Programmer 7500/MAX_PROGRAMMERS.iso/PROGRAMS/UTILS/HARDDISK/MDM13.ZIP/MDM.DOC

Text File | 1988-09-10 | 15.6 KB | 398 lines

                                   M.D.M
                                Version 1.3
                       Copyright 1988 by Brent Barrett

                             TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section  Title                                                     Page
   I     What is MDM?................................................1
  II     Getting started: Executing MDM..............................2
 III     Moving around your system: Files and directories............4
  IV     Doing things: Single file operations........................5
   V     Doing things faster: Multiple file operations...............6
  VI     Making and removing directories.............................7
 VII     Special tricks: The "extra" commands........................8
VIII     Special notes: Strange things about MDM.....................10

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 1

Section I: WHAT IS MDM?

    MDM is a front-end for DOS.  With MDM, you can move about your
system drives and directories, execute programs, rename, copy or
delete files without ever seeing a DOS prompt.  But if every now
and then you find the need to execute commands from the DOS prompt,
well, you can do that too.

    MDM sprang from a desire to have available a high-quality DOS
front-end program without the large price tag usually associated
with such programs.  I wrote MDM to suit my needs, and I think
you'll find it to your liking as well.  If you find anything
lacking, I'd really like to hear from you. You can contact me
three ways:

    GEnie:
        Address B.K.BARRETT

    My BBS:
        ATKeep
        916 726 4989
        300/1200/2400 bps
        8-N-1

    By Mail:
        Brent Barrett
        P.O. Box 2987
        Citrus Heights, CA 95611-2987

    MDM requires about 90k free to run, and will occupy 96k if you
drop into a DOS shell.

    As it turns out, I'm a computer science student in this area, and
try to do some programming on the side for school expenses.  I won't beat
around the bush, though: If you find this program useful, a contribution
to help me cover my schooling expenses would be greatly appreciated.
Any amount ($10-$20 being the norm) can be sent to me at the above P.O.
Box address.

    MDM can be freely distributed by any legal means as long as it is
left in its unmodified form and all files included in this ARChive
are kept as they were.

    Acknowledgments:
    I'd like to thank Charles Meadows for his beta-testing and ideas.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 2

Section II: GETTING STARTED: EXECUTING MDM

    Getting MDM running is rather simple. From the DOS prompt (or in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file), type:

    mdm<ENTER>

    MDM can also be called with certain options specified on the command
line.  Following is a list of options and their meaning:

    /S             Sort files by name (the default)
    /N             Do not sort files
    /D<pathname>   Start MDM at specified <pathname>
    /E<filename>   Start MDM and execute <filename> as shell
    /C             Start MDM and then drop to a DOS shell
    /M<filemask>   Start MDM with specified <filemask>
    /O             Do not load READ ONLY or HIDDEN or SYSTEM files
    /? or /H       A listing of these command switches

    NOTE: The "-" switch can be substituted for the "/" switch.  More
than one option may be used at a time, i.e. C>mdm /N /O /M*.EXE is a
valid call to MDM.

    You will see a small window appear in the center of your screen
identifying MDM and informing you that MDM is reading the current
directory information.  This box will be shown every time MDM has to
"re-load" the directory information (usually only when changing drives
or directories).

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 3

    The main screen will then appear:

MDM 1.1 Copyright 1988 by Brent Barrett              Aug 04, 1988   4:55
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
C:\LANG\TC\MDM\*.*                                       rhsDa  00000000
┌───────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│▓..▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓<DIR>▓ │ MDM.EXE           42396 │ MDM10.DOC      12354 │
│ MDM10.ARC       32756 │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
│                       │                         │                      │
└───────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     Tag Untag Copy Delete Erase Rename List View Path Makedir Killdir


    Pressing F1 will deliver a condensed run-down of all MDM command
keystrokes.

    The top line, as well as being the title line, contains an updated
current "date/time" clock.

    The next line contains three handy bits of information.  First off
is the current pathname, including drive, directories and file mask.
Next you'll see something which consists of five letters, of mixed case:

    rhsda

    The "r" indicates the current (or "indexed") file's READ/WRITE status.
If the "r" is lower case, the file is R/W. If the "R" is upper case, the
file is READ ONLY.

    The "h" inidcates the indexed file's HIDDEN status. If the "h" is lower
case, the file is not hidden.  If the "H" is upper case, the file is
hidden.

    The "s" indicates the indexed files SYSTEM status.  If the "s" is lower
case, the file is a normal, non-system file.  If the "S" is upper case,
the file is a SYSTEM file.

    The "d" displays lower case on files and upper case on directories.

    Finally, the "a" is the archive bit status.  On non-archived (non-
backed-up) files, the "A" will be upper case.  It will be lower case on
files whose archive bit has been set by a back-up program.

    Also on the second line is a group of eight zeros (00000000).  This
is the running "bytes in marked files" total.  You'll learn more about
marked files in section IV.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 4

Section III: MOVING AROUND YOUR SYSTEM: FILES AND DIRECTORIES

    The cursor keypad will allow you to move the "highlight" bar from file
to file in the current directory.  The arrow keys move one position in
their respective direction, scrolling around to another line when
boundaries are met.  If there are more than 42 files in your current
directory, PGDN and PGUP can be used to toggle to different sets of
files.  Finally, the HOME key will always take you to the first file
in your directory (which is the "mother" directory in all sub-directories
and some other valid entry in the root).

    If you wish to move to a directory off of the current one, simply
move the cursor bar to highlight the directory and press the ENTER key.
This also works on the "mother" directory entry (indicated by ".." in
MDM).  If you want to move quickly to another drive or directory
branch, then pressing the [P] key will prompt you for a new pathname.
You may include drive and/or directory path here, but not a file mask.

    Valid pathnames would be:

    A:
    A:\
    \DOS
    C:
    C:\LANG\TC
    D:UTIL

    If the indexed file is an EXE or COM file, pressing the ENTER key
will execute that file.  If the file under the cursor has an extension
of either ".ARC" or ".ARK," MDM will display a listing of files found
inside the ARChive.  Otherwise, pressing the ENTER key on a file will
display that file as if it were a textfile.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 5

Section IV: DOING THINGS: SINGLE FILE OPERATIONS

    While indexing a file, pressing various command keys can perform some
useful functions.

    The [C] key will prompt you for a pathname and/or filename to copy
the indexed file to.  Type in the destination JUST as you would with
the DOS COPY command (see your DOS manual).

    The [R] key will rename the indexed file. You will be prompted for
a new name or pathname.  If you specify a new pathname, the file
will be "moved" to that directory and removed from the current directory.

    The [E] key and the [D] key will both ask you to verify a deletion
of the indexed file.  If you say "Y"es, the file will be deleted from
the current directory.

    The [L] key will list the indexed file.  Be sure it is a textfile,
or you will get garbage (but it won't harm MDM).

    The [V] key can be used to do a HEX/ASCII dump of the indexed file.
This is the way to view binary files, but any type of file can be viewed
this way.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 6

Section V: DOING THINGS FASTER: MULTIPLE FILE OPERATIONS

    You can do most of the functions described in section IV on more
than one file at a time by using file "tags."  File tags tell MDM
which files you want to do various functions to.

    You tag a file by using either the [T] key or the [+] key (white
or gray).  You may also un-tag a file by  using the [U] or [-] keys
(white or gray).

    A "new" file tag appears as a ">" greater than sign in front
of a file, and the total bytes in tagged files counter in the
upper-right-hand corner of the screen is updated.  An untagged
file appears to have nothing in front of it, and if it was
previously tagged, the total is again updated to reflect the new
total of bytes in tagged files.  Later you will read mention of
an "old-tag."  For now, let us just say an old tag appears as
a "-" minus sign in front of a file.

    The [C] copy function works just like it did for a single file,
except it will copy all marked files to the destination (you should
not specify a file name, because if you do, all files will be written
to that file and all but the last will be over-written).  If MDM
should happen to encounter an error on the copy (e.g. the disk becomes
full), it will stop the mass copy operation and return control to you.
After a copy operation, MDM will place what are called "old-tags" on
each of the files successfully copied.  If an error occurs, all
files that have yet to be copied will still be tagged as new.

    The [R] rename function will now ask only for a new pathname to
move all of the tagged files.

    The [D] delete file command will still operate only on single
files, but the [E] erase command will erase all of the tagged files
for you.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 7

Section VI: MAKING AND REMOVING DIRECTORIES

    By using the [M] key command, you can "make" sub-directories, just
as if you had used the DOS "md" command.  You can specify a full pathname
and new subdirectory name when prompted, or just the new subdirectory
name to be created as a child of the current directory.

    The [K] key will "kill" a directory, or "remove" it just as if you
had used the DOS "rd" command.  Again, you may specify a full path
and directory, or just the directory name if it is a child of the
current directory.  Be sure the directory is empty, or you will
receive an ERROR message from MDM and the directory will not be removed.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 8

Section VII: SPECIAL TRICKS: THE "EXTRA" COMMANDS

    All ten function keys are active, and may be used at any time. Here
is a run-down of their operations:

    F1
        This is the HELP key and will display a brief listing of all
        valid commands.

    F2
        Using this key will force MDM to re-load the current directory,
        which will cause all tagged files to be reset.

    F3
        This key will give you space and drive information for any
        valid drive in your system.  Simply press the drive letter
        after the F3 key.

    F4
        You can enter a new file "mask" with this key.  The file mask
        can be any valid filename or wildcard.  "*.*" is the default
        when MDM is executed (unless changed by the /M option, see
        section II).

    F5
        This key will allow you to toggle the HIDDEN/VISIBLE status
        of the indexed file.

    F6
        The READ ONLY and READ/WRITE attributes of the indexed file
        can be toggled by use of this key.

    F7
        This key will TAG all files in the current directory.

    F8
        This key will un-TAG all files in the current directory.

    F9
        All "old-tagged" files can be re-tagged with the use of this
        key.

    F10
        Every file that has no tag (not even an old tag) will be tagged
        for mass operations if this key is used.  Remember, old tags will
        stay old tags even with the use of this command, and will not be
        included in any subsequent mass operations.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 9

    Other keys play an active role in MDM as well. Here's a listing:

    ESC
        Pressing the ESCAPE key will exit MDM in the directory from which
        it started, returning the environment to its original state upon
        entering MDM.

    CTRL-ESC
        The CTRL-ESC combination will exit from MDM into the current
        directory, but otherwise return the environment to its
        original state.

    ALT-S
        This command will drop you into a DOS shell.  Typing "EXIT" from
        the DOS prompt will bring you back to MDM in exactly the same
        directory and place you left it.

    SPACE BAR
        This activates "DOS" mode.  In DOS mode, you may enter any valid
        DOS command line, and it will be executed as if you had entered
        the command from the DOS prompt itself.  Entering a blank line
        at any prompt will return you to MDM.

MDM Version 1.3 Operations Manual__________________________________Page 10

SPECIAL NOTES: STRANGE THINGS ABOUT MDM

    MDM has only been tested on an IBM and Clone CGA system and a clone
EGA system operating at 25 x 80 screen size.  I do not know how MDM will
react under a larger screen size (with EGA and VGA), but if it turns out
to not like the larger screen environment, please drop me a line and I
will look into making it do so.

    I have also tested MDM on a Hercules Graphics system and, although
it didn't behave exactly as I predicted, it still functioned properly.
Hercules (and possibly other monochrome) users will notice differences
only in the way MDM looks, not the way it behaves.  For instance, the
indexed file will most likely be underlined, not highlighted.

    If you use MDM under any other conditions, and it works (or even
doesn't work), I'd really appreciate hearing about it.  Again, if you
encounter any problems, please leave me a note and I will move quickly
to fix it.

END OF DOCUMENTATION