wildcard characters. By using up to ten different combinations of file specifications and Include/Exclude options, you have an extremely broad range of determining what files are considered candidates for archiving. File/Archive follows a specific set of steps when applying these rules. First it selects files that match all the rules for inclusion, and then it removes from that list those files which match the rules for exclusion. If you specify one or more rules for inclusion and don't have "*.*" specified, then ONLY files which match those rules will be considered. Files are then excluded from 10 _______________________________________________________________ that list according to the exclusion rules you have specified. Similarly, if the ONLY rules you specify are for exclusion, then all files will be treated first as though they were included and then excluded if they match any of the exclusion rules. Note that with this flexibility, it is also possible to end up with either redundant or contradictory selection rules. For example: if you entered Include ABC?.DOC on the first line and Exclude A??*.DOC on the second line, then no files ending in .DOC would ever be selected. Similarly, putting Include *.* on the first line and Include ABC*.DOC on the second line would be redundant. If you have directories that contain both programs and data, you might want to exclude *.EXE or *.COM or include only *.DOC or *.TXT, etc. When File/Archive archives a file, it creates a special directory on the disk where the file will be stored. This accommodates the remote possibility that identically named files in identically named directories from different disks might be archived to the same disk. Since you can name this archive directory, you can avoid possible problems when trying to archive two files that have the same name but contain different data. File/Archive initially sets this default value to ARCHIVE, but you can change it to anything you want. You can also change the default name to anything you want by selecting the Change Configuration Menu from the Master Menu. See Chapter 7, Changing Configuration Parameters. We recommend you establish an organized method of naming (labeling) disks that will hold archive files. File/Archive allows you to use wildcard characters in the same way you can in selecting files. This means that the files for any given directory can be archived to a series of disks. For example, if you specify a label of ARC-1-*, then File/Archive will accept ARC-1-01, ARC-1-02, ARC-1-03, etc. Of course, at the time you actually archive a file, you can override the label selection if you wish. Function key F10 is used to display additional parameters in checking a directory and selecting files to be archived. First is the analysis interval - how often do you want File/Archive to even look at the directory? You can select months or days with function key F2. Next is the age of the file - how long it's been since it was last changed. When File/Archive analyzes files for possible archiving, it compares the date of the file with the current system date, and, if the age doesn't meet this criterion, the file is not selected. Finally it considers the archive flag. All files in DOS contain a flag which is turned on whenever the file is changed. When or if that file is backed up using the DOS BACKUP program, that flag is turned off. Likewise, any of the commercially available backup utilities that are well written will also turn this flag off. If you employ a regimen of regularly backing up your files, then, if this flag is on, it means the file has been changed since it was last backed up. Therefore it is probably an active file and not a candidate for archiving. If you choose Exclude on this line by pressing F2, then File/Archive will not select any file if this flag is on. If, however, you select Include, then File/Archive will not pay any 11 _______________________________________________________________ attention to it - that is, it will consider it an archive candidate whether the flag is on or off (depending on the other selection criteria). Pressing either F10 again or the Esc key will close this window. When you have finished entering or changing all the information, press Esc. If changes have been made, you will be asked whether you want to save this record or continue. If you respond yes or no, you will be returned either to the Selection Menu or the Directories List, depending on how you got to this menu. Pressing "C" for Continue will simply allow you to continue entering or changing data. Listing Entries Listing Entries Choosing this option from the Selection Menu will simply display all the directories you have previously entered into the File/Archive system. If you have several pages of data, you can use the PgDn and PgUp keys in addition to the directional keys to point to different directories. You can also use Ctl-Home and Ctl-End to move to the beginning or end of the list. Function key F2 will select a directory for modification using the menu described above. Only one directory can be "selected" at any given time. F10 flags a directory for deletion when you return to the Master Menu and F9 will cause the entire list to be re-sorted in alphabetical order. When you select an item for modification using F2, you are immediately presented with the Modify Menu described above. When you return to the File List, that item is shown as "Selected". If you press the Enter key, you will be returned again to the Modify Menu for that item. If you press Escape, any selections will be cancelled and you are returned to the Selection Menu for Review/Modify. 12 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Analyzing/Archiving Files Analyzing/Archiving Files Directory List Directory List File/Archive displays all of the directories that should be analyzed based on the interval of months or days you specified when you first made the entry. If you choose this option from the Master Menu, all the directories will be examined for their respective analysis intervals. If you run the independent analysis program FA.EXE, the configuration analysis interval is first checked, and, if the specified time has not elapsed, the directories are not even looked at, and you are returned immediately to DOS. Because of this feature, you can put FA in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and File/Archive will make a preliminary check every time you turn on your computer. However, it will only begin an analysis as often as you want it to, whether it's every few days or several months. This way you don't have to remember to archive files - it's done for you automatically. As explained in Chapter 1, you can always force File/Archive to look at the directories or display all the directories by adding the parameters CHK or ALL when you start the program. Function key F2 selects or unselects a directory for analysis of files in that directory. The normal condition is for all of them to be selected. If you started the program with the parameter ALL, then all directories in the system are displayed, but only those that or due for analysis are preset to "Sel". By pressing the letter "A" you can signal to File/Archive that you want to see every file in the directory regardless of whether it that you want to see every file in the directory regardless of whether it is a candidate for archiving. Pressing Esc will either return you to the Master Menu or to DOS. Pressing the Enter key will begin the analysis of the first selected directory. If you press the Enter key and there are no directories selected, the program reminds you of this and asks if this is what you intended. If you respond yes (Y), then the program simply ends; if you say no (N), it returns you to the Directory List. Both in this list and in the file list described below, you can scroll through the listed items using the cursor keys, Home/End keys to move to the top or bottom of the current display, PgUp/PgDn to scroll an entire screen, or Ctl-Home/Ctl-End to move to the beginning or end of the entire list. Archive Candidates Archive Candidates Depending on whether you set the "Show all files" option on the previous screen, this screen shows those files which are candidates to archive. File/Archive does not automatically archive any files. Rather, it looks for files that appear to be inactive according to the rules you have established. It shows you the same information that a DOS directory listing does (name, size, and date) plus the file attributes. These 13 _______________________________________________________________ attributes are r (Read Only), a (Archive), s (System), and h (Hidden). Normally files with r, s, or h attributes will never be shown, but, if you wish, you can set an option in the Configuration Menu so that they can be displayed. However, File/Archive will not allow you to archive or delete any files with these attributes (r, s, h) since moving these types of files could seriously damage or render unusable the applications with which they are associated. If you attempt to select one of these files for archiving, or to delete it, File/Archive will sound a "beep" indicating that this is not allowed. (Remember that the Archive attribute does not mean "archive" in the same sense that File/Archive uses the word. The Archive attribute assigned by DOS means that the file has been changed since it was last backed up.) For more information on file attributes, refer to your DOS reference manual. Notice that this screen also shows you which directory you are currently looking at as well as a preview of what disk will be asked for if you do archive any of these files. If you press the Enter key without selecting any files, you are reminded that nothing has been selected and asked if this is what you intended. If you respond "Y" (or press the Enter key), then you are returned to the Directory List. If you respond "N" (or press Esc), then you are returned to the File Archive List. If you respond "Y" to this question, File/Archive now considers this directory to have been analyzed, and will not display it again unless you force it to with the "ALL" parameter or until the analysis interval has elapsed. If you leave this screen by pressing Esc and you have not archived any files, then the analysis date is not updated. Use function key F2 to select or unselect a file for archiving. Function key F10 gives you the opportunity to delete a file rather than archive it. Pressing F10 merely flags the file for deletion. If you leave this menu by pressing Esc, and there are files flagged for deletion, they will not be deleted. You must specifically ask for a file to be deleted. To do this, press the Enter key while the flagged file is highlighted. File/Archive will then ask you to confirm the request before deleting the file. If a file appears on the screen and you aren't sure what it is, you can press "V" to view the contents of the file. Use the up and down arrow keys, PgDn, PgUp, Ctl-Home, and Ctl-End to move around the file. If any of the lines are wider than the screen you can use the left and right keys, Home, or End to shift the display sideways. Press Enter or Esc to return to the list of archive candidates. Archiving Files Archiving Files File/Archive first pauses to tell you which disk it expects and in which drive (normally A:) Put the appropriate disk in the correct drive and press Enter. If the label doesn't match what you have earlier said it should be, File/Archive will pause again and ask if you want to proceed or change disks. It also gives you the opportunity to relabel the disk if you wish. If necessary, File/Archive will create directories in your target 14 _______________________________________________________________ archive disk that match the directory path to the file being archived. If there isn't enough room on the disk to hold all the files you have selected, it will tell you how many additional disks you will need. It selected, it will tell you how many additional disks you will need. It does this in terms of "equivalent" disks according to the size specified in the configuration data - 320KB, 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB, or 10MB. Refer to Chapter 7, Changing Configuration Parameters. When there is no longer enough room on the disk to hold the next file to be archived, File/Archive pauses and asks you to insert another disk. It then goes through the same label checking procedures as when you began the archiving process. When calculating the remaining space on the disk receiving archived files, it uses the actual capacity of the disk, not the "equivalent" size specified in the configuration data. Note: Do not attempt to archive a file which is larger than the entire archive disk (such as a 400K file when you are using 360K disks). File/Archive will not split files across multiple disks, so if you tried this, it would continually prompt you to insert a new disk. When all of the selected files in the directory have been archived, File/Archive proceeds to analyze the files in the next selected directory and the whole process is repeated. When the last selected directory is processed, you are automatically returned to the Master Menu or to DOS. Note: If, for any reason, File/Archive is interrupted while you are in the Note: If, for any reason, File/Archive is interrupted while you are in the process of archiving files, the catalog of archived files will not accurately report on those files which were successfully archived during the session which was interrupted. This could happen, for example, due to a power failure. While the system is archiving files, it records its activity in an intermediate file called FATRX.MRE. Then, when it is all done, it uses this file to update the catalog. When the catalog has been updated, this transaction file is deleted. (It works this way to minimize the time required to actually archive files.) If you should experience an interruption, you can simply re-run program FA.EXE (with the CHK option) or program FAM.EXE and select the Analyze Files option. The program will detect the presence of the transaction file and will automatically update the catalog when you exit the function. File/Archive never removes a file from its original location until after it has been successfully relocated to the archive destination and recorded in this intermediate file, so you can't lose any data. 15 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Reviewing/Recalling Archived Files Reviewing/Recalling Archived Files This screen displays all the files that are in the archive catalog. You can merely review the list, delete entries from the catalog along with the actual files on the archive disks, recall files to their original source (or any other location), or copy them to a new location (i.e. leave them in the archive). This process works very much like the archiving process but in reverse. You use F2 to select a file for recall and F10 to delete a file from the archive. If you request that a file be recalled from the archive, File/Archive first checks that the directory path from which the file was originally archived still exists; if not, it recreates the directory path. If the path is still there, but now a file with the same name exists, you are asked for permission to replace it. When a file is successfully recalled from the archive, it is removed from the catalog and the archive disk. The files are initially presented on the screen in alphabetical order by file and the original directory path of that file. By pressing F9, you can ask that the files be re-sorted into file within directory sequence or in archive disk/label sequence. If you re-sort the file, you can re-sort it back into file/path sequence using the same F9 key. In order to remove (delete) a file from the archive, you first flag it by pressing F10 and then pressing Enter while that file is highlighted. You will be asked to confirm the request by pressing Enter or cancel the request by pressing Esc. (If you leave this menu by pressing Esc while a file is just flagged for deletion, it will not be deleted.) When you confirm the deletion, File/Archive prompts you to insert the appropriate disk to verify the existence of the file; it then deletes the file and the catalog entry. If the file isn't there, you are offered an opportunity to try another disk. Remember, the file to be deleted must be in the same archive directory path as the file that was originally archived. Normally this is transparent to you. If you press Esc, indicating that you don't want to search any more disks, you are asked if you want to delete the directory entry. Simply reply yes or no by pressing Y or N. When you have selected files to be recalled (using F2), press Enter, and the system will pause to tell you the drive and disk label where it will expect to find the file. At this point you have an opportunity to make two other requests. You can ask that the archived file simply be copied back to its original location (i.e. left in the archive) by pressing F2. Repeated use of this key just switches back and forth between Copy and Recall. You can also ask that the archived file be recalled or copied to another drive and/or path by pressing F10. When you do this, the target path will be highlighted, and you can enter any valid drive/path. Press Enter to accept the new target location or press Esc to restore the path to 16 _______________________________________________________________ its original value. You can then proceed with the recall by pressing Enter. Caution: File/Archive will edit this path for conforming to the Enter. Caution: File/Archive will edit this path for conforming to the rules of a directory path, but not the actual contents. If you are intending to recall the file to an existing directory path, but misspell part of it, File/Archive will create a new path according to what you have entered. Unlike the archiving process, File/Archive pauses after processing each file to give you an opportunity to change the copy/recall option or the target path option. If you don't want to make any changes, press Enter to continue or Esc to return to the archive catalog list. Once all the files have been processed, you are automatically returned to the Master Menu. 17 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Printing Catalog Report Printing Catalog Report You can get a printed report of the catalog by selecting this option from the Master Menu. As in the Recall Menu, you can ask that the report be sequenced in three different ways - File sequence, Path/File sequence, and Archive Disk/Label sequence - i.e., grouped according the name of the disk where the files are currently located. You can select any combination of reports you want by pressing F2 to select the highlighted line or pressing the first letter of the line desired. You can also direct the system to send the report to a file or view it on- screen by pressing F9. If you choose to view it on-screen, the report(s) will first be created in a file and displayed on the screen. Thus, with either of these choices, you can print the file at a later time or use a utility program to view the report on the screen. The information in the report is basically the same as that displayed when you select the Recall/Review menu. If you choose to have the report sent to a file, it will be put in a file called FILARC.PRN in the current directory. At any time during the creation of the report, you can interrupt the program by pressing the space bar, or you can cancel the printing by pressing Esc. If you suspend printing, the system pauses and asks you to either press Enter to resume printing or press Esc to cancel the printing and return you to the Print Selection Menu. 18 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Changing Configuration Parameters Changing Configuration Parameters When you select this option from the Master Menu, you are first presented a Selection Menu to change either the color combinations or various default parameters. Either use the arrow keys to point to one of the options and press Enter, or press the first letter of the option you want. Pressing Esc will return you to the Master Menu. If you have made any changes to the configuration parameters, you are first asked if you want to save them by pressing Enter (yes) or Esc (no). If you press Esc, you will be returned to the Selection Menu. Selecting Colors Selecting Colors File/Archive uses "normal" foreground and background colors for routine text and "highlighted" colors for pointing to current selections and for showing pending changes to data. It uses "emphasized" color when additional information is displayed. With the highlight bar on a given line, use F3 and F4 to select foreground and background colors respectively. You can also press shift-F3 and shift-F4 to cycle backwards through the various colors. (Note: you cannot assign a separate background color on the "emphasized" line.) F2 is used to switch between color and monochrome. In monochrome mode, the color keys select different combinations of white, bright white, and black. F9 selects border colors. Function key F10 displays a window with its respective colors. Use the same keys as above to select the various window colors. Press either Enter, F10, or Esc to close the window. If you have made changes to the window colors, pressing Escape will also cancel those changes. If you press Esc while the window is closed (not being displayed), then all the colors will be reset to what they were when you first selected this menu. If you press Escape again, you will be returned to the Selection Menu. To accept the changes you have made, press the Enter key. You will then be asked to confirm the changes before being returned to the Selection Menu. Setting Default Parameters Setting Default Parameters This screen lets you tell File/Archive various things you want it to use as default values. Any time you enter data, the field is highlighted until you accept the new information by pressing the Enter key. If you change your mind, just press Esc and the field will be reset to its original value. 19 _______________________________________________________________ On the first line you tell File/Archive how often you want it to look at its directory entries for possible archiving analysis. Enter the number of days or months and use F2 to cycle between days and months. The date shows when the directories were last looked at and, if you wish, you can change it to something else. However, you cannot enter a future date. The third line allows you to preset all the default values when you add a directory entry to the master file. When you press the space bar, you are shown a menu which is just like the Add/Modify Menu. Whatever you set up here will be presented on the initial screen when you later go to the Add Menu for adding a directory entry. All the same rules apply here as in the Add/Modify Menu and are explained in the Add/Modify portion of Chapter 2. This set of default values, in effect, sets up a sort of "dummy" record which the system uses whenever it needs default information. The Write Verify Option is selected using the space bar; it is either yes or no. DOS has a command called VERIFY ON/OFF. When DOS is initially started (when you turn on your computer), this option is always off. If VERIFY is turned on, then every time DOS writes data on a disk, it reads back the same data to verify that it was correctly written. Naturally this slows down all disk writing operations. Normally your computer equipment is reliable enough that this is unnecessary. However if you have experienced problems in this area, or have extremely critical data, you may choose to have this option turned on. This option in File/Archive allows you to set this verification option on or off just for archiving or recalling files. If you leave the option set to its default value (No), then File/Archive will not change the setting in DOS regardless of whether the DOS option is on or off. If you turn it on (Yes), then File/Archive will turn the verification option on when it archives or recalls files. In this situation, if the DOS option was off when you started File/Archive, then File/Archive will turn the option on when it archives or recalls any files, and will then turn it back off when it ends. If this option is set on and the DOS option is already on, then this option has no effect. The fifth line allows you to indicate whether you want hidden, system, and read-only files to be displayed when File/Archive selects files that might be candidates for archiving. Normally this option should be off (No) - meaning that the system will never display a file with these attributes. These kinds of files should never be moved or changed except by the application which created them. However, if you want to see these files, you can turn the option on (set it to Yes) by pressing the space bar. When you turn this option on, then IF the other selection criteria are met, a file with any of these attributes will be displayed along with other files. NOTE, however, File/Archive will not allow you to archive or delete these files. This option is made available for informational purposes only. If you really want to do something with these files, you must use the application with which they are associated or some other file management utility. 20 _______________________________________________________________ When you archive files, File/Archive checks the amount of space remaining on the archive disk. If you are going to need more disks, File/Archive tells you how many additional disks you will need. The disk size parameter on this screen lets you tell File/Archive what disk size you want it to use for this calculation so the information will be more meaningful to you. Use the space bar to select the various sizes and press the Enter key to accept your choice. The choices are 320KB, 360KB, 720KB, 1.2MB, 1.44MB, and 10MB. (The latter choice is in case you use a hard disk for archiving.) The last configuration option on this screen allows you to reassign function keys. Since the 101-key AT-style keyboards have function keys physically located differently from the original PC-style keyboard, you may prefer to have different keys perform the various functions defined in File/Archive. The first line simply shows a reference to the original ten keys F1-F10. The next line shows how they are currently defined, and the third line is where you can specify new values. Use the direction keys or Tab key to move to different key areas on the line and enter a number 1-9 and 0 to represent keys 1-10. When you have the definitions re-assigned the way you want, press Enter, and the new definitions will take effect. Naturally, File/Archive will not allow you to specify redundant key definitions. At any time prior to returning to the Master Menu, you can return to this menu and cancel any changes you have made by pressing F10. If you haven't made any changes and still press this key, the computer will beep as a way of telling you there aren't any changes to reset. 21 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Helpful Hints/Suggestions Helpful Hints/Suggestions The following comments are intended for people who are not very familiar with using directories and batch files as a way to simplify the management of large amounts of data on a hard disk. Prudent use of directories and sub-directories can be a great help in managing data on a hard disk. If you don't understand directories very well, think of them as being file folders in a file drawer where the file drawer is your hard disk. (Or the file drawer might represent a first level directory where the hard disk is like an entire file cabinet.) In this way, you can organize data files according to subject matter or in any way you wish. Another thing to remember is that two different files could have the same name when they are in different directories even though they contain different data. For example, you could have sales data files representing different sales regions that are all named the same if they are in sales region sub-directories all under a higher level directory called SALES. Whether this is a good idea for you depends on how you use your data. Another possibility is to set up directories according to the kind of software you use. Many software products allow you to store data in different sub-directories. For example, you might have a spreadsheet program in a directory called SPREAD, and all your spreadsheet files in a sub-directory under SPREAD called FILES, or in more than one sub-directory like WORK and HOME. The value in directories lies in the ability to keep similar types of files in their own "compartment" and avoid having hundreds or even thousands of files in one place. On the other hand, it's just as easy to have so many combinations of directories that the directories themselves become a nuisance. For more information on directories, refer to your DOS manual on a general explanation of directories, and on commands such as MD (make a directory), RD (remove a directory), and CD (change the current directory). When you use directories to contain different applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet program, and an accounting program, "batch files" and the DOS PATH command can greatly simplify getting to those applications. Batch files are nothing other than simple files that contain a series of DOS commands. Imagine that you have a file called GO.BAT; when you type in GO and press Enter, DOS looks for a program called GO (GO.EXE or GO.COM). If it doesn't find such a "file" in the current directory, it looks for a file called GO.BAT. When it finds such a file, it reads the file expecting to find a string of DOS commands in it, which it will then 22 _______________________________________________________________ execute automatically. If it doesn't find a batch file, it starts searching in other directories specified in it's PATH parameter. The PATH command simply gives DOS alternate places to look for a program or a batch file when it doesn't exist in the current directory. As a simple example, you could enter PATH=C:\;C:\BATCH. This tells DOS: when someone enters GO, and it can't find it in the current directory, go look in the root directory of drive C:. If it's not there, then go look in the directory on drive C: called BATCH. If it still can't find it, then it will "give up" and display the familiar message "Bad command or File name". Now, suppose you create a directory called BATCH, and in that directory, you create a file called SS.BAT (for Spreadsheet). In that file, you enter a series of DOS commands (with each command being on a different line - i.e. a different record in the file). These commands might be as follows: ECHO OFF don't display the following commands on the screen C: set the current drive to C: CD \SSDIR make SSDIR the current directory SPREAD start the spreadsheet program CLS when done, clear the screen CD \ make the root directory current and return to the DOS command line (When this batch file "ends", the ECHO OFF is automatically turned back on.) With this setup, no matter where you are on the disk, in terms of which directory is "current", any time you enter SS, DOS will find the batch file SS.BAT in the directory called BATCH (as long as it doesn't find a program called SS first), and will execute your spreadsheet program called SPREAD.COM or SPREAD.EXE. When you are finished, it will clear the screen (in case the spreadsheet program doesn't already do it automatically), return you to the root directory of drive C:, and re-display the DOS command line prompt. (This preceding process is generally what menuing programs do, but of course, that's just a one step higher level of automation.) Your DOS reference manual contains information on how to create and edit batch files. Also, if you're not already familiar with the special batch file, AUTOEXEC.BAT, you should read about it in the DOS manual. It's a good place to put things like the PATH command. If you make use of these kinds of tools, it becomes a very easy task to separate your programs from your data files. Normally you aren't interested in archiving programs, so this is just another way of keeping them out of the picture. Of course File/Archive also lets you exclude programs from analysis, so you can set things up in whatever way you like best. 23 _______________________________________________________________ Problems/Suggestions Problems/Suggestions If you encounter problems in using File/Archive or have suggestions for improvements that you would like to see incorporated into the system, please write Marcor Enterprises, 8857 Commerce Park Place, Suite D, Indianapolis, IN, 46268 or call (317) 876-9376. 24 _______________________________________________________________ APPENDIX A APPENDIX A Summary of Keyboard Functions Summary of Keyboard Functions Escape When a text field is being changed, it is highlighted until the Enter key is pressed. During this time, Esc will generally "undo" the changes and restore the field to it's previous value. At other times Esc will generally return you to the previous menu. When a message is displayed asking for a yes/no response, Esc is equivalent to "no". Enter Generally accepts current changes that are pending or proceeds to the next menu. When a message is displayed asking for a yes/no response, Enter is equivalent to "yes". Function keys: F2 Generally selects/unselects various options. Cycles between months/days and include/exclude on selective options in the Add/Modify Menu and the Configuration Menu. Cycles between Copy and Recall when preparing to recall a file. Cycles between color and B/W in the Color Selection Menu. F3/F4 Selects foreground and background colors in the Configuration Menu according to the line that is highlighted. F9 Sorts the entries in the Archive Selection Menu, the Review/Recall Menu, and the Directory Entry List. F9 (Contd) Erases a field entry in the Add/Modify Menu. Directs output in the Print Catalog Menu to the printer or to an ASCII file. Selects border colors in the Configuration Menu. F10 Opens/closes a window containing archive selection criteria in the Add/Modify Menu. Allows you to specify your own drive/path when preparing to recall or copy a file from the archive catalog. Flags an entry for deletion in the Directory List, the Archive Selection List, and the Recall/Review Catalog List. 25 _______________________________________________________________ Opens/closes a window for window color selection in the Configuration Menu. Cursor Keys (Up, Down, Left, Right): Moves between lines or options in various menus or left and right when editing text. Home/End: Moves to top or bottom of screen in multiple page displays. Moves to beginning or end of text fields during editing. Ctl-Home/End: Moves to beginning or end of list in multiple page displays. PageUp/PageDn: Pages to previous or next page in multiple page displays. Insert: Turns insert flag on/off when editing fields. Backspace, Delete: Aids in editing fields.