Big Blue Disk 55/bbd55.zip/BBFF.TXT

Text File | 1991-03-25 | 18KB | 390 lines

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       ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
       │                  *** REPUBLICATION NOTICE ***                  │
       │                                                                │
       │ Big Blue File Finder was published on Big Blue Disk - Issue 54.│
       │ However, the CONFIGURATION program for BBFF was incorrect.     │
       │ We have corrected our mistakes, and are publishing BBFF again. │
       │ The BBFF configuration program (BBFFCFG) is working correctly. │
       │                                                                │
       │ We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our    │
       │ subscribers.  We hope you continue to enjoy this handy utility.│
       │                                                                │
       │                  *** REPUBLICATION NOTICE ***                  │
       └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

^Cby
^CJames Derr

        Do you tire of searching partition after partition and directory
     after directory for those elusive files?  Would you like to search
     through compressed files without unpacking them?  Would you be
     interested in discarding all the backup files cluttering your hard
     disk with just a few keystrokes?

        If you answered YES to any of these questions, then Big Blue File
     Finder (BBFF) is here to solve your problems.  BBFF is a handy program
     that makes searching for files a snap.

        BBFF finds the files you requested and presents them in a list.
     You'll be amazed at the number of things BBFF lets you do with this
     list of files.  You can highlight a file and go right to the directory
     in which it is found.  You can edit or list a highlighted file.  You
     can tag a set of files then delete them all or copy them to a new
     location.  The list goes on.

     ^1RECOMMENDATION
        While BBFF can be used to find files on floppy disk drives, it is
     no doubt a more useful tool for a hard disk.  Therefore, we recommend
     that you use the ^1Copy It^0 option to put BBFF on your hard disk.


^C^1THE SEARCH SCREEN

        The first screen that appears when you run BBFF is the Search
     Screen. Using the fields on this screen you may tailor your search to
     be as broad or as narrow as you like.

     ^1ACTIVE KEYS
        F1  - receive help on setting your search parameters
        F10 - begin to search for files matching the specified parameters
        ESC - cancel the search request and exit BBFF

        Up  / Down Arrows - move from field to field
        Tab / Back Tab    - move from field to field
        Enter Key         - move from field to field

     ^1DRIVE SPECIFICATION
        The first line reports the names of the drives found on your hard
     disk.  On the next line type in the letter of the drive(s) you would
     like to be searched or leave it blank and ALL the drives will be
     searched.

     ^1FILE SPECIFICATION
        Next specify the particular files you are looking for.  Wildcards
     are accepted.  Use *.* for all files, *.EXE for your executable files,
     etc. A specific path name, such as C:\BBD\ISSUE53\*.TXT may also be
     entered.

     ^1SEARCH OPTIONS
        There are seven search options that you can toggle ON or OFF.  Tab
     or mouse over to the appropriate field and press the space bar to
     select the option. A check mark in the field indicates that the option
     is ON.  A blank space indicates that the option is OFF.

        ^11. Only Search Current Drive
        BBFF will only search the currently active drive. If you invoked
        BBFF from the D: drive, then only D: will be searched.

        ^12. Extended Directory Search
        Normally BBFF searches only those directories without file
        extensions. This option tells BBFF to search the directories that
        do have extensions.

        For example, if you had some directories with names such as
        UTILITIES.PAS or UTILITIES.BAS, then their files would normally be
        ignored by BBFF.  By turning this option ON, you force BBFF to look
        into these directories during the search.

        ^13. ALSO Look Inside Compressed Files
        BBFF will ^1also^0 search for your files inside ZIP, ARC, ZOO, PAK,
        and LZH compressed files.  These compressed files will NOT be
        unpacked.

        ^14. ONLY Look Inside Compressed Files
        BBFF will ^1only^0 search for your files inside ZIP, ARC, ZOO, PAK,
        and LZH compressed files.  These compressed files will NOT be
        unpacked.

        ^15. Look for Duplicate Names Only
        BBFF will look for files with duplicate file names.  You may have
        several files called README.DOC or README.TXT scattered through
        different directories.  This option gives you a way to review all
        of them.

        ^16. Look for Duplicate Names and Size
        BBFF will look for files with duplicate file names and duplicate
        sizes. Perhaps you've inadvertantly copied a useful program to more
        than one place.  Does it exist in the TOOLS directory, the UTIL
        directory, or both? You could use this option to locate such
        duplicates.  Then you could use BBFF to delete the extras.

        ^17. Only Search Specified Directory
        The directory specified in the file specification field will be the
        only directory searched.  BBFF will NOT search in the sub-
        directories.

        For example, suppose you had a directory called PROJECTX which
        contained 10 files and 2 sub-directories called XDOCS and XDATA.
        If PROJECTX is the specified directory and this option is turned
        ON, then only the the 10 files of PROJECTX will be searched.  The
        files in sub-directories XDOCS and XDATA will be ignored by BBFF.

     ^1DATE SEARCH OPTION
        You can narrow the search by asking for files dated AFTER a
     particular date or BEFORE a certain date.  Enter both dates and the
     files in between will be found.

     ^1ATTRIBUTE SEARCH OPTION
        There are four different attributes that may be associated with a
     file: R = Read Only, H = Hidden, S = System, A = Archive.  Normally
     BBFF ignores these attributes.  It will search for files with or
     without attributes. You can force BBFF to search for files with one or
     more attributes by typing the corresponding letters.


^C^1THE FILE LIST SCREEN

        After you have specified what to search for, press F10 to begin the
     search. A list of the file names found will then be displayed on the
     File List Screen. The first file in the list will be highlighted.  Use
     the up and down arrows to move the highlight bar.

        Many functions can be performed on individual files or on groups of
     tagged files as described below.

     ^1ACTIVE KEYS
        F1         - receive help on processing files
        ESC        - exit BBFF

        Up Arrow   - move highlight bar up
        Down Arrow - move highlight bar down

        Page Up    - display previous page of file names
        Page Down  - display next page of file names

        Home Key   - move highlight bar to entry at top of screen
        End  Key   - move highlight bar to entry at bottom of screen

        Ctrl-Home  - move highlight bar to first entry in list
        Ctrl-End   - move highlight bar to last entry in list

     ^1SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
        G - Go to the directory where the highlighted file is found,
            exiting BBFF.  Pressing the ENTER key will also accomplish
            this.

        R - Execute the highlighted file if it has .COM, .EXE, or .BAT for
            its extension.  You may enter any parameters needed by the
            executable file in the pop-up box that appears.

            If the highlighted file is not executable, then you may enter
            the name of a program you wish to RUN against the file that is
            highlighted. For example, if you highlighted a .TXT file and
            you have a spelling checker program, then you could enter this
            program's name in the box, and the spelling checker program
            would be RUN on the selected file.

            You will return to BBFF when the RUN command is finished.

        T - Tag the highlighted file.  This key acts as a toggle so that
            you can turn a tag on or off.

        U - Untag all tagged entries.

        You may also activate the above functions by clicking your mouse on
        the corresponding button that appears at the bottom of the screen.

     ^1SPECIAL Alt-Key FUNCTIONS
        ALT-D = Delete the highlighted file.  You will be prompted to make
                sure that you did mean to delete the file.

        ALT-E = Edit the highlighted file using the editor specified in
                your BBFF configuration file.  ^1(See config info below.)

        ALT-L = List the highlighted file using the listing program
                specified in your BBFF configuration file.  ^1(See config
                ^1info below.)

        ALT-O = Copy the highlighted file.
                You will be prompted to supply a destination.

        ALT-S = Shell out of BBFF to DOS.  Type "exit" to return to BBFF.

     ^1SPECIAL Ctrl-Key FUNCTIONS
        CTRL-D = Delete all tagged files.  You will be prompted to make
                 sure that you did mean to delete all tagged files.

        CTRL-O = Copy all tagged entries to a destination.  You will be
                 prompted to supply a destination.

        CTRL-R = Run a program against all tagged entries.  You will be
                 prompted to supply the name of the program to be run.


^C^1CONFIGURATION INFORMATION

        In order to use the two commands, ALT-E (Edit the highlighted file)
     and ALT-L (List the highlighted file), you must first configure BBFF
     so that it knows what editor and what listing program you would like
     to use.

        To do this, make sure that you have the BBFF.EXE and the
     BBFFCFG.EXE programs on your hard disk.  Then run the BBFF
     Configuration program by typing BBFFCFG at your DOS prompt and
     pressing ENTER.

        The config program first asks you where the BBFF.EXE program is.
     You must enter the full path and file name, ^1C:\UTILS\BBFF.EXE^0, for
     example.

     ^1The EDITOR and the LISTER
        When prompted, enter the name of the editor and the listing program
     you would like to use.  If these programs are already on your path,
     you need only enter their file names.  Otherwise, enter a full path
     name.

        On this issue we are including a copy of the Speed View program to
     serve as the default listing program.  When you run the config
     program, SV.EXE will appear in the box for the listing program.  Feel
     free to use Speed View or replace it with a new lister.  A default
     EDITOR is NOT provided.

     ^1CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
        Finally you will be asked about three configuration options. Reply Y
     (yes) or N (no) to each option.

     1. Asks you what drives BBFF should search by default.

        Initially this is set to all drives.  You could change it to search
        only the current drive.

     2. Asks if you want to use the memory swapping feature.

        When you try to RUN a big program from BBFF (a graphics mode game,
        for example), you may not have enough memory to do so.

        To solve this problem, run BBFFCFG and say YES I do want to use the
        memory swapping feature.  Then when you run your game the copy of
        BBFF running in memory will be swapped out to free  up enough
        memory for your game to run.  When you finish the game BBFF will be
        swapped back into memory.

     3. Asks if you want to pause before returning to BBFF.

        If you say YES to this option, then when you finish RUNNING a
        program, you will get a prompt that says:  [Press any key to return
        to BBFF.]


^C^1COMMAND LINE INFORMATION

        You may use BBFF from the command line if you prefer.  All command
     line parameters MUST be separated by blanks and all options MUST begin
     with a forward slash ^1/^0.  The options may appear anywhere on the
     command line. The format of the command line options is:

           ^1BBFF [options]  [ [drives:] [filespec] ]  [options]

        If the drives parameter is omitted, then BBFF will search all hard
     drives that can be identified.  If the drives parameter is included,
     then only the drives specified will be searched. (PLEASE NOTE: THE
     COLON MUST BE ENTERED AFTER THE DRIVE LETTERS).

        If the colon is entered without any drive letter preceding it, then
     BBFF will only search for files on the current default drive.  For
     example, ^1BBFF : *.BAT^0 will search for all files on the current
     default drive that have a file extension of BAT.

        Multiple filespecs may be entered along with multiple drives. For
     example:

        ^1BBFF *.BAK CD: \UTILITY\*.COM  DE: \TEMP\*.*  C:\JIM\*.*

        This example will:

             1)   Find all files that have a file extension of BAK that
                  reside on any identifiable hard drive.

             2)   Find all files that have a file extension of COM in the
                  UTILITY directory or any sub-directory of the UTILITY
                  directory ONLY ON HARD DRIVES C AND D.

             3)   Find all files that reside in the TEMP directory or any
                  subdirectory of the TEMP directory ONLY ON HARD DRIVES D
                  AND E.

             4)   Find all files that reside in the JIM directory or any
                  subdirectory of the JIM directory ONLY ON THE C DRIVE.

        The following command line options are available:

              ^1 ?^0   Displays summary information about the BBFF command line
                  parameters.  Enter ^1BBFF ?^0 and the help info is displayed.

              ^1/E^0   BBFF normally only looks for directories that do not
                  contain a file extension.  Using this option forces BBFF
                  to also look for directories that contain directory names
                  with extensions.

              ^1/G^0   This option allows you to limit the file search to files
                  that have a file date Greater than or Equal to the date
                  specified.  The format is ^1/Gmm-dd-yy^0.  For example,
                  ^1/G01-01-91^0 or ^1/G1-1-91^0 will list files that have a file date
                  GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO January 1st, 1991.

                   ** NOTE:  this option may be combined with the /L option
                             to specify a date range

              ^1/L^0   This option allows  you to limit the file search to
                  files that have a file date Less than or Equal to the
                  date specified.  The format is ^1/Lmm-dd-yy^0.  For example,
                  ^1/L01-01-91^0 or ^1/L1-1-91^0 will list files that have a file
                  date LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO January 1st, 1991.

                  ** NOTE:  this option  may be  combined with  the /G
                            option to specify a date range

              ^1/I^0   This option tells BBFF to ALSO look inside any archived
                  (compressed) files for the indicated files.  The
                  compressed files supported are ZIP, ARC, ZOO, PAK and LZH
                  files. For example, ^1BBFF /I *.TXT^0 will find all .TXT
                  files on all drives including the .TXT files inside
                  compressed files.

              ^1/A^0   This option tells BBFF to ONLY look inside Archived
                  (compressed) files for the indicated files.  The
                  compressed files supported are ZIP, ARC, ZOO, PAK and LZH
                  files. For example, ^1BBFF /A *.EXE^0 will find only those
                  .EXE files that exist inside of compressed files.

              ^1/d^0   This option tells BBFF to look for files with duplicate
                  file names.

              ^1/D^0   This option tells BBFF to look for files with duplicate
                  file names AND duplicate file sizes.

              ^1/SD^0  This option informs BBFF to only search the directory
                  specified on the command line and not to search any
                  directories existing under the specified directory. For
                  example, ^1BBFF C:\PROJECTX\*.TXT /SD^0 would only search for
                  .TXT files in the PROJECTX directory.  Any subdirectories
                  of PROJECTX are ignored.

              ^1/Z[RHSA]

                  This option allows you to limit the file search to files
                  that have specific attributes.  The following attributes
                  may be specified: R = Read Only, H = Hidden, S = System,
                  A = Archive.

                  For example, specifying ^1/ZA^0 will list files with the
                  Archive attribute.  ^1/ZRH^0 will list files that have the
                  Read-Only attribute OR the Hidden attribute set.

                  ** NOTE: If you specify the /A or /I options,
                           then THIS OPTION IS IGNORED!


^C^1OUTSIDE OF BBD

        To run this program outside the ^1Big Blue Disk^0 menu, type: ^1BBFF^0.

     ^1DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES
^FBBFF.EXE
^FBBFFCFG.EXE
^FSV.EXE