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- MASDIR - The MASter DIRectory System
- Description of new features in Version 4.3
- ************************************************************
- Special Offer--FREE LABELS--See Below
-
- The main enhancement is printing directory labels for 3.5"
- disks. This is controlled by the 3 and 5 options--3 for 3.5"
- disks and 5 for 5.25" disks. On the command line you can enter
- either /3 or /5 to prepare SDL to print the style of label you
- want. The Print Options menu is brought up by entering either P
- or R from the menu, or /P or /R on the command line. From this
- menu you can select, or change your selection, by pressing either
- 3 or 5 as appropriate. The default 3.5" disk form depth is set
- for the 2-3/4" labels that wrap around the top of the disk. The
- setup program permits setting it for the 2" labels that do not
- wrap. The default is set for the 5.25" labels, so use the 3 or
- /3 option to get 3.5" labels, or change it with SDLSETUP.
-
- There is also a new W or /W option that will list the files in
- sort order across the Width of the screen vice down the columns.
- When printing a 3.5" disk label this is the only method of list-
- ing file names that is available, but for listing on the screen
- or on a 5" label you can choose by toggling with W or /W.
-
- Another new feature is the option to set the cluster size for
- the total bytes. Since 1.2Mb and 1.44Mb disks use 1-sector
- clusters, the default rounding up of the file size total in 1Kb
- increments is not accurate for these disks (or for hard disks).
- A new /B (for Bytes) command line option is available to adjust
- for the number of kilobytes per cluster. /B1 (the default) for 1
- Kb (2 sectors) per cluster as on 360k and 720k diskettes, /B for
- .5 Kb (1 sector) per cluster as on 1.2Mb and 1.44Mb diskettes,
- and /Bn, n=2-8 for hard disks as appropriate where n indicates
- the number of Kb per cluster. This option is only available on
- the command line, but SDLSETUP is able to set the default as
- desired. Note that /Bnothing (or /Banything other than 1-8) drops
- to 1 sector per cluster, and /B1 is the same as the current de-
- fault. The number, if used, must immediately follow the B with
- no spaces.
-
- A few notes about 3.5" disk labels: (For convenience the labels
- and disks will be referred to as 3" and 5".)
-
- Until actual printing is started the screen display will be the
- normal display. If 3" disk label or Insert printing is selected,
- each line of the display will be split to fit the 2-3/4" width of
- the label. Thus, a 2 column screen display will result in a 1
- column 3" disk label, a 4 column screen display will be a 2
- column label, and a 6 column screen display will be a 3 column
- label. The 2, 4, and 6 selections remain unchanged for either
- type of label. To keep the file names sorted properly, the W op-
- tion will automatically be invoked during the printing of labels
- for 3" disks.
-
- -2-
-
- The R print option is not affected by the label setting, but the
- File option is. You can use this to create a directory catalog
- file with space for your own comments after each file name.
-
- When entering titles for 3" labels, each line will be split after
- the 40th character. The vertical bar indicates the position of
- the last character that goes on the first line of the split. The
- next character after the bar will start the second line of the
- split. If you need to see the effect of the split on the screen
- before printing use the File option and create a temporary file
- that can be erased later or specify the NUL output device which
- gives no output at all but does show the screen display. Then
- "what you see is what you get". When it is what you want you can
- select the print mode.
-
- FREE LABELS! With each registration of Version 4.3 you may
- select ONE (1) FREE unit of labels from the ORDER FORM. Just write
- FREE in the Amount column. You must include the $2 handling fee
- with any label order, FREE or not. This offer may be retracted
- or changed at any time. Units are either 100 or 50 labels as
- indicated in the Quantity column of the Order Form.
-
- ************************************************************
- Review of new features introduced in Version 4.2
-
- Use of the PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys. These keys can be
- very useful for paging backward and forward through large direc-
- tories. Pressing the PgUp key will redisplay the previous
- screen. This can also be used on the first screen to eliminate
- the header completely and display up to 144 filenames on one
- screen. B for Back will also work. PgDn pages to the next screen
- the same as C, End ends the display the same as Esc, and Home
- returns to the first screen--similar to pressing C at the end menu,
- but Home can also be used for this purpose at the intermediate
- menu. To quickly get to the end of the listing, press the '-' key.
-
- Reverse sorting. The '-' character is the symbol to sort the
- file names in descending, vice ascending order. On the command
- line this can be /-, /a-, or /-a where a is one of the alphabetic
- characters N, X, S, or D. (There is no reverse for DOS order.)
- At either the end or the intermediate menu, pressing the "-" key
- will re-sort the names in reverse order using the same sort field.
-
- The third major new feature is the print-to-file capability.
- Now on the Print Options menu a "File" option appears. If you
- select F you will be prompted for a file name. This can be any
- valid non-ambiguous file specification (no wildcards). If the
- file exists, the directory output will be appended to the end of
- the file. Be careful not to use reserved DOS names such as COM1,
- AUX, LPT1, PRN, NUL, etc.; although you can use NUL to preview
- the printing of a disk label with no output.
-
- -3-
-
- ************************************************************
- Review of new features introduced in Version 4.1
-
- Now you can set or change the volume label without returning to
- DOS. Just use /V on the command line, or press V when Vol is
- shown on the end menu.
-
- Control of printing is much more versatile. The prompt line in-
- dicates whether printing is on or off (Prn=ON or Prn=OFF). The P
- option brings up a print menu. On the print menu Esc will turn
- printing off if it was on, or exit without turning it on. Press-
- ing C for Cls turns on page eject (ff for form feed). This is
- also indicated on the prompt line with (ff=ON or ff=OFF).
-
- Disk Free Space is no longer shown unless specifically asked for
- with the /F option on the command line, or F at the menu. DOS
- takes a noticeable amount of time to calculate the disk free
- space, so eliminating the display of this information greatly
- speeds up the directory display.
-
- The calculation of the total "Bytes in xxx Files" is rounded up
- to the next exact kilobyte for each file. (Individual file sizes
- are not.)
-
- SDL automatically adjusts for any number of lines of text your
- monitor is set for such as 43 line EGA, or 50 line VGA modes.
-
- Additional New Configuration Features in SDLSETUP
-
- A setup option to use the box drawing characters on the printer
- like those on the screen.
-
- Suppression of the . and .. file directory entries.
-
- The sort orders of N for Name (the default), X for eXtension, D
- for Date, and O for Original or dOs (nO sort at all), are avail-
- able.
-
- SDLSETUP now has a (cr) option to select "no change" for any
- question and just move on to the next. Pressing Esc will skip to
- the next section.
-
- You can adjust the number of rows that you want on labels when
- you use the Tiny option to get the maximum your printer will sup-
- port.
-