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MenuCat.doc
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1986-11-09
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This is a short descriptive of my program MenuCat. The purpose of MenuCat is
to go thru a disk and record all the files found thereon. The first
limitation you'll encounter is that you must catalog disks that you insert
in DF1: (sorry 5.25" users). This version of MenuCat prints records to
standard output. This makes launching the program from an ICON impractical.
It is my intention to use your responses to discover all the issues I
overlooked in this version and then respond with an updated version of
MenuCat. Don't neglect to respond to a problem just because I mention it in
this note.
I suggest that you run MenuCat from CLI and pipe your output to a file. If
you've a sizeable disk library and you don't have a meg of extra ram, you'll
have to pipe MenuCat output to a disk file. My configuration consists of
two disk drives and 512k of memory. I suggest you have a dedicated volume
known as CatDisk. Volume CatDisk should have plenty of space available on
it. (My main catalog required approx 180k.) Boot up and get to CLI, but
don't bother to put CatDisk into either drive, yet. Give the incantation:
MenuCat >CatDisk:Catalog
You will immediately get the System AutoRequester asking you to put CatDisk:
into ANY drive. Make a point of putting CatDisk: into DF0: (DF1: will be
quite busy soon). You are now in MenuCat.
You should see a window open up in the upper right section of your screen.
Select the one and only menu item: Start Cataloging. You'll then see a
Requester with two gadgets: DISK and QUIT. Put the first disk you wish to
catalog into drive DF1: and click on the DISK requester. (It is important
that you JUST CLICK ONCE on the requester.) The window will have a message
that it is working on your disk and it will display the name of your disk.
When MenuCat is done examining your disk, the window's message will change
color and will say that it is finished with this disk. Wait until the drive
light on DF1: goes out then put the next disk to be cataloged into drive DF1:
If you quickly click on the DISK requester after exchanging disks, you'll
get a system AutoRequester saying there's no disk in DF1: Ignore it, it'll
go away after AmigaDOS gets done logging the disk.
Continue putting in new disks and clicking the DISK requester until you've
processed all the disks you want to catalog. When the last disk is cataloged
click on the QUIT gadget. If you click the QUIT gadget by mistake, just
select the start cataloging menu item again. If you are indeed finished,
click on the Close gadget in the Upper Left Hand corner of the Menucat
window. Don't feel bad if you click on the QUIT and the Close gadgets before
Menucat finishes cataloging the last disk, MenuCat will finish its work
before obeying your commands to buzz off.
I put the minimal information in the output records that I thought useful.
I would have liked to add file dates and sizes, but that data would make
the output file larger than it is now. If you have any bright ideas, share
them with me.
I didn't even think of the problems of 5.25" disk users until I started
writing this document. Likewise, owners of Hard Disks will not be able to
catalog those disks. I did consider the plight of owners of single drive
systems: you're SOL. I regret that I was unable to devise a solution to
your plight. The only practicable solution I could imagine involves piping
your output to a RAM: disk file. Since the output of Menucat quickly runs
into quite a few Kbytes real fast, you'd be unable to catalog very many disks
at once. If any of you masochists with single drive systems have any
anecdotes, I'd be amused to read about them.
I think I'm too close to MenuCat to be able to point out the faults thereof,
I'm depending on you to point out MenuCat's problems.
I can be reached at the following addresses:
PLINK user SPOLING
CI$ 70177,1434
US snail Steve Poling
701 Livingston NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503