JCSM Shareware Collection 1996 September

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ZIP'R For DOS Version 4.1 Copyright 1993 by Stevenson Technical Services, Inc. (STSI) 108 Second Avenue West Bertha MN 56437-0297 Phone: (218) 924-2050 FAX: (218) 924-2050 (Ext. 11) The Bertha BBS: (218) 924-2060, 8,N,1 ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Welcome! │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Thank you for trying ZIP'R For DOS Version 4.1! ZIP'R is a program designed to use an existing compression program, such as PKZIP/PKUNZIP, ARJ, LHA, or SQZ to automatically compress entire programs (including sub-directories) when programs are exited, and decompress them prior to execution. This process saves valuable hard drive space by compressing programs when they are not in use. ZIP'R even achieves a substantial amount of compression on hard drives that already use an on-the-fly compression program, such as SuperStor or Stacker! ZIP'R is unique because it not only compresses and decompresses entire programs, but it launches them as well! This feature makes it possible to fully integrate ZIP'R into most, if not all menuing systems. If you appreciate ZIP'R For DOS, you are encouraged to call The Bertha BBS at (218) 924-2060, and let us know! Comments, suggestions, and enhancement requests are always welcome! ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Requirements │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ To run ZIP'R reliably, you will need the following: ∙ DOS 3.3 or Higher ∙ IBM PC, PC-Compatible or MS-DOS Computer with a Hard Drive and 640K RAM ∙ Any one of the following compression programs: ARJ, LHA, SQZ, PKZIP/PKUNZIP ∙ CGA Color, EGA Color, or VGA Color Monitor Page 1 ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Table of Contents: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Title Page & Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1 Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1 Quick-Start Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 What Is ZIP'R? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Why Was ZIP'R Created? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 How Does ZIP'R Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Installing ZIP'R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Using The ZIF Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Executing The ZIF Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9 The File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10 Browsing For Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 The In Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 The Out Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 20 The Settings Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 The Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24 Using ZIP'R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24 Using ZIP'R With A Menuing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 25 What Happens When I Execute ZIP'R? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 25 Help Screens And Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 28 Advanced Compression Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 30 Using ZIP'R With DESQview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 DESQview Tips & Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 33 Using ZIP'R With Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 34 Using ZIP'R With Doorway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 35 Using ZIP'R With Command Line Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 35 How Effective Is ZIP'R? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 37 Page 2 Cautions When Using ZIP'R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 38 Troubleshooting / Common Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 39 Questions And Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 41 Programs Mentioned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 43 ZIP'R Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 44 Page 3 ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Quick-Start Instructions: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ If you are in a hurry to get ZIP'R up and running, follow these Quick-Start instructions: 1. Run the Install program by logging to the correct drive and directory, and type "INSTALL". 2. If you installed ZIP'R to a directory other than C:\ZIPR, edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add the following statement: SET ZIPR=DRIVE:\PATH (Replace with your drive and path.) 3. Reboot your machine to ensure that the new changes to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file have taken effect. 4. Copy the compression program(s) of your choice into the ZIP'R sub- directory. If you use ZIP, copy the files PKZIP.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE into the ZIP'R sub-directory. If you use ARJ, copy the file ARJ.EXE into the ZIP'R sub-directory. If you use LHA, copy the file LHA.EXE into the ZIP'R sub-directory, and if you use SQZ, copy the file SQZ.EXE into the ZIP'R sub-directory. (Registered ZIP'R users may store the compression programs on any drive and in any sub-directory. See the section entitled "The Settings Menu".) 5. Execute the ZIF Editor from the \ZIPR sub-directory (or wherever you installed ZIP'R) by typing "ZIFEDIT", and create a new .ZIF file for the program you want to compress and launch through ZIP'R. 6. Once you have created a .ZIF file, exit the ZIF Editor, make sure you are still located in the ZIP'R program directory, and type "ZIPR PROGRAM.ZIF". (.ZIF must be specified on the command line, or ZIP'R will not operate properly!) Examples of potential command lines could be: ZIPR PCSHELL.ZIF ZIPRN PSDELUXE.ZIF 7. If the fields of the .ZIF file have been entered correctly, ZIP'R will display the prelog screen for 10 seconds, and then execute the program you designated in the .ZIF file. When you exit the program, ZIP'R will use the selected compression method to compress the program directory (including all sub-directories), and will display a 10 second epilog delay before returning to a DOS prompt or the menu system you are using. (Registered users may reduce or completely eliminate these delay times. Please see the section entitled "The Settings Menu".) 8. The next time you want to run this program, use the same command line. ZIP'R will display the prelog screen, decompress the program, and execute it normally. Once again, after exiting the program, ZIP'R will compress the program, display the epilog delay, and exit. Page 4 9. To calculate how much disk space you are gaining by using ZIP'R, check the free hard drive space prior to compressing a program, and again after compressing the program. Subtract the two numbers, and the total will be the disk space saved through using ZIP'R. The more programs you choose to compress, the greater the savings will be! ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Disclaimer: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ By using ZIP'R For DOS and/or the ZIF Editor, users indicate their acceptance of the following terms: "ZIP'R For DOS and the ZIF Editor are supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. Neither STSI, The Bertha BBS, or any STSI employees will be held responsible for any damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of ZIP'R For DOS and/or the ZIF Editor." "Information in this documentation is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of STSI. STSI may make improvements and/or changes in this documentation or in the products and/or programs described in this documentation at any time." ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Registration: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ ZIP'R is distributed under the shareware concept. You may try ZIP'R for a period of two weeks. After this period, you must either discontinue using it, or register it. A single-user license is only $39.95 (+$5.00 S&H in the U.S., or $12.50 S&H on Foreign Orders). This price includes printed documentation, 3 1/2" and 5 1/4" diskettes, along with a Registration Name and Number allowing you to register all future versions of ZIP'R For DOS. Registered users also receive the ability to use the following advanced features of ZIP'R For DOS: Change time of (or completely remove) prelog delay Change time of (or completely remove) epilog delay Remove delay from "Update" option Change Accurate File Size Calculation default Change default Cluster Size Change Sorted Extraction default Change where ZIP'R looks for compression program(s) Note: ZIP'R For DOS and the ZIF Editor are distributed as one product. Registered users of ZIP'R are automatically registered to use the ZIF Editor. If you are in a hurry to get a registered version of ZIP'R For DOS, call STSI at (218) 924-2050, and charge it to your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card. Upon request, you will receive a temporary registration name and number over the telephone. This will allow the modification of all of the ZIP'R Program Defaults, thus removing the delay screens, if desired. For further registration information and pricing, please read the REGISTER.DOC file included with ZIP'R. There is also a registration form contained at the end of this documentation file. Page 5 If you are upgrading from a previous version of ZIP'R (prior to 3.0), feel free to use the ZIF Editor to simplify your ZIP'R command line. I am confident you will find it very easy to use, and much less cumbersome than trying to remember all of the necessary command line parameters, as in previous versions. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Technical Support: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Technical support is available to ZIP'R users through the following means: The Bertha BBS: New versions of ZIP'R will be posted here as soon as they are available. The Bertha BBS uses a U.S. Robotics Dual- Standard Modem, which is capable of V.32bis, V.32, HST, and 2400 baud connect speeds. The access number for The Bertha BBS is (218)-924-2060. Technical support questions should be addressed to the SYSOP. STSI FAX: STSI has a FAX machine on-line 24 hours-a-day to accept FAX transmissions. Technical support questions / problems may be faxed to (218) 924-2050. Most FAX transmissions will be automatically routed to the FAX machine. If you have problems reaching our FAX machine, wait until after the first ring, press 11, and then begin transmitting. Telephone: Technical support calls may be placed at (218) 924-2050. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ What Is ZIP'R? │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ ZIP'R is a program designed to use an existing compression program, such as PKZIP/PKUNZIP, ARJ, LHA, or SQZ to automatically compress entire programs (including sub-directories) when programs are exited, and decompress them prior to execution. This process saves valuable hard drive space by compressing program when they are not in use. ZIP'R even achieves a substantial amount of compression on hard drives that already use an on-the- fly compression program, such as SuperStor, Stacker or DoubleSpace! ZIP'R is unique because it not only compresses and decompresses entire programs, but it launches them as well! This feature makes it possible to fully integrate ZIP'R into most, if not all menuing systems. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Why Was ZIP'R Created? │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ My business never seems to have enough hard drive space. In the past, I always wanted to make sure that I owned the biggest hard drive in town, but my budget rarely accommodated my needs for more drive space. Although hard drive prices have dropped substantially in the past year, computer programs have continued to increase in size, making it necessary to purchase even larger Page 6 hard drives. In my quest to squeeze the last drop out of every megabyte of hard drive space, I tried the top two on-the-fly data compression programs, SuperStor and Stacker. These programs do have merit, but they certainly don't achieve the compression ratios typical of archiving utilities. On top of that, I faced an additional dilemma, because neither SuperStor or Stacker would work on a Novell file server. This rendered these programs virtually useless, as far as my primary needs were concerned. What bothered me the most about buying a larger hard drive was that most of the programs contained on my current hard drive were not used that often. Nevertheless, I needed to have access to each of them about once every few weeks. In the meantime, they took up valuable hard drive space that was desperately needed for other things. I decided it would be handy to have a utility that could compress these programs when they weren't it use, yet leave them at my complete disposal for the times that I needed them. That's when the idea for ZIP'R was born! On the surface, ZIP'R performs three consecutive tasks. 1. If a compressed file exists, ZIP'R decompresses the program's files and sub-directories. 2. ZIP'R executes the chosen program. 3. ZIP'R re-compresses the program once it is no longer being used. And the best part of all is that it is entirely automatic! What does this mean? For users who have not yet purchased an on-the-fly data compression program, ZIP'R is ideal. It is far less expensive than SuperStor or Stacker, and the compression ratios achieved depend solely on the effectiveness of the archiving utility used. You can virtually double your current hard drive space, for a fraction of the cost of buying a new hard drive. For users who already own SuperStor or Stacker, and still struggle with space limitations, ZIP'R can still make a big difference on their hard drives. According to my calculations, these compression programs only achieve an average of 33% compression on most hard drives. Using ZIP'R with an archiving utility can reach compression ratios of 53%. That's an additional 20% of hard drive space! For every 100 megabytes of hard drive space you own, you can gain an extra 20 megabytes back, just by using ZIP'R. For users who operate on a Novell network, ZIP'R is a fast, easy and automatic solution to hard drive dilemmas. By utilizing the network/multitasker version of ZIP'R (ZIPRN.EXE), network users can store seldom used, but necessary programs in a tightly compressed form, taking up far less hard drive space. This effectively increases the storage capacity of the server hard drive, extending its useful life. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ How Does ZIP'R Work? │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ ZIP'R works in combination with existing compression programs to compress directories, sub-directories, and the files they contain into one smaller, compressed file on the hard drive. This allows an entire directory filled with files to be stored in compressed form when not in use, saving a substantial amount of hard drive space. When a program is executed, ZIP'R invokes the proper compression program to decompress the desired directory, and executes the requested program. During Page 7 this time ZIP'R swaps itself to disk or EMS memory, leaving behind only about 2.5K plus the size of the command processor and its environment. This usually is less than 10K. When the program is exited, ZIP'R invokes the chosen compression program to compress the entire directory. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Installing ZIP'R │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ The first step in testing a new piece of software is to perform a backup and test its integrity. Since ZIP'R will compress entire directories into a single file, your potential losses are much greater if this file becomes lost or corrupted. The two files needed to properly install ZIP'R For DOS are INSTALL.EXE and ZIPR40.ZPR. Log to the drive where you are installing ZIP'R from, and type "INSTALL". The ZIP'R For DOS installation program will ask you where you are installing ZIP'R from (usually, the current directory), and the location where the program files should be stored. (The default destination directory is C:\ZIPR.) If you are upgrading from a previous version, ZIP'R will issue a warning before overwriting the ZIPR.INI file. If you have already set up your registration information and user preferences in the ZIPR.INI file, answer "N" (No) to instruct ZIP'R not to overwrite this file. When the installation is complete, ZIP'R will display a completion message and return to the operating system. After installing ZIP'R, you should copy the compression program(s) of your choice into the ZIP'R sub-directory. If you decide to use PKZIP, you will need the files PKZIP.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE. If you use ARJ, you will need the file ARJ.EXE. If you use LHA, you will need the file LHA.EXE, and if you use SQZ, you will need the file SQZ.EXE. ZIP'R has been tested with PKZIP versions 1.10 and 2.04g, ARJ version 2.30, LHA version 2.13, and SQZ version 1.08.3. ARJ consistently provides the tightest archives, but is not nearly as fast as ZIP. ARJ also has the ability to test the integrity of the archive, which is useful when running ZIP'R under a multitasker, such as DESQview or Windows. (Since my company uses PKZip internally, more extensive testing has been performed with ZIP than with ARJ, LHA, or SQZ.) ZIP'R can be installed on any drive in your system, including network drives. Important! Be sure to include a SET ZIPR=N:\ZIPR statement (or wherever you put ZIP'R), in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If this environment variable is not found, ZIP'R defaults to using the C:\ZIPR sub- directory. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Using The ZIF Editor │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ The ZIF Editor is a user-friendly interface that was created to assist ZIP'R users in the maintenance of all ZIP'R related files. The ZIF Editor allows the direct editing of the following files: .ZIF Files ZIP'R Information Files (.ZIF Files) contain program specific information that instruct ZIP'R how to execute a particular program, and what archiving utility should be used. This information is used to decompress, execute, and Page 8 re-compress program files and their sub-directories. These .ZIF files are referenced from the ZIP'R command line, and make ZIP'R an easy-to-use utility for novice and experienced users alike. The ZIPR.INI File This file contains program defaults for ZIP'R. From within the ZIF Editor, users can enter their registration name and number, and alter several program settings described later in this documentation. .IN / .OUT Files The ZIF Editor also allows users to create and modify files with .IN and .OUT extensions. These files allow the execution of DOS commands prior and subsequent to executing the actual program. For more information on how these files work, see the sections entitled "The IN Menu" and "The OUT Menu". The following are a few technical notes about specific editing features within the ZIF Editor. Editing Keys: The following keys are available to edit or type new text into most plain text fields. HOME Move to beginning of field CTRL+HOME Move to beginning of field END Move to end of field CTRL+END Move to end of field INSERT Insert Mode / Overstrike Mode DELETE Remove character over the cursor BACKSPACE Remove character left of the cursor LEFT ARROW Move cursor one character to the left RIGHT ARROW Move cursor one character to the right TAB Move cursor to next field SHIFT+TAB Move cursor to previous field ALT+DOWN ARROW Show list on drop-down list box SPACE BAR Highlight file in file list box Upper Case Characters: When new field entries are added to the ZIF Editor's editing screens, the ZIF Editor will automatically convert them to UPPER CASE characters. This speeds up the typing process and provides consistency within the ZIF Editor. The only field that serves as an exception to this rule is the "Parameters:" field. Some programs are case sensitive when accepting passed parameters, so the ZIF Editor does not convert the characters in this field to upper case. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Executing The ZIF Editor │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ To invoke the ZIF Editor, type "ZIFEDIT" from the \ZIPR sub-directory (or wherever you store ZIP'R), and press [ENTER]. The ZIF Editor's desktop space will display the main menu, along with a logo containing version and copyright information. Page 9 ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ The File Menu │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ The main function of the ZIF Editor is to create and modify .ZIF files for use with ZIP'R. The "File" menu allows users to create a "New" .ZIF file, "Open" an existing .ZIF file, or "Delete" an existing .ZIF file. Selecting "New from the file menu causes the following screen to display: File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ Edit .ZIF File ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────┐┌────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ ZIF Filename...: ││ UNTITLED.ZIF │ │ ┌─────────────────┐ │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────┘└────────────────────────┘ │ │ Compression │ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ └─────────────────┘ │ │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────┐┌────────────────────────┐ │ ┌─────────────────┐ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ Program Drive..: ││ [N: [\\STSI_1\SYS] ] │ │ │ Network Options │ │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────┘└────────────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────┘ │ │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────┐┌────────────────────────┐ │ ┌─────────────────┐ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ Program Path...: ││ │ │ │ Program Browse │ │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────┘└────────────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────┘ │ │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────┐┌────────────────────────┐ └─────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │ Executable File: ││ │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────┘└────────────────────────┘ < Save > │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────┐┌────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Parameters.....: ││ │ < Cancel > │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────┘└────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ This is the editing screen that will be used most often within the ZIF Editor. An explanation of each field is given below. ZIPR Filename: The entry typed in this field will be the name of the .ZIF file used to contain the program preferences entered on this screen. This file will be referenced on the ZIP'R command line to execute this program. This filename should reflect the name of the program being executed. Program Drive: The drive list box should contain the drive where the program to be executed resides. Mouse users can select a different drive by clicking on the down arrow located immediately to the right of the drive list box. (Keyboard users, press ALT-Down Arrow.) Select a new drive by clicking on it with the mouse, or use the arrow keys to highlight it, and press [ENTER]. Program Path: This field should contain the path where the program to be executed is located. Do NOT specify the drive letter on this command line! A proper path should be in the format "\PCTOOLS". The path should contain a backslash (\) as the first character on this line. Page 10 Note: When you press [TAB], the ZIF Editor automatically detects if you accidentally placed a drive specification (N:) on the front of the string, and removes it. In the same way, if a preceding backslash is not detected, the ZIF Editor adds one, thus avoiding potential error messages when executing ZIP'R. Additional Note: Do not specify a lone backslash (\) in this field! This tells ZIP'R that you want to compress your entire hard drive into one file, which would cause your hard drive to be unbootable. I have added a special precautionary measure to ZIP'R which will not allow users to do this, but that doesn't mean that the possibility is non-existent. Executable File: This field should contain the name of the file to be executed. Do NOT specify an extension in this field! If you do, the ZIF Editor will detect it and remove it. Instead, ZIP'R automatically checks for the existence of a .BAT, .COM, or .EXE file, and executes the proper program. Parameters: This field can optionally contain any (and all) necessary parameters that should be passed to the program being executed. These parameters are passed as one variable, and since some programs require case sensitive program parameters, ZIP'R does not automatically convert the text in this field to upper case. To specify compression options within a .ZIF file, select the "Compression" command button. The following screen appears: File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ Compression Options ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────────┐┌───────────────┐ [ ] Use Advanced Options │░░ ░░░│ │ Compression Type...: ││ [ZIP ] │ [ ] Query Option │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────┘└───────────────┘ [ ] Update Option │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────────┐┌───────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Compressed Filename: ││ │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────┘└───────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ [ ] Use Alternate Directory For Compressed File │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────────────┐┌──────────────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Compressed File Directory: ││ │ │ Browse │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────────────┘└──────────────────────┘ └────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ < Ok > │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ < Cancel > │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Page 11 Compression Type: This field should contain the name of the compression program you want to use to compress the specified program and its sub-directories. The following table shows the compression utilities currently supported by ZIP'R, and the corresponding entry for this field. Compression Utility Field Entry ARJ Version 2.30 ARJ LHA Version 2.13 LHA No Compression NONE SQZ Version 1.08.3 SQZ PKZIP Version 1.10 ZIP PKZIP Versions 2.04c, 2.04e, and 2.04g ZIP If "NONE" is entered as the ZipType, ZIP'R will decompress an existing compressed file prior to executing the desired program, but will not compress the directory after the program is exited. Advanced options for this field are contained in the "Advanced Compression Options" section of this documentation. The default entry for this field is "ZIP". To change this entry, use the mouse to click on the down arrow located to the right of the field, or press [ALT] + Down Arrow. Click on the compression program you want to use, or highlight it with the arrow keys and press [ENTER]. Comp. Filename: Enter the name of the compressed file that will be created and used by ZIP'R into this field. After you exit from the chosen program, ZIP'R creates the compressed file based on the filename you enter here. Note: When you press [TAB] in this field, the ZIF Editor detects if a filename has been entered, and appends the proper extension based on the Compression Type specified above. Use Adv. Options: This check box allows users to specify if they want to use any of the advanced compression options available with ZIP'R For DOS. When this box is checked, additional options are added to the Compression Type list box. If this box is not checked, only the standard set of compression types will appear in the Compression Type list box. Query Option: The "Query" option is a ZIP'R feature that allows users to choose, after the program is exited, whether or not it should be compressed. If this box is checked, ZIP'R will query (ask) the user whether or not the program should be compressed each time it is exited. This allows the user to have more control over the compression process, instead of having to decide in advance whether a program should be compressed. Page 12 When a program is exited, ZIP'R simply presents a dialog box, as shown below: ╔══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ Compress this program? ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ Yes ▄ No ▄ ║ ║ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════╝ If "Yes" is chosen, ZIP'R will compress this program normally. If "No" is chosen, ZIP'R will immediately exit, leaving the program uncompressed. Update Option: The "Update" option is a ZIP'R feature which can significantly reduce the time required to recompress a program. Normally, when ZIP'R decompresses a program, it extracts all of the program files and sub-directories, and deletes the old compressed file. During the compression process, ZIP'R creates a new compressed file, and moves all of the program files and sub-directories into it. This method makes the most efficient use of hard disk space, but can require a significant amount of time to recompress the program, depending on the number and size of files that need to be compressed. The "Update" option of ZIP'R can save a tremendous amount of time in this process. Instead of deleting the old compressed file when the program files and sub-directories are extracted, ZIP'R leaves it in the program's directory. When the compression process starts, ZIP'R uses PKZIP to update any files and/or sub-directories that have been added or changed, and deletes any files and/or sub- directories that have been deleted since the program was extracted. In essence, if no files or sub-directories were added, changed, or deleted since the program was decompressed, PKZIP does not need to update any files. The old compressed file is left in the directory while PKZIP deletes the program's files and sub-directories. Placing a check mark in this box instructs ZIP'R to use the "Update" method when compressing this program. To give an example of how much time this feature can save, I have performed speed comparisons on a few of my most-used programs. (All timings were performed on a 486SX-25MHZ computer.) Page 13 ┌────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ Compression Time (In Seconds) │ │ Compressed Program ├────────────────────┬────────────────────┤ │ │ (Normal Method) │ (Update Method) │ ├────────────────────────┼────────────────────┼────────────────────┤ │ SHEZ │ 15 │ 3 │ │ Tech Note Index │ 22 │ 5 │ │ Rolodex Live! 2.0 │ 29 │ 18 │ │ Professional Write 2.2 │ 69 │ 28 │ │ QmodemPro 1.0 │ 80 │ 15 │ │ Vendor #1 Price List │ 84 │ 4 │ │ Vendor #2 Price List │ 135 │ 4 │ └────────────────────────┴────────────────────┴────────────────────┘ As you can see, the amount of time saved varies between programs. I encourage you to try this option on a few of your own programs. Here are a few hints that I've figured out from experimenting with this option. 1. The greatest difference in speed will be noticed on programs that have large files and/or files that have not changed. The reason the "Vendor #2 Price List" compressed so quickly under the update method was because there was about a dozen large program files that never change. It takes a very long time to compress these files using the normal method. With the update method, PKZIP detects that they are identical to the ones already maintained in the compressed file. All it needs to do is delete these files out of the directory, and the recompression process is complete! 2. You may notice that any lower-level sub-directories within the program are always updated when the update method is enabled. Since directories are deleted when a program is compressed, PKZIP must create these directories before decompressing the program. When PKZIP attempts to update the compressed file, it detects that the directories have "changed", and therefore, is forced to update them in the compressed file. 3. You will see PKZIP flash on the screen several times in very rapid succession when it performs the update option. This process is normal, and should not cause alarm. If files have been deleted from the program directory, ZIP'R must delete these out of the compressed file. In order to perform this operation, ZIP'R needs to create two lists using PKZIP, and compare them. This is the reason for the rapid flashing you may see. 4. This option is useful to speed up the recompression process on most programs, but it may actually increase the time of compression on others. The programs that may not compress as quickly with the update method are ones that have large numbers of small files and/or ones that have many files added, changed, or deleted during each session. If you're not sure, use a watch and time each method to see which way would save the most time. Additional Note: Due to the dramatic amount of time that can be saved by using this feature, I saw the necessity to encourage non-registered users to register by implementing another nag screen. This one only delays for 5 seconds, and requires the user to press a key before continuing. Registered users should never see this screen! If you want Page 14 to remove all delays from ZIP'R, register! See the "Registration" section for more information. A registration form is contained at the end of this documentation. Use Alternate Directory For Compressed File: If this check box is marked, users may specify an alternate directory for the compressed file in the Compressed File Directory field, as explained below. Compressed File Directory: Advanced users will want to use this optional field for programs with unique requirements. While most programs maintain their primary executable file in the parent program directory, some programs maintain their primary executable file in a lower-level sub-directory. A good example of this problem is found with Borland Pascal 7.0. C:\ └─BP <---- Most executable files are located ├─PASCAL in this sub-directory. ├─DOC ├─BIN ├─BGI ├─EXAMPLES ├─RTL ├─UNITS └─PENWIN C:\ └─BP ├─PASCAL ├─DOC ├─BIN <---- Borland Pascal places the file BP.EXE ├─BGI in the C:\BP\BIN sub-directory. ├─EXAMPLES ├─RTL ├─UNITS └─PENWIN In order to compensate for situations like this, ZIP'R (along with the ZIF Editor), allows users to specify two different sub-directories for program operation. The first one is the "Program Directory" located on the original ZIF editing screen. (For an explanation of the Program Directory, please see above.) The Program Directory field specifies the actual location of the executable file. The second directory is called the "Compressed File Directory". This optional field allows users to specify an alternate location for the compressed file, if it is different than the Program Directory. In the case of Borland Pascal, the Compressed File Directory field would contain the entry " \BP". Note: This field, just like the Program Directory field, should be preceded by a backslash (\). If a backslash is not present, the ZIF Editor prepends it, reducing the Page 15 chance for errors when ZIP'R attempts to run this program. Once you are finished specifying compression options using the ZIF Editor, select "Ok" to save your changes and return to the main editing screen, or "Cancel" to return to the main editing screen without saving your changes. To specify network/multitasker specific options within a .ZIF file, select the "Network Options" command button. Maximum Users: If you are using the Network/Multitasking version of ZIP'R, specify the number of concurrent accesses for this program. For example, if a network program is only licensed for five users, you will want to enter 5 in this field. This tells ZIP'R not to allow more than 5 users into this particular program at the same time. If you are running a multitasker, you may run the risk of opening multiple windows of the same program at the same time. It would be to your benefit to enter 1 in this field. That way, ZIP'R will only allow you to execute one copy of this program at a time. The default for this field is 1. Note: The network/multitasker version of ZIP'R is automatically limited to 2 concurrent users. If more than two users attempt to access the same program at the same time with the network/multitasker version of ZIP'R, an error message will display indicating that there are no more user numbers available. This prevents large networks from using ZIP'R without registering the proper number of copies. If you need to register a network version of ZIP'R, please see the ZIP'R registration form at the end of this manual. Selecting "Ok" will save any changes to the Maximum Users field. Selecting "Cancel" will reset this field to its original value. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Browsing For Files │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ One powerful feature of the ZIF Editor is the ability to browse for files and/or directories using file and directory list boxes. On the main .ZIF editing screen, selecting the "Program Browse" button will display the following screen: Page 16 File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ Browse For Program ... ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Executable File: Drives: │ │░░ ░░░│ │ *.BAT;*.COM;*.EXE [N: [\\STSI_1\SYS] ] │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ Files: Directories: │ │░░ ░░░│ │ ┌────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ │ ┌──────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ZIFEDIT.EXE ░ │ N:\ ░ │ │ File Type: │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ SYSTEM ░ │ │ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ LOGIN ░ │ │ [X] *.BAT │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ MAIL ░ │ │ [X] *.COM │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ PUBLIC ░ │ │ [X] *.EXE │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ USERS ░ │ │ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ └────────────────────┘ └────────────────────┘ │ │ [ ] *.* │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌ Current Path: ───────────────────────────────────┐ < Ok > │░░ ░░░│ │ N:\*.BAT;*.COM;*.EXE │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ < Cancel > │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Users can select any combination of file types from the File Type list. When a box is checked, the pattern of files associated with that file type will be displayed. For example, if the only file type checked is "*.COM", only files with an extension of "*.COM" will be displayed. If "*.BAT" and "*.EXE" are checked, files with either extension ("*.BAT" and "*.EXE") will be displayed. Once a file is selected from this screen, the drive, directory, and executable file will be automatically pasted into the "Program Drive:", "Program Path:", and "Executable File:" fields. In the same manner, a browse screen is accessible from the Compression screen to search for an alternate Compressed File Directory. (Note: The browse button is only available when the box "Use Alternate Directory For Compressed File" is checked.) This browse screen looks like the following: Page 17 File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ Browse For Compressed File Directory ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Directories: │ │ An alternate compressed file │ │░░ ░░░│ │ ┌──────────────────────┐ │ │ directory MUST be located within │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ N:\ ░ │ │ the same directory structure as │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ZIPR ░ │ │ the executable file's program │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ │ directory. │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ │ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ │ Executing PCSHELL.EXE from the │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ │ \UTILITY\PCTOOLS sub-directory │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ │ would mean that the compressed │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ │ file could either be stored in │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ ░ │ │ the \UTILITY or \UTILITY\PCTOOLS │ │░░ ░░░│ │ └──────────────────────┘ │ │ sub-directory. │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌ Current Path: ───────────────────────────────────┐ < Ok > │░░ ░░░│ │ N:\ZIPR │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ < Cancel > │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ When an alternate Compressed File Directory is selected from this screen, the Compressed File Directory text box is updated with the results. Browse screens such as the ones shown above make navigation and location of needed files fast and easy. Also available from the File Menu is the ability to open or delete a previously created .ZIF file. When you select "Open" or "Delete" from the file menu, the ZIF Editor displays a screen that looks like the one shown below: File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ Open .ZIF File ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Filename: Drive: │ │░░ ░░░│ │ *.ZIF [N: [\\STSI_1\SYS] ] │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ Files: Directories: │ │░░ ░░░│ │ ┌────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────┐ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ APPRO.ZIF ░ │ N:\ ░ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ AWREMOTE.ZIF ░ │ ZIPR ░ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ BLAST.ZIF ░ │ ░ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ BP.ZIF ░ │ ░ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ BPASCAL.ZIF ░ │ ░ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ │ CADD6.ZIF ░ │ ░ │ │░░ ░░░│ │ └────────────────────┘ └────────────────────┘ │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌ Current Path: ───────────────────────────────────┐ < Ok > │░░ ░░░│ │ N:\ZIPR\*.ZIF │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ < Cancel > │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Page 18 Use this screen to search through available drives and directories for the .ZIF file you want to edit. Once you've located the file you want to open, double-click on it with the mouse, or press [ENTER] when it is selected with the highlight bar, and the ZIF Editor will read the information and import it into the editing screen to be viewed or modified. If you choose "Delete" from the File Menu, a similar dialog box will appear, allowing you to search through available drives and directories for the .ZIF file you want to delete. When you find it, double-clicking on it, or pressing [ENTER] when it is selected with the highlight bar will delete the file. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ The In Menu │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ The "In" menu provides access to options allowing users to create, edit, and delete .IN files. .IN files are used to execute DOS commands prior to running a desired program. An example of this would be to swap a printer port prior to executing a particular program. Another example would be to flush and disable write caching before running a disk utility program. The following screen shows a real-world example of how the ZIF Editor can maintain .IN files for this purpose. File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ IN Commands ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌───────────────┐┌──────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ IN Filename: ││ DISKFIX.IN │ │░░ ░░░│ └───────────────┘└──────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ C:\PCKWIK\SUPERPCK /F /D ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Enter DOS commands that should be executed immediately prior to │ │░░ ░░░│ │ executing the program specified in the corresponding .ZIF file. │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ < Save > < Cancel > │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ The .IN editing screen can be edited by using the same keys that are available to edit .ZIF files on the .ZIF editing screen. (Keep in mind that in order for these commands to be executed prior to the corresponding program, the "Filename" field shown on this screen must match the "Compressed Filename" field given on the .ZIF editing screen. This allows complete compatibility for ZIP'R users who still rely on using the ZIP'R command line.) Important! Do NOT attempt to use a .IN and/or a .OUT file to invoke or remove TSR (Terminate and Stay-Resident) programs from memory. This is virtually guaranteed to cause conflicts with ZIP'R. If you need to invoke a TSR before Page 19 running a program, or remove one after exiting a program, see the "Questions And Answers" section of this documentation. Question #2 instructs users how to load and unload TSR's, without using the .IN and/or .OUT files. The IN Menu also allows users to open and delete .IN files using dialog boxes similar to those used for opening and deleting .ZIF files. When a .IN file is opened, the ZIF Editor reads the information contained in the file, and displays it on the .IN editing screen. When a .IN file is selected for deletion, the ZIF Editor deletes it and returns to the main menu. In this way, the ZIF Editor gives the user complete control over all files needed for the operation of ZIP'R. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ The Out Menu │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Just as users may need to create .IN files to execute DOS commands prior to running a program, users may also find a need to create .OUT files to execute DOS commands after exiting from a program. These commands can be added using the "Out" menu. In the .IN example shown above, the disk cache was flushed and disable prior to executing DISKFIX. A .OUT file could be used to re-enable the cache after the program has been exited, as shown in the following example: File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ OUT Commands ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌───────────────┐┌──────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ OUT Filename: ││ DISKFIX.OUT │ │░░ ░░░│ └───────────────┘└──────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ C:\PCKWIK\SUPERPCK /E ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░│ │░░ ░░░│ │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Enter DOS commands that should be executed immediately after │ │░░ ░░░│ │ exiting from the program specified in the corresponding .ZIF file. │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ < Save > < Cancel > │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ The .OUT editing screen can be edited by using the same keys that are available to edit .ZIF files on the .ZIF editing screen. (Keep in mind that in order for these commands to be executed after the corresponding program, the "Filename" field shown on this screen must match the "ZipName" field given on the .ZIF editing screen. This allows complete compatibility for ZIP'R users who still rely on using the ZIP'R command line.) Important! Do NOT attempt to use a .IN and/or a .OUT file to invoke or remove TSR (Terminate and Stay-Resident) programs from memory. This is virtually Page 20 guaranteed to cause conflicts with ZIP'R. If you need to invoke a TSR before running a program, or remove one after exiting a program, see the "Questions And Answers" section of this documentation. Question #2 instructs users how to load and unload TSR's, without using the .IN and/or .OUT files. The OUT Menu also allows users to open and delete .OUT files using dialog boxes similar to those used for opening and deleting .ZIF files. When a .OUT file is opened, the ZIF Editor reads the information contained in the file, and displays it on the .OUT editing screen. When a .OUT file is selected for deletion, the ZIF Editor deletes it and returns to the main menu. In this way, the ZIF Editor gives the user complete control over all files needed for the operation of ZIP'R. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ The Settings Menu │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ From the Settings Menu, users can have access to the registration and default settings for ZIP'R. These settings are contained in a file called ZIPR.INI. While this file can be edited manually using a text editor, the ZIF Editor allows fast and easy maintenance, with the assurance that the file can be read correctly by ZIP'R. It is strongly recommended that all registration information and defaults be set using the ZIF Editor. Selecting Register from the Settings Menu will allow users to enter a Registration Name and Number which will register their copy of ZIP'R. For registered users who are upgrading from a previous version of ZIP'R, the ZIF Editor will read in the contents of the ZIPR.INI file, and display the proper Registration Name and Number. If you accidentally overwrote your ZIPR.INI file when updating to the new version, simply re-enter your name and number here. The ZIF Editor will save your changes and re-register your copy of ZIP'R. If you do not enter a valid Registration Name and Registration Number in the two fields provided on this screen, options specified on the ZIP'R Defaults and Compression Paths screens will not take effect! Selecting ZIP'R Defaults from the Settings Menu will allow registered users to customize their ZIP'R program defaults. (The Registration Name and Registration Number fields described above MUST be filled in correctly for the changes to the ZIP'R Defaults screen to take effect. If the Registration Name and Number are invalid, or were entered incorrectly, ZIP'R will use its default settings, regardless of what this screen says!) The following is a screen capture of the ZIP'R Defaults screen. Page 21 File IN OUT Settings Help ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░┌┤ ZIP'R Defaults ├┐░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────┐┌────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Prelog Delay.....: ││ 10 │ │ Options on this screen only take │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────┘└────────┘ │ effect on REGISTERED versions of │ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────┐┌────────┐ │ ZIP'R For DOS! Non-registered │ │░░ ░░░│ │ Epilog Delay.....: ││ 10 │ │ versions automatically use the │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────┘└────────┘ │ default settings. │ │░░ ░░░│ └──────────────────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────┐┌─────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Cluster Size.....: ││ [4096 ] │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────┘└─────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────┐┌─────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ AFSC.............: ││ (X) Yes ( ) No │ │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────┘└─────────────────────┘ < Save > │░░ ░░░│ ┌────────────────────┐┌─────────────────────┐ │░░ ░░░│ │ Sorted Extraction: ││ ( ) Yes (X) No │ < Cancel > │░░ ░░░│ └────────────────────┘└─────────────────────┘ │░░ ░░░└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Although users may not see a need to edit this screen very often, the information contained here will dictate how ZIP'R operates, and what options will be used. Prelog Delay: This field contains the number of seconds that ZIP'R will displays the prelog screen each time a program is launched through ZIP'R. Experienced ZIP'R users can set this field to 0, which will prevent ZIP'R from displaying the prelog screen. Novice users may want to use set this field to 4, to allow a short time to view the information displayed on the prelog screen. The default prelog delay time is 10. Epilog Delay: This field contains the number of seconds that ZIP'R will display the epilog screen each time a program that has been launched through ZIP'R is exited. Most users will likely set this field to 0, which will force ZIP'R to not display the epilog screen at all. The default epilog delay time is 10. AFSC: AFSC stands for Accurate File Size Calculation. When the "Yes" option button is checked, ZIP'R will examine a compressed file prior to decompressing it, to determine the exact amount of hard drive space required to decompress it successfully. Although this is an extremely safe method, it does require a short time to complete. If this delay is unacceptable, registered users may disable this feature by selecting the "No" option button. When "No" is selected, ZIP'R still checks to see if sufficient drive space is available to decompress a file, but uses a simpler calculation method. This method is not as accurate as using the Accurate File Size Calculation, but it is faster. The default setting for AFSC is "Yes", which enables this feature. Page 22 Cluster Size: This field instructs ZIP'R what cluster size (or allocation unit) to use when performing the Accurate File Size Calculation. ZIP'R will estimate the amount of disk space required to successfully decompress the compressed file. This calculation takes into consideration both the actual size of the decompressed files, and an estimate of the space wasted by those files, based on the cluster size. Valid cluster sizes are 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, and 32768. The default value is 4096. (To further understand the role that cluster sizes play in allocating hard drive space, read the section entitled "How Does ZIP'R Save Hard Drive Space?") If you are unsure of what value to use, the following table can be used to determine which value is appropriate for your hard drive. Drive Size (Megabytes) Enter This Value: 1 - 127 2048 128 - 255 4096 256 - 511 8192 512 - 1023 16384 1024 - 2047 32768 Another possible dilemma you may face is that if you have access to two hard drives of different capacities, the cluster size may differ between the two drives. If this is the case, enter the cluster size that corresponds to the larger of the two hard drives. This will allow ZIP'R to err on the safe side, making sure you have more than enough space free to decompress a file, no matter what hard drive it resides on. Sorted Extraction: If the option box "YES" is selected for Sorted Extraction, all files will be extracted in alphabetical order, effectively sorting the sub-directory. This feature is especially useful on network drives that generally prevent utilities of this nature from working. The default setting is "NO", which disables this feature. Sorted extraction is only available for users of PKZIP/PKUNZIP versions 1.1, and 2.0. Selecting Compression Paths from the Settings Menu allows registered users to specify alternate paths for the compression program(s) they are using to compress and decompress their programs. Normally, the compression programs being used (ARJ.EXE, LHA.EXE, SQZ.EXE, or PKZIP.EXE/PKUNZIP.EXE) are copied into the ZIP'R program sub-directory. However, if users typically store their compression program(s) elsewhere, default paths can be set up for each compression program being used. (The Registration Name and Registration Number fields described above MUST be filled in correctly for the changes to the settings to take effect. If the Registration Name and Number are invalid, or were entered incorrectly, ZIP'R will use the default path, regardless of what this screen says!) ARJ Path: This field allows ARJ users to specify an alternate location for the ARJ.EXE file. Page 23 LHA Path: This field allows LHA users to specify an alternate location for the LHA.EXE file. SQZ Path: This field allows SQZ users to specify an alternate location for the SQZ.EXE file. ZIP Path: This field allows PKZIP/PKUNZIP users to specify an alternate location for the PKZIP.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE files. These entries must have a trailing backslash (\). If [TAB] is pressed, and the ZIF Editor detects that a trailing backslash is not the last character in the string, one is automatically appended. The default settings are blank, causing ZIP'R to look for the compression program(s) in the same directory where ZIP'R is located. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ The Help Menu │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ The "Help" menu provides users with access to version number and copyright information about the ZIF Editor, Registration Information, and ZIF Editor Help. ZIF Editor Help provides basic information on the concepts behind ZIP'R, what it is intended to do, and how the ZIF Editor fits into the picture. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Using ZIP'R │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Once ZIP'R system preferences have been set up in the ZIF Editor, and .ZIF files have been created for each program, you are ready to use ZIP'R. Log to the ZIP'R program sub-directory (C:\ZIPR, or wherever you store ZIP'R). Type the command to execute ZIP'R ("ZIPR" if you use the single-user version; "ZIPRN" if you use the network/multitasker version), and then append a space, along with the name of the .ZIF file to be referenced. The command line structure should look similar to the following examples: ZIP'R (Single-User) Examples: ZIPR PCSHELL.ZIF ZIPR PW.ZIF ZIPR PSDELUXE.ZIF ZIPR LOTUS123.ZIF ZIPR THEDRAW.ZIF ZIP'R (Network/Multitasker) Examples: ZIPRN DEA4.ZIF ZIPRN ROLODEX.ZIF ZIPRN KEEN1.ZIF ZIPRN EDIT.ZIF ZIPRN LABELS.ZIF Page 24 Please Note: The extension .ZIF MUST be located at the end of the ZIF Filename in order for ZIP'R to work properly. For an explanation of this, see the "Questions And Answers" section of this documentation. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Using ZIP'R With A Menuing System: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ To use ZIP'R with a menuing system, you must modify the location and program name specified for each program that will be run through ZIP'R. QuikMenu Example: OLD Location: C:\PFS Command: PW NEW Location: C:\ZIPR Command: ZIPR PW.ZIF AutoMenu Example: OLD C: CD\PFS PW CD\ AUTO NEW C: CD\ZIPR ZIPR PW.ZIF CD\ AUTO All programs that are executed through ZIP'R must have C:\ZIPR (or the actual location of the ZIP'R files) specified as the path. The location of the program to be executed is specified in the .ZIF file that was created with the ZIF Editor. ZIP'R automatically changes to the proper directory before executing the desired program. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ What Happens When I Execute ZIP'R? │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Several things take place through the course of using ZIP'R. Here is a brief summary of what ZIP'R does, and what you can expect to see on the screen: When using the following variable on the ZIF Editor's .ZIF editing screen: Page 25 ZIP'R Filename: PCSHELL.ZIF Program Drive: C: Program Directory: \PCTOOLS Executable File: PCSHELL Parameters: Compression Type: ZIP Compressed Filename: PCTOOLS.ZIP Compressed File Dir: \PCTOOLS Maximum Users: 1 and entering the command line: ZIPR PCSHELL.ZIF the following events would take place: 1. ZIP'R checks for the existence of the .ZIF file, if .ZIF was specified on the command line. If .ZIF was not specified, ZIP'R checks for a string of command line parameters. (See "Using ZIP'R With Command Line Parameters".) If the .ZIF file or the five command line parameters are not given on the command line, ZIP'R issues an error message, as described in the following section, "Help Screens And Error Messages". If the command line was entered correctly, ZIP'R proceeds to step #2. 2. ZIP'R displays the prelog screen. The unregistered version of ZIP'R will pause for 10 seconds while this screen displays. Registered users may reduce the delay period, or remove it entirely by using the ZIP'R Defaults screen within the ZIF Editor. (For more information, see "The Settings Menu".) An example of the prelog screen is shown below. ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐░░░░┌─────────────────────────┐░░░ ░░│ ZIP'R For DOS v4.1 │ ░░│ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ ░ ░░│ - Network/Multitasker - │ ░░│ │ System Information │ │ ░ ░░│ ─────────────────────────────────────── │ ░░│ └─────────────────────┘ │ ░ ░░│ Copyright 1993 by │ ░░│ ─────────────────────── │ ░ ░░│ Stevenson Technical Services, Inc. │ ░░│ Conventional: 584,912 │ ░ ░░│ 108 Second Avenue West │ ░░│ Environment.: 862 │ ░ ░░│ Bertha, MN 56437-0297 │ ░░│ EMS.........: 524,288 │ ░ ░░│ Phone/FAX: (218)-924-2050 │ ░░│ XMS.........: 524,288 │ ░ ░░│ ─────────────────────────────────────── │ ░░│ ─────────────────────── │ ░ ░░│ Registered To: │ ░░│ DESQview....: Yes │ ░ ░░│ Stevenson Technical Services, Inc. │ ░░│ Windows.....: No │ ░ ░░└─────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░░│ ─────────────────────── │ ░ ░░░░ ░░│ AFSC........: Yes │ ░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ Sorted Ext..: Yes │ ░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ┌─────────────────┐ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ Cluster Size: 4,096 │ ░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │ Delaying.... 18 │ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░└─────────────────────────┘ ░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ └─────────────────┘ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐░ ░│ ZIPRN C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS ZIP PCSHELL │░ ░└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Notice that the command line shown at the bottom of this screen shows the parameters passed to ZIP'R through the .ZIF file. This is useful for detecting any errors that may have been made while creating or editing a .ZIF file. This screen also contains a wealth of information for users with different system configurations. The following is a summary of this information, and what it means. Page 26 The Prelog Screen Conventional: Displays the amount of available conventional memory. Environment: Displays the amount of available environment space. EMS: Displays the amount of available EMS memory. XMS: Displays the amount of available XMS memory. DESQview: Detects whether or not this program is being run under DESQview. Windows: Detects whether or not this program is being run under Windows. AFSC: Detects whether or not the Accurate File Size Calculation feature of ZIP'R is enabled. Sorted Ext: Detects whether or not the Sorted Extraction feature of ZIP'R is enabled. Cluster Size: Detects the Cluster Size being used, as set up through the ZIF Editor's "ZIP'R Defaults" screen. 3. After displaying the prelog screen, ZIP'R checks the validity of the drive and path that were entered in the .ZIF file. If ZIP'R cannot find the drive and/or path, it issues an error message. If ZIP'R is able to locate the drive and path specified, it then checks for the existence of a compressed file, bearing the name entered in the "ZipName" field of the .ZIF editing screen. One of the many benefits of ZIP'R is that it allows the ability to change compression programs at any time. ZIP'R checks for the existence of any one of four different compressed files. In this case, ZIP'R checks for PCTOOLS.ARJ, PCTOOLS.LHA, PCTOOLS.SQZ, and PCTOOLS.ZIP. The compressed file that is found first by ZIP'R is decompressed using the corresponding compression/decompression utility (step #4). If ZIP'R does not find a compressed file, it skips the decompression process and begins to execute the program (step #5). 4. ZIP'R begins the decompression process by viewing the compressed file and calculating the disk space required to decompress the entire file. While this happens, ZIP'R displays a one-line message on top of the screen, stating "Calculating disk space required for decompression. Please wait!" If ZIP'R determines that there is not enough disk space available to decompress the entire file, a warning message will be issued. If ZIP'R determines that sufficient disk space is available to decompress the entire file, it invokes the necessary decompression program to decompress the file. 5. The next step performed by ZIP'R is automatic execution of the specified program. This step makes ZIP'R unique from most other compression / Page 27 decompression utilities. Rather than forcing users to compress and decompress programs separately, ZIP'R does it all automatically. If ZIP'R is not able to locate the executable file, it issues an error message stating the problem. If ZIP'R is able to locate the executable file, it executes the program normally. 6. Once the program is exited, ZIP'R begins to compress (or-recompress) the program directory using the compression utility specified in the .ZIF file. The amount of time this takes depends on the number and size of the files being compressed. 7. Once the compression process has been completed, ZIP'R displays the epilog screen shown below: ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ ZIP'R For DOS v4.1 (Single-User) ║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ Copyright 1993 by Stevenson Technical Services, Inc. ║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────── ║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ This is an UNREGISTERED copy of ZIP'R! ║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ ║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ Registration allows the removal of all delays. ║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ ║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ║ Please read REGISTER.DOC for registration information.║ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Delaying... 10 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 8. After displaying the epilog screen, ZIP'R returns control of the computer back to a DOS prompt or the menuing system you are using. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Help Screens And Error Messages │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ When you execute ZIP'R, you will notice prelog and epilog screens, help and error messages, as well as warning messages when compression or decompression is in progress. Help is available from the command line by typing ZIPR /H or ZIPR /?. The following screen shows the help screen for the single-user version of ZIP'R. ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ░░░░ Page 28 ░░ │ ZIP'R For DOS v4.1 (Single-User) │ ░░ ░░ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░░ ░░░░ ░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ░░░░ ░░ │ ZIPR DRIVE: \PATH ZIPNAME COMPRESSION FILENAME P1 P2 P3 P4 ... │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ ZIPR - The ZIPR.EXE program. │ ░░ ░░ │ DRIVE: - Drive where program to be executed is located. │ ░░ ░░ │ \PATH - Location of program to be executed (Backslash first). │ ░░ ░░ │ ZIPNAME - Name of compressed file to be used (No extension). │ ░░ ░░ │ COMPRESSION - Type of compression (ARJ, LHA, NONE, SQZ, or ZIP). │ ░░ ░░ │ FILENAME - Name of file to be executed (No extension). │ ░░ ░░ │ P1 - P8 - Passed parameters to program (Optional). │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ Example 1 - ZIPR C: \PFS PFS ZIP PW │ ░░ ░░ │ Example 2 - ZIPR C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS ARJ PCSHELL /LCD │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ Press Any Key To Continue... │ ░░ ░░ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░░ ░░░░ ░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Once you've attempted to execute a program through ZIP'R several thrings take place. First ZIP'R checks to make sure that the .ZIF file exists. If it does, ZIP'R performs another check to make sure that the .ZIF file contains all the necessary information to execute the program. If a field was left blank in the ZIF Editor, ZIP'R will issue an error message, as shown below. ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ░░░░ ░░ │ ZIP'R For DOS v4.1 (Single-User) │ ░░ ░░ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░░ ░░░░ ░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ░░░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ You did not specify a program name. │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ You must specify the executable filename of the │ ░░ ░░ │ program you wish to execute. (No Extension!) │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ Example: PCSHELL │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ The Command Line You Entered Was: │ ░░ ░░ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ZIPR C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS ZIP │ │ ░░ ░░ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ░░ ░░ │ Press Any Key To Continue... │ ░░ ░░ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░░ ░░░░ ░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ZIP'R also contains special error trapping for users who might attempt to compress their entire hard drive. If users mistakenly specify that they want to compress the root directory, ZIP'R displays the error message shown on the following screen: ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ░░░░ Page 29 ░░ │ ZIP'R For DOS v4.1 (Single-User) │ ░░ ░░ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░░ ░░░░ ░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ░░░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ You cannot compress the entire drive! │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ Do NOT specify the ROOT directory! If you │ ░░ ░░ │ do this, you won't be able to access ZIP'R! │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ See the ZIP'R help screen for more information. │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ░░ ░░ │ The Command Line You Entered Was: │ ░░ ░░ │ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ░░ ░░ │ │ ZIPR C: \ XXX ZIP XXX │ │ ░░ ░░ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ░░ ░░ │ Press Any Key To Continue... │ ░░ ░░ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ░░ ░░░░ ░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ The error-trapping capability of ZIP'R is quite extensive. Most of the error messages and accompanying help screens are self-explanatory. If you are having trouble with a specific error message, see the "Troubleshooting / Common Problems" section near the end of this documentation. If you still need assistance, see the "Technical Support" section near the beginning of this documentation. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Advanced Compression Options: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Advanced ARJ options: ARJT = Test archive integrity before deleting files. ARJ0 = ARJ -m0 switch. ARJ1 = ARJ -m1 switch. ARJ2 = ARJ -m2 switch. ARJ3 = ARJ -m3 switch. ARJ4 = ARJ -m4 switch. ARJ5 = ARJ -m1 -jm switches. ARJ6 = ARJ -m2 -jm switches. ARJ7 = ARJ -m1 -jm1 switches. ARJ8 = ARJ -m2 -jm1 switches. These figures were generated with ARJ 2.30. Page 30 No Compression ARJ Results Compression ARJ0 2,980,853 2,983,500 0% ARJ1 2,980,853 1,406,625 53% ARJ2 2,980,853 1,414,245 53% ARJ3 2,980,853 1,444,400 52% ARJ4 2,980,853 1,593,074 47% ARJ5 2,980,853 1,403,524 53% ARJ6 2,980,853 1,403,524 53% ARJ7 2,980,853 1,404,949 53% ARJ8 2,980,853 1,404,949 53% ARJT is used to provide an extra level of assurance that the files have been stored correctly in the archive. When this switch is used, ARJ will verify the integrity of the archive before deleting any files. Other ARJ options may be used to choose less compression in exchange for more speed, or more compression in exchange for less speed. The default ARJ compression setting is to use the -m1 switch. (Use ARJ or ARJ1.) Advanced ZIP options: ZIP0 = ZIP -e0 switch. (PKZIP 2.0 Only) ZIP1 = ZIP -es switch. (PKZIP 1.1 or 2.0) ZIP2 = ZIP -ef switch. (PKZIP 2.0 Only) ZIP3 = ZIP -en switch. (PKZIP 2.0 Only) ZIP4 = ZIP -ex switch. (PKZIP 1.1 or 2.0) These figures were generated using PKZIP 2.04c. No Compression ZIP Results Compression ZIP0 2,980,853 2,985,751 0% ZIP1 2,980,853 1,535,935 48% ZIP2 2,980,853 1,432,248 52% ZIP3 2,980,853 1,401,026 53% ZIP4 2,980,853 1,392,625 53% These options may be used to trade lower compression for greater speed and vice-versa. In addition to these options, additional parameters may be added to the PKZIP 2.04c, 2.04e, and 2.04g command lines to solve specific hardware and software compatibility problems. These extra parameters are as follows: 3 -> Disable 32-bit Instruction Usage. ) -> Disable DPMI Support. ( -> Use "Slow" MemCopy. + -> Disable EMS Usage. - -> Disable XMS/UMB Usage. ~ -> Disable Network Detection. Each of these parameters is explained completely in the troubleshooting section of the PKZIP documentation. The format that must be used to pass these parameters to ZIP'R is ZIP-??. The question marks should be replaced by a two digit code chosen from the Page 31 following table. The code is selected based on the combination of parameters necessary to run PKZIP reliably on your machine. For example, to disable 32- bit instruction usage and use "slow" memcopy, the code "07" would be chosen. The ZipType specified within the ZIF Editor would be ZIP-07. ZIP'R / PKZIP v2.0 Parameter Matrix ┌──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐ │ 00 > 3 │ 10 > 3(- │ 20 > 3)(+~ │ 30 > )(+~ │ │ 01 > ) │ 11 > 3(~ │ 21 > 3)(-~ │ 31 > )(-~ │ │ 02 > ( │ 12 > 3+- │ 22 > 3)+-~ │ 32 > )(+-~ │ │ 03 > + │ 13 > 3+~ │ 23 > 3(+-~ │ 33 > (+ │ │ 04 > - │ 14 > 3-~ │ 24 > 3)(+-~ │ 34 > (- │ │ 05 > ~ │ 15 > 3)(+ │ 25 > )( │ 35 > (~ │ │ 06 > 3) │ 16 > 3)(- │ 26 > )+ │ 36 > (+- │ │ 07 > 3( │ 17 > 3)(~ │ 27 > )- │ 37 > (+~ │ │ 08 > 3+ │ 18 > 3)+- │ 28 > )~ │ 38 > (-~ │ │ 09 > 3- │ 19 > 3)+~ │ 29 > )(+ │ 39 > (+-~ │ │ 0A > 3~ │ 1A > 3)-~ │ 2A > )(- │ 3A > +- │ │ 0B > 3)( │ 1B > 3(+- │ 2B > )(~ │ 3B > +~ │ │ 0C > 3)+ │ 1C > 3(+~ │ 2C > )+- │ 3C > +-~ │ │ 0D > 3)- │ 1D > 3(-~ │ 2D > )+~ │ 3D > -~ │ │ 0E > 3)~ │ 1E > 3+-~ │ 2E > )-~ │ │ │ 0F > 3(+ │ 1F > 3)(+- │ 2F > )(+- │ │ └──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Using ZIP'R with DESQview: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ ZIP'R has been tested under DESQview. However, caution is advised since it is possible under any multitasker to have two or more windows attempting to compress or decompress the same file at the same time. This scenario can cause data corruption. The network/multitasker version of ZIP'R (ZIPRN.EXE) has additional features which limit simultaneous access during the compression and decompression phases. However, due to some quirks when operating under a multitasker, this system is not 100% fool-proof. Caution and common sense are advised. DESQview .DVP Example: OLD Program...: PW Parameters: Directory.: C:\PFS NEW Program...: ZIPRN Parameters: PW.ZIF Directory.: C:\ZIPR If you are a Tame user, copy the files TAME-RES.COM, and TAME.EXE into the ZIP'R sub-directory. Use the ZIPRTAME.BAT file supplied with ZIP'R to invoke Page 32 TAME-RES.COM before executing ZIP'R. To run the previous example program, the .DVP command lines would be changed as shown below: DESQview .DVP Example (Invoking Tame): OLD Program...: ZIPRN Parameters: PW.ZIF Directory.: C:\ZIPR NEW Program...: ZIPRTAME Parameters: ZIPRN PW.ZIF Directory.: C:\ZIPR Since ZIPRTAME.BAT is a batch file containing an EXIT statement, you should also make the following change to your .DVP: Change a Program Advanced Options OLD Close on exit (Y,N,blank)......: [Y] NEW Close on exit (Y,N,blank)......: [N] This change allows control to return to the ZIPRTAME.BAT file after ZIP'R completes its operation. ZIPRTAME.BAT is a modified TAME-RUN.BAT batch file containing the proper paths to TAME-RES.COM and TAME.EXE. Stay tuned! There will be more ZIP'R enhancements working in combination with Tame. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ DESQview Tips & Techniques: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Allocating about 300K of EMS memory to programs executed through ZIP'R will allow ZIP'R to swap itself to EMS memory, rather than disk. This speeds up the swapping process somewhat. If you are already allocating EMS memory to the program, increasing the amount by 300K will provide extra room for the swap file. The opening ZIP'R screen will indicate how much EMS memory is available to ZIP'R. If this figure is less than 300K, increase the amount of EMS memory allocated. Since PKZIP 2.0 can also use EMS memory, additional memory should be set aside as swap space for PKZIP. When using ZIPRN (without Tame), you can save about 8K of memory by specifying the .EXE extension for ZIPRN as shown in the following example: Page 33 DESQview .DVP Example (Saves about 8K of memory.): OLD Program...: ZIPRN Parameters: PW.ZIF Directory.: C:\ZIPR NEW Program...: ZIPRN.EXE Parameters: PW.ZIF Directory.: C:\ZIPR This saves about 8K of memory by allowing DESQview to execute ZIP'R directly, rather than loading a secondary command processor. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Using ZIP'R with Windows: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ ZIP'R is only effective when running DOS programs under Windows. It will NOT work with Windows specific programs! ZIP'R has been tested under Windows, but the same cautions that apply to DESQview apply to Windows. Since Windows is a multitasker, it is possible to have two or more windows attempting to compress or decompress the same file at the same time. This scenario can cause data corruption. The network/multitasker version of ZIP'R (ZIPRN.EXE) has additional features which limit simultaneous access during the compression and decompression phases. However, due to some quirks when operating under a multitasker, this system is not 100% fool-proof. Cuation and common sense are advised. Windows Program Item Properties Example: OLD Description: PFS Pro-Write Command Line: PW Working Directory: C:\PFS NEW Description: PFS Pro-Write Command Line: ZIPRN PW.ZIF Working Directory: C:\ZIPR Windows .PIF Example: OLD Program Filename: PW.COM Window Title: PFS Pro-Write Optional Parameters: Start-up Directory: C:\PFS NEW Program Filename: ZIPRN.EXE Page 34 Window Title: PFS Pro-Write Optional Parameters: PW.ZIF Start-up Directory: C:\ZIPR Tame may also be used in combination with ZIP'R under Windows. If you are a Tame user, copy the files TAME-RES.COM, and TAME.EXE into the ZIP'R sub- directory. Use the ZIPRTAME.BAT file supplied with ZIP'R to invoke TAME- RES.COM before executing ZIP'R. To run the previous example program, the Windows command lines would be changed as shown below: Windows Program Item Properties Example (Invoking Tame): OLD Description: PFS Pro-Write Command Line: ZIPRN PW.ZIF Working Directory: C:\ZIPR NEW Description: PFS Pro-Write Command Line: ZIPRTAME ZIPRN PW.ZIF Working Directory: C:\ZIPR Windows .PIF Example (Invoking Tame): OLD Program Filename: ZIPRN.EXE Window Title: PFS Pro-Write Optional Parameters: PW.ZIF Start-up Directory: C:\ZIPR NEW Program Filename: ZIPRTAME.BAT Window Title: PFS Pro-Write Optional Parameters: ZIPRN PW.ZIF Start-up Directory: C:\ZIPR ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Using ZIP'R With DoorWay: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ ZIP'R has been tested in combination with DoorWay. However, the command line structure must be changed slightly. DoorWay requires the .EXE extension to appear on the command line. An example of an actual DoorWay command line is as follows: /P:C:\ZIPR\ZIPR.EXE THEDRAW.ZIF ■───────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Using ZIP'R With Command Line Parameters: │ ■───────────────────────────────────────────■ The ZIF Editor was designed to make using ZIP'R fast and easy. Before the ZIF Editor was introduced, ZIP'R was strictly a command line utility. Although the majority of ZIP'R users will prefer the format of the .ZIF files, some users may still want the ability to use ZIP'R from the command line. The following command line string shows the structure that must be used if ZIP'R will be executed without accessing a .ZIF file. ZIPR(N) DRIVE: \PATH ZIPNAME ZIPTYPE FILENAME P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 Page 35 ZIPR(N) - ZIPR should always be the first entry entered on the command line. All command line entries should be in UPPER CASE, and should be separated by a single space. If you are using the network/multitasker version of ZIP'R, this entry should be ZIPRN. DRIVE: - This entry should contain the drive letter (with colon) of the drive containing the program to be executed. \PATH - This entry should contain the path to the program that will be executed. (The backslash is required!) Do NOT specify the root directory, or you could compress your entire hard disk into one file, which would cause your hard drive to be unbootable. ZIPNAME - This is the name of the compressed file that will be created or used by ZIP'R. Normally, this is the sub-directory name, but this is not a requirement. Do NOT enter an extension after the ZIPNAME. ZIP'R will automatically append the proper extension, depending on the type of compression selected. This entry must be eight characters or less in length. ZIPTYPE - This entry specifies the type of compression that ZIP'R will attempt to use. Valid choices are ZIP, ARJ, LHA, SQZ, or NONE. If NONE is selected, ZIP'R will decompress an existing compressed file prior to executing the desired program, but will not compress the directory after the program is exited. Advanced compression options are explained in the "Advanced Compression Options" section of this documentation. FILENAME - This entry should contain the name of the file to be executed. Do NOT specify an extension. ZIP'R checks for the existence of a .BAT, .COM, or .EXE file and executes it. P1 - This entry is optional, and contains the first parameter to be passed to the program being executed. P2 - This entry is optional, and contains the second parameter to be passed to the program being executed. P3 - This entry is optional, and contains the third parameter to be passed to the program being executed. P4 - This entry is optional, and contains the fourth parameter to be passed to the program being executed. P5 - This entry is optional, and contains the fifth parameter to be passed to the program being executed. P6 - This entry is optional, and contains the sixth parameter to be passed to the program being executed. Page 36 P7 - This entry is optional, and contains the seventh parameter to be passed to the program being executed. P8 - This entry is optional, and contains the eighth parameter to be passed to the program being executed. ZIP'R (Single-User) Examples: ZIPR C: \PFS PFS ZIP PW ZIPR C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS SQZ PCSHELL /LCD ZIPR C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS ZIP-07 PCSHELL ZIPR C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS ARJ DESKTOP ZIPR C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS NONE SI ZIPR C: \PSDELUXE DELUXE LHA PSD ZIP'R (Network/Multitasker) Examples: ZIPRN C: \PFS PFS ZIP PW ZIPRN C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS SQZ PCSHELL /LCD ZIPRN C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS ZIP-07 PCSHELL ZIPRN C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS ARJ DESKTOP ZIPRN C: \PCTOOLS PCTOOLS NONE SI ZIPRN C: \PSDELUXE DELUXE LHA PSD Important Note! The first time you use ZIP'R on a specific program, it is not necessary to compress the directory or directories first. ZIP'R will automatically compress them AFTER the program is exited. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ How Effective Is ZIP'R? │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ ZIP'R can save a typical computer user a substantial amount of hard drive space. Most users have several programs on their hard drives that are seldom used, but take up a tremendous amount of hard disk real-estate. Rather than deleting these programs completely, ZIP'R allows these programs to be accessed when needed, storing them in a compressed form when they are not in use. The amount of hard drive space saved depends totally on the effectiveness of the compression program used by ZIP'R. As compression programs improve, so will the ratios that ZIP'R is able to achieve. The compression programs used by ZIP'R do not provide "on-the-fly" data compression. As a result, there is a time delay during the compression and decompression processes. However, ZIP'R does not require 50K of valuable memory, either. In addition, ZIP'R does not degrade the performance of the computer system as the "on-the-fly" data compression programs do. A performance comparison of the three compression programs currently supported by ZIP'R is shown in the following table. (Since support for SQZ was recently added, compression figures are not available at this time.) The test directory consisted of 33 files, plus a sub-directory which contained an additional 17 files. Test Directory Size Using Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Page 37 OVERALL COMPRESSION TYPE BYTES COMPRESSION COMPRESSION ------------------------------------------------------------------ Original Baseline 2,980,853 - - MS-DOS 2,980,853 0% 0% New Baseline 2,980,853 - 0% Additional compression obtained using ZIP'R: No Compression (NONE) 2,980,853 0% 0% PKZIP 1.1 Compression (ZIP) 1,536,688 48% 48% PKZIP 2.0 Compression (ZIP) 1,401,026 53% 53% LHA Compression (LHA) 1,428,393 52% 52% ARJ Compression (ARJ) 1,406,625 53% 53% Test Directory Size Using DR DOS 6.0 (with SuperStor) OVERALL COMPRESSION TYPE BYTES COMPRESSION COMPRESSION ------------------------------------------------------------------ Original Baseline 2,980,853 - - DRDOS w/SuperStor 1,992,704 33% 33% New Baseline 1,992,704 - 33% Additional compression obtained using ZIP'R: No Compression (NONE) 1,992,704 0% 33% PKZIP 1.1 Compression (ZIP) 1,551,360 22% 48% PKZIP 2.0 Compression (ZIP) 1,408,512 29% 53% LHA Compression (LHA) 1,444,864 27% 52% ARJ Compression (ARJ) 1,423,872 29% 52% You can see by this table that SuperStor was only achieving an overall compression ratio of 33%. Using ZIP'R with PKZIP 2.0 allowed an extra 20% savings on hard drive space! ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Cautions When Using ZIP'R │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Do NOT attempt to use ZIP'R to compress any directories containing files that are referenced in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. If you wish to compress the DOS sub-directory, copy any such files to the root directory of the hard drive, and update the paths in your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Also be cautious when compressing directories that contain memory managers, caches, and utilities that may be needed to boot your machine. These directories may be compressed, but any files needed for booting the machine must be copied to the root directory, and the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT paths updated. Keep in mind that in order to properly decompress a program, there must be enough free space on the hard drive to contain all the extracted files in Page 38 addition to the original compressed file. After the files have been successfully extracted, the compressed file is deleted. Likewise, when compressing a program, sufficient space must be available for the original program files and the newly created compressed file. After the compressed file has been successfully created, the original program files are deleted. Multitaskers such as DESQview and Windows put additional stress on the disk I/O systems of the computer. If you have any doubts about the stability of your system, either don't use ZIP'R in the first place, or use the ARJT option to force ARJ to verify the integrity of the archive before files are deleted. When running on a network, or using a multitasker, ZIPRN should be used to reduce conflicts when compressing and decompressing files. When upgrading to PKZIP 2.0, test the reliability of the compression and decompression processes before trusting it with your data! PKZIP 2.0 has some documented problems with fast machines (486/25 and up) using external CPU memory caches. Read the troubleshooting section of the PKZIP 2.0 documentation for more information. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Troubleshooting / Common Problems: │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Problem #1: The most common problem among ZIP'R users is incorrect setup of the .ZIF file being used. The following list gives some hints and tips for filling in each field when editing a .ZIF file through the ZIF Editor. Field Name Hints / Tips ZIP'R Filename: Make sure that this field contains only characters that can be used as part of a filename. To find out which characters may or may not be used as part of a DOS filename, see your DOS reference manual. Program Drive: Make sure this field contains the drive of the program to be executed, even if ZIP'R is located on a different drive. The ZIF Editor will scan your system to locate all valid drives, so the program drive should be available in the drop-down box. Program Path: Make sure this path is in the format "\PATH". The backslash (\) should be the FIRST character in this field. If it is not, the ZIF Editor will prepend a backslash to reduce the chance of errors when executing this program through ZIP'R. Executable File: Do NOT specify the extension of the file to be executed! ZIP'R will automatically search for a file containing either a .BAT, .COM, or .EXE extension. If the ZIF Editor detects that an extension has been added, it will automatically remove it. Parameters: Since some programs require case sensitive passed parameters, the ZIF Editor does not automatically convert this field to UPPER CASE. Enter any parameters exactly as you would enter them after the program name, if you were Page 39 using a DOS command line. Compression Type: If you want to use an advanced compression option for this field, make sure that the "Use Advanced Options" checkbox is checked. This will display an additional set of options (over 75 more) in the Compression Type list box than when the "Use Advanced Options" checkbox is not checked. Comp. Filename: The extension attached to this field should correspond to the compression program being used. If you aren't sure what extension to add, don't enter any extension. When you press [TAB], the ZIF Editor will automatically append the correct extension for the compression program being used. Use Adv. Options: Check this field only if you want to use advanced compression options for ARJ or ZIP. (Currently, there are no advanced compression options for SQZ or LHA.) Query Option: Check this field when you want ZIP'R to prompt you before compressing a program. Update Option: This option is only available for use when ZIP (or an advanced ZIP option) is selected as the Compression Type. If any other option is selected, the Update Option field will be grayed and disabled. Use Alternate Directory For Compressed File: This checkbox only needs to be checked if the Compressed File Directory field will not match the Program Directory field. Compressed File Directory: Make sure that this field contains a backslash as the first character, and that it does not contain a drive specification such as "C:" or "C:\". Important Note! This alternate directory MUST be part of the directory structure of the Program Directory. For example, if the Program Directory is "\DIR1\DIR2\DIR3", the Compressed File Directory field can be "\DIR1", "\DIR1\DIR2", or "\DIR1\DIR2\DIR3", meaning that the compressed file can be stored in any of the directories named within the Program Directory field. Maximum Users: The default for this field is 1. Computer users using the single-user version of ZIP'R need not modify this field at all. Problem #2: Page 40 If you receive the error message, "Unable to run COMMAND /C ...", you are probably running DR DOS, and do not have COMMAND.COM available on your path. For some reason, DR DOS does not copy COMMAND.COM into the \DRDOS sub- directory at installation time, making it unavailable on the path. The solution here is simply to copy COMMAND.COM from the root directory into the \DRDOS sub-directory. Another alternative is to add the root directory to the PATH= statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. ZIP'R is able to detect if COMMAND.COM cannot be found, and therefore issues a warning message. Problem #3: If ZIP'R won't compress the program's files and sub-directories after it is exited, check the .ZIF file. If the fields are all correct, check the \ZIPR sub-directory for any files with a .U00 or .U01 extension. These are token files created by ZIPRN to track concurrent access to a compressed file. Normally, these files are deleted when the program is exited. However, if the computer hangs, these files will not be deleted, and will prevent ZIP'R from compressing the program's files and sub-directories. The filename should match the ZipName given on the .ZIF editing screen. To make ZIP'R operate correctly, make sure that the program is not being accessed, and delete either or both of these files from the \ZIPR sub-directory. Problem #4 If ZIP'R will not recognize your registration name and number and continues to issue "UNREGISTERED" messages on the prelog and epilog screens, check the file ZIPR.INI. If you manually edited this file without using the ZIF Editor, it is possible the text editor you were using allowed additional spaces to be saved at the end of both the registration name and number. To solve this problem, use the ZIF Editor to modify these entries. The ZIF Editor makes sure that all extra spaces are trimmed before saving these fields to the .ZIF file. If you cannot use the ZIF Editor, use a text editor that allows you to view and trim any extra spaces, or use a text editor that automatically trims extraneous spaces from the end of a line. ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Questions And Answers │ ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ Question #1: Why does ".ZIF" need to be placed at the end of the ZIF filename on the ZIP'R command line? Answer: ZIP'R was originally written as a command line utility. While many users will prefer to maintain their programs through the ZIF Editor, others may still want the flexibility of continuing to use ZIP'R as a command line utility. In order to satisfy both types of users, ZIP'R has the ability to recognize .ZIF files AND normal command line parameters. The only catch is that ZIP'R needs to find a .ZIF extension to know that it should search for a .ZIF file. Otherwise, ZIP'R will try to interpret the filename as a normal command line parameter. Basically, if you want to use the ZIF Editor, make sure that all of your ZIP'R command lines end with ".ZIF". Question #2: How can I load and/or unload TSR (Terminate and Stay-Resident) programs when using ZIP'R? Page 41 Answer: It is very important that you do NOT attempt to use a .IN and/or a .OUT file to invoke or remove TSR's from memory. This is virtually guaranteed to cause conflicts with ZIP'R. If you need to invoke a TSR before running a program, or remove one after exiting a program, a batch file should be used. I recently purchase a U.S. Robotics v.32bis FAX Modem and use the FAX program BLAST FAX PC made by U.S. Robotics. In order to send out a FAX, BLAST FAX PC requires that a TSR called "MFAX" be loaded. Rather than leave this TSR in memory all the time, I prefer to load it before executing BLAST FAX PC, and unload it after exiting from BLAST FAX PC. Unfortunately, attempting to load this TSR through the ZIP'R .IN file causes strange behavior by my computer. To remedy this situation, I recommend that users set up a batch file that loads the TSR, executes the program, and unloads the TSR after exiting from the program. For BLAST FAX PC, the batch file I created is shown below: MFAX FAX MFAX /r This type of batch file will reduce the potential for conflicts with ZIP'R and TSR's. Question #3: Can ZIP'R leave a program uncompressed after it has been previously compressed with ZIP'R? Answer: Yes! Simply specify "NONE" as the Compression Type. When ZIP'R attempts to execute the program, it will decompress it as normal, but once it is exited, it will not attempt to recompress it. Another alternative for leaving a program uncompressed is to use the "Query" option. This allows users to decide if a program should be compressed "on-the-fly". ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ │ Programs Mentioned │ Page 42 ■─────────────────────────────────────────■ 386MAX is copyrighted by Qualitas. ARJ is copyrighted by Robert K Jung. AutoMenu is copyrighted by Magee Enterprises. BLAST FAX PC is copyrighted by U.S. Robotics, Inc. DESQview is copyrighted by Quarterdeck Office Systems. DoorWay is copyrighted by Marshall Dudley. DR DOS is copyrighted by Digital Research Inc. LHA is copyrighted by Haruyasu Yoshizaki. MS-DOS is copyrighted by Microsoft. PKZIP is copyrighted by PKWARE, Inc. PKUNZIP is copyrighted by PKWARE, Inc. QEMM is copyrighted by Quarterdeck Office Systems. QuikMenu is copyrighted by OSCS Software Development, Inc. SQZ is copyrighted by Jonas I Hammarberg. Stacker is copyrighted by Stac Electronics, Inc. SuperStor is copyrighted by AddStor, Inc. Tame is copyrighted by PowerSoft, Inc. and David G. Thomas. Windows is copyrighted by Microsoft. Stevenson Technical Services, Inc. (STSI) 108 Second Avenue West Page 43 Bertha, MN 56437-0297 Phone: (218) 924-2050 FAX: (218) 924-2050 (Ext. 11) The Bertha BBS: (218) 924-2060, N,8,1 ZIP'R 4.1 Registration Form Qty Description Price Each Total _____ ZIP'R 4.1 Single-User Registration $39.95 ________ Includes Printed Manual, 3 1/2" & 5 1/4" Diskettes _____ ZIP'R 4.1 Network Registration (Users? ____) _______ ________ (Same price breaks apply for site-licensing!) ┌────────────┬─────────────┐ ┌────────────┬─────────────┐ │ # of Users │ Price │ │ # of Users │ Price │ ├────────────┼─────────────┤ ├────────────┼─────────────┤ │ 5 │ $100.00 │ │ 50 │ $400.00 │ │ 10 │ $200.00 │ │ 100 │ $500.00 │ │ 20 │ $300.00 │ │ More? │ CALL │ └────────────┴─────────────┘ └────────────┴─────────────┘ _____ Additional Copies of Printed Manual $10.00 ________ Sub-Total: ________ Minnesota Residents Add 6.5% Sales Tax: ________ Shipping/Handling (USA/Canada = $5.00, Foreign Orders = $12.50): ________ Total: ________ Name: ___________________________________ Title: ______________________ Company: __________________________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________ City: ____________________________ State: ___________ Zip Code: _______________ Phone: ___________________ Please Register ZIP'R To This Name: _______________________________________ Method of Payment: ___ Visa/MC ___ American Express ___ Discover ___ Check/Money Order Enclosed (Checks/MO's must be in U.S. Funds drawn on a U.S. Bank!) Credit Card #: __________________________________ Expiration Date: ___/___ Name on Card: _______________________ Signature: _________________________ Comments / Suggestions: ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Please take a minute to answer the following questions. Your answers will assist us in improving and marketing ZIP'R. Page 44 (Check all that apply.) Where did you hear about ZIP'R? [ ] BBS [ ] Catalog/Magazine [ ] Friend/Relative [ ] Other What operating systems / environments do you use? [ ] DOS [ ] Windows [ ] DESQview/DESQview/X [ ] OS/2 What do you use ZIP'R for? [ ] Business Applications [ ] Games [ ] Other _________________ What compression program(s) are you using? [ ] ARJ [ ] LHA [ ] SQZ [ ] ZIP Would you be interested in seeing ZIP'R work on Windows-specific programs? [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Doesn't Matter Why are you registering ZIP'R? [ ] I'm honest by nature. [ ] The prelog and epilog delays are so annoying! [ ] I wanted the extra features only available to registered users. What feature(s) do you like the most about ZIP'R? _______________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ What feature(s) would you like to see added to ZIP'R? ___________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Additional Comments: ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ May We Quote You? [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Doesn't Matter Page 45