Cream of the Crop 25/Cream of the Crop 25.iso/os2/filefr16.zip/TUTORIAL.DOC

Text File | 1997-03-02 | 6KB | 114 lines

                  A BRIEF TUTORIAL
                  ----------------
This tutorial briefly describes the File Freedom environment and what
it offers.  More complete information is found in the context-sensitive
online Help.
File Freedom provides two different methods for file handling -
Described first is Drag And Drop file management with which most users
will be familiar, and an alternative file management method which is
described after.  Both of these methods are available at all times and
require no setup.

File Freedom uses a split screen which divides the current files source
into two views: Directory Tree and Files.  These two windows both
contain different views of the same drive - the Directory Tree view
being an graphical view of the source drive directory tree structure
while the Files view is limited to a single directory on that drive.
This allows somewhat easier movement between sub-directories. Folders
in the Tree view can be double-clicked on to open that folder in the
Files view. This provides ramdom access to the different
subdirectories. Folders in the Tree view can be closed with a single
click to collapse the tree without disturbing a directory's files
displayed in the Files view.  In the Files view, double-clicking on a
sub-directory will open that sub-directory in the Files view but limits
movement up or down in that window to one level at a time.

The divider that separates the two windows can be adjusted either left
or right.

As mentioned, these two windows both contain different views of the same
drive, which is referred to as the "Source" view.  There are two status
bars located across the bottom of the File Freedom window. The "Source"
is indicated in the upper Status Bar and the "Destination" is indicated
on the lower Status Bar.  It is simple to display files in the
Destination Drive/directory simply by swapping the Source with the
Destination (F8).  The Destination view is used with both file
management methods, for instance when files have been Dragged and
Dropped, the Destination is changed to reflect the target of the drop.
By simply swapping Source and Destination, the files in the target
directory can be examined. When using the alternative method, the
destination becomes the target of the operation.
A Drive bar with pushbuttons for each drive is also always displayed
above or to the side of the windows.  These can be opened with a single
click.

Drag and Drop File Management
-----------------------------
Drag and Drop file management is fast and easy.  Selected files can be
dragged to a Drive Letter Icon by holding down the right mouse key, and
dropped on the desired destination drive. Files may also be dropped on
the Directory Tree window (described above).  The default operation is
to Move files, but this can be changed to Copy by holding down the
Control key before releasing the right mouse button.  If the desired
operation is to Zip a group of files, or Unzip a file to a destination,
these options are available when the Drag and Drop dialogue appears
after the files are dropped on the Drive Icon.  The Drag and Drop
Dialogue also allows the user to select the sub-directory on the drive
chosen, or to enter a path for a directory not yet created, in the case
of copy or move operations. One important point to remember is that the
mouse pointer must be over one of the selected files when the drag
operation is started.  If it is not, the file underneath the mouse
pointer will be acted on instead. This allows the user to operate on
single files without selecting them.

An Alternative Method
-------------------
File Freedom's alternative method is based on the concept of Source and
Destination file movement. Using Copying a file(s) as an example:

A destination is chosen for the file movement by moving to the drive
and/or directory desired.  Click on the destination button (or press F7)
and the destination is set.  Then, move to the drive/directory where the
file(s) are stored that must be copied.  Highlight the files and press
the copy pushbutton (or press Control C).  A dialogue appears with
some options that can be ignored for this example.  Click on the "OK"
button.  Simple as that!

It must be remembered that all file movements, whether it is copying,
moving, zipping or unzipping, will go the Destination directory, unless
this path is edited at the time of the operation.  To copy files to the
same directory, but with a different name, simply make the destination
the same as the source (press F7) and change the file name in the copy
dialogue.

A typical Copying files example:
Say you are in F:\TEMP and want to copy files to a new destination
(E:\NEWDEST) but the current destination is G:\WHATEVER :


1) Set Destination the same as current Source (F7) - (F:\TEMP)
2) Change Source to desired Destination - (E:\NEWDEST)
3) Swap Source and Destination (F8)
   (Source returns to F:\TEMP and Destination becomes E:\NEWDEST)
4) Mark files
5) Do operation

Alternatively, you could:
1) first swap source and destination (F8),
   (Destination now is F:\TEMP and Source is G:\WHATEVER)
2) then choose the new destination (E:\NEWDEST) as Source,
3) then flip source and destination  again (F8).
4) mark files
5) do operation

That's all there is to it!  As mentioned, more complete information is
available in the online Help.
If you have any comments on the program or this tutorial, I would be glad
to hear from you.

Bruce Henry
Red Paint Software
E-mail: [e-mail]