Shareware Overload Trio 2

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Shareware Overload Trio 2 / Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO / dir37 / kate130.zip / KATE.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-10-06 | 28KB | 592 lines

.mt 0 ██ ███▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ██▄██▀ █████ █████ █████ KATE Workplace ████ ██ ██ ███ ██▄▄ ██▀██▄ █████ ███ ██▀▀ Copyright (c) 1992,93 by ARK ANGLES ██ ███ ██ ██ ███ █████ All Rights Reserved W O R K P L A C E "takes away the need for using the DOS prompt" "a very professional looking piece of software" Marc Young, PC Basics magazine OVERVIEW KATE is a multi-purpose PC Organiser and Desktop Manager with a load of powerful features in a single integrated package. o File Manager with powerful file and directory manipulation commands to handle individual files, groups of files, or whole directory trees. o Program Starter with user definable menus of unlimited levels to run any external programs or built in functions o Diary with action lists for any day, week, month or year, to do lists, and scheduler to generate messages, alarms or run programs at any time o Print Manager to queue, format and print files in the background o Hypertext Book Compiler and Viewer to create your own intelligent electronic documents o Multi-file Editor with cut/copy/paste to and from the clipboard, plus undo and search facilities o Text and Hex file Viewers, plus ability to define an external viewer program o File Association to automatically run any program related to a file o Calculator with basic four functions o Stand alone perpetual Calendar o Clock in user defined format o Post Notes to stick reminders and messages anywhere on the screen o A couple of Games including Mine Sweeper o Macro Processor to automate complex tasks All this is provided in a simple and consistent windowed environment. The functions can be activated from the Menu Bar or by direct selection with the Mouse or by Shortcut Keys. KATE is consistent in many ways with the operation of Windows (by Microsoft) and OS/2 (by IBM), and can be used as an introduction and stepping stone to those operating environments. KATE is available in two editions to run in either the Real or Protected Modes of the x86 family of processors. The Protected Mode edition gives enhanced memory management, and enables up to 16MB of memory to be used. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS KATE Workplace Real Mode edition runs on any Personal Computer with an 8086 or higher processor (eg XT, AT etc), and 512KB of memory. Some functions will also run with just 256KB but will be quite slow. You can run from diskette or hard disk, although again some functions will be slow from diskette. KATE will not fit completely on a 360K disk, so if you are running from one you will have to do without the Help system. At least 600KB of hard disk space is required. The DOS Protected Mode (DPMI) edition of KATE Workplace requires a PC with an 80286 or higher processor (eg AT, 386 etc), 640KB of memory, and 1.2MB of hard disk space. Any colour or monochrome screen should work fine, as there is no requirement for graphics. KATE requires MS-DOS or PC-DOS version 3 or a compatible operating system. See section "Running KATE" below for more information about getting KATE to run properly on an operating system which is less than fully compatible. GETTING STARTED Install KATE as per the steps detailed below in "Installation to Hard Disk" or "Installation to Diskette". When this in complete, the install program will leave you in the directory in which KATE has been installed. Enter "KMENU" on the command line to run KATE for the first time. Alternatively, if you have allowed the installation procedure to update your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, then reboot your machine so that the changes take effect and KATE is loaded as your default desktop program. When KATE runs, you will see a Menu Bar and Clock across the top of the screen, and a Status Line along the bottom. The whole area in the middle is called the Desktop, and that's where all the activity in the program will take place. Almost everything that happens in KATE will be in Windows and Dialog Boxes somewhere on the Desktop. You can have almost any number of windows open at once, and can rapidly move between them, thereby allowing you to switch between tasks very quickly. At present, you will probably see just a single window on the desktop called the Program Starter. In the Program Starter press the <Up> and <Down> arrow keys to highlight the different items in the list. Press <Enter>, or click with the mouse on the [Open] button to open or activate the selected item. Press the <Tab> key to jump around the window: this will cycle through the list and the two buttons that make up the contents of the window. Press <Shift+Tab> to cycle backwards. Or you can jump directly to any control by pointing directly to it with the mouse cursor and pressing the left mouse button - this is known as "clicking" on an object. Now let's take a look at the Menu Bar. Press <F10> and then the <Down> arrow to "pull down" the File menu. You can also do this by pressing <Alt+F>, or by clicking on the word File on the Menu Bar. Use the <Up> and <Down> arrows to highlight the various menu items, and the <Left> and <Right> arrows to select different pulldown menus. You can activate any menu item by selecting is in this way and pressing <Enter>. Or, once again, just click on it with the mouse. Now lets see some of the things KATE can do. Go to the Tools menu and select the File Manager item. This will create a new window on the desktop which contains an input line, a list of directories, a list of files in the current directory, and a number of buttons. Press <Tab> twice to jump down to the files. Now use the arrow keys to highlight the file named REGISTER.DOC. Having now selected a file, you can perform some action on it. For example, you can view it, move it, rename it, or delete it, just to name a few. This principle of selecting an object and then choosing an action to carry out on it is called "Object-Action". KATE usually happiest in this mode of operation. However, it may not always be possible to select the object first, or people who are used to older types of software may be more comfortable the other way around, so KATE also generally accomodates an "Action-Object" approach. If an action, such as "File|Delete" is chosen, but no object that can be deleted has been selected, then KATE will pop up a dialog box to allow you to select an object, such as a file, for the action to be performed on. KATE knows about many different kinds of objects such as windows, files, directories, diary items, text and the desktop itself. The seven items on the Menu Bar reflect the different types of objects that KATE knows about. For example, the File menu contains operations that relate to whole files and directories. The Edit menu has text-related operations. The View menu contains items that change the way the data in a window is displayed. The Tools menu contains a number of different objects that you can use on the desktop. The Window menu has several operations that relate to individual windows on the desktop. And that Desktop menu deals with operations which affect the desktop or application as a whole. Finally, the Help menu is one of the most useful - select operations from there at any time to get a range of useful information about KATE. You will notice that from time to time some menu items are light grey rather than black. They have been "greyed out", indicating that these operations are not available for the object that you are currently working on in the program. It will take far too long to describe here all the different objects and actions in KATE. But every menu item and every window and dialog box have help text to describe them - just select the object or action you want to know about and press <F1>. This should give you quite enough information to get you going. If you want all that information (and more) on paper, or you have installed to diskette and don't have Help available, then you'll just have to register this program and receive a full printed manual. But you already know the basics of how KATE functions, and you will find it remarkably consistent all the way through. Select all the operations on the Tools menu to see many of KATE's objects and functions. Use the Help screens to learn about them. And, above all, experiment! KATE Workplace will not let you do anything destructive without giving you a warning first! And, if you need further help, you can call ARK ANGLES any time during your 60 day trial period. INSTALLATION TO HARD DISK 1. Put the Installation Disk in drive A: or B:. 2. From a DOS command line enter "x:INSTALL" (where x is the name of the drive with the Installation Disk). 3. Accept the default directory (C:\KATE) by pressing Enter in response to the question, or enter a fully qualified directory name (eg "c:\menu"). 4. Users with an 80286 or higher processor and at least 800KB of free space will also be asked whether to install the DOS Protected Mode edition instead of the Real Mode edition. Press <Y> if you do, or <N> if you don't. Unregistered users do not have the DPMI edition, and so must answer <N>. Note that data files are completely interchangeable between the two editions, but if you want to install both they will have to be in different directories. If you have any problems running in Protected Mode see the DPMIUSER.DOC file for additional information. 5. All the relevent program and sample files will be extracted into the directory specified. A default Menu Definition File will also be created if one does not already exist. 6. If you want to be able to run KATE from anywhere, add the directory to your PATH statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT. If you want to invoke KATE as your main Shell program on startup, add the command "KMENU" to the end of AUTOEXEC.BAT. You can replace that boring old DOSSHELL. If you want both, then just let the install program update AUTOEXEC.BAT for you. INSTALLATION TO DISKETTE 1. If you want to invoke KATE as your main Shell program on startup, then create a new bootable disk, and add the command "KMENU" to the end of AUTOEXEC.BAT. Otherwise, just take a fresh new diskette. 2. Put the Installation Disk in drive A: or B:, and the new diskette into the other diskette drive. 3. From a DOS command line enter "x:INSTALL" (where x is the name of the drive with the Installation Disk). 4. Enter the name of the drive containing the new diskette in response to the question (eg "b:"). 5. All the relevent program and sample files will be extracted into the drive specified. If it is a 360KB diskette, then the KATE.HLP file and installation program will be omitted. UPGRADING FROM KATE INFORMATION CENTRE All data files from KATE Information Centre, except for saved Desktops (*.DSK files) are completely compatible with KATE Workplace. Delete any .DSK files, then install Workplace over the top of Information Centre as described above. Any other files whose formats have changed in Workplace will be automatically updated the first time they are opened. When upgrading, make sure that you don't inadvertently overwrite your own Diaries (*.KDY), Macros (*.MAC) and Menu Definition Files (*.MDF) etc with the samples on the Installation Disk. The best way is to not call any of your own files SAMPLE*.*. If you have modified KMENU.BAT, then take a copy of it before installing this new version, then copy it back later. CUSTOMISING KATE WORKPLACE There are many additional customisations allowed in KATE Workplace, so when you run the program select the Options, Mouse, Video Mode, Colours, and Country operations from the Desktop pulldown menu to tailor the program how you like it. You will also need to enter any File Associations using File|Open To|Associate. RUNNING KATE KATE uses a special batch loader program called KMENU.BAT to enable it to completely remove itself from memory to run large programs. The default Batch file simply runs KATE (or KATEX in the Protected Mode edition) with the /ts parameter (so that the Program Starter is always on the Desktop first) and any other parameters that have been entered. It looks something like this: @ECHO OFF C:\KATE\KATE /ts %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 IF ERRORLEVEL 1000 C:\KATE\MENUTEMP When KATE is instructed to unload itself (either by the use of the ".BAT" command from the Program Starter or Diary or Macro Manager, or by opening a file which has an associated program which has "Maximum Memory Required" selected) a file called MENUTEMP.BAT is created, which contains all the commands that have to be executed. KATE appends to the end of this file a call back to KMENU (or whatever batch file name is defined in "Desktop Options"). KATE then terminates with a return value of 1000. KMENU.BAT then takes over again and, if it sees that return code, runs MENUTEMP. This will carry out the requested commands, then run KMENU again which of course reloads KATE just the way it was before. This setup works best if both KATE.EXE and KMENU.BAT are in the same directory, and that directory is in the PATH statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT. However, as the Install program incorporates into KMENU.BAT the name of the directory in which KATE is installed, this directory does not have to be in the Path. KMENU.BAT could however be moved to another directory which was in the Path so it could be run from anywhere at the command line. Some operating systems have trouble recognising or handling the return code properly at all, so a slightly different approach must be taken. If you find that MENUTEMP is not being run correctly, then try the following for KMENU.BAT: @ECHO OFF IF EXIST C:\KATE\MENUTEMP.BAT ERASE C:\KATE\MENUTEMP.BAT C:\KATE\KATE /ts %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 IF EXIST C:\KATE\MENUTEMP.BAT C:\KATE\MENUTEMP The above program relies on creating and deleting MENUTEMP.BAT rather than looking for the return code, and may work better on some systems. As a further complication, some operating systems do not handle the calling of Batch files in the same way as DOS. In DOS, when one Batch file runs another, then control is never automatically returned to the first file. If you want to return control, then you have to use a CALL statement (and this is only in DOS version 4.0 or later). However, some operating systems always return to the calling batch file, so to keep things tidy a slightly different approach must be taken. Try something like the following: @ECHO OFF :LOOP IF EXIST C:\KATE\MENUTEMP.BAT ERASE C:\KATE\MENUTEMP.BAT C:\KATE\KATE /ts %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9 IF EXIST C:\KATE\MENUTEMP.BAT C:\KATE\MENUTEMP IF NOT EXIST C:\KATE\MENUTEMP.BAT GOTO END C:\KATE\MENUTEMP GOTO LOOP :END Hopefully, in even the most quirky or incompatible so-called-compatible operating system, one of the above methods will work properly. Note that if KATE.EXE is run directly rather than from KMENU.BAT, then all functions will work correctly except those for which KATE is instructed to unload itself. In this case, MENUTEMP will be created, but then KATE will simply terminate. To resume processing, enter "MENUTEMP" from the command line. This will perform the requested actions, then reload KATE via KMENU. Note also that under DOS 3.3 or earlier, opening (running) batch files using the Maximum Memory option will not return automatically to KATE when the processing is complete. Just enter "KMENU" to restart KATE again. ABOUT LHA LHA is a compression and archiving program. It can take normal binary or text files and make them smaller in size. This saves great amounts of storage space, with the compressed file being typically 1/4 to 1/3 of original size. A file of any size can be handled provided that the compressed version can fit on a single disk. The compressed file can be uncompressed back to its original state at any time. LHA can also take more than one file and pack them into a single file, also compressed. This is called an "archive" and allows groups of files to be kept together using a minimum of space. Hundreds of files can be included in one archive, provided again that the archive can fit on a single disk. Each file within the archive retains its own name, and can also be unpacked at any time. KATE Workplace and many other programs use these facilities so they can be compressed onto fewer disks for distribution, or uploaded to bulletin boards as single files. LHA normally creates files with an extension of '.LZH'. Other archiving programs are also used and may create files with extensions such as ".ARC", ".DWC", ".PAK", ".ZIP" and ".ZOO". USING LHA The general format for use of LHA is LHA <command> [/options] <archivename> [directory\] [filenames] where LHA is the name of the archiving program <command> is the type of operation to be performed such as add, update, list, extract, delete [/options] are optional extra switches to change the way LHA works <archivename> is the name of the archive to be created or queried [directory\] is the optional directory where files are extracted to [filenames] are the names of files to be added to or extracted from the archive There are 12 different commands that can be used. A Add files to archive U Update files in archive M Move files into archive F Freshen files in archive D Delete files from archive P disPlay files in archive E Extract files from archive X eXtract files with pathnames from archive L List files in archive V View list of files with pathnames in archive S make Self-extracting archive T Test integrity of archive There are 15 different options to alter the way in which LHA works. R Recursively collect files from subdirectories W assign Work directory X allow eXtended file names M display no Message for query P distinguish full Path names C skip time-stamp Check A allow any Attributes of files Z Zero compression (only store) T set archive's Time-stamp H select Header level O use Old compatible method N display No indicator a/o pathname I do not Ignore lower case L display Long name with indicator - use "-" or "@" as the first letter of filenames Enter "LHA" with no parameters for a list of these commands and options. See LHA.DOC for full details of all these commands and options. LHA EXAMPLES 1. To add one file called FILE1.TXT into an archive called TEST.LZH. LHA a TEST FILE1.TXT 2. To add several files to archive TEST.LZH. LHA a TEST FILE1.TXT FILE2.DOC FILE3.EXE 3. To add several files to archive TEST.LZH using wildcards. LHA a TEST *.DOC 4. To delete a file called FILE1.EXE from archive TEST.LZH. LHA d TEST FILE1.EXE 5. To extract a file called FILE1.DOC from archive TEST.LZH. LHA e TEST FILE1.DOC 6. To extract all files from archive TEST.LZH. LHA e TEST *.* 7. To look at the contents of archive TEST.LZH. LHA l TEST FILES ON THE INSTALLATION DISK The Shareware Installation Disk contains the following files. No copy of the program may be distributed unless it contains all of them. KATE .LZH Archive containing the main program KATE .REZ Resource file KATE .DOC Product and installation information KATEH .LZH Archive containing the online Help file SAMPLE .LZH Archive containing various data files INSTALL .EXE The installation program LHA .EXE Archiving program (v2.13 copyright Haruyasu Yoshizaki) LHA .DOC Full documentation for LHA ORDER .DOC Order Form REGISTER.DOC Registration and support information VENDOR .DOC Vendor and distribution information FILE_ID .DIZ Program description for bulletin boards TECHNICAL INFORMATION KATE Workplace is written in Borland Pascal 7.0, and makes extensive use of Object Orientation techniques. Current source code is available as part of the special Business Registration package. An early version (0.07) of the source code which is compatible with TP 6.0 is also available if required, or most of the current code could be adapted back. KATE Workplace contains more than 20,000 lines of code over and above the Turbo Vision and other libraries that are included with Borland Pascal. PROGRAM HISTORY 1:30 05.10.93. Added documentation for LHA. Improved Install program, general documentation, and printed manual. Directory tree now updated after a directory is moved. 1.20 11.09.93. Powerful new commands to Copy, Move, Synch and Remove whole drives or directory trees. Updated to LHA v2.13 for archiving functions. Improved file saving and window numbering. Troubleshoot report now includes Windows SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI files. Improved access to Help Index and Using Help. 1.10 06.07.93. New Synch Directory operation. New ".KEYIN" and ".WAIT" macro commands. Additional File|Attributes menu item, and 12 o'clock bug fixed. Enhancements to Troubleshoot report. Additional safety checks when copying a file over itself. Install program can now install KATE in the same directory as the installation files. 1.00 28.04.93. First fully international release of Workplace. Change indicators for all data windows, and Child windows automatically saved with Parent. Additional delete and indent functions for Editor. New options to change System Clock, Video Mode and Country settings. Improvements to operation of Print Manager. Additional backslash commands to mimic specific keystrokes in Macro Manager. Further enhancements to Screen Blanker including ability to run an external program. Attributes may be changed for multiple files, and multi-file Copy/Move/Rename is safer. Directory dialogs allow navigation through the whole directory tree. Book Compiler displays better error message for empty cross-refs. Expanded documentation and online Help of various kinds. Enhanced installation program to update AUTOEXEC.BAT. 0.09 08.02.93. Last release under the name "Information Centre". Auto saving of Parent and Child windows (such as the Diary) when closed or after a period of inactivity. Print and Macro Managers can now handle any ASCII codes using common "\nnn" format. Enhanced Screen Blanker, Memory Monitor, and Colours dialog. Fixed problems saving Book Viewer and File Manager in desktop file, and also some window resizing and tiling quirks. Protected Mode edition (based on DPMI 0.9) available now to registered users, allowing full use of memory up to 16MB, much more room for running external programs or shelling to DOS, and the Hex Viewer to show up to 512K of any file. New installation program. 0.08 01.02.93. Upgraded Calendar, and new Diary with day, week, month and year lists, To-do lists, alarms and reminders, and scheduled running of programs or macros. Improved File|Open based on type of file. Association of files to programs. New File|Open-To command overrides the default Open action. View files in Hex format, or user-defined file viewer. Post Notes up to 1K for putting simple messages on the Desktop. Run named macros. ".BAT" commands no longer need to call back to KMENU. Progress indicators for lengthy processes. Minor improvements to User Logon and profiling. Disk volume labels shown in File dialogs. Input line histories, Locate/Replace options, and Mouse options now saved with the rest of the Desktop. Fixed problems with Locate/Replace, File Copy, and disabled commands after screen blanking. Changed memory management to give more space for databases, editors and viewers, and allow more room to shell out to Dos. Other internal changes and improvements due to compiler upgrade. 0.07 29.12.92. Fixed silly File Manager bugs introduced in last release. For those with source code, this is the final release that is fully compatible with Turbo Pascal 6.0. 0.06 14.12.92. Some work on data windows. Better memory management. Single key search in all list boxes, whether sorted or not. Other minor improvements. 0.05 18.11.92. Screen Blanker no longer passes the first keystroke or mouse click through to any underlying window. Faster moving of files within the same drive. User Logon restores desktop previously saved for that User Name. Slash (/) key can be used to obtain the Menu Bar, except when in an editor or input field. More warning messages in Book Compiler. Keyboard Codes viewer (was ASCII viewer) shows full Scan Code of the pressed key. 0.04 25.10.92. Window for Macro Manager to manipulate queues in the same way as Print Manager. Dot commands for shelling out to Dos. Fixed file size problem in Editor/Viewer, >1K paragraphs and Tab key bugs in Book Compiler, and several problems in Print Manager. File windows now numbered sequentially automatically, accessible by Alt-n, and the same file cannot be opened in multiple windows. File Manager can Make and Remove directories, and some bugs have been fixed. Different colours for Help and Book windows. 0.03 24.09.92. Window for Print Manager to see and manipulate queues and enter text like a typewriter, plus now handles a range of Wordstar- like dot commands. Hypertext-style Book compiler similar to the built in help system. Menu Definition File now uses dot commands. Assorted other improvements. 0.02 30.08.92. More information in File dialog, plus ability to handle wildcards for Copy, Move, Rename and Delete operations. Improved some colours. Mine Sweeper made a bit harder. More Help. Assorted other minor fixes and improvements. 0.01 15.08.92. Initial Release. Includes Editor and Viewer, Clipboard with full Cut/Copy/Paste, Search and Replace, Program Starter, File Manager, basic Print and Macro facilities, Calculator, Calendar, Tile Puzzle, Mine Sweeper, ASCII Chart, Memory Monitor, Desktop Save and Restore, Screen Blanker, customisation of colours and mouse behaviour, and some Help, all in a flexible character-based windowed environment. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Haruyasu Yoshizaki for making his great little archiving program LHA freely available. Thanks to my good wife Kathryn, in who's honour this program is named, for her patience and help in it's lengthy development process.