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Loadstar 128 27
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t.flexi-cat 1284
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2022-08-28
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F L E X I - C A T 1 2 8
Program and Text by Rich Hamill
So you've had your C-128 for a while now and you're comfortable with
it and the programs you use all the time. You've acquired more disks than
you ever thought you'd have. They have come from all corners of the
universe: LOADSTAR, friends, Gazette, RUN... Now you want (or need) a
program that you know you have on one of them. Maybe it's a financial
program that will give you a leg-up when you talk to that car salesman, or
a childrens' game for when your sister brings her eight-year-old over for a
visit. You look at all those boxes with all those disks. How are you ever
going to find what you want? Don't despair...Let FLEXI-CAT 128 find that
program for you.
FLEXI-CAT 128 is a disk cataloging system that picks up where others
leave off. It is a program that will catalog, edit, sort, find and print-
out all your disks. It will search any and all files on a data disk
automatically and send the matches to the screen, printer or disk drive.
Each data disk handles seven files of 1000 entries, or 33,000 characters
per file on a 1571 or 1581 disk drive (see system requirements).
FLEXI-CAT 128 is really several programs in one. The Cataloging
Section feeds in the programs, either manually or automatically to the data
base. Then the File Editor Section takes over and does what you want it to
do. You can even change the defaults within the data base to suit your own
needs. There's also a file UTILITY PROGRAM that can easily split or
combine files, without disturbing the original file.
Take time to read the entire reference manual. There are suggestions
on how to set up a file, disk numbering and some key commands that do not
appear on screen.
A great deal of effort has gone into the writing and form of this
program. After you use FLEXI-CAT 128 for a while, you will rely on it to
find any of those programs that you want to find...when you want to find
them.
GETTING STARTED
---------------
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
1. Commodore 128 or Commodore 128D
2. 80 column RGB monitor.
3. Two disk drives, or 1541/1571/1581 emulation partitions in a CMD
device.
Note: 1571's or 1581's are best, but 1541's will work with slower access
time. Only 4 full files will fit on each 1541 data disk.
4. Commodore compatible printer or interface capable of Commodore 1525
mode emulation.
LOADING THE PROGRAM
1. You should copy all of the FLEXI-CAT 128 files to a formatted disk
with plenty of disk space. The LOADSTAR 128 Copy It feature will copy the
files from the LOADSTAR 128 disk for you. For best results don't have any
non-FLEXI-CAT 128 files on the disk.
2. Make sure the 40/80 column switch on the computer is down.
3. Insert FLEXI-CAT 128 program disk in your chosen drive and enter
RUN"FLEXI-CAT 1284",u(dv) where dv is the drive number
4. At the "File Editor" or "Cataloger" window, select "File Editor" if
you need a disk formatted.
5. Enter the date. Note: This date will be used when files are printed
out.
FILE DESCRIPTION AND DATA DISK
------------------------------
FILE STRUCTURE
FLEXI-CAT 128 uses SEQuential files for data storage. Along with the
data, each file contains the field headings, field lengths and number of
entries for each file. For this reason a file must be in memory before the
file name, headings or field lengths can be changed using "Configure" on
the File Editor main menu.
FORMATTING A DATA DISK
Formatting is done through the File Editor's main menu. F8 selects the
formatting option. When the disk is finished formatting, you have two
options: ESCape will exit to the main menu, while RETURN will write ten
default files to the disk.
DEFAULT FILES
For your convenience and to avoid having to "configure" each file
separately, ten files with sequentially numbered file names and preset
headings and field lengths will be written to the data disk after
formatting, if requested by the user. The default files use field lengths
of 17, 4, 6, 17, 27 for fields 1 to 5 respectively. The headings are
"Program Name", "Cat" (category), "Disk#", "Disk Name", and "Comments".
Note: The first 4 field lengths are one more than needed to help make the
report printout readable. If you need more comment space decrease fields
1, 2, and 4 by one space.
DATA DISK
The File Editor and Cataloger will read the first ten directory entries
from any disk into the "Select File" menu. Therefore, it is recommended
that you DO NOT save files to other disks because you may not be able to
access them. If you do by mistake, copy the file(s) onto a FLEXI-CAT 128
data disk that contains NO default files.
ALLOWABLE CHARACTERS
File names, field headings, and report titles are in upper/lower case.
Data in the fields use upper case so they are consistent with most disk
directories. When these fields are being accessed, a keyboard entry
routine allows most of the characters except "," (comma) and cursor
controls. Since Commodore DOS does strange things to fields with only
spaces, the routine also puts a "-" (dash) if only a space or carriage
return is entered. DO NOT enter a field or heading with only spaces. It
may corrupt your file when it is loaded the next time. See "Disk
Numbering" for important caution on using the letter "e" in disk numbers.
HEADINGS AND FIELD LENGTHS
There are 5 fields per file that must be defined to a field length from
1-40 and have a minimum of one character for the heading. If you use the
File Editor in the manual entry mode only, the headings and lengths can be
defined any way you wish. There are 71 spaces available per entry to be
used in the five fields.
Note: The Auto Cataloging option places information in certain fields and
needs a minimum field length for these fields.
Necessary Settings (Auto Cataloging)
Field # Minimum Length Suggested Heading
---------------------------------------------
1 16 Program Name
2 3 Cat (Category)
4 16 Disk Name
Optional Settings:
Field # Suggested Length Suggested Heading
----------------------------------------------
3 5 - 7 Disk #
5 All remaining Comments
(See explanation of default file settings)
NUMBER OF ENTRIES AND AVAILABLE MEMORY
FLEXI-CAT 128 allows a maximum of 1000 entries provided the available
memory has not been exhausted. Under actual conditions you can get 900-950
entries with only a few or no comments. Adding many comments can reduce
the entries to 500-600, especially if you use long descriptions. Try
entering 500 programs with only a few comments and then use the File Editor
to add more details to the comment field. If memory is still available,
add more programs. A print-out of the file with handwritten comments is
another alternative.
FILE-EDITOR - MAIN MENU
-----------------------
FUNCTION KEYS
CRSR UP/DOWN highlights option. RETURN selects.
F1/F3 - Displays current drive directory in main menu. "No Scroll" key
pauses display.
F8 - Used to format data disk.
MANUAL CATALOG
"Manual Add" allows individual entries for each program. This should be
used when entering copy protected disks. To add programs follow the
prompts.
EDIT/PRINT
This option displays the file name, number of entries, percentage (%)
memory used, and headings. The first 15 entries are listed by line number
followed by the options line.
Note: The File Editor does not track an entry by a record number. The
numbers next to each entry are for reference only. When the file is
sorted, any or all entries could have different line numbers.
RETURN and SHIFT/RETURN - Step forward/backward 15 entries at
a time.
First (F) - Displays the first 15 entries in a file.
Last (L) - Displays the last 15 entries in a file.
Goto (G) - Displays 15 entries beginning with the line # entered.
Edit (E) - Three options are available:
1. Change (C) - Follows the same format as manual catalog