Dr. Windows 3/dr win3.zip/dr win3/COMMUNIC/DLRK24.ZIP/DLRK24.DOC

Text File | 1993-09-22 | 20KB | 411 lines

DOWNLOAD RECORDKEEPER version 2.4       by Allen Brown
CIS 72760,667, Internet [e-mail], Prodigy MMMJ81A.
Compatible with Telix v3.15, v3.20, v3.21, and other Telix versions which
   use the same Usage Log format.

CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT:
--------------------------
WELCOME
ZIP FILE CONTENTS
DATA FILE AND SETUP FILE CONTENTS
A NOTE TO DOWNLOAD RECORDKEEPER V1.1 AND V1.2 USERS
PROGRAM OPERATION
* OPTION ONE: UPDATE DATA WITH TELIX USAGE LOG
* OPTION TWO: DISPLAYING THE DATA
* OPTION THREE: CONFIGURATION SETUP
* OPTION FOUR: MANUAL DATA ENTRY
* OPTION FIVE: FILENAME SEARCH
* OPTION SIX: PRINTING THE DATA
IF DOWNLOAD RECORDKEEPER WON'T WORK
THE ORIGIN OF DOWNLOAD RECORDKEEPER
HOW TO REGISTER YOUR COPY OR CONTACT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE END


WELCOME to Download Recordkeeper version 2.4.  If you use Telix
as your modem/communication program, DLRK is about to make keeping
track of your downloads a very simple and convenient matter.  If
you don't use Telix, you can still use DLRK (via option 4 from the
main menu), but you won't be able to make use of the Telix Usage Log
which frees you from all the manual data entry associated with earlier
versions of Download Recordkeeper.  Or, if your modem program keeps a
usage log in the same format as Telix, then Download Recordkeeper can
use that usage log just as well.
   DLRK 2.4 reads the Telix Usage Log, pulls out the names of files
you've downloaded, and stores them in alphabetical order and/or
extension order to your hard drive.  The list(s) can easily be
displayed or printed, making for easy reference while you're on-
line and ready to download.
   A glitch found in DLRK version 2.3, involving the Telix default
download directory, has been corrected in DLRK version 2.4.
   This program is shareware.  See the end of this file for information
on how to register.  And, this copy of DLRK is not crippled or diminished
in any way to coerce you into registering.  I prefer to use the honor
system.


ZIP FILE CONTENTS
Before you do anything else, make sure you have received the proper
files.  The DLRK24.ZIP archive you've acquired should contain the
following seven files:
DLRK24.EXE      <--   the program
ALPHA.DNL       <--   alphabetical-sort data file
EXTEN.DNL       <--   extension-sort data file
ALPHAPRN.DNL    <--   a sample file produced by the print feature
EXTENPRN.DNL    <--   another sample file for the print feature
SETUP.DNL       <--   program's default configuration
DLRK24.DOC      <--   the file you're now reading


DATA FILE AND SETUP FILE CONTENTS
Download Recordkeeper will not run properly unless the data files and
SETUP.DNL are in the proper form.  Make sure ALPHA.DNL and EXTEN.DNL
both contain only the following five records when you first receive them:
Download Recordkeeper v2.4
0
0
1
DLRK24.ZIP


And, SETUP.DNL should initially contain the following eight records:
TELIX.USE
C:\TELIX
700
500
ENABLED
YES
no
3


A NOTE TO DOWNLOAD RECORDKEEPER V1.1 AND V1.2 USERS
If you wish to use the data file from a version prior to 2.0, it
must first be configured to run with DLRK 2.4.  Use option 5 from
the Configuration setup menu to configure an old data file.  DLRK
2.4 will create its own new files.  Your old data file will not be
affected.  See the section below entitled OPTION THREE: CONFIGURATION
SETUP (5) for more information on this process.


---------------------------------------------------------------------


PROGRAM OPERATION
Running the program is very easy.  You might decide to create a sub-
directory for DLRK and all its data files included in DLRK24.ZIP.  The
program does not *have* to have its own directory, but DLRK'S DATA FILES
MUST BE IN THE CURRENT DIRECTORY WHEN YOU RUN THE PROGRAM.  When you
first run DLRK24.EXE, choose Option 3 to configure the setup for your
system, or the program will use the default configuration in SETUP.DNL.
(See OPTION THREE below.)

The main menu presents seven options.

OPTION ONE: UPDATE DATA WITH TELIX USAGE LOG
When you choose this option, the program first reads ALPHA.DNL which
contains an alphabetical list of the names of all the files recorded
previously.  Then it reads the Telix Usage Log and finds the filenames
to be added to the data files (ALPHA.DNL and EXTEN.DNL).  After updating
ALPHA.DNL, the program reads and updates the sorted-by-extension list
contained in EXTEN.DNL, provided this feature is enabled from the
Configuration Setup menu.  The alphabetical list will be updated in
either case.  The preexisting data file(s) will be backed-up if you
choose the back-up feature at the Configuration Setup menu.
   Telix Usage Logs can become large in a short amount of time.
To keep from having to sort through every bit of the log everytime
the program is run, Download Recordkeeper 2.4 keeps track of the date
and time of the most recent addition to its data file(s), and will
only analyze log entries made after that point.  So, an internal clock
or accurate date and time entries at start-up are necessary for the
program to operate properly.
   It's a good idea to either delete or rename your Telix Usage Log when
it becomes sizeable.  I start a new usage log at the beginning of each
month.  If you want to keep your old usage log(s) for posterity or whatever,
just rename the active log periodically and let Telix start a new usage
log.  The smaller the usage log, the less searching the program must do
before it begins the actual work.  By the way, Download Recordkeeper will
not alter the Telix Usage Log in any way.
   NOTE: DLRK was originally written for use with Telix v3.15, but it's
compatible with Telix v3.20 and v3.21 as well since they all use the same
usage log format.  If you use another version of Telix (or any other modem
program, for that matter), its usage log will work only if it uses the same
format as Telix v3.21.  (See IF DOWNLOAD RECORDKEEPER WON'T WORK below for
the proper format.)


OPTION TWO: DISPLAYING THE DATA
This option reads ALPHA.DNL from disk and displays it to your screen,
80 filenames at a time.  It will also display EXTEN.DNL if you have it
enabled.  It's also a simple matter to print out small sections of your
data files by displaying them to the screen and using the <Print Screen>
key.  To print the entire file(s), see OPTION SIX below.


OPTION THREE: CONFIGURATION SETUP
This option presents a menu of six choices.
   (1) This choice asks for the name and location of the Telix Usage
Log.  TELIX.USE is the default for both Download Recordkeeper and for
Telix itself.  (By the way, Telix does not necessarily maintain a
usage log unless it is set up that way.  If you're not sure if
your copy of Telix is keeping a log, start up Telix, hit ALT-O,
choose General Options, and turn option G on.  Then go back one
screen, choose Filenames and Paths, and enter a name for the usage
log at letter E, or let it use the default, TELIX.USE.  Then go
back one screen and choose Write Setup to Disk.  Now Telix will
automatically keep a usage log everytime you run Telix.)
   (2) This choice will ask you to input the maximum number of
records to be stored in the data file(s).  You should set this
value based on how large your data files currently are and how
much memory your computer has at its disposal.  The smaller you
make your data file capacity, the less memory is used for the
string variable dimension, so don't make it bigger than you need
it to be.  (If you make it about 100 more than your current total,
then it'll be a while before you need to change it again.)  DLRK
will alert you if it's too small.  When you need more room in the
future, just reconfigure when the time comes.
   (3) With this choice you either enable or disable the sort-by-
extension feature.
   (4) This choice will toggle between backing-up or not backing-up
your old data file(s) as you update the data.
   (5)  Choose this if you have a data file from DLRK 1.1 or DLRK
1.2 that you want to convert to 2.x compatibility.
   (6) Save configuration.  This choice will write