The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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File Maven (tm) Version 2.1 Copyright (C) 1992,1993 Kent Briggs All Rights Reserved Introduction ------------ maven (MAY vin) n. expert or connoisseur, devotee. File Maven is an advanced DOS file manager with high speed PC-to-PC transfer capabilities using a null modem cable and 16-bit CRC error correction. File Maven features a modern user interface with pull-down menus, mouse support, hot keys, and user-defined screen colors. File commands include copy, move, delete, wipe, rename, edit, view, tag, execute, and sort. Directory commands include create, delete, and rename. Distribution ------------ File Maven is copyrighted software distributed as shareware with a registration fee of $16.50. Shareware is a "try before you buy" concept where users are encouraged to share the programs with friends and business associates, upload to electronic bulletin board systems (BBS), etc. Those that find the programs useful should register their copy to support the author's efforts and to receive technical support or other benefits. File Maven is distributed in a compressed format, usually in a file called FMAV21.ZIP. The compressed file contains the following files that must stay together for distribution: FM.EXE File Maven Program FM.DOC File Maven Documentation FILE_ID.DIZ File Maven description file for BBSs ASP.DOC Association of Shareware Professionals Info. To print this 15 page documentation file, type the following command at the DOS command line: COPY FM.DOC PRN Registration ------------ File Maven may be used in an evaluation period of no more than 30 days. You must register the program to use it past the evaluation period. Failure to do so is a violation of the license agreement. 1 To register your copy of File Maven, print the order form at the end of this file or use the print option when you exit File Maven. There are three line items on the order form: 1. Single user license : $15 ea + $1.50 S&H* 2. Network server license : $75 ea + $1.50 S&H 3. Unlimited user site license : $225 ea + $1.50 S&H * Shipping and Handling is $3.50 for orders outside the U.S.A. Item 1 is the normal registration option. Item 2 is for unlimited users on a single network server. Item 3 is a site license for companies who need more than 15 copies of File Maven. With a site license, you may make unlimited copies of File Maven for use on the site. A site is defined as one or more buildings used by a company or institution on a contiguous area of land. Upgrades to higher licenses are available. Each license includes a disk, printed manual, and a unique serial number that will be used to suppress the registration reminder screens. Technical support is provided via mail at the address shown below for at least one year after registration. Please include the name or company name that File Maven will be registered to. This name (30 characters max) will be placed on File Maven's opening screen. For orders or technical support, write to: Kent Briggs 109A Romana Cir. Hewitt, TX 76643 Disclaimer ---------- This software is provided as is and without warranty. The author assumes no liability for damages, either direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this product. Installation ------------ No special installation is needed to run File Maven. However, you will probably want to put FM.EXE in your DOS path so that it will execute from any directory. The DOS path is defined in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and lists a string of directories that are searched if DOS cannot find a program in the current directory. Put FM.EXE in one of those directories or modify the PATH statement so that it contains the File Maven directory. Refer to your DOS manual for use of the PATH command. 2 To start File Maven, type FM at the DOS command line and press Enter. You may enter optional parameters on the command line: FM [pathspec][filespec] [/N,/E,/S,/D,/A,/U][R] Pathspec is the directory that File Maven will display on startup. The default directory is the current directory. The Filespec is the file name filter that determines which files to display. The default filespec is *.* which displays all files. The / options determine the file sort order: N=name, E=extension, S=size, D=date, A=attribute, and U=unsorted. Use an R suffix to reverse the sort. The default sort is /N. The following example will show the batch files in the root directory on drive A and sort them by date in reverse order: FM A:\*.BAT /DR File Maven Screen ----------------- The screen is divided into five main areas that contain information about the current directory or available commands. The title bar and pull-down menus are displayed at the top of the screen. The pull-down menus appear when you press the / key or click the mouse on the title bar. The file list is the large box on the left side of the screen. It contains the list of files in the current directory that match the filespec. The list contains the file name and extension, size, date and time, and attributes. The four possible attributes are A for archive, S for system, H for hidden, and R for read-only. Refer to your DOS manual for a description of file attributes. The file list is sorted by the current sort order. At the bottom of the file list is the name of the current directory. The directory list is the box in the upper right corner of the screen. This list contains the subdirectories of the current directory and all of the logical drives on the computer. The number of subdirectories and drives are displayed under the directory list. If the current directory is not a root directory, then the first item in the directory list will always be a ".." which represents the parent directory of the current directory. The date and time that the directories were created are also shown in the list. The directory list is always sorted by name in ascending order. Hidden directories are not displayed in the list. However, you can use File Maven in a hidden directory by changing to the hidden directory with the DOS CD command and then running FM.EXE. You can also place the directory name on the FM.EXE command line (i.e. FM C:\SECRET). 3 The statistics box is the box in the lower right corner of the screen. It contains additional information about the files in the current directory. The filespec shows the current file name filter that determines which files are displayed. The default filespec is *.* which displays all files. The current file sort order is shown under the filespec. "Rev" will be displayed if the sort is in reverse (descending) order. Both the filespec and sort order can be set from the FM.EXE command line or changed from the menus. The filespec and sort order remain in effect even after changing directories. The number and size of tagged files are also shown in the statistics box. Files can be tagged with the + key and untagged with the - key (use the numeric keypad or click the mouse on the status line). Files are tagged so that they can be processed (copied, deleted, etc.) all at once instead of one at a time. Finally, the number and size of the files matching the filespec are shown at the bottom of the statistics box along with the available space on the current disk drive. The status line is the bottom line of the screen. It displays some of the active keys and descriptions of the menu commands when they are highlighted. Active Keys and Mouse Clicks ---------------------------- Scrolling: Press the left and right cursor keys or the Tab key to move the highlight bar between the file list and directory list. Press the up and down cursor keys to scroll the highlight bar in the file and directory lists. With the mouse, click on either list to move the highlight bar to the desired file or directory. Click on the scroll bar arrows to simulate the up and down cursor keys. Press PageUp and PageDown to scroll a whole page of files or directories. Click above or below the scroll block to simulate the PageUp and PageDown keys. Press Home to move to the top of the list and End to move to the bottom. Change Dir: With the highlight bar in the directory list, press Enter to change to that directory. If the highlight bar is on the ".." directory, then the new directory will be the parent of the current directory. If the highlight bar is on a drive, then the new directory will be the current directory on the new drive. With the mouse, click once to highlight the directory or drive and then click again to change to that directory or drive. 4 File Tagging: With the highlight bar in the file list, press the + key (use the numeric keypad) to tag the current file. An arrow will appear on the left side of the file name. Press - to untag a file. With the mouse, click on the words Tag and Untag on the status line. File Viewing: With the highlight bar in the file list, press Enter to view the current file in ASCII (text) format. Binary files can also be viewed but each byte will be converted to its ASCII equivalent character. Only the first 9999 lines of the file can be viewed. Lines wider than 255 characters will be wrapped. Use the cursor, PageUp/PageDn, and Home/End keys for scrolling. Press Esc to exit the file viewer. Use the Attributes command to change file attributes. With the mouse, click on the highlighted file to view it. File Search: Press any other key to search for a file (or directory) that begins with that character (i.e., press P to search for a file name that begins with P). The search begins at the highlight bar and goes down until a match is found or until the bottom of the list is reached at which time the search will continue at the top of the list and continue until the original starting point is reached. If a match is found, the highlight bar will be moved to that file (or directory). Pull-Down Menus --------------- Press the / key or click the mouse on the title bar to display the top level menu. Use the left and right cursor keys to highlight the appropriate menu item. A description of the menu item will be displayed on the status line. Press Enter or the down cursor key or click the mouse to "pull down" a menu. Highlight the command you want and press Enter or just press the key corresponding to the first character in the command. With the mouse, just click on the command that you want. To cancel the menus, press Esc or click outside of the menus with the mouse. Some of the more common menu commands can be activated with a "hot key". Hot keys are short cuts that do not require using the menus. For example, Alt-C is the hot key for copying files. Hot keys appear next to the commands on the menus. Menu commands that have a right arrow mark next to them will display a submenu if selected. 5 File Menu --------- The File menu contains commands that transfer files or execute programs. Copy: Select Copy to copy files from the current directory to a different directory or drive. If one or more files are tagged, then the tagged files will be copied. A prompt will appear like this: Copy 3 tagged file(s) to: _ If no files are tagged, then the current highlighted file is copied. A prompt will appear like this: Copy FMAV21.ZIP to: _ Type in a valid directory just as you would using the DOS COPY command or press Esc to cancel the Copy command. File Maven will ensure that the destination drive/directory exists before an attempt is made to copy the files. The arrow "tag" is removed after a successful copy and the file is "marked" with an asterisk. If an error occurs during the copy process, the speaker will beep and a brief error message will be displayed. The copy process will continue if other files in the list are tagged. You can press the Esc key to stop the copy process. An error will occur if the file has attributes of (S)ystem or (H)idden or if the destination drive is full. If a file with the same name already exists in the destination directory, the copy process is interrupted with a prompt like this: FMAV21.ZIP already exists. (R)eplace, (S)kip, (N)o_prompting, (Q)uit? Press R to overwrite the file and continue the copy process. Press S to skip the file and continue with the next tagged file. Press N to overwrite the file and all other files that might already exist. Press Q to cancel the Copy command. Move: Select Move to move files from the current directory to a different directory or drive. If one or more files are tagged, then the tagged files will be moved. A prompt will appear like this: 6 Move 3 tagged file(s) to: _ If no files are tagged, then the current highlighted file is moved. A prompt will appear like this: Move FMAV21.ZIP to: _ Type in a valid directory just as you would using the DOS COPY command (there is no DOS MOVE command, prior to DOS 6.0) or press Esc to cancel the Move command. File Maven will ensure that the destination drive/directory exists before an attempt is made to move the files. The move process is the same as the copy process except the files are deleted if they are successfully copied. Duplicate: Select Duplicate to copy a file into the same directory under a different name. Tagged files are ignored. Only the current highlighted file is duplicated. A prompt will appear like this: Duplicate FMAV21.ZIP as: _ Type in a valid file name or press Esc to cancel the Duplicate command. Send: Select Send to copy files to a remote computer connected by a null modem serial cable. (Null modem cables are special 7-wire cables that allow two computers to communicate through their serial ports. The TX/RX and handshaking lines are crossed at each end.) If one or more files are tagged, then the tagged files will be sent. A prompt will appear like this: Send 3 tagged file(s) to COMx (Y/N) ? _ If no files are tagged, then the current highlighted file is sent. A prompt will appear like this: Send FMAV21.ZIP to COMx (Y/N) ? _ COMx is the serial port specified with the Configure/Port command. Type Y and press Enter to confirm the transfer or press Esc to cancel the Send command. The following message will be displayed: Select Receive on remote computer or press Esc to quit. With File Maven running on the remote computer, select File/Receive from the menu as described below. 7 Receive: Select Receive to copy files from a remote computer to the current directory. A null modem cable connecting the two computers is required. A prompt will appear as follows: Receive file(s) from COMx (Y/N) ? _ COMx is the serial port specified with the Configure/Port command. Type Y and press Enter to confirm the transfer or press Esc to cancel the Receive command. The following message will be displayed: Ready to receive files from COMx. Press Esc to quit. With File Maven running on the remote computer, select File/Send from the menu as described above. The baud rate must be the same on both computers. Use the Configure/Baud Rate command to set baud rates. If you have trouble with file transfers, ensure that you have the correct COM ports specified and that you have a true 7-wire null modem cable. Try slower baud rates if necessary. Execute: Select Execute to load and run a .BAT, .COM, or .EXE program. A prompt will appear like this: Execute C:\GRAPHICS>VPIC (enter parameters) Type in any command line parameters and press Enter or press Esc to cancel the Execute command. File Maven remains in memory so large programs may not load. Modify Menu ----------- The Modify menu contains commands that modify files in some way or another as opposed to just transferring them. Delete: Select Delete to delete files from the current directory. If one or more files are tagged, then the tagged files will be deleted. A prompt will appear like this: Delete 3 tagged file(s) (Y/N) ? If no files are tagged, then the current highlighted file is deleted. A prompt will appear like this: Delete FMAV21.ZIP (Y/N) ? 8 Type in Y and press Enter to delete the file(s) or press Esc to cancel the Delete command. A file will not be deleted if it has attributes other than "A" (archive). Wipe: Wipe is similar to the Delete command except the files will be overwritten with zeros just before they are deleted. This prevents them from being unerased by programs such as Norton Utilities. Rename: Select Rename to give the current highlighted file a different name. Other tagged files are not affected. A prompt will appear like this: Rename FMAV21.ZIP to: _ Type in a valid DOS filename or press Esc to cancel the Rename command. An error will occur if the name is invalid or another file with the same name already exists. Edit: Select Edit to edit the current highlighted file with your own editor. Use the Configure/Editor command to tell File Maven which editor to use. The editor is loaded into memory and the highlighted file is passed as the command line parameter. Attribute: Select Attribute to change the attributes of files in the current directory. If one or more files are tagged, then the tagged files will be changed. A prompt will appear like this: Change attributes of 3 tagged files(s) to (+/-ASHR): _ If no files are tagged, then the attributes of the current highlighted file are changed. A prompt will appear like this: Change attributes of FMAV21.ZIP to (+/-ASHR): _ The four possible attributes are A for archive, S for system, H for hidden, and R for read-only. Refer to your DOS manual for a description of file attributes. Type in the attributes to change by preceding each one with a + to turn on or a - to turn off. Press Esc to cancel the Attribute command. Here are some examples: +H-S ; turn on H attribute and turn off S attribute ; the A and R attributes are not affected. -H-S-R-A ; turn off all attributes 9 List Menu --------- The List menu contains commands that affect the entire file list, not just the individual files. Sort: Select Sort to set the sort order for the current directory and all subsequent directories. A submenu will appear as follows: Name Extension Size Date Attribute Unsorted Reverse Select the file sort order from this list. Select Unsorted to reload the current directory and leave it in the original DOS order. Select Reverse to reverse the current sort order with a descending sort. The current sort order is displayed in the statistics box. The sort order remains in effect until you change it again or exit File Maven. The default sort order is by Name. The sort order can also be set from the FM.EXE command line (see the Installation section discussed earlier). Tag: Select Tag to tag or untag a group of files all at once. Individual files are tagged/untagged with the + and - keys. A submenu will appear as follows: All None Marked Unmarked Flip Select All to tag all files in the list. Select None to untag and unmark all files in the list. Select Marked to tag all files that are marked with an asterisk. These files have recently been copied or had their attributes changed. Select Unmarked to tag all files that are currently marked with an asterisk. Select Flip to tag all untagged files and to untag all tagged files. Marked files are not affected by the Flip command. Filespec: Select Filespec to change the current filespec. The filespec is the file name filter that determines which files to display. A prompt will appear as follows: Enter new filespec: _ Type in a new filespec or press Esc to cancel. The default filespec is *.* which displays all files. The current filespec remains in effect until you change it again. You can set the filespec from the FM.EXE command line (see Installation section). Here are some filespec examples: *.DOC ; display only files with an extension of .DOC K*.* ; display only files that start with a K 10 Directory Menu -------------- The Directory menu contains commands for managing subdirectories. Create: Select Create to make a new subdirectory in the current directory. This is similar to the DOS MD command. A prompt will appear like this: New subdirectory for C:\ Type in a valid directory name and press Enter or press Esc to cancel. Delete: Select Delete to remove the directory that is currently highlighted. This is similar to the DOS RD command. A Yes/No conformation prompt will appear before the directory is removed. An error message will be displayed if the directory is not empty. Rename: Select Rename to change the name of the current highlighted directory. A prompt will appear like this: Rename WINDOWS to: _ Type in a valid directory name and press Enter or press Esc to cancel the Rename command. Configure menu -------------- The Configure menu contains commands to customize File Maven for your computer. Use the Save command to save the changes or they will be lost when you exit the program. Colors: Select Colors to change the screen colors for up to 15 areas of the screen. Each area is identified as "A" through "O" on the menu. A prompt will appear as follows: Foreground color (0..15): _ The current foreground color will be at the cursor. Press the Backspace key to change the color or press Enter to keep the current color. The status line will show the available color numbers. The next prompt will appear as follows: Background color (0..7): _ 11 The current background color will be at the cursor. Press the Backspace key to change the color or press Enter to keep the current color. The background color must be different that the foreground color. Press Esc to cancel the Color command. Option "P" on the Colors menu will reset all screen colors to the default setting. If you have a monochrome monitor you might need to use option "Q" for all black and white colors. Press / C C Q if you have trouble seeing the menus. Port: Select Port to view or change the current serial port for file transfers (see the File/Send and File/Receive commands). The current port (COM1, 2, 3, or 4) will have an "x" next to it. Press Esc to remove the Port menu. Baud Rate: Select Baud Rate to view or change the current baud rate for file transfers (see the File/Send and File/Receive commands). The current baud rate will have an "x" next to it. Both computers must be set to the same baud rate for file transfers. Press Esc to remove the Baud Rate menu. Editor: Select Editor to set the name of the file editor to use with the Modify/Edit command. A prompt will appear like this: Current Editor=C:\DOS\EDIT.COM Type in the full pathname of your editor or press Esc to keep the current editor. Leave the line blank and press Enter for no editor. Register: The Register command is where registered users enter their registration serial numbers. When a valid serial number is entered, the license agreement message on the opening screen is replaced with the registration name and serial number. Also, the registration reminder screen shown when you exit File Maven is removed completely. Save Settings: Select Save to write all configuration changes back to the File Maven .EXE file. If you fail to save your changes, they will be lost when you exit the program. If you are using ver 2.x of DOS then you must type in the full pathname of the File Maven program (i.e. C:\UTIL\FM.EXE). 12 Help Menu --------- The Help menu gives a brief description of File Maven's commands, organized by the major menu categories. The General help screen displays a table of active keys and mouse usage. Exit Menu --------- Exit: Select Exit to exit File Maven. Non-registered users will see a registration reminder screen with an option to print an order form to the DOS PRN device. Miscellaneous ------------- File Maven was written in Borland Pascal 7.0 (approximately 4800 lines of code) on a Gateway 2000 486DX2/50 computer. The program was beta tested on several types of computers including work- stations on a LANtastic and Novell network. Here are some features that I am considering for future versions: PKZIP support (tag files to compress, uncompress) File split/join Graphical directory tree Please send your own suggestions to: Kent Briggs 109A Romana Cir. Hewitt, TX 76643 Look for the latest version of File Maven on the following BBS's: The Consultant BBS 718-837-3236 ; ASP Hub, free 1st call download Space BBS 415-323-4193 ; ASP Hub, free 1st call download Exec-PC 414-789-4210 ; Largest BBS in USA, fee required All three BBS's are PC-Pursuitable. Program History --------------- Ver 1.0 06/12/92 (Initially titled "KB-File Manager") Initial release. Ver 1.1 06/12/92 Bug fix. The box showing the number of tagged files did not update after using the Attributes command on tagged files. 13 Ver 1.2 07/30/92 Added two new features: Text file viewer and COM/EXE/BAT program execution. Ver 2.0 12/05/92 (Renamed to "File Maven") Added mouse support, pull-down menus, hot-keys, file transfer, duplicate, wipe, and edit, directory rename, and internal configuration options. Tabs expanded in file viewer. Ver 2.1 04/17/93 Now view and copy read-only files (necessary for CD-ROMs). Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) documentation added. New opening screen, network license, international shipping. ATTENTION REGISTERED 2.0 USERS: use your existing registration name and serial number for a self-upgrade. --------------- 14 File Maven 2.1 Order Form Item Qty Each Amount =============================== ==== ==== ====== Single user license ____ $15 $______ Network server license ____ $75 $______ Unlimited user site license ____ $225 $______ $ 1.50 Shipping * Disk size (check one): [ ] 3.5" [ ] 5.25" $ Total ====== * S&H is $3.50 for orders outside the U.S.A. Send check or money order to: Kent Briggs (U.S.A. banks only) 109A Romana Cir. Hewitt, TX 76643 Name: ___________________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ City: _______________________________ State: ___ Zip: _________ Register File Maven under the following name: Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (30 characters maximum. The registration name and serial serial number will appear on the opening screen.) My copy of File Maven came from (circle one): A. BBS B. Shareware Disk Distributor C. User Group D. Other Source Name: _______________________________ Phone No: _____________ Suggestions for improvement: _______________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________