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1993-06-13
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CAT-STAT
Written By
Micro Alpha Computer Applications
CAT-STAT is a copywritten program, and all rights have been retained by
the authors. CAT-STAT can be freely distributed in software libraries,
electronic bulletin boards, and through other transfer means, as long as no
modifications are made to CAT-STAT, no fees are charged (other than costs
of media or membership), and that no one takes credit for this program other
than the authors.
CAT-STAT is being distributed under the SHAREWARE concept. This allows you
to try out a piece of software prior to buying it. If it doesn't meet your
particular needs, you're not out any cash. If you find it useful, and are
using it regularly, you can buy it at a very reasonable cost. We are asking
a $20 contribution to receive your registered copy, with any new updates.
Considerable effort has gone into the development of this program, and we are
sure that it will be of assistance to users of CATDISK (C) 1990-1993 by Rick
Hillier. Users of CATDISK who want to easily and quickly compare their
collections of Public Domain and Shareware programs will find CAT-STAT to be
a useful and productive tool.
CAT-STAT has been thoroughly debugged, Beta site tested, and is presented
without any warranty or guarantee. Although we can assure you that the
Shareware version of CAT-STAT has been distributed by us in a virus free form,
there are some low-lifes out there who take pleasure in attaching trojans and
viri to otherwise decent programs. To ensure that your copy of CAT-STAT is
virus free, please register now! Registered software does not go through the
public's hands. Getting Shareware software or Registered software directly
from the author is the only real safe source.
If you would like to receive your registered copy of CAT-STAT, please send
your name, address, disk format desired, and $20 to:
Micro Alpha Computer Applications
702 Deering Dr.
Akron, Ohio 44313
Questions, Comments, and Suggestions
We welcome and appreciate your comments and suggestions. Should you have
any questions, comments, and or suggestions, you can send a SASE to George
Wilcken at the above address, or leave E-Mail on Compuserve to:
George Wilcken [71450,3172]
Purpose
CAT-STAT is a very specialized program. If you do not use CATDISK, written
by Rick Hillier, to catalog and manage your archived program collection, you
will have absolutely no use for CAT-STAT! CATDISK is the best disk cataloging
program (in our opinion) that exists! If you are not using CATDISK now, we
strongly suggest you take a good look at it, and consider using it to manage
your off-line disks. Ever wondered how many Megs you've got in your
collection? Cat-Stat reads CATDISK's catalog file (CATDISK.DTA) and gives you
a total of the file sizes contained in your collection. We also allow two
collections to be compared. After the comparison is run, you'll have the
opportunity to view on-screen or print the lists of files that are in one
collection but missing from the other, and vice versa. Registered version
allows saving any swap file to a history file for future reference.
Quick Start
CAT-STAT can be started up very quickly and easily. Simply copy
CATSTAT.EXE, and CATSTAT.HLP into any subdirectory. At the DOS prompt type:
CATSTAT. Go to the SETUP Menu and setup your name and the location of your
CATDISK files. Then set up the Visitor. There is ample on-line help to get you
through the program by hitting the F1 key. If you need more help, please refer
to the following pages for a detailed documentation of all functions and menu
commands.
Floppy Disk Systems
CAT-STAT will run on any MS-DOS system but, due to it's intensive disk
accessing during the "Compare Collections" option, (reading two files while
writing a third) we require that it be run from a hard drive.
CAT-STAT File Creation Notes
The first time CAT-STAT is ran a mouse test screen is presented. If you are
using a MICROSOFT (Tm) compatable mouse, it will be detected. If you are not
using a mouse the program will still function but of course will not utilize
the built in mouse functions. The absence or presence of a mouse will be
detected from that point on by writing a zero byte file called CHECKAKA. Do
not erase this file or the mouse test will be displayed the next time you
start the program and the file will be recreated.
There will also be a CONFIG.DAT file created on the first startup of the
program. If it is not found on any startup, a default config file will be
created. Otherwise, it will use the previous config file. The Home Name and
Home drive\path\filename along with the Visitor's drive\path\filename are
written to the config file. There are two temporary files created during
CAT-STAT's operation. They are the two Swap Files. These will be created each
time "Compare Collections" is selected. These temporary files are
automatically deleted upon exiting CAT-STAT. To avoid having to run the
Compare Collections more than necessary, view or print these lists out before
exiting the program. If you want to look at one of your CATDISK files, rather
than exiting out of the program, use the "Catview" menu to see the CATDISK
file you want to look at.
Registered Version Enhancements
The Registered version is without any of the Shareware screens. It has the
option of saving any Swap file to a file name of your choosing. You can then
recall the History Swap list of files you need to get from someone for viewing
or printing at any time.
** THE MENUS **
The MAIN MENU
STATISTICS MENU - Takes you to the Statistics Menu. There you can
find out the cumulative total of your collection,
a Visitor's collection, or any collection you
specify.
SWAP SHOP MENU - Takes you to the Swap Shop Menu. There you can
compare your collection against a Visitor's
collection, and ultimately view or print lists of
files missing from eachothers collection. We call
these the "Swap Lists."
SETUP MENU - Takes you to the Configuration Menu. There you will
go thru setting up your name, the visitor's name,
and the drive\path\filename where the collections
reside. This information is necessary for CAT-STAT
to access your CATDISK files properly.
CATVIEW MENU - Takes you to the Catview Menu. There you can view
on-screen all the CATDISK files that have been
setup in the SETUP Menu.
UTILITY - This selection allows you to use the built in
tools included in CAT-STAT
QUIT - Exits you from CAT-STAT to DOS
HELP - This selection envokes the help system for the
main menu. Note that help is available in every
section of the program and can be envoked by
pressing F1.
ABOUT - This selection displays a screen showing release
information and your system stats.
The SETUP MENU
HOME CATDISK SETUP - Allows you to enter your name for use by CAT-STAT.
Also allows you to specify the drive, path, and
file name of your CATDISK.DTA file.
VISITING CATDISK SETUP - Allows you to enter the Visitor's name and to
specify the drive, path, and file name for their
CATDISK.DTA file. (If you intend on moving the
visitor's CATDISK files into the same subdirectory
as your own, remember to rename the visitor's file
before copying it there! Otherwise, you may
overwrite your own CATDISK file with the visitor's,
thus losing yours!)
ALTERNATE CATDISK SETUP - Allows you to enter the path and file name of an
Alternate CATDISK file for the Stats calculation
section.
The STATS MENU
CALCULATE YOUR STATS - Gives you a display (flashing by very quickly) of
file name, file size, disk name, and comment for
every file in your collection. You will also see
a display of the file count and file size
accumulating. When the function is complete, the
info for the last file will be displayed along with
the total number of files and total size of your
collection.
CALCULATE VISITOR STATS - Gives you the same information as CALCULATE YOUR
STATS except it will be for the Visitor's
collection that you specified in the CONFIGURATION
MENU.
CALCULATE ALT STATS - Takes you thru a setup for the alternate file just
as in the SETUP Menu, then it gives you the same
information as CALCULATE YOUR STATS except it will
be for the file you specified. (We use this one for
our catalogued GIF files.)
The SWAP SHOP MENU
VISITING CATDISK SETUP - Allows you to enter the Visitor's name for use by
CAT-STAT, along with the path and file name for
their CATDISK file. (This is the same thing as in
the SETUP Menu, but you can do it from here!)
COMPARE COLLECTIONS - Runs a comparison between your CATDISK file and the
Visitor's CATDISK file. This generates the Swap
Lists for viewing or printing in the View Swap File
Menu.
VIEW SWAP FILES MENU - Allows you to view on-screen or print the Swap
Lists that were generated in the Compare
Collections Section.
The VIEW SWAP FILES MENU
VIEW YOUR SWAP LIST - Allows you to view on-screen the list of visitor
files that you need to get from them. Printing
is initiated from this screen.
VIEW VISITOR SWAP LIST - Allows you to view on-screen the list of your
files that the visitor needs to get from you.
Printing is initiated from this screen.
VIEW HISTORY SWAP LIST - Allows you to view on-screen any previously saved
swap File. Printing is initiated from this screen.
The CATVIEW MENU
VIEW YOUR CATDISK FILE - Allows you to view the file names, descriptions,
and disk names of the files in your CATDISK file
as specified in the SETUP Menu.
VIEW VIS. CATDISK FILE - Allows you to view the file names, descriptions,
and disk names of the files in the visitor's
CATDISK file as specified in the SETUP Menu.
VIEW ALT. CATDISK FILE - Allows you to view the file names, descriptions,
and disk names of the files in the alternate
CATDISK file as specified in the SETUP Menu.
History
Ver 2.0 3/93 Change To Mouse Support
Ver 2.1 6/93 Greatly Improved the File Size Calcs View Stats.
Verified Compatability With CatDisk V6.3 - V7.02.