The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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------------------- ===== 4 - F I L E S ===== ------------------- DOCUMENTATION - Version 3.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Shareware by Larry T. Edwards, Copyright 1990-93 All Rights Reserved. Hand-Crafted Software Box 6001 Sitka, Alaska 99835 USA REGISTRATION: For a single user, send $30 ($34 overseas) to the above address; price includes printed manual and free upgrades. For credit card orders, add $5 and call or send to: (1) PsL and specify program #10574, 800-242-4775 or P.O. Box 35705 Houston, Tx 77235 USA; or (2) CompuServe and specify program #912: !GO SWREG. Orders direct to the author are preferred. For multiple installations see 4F-SITE.TXT. TECH SUPPORT: <1> 907-747-8996; CompuServe 72037,3607; Internet:72037.3607@compuserve.com. <2> MAS-BBS 718-444-5089 (8,N,1, 2400-14400 baud). IMPORTANT: Select the Customer Support Area, then the 4FILES Area (downloads on first call). _______ ____|__ | --| | |------------------- | ASP wants to make sure the shareware | ____|__ | Association of | principle works for you; its Ombuds- | | |_| Shareware | man can help resolve any dispute with |__| o | Professionals | an ASP member on a shareware related -----| | |--------------------- | problem. Details on page 2. (R) |___|___| MEMBER (Pages are formatted for 75 column, 12 Cpi, 6 Lpi printing) =========================================================================== CONTENTS OF MANUAL ... ======================= File & Note Modes .. 12 OS/2 & DESQview .... 26 Overview of 4FILES .. 2 Using FILE MODE .... 12 Safety Features .... 27 About 4DOS & NDOS ... 2 Sorting File Lists . 15 Hot Tips on 4FILES.. 29 Shareware Notice .... 3 Utility Ports ... 15-18 Origin/Evolution ... 31 QUICK START ......... 3 Using NOTE MODE .... 18 Detail Installation 32 Special Keys ........ 5 Configuring 4FILES . 20 Agreement for Use .. 33 Drive:Dir Navigation 10 EMS & XMS Swaps .... 20 Registration Benefit 33 Seeking a File ..... 11 Video & Screens .... 24 Packing List ....... 34 Mouse 11,16,21,22,24,25 MS-Windows ......... 24 Registration Form .. 35 =========================================================================== 2. AN OVERVIEW OF 4FILES ===================== 4FILES is a multi-purpose file manager which also includes a full-featured editor for 4DOS & NDOS "file notes" and the ability to act as a "front-end" for your favorite utilities and applica- tions programs. A special effort has been made to make the interface clean and convenient. Command keystrokes are simple, to the point, and easy to remember. A very efficient method of directory navigation is provided. A built-in configuration routine makes on-the-fly changes of 4FILES' settings a simple matter, including changes to the "utility ports" (which are used to call your utilities and other programs), colors, and many custom setup choices. International keyboards and character code pages are fully supported. The 4FILES screen shows the contents of the current directory with subdirectories at the top followed by files, each taking a full line. The list may be sorted any way you like, either on-the-fly or via command line switches. Except for sorts by file name (the default), the key field for the current sort is highlighted on-screen. Any video mode of 80x25 or higher is supported. File and subdirectory names are displayed on the left half of the screen, one per line, with full statistics. The right half is space for descriptive file notes. If you are using 4DOS or NDOS (superior COMMAND.COM substitutes), a file note will remain associated with its file during copy, move and rename operations. 4FILES works fine with COMMAND.COM too, except that your notes will be lost during the above file operations. The new 4DOS-4.0 description "extensions" are detected if present, but no programs are using them yet. Full file management facilities are provided via simple mnemonic key commands for single files and marked groups of files. These include file copy, move, rename, and rename; and create, remove, or rename directory. There is also support for ZIP, ARJ, LHA and other types of file archives. Any program file or batch file may be executed directly from the 4FILES screen, and any file or directory name can be quickly dropped into an editable DOS command line. Also, "executable extensions" are supported, allowing you to select a data file and automatically load it into the appropriate application program, such as a word processor or database. You can also drop back to DOS while leaving 4FILES loaded, and your place in 4FILES will be saved. There is an internal routine for branding this copy (or later copies you might obtain from bulletin boards or your vendor) with the serial number you will be given when you register. Branding deactivates the registration reminder screen. AN ASIDE ABOUT 4DOS & NDOS ========================== 4FILES is at its best when 4DOS or NDOS is used instead of COMMAND.COM; however, 4FILES is only one small reason to select one of these excellent command interpreters. The ability they provide to annotate your files will revolutionize your computer use, and their powers go far beyond that, providing many time and frustration saving features which are missing in MSDOS. I cannot recommend these award winning 3. products highly enough. 4DOS is shareware (NDOS is not), so it will cost you nothing more than download time or a handling charge to try it. Since 4DOS is a very long download, the shareware version is available from Hand- Crafted Software (maker of 4FILES), along with other shareware and public domain programs mentioned in this manual (see registration form). Or you can get 4DOS directly from JP Software at 800-368-8777. For brevity, all following references to 4DOS refer to NDOS as well. SHAREWARE NOTICE ================ 4FILES is commercial, copyrighted software and is distributed as shareware. The shareware is a marketing method allows you to evaluate a fully functional program before deciding whether you want to keep it. If you decide to keep 4FILES, you must purchase it by sending in the registration form with full payment. You may not continue use of 4FILES beyond a period of 30-days from date of first use, unless the copy you are using has been properly registered for your use and your use complies with the agreement near the end of this manual. If you decide not to register, a frank critique or trouble report would be sincerely appreciated, via a collect phone call, E-mail, or a letter. Your distribution of 4FILES to others is highly encouraged, provided that the distribution complies with the agreement at the end of this manual. Permission for commercial distribution may be withdrawn at any time. Larry Edwards is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related dispute or problem with a member, ASP's Ombudsman may be able to help resolve it. ASP does not however provide technical support for members' products. ASP Ombudsman: 545 Grover Rd, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427; FAX=616-788-2765; CIS Mail=ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. QUICK START Capacity: 799 records per directory. =========== Requires: DOS 3.0+ and 46-110K (depending on directory size). SYNTAX: 4F [d:][\][subdir] [/+ /8 /L] [/D] [/E /S /C /N /U] Items in brackets are optional. The current directory is loaded by default. MANY FEATURES WILL NOT WORK UNTIL 4FILES IS CONFIGURED. <ALT-F10> BRINGS UP THE CONFIGURATION SCREEN. ** Installation: Either copy all files into a subdirectory listed in your PATH or write a 4DOS alias to call 4FILES, preferably specifying the full pathspec to speed loading. Either method allows you to start 4FILES by typing just its name or alias, regardless of which drive or directory you are logged onto at any time. Also, you need to create a TEMP environment variable pointing to RAMdisk or harddisk directory. If you don't understand, please see the detailed instructions on page 32. 4. ** 4FILES may also be installed under Windows, OS/2 or DESQview, and icons are provided for the first two. See instructions in the sections below for these operating systems. ** Symbols in menus and this manual: "@" means the ALT key, "^" means the CTRL key, and "$" means the shift key. ** Quitting: Under DOS, <@ESC> quits to the current directory, and <ESC> or <^ESC> quit to the original (startup) directory. You may disable plain <ESC> via the configuration menu, and there are advantages to doing so. Under Windows, <$ESC> gives a total quit, and <@ESC> and <^ESC> have their normal Windows functions. ** Configure 4FILES by typing <@F10>. Screen colors & blinking, "utility ports" and many program options are on this menu. Your utilities, especially a browse utility such as LIST or TV, must be configured here for some 4FILES features to work, including HELP. A pathspec for a utility is unneeded if the utility is in the PATH, but will give best performance. The extension MUST be given with the filename. If the " utility" is a 4DOS alias, use the .ALS extension. ** Laptop computers: On the Configuration Options screen, select keyboard type "3". This will substitute easier-to-use keys for several important functions. The normal keys will not even work on some laptops. See key mappings in the next section. ** Replace your Old .CFG File: The configuration file format was changed in version 2S.0. If your .CFG file is from an earlier version, you must delete it and configure the new version from scratch. ** Switches: /R /E /S /C /N and /U are command line switches for list sorting (see P.9): respectively, for sorts by Reverse order, Extension, Size, Chronology, Note characters, and actual DOS order. Alphabetical sorting is the default. /R may be used alone or with any of the other four. If you are upgrading, note that the old /D switch is now /R, and /T is now /C. /8 is used to force an 80x25 display, in case you want to switch automatically while loading or in case of an incompatibility with the video mode detection. /+ must be used with HGC, MDA or CGA for over 80x25. The /L (Lock) switch causes NumLock to be restored to "numeric" when 4FILES exits, and is useful when using 4FILES with CAD and other number intensive programs. /M causes file marks from a previous session to used again rather than be discarded. Marks are normally retained only for the current session. This may also be permanently set from the Configuration Options screen. 5. You may setup 4FILES to run with whatever switches you desire by calling it with a batch file or 4DOS alias. ** Operation: Use the menu line for guidance, and go with the flow! Mnemonic keys are used for file management functions, and are shown on the following pages and the help screen. <TAB> toggles between File & Note Modes. Some keys work in both modes, but are shown only on the menu of one due to line length limits. Navigate with the <G+> key (Grey-plus), <G-> and <G*> if you have an AT keyboard. Other keys will need to be used for PC and laptop keyboards (see below). If 4FILES is properly configured, <F1> shows help and <^F1> shows this manual. For a tour of a few features see #6 on page 26. The tour assumes your bootup directory is the current directory, and that it has a \UTIL subdirectory. ** 4FILES may be fully evaluated under COMMAND.COM, but for proper handling of file notes during file copy, move, rename and delete, COMSPEC must be setup to use 4DOS or NDOS as the secondary (if not also the primary) command interpreter, instead of COMMAND.COM. ========================= DOCUMENTATION OF FEATURES ========================= SPECIAL CONTROLS ================ Most keys act as expected, and the others (below) are laid out logically. A special keyboard handler allows nice, normally unavailable key assignments. NOTE: Symbols: ^ is the CTRL key, @ is the ALT key, $ is the shift key. Function Keys ------------- NORMAL ┌────┬────┐ Help * │ F1 │ F2 │ Edit Current File * ├────┼────┤ File Finder* │ F3 │ F4 │ Unzip Current File * ├────┼────┤ Mark File │ F5 │ F6 │ Unmark File ├────┼────┤ Toggle Time/Attrib │ F7 │ F8 │ (Utility of your choice)* ├────┼────┤ Execute Program, or │ F9 │ F0 │ Paste Text Cut Text (note mode) └────┴────┘ 6. CONTROL ┌────┬────┐ View this manual* │ F1 │ F2 │ 2nd Editor or Word Processor * ├────┼────┤ │ F3 │ F4 │ ├────┼────┤ Mark All Files │ F5 │ F6 │ Unmark All Files ├────┼────┤ │ F7 │ F8 │ ├────┼────┤ Cut Selected Text │ F9 │ F0 │ └────┴────┘ ALTERNATE ┌────┬────┐ Copy a Whole Note │ F9 │ F0 │ Reconfigure 4FILES. └────┴────┘ "*" means 4FILES Utility Ports must be configured properly for the feature to work. NOTE: 1. As adjuncts to <F5/F6>, <Space> toggles the current file mark and <^Space> toggles all marks. <^/> and <^\> duplicate <^F5> and <^F6>. 2. ^X duplicates the function of <F9>. HERE IS THE SAME KEY MAPPING SHOWN FOR THE HORIZONTAL FUNCTION KEY LAYOUT. F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F0 ┌──────┬──────┬──────┬──────┬──────┬──────┬──────┬──────┬───────┬──────┐ Nrm│Show │Editor│ Any │Unzip │ Mark │UnMark│Show *│ Any │ EXEC/ │Paste │ ---│Help │#1 │ Util │ │ File │File │Attrib│ Util │ COPY* │Text │ ├──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼──────┤ Ctl│Show │Editor│ │ │ Mark │Unmark│ │ │ Cut │ │ ---│Manual│#2 │ │ │ All │All │ │ │ Text │ │ └──────┴──────┴──────┴──────┴──────┴──────┴──────┴──────┼───────┼──────┤ Alt │ Copy │CONFIG│ * F9=Execute in File-Mode; Copy-text in Note-Mode. --- │ Note │4FILES│ └───────┴──────┘ NAVIGATION KEYS FOR DRIVES, DIRECTORIES & LISTS ----------------------------------------------- One of 4FILES' strengths is its efficient and flexible mapping of system navigation features to the keyboard. Three keys control drive-changes and several ways of changing directories. One of the keys controls three features through a logical progression of single, double or triple taps. Another key has a dual function -- if the highlighted record is a directory it changes to the directory; if the record is a 7. file or archive, its contents are viewed. The mapping and functions are simple and easy to remember -- and the keys are handily close to the arrow and page keys. The navigation keymapping depends on the type of keyboard you are using. 4FILES attempts to choose an AT or PC keyboard for you based on a test of the keyboard BIOS, but this is not foolproof and may be overridden from the Configuration Options screen. The laptop keyboard cannot be automatically detected, and must always be explicitly selected. Here are the active navigation keys: AT KEYBOARD PC KEYBOARD ════════════════════════╗ ═════════════════════════════╗ ────┐ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ ║ ┌───────────┐ ║ │ │ G* │ │ G- │ ║ │ Scl Lock │ ║ ─┘ └────┘ └────┘ ║ └───────────┘ ║ ──┐ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ ║ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ ║ │ │ │ │ │ ║ ("G" means │ │ │ G- │ ║ ──┘ └────┘ │ G+ │ ║ grey key.) └────┘ └────┘ ║ ─┐ ┌────┐ │ │ ║ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ ║ │ │ │ │ │ ║ │ │ │ │ ║ ──┘ └────┘ └────┘ ║ └────┘ │ G+ │ ║ ─┐ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ ║ ┌────┐ │ │ ║ │ │ │ │ ║ └────┘ └────┘ ║ (Choose your keyboard on the Config Menu.) ┌────┐ ┌────┐┌─────┐ ║ Laptop Keyboard │ [ │ │ ] ││ │ ║ └────┘ └────┘│ │ ║ ┌─────┘ │ ║ │ Enter │ ║ └───────────┘ ║ ║ The <Scroll-Lock> and <[> keys have the same function as <G*> depending on the choice of keyboard type, and will always be referred to as <G*> in this manual. Similarly, <]> will be included in all references to <G-> and <Enter> as <G+>. 8. <G*> -- Change drives. The change is instantaneous when a drive letter is typed. NOTE: For PC keyboards, <SCL-LCK> is substituted. For laptop keyboards, <[> is substituted. <G**> -- Change drive:directory via a text entry field. LCD, ACD and NCD augmentation is supported; set this up on the Configuration Menu. (See key substitutions above.) <G***> -- Change back to previous directory. (See key substitutions above.) <G-> -- Change to the parent directory (from any record). NOTE: For laptop keyboards, <]> is substituted. <G+> -- IF RECORD IS: 1) a directory, change to it. 2) a file, browse it. ** 3) an archive, list its constituent files. ** ** = 4FILES must be configured for this to work. NOTE: For laptop keyboards, <ENTER> is substituted. <^G+> -- Calls an archiving utility. ** (See G+ substitution above.) <CR> -- <ENTER> may be configured to duplicate <G+> in File Mode only for AT keyboards. For laptop keyboards, <ENTER> is always substituted for <G+>. <@-F10> -- Shows the configuration menu. <TAB> -- Toggles between FILE MODE and NOTE MODE. <@-Char> -- Fast scroll to next record starting with the character. <SCL-LK> or <Keypad-5> changes search direction (the former for AT and laptop keyboards, the later for PC keyboards). NOTE MODE KEY COMMANDS: ----------------------- ^H -- Destructive backspace (see also File Mode). ^W -- Write note edits to disk? Choices given are (S)ave or (A)bandon unsaved edits. This also works in File Mode. ^Y -- DELETE NOTE. @^Y -- Delete tail of note (from cursor to end). <Ctrl-PgUp> -- Go to TOP of directory listing. <Ctrl-PgDn> -- " " END " " " <Ctrl-Up> -- Go to TOP of page. <Ctrl_Dn> -- " " END " " 9. <Sh-Up> -- Scroll display to show record ABOVE TOP of page. <Sh-Dn> -- " " " " " BELOW END " " <Ctrl-Lf> -- Shift cursor ONE WORD LEFT. <Ctrl-Rt> -- " " ONE WORD RIGHT. <Sh-Rt> -- 1) Bump text to the right of the cursor to right margin. 2) If no text to the right, enter Flush-Right (FLR) mode. <Sh-Lf> -- Exit FLR mode (or use <ESC>, <CR> or any bar movements). <Sh-BS> -- Destructive "Fore-space", available in FLR mode only. <ESC> -- Like <^ESC>. Can be disabled with a configuration switch. <^ESC> or <@ESC> -- Quit to original or current directory, respectively, DOS only. (If you use NEWKEY, see page 10.) Under Windows & OS/2 these keys have their normal meanings. <Sh-ESC> -- Terminate 4FILES. Active in Windows and OS/2 only. FILE MODE KEYCOMMANDS: ---------------------- <^E> or <^E><^E> -- Presents a DOS command line with or without the current file name. Appending "++" to a command freezes the screen temporarily after execution, or freezing can be permanently set via the Configuration Options screen. Executing a blank command line shells to a secondary "real" DOS session. <^H> -- Shell to 4DOS & show the selectable command history window. KEYSTACK.COM (a 4DOS TSR) must be loaded before 4FILES. <^X> -- Instantly executes records that are .COM, .EXE, .BAT or .BTM files; also acts on data files with "executable extensions". <F7> or <NUM-LK> -- Toggles between showing file attributes and file time. The works only on non-laptop keyboards; <F7> works on all. FOR FILES --------- A / ^A -- Change attributes of current file or all marked files. C / ^C -- Copy current file or all marked files. D / ^D -- Delete current file or all marked files. M / ^M -- Move file or all marked files. R / ^R -- Rename current or marked files. (LCD 4.0B+ & ACD compatible.) S -- Resort the listed files with a new sort type or order. FOR DIRECTORIES --------------- N -- Create a "New" Directory. LCD/ACD/NCD compatible. K -- "Kill" (remove) highlighted directory. LCD/ACD/NCD compatible. R -- Rename current directory. Descriptive note, if any, will be lost. (LCD 4.0B+ and ACD compatible.) <G**> -- Change directory. (See above for KB=2 or 3 substitutions.) 10. FILE MARKING ------------ <F5> / <F6> -- Mark and Unmark the CURRENT file. <^F5> / <^F6> -- Mark and Unmark ALL files. <^/> / <^\> -- " " " " " <Space> -- Toggle mark on CURRENT file. <^Space> -- Toggle marks on ALL files. DRIVE & DIRECTORY NAVIGATION ============================ Since navigation is an important feature, the abilities are summarize here more succinctly in a different way than above. AT KEYBOARDS (KB=1): <G*> Drive change via a single key. <G**> Directory change via an input field. <G***> Goto PREVIOUS drive\directory. <G-> Goto PARENT directory. <G+> Goto HIGHLIGHTED directory. <ENTER> may be configured as a substitution in File Mode only. (On a highlighted FILE, <G+> will view the file or archive.) PC KEYBOARDS (KB=2): <Scrl-Lock> Drive change via a single key. <Scrl-Lock><Scrl-Lock> Directory change via an input field. <Scrl-Lock><Scrl-Lock><Scrl-Lock> Goto PREVIOUS drive\directory. <G-> Goto PARENT directory. <G+> Goto HIGHLIGHTED directory. <ENTER> may be configured as a substitution in File Mode only. (On a highlighted FILE, <G+> will view the file or archive.) LAPTOP KEYBOARDS (KB=3): <[> Drive change via a single key. <[[> Directory change via an input field. <[[[> Goto PREVIOUS drive\directory. <]> Goto PARENT directory. <ENTER> Goto HIGHLIGHTED directory. <ENTER> may be configured as a substitution in File Mode only. (On a highlighted FILE, <G+> will view the file or archive.) After hitting <G*> you will be prompted to enter a drive letter. A valid entry will cause an immediate change to the drive. A second hit on <G*> (instead of typing a drive letter) presents an input field for specifying a new directory and/or drive. <G***> makes an immediate change to the previous directory. 11. The <G**> command is compatible with LCD, ACD or NCD (directory changing utilities) if 4FILES has been configured to use one of them, allowing you to enter fragmentary path names for directory changes. This REALLY saves time. The databases used by these programs are updated by 4FILES when directories are created, deleted or renamed. Hitting <G+> while the cursor is on a subdirectory record will cause 4FILES to change to that subdirectory. If this is the ".." record, the change will be to the parent of the current directory. <G-> is preferable though, since it will change to the parent directory from ANY record. When changing to a parent directory, the cursor will quick-scroll from the top of the listing down to the record of the subdirectory you just left. This is helpful when inspecting a succession of child directories, since you always return to your last place in the parent, rather than its first record. The scrolling action gives a quick impression of your current location in the list. MOUSE NAVIGATION & OTHER USES ============================= The navigation key commands are mirrored in the mouse commands. For three button mice you will see that commands for navigating the listing are also included. Navigation functions are denoted here with AT-keyboard key symbols. MOUSE BUTTONS: | L-- M-- R-- L-R LM- -MR LMR ===============|======================================================== 3 Button Mouse | <G+> <G-> <ESC> <TAB> <PgUp> <PgDn> <F9> | 2 Button Mouse | <G+> <ESC> <G-> NOTE: (1) Mouse type is automatically detected. (2) OS/2's Presentation Manager disables the middle mouse button! (3) See the Mouse Use section for more information. The mouse handler is setup so that no action is taken until all depressed buttons have been released. To experiment, for a 'page-down' hold down the right button -- no rush -- and hit the middle button at your leisure. Then lift one finger -- again no rush -- and when the second finger is lifted the action is taken. To use the mouse when running under MS-Windows, the mouse driver must be loaded before loading Windows, otherwise the mouse will not function in Windows DOS sessions. The handler remains active in called utilities, giving mouse capability to utilities which have none. The right-button (<ESC>) will quit the utility, but the hair-trigger may also terminate 4FILES accidentally. For this reason, <ESC> may be disabled as a means of terminating 4FILES. SEEKING A FILE ON THE LIST ========================== Scrolling to a file in a directory listing is easy: just hit an <@-char> key, where "char" is the alpha or numeric first character of the file or directory name. You will be delivered to the next 12. occurrence of a record starting with that character. On AT and laptop keyboards <SCL-LK> toggles the search direction at any time, including in mid-search. On PC keyboards, <Keypad-5> performs this function instead since <SCL-LK> is used for directory navigation. FILE MODE & NOTE MODE ===================== 4FILES starts in FILE MODE, with the file management functions are enabled. <TAB> toggles between File Mode and Note Mode. You will notice that the menu changes with the mode, and you will find that while every command on each menu will work in its mode, some will also work in the other mode. There is not a enough space on the single menu line to list all commands for each mode, but they are logical and you'll catch on. =============== USING FILE MODE =============== The file mode commands are mnemonic keys: <C>opy, <M>ove, <R>ename, <D>elete, and <A>ttributes for single files. <^C>opy, <^M>ove, <^R>ename, <^D>elete, <^A>ttributes and <^Z>ip for marked files. <N>ew-directory, <K>ill-directory, <R>ename-directory for directories. <^E>xecute-field, <^E^E>xecute DOS shell, e<^X>ecute-now, and <^H>istory list execution. File Management --------------- Copy, move and rename rely directly on 4DOS resources, and keep the file notes with their files. The Z and ^Z (Zip) commands are for archiving files, and support ARJ and LHA archivers as well as PKZIP. The archiver is selected based on the extension given for the target file, and .ZIP is the default if none is given. File notes remain associated with their files in ZIP archives, and this feature will also be added for ARJ files as soon as possible. To unzip the comments 4FILES puts in an archive, you must port the shareware program 4UNZIP to the <F4> key. (4FILES will soon have an internal function to completely replace the need for 4UNZIP, and will be able to provide the same service for ARJ files.) History lists are maintained separately for target file names for copy/ move, archive (Z/^Z) and rename commands. A common target path history list is maintained for those commands which use it. The list capacities are all ten strings. The input field is initially blank, but pressing the DownArrow key will display the current filename for editing. The oldest filename is next in line. UpArrow accesses (from blank input fields) the most recent list addition. A and ^A are mnemonic commands to change file attributes. If plain A is hit, an editable image of the current file's actual attributes is displayed for modification. If ^A is hit (operating on marked files), a template 13. instead of an actual image is shown. In the template, each attribute letter is initially preceded by a "?" wildcard, indicating that the existing attribute will be unchanged. Repeatedly typing an attribute character (R, A, S or H) toggles the action on that attribute through a cycle of, for example, ?R, +R, -R, and back to ?R. + and - indicate the attribute will be forced "ON" or "OFF" for each file. Especially with the ^A command it is useful to be able to see the current attributes for all files at once, but the default is to not display them. The file creation time field may be toggled between showing time and file attributes via the <F7> or <Sh-NumLock> key, which are functional in both File and Note Modes. <F7> is functional for all keyboards, and the other key only for non-laptop keyboards. D deletes the current file, and requires a double-tap of the "Y" key for confirmation. The double tap is a safety feature, so that typing something like "dynamic" in File Mode when you think you are in Note Mode will not delete the current file. ^D acts on all marked files, and has a simple yes/no confirmation. Note that for the marked file and archiving operations to work as fast as possible you should have a temporary directory, named TEMP, set up. In AUTOEXEC.BAT you can put a statement like: SET TEMP=d:\ where "d" is a RAMDISK or hard drive. A directory may be added if desired. 4FILES deletes its temporary files when done with them. File Execution -------------- ^E presents a DOS command line loaded with the name of the current record name, and the line editor is forced into insert mode. The cursor controls are identical to those for the note editor. ^E^E provides a blank command line in which you may enter any command; just like the DOS command line. ^Y deletes the command. A history list with a capacity of ten strings is maintained for the ^E and ^E^E commands. The typed-in command is executed, and when it finishes the return to 4FILES is automatic. In many situations this is desirable, but in some cases (the DOS SET command is an example) the information you want to see flashes off the screen. To prevent this there are two ways to cause 4FILES to delay clearing the screen until a key is hit. One is to set the configuration switch named "Pause after ^E" to Yes (NO is the factory default). The other is to append ++ to the ^E command line. ++ is a 4FILES flag, and is not actually part of the command. Either the <G+> or <Shift=> may be used to generate +. If the switch is set to YES, a "- -" appendage will force an immediate return. If you wish to work directly from the real DOS prompt for a while, type ^E^E <CR>. Executing the blank command line will load a secondary DOS shell, and you will remain in the shell until you type EXIT to return to 4FILES (see 4FILES Tip #5, below). Back in 4FILES, you will be returned to the same drive:directory you were in before. The ^X or <F9> command will execute the current file immediately with no prompting if it is an executable file or is a data file for which you have 14. set up an executable extension. This command may be forced to pause after execution with the "Pause after ^X" configuration switch. An executable extension may be set up with a statement such as this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET DOC=C:\WP\WP.EXE If you press ^X or <F9> on a file with a .DOC extension, 4FILES will then load it into Word Perfect for you. Directory Management -------------------- <N>ew-directory and <K>ill-directory are commands to make and remove directories. <R>ename works both for subdirectories and files. These commands update ACD, LCD, and NCD databases, if 4FILES is configured to use one of these utilities. MARKING FILES ------------- There are several ways to mark files. <F5> & <F6> mark and unmark records for the above marked file operations. <SPACE> toggles the mark of the current file. <^F5> & <^F6> mark and unmark all records, and <^ SPACE> toggles the marks of all files. <^/> and <^\> duplicate the <^F5> and <^F6> keys for Windows compatibility. A count of marked files and marked bytes is shown on the second line in a special configurable color. Marking may be done in both File & Note Modes. Marked file operations automatically pass over subdirectories and hidden files, and marking of DESCRIPT.ION is expressly blocked. Note however that UPON EXIT OR DURING THE NEXT DIRECTORY CHANGE, if no file notes remain, DESCRIPT.ION will be deleted for you automatically. An empty DESCRIPT.ION may also be deleted via the "D" single file command. When changing directories or calling a utility, any file marks are saved in a file named DEMARCAT.ION, kept in the current directory. When entering or returning to a directory, if this file is found the marks are restored. The exception is that if the file was written during a previous 4FILES session it is instead deleted. So, within a session all marks remain until they are unmarked, but they are usually not "sticky" between sessions. There are two ways to have "sticky" marks, if you wish. One is via a Configuration Menu switch. The other is the /M command line switch. The later is particularly useful to reuse marks on the spur of the moment, if the menu switch is "off." The marks in the current directory would otherwise be lost when 4FILES loads, before you have a chance to change the menu switch. 15. SORTING THE LIST OF FILES ------------------------- While the subdirectory portion of the list is always alphabetically sorted, the files-portion may be sorted in various ways either on-the-fly or via command line switches. The default sort is alphabetical, in ascending order. To change the sort on-the-fly, type S while in DOS mode. After making a selection, which may involve making settings for both type of sort and for ascending or descending order, a second tap on the last key hit will exit the sort menu and cause the sort to be made. <CR> will exit also. The command line sort switches are described below. /D may be used by itself or in combination with other switches, and affects only the primary sort. The following sorts also apply to on-the-fly setting:: SWITCH PRIMARY SORT SECONDARY SORT ------- ----------------- ------------------ DEFAULT FILENAME .EXT /E .EXT FILENAME /S File Size FILENAME.EXT /C Chronological FILENAME.EXT /N File Note FILENAME.EXT /U Unsorted, DOS order -- /D Descending Order Descending Order /D may be combined with any of the other switches. Except when sorting by filename, the primary sort field is highlighted with a color that is set on the configuration menu. For (U)nsorted, the filename field is highlighted. Only files, never subdirectories, are sorted. International code pages are used for sorting as appropriate. The "tips" section has more on sorting. ============= UTILITY PORTS FILE BROWSING, EDITING, UNZIPPING, DUPLICATES, etc. ============= --------------------------------------------------- Some of 4FILES' most useful functions are performed by automatically executing other programs at the stroke of a key. "Utility ports" are the means by which you associate such programs with their various 4FILES control keys and setup 4FILES to send the command line information (switches, filenames, etc.) they need to be fed. These ports appear on the Configuration Utility Ports screen, and they allow you to easily customize 4FILES to use your favorite utilities or other programs. Several programs are recommended below for use in various ports. If you don't have these utilities or equivalents, they may be downloaded free on your first call to my BBS, which is a subsystem of MAS-BBS in New York. The latest version of 4FILES and a collection of pertinent utilities are found there in separate directories. See page 1 for log on instructions. Also, I can mail you a full set of useful shareware and public domain utilities (including 4DOS, which is not available on the BBS) -- see the registration form for details. 16. BROWSING FILES -------------- The <G+> key (or its substitute) is overloaded in a sensible way. Not only will it allow you to "see" the contents of a subdirectory, if the highlighted record is a file, it will call up your favorite file browser or archive viewer with the file loaded. In File Mode, <CR> may be configured to duplicate the function of <G+>, although this is not recommended unless you really need it. 4FILES comes configured with the internal 4DOS LIST command as the browser, but any browser can be used. Shelling to DOS to run this internal command is slow, but by using browse utilities like TV.COM, PC-Magazine' s free BROWSE.COM or Vern Buerg's LIST.COM, your file will be displayed in a literal eye-blink. The <G+> and <^G+> commands recognize archive files if they are self-extracting (.EXE) files or if they have one of these extensions: .ZIP, .ARC, .DWC, .LBR, .LZH, .PAK or .ZOO. When an archive is detected an archive viewer is called. There are various types of archive browsers available. FV.COM shows a simple listing of the contents. ZR, LR, AR and ZOR not only show a listing (of ZIP, LHZ, ARJ and ZOO file respectively), but can view the text of files inside the archive and extract selected files from the archive. These four programs can be found on BBSs as XRAY.ZIP or XRAY???.ZIP. 4F-XRAY.BAT was provided with your copy of 4FILES to allow the most appropriate one of these five browsers to be called automatically via one 4FILES utility port. If you use this batch file, it is best mapped to the <G+> key, and it is handy to then have FV mapped independently to the <G+> key. 4FILES comes with the <G+> mapped to FV and <^G+> mapped to ZR.COM. While in browsers and other utilities, the mouse buttons work "as initialized" by 4FILES, and provides scrolling actions plus a quick return via the right button. The combination of <left-button>=<G+> and <right-button>=<ESC>, combined with movement of the 4FILES cursor bar by the mouse, allows one handed "rapid-fire" inspection of multiple files. (Note: if you load 4FILES via SHROOM or call a utility with SWAPDOS, the mouse will be automatically disabled, temporarily. This is necessary since the mouse handler gets overwritten.) In the midst of your rapid firing though, you will sometimes inadvertently exit from 4FILES (even without the mouse). To avoid this, you can reconfigure to disable quitting via the <ESC> key. The <^ESC> and <@ESC> keys still function, and allow you to quit to the original or current directory respectively. Improper <ESC> use will then display a menu of the proper keys. If you use NEWKEY, to enable 4FILES to use the <^ESC> key, run NEWKEYSP.EXE, pick "I" on the menu, and make an entry for <^ESC>. EDITING FILES ------------- <F2> calls your editor, loading it with the filename of the current record. As supplied, editor access to .COM .EXE .BIN .OBJ .SYS .LIB .WKS .DB & .OVL extensions and the seven above archive extensions is denied. The denied extensions may be reconfigured. Denials protect the integrity 17. of non-text files. A second editor or word processor (or any utility, such as a .GIF viewer) may be mapped to <^F2>. The denied extensions apply to this key as well. If a disk is write-protected, <F2> will give an error message. If you have no editor, pick up PC-Mag's free TED.COM. Note that an "R" switch is provided in the configuration listing for each utility port. It forces reloading the current directory upon return from the utility, and should be "ON" for any editor or other utility which can change file size or directory contents. "W" (wait before redisplaying) should be off, since you will want to return immediately to 4FILES from an editor. To create a NEW file, hit <F2> while on a NON-FILE RECORD. This will not work if the "R" switch is off. You will be prompted for names for the new files, but may hit <CR> on the blank field blank if you wish. Some editors may not be able to utilize more than one filename from the command line. FINDING DUPLICATE FILES ----------------------- <F3> is initially set up to call a file finder utility called WHERE.EXE, loaded with the current file name. Bruce Gavin's utility FIND.EXE is a good one to use here. A utility of any type may be mapped to this key. UNZIPPING FILES --------------- <F4> is used to call 4UNZIP, a shareware utility which in turn calls PKUNZIP. A list is shown of the files archived in a .ZIP file, and files can be unzipped singly or in marked groups. 4UNZIP is important here since it will recover the file notes 4FILES archived with their files. Note: the current 4UNZIP version causes a crash (immediately or a soon after use, with or without 4FILES) if certain keyboard buffer-expanders are used. Test your setup! 4FILES will soon have a built-in routine which will replace 4UNZIP completely, and which will work on both ARJ and ZIP files (4UNZIP works only on ZIPs. Some 4FILES users setup <F4> or <^G+>-Zip to call SHEZ, a comprehensive archiving tool (it's shareware). ==================== UTILITY PORTS IN USE ==================== One potential difficulty which 4FILES avoids is that some utilities and editors you might like to call allow you to delete/rename files or change drives/directories. When the utility is exited, 4FILES by default explicitly changes back to its last drive/directory and rereads the directory list. The bar is returned to the last record it was on, or if deleted, to the nearest record number possible. This process takes a little longer than assuming that the directory structure is unchanged, and also destroys the "+/-" note-modified indicators and any file marks, but is SAFE. 18. Alternatively, you may tell 4FILES not to reload the directory by setting the "R" switch for the port to "N". Use the "N" setting ONLY if you know the subject utility is not capable of the operations mentioned in the previous paragraph. Note that the switch for the browser is also operative when displaying Help or this manual with <F1> or <^F1>, since the browser is used to display these files. Two help files are provided: 4F.HLP and 4F.KEY. The file 4FILES will call is 4F.HLP, so if you wish to use the other, rename both. =============== USING NOTE MODE =============== ANNOTATING FILES ================ 4FILES supports file notes (or "descriptions" in 4DOS parlance) up to 40-characters long, and each directory with annotated files will contain a hidden file named DESCRIPT.ION, containing the note data for all files in the directory. Beginning with release 4.01, 4DOS can handle file notes up to 120-characters long, but 4FILES will not be able to use the extra capacity until a later release. For now though, 4FILES does detect notes of over 40-characters and will warn you of the situation. To limit creation of notes by 4DOS or other utilities to 40 characters, be sure that in your 4DOS.INI file the directive DescriptionMax=040 is set, which is the default setting. File copying, moving, or renaming will however always work properly regardless of description length since 4FILES relies directly on 4DOS resources for these functions. The only caveat is, again, that if a note has been edited, 4FILES will eventually rewrite DESCRIPT.ION, and only the first 40 characters of each note will be then be written. To put the "*" character in a note, the SHIFT-8 key must be used since <G*> has a special function. Great attention has been devoted to making 4FILES a true power tool for creating or modifying one or a multitude of notes. These are the features: CUT & PASTE & NOTE DELETES ========================== <F9> initiates the text-copying mode. Highlight the desired text by moving the cursor horizontally, and then hit <CR> to put it in the paste buffer. <^F9> cuts (rather than copying) the text to the buffer, and <@F9> copies the whole note. <F10> pastes text in the buffer at the cursor position. If a PASTE causes an overflow of the 40-character note space, the note is moved to an 80-character space at the bottom of the screen. This expanded field is fully editable ( see following). Captured text stays in the buffer when changing drives or directories. <F10> is inactive in FLR mode. 19. ^Y deletes the entire line. In earlier versions it cut the line to the cut- buffer, but now the buffer is loaded only via the various <F9> keys. ^Y is functional in notes and all text input fields and command lines. In Note Mode, ^D will delete the notes of all marked files. As with file deletion, a double-tap of the "Y" key is required to affirm the deletion. The message is put on a different part of the screen than for file deletion, to be sure you realize that you are deleting notes, not files. EXPANDED EDIT FIELD =================== Expanded Field Mode is triggered whenever typing or pasting causes the length of the current note to exceed 40 characters, and allows editing over a full 80-character field. The note is moved to a highlighted 80- character field at the bottom of the screen and the 40-character field is blotted out. Two "eyebrows" of contrasting "blot" characters, each 40-characters long, are placed above this field, and act as a guide for where the over-long note will be truncated when <CR> or <ESC> is hit. The effect of the blotted out 40- character field, eyebrows, and highlighted bottom row is to draw your eyes down to the expanded field. To return to the 40-character field, hit <ESC> or <CR>. <ESC> will return to the current record and <CR> moves the cursor to the next record. In both cases the note is truncated after the 40th character. 4FILES will not accept more than 80 characters under any circumstances, and will block any pasting or typing which would exceed that size. A 40-character long cut string can be pasted into a full 40-character note, since the expanded field will be used for the overflow. FLUSH RIGHT (FLR) MODE ====================== To create notes which are easy to scan by eye, it is sometimes useful to make part of a note left justified and part of it right justified. Hitting <Sh-Rt-Arrow> provides right justified text in either of two ways: 1. If there is text to the right of the cursor, it is bumped over to the right margin. The cursor is not moved, and 4FILES remains in its normal, left justified editing mode. 2. If there is no text to the right of the cursor, 4FILES enters Flush- Right Mode (FLR). The cursor is moved to the right margin, and highlighted indicators are set-up to show the part of the note field which is available for FLR text entry. Text will grow leftward from the cursor, which is initially outside the field. Editing is forced into insert mode. All horizontal cursor movement keys are active. ^Left & ^Right behave slightly different than in normal mode, putting the cursor between words, and Shft-BS is enabled. Collision of new FLR text with any left-justified text is prevented. Cut and paste are not allowed. QUITTING FLR MODE ================= There are three ways to leave FLR mode, with differing effects on the text cursor and the cursor bar. In all cases, the pre-existing insert or overwrite mode will be restored. The choices: 20. <ESC> Leaves the cursor where it is. <Sh-Left> Sends the cursor home. (Record-change) (All vertical cursor keys act normally.) INSERT / OVERWRITE MODES ======================== The INSERT mode default may be changed from the configuration menu. The active mode may be toggled with <INS>. ============================== INTERNAL CONFIGURATION ROUTINE ============================== CUSTOMIZING 4FILES ================== You can change 4FILES' on-screen appearance, the INSERT / OVERWRITE default, "utility port" setups, and a number of other features. <Alt-F10> displays the Main Configuration Menu, which offers four Configuration Screen for action and <ESC> to quit. If you edit the configuration you will instead be given different quit options: (S)ession only changes or (P)ermanent changes, which are saved to disk in a .CFG file. If you rename 4FILES, 4FILES will detect its new name and will recognize only a .CFG file of the same name. On exit from configuration, new and old data are compared, and you are prompted to save the configuration only if there is a difference. When quitting 4FILES, you will have an opportunity to save session-only configuration changes if you like them. "Utility Ports" Configuration Screen ==================================== Each utility port shown has a Key/Function name which indicates the key to access the utility and the recommended use for the port. The first field of each line is the "utility field", and is for an alias name, file name, (filespecs) or a complete pathspec for a utility or application. A complete pathspec may speed loading, but is not necessary if the program is in your PATH. (DOS must know where to find the program, either from the pathspec or by searching each directory listed in your system's PATH.) A complete filespec can dramatically speed loading the utility, and is recommended. In all cases, a file extension MUST be given. Valid extensions include .BAT, .BTM and .ALS. ".ALS" must be appended to aliases or DOS internal commands. .ALS is a flag for 4FILES, and is not included in the actual call. All commands without extensions will fail to execute. If you wish to swap 4FILES to EMS or XMS memory or a hard disk before executing a utility or application, SWAPDOS.COM can be used. Enter SWAPDOS in the utility field. The name of the program to be called then goes in the tail ("T=") field, preceded by any command line switches for SWAPDOS and followed by any of its own switches. Another swap program which can be used for this is SHROOM. 4FILES rather than the utility is loaded via SHROOM, so SHROOM should not be placed in a port's configuration. With SWAPDOS, swapping only occurs for the selected utilities, while SHROOM will swap for all utilities and when shelling to DOS. On the other hand, SHROOM does fast executions via the DOS EXEC 21. function, while SWAPDOS makes a slower shell to DOS. On any utility or DOS calls in which SHROOM or SWAPDOS is active, the 4FILES mouse and keyboard handlers are necessarily disabled during the call. Errors in calling .COM and .EXE programs from 4FILES (e.g. file not found) are shown as "configuration incorrect", but execution errors for batch files and aliases are not trapped. If execution is a quick flash on the screen, you need to repeat the operation with a "screen pause" to see what is happening. There are two ways to do this; one global and one specific to the utility. To pause after execution of all utilities and the DOS shell (^E commands), set the "Pause after ^E" configuration switch to "Y". To cause a particular utility to pause after execution, set its "H=" (hold screen) switch to "Y". There is also a "Pause after ^X" switch. Displaying Help and this manual with <F1> and <^F1> (respectively) will work only if the <G+> BROWSE key is configured correctly. The next field in the utility-port block is the command line tail. This sends filenames, command line switches or other parameters to the utility. "$F" inserts the current filename with extension, and may be placed where needed among the parameters. No spaces are needed before or after $F, saving space. $P causes the full pathspec and filename to be inserted, and is a good choice if you use Windows. $N inserts the filename without its extension. The "H" field is a YES/NO field which determines whether or not 4FILES waits for a keyhit after the utility has finished executing. Set it to "Y" for utilities which run straight through and exit without any user input. The "R" field is also a YES/NO field which determines whether 4FILES reloads the directory list and DESCRIPT.ION file after the utility exits. It must be set to "Y" if the utility is capable of managing files or changing drives and directories. It should for example be "Y" for an editor or word processor. "Configuration Options" Screen ============================== This screen provides switches, grouped into sections, for the following: KEYBOARD/MOUSE SWITCHES: ------------------------ Keyboard Code -- Two letter DOS keyboard-country-code. LEAVE THIS BLANK UNLESS YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. Takes effect next session. Keyboard Type -- "1" = AT keyboard, <G*>, <G->, <G+> keys active. "2" = PC keyboard, substitutes <Scl-Lock> for <G*>. "3" = Laptop. Substitutes <[>, <]>, and <ENTER> for above and <F7> to toggle file-time/file-attributes display. Overtype Default -- The INSERT mode default can be changed to OVERTYPE. Disable <ESC> -- To avoid inadvertent exits via <ESC> set this to "Y" and exit with <^ESC> or <@ESC>. If you use NEWKEY, see 22. P.10. In MS-Windows and OS/2 setting this switch allows task switching to occur. <CR> for <G+> -- "Y" substitutes the <Enter> (<CR>) key for the <G+> key, in File Mode only. <CR> retains its text writing meaning in Note Mode. Enable Mouse -- "N" leaves the mouse set up as-received by 4FILES. "Y" causes 4FILES to install its own mouse handler. VIDEO SWITCHES: --------------- Retain Colors -- "Y" leaves the screen set to the 4FILES text color at exit; otherwise the DOS color is restored. Enable Blinking-- 4FILES disables blinking to allow all color choices. To restore blinking on exit and during utility calls, set this to "Y"; otherwise blinking is left off. Snow Prevention - Set to "Y" if your CGA monitor has a snow problem. SOUND: ------ Beep OK? -- The beep is on by default, and may be turned off. SHELLING OPTIONS: ----------------- Use Copy/Move Alias? -- "N" is the default. Use __CAUTION__ if you change this. "Y" disables 4FILES' protection against trashing a file if you specify a non-existent directory during a marked files copy/move. If set to "Y" your aliases for both Copy and Move must provide this protection. Full Screen Copy -- For best appearance, set this to "Y" and see if your video system will work properly with the smaller window provided. 4FILES sets up the window and DOS then runs within it. "Y" works for most systems. Full Screen Archiving -- Similar to the above, providing separate control for windowing of file archiving operations. Pause After ^E -- If the result of an (^E)xecute flashes off screen, set this to "Y", or alternatively enter "++" at the end of the ^E command input line. Both await a keyhit. Pause After ^X -- This prevents the result of an immediate execution from flashing off screen, as above. 23. OTHER OPTION SWITCHES: ---------------------- Keep File Marks? -- File marks from previous sessions are normally disregarded. This configuration switch or the /M command line switch may be used to utilize old marks. Show File Attributes -- Normally 4FILES starts up with the file time shown field displayed. This switch causes file attributes to be shown instead. (<F7> toggles the display during a 4FILES session.) Further note on the "Use Copy/Move Alias?" Switch ------------------------------------------------- Use of this switch is not recommended, but is provided for power users. It should normally be set to "N". It determines whether an existing 4DOS command or user alias named COPY, MOVE or RENAME will be unaliased before sending the command. NOTE THAT ENABLING ALIASES DISABLES THE SAFETY IN 4FILES WHICH PREVENTS MARKED FILES FROM OVERWRITING ONE ANOTHER IF THE TARGET DIRECTORY DOES NOT EXIST. You MUST incorporate this safety yourself into BOTH the copy and move aliases you use, for example by including the 4DOS /D switch. The 4FILES switch is provided to support users who have aliases which complete a path fragment (given for a copy/move operation) into a full path. If 4FILES were totally safe for both switch settings, such aliases would be pre-empted by the prompt to create the non-existent target directory, which is what a path fragment appears to be. The switch is completely safe if set to "N." If set to "Y," you must take the above precautions. Also, if set to "Y" your aliases must be able to handle (either using or discarding) both the /R and /P switches. "Configure Colors & Highlights" Screen ====================================== The screen itself does not truly portray the 4FILES colors (so that the location of input fields can be clearly shown), so a sample screen is shown at the bottom of the screen. Just follow the instructions on the screen. Since 4FILES turns screen blinking off, monochrome highlights and background colors not normally available (i.e. dark grey) may be used. If dark grey is used, you will probably want to set the "Enable Blinking" switch to "N." Some color combinations may not work with some "ported utilities". For example, if a utility automatically sets up a black on white cursor bar without clearing the screen to white on black text first, AND if you have 4FILES text set to black on white, you won't see the cursor bar. This occurs with 4UNZIP & VDE.COM. The only solution is to pick text colors for 4FILES which avoid the conflict. Please write to authors of such programs and request a "smarter" set up of screen attributes in the next version. Please notify me as well, and I will contact them too. 24. ================ DISPLAY FEATURES ================ 4FILES works with any video text mode of 80x25 or higher. Except for HGC, MDA and CGA video cards, if a higher mode is used it will be automatically implemented. For HGC, MDA and CGA running higher modes (such as with UltraVision), the /+ command line switch must be used. The reason is that not all cards in this class are 100% BIOS compatible, in some cases defeating the automatic detection, and this arrangement assures that all systems will run " out of the box" in 80x25 mode. When calling 4FILES from an application running a higher mode, 80x25 mode may be forced with the /8 switch. When calling utilities or shelling, the screen may look its best (depending on your color choice) if ANSI.SYS is not loaded. If a CGA video card is detected, a no-snow video writing method is used by default. For faster displays, this method may be configured "off". "T" and "E" indicators near the top and bottom of the screen indicate that the top or end of the listing is shown on screen. Used disk bytes are shown in File Mode, and the 4FILES version number is shown in Note Mode. A file count is displayed at all times. An "S" indicator with an up arrow symbol on the top row means the file search direction is upward; if there is no symbol shown the direction is downward. "PROTECTED" and "ROOT FULL" messages indicate that the full range of file management and note editing features are not available for the current disk. "Protected" means the disk is write protected. Records with altered notes are flagged with a "+/-" character at mid-line. A different character is shown for unaltered notes. A "delta" character next to a filename means the file is marked for group file management. =================================== OPERATING WITH SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTS =================================== RUNNING UNDER MS-WINDOWS ======================== 4FILES runs well as a non-Windows application. Windows is detected automatically, and regardless of the 4FILES configuration setting for the ESC key, the CTRL-ESC and ALT-ESC keys will serve their Windows functions. In Windows, <ESC> or <Shift-ESC> are used to terminate 4FILES. Note that the mouse will work in 4FILES only when 4FILES is in a full screen window -- when the program is in a window, the Windows mouse handler is operative. As you should know, you may toggle between windowed and full screen with the Windows <Alt><Enter> key. The 4F.PIF file provided will cause 4FILES to startup in a window, but you may change this behavior. This is the recommended way to install 4FILES in Windows: 1) It is best to have two 4FILES installations; one in the Startup Group which will always be loaded automatically into a minimized-icon or window 25. whenever you load Windows, and one in whichever Group is normally showing on your desktop. This will give one example of how to do this. Your DOS installation of 4FILES should be completed before proceeding. Be sure 4F-I-WIN.ICO and 4F-P-WIN.PIF are in the same directory as the program, or alternately put copies of them in your Windows directory. 2) Open the Startup Group. From the Program Manager menu line select "File," then "New" and "OK" with "Program Item" selected. You are now in the Program Properties dialog box. Type in 4FILES as the description, then <TAB> to the next field and use the mouse to select the "Browse" button. Use the directory tree to find your way to the copy of 4FILES installed for DOS, and select 4F.COM. 3) The selection takes you back to Program Properties. <TAB> to the Working Directory field and type in the drive and directory you want 4FILES to list when it starts up. <TAB> to the next field and type the hot-key combination you wish to use to reopen the 4FILES window. Finally, if you do not wish 4FILES to load immediately (remember, this is the Startup Group) and prefer to have it appear instead as an icon at the bottom of the screen, set the "Run Minimized" box. Open the dialog box menu (upper left corner button), save your setup and then exit. 4) Now open the Windows PIF Editor. Open its menu, and cascade through the "File" and "Open" choices. Use the tree to find the directory with the copy of 4FILES that you are installing, and select 4F-WIN.PIF. You are returned to the previous dialog box, and the fields have been filled from the .PIF file. The "Startup Directory" field here will be over-ridden by the "Working Directory" entry you made earlier from Program Properties. Make the Display Usage choice to determine whether 4FILES will start up full-screen (with 4FILES mouse operational) or in a window (with mouse Windows mouse operational). Remember, you can toggle between the display types and type of mouse operation with <Alt><Enter> at any time. Save your work, and exit from PIF Editor. If you ever create your own .PIF, set the KB Required to 128K. Although 4FILES is a .COM file, it needs memory for 64K of data in addition to its own code and buffers, which is also approaching 64K. Set KB_Desired to 640K, to leave room for utilities called from 4FILES. 5) It is recommended that you do a duplicate installation in the Windows Group you will normally have showing on your desktop. This way, if you terminate 4FILES you will have another icon at hand for loading again without the bother of opening the Startup Group to find it. Using 4FILES in Windows ----------------------- For regular 4FILES use (except during evaluation under COMMAND.COM) be sure your COMSPEC environment variable specifies 4DOS or NDOS. To use the mouse in 4FILES, your mouse driver MUST be loaded prior to loading Windows. Although Windows does not need a pre-loaded driver, 4FILES does. The mouse will have its 4FILES functions when 4FILES is running full screen, and will have its Windows functions when 4FILES is in a window. You may toggle 4FILES between full screen and window displays with <Alt><Enter>. <Alt><ESC> will swap out of 4FILES to other tasks. When the swap cycle comes back to 4FILES, if 4FILES is running full screen, you will come 26. back to the 4FILES icon and will have to reopen it. If it is running in a window though, you will come back to your place on the 4FILES screen, or the screen of a utility you may have called from 4FILES and been in when you swapped tasks. 4F-WIN.PIF sets the Windows short-cut to Alt+CAPSLOCK; this may be changed on the PIF-Editor "Advanced" screen. One handy use of 4FILES is to have it in a background window that has an edge or corner showing. Suppose you are in a Windows application, for example PageMaker, and you are looking at a directory list, trying to decide which file to load. The Windows directory display does not show file notes or allow you to view a file, and it can be hard to figure out which file you want. Just click on the 4FILES window to bring it to the foreground, change to the same directory, and read your notes. Then click on the window for your application, and you are ready to go. Of course, with the 4FILES window handy in the background it is also easy to update your file notes after creating or editing a file with another application. RUNNING UNDER OS/2 ================== Users report that 4FILES runs well in an OS/2 2.0 VDM. The author does not yet have OS/2, and has not fine-tuned 4FILES for oper- ation under it, other than using Alt-ESC & Ctrl-ESC as above. Suggestions for use under OS/2 are welcome. An OS/2 icon is provided. In Presentation Manager, OS/2 converts 3-button mice to 2-button action, unfortunately. RUNNING UNDER DESQVIEW ====================== 4FILES is now DESQview (DV) aware, and may be used in small or full windows. Note that even though 4FILES is fully DV-aware, " Writes directly to screen" must be set to "yes" since utilities you call from 4FILES may not be DV-aware. DV's Transfer and Learn functions are fully functional, even though 4FILES does employ its own keyboard handler. 4FILES' time slice will be released while 4FILES is idling. Sufficient memory must be allotted to 4FILES for itself plus the largest utility (or the DOS secondary shell) which will be called from within it. You may wish to have "Open" menu entries for a few copies of 4FILES, each with a different name and its own .CFG file. For example, one copy might be setup to call TED (a small freeware text editor) as the editor so 4FILES can be fully functional with minimal memory requirements; and another copy might call Multi-Edit (a full featured editor) and be set up for 350+K of memory. Due to 4FILES' small size it is realistic to use multiple copies (each with its own .CFG file) to provide this flexibility. When setting up for 4FILES it is suggested that the filename plus extension be used, causing DV to load 4FILES directly itself rather than calling DOS to load it. This saves several K of memory and saves much time during utility calls since execution will be direct. On utility calls if DOS loaded 4FILES, DV will shell to DOS before the utility is loaded. Also, if a utility is called while 4FILES is in a small window, the utility's screen may appear to be blank and unscrollable, depending on the location of text on the page. In this situation just zoom the window to full size. 27. In the DV setup for 4FILES, set "Uses it's own colors" to yes, but don't use colors which interfere with blinking. For example, when dark grey is used for the 4FILES list background, 4FILES will display correctly but when you switch to another window the whole 4FILES window will blink. Some monochrome highlight choices have this same effect. Under DESQview the 4FILES CTRL-ESC and ALT-ESC keys loose their meaning since 4FILES will always load showing its home directory. These keys can still be useful though, allowing "plain" ESC to be deactivated as described herein. =============== SAFETY FEATURES =============== DISK OVERFLOW PREVENTION ======================== In DOS, a file write that exceeds disk capacity truncates the file, usually with no immediate outward indication of a problem. Automatic protection against such data loss must be provided by the program itself, and 4FILES is so equipped. Competing programs do not check for disk overflow; some simply truncate the file, and some truncate it to zero length. Some give absolutely no warning, and others warn only after the damage is done. Whenever you change records or directories, 4FILES checks for an over-flow condition. If your edits exceed disk capacity, you are immediately alerted with a message giving the number of excess bytes. At this point the note file is still in memory, and operations which would cause a file write are blocked. These include drive or directory changes, calling browse or edit utilities, and quitting. Meanwhile, you have FULL editing freedom, even text insertion and pasting, while editing your notes down. The overflow bytes message is updated on each record change, and the byte tally can run up as high as necessary. When the message stops appearing, the notes will then fit on disk and blocked-off functions are re-enabled. Entirely deleting a note deducts more than the note size from the overflow; the length of the "filename.ext" plus three delimiter bytes are also nixed. If you delete a file (as opposed to just its note) or subdirectory with the D or K commands, the space freed up from the record and its note will be properly accounted for. Changes during ^E operations are accounted for also since the directory is always reread afterward. 4FILES pinpoints available disk space down to the last byte. In one unusual circumstance the overflow detection behavior may seem strange, although it is still working correctly. Writing a new file requires at least one cluster of disk space (1024, 2048, or 4096 bytes, depending on the drive). Writing the first note in a subdirectory requires one cluster of available space, but if the disk is already full, doing so will cause an overflow condition. You might try going to another subdirectory that has notes and deleting a few notes, but this probably will not work. You may appear to free up enough bytes, but unless this also frees up a cluster 4FILES will still indicate an overflow since one does in fact exist. 28. Unmarking files may also reduce disk requirements, especially if all files are unmarked, freeing up a whole cluster. READ ONLY "TRAP" AVOIDED ======================== 4DOS and 4FILES can move and edit notes only if the "attribute" of the DESCRIPT.ION file allows a file write. Unfortunately, the "READ-ONLY" attribute can be inadvertently set by some utilities, especially those which can operate on blocks of files (such as XTREE Pro). When loading a directory, 4FILES checks ahead for the READ-ONLY attribute, and will prompt you to clear it. Competing programs aren't so nice. They let you edit notes and appear to save your notes to disk -- but ... uh, uh, surprise! Your work is gone. 4FILES won't let you waste effort making edits which can't be saved, nor will it lose them under any circumstances. If you say "NO" to clearing the attribute during a directory change, you return to the old directory. During 4FILES startup, picking "NO" terminates the program. "YES" clears the bit, and operations are normal. NEVER intentionally mark a DESCRIPT.ION file "READ-ONLY" for any reason. 4FILES catches the error, but 4DOS doesn't check for it. As a result, a file moved or copied TO the affected directory will lose its note. A file in that directory will lose its note if it is renamed. 4FILES also will not allow you to use the A or ^A commands to change the attributes of DESCRIPT.ION, nor will it allow you to copy or rename it. It may be deleted only if all notes have been erased. Such protections are essential to the safety of the description system. TIMELY INACCESSIBLE-DISK DETECTION ================================== Files on a write protected disk cannot be altered, and if the root directory is full, files can't be added to it. During 4FILES startup and all drive or directory changes an immediate check is made to see if one of those conditions exists. If so, you will be alerted with a prominent "PROTECTED" or "ROOT FULL" message. As appropriate, certain 4FILES functions are disabled, and you will get an error message if you try to use them. For example, in a full root you will not be able to edit notes unless the DESCRIPT.ION file already exists. You can view files on a protected disk, but file management and note editing is impossible. No wasted time writing notes you can't save!! INTERNAL CRITICAL ERROR HANDLER =============================== DOS handles some simple, common problems as critical errors, and can disrupt execution of a program. These problems include leaving a drive door open or calling a drive with no disk inserted. 4FILES has its own INT24 handler to treat such problems seamlessly. It also goes to extra effort to handle use of drives A and B in single floppy systems seamlessly. 29. =========== 4FILES TIPS =========== Here are some ideas for making the most of 4FILES in everyday use. 1) TEAMWORK WITH LARGE APPLICATIONS #1: 4FILES is a real time saver when used in conjunction with some application programs. For example, you can write a 4DOS alias which loads 4FILES whenever you exit your comm program. Using Procom as an example, if you create this 4DOS/NDOS alias: ALIAS COM = C:\COM\PROCOM ^ 4FILES C:\COM\DOWN /T/D the command "COM" will cause 4FILES to be load when Procom exits. Your download directory will be shown sorted in reverse order by file creation time, placing new files at the top. Alternatively, using /E/D would put .ZIPS at the top. Then, using <G+> you may view the contents of the new text or .ZIP files. To unzip a file, type F4 to call PKUNZIP or 4UNZIP. 2) TEAMWORK WITH LARGE APPLICATIONS #2: In Windows or OS/2, keep a corner of the 4FILES window visible in the background where it is immediately accessible. Use 4FILES to refer to your file notes when you are having trouble deciding which file to load into a Windows application from the "sparse" directory lists Windows provides. This also keeps 4FILES handy for quick file note updates when you created or modify data files. 3) MORE ROOM FOR BIG APPLICATIONS: To make more room for big applications, you can use SHROOM or SWAPDOS to swap 4FILES to EMS or XMS memory or disk. Use of these programs is described elsewhere in this manual. The freed-up memory may make the difference between your application running or not running. 4) MULTIPLE 4FILES CONFIGURATIONS: You can write a variety of aliases to quickly load 4FILES in specialized, frequently used configurations. An alias called 4E might call 4FILES with the /E switch set. Another called 4T, might make the call 4FILES C:\WP\TEXT. In such aliases, giving the full pathspec to 4FILES will speed loading, or you may want to have the directory containing 4FILES listed early in your PATH statement. 5) SPEED YOUR RETURN AFTER SHELLING TO DOS: use this alias: ALIAS = E EXIT. Then "E <CR>" gets you back to 4FILES (or other shelling program) fast from the secondary shell. 6) REMEMBER THE "DOUBLE-TAP" KEYS: ^E^E, < G**>, and the double strokes to quit the Sort menu. Also <G***> to return to the previous directory. 7) FREEZING THE SCREEN #1: With the ^E command or when using a utility port with a batch file or alias, a message might flash off screen too fast to read, or it might appear that nothing happens at all. Appending a "++" 30. to the command will freeze the screen after execution until a key is hit, allowing you to see what happened. Also, 4FILES can be configured to pause after every execution. 8) FREEZING THE SCREEN #2: Some utilities you may like to use will scroll several pages right off the screen. The solution is to call an alias, as in these examples calling Borland's TDUMP. They are most conveniently placed in an alias file, but can be entered on the command line if the alias expansion is enclosed in single quotes (once entered they are in memory, ready for use). "=" is not needed from the command line. ALIAS HEX=C:\PROG\TDUMP.EXE %1-h | MORE or ALIAS HEX=C:\PROG\TDUMP.EXE %1-h | C:\UTIL\LIST.COM /S The first example pipes to an MSDOS resource which pauses at the end of each page. The later pipes output into Vern Buerg's LIST program, which allows back and forth scrolling through the output. To put this to heavy use, map "HEX.ALS" to the 4FILES F3 key. (This is just an example; it is really more efficient to use LIST.COM's ability to do a hex dump directly by configuring <G+> or <F3> to call it with $F/h in the command tail.) 9) OPTIMUM KEYBOARD: We all get set in our ways so it may take some adjustment, but if your function keys are across the top, getting a keyboard with F-keys on the left will REALLY speed up your work in all programs and make it more accurate. In 4FILES the proximity of these keys to <ESC>, <TAB>, <CTRL> and <ALT> is handy, especially when marking/ unmarking all files with ^F5 and ^F6. My switch to such a keyboard was VERY rewarding! If you have a laptop computer, be sure to select KeyboardType=3 from the Configuration Options screen. Also, check out the separate cursor keypad units described above under "Directory Navigation". 10) FAST LOADING OF CALLED UTILITIES: On the configuration screen, provide the full pathspec and filename for each utility, rather than relying on DOS to search for the program in your PATH. Your utilities will load in the blink of an eye; relying on PATH you will probably notice at least some delay, and perhaps a lot if the directory holding the program is deep in your PATH. 11) COLOR SUGGESTION FOR COLOR MONITORS: As supplied 4FILES displays in colors that won't interfere with screen blinking. Through experiment- ation I have come up with two other color schemes which I feel are easier on the eyes, as well as being functional. In particular, they give a good balance between the color of the cursor bar and the colors of both normal text and sorted fields. The best one uses a dark grey background, which may require switch adjustments on the 4FILES configuration menu if you have blinking troubles with utilities which are called from 4FILES (the same attribute bit can mean "dark grey" or "blinking character" depending on whether the blink-enable bit is turned on or off in the BIOS -- and some programs fail to set this bit to the state they need to have it in). 31. COLOR SET #1 COLOR SET #2 ------------------------- ----------------------- FIELD || BACKGROUND CHARACTER || BACKGROUND CHARACTER ------------- || ---------- ----------- || ---------- ---------- NORMAL TEXT || Dark Grey Dark Green || Black Dark Cyan SORTED FIELD || Dark Grey Light Yell || Black Light Yell CURSOR BAR || Light Grey Black || Light Grey Black CUT HI-LIGHT || Dark Red Black || Dark Grey Light Red FUNCTION KEY || Dark Grey Light Grey || Light Grey Black MENU TEXT || Dark Grey Dark Cyan || Black Rust INDICATORS || Dark Red Light White || Dark Red Light Grey ==================================== 4FILES ... ORIGIN & FUTURE EVOLUTION ==================================== 4FILES is coded entirely in assembly language for high speed and small size; consequently the work involved has been considerable, and the job isn't even done. The code was written entirely in-house and totals 750K, about 23,000 lines of code. The concept arose from the lack in 4DOS of two things. 1) 4DOS has no good means to create or edit the file notes it otherwise handles so well, and its internal note editor is basic and frustrating to use. 2) while 4DOS has its own internal transfer commands (COPY, MOVE and RENAME) which automatically keep notes with their files, it does not have a good way to perform these operations on marked groups of files. 4DOS unaware utilities capable of marked file operations (such as XTREE-PRO) are however also unsatisfactory, since they are oblivious to file notes and will trash them. 4FILES was designed as a tool to do all of these things and more, such as zipping file notes into the archive with their files. In addition, every file manager I tried left much to be desired in terms of efficiency from the user's viewpoint. A simple interface packing a lot of power has been my goal. The 4FILES project is not yet complete. Future releases will have an internal ability to unzip and view archived files, 120-character file description ability, a dual-directory workspace for file management, and a built-in ability to swap to EMS or XMS memory when calling utilities or shelling to DOS. Your requests for additional features or changes to existing ones are very welcome! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: My deepest thanks to John Fox, Tom Schulte, Mike Bessy, Pierre Jelenc, Ward Yelverton, Mack Tanner, Roland Friedrich, Ralf Berg and Matt Kahn who have all been of great help to me in various ways in refining 4FILES. Also, special thanks to Matt for making his MAS-BBS board available as my home base for tech support, and to Roland for his Windows and OS/2 icons. 32. =========================================== DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLING 4FILES =========================================== For simple instructions see Quick Start on page 3. The following assumes you do not have a text editor, and it will take but a few minutes. "< >" means a keyboard key. 1) The PATH is an internal list of specified drives and subdirectories where DOS will look for a program you are trying to execute, if it cannot be found on the current drive and directory. To see if you have a PATH set up, type PATH<enter> on the DOS command line. If the message given is "No PATH", go to step 2. Otherwise, write down one of the paths (there is a ";" separating each) if one which is listed is where you wish to store 4FILES; then go to step 4. If you didn't write one down, go to step 3. 2. Change to your "boot" drive and directory by typing C: (or A: if you booted from a floppy) and typing <Enter>. Then type CD \<Enter> to get to the "root" directory. Type DIR<Enter> and look to see if you have the file AUTOEXEC.BAT. If so, go to step 3. We will create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file now. It will be called everytime you boot your computer, setting your PATH and making a nicer DOS prompt. Type: COPY CON AUTOEXEC.BAT <Enter>. Then, substituting your drive for "d", type: PATH=d:\UTIL<Enter>PROMPT=$P$G<Enter><Ctrl-Z><Enter>. Go to step 4. 3. Add a PATH statement to your existing AUTOEXEC.BAT file by typing: COPY AUTOEXEC.BAT + CON AUTOEXEC.BAT<Enter>. What you type on the "CONsole" is now appended to the file. Type: PATH=d:\UTIL<Enter><Ctrl-Z><Enter> where " d" is the letter of your boot drive and <Ctrl-Z> is a two key combination. 4. Put the 4FILES disk in drive A: and type: COPY A:*.* \UTIL<Enter> to copy all 4FILES files to the directory. (Substitute a different directory for \UTIL as necessary, such as one you wrote down in step 1.). This also copies all files, including the TV public domain file viewing utility supplied with 4FILES. 5. 4FILES is now installed. Since 4FILES is in your PATH now, typing 4F will start it up no matter what drive or directory you are currently in. 6. Type: CD \, then start 4FILES by typing 4F. Next hit the <Alt-F10> key and "U". The bar will be on the line for the <G+> key (the "grey-plus" key). It is set to LIST.ALS (if there is no .CFG file) to allow file viewing if you have 4DOS installed. We'll change it; type-in d:\UTIL\TV.COM (if TV.COM was included with your copy of 4FILES), and type <ESC> and P. Move the highlight bar to any file, press <G+>, and TV will display the file and let you browse it. Program files will look like garbage. <ESC> quits back to 4FILES. Move the bar to the UTIL directory and then press <G+>. You are now in that directory (if this fails, use <Scroll-Lock>). Move down to the 4F-READ.ME file and hit <G+> to browse it. When done, hit <TAB> and type (or modify) a file note. Then hit <G-> to return to the parent directory. Move elsewhere in that list and hit <G*> 3 times. You're back to the previous directory. Quit with <ESC> or <Alt-ESC>. More in the manual. See the Windows section for further Windows setups. 33. =========================================================================== AGREEMENT -- USE / REGISTRATION / DISTRIBUTION / & LICENSING OF "4FILES" =========================================================================== WHAT YOU GET FOR REGISTRATION ============================= With registration you receive: 1) The latest version of 4FILES and a printed manual; 2) a serial number which allows you to brand newer minor releases and the next major version as they appear on bulletin boards or at disk vendors <minor versions are also optionally available by mail>; 4) a free upgrade to the next major version by postal mail or E-mail; and 5) free technical support. 4FILES has been a very time consuming project because I have gone to great pains both to maximize its convenience and power and to assure protection of your data. Please recognize this effort by registering your copy promptly, and by passing 4FILES on to others who might enjoy it. AGREEMENT FOR USE AND DISTRIBUTION ================================== 4FILES and its documentation are copyrighted intellectual property which are distributed as shareware, and may be used or distributed only in compliance with the following terms and conditions. 4FILES is neither free nor in the public domain. All rights are reserved worldwide by the author. Any use of 4FILES constitutes your agreement to all provisions herein. USE & REGISTRATION FOR A SINGLE COMPUTER ======================================== Use of 4FILES is free during your evaluation period. This period ends when you begin to use 4FILES for any useful work which is not incidental to exploring its capabilities, and may not exceed 30-days beyond your acquisition date. When you use 4FILES for the primary purpose of accomplishing useful work (as contrasted to a genuine evaluation) you are obligated to do your "share" of the shareware arrangement by registering your copy promptly. MULTIPLE USE & SITE LICENSING ============================= A site license is required if 4FILES can potentially be used simultaneously on more than one computer, terminal or workstation in a business, institution, organization, government agency, home, etc. To apply for a license, please fill out the registration form in 4F_REG.TXT. A sample site license and rates are contained in the file 4F-SITE.TXT DISTRIBUTION OF 4FILES ====================== Distribution by any means is encouraged, provided: 1) ... that the distribution includes all original files (see Packing List, below) in their unaltered forms and with unaltered filenames, and does not include the .CFG file. If the package is incomplete its distribution is prohibited; please contact me for a complete package. A 34. BBS may add a tag file listing it as the source, and disk vendors may add introductory or installation batch files. 2) ... that, unless a higher figure has been approved in writing, the distribution fee does not exceed $8 if 4FILES is distributed alone or $12 (in 1991 dollars) if it is packed on-disk with other programs. Commercial vendors who are not members of ASP must have written permission to distribute. Please inquire as necessary. 3) ... that in any vendor catalog or other publication, it is clearly stated that this is shareware and that $30 must be paid to Hand-Crafted Software if the program is useful, in addition to the distribution fee (if any). 4) ... that 4FILES may not be included or bundled with other goods or services without express written permission of the author. Inquiries are welcome, and a non-shareware version can be produced for such purposes. WARRANTY & DISCLAIMER ===================== Any use of 4FILES constitutes your agreement that it is provided "as-is" with no express or implied warranty (other than free technical support), that you assume full responsibility for assuring that it performs acceptably on your system, and that in no event shall Larry Edwards, Hand-Crafted Software or their successors be held liable for any damages arising from use of the program. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you think my soft"wares" are terrific; much extra effort has been expended toward that end. Your registration will be (or is) much apprec- iated. Please let me know of any improvements you would like. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============ PACKING LIST (All files except 4F.COM, TV.COM & 4F.PIF ============ are readable text files.) 4F .COM 4FILES Program file. 4F .DOC Full documentation. 4F .HLP HELP text file. 4F .KEY Alternate HELP text file. 4F .PIF Setup file for Windows. 4F .VER Version update details and history. 4F-I-OS2.ICO Icon for use with OS/2. 4F-I-ICO.ICO Icon for use with Windows. 4F-KB .TXT Keyboard suggestion. 4F-NEW .TXT Changes in this major upgrade. 4F-READ .ME Introductory information, and a word on compatibility. 4F-REG .TXT Registration form. 4F-SITE .TXT Sample site license & rates. 4F-TV .COM Public domain file browser. (May be omitted for distrib.) 4F-TV .DOC (May be omitted for distribution) 4F-VEND .TXT Info for SYSOPs & disk vendors. FILE_ID .DIZ Description for BBSs. ======================================================================= 35. 4FILES REGISTRATION FORM ======================== Larry T. Edwards // Hand-Crafted Software // (907)-747-8996 Box 6001 // Sitka, Ak 99835 USA // (FAX)-747-4801 Payment by check or International Postal Money Order to above address preferred. Credit card payments can be made for $5 extra to: PsL (Program #10574), 800-242-4775, Box 35705 Houston, Tx 77235 CompuServe (Program #912), !Go SWREG Your signature here or registration with PsL or CompuServe signifies acceptance of the agreement contained near the end of the documentation. ===== PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY! ===== 4FILES VERSION #____ Your name: _____________________________________ Position:_________________ Company: _______________________________________ Phone: (W) ______________ Street or Box: ___________________________________ (H) ______________ City/State/Zip: __________________________________ Country: ______________ I got 4FILES from (name BBS/vendor/etc):________________, ____________ Forum E-Mail Addr: CIS ___________. Genie ___________. INTERNET: _________________ Using 4FILES with: __ MSDOS __ DRDOS __Windows __OS/2 Version ____ with: __ 4DOS __ NDOS __ Neither Version ____ Send free major upgrade by __ postal mail, __E-mail ON: __ 5", __ 3" disk. $__ Our (my) operation can't possibly use more than one copy of 4FILES simultaneously. $30 ($35 overseas) is enclosed to register one copy. PRICE INCLUDES PRINTED MANUAL and services outlined in "agreement." $__ Our (my) operation hereby applies for a site license to install 4FILES for use on up to ___ computers or terminals. Payment according to the schedule in the file 4F-SITE.TXT is enclosed (call if file is lost). $__ Send minor upgrades by postal mail ($4 postage/handling, in advance). $__ Send disk(s) of related shareware/public-domain utilities described in manual (3.5" $2.00; 5.25" $4.00; for 4DOS add $2/$4 respectively). ==================== $ TOTAL enclosed. Signature: ________________________________________ Date: _____________ THANK YOU! ================================================================ COMMENTS / PROBLEMS / CHANGES OR ADDITIONS YOU DESIRE IN 4FILES: ================================================================ (Please comment on the back of this page.)