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1990-03-01
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LCG/Remind version 1.7
Copyright 1989, 1990 by The Levin Consulting Group
Introduction
------------
LCG/Remind is a small utility program designed to remind you when it is
time to back-up the files on your hard disk, and to help automate the process.
We wrote this program for our clients, and have found that it is an excellent
way to ensure regular back-ups of valuable data. In addition, it can be used
to display information, suggest action, or simply run any program on a regular
schedule. It lets you ask multiple choice, or yes/no questions from within
your batch files.
Typically, you would call LCG/Remind from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. It
will determine when you last ran your back-up program, and, if it is time for a
new back-up, will display a message asking you whether to automatically run the
back-up.
Although there may be other programs similar to LCG/Remind, none are as
flexible, intelligent, or attractive:
o LCG/Remind can determine when your disk was last backed-up by
examining the date of "log" files created by your back-up software. If
your software doesn't create these, then they will be maintained by
LCG/Remind.
o The number of days before "triggering" the reminder message may be
specified, or you can set it to trigger on specific days of the week,
or specific days of the month.
o You can set it to only trigger at a specified time of day.
o Triggering can be initiated or prevented based on the total size of
files that need to be backed-up, or the amount of free space on your
hard disk.
o The reminder message can be customized. Foreign language support
allows for Yes/No responses in any language.
o When triggered, the program can be instructed to take a variety of
actions. It can directly run another program. It can simply display
a reminder message. Or, it can even offer a multiple-choice question,
and act based on the response.
o The name of the file containing the message can be specified on the
command line, as can the file whose date is being examined. This
allows the program to be used to trigger a number of different events
based on different date files. For example, we have modified our
autoexec.bat file so that our disk optimizing program is run once each
day (even if we reboot multiple times). If we haven't backed-up our
hard disk in the past week LCG/Remind will ask us if we want to do so.
Finally, every time we reboot we have LCG/Remind ask whether to load
our print spooler.
2
o LCG/Remind sets DOS "errorlevels" to reflect whether it was triggered
and the answer to the question displayed. This allows for maximum
flexibility in system design, and absolute minimum memory use.
o You can specify how long you want the message displayed, and your
system will never hang, waiting for an answer.
o You can specify the color of the pop-up windows, their borders, and
the title line. LCG/Remind will work with any standard display
system.
o Try-before-you-buy ShareWare by a member of the Association of
ShareWare Professionals. Individual or corporate registration allows
you to have your name (or your organization's) displayed on the title
line, and to bypass the registration screen.
Revision History
----------------
v 1.7 -- 3/1/90: New disk full trigger (/df) and percent full substitution
(%p). Added LAST day of month (/e:L), and specific week
of month (/w:X#) triggers. Now displays exit code.
Improved 4DOS compatibility. Added REMIND_2.BAT extended
example files. Changed file names to conform to High
Sierra CD-ROM standard. Minor bug fixes and documentation
changes.
v 1.6 -- 9/11/89: Speed up directory tree searches (/q). Optional sound
effects (/ns). Foreign language support with configurable
Yes/No keys (/y:). Improved EGA/VGA support.
v 1.5 -- 6/29/89: Can now use wildcards (i.e., /d:*.his) for date file
specification. Added ability to trigger (/kt:) or prevent
(/kb:) backup based on the size of the files needing
backup (or matching any arbitrary filename pattern). New
substitutions to put number (%f) and size (%k) of matching
files into the reminder message.
v 1.4 -- 4/17/89: Added optional config file (/f:), ability to wait until
specified time before continuing (/z:).
v 1.3 -- 4/16/89: Improved error trapping. Updated documentation to
reflect ASP membership and PSL distribution.
v 1.2 -- 3/19/89: Time of day triggers (/tb:, and /ta:) added.
v 1.1 -- 2/7/89: Minor documentation changes and speed enhancements.
v 1.0 -- 1/11/89: First general release. Added /n: switch, changed default
color scheme, minor bug fixes.
v 0.2 -- 1/9/89: Support for weekly (/w:) and monthly (/e:) triggers added.
Better window size error checking. Added serial numbers.
3
v 0.1 -- 1/5/89: First beta test release shipped to Chicago.
Installation
------------
To install LCG/Remind simply copy the file lcg_rmnd.exe to a convenient
subdirectory on your hard disk. Next, modify your autoexec.bat file. For
example, if you want to trigger LCG/Remind every 7 days, and ask whether to do
a back-up, then include the following lines (which are also included in this
package as REMIND.BAT):
lcg_rmnd /i:7
if errorlevel 3 goto :NOBACK
if not errorlevel 2 goto :NOBACK
rem Insert YOUR disk back up commands here
lcg_rmnd /reset
:NOBACK
This example uses the default lcg_rmnd.dat date file, and explicitly
resets the date if a back-up is run. The "/i:7" command sets the interval to
7 days. If you want to see what LCG/Remind does when triggered, change the
switch to "/i:0". That will trigger the program every time it is run. If
your back-up program produces a file on your hard disk, then you can use a
simpler method, illustrated below. Using this method, lcg_rmnd will always be
able to determine the date of your most recent back-up. For example, we use
PC Tools version 5.5 PCBACKUP.EXE, which modifies a file called "PCBACKUP.HST"
(when "Report Option" is set to "Disk). If you also use PC Tools, and want to
run a back-up every Monday without displaying a preliminary message, or asking
a question, you would place the following lines in your autoexec.bat:
lcg_rmnd /w:1 /n:3 /d:c:\pctools\pcbackup.hst /m:
if errorlevel 1 pcbackup
The "/w:1" sets the trigger to every Monday, but "/n:3" will cancel the
trigger if a back-up has been performed in the preceding 3 days. The "/m:"
switch without an attached file name instructs LCG/Remind NOT to display a
message. Command line switches are described fully below, under the heading
"Command Line Syntax."
When creating your batch files, remember that MS-DOS requires that you
use the "call" command if you want to call one batch file from within another.
By itself, the batch file name will allow branching to the second batch file,
but will NOT return to the calling batch file.
Exit Codes
----------
LCG/Remind sets DOS exit codes. These exit codes can be examined by a
parent process, or, through an ERRORLEVEL test in a DOS batch file. Please
remember that the command "if errorlevel 3" is true if the errorlevel (exit
code) is GREATER THAN OR EQUAL to 3. Thus, you should always test errorlevels
in descending order (i.e., 3,2,1).