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1992-01-11
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Obs Toolkit Version 1.5
Contrails, Inc.
P.O. Box 2759
Lompoc, CA 93438
(805) 733-2808
Introduction
------------
Welcome to Obs Toolkit. We thank you for your interest. The OBSKIT.DOC is
a large file with a all of the detailed information. We recommend that
you read it. This file is provided to get you up and running with a
minimum of hassel.
The information in this file, should introduce you to the Toolkit, and
get you interested in no time.
Obs Toolkit requires DOS 3.0 or higher and 256Kb of memory. Obs Toolkit
is complementary to all versions of DOS including DOS 5.
Overview
--------
This guide is structured to describe the tools; give you a taste of the
Toolkits capabilities and describe some terms and interfaces.
Supplied Files
--------------
The files that make up Obs Tools are:
o ALIAS.EXE - Alias, the alias generator
o DIRSTACK.COM - A directory stack without Alias translator
o DS.EXE - DirSize, a tree with sizes
o EE.EXE - EnvEdit, a DOS environment editor
o FD.EXE - FileDump, the file viewer
o LF.EXE - ListFiles, the file lister
o LOCATE.EXE - Locate, the executable command and file locator
o MF.EXE - MultiFile, the file manipulator
o OBSRES.COM - Alias translator, dictionary, and directory stack
o OCD.EXE - ObsCD, a super-intelligent Change Directory
o RERES.COM - Recapture the command line
The files with alias definitions are:
o ALIASES.DOS - Replaces DOS internal commands
o ALIASES.REC - A comprehensive set of recursive aliases
o xDOS.CFG - Aliases for NDOS and 4DOS users
o PCED.CFG - Aliases for PCED users
o CMD_ED.CFG - Aliases for CMDEDIT users
Support files are:
o INSTALL.BAT - Automatic installation into your AUTOEXEC.BAT
o TRYIT.BAT - Quick Start batch file, to get you up and running
o OBSKIT.DOC - Obs Toolkit users manual
o QUIKSTRT.DOC - This file (introduction, orientation, quick start)
o README.DOC - Startup advice
o REGISTER.DOC - Registration form
o UPDATES.DOC - Changes since version 1.0
o UPGRADE.DOC - Notes for users of version 1.0
Toolkit Capabilities
--------------------
The Toolkits sole purpose is to give you, the user, POWER! No, it won't
generate electricity, but it will allow you to do things at the command
line, or in batch files, that were never before possible.
Obs Toolkit can be used to generate your own commands! Obs Toolkit can
provide custom commands, like (this is by no means an exhaustive set):
o ALIAS (define your own commands)
o ATTRIB (set and/or clear any DOS attributes)
o CD (fuzzy matching, across disks, push, pop, up)
o COPY (add, update, replace, add & update, archive only)
o DELETE (files, directories with contents)
o DIR (any sort, duplicates, old files, identical contents)
o LOCATE (commands, files, multiple disks)
o MOVE (between directories, across disks, whole directories)
o RENAME (files, directories)
o SET (any environment, editor, long variables, batchable)
o TOUCH (set file date and time to any valid timestamp)
o TREE (with directory sizes, creation dates)
o TYPE (ASCII only, HEX dump, strings, counts, multiple files)
Obs Toolkit can be used within batch files. Each tool returns an
errorlevel, and a few tools have options specifically tailored for batch
use.
The errorlevels generated are:
0 - NO ERROR - No error encountered
1 - NOT FOUND - File or object was "NOT FOUND"
2 - ABORTED - The user chose to "ABORT" the operation
3 - OPERATION FAILED - The requested "OPERATION FAILED"
4 - LIMIT EXCEEDED - The operation exceeded the tools "LIMIT"
5 - USAGE ERROR - The tool displayed a "USAGE" error
6 - INSTALL FAILED - The tool was unable to "INSTALL"
Quick Installation
------------------
A quick installation patch is provided so that trying out the Toolkit is
completely painless. This is a description of that installation process:
The way to get started running Obs Toolkit right now, is to move to the
directory where the Toolkit is located and type:
C> TRYIT
NOTE: NDOS and 4DOS users
OBSRES will not be able to swap the command line. You should use the
XDOS.CFG file. Instead of installing OBSRES install only a DirStack
using DIRSTACK 9 to minimize the memory consumption.
TRYIT.BAT will only map the existing DOS commands to Toolkit equivalents.
The Toolkit has much more power than what is shown below. The TRYIT.BAT
is just providing a taste.
~~~~~
Replaced Commands
-----------------
Obs Toolkit will be installed into memory (takes up 3K RAM) and will
supplant the following DOS commands:
o CD, CHDIR - mapped to ObsCD (OCD)
o COPY - mapped to MultiFile (MF)
o DEL, ERASE - mapped to MultiFile (MF)
o DIR - mapped to ListFiles (LF)
o MD, MKDIR - mapped to ObsCD (OCD)
o PATH - mapped to EnvEdit (EE)
o PROMPT - mapped to EnvEdit (EE)
o RD, RMDIR - mapped to ObsCD (OCD)
o REN, RENAME - mapped to MultiFile (MF)
o SET - mapped to EnvEdit (EE)
o TYPE - mapped to FileDump (FD)
Building a HotDir file
----------------------
To enable HotDir support for changing directories type:
C> OCD /READ
This will scan all disks and remember the locations of all directories.
If you have RAM disks, network drives, or any directories that you don't
want to include in the HotDir file, then refer to the Users Manual for
the commands to tailor the HotDir file to your liking. ObsCD is real
agreeable.
Turning the Toolkit ON and OFF
------------------------------
When you run TRYIT.BAT the Toolkit is ON. You can switch the Toolkit ON
and OFF by using the DOT COMMANDS (.command) at the DOS prompt.
The .COMMANDS available are:
.ON - Turn the Toolkit ON
.OFf - Turn the Toolkit OFF
.Echo - Display ALIAS translations
.Noecho - Do not display ALIAS translations
You can also skip an alias translation by prefixing the command with a
space (ALIAS can change the Skip Character):
C>DIR (uses the alias)
C> DIR (uses DOS)
Persistent Installation
-----------------------
This installation will modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that the Toolkit
interface will be available each time you boot your computer.
The commands provided are documented in the ALIASES.REC file.
A new file will be created in the Toolkit directory (ALIASES.FIL) which
contains the aliases from ALIASES.REC and has the OB alias defined.
The AUTOEXEC.BAT file will be modified (appended to) to contain:
[obs_path]\OBSRES
[obs_path]\ALIAS /FILE [obs_path]\ALIASES.FIL
To perform the persistent installation you must:
1) Change to the directory where the Toolkit is located
2) Type "INSTALL" at the command line
INSTALL.BAT is providing you with a full seven course meal!
~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~
If you haven't already done a HotDir scan (OCD /READ) and you want OCD
HotDir support then refer to the section "Building a HotDir File" above.
You may want to edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file to add the Toolkit directory
to your path (this is required for batch file support unless you use
fully qualified filenames).
If your AUTOEXEC.BAT launches a menu program (or Windows) you must
manually move the two Toolkit commands before the menu program commands
or the Toolkit interface will not be available until after you exit the
menu program.