DosExt

DosExt Modes

DosExt's purpose becomes apparent whn you look at each of the two modes supported by DosExt:

RiscOS Filetype -> PC filename extension
PC extension -> RiscOS filetype

When creating WWW sites, it is essential that the correct PC/Unix file extension is added to the name of every files. DosExt makes it easy to do this, by storing an editable database of filetype-extension translations in its !DosExt.User directory.

To select the mode used by DosExt, bring up the Choices window from the program's iconbar menu. The bottom option on the list allows you to select the mode used. The other options only apply to the Filetype->extension conversion which is the primary mode for the utility. These options are discussed below.

Setting the Default Mode

To select the default mode when the software starts up, choose the mode you want from the choices window, and then click on Save. The next time you load the utility, that mode will be selected.

DosExt in Use

To change the filename/filetype simply drag the source file onto the DosExt icon on the iconbar. If you drag a directory you initial batch processing mode (see below).

If you are in Type->Extension mode, and you have set the action option to copy the file under the new name, you'll be prompted to save the new file. Otherwise, the conversion will take place. Simple!

Choices

The Choices window from the iconbar menu allows you to configure DosExt's behaviour.

The first option allows you to specify whether PC or Unix extensions are used. This is important, as it selects which type-extension database is used. When working with HTML pages on a WWW side, you'll probably find it best to work in Unix mode, otherwise PC mode is fine.

Next up is Long Filename support. Files with PC or Unix extensions often exceed the RiscOS 10 character filename limit. Some RiscOS filer extensions allow for long filename, and these are supported by DosExt if you select long filenames. However, if you select this option without such extensions, then filenames may be truncated, leaving filenames like Image001/g rather than Image001/gif. If you select to use the 10 character limit, then the main filename body will be shortened to the appropriate length to allow the PC/Unix extension to be added.

When converting the filenames, DosExt can either create new files with the new filenames, or rename the old ones. The third option allows you to control this.

If you are converting a filetype to an extension, then you may wish to choose the case of the extension used. If you are dealing with PCs, upper-case extensions are recommended as Dos only supports upper-case filenames. Unix, however, supports mixed-case, so the lower-case option is usually preferable.

Finally, you can select the mode used by DosExt (see above).

Batch Processing

Like ImageConv and StripIt, DosExt supports batch processing. Simply copy all the files to be processed into a directory, then drag the directory over the DosExt icon on the iconbar. You will see an hourglass showing the percentage completed, during the processing of your files.