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1990-10-26
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VIII. The Aladdin Main Screen VIII. The Aladdin Main Screen VIII. The Aladdin Main Screen
The Library Menu
From this menu you can access all of the features of the
RoundTable's Software Library, from searching for files by
keywords, uploader or upload date to browsing the long
descriptions of each file and performing multiple batch
downloads, automatically and with a minimum amount of
involvement on your part.
1. Check For New Files 1. Check For New Files 1. Check For New Files
Clicking Check For New Files from the Library Menu will tell
Aladdin to immediately log on to GEnie, go to the
RoundTable's Software Library, and check to see if there are
any new files available for downloading. For those of you
that are familiar with GEnie, Aladdin issues a command to
display all files in the library. You don't have to worry
about Aladdin spending hours checking for new files, though.
Aladdin keeps track of the last time it checked that specific
library for new files. As soon as it finds a file with an
upload date which is equal to or earlier than the date
Aladdin knows was the last time it checked for new files, it
sends GEnie a "break", which stops the file listing. Aladdin
will then log off and return you to the Software Library
section of the RoundTable. If there are any new files
available, Aladdin will display a triangle mark next to the
option in the menu, indicating to you that there are new
files available on the RoundTable's Software Library. This
option is covered in detail a little further on in this
section of the manual. Aladdin will also display the same
marker next to that RoundTable's entry in the Aladdin main
menu. This marker will remain until you access the Check
Library for New Files option.
2. Do Pending Operation 2. Do Pending Operation 2. Do Pending Operation
This option is exactly the same as the corresponding option
in the RoundTable Menu. Refer to the previous section for
more information on this command.
3. Upload File 3. Upload File 3. Upload File
The Upload file option is used to upload files from your
personal computer into the selected RoundTable's Software
Library area. Clicking on this option will cause a standard
GEM file selector box to be displayed on your screen.
Copyright 1990 by General Electric
Page 52
To upload a file, the first thing you have to do is tell
Aladdin the name of the file that you want to upload. For
example, if you want to upload the file MYFILE.TXT, and the
file is located in your C:\DOCUMENT directory. you would type
"C:\DOCUMENT\MYFILE.TXT" into the first field. You must enter
a filename in this field; if you do not, Aladdin will discard
the entire upload request when you try to save it by clicking
on OK.
The "Name for GEnie" field corresponds to the filename that
you want to have GEnie store the file as. For example, if
your MYFILE.TXT file should be displayed as TECHINFO.TXT in
the RoundTable's Software Library file directory, you would
type "TECHINFO.TXT" into this field. Do not enter a path or
directory in this field, only the GEnie filename should be
entered here.
The "Software Library" field defines which library the file
will be uploaded to. All Software Libraries are divided into
categories, such as "Utilities", "Games", "Demonstration
Programs", etc. You should enter the proper library number in
this field. If you are not sure which library to use, upload
the file to library 1. The Sysop will then move the file to
the proper library during file verification.
The next two fields are "Keyword" fields. These fields are
used to perform file searches in the RoundTable's Software
Library. There are two fields with the same name, just in
case you run out of room in the first field. The keywords
should be entered in capital letters, with a comma separating
each keyword. You should choose keywords which will make it
easy to find your program in a search. For example, if you
are uploading a file directory display utility, you might
want to use keywords such as "FILE,DIRECTORY,DISPLAY,UTILITY"
instead of "FILE,PROGRAM". Make sure you do not repeat any
keywords, this wastes space and is unnecessary because the
GEnie search algorithm checks all keywords once to try and
find a match.
The "Short Description" field is used to enter a short, one-
line file description which is displayed with the filename
during searches, directory displays, etc. This should be a
concise but clear one-line message which tells the next
person to see that file entry what the file is or does. For
example, for the file directory display utility, a good short
description would be "File Directory Display Utility V99.9".
Don't be too verbose on this short description, just be
concise and to the point.
Aladdin ST Manual
Page 53
Once you have filled out the top part of the screen, the
cursor will jump down to the bottom window. This window is
where you will enter a long description for the file which
should not exceed 10 lines of text. Here's where you will
list the complete description for the file, including any
information which you think will give the user a very
detailed idea of what's in the file. For programs, you should
include version numbers, whether the program is shareware or
not, who makes it and your opinion of it as well. Text files
should include good descriptions of the contents and subject
of the file.
When you are finished entering the information for the
upload, press [Esc]. This will save your upload information
and return you to the Software Library section menu. If you
wish to abort the upload process, press [Ctrl-A]. Aladdin
will prompt you to see if you really want to abort the
process. Click on "YES" to abort, "NO" to continue with the
upload.
4. Edit-Delete Uploads 4. Edit-Delete Uploads 4. Edit-Delete Uploads
Clicking on Edit-Delete Uploads will bring up a window titled
Edit/Delete Uploads, which will list all mail which is on
your system. You can then select each item by clicking on it
then click on the Edit or Delete buttons at the bottom of the
window to select the desired action. When you are finished
click on the Done button to return to the Aladdin main
screen.
5. Choose Download-Browse 5. Choose Download-Browse 5. Choose Download-Browse
This option tells Aladdin that you want to view any files
which Aladdin has found that have recently become available.
These are "new" files that just became visible in the
Software Library listing and whose descriptions were
retrieved either through an AutoPass 1. This option will only
work if there is a marker next to the option on the menu. It
will also work if you previously used the Browse option but
have not instructed Aladdin to do either an AutoPass 1 or 2