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FILE COMMANDO VERSION 1.00 8 FEBRUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT SANDI AND SHANE STUMP FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Table of Contents Section 1: Before You Start.................................2 Disclaimer.......................................2 The ShareWare Concept............................3 Update Policy....................................3 Author Information...............................4 System Requirements..............................5 Section 2: An Introduction to the File Commando Screen......6 Global Abort Key................................10 POPPING Back to FC from a ruuning program.......10 Bigger Keyboard Buffer..........................10 Section 3: The Function Key Commands.......................11 <F1> -- The CHDIR Command......................12 <F2> -- The SORT Command.......................15 <F3> -- The COMPOSE Command....................17 <F4) -- The RUN Command........................18 <F5> -- The MARK Command.......................19 <F6> -- The VIEW Command.......................22 <F7> -- The FIND Command.......................23 <F9> -- The DISPLAY Command....................25 <F10> -- The QUIT Command.......................26 Section 4: The Space Bar Commands..........................27 The ATTRIB Command..............................28 The COPY Command................................30 The DELETE Command..............................33 The DIRECTORY Command...........................34 The DISK Command................................37 The EDIT Command................................41 The PRINT Command...............................42 The RENAME Command..............................43 The SPACE Command...............................45 The UTILITY Command.............................46 Section 5: The Editor......................................50 Section 6: The Patch Editor................................53 1 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Section 1: Before You Start... FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ << USER-SUPPORTED SOFTWARE>> ║ ║ ║ ║ CUSTOMER S NAME ...................SN#12345 ║ ║ ║ ║ If you find this program useful, you can register as as a user and obtain ║ ║ the latest version of the program and user manual by sending a check or ║ ║ money order for $30.00 to: ║ ║ ║ ║ [PLEASE INCLUDE THE NAME AND SERIAL NUMBER ABOVE WHEN WRITING TO US!] ║ ║ ║ ║ SANDI & SHANE STUMP ║ ║ BOX 13719 ║ ║ COLLEGE STATION, TX 77841 ║ ║ ║ ║ Please enclose your name and address, along with any comments / suggestions ║ ║ you may have. Registered users will be informed of product updates. ║ ║ Please give copies of this program to other users for evaluation. DO NOT ║ ║ distribute it for any charge or fee. Updates will be $10.00. ║ ║ ║ ║ SUPPORT US SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DEVELOP GOOD PRODUCTS AT A GOOD PRICE!║ ║ ║ ║ PRESS ANY KEY TO BEGIN! ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Disclaimer Sandi & Shane Stump make no express or implied warranty with regards to the documentation or the program described in regards to the suitability of this program for any particular purpose or its ability to produce any particular result. This program is made available on an "as is" basis, and the entire risk as to its quality and performance lies with the user. Sandi & Shane Stump shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, or consequential damages in connection or arising from the use of this program. 2 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP The ShareWare Concept The ShareWare concept is a low priced alternative to commercial software. Instead of buying a program at a local retail software establishment then bringing it home to find out if it does what you want it to, this method permits you to try the program out at home for a period of time. You can then decide whether you will use it or not. Amount of payment is recommended by each program's author. File Commando is being distributed under the ShareWare concept. We ask that persons who use this program and find it helpful contribute $30.00. We will in turn notify all persons who become registered users of impending updates to this program and other releases by us. Updates of File Commando will be $10.00 to cover cost of materials and shipping. This program was developed as an update to our previous utility PC-SWEEP. All following updates will be available to registered users for a $10.00 fee. This amount should cover the costs incurred in shipping the revised versions. We will notify all registered users of updates by sending a card with a description of the update to the address we have on file for the user. If your address changes and you wish to remain on our update list, please send us your new address information along with your name and the serial number on your version of File Commando. 3 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Author Information Send your inquiries to the address listed below: ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Sandi & Shane Stump │ │ Box 13719 │ │ College Station, Texas 77841 │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────┘ Sandi & Shane Stump (that's us) are two senior-level Computing Science students currently attending Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Besides school, we do computer comsulting work and programming on the side to pay the bills. Shane writes file utilities in his spare time for pleasure, although I think it demonstrates some masochistic tendencies on his part. This program was written on a GulfStream APC/286 IBM-AT compatible under PC-DOS 3.0. It was tested on a Kaypro 2000 and a Sperry PC under PC-DOS 2.0 and MS-DOS 2.1. It was written in the C language using the Instant-C interpreter system and the DeSmet C complier system. 4 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP System Requirements To execute this program, your computer must meet or exceed the following specifications. IBM-PC compatible computer (this includes the IBM-AT) 192k main memory, one disk drive MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.0 or higher printer (if use of the print command is anticipated) File Commando needs no special installation program for execution. Be aware that any programs that operate as Resident programs (such as Sidekick, ProKey, Turbo Lightning, etc), must be executed before File Commando. If you attempt to run one of these type programs, File Commando will display the following error message: Terminate Stay Resident Call Issued By filename. Process Aborted. This will not stop the desired program from execution, it will only disable the stay resident feature. One more thing, if you attempt to open and execute more than one program (called nesting), you are responsible for keeping track of where you are. 5 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Section 2: An Introduction to the File Commando Screen FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦══════════════════╗ ║FILES IN A:\ ║FILE: *.* ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬══════════════════╣ ║ COMMAND .COM DOC .DOC FC .EXE ║VOLUME:SANDI'S_DSK║ ║ FC1 .SCR FCDOC .PG1 FCDOC .PG2 ║SIZE : 730112║ ║ FCDOC .PG3 FCDOC .PG4 FCDOC .PG5 ║FREE : 272384║ ║ IO .SYS LPTX .COM MSDOS .SYS ╠══════════════════╣ ║ P1 .S SEE .EXE ║DIRECTORY STATS ║ ║ ║ FILES 14║ ║ ║ BYTES 252788║ ║ ║TAGGED ║ ║ ║ FILES 0║ ║ ║ BYTES 0║ ║ ║TODAY'S INFO: ║ ║ ║ DATE: 2-03-86 ║ ║ ║ DAY : MONDAY ║ ║ ║ TIME: 23:05 ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩══════════════════╣ ║ ATTRIB COPY DELETE DIRECTORY DISK EDIT PRINT RENAME SPACE UTILITY ║ ║ ATTRIB is used to change or set a file(s) attributes. ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║A>█ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ F1-CHDIR F2-SORT F3-COMPOSE F4-RUN F5-MARK F6-VIEW F7-FIND F9-DISPLAY F10-QUIT Screen 2.1: The File Commando screen display. This is the screen display for File Commando. At the top of the screen is the name of the program, the author's names (that's us), and the version number of the program. The version number is a very important piece of information for both of us, because any problems or bugs you may experience may have been discovered and corrected in a later version. In any correspondence with us about this program, please include the version number and the machine that you are running this program on. In any bug report, please tell us what happened and what events precipitated the inconsistency. Along with this information, it would be helpful if you list a phone number in case we need further clarification of the problem. The line FILES IN A:\ indicates the current drive and directory specification that File Commando is currently operating on. Below this is the list of all files in the directory. If more files are on the directory than are displayed, the cursor keys allow you to move either up or down the list, across or back through the files, forward or back one page, or to the beginning or to the end of the directory file listing. This is discussed in more detail in the following paragraph. The directory display format that is shown on your screen initially includes only the file name itself, and will be referred to as the 'short form' of the file directory display. This display is made up of three columns of file names, listed in alphabetical order horizontally, as in the screen pictured above. Toggling <F9>-DISPLAY will display the directory in a more conventional format with one file name per line, and all pertinent file information to the right of the name. The information included is the file size, the date, the time, and the 6 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP current attributes. This form of the directory display will be referred to from now on as the 'long form' of the directory listing. To move the highlighted file field to a specific file name, the cursor keypad is used. Most IBM PC compatible computers incorporate a cursor/number keypad with a layout similar to the diagram described below: ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ║ │ ║ Up │ ║ │ ║ Home │ ║ Arrow │ ║ PgUp │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ <- │ ║ 5 │ ║ -> │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ End │ ║ Dn │ ║ PgDn │ ║ │ ║ Arrow │ ║ │ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ Diagram 2.1: The Cursor/Numeric Keypad on the IBM PC. In the diagram above, you may notice that the up and down arrow are not represented by their ASCII characters, but are instead represented by words. This is because many printers do not support the up arrow, the down arrow, the right arrow, or the triangular characters. So, wherever there is one of these characters in File Commando, we will use their verbal label instead or their character. To move horizontally to the next file listed to the right of the current file, press the right arrow key, ( -> ). To move back horizontally to the left one file, press the left arrow key, ( <- ). To move vertically down one line of files, press the down arrow key. To move vertically up one line of files, press the up arrow key. The <PgUp> and <PgDn> display the prior page and the next page of files in the directory, respectively. The file field is then located at the top of the page displayed. The <Home> key displays the first page of files in the directory, with the file field highlighting the first file listed in the directory. The <End> key displays the last page of files in the directory, with the file field highlighting the last file in the directory. When in the 'long form' of the directory display, only the left and right arrow keys from the previous description are not used to move from file to file. The center key on the keypad, the <5> key, is not utilized by File Commando for field movement in any menus or screens. The FILE: *.* section of the screen displays the current file wildcard search specification of the program. It is initially set to '*.*', which signifies that all files on the directory are read in and are accessible. This can be changed under the <F1>-CHDIR command to read in any files matching a specified wildcard field. This will be discussed in more detail under <F1>-CHDIR. 7 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP The VOLUME:SANDI'S_DSK SIZE : 730112 FREE : 272384 section of the screen display provides the disk specifications for the current disk. VOLUME: is the volume label field and indicates what volume label, if any, has been attached to the particular disk currently being accessed by File Commando. SIZE refers to the total amount of disk space available on the disk, both occupied and free. FREE refers to the amount of free space available on the disk. MS-DOS and PC-DOS currently allocate space for each file based on one kilobyte boundaries, therefore the amount of disk space free will equal some multiple of 1024k. This is why the total size of the files can be less than the difference between the space available and the space free on the disk. This also means that a file can still be altered and enlarged when FREE : 0, as long as these additions do not exceed the next 1024k boundary. The DIRECTORY STATS FILES 14 BYTES 252788 section of the screen display provides the number of files in the current directory being displayed and the total amount of disk space that the directory itself occupies. If a file pattern other than '*.*' is used to display the file directory, only the number of files and the combined size of those file shown will be displayed. As explained above, the number of bytes located in all the files on the disk will rarely, if ever, equal the difference in the amount of space available and space free on the disk. The TAGGED FILES 0 BYTES 0 section of the screen display provides the number of files and the total size of the files that have been tagged by File Commando in the current file directory. The TODAY'S INFO: DATE: 2-03-86 DAY : MONDAY TIME: 23:05 section of the screen display provides the current date, the corresponding weekday, and the current time that the system has been initialized with and is using. Computers with battery operated clocks must, at some time, initialize their clocks with the correct time and date, whereas other computers, with no such battery-powered clock, must be initialized with the correct time and date every time the system is turned on. To reset the date and time on the system, File Commando has a CLOCK RESET option under UTILITY command. The next major section of interest to you is the 'Space Bar' commands. These commands, so named because to select one, you must move the highlighted command field by pressing either the <SPACE BAR> or the <BACKSPACE> key to the desired command, are located directly underneath the file listing area of the screen and appear as: ATTRIB COPY DELETE DIRECTORY DISK EDIT PRINT RENAME SPACE UTILITY ATTRIB is used to change or set a file(s) attributes. 8 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP This line contains ten commands that are readily accessible to you. The line directly below the command line gives a brief description of the currently highlighted command. To move this field across to the right, simply press the <SPACE BAR>; to move it back to the left, press the <BACKSPACE> key. When the highlighted field is on the last command on the line, the UTILITY command, the next press of the <SPACE BAR> will move the field to the beginning of the line, to the ATTRIB command. The <BACKSPACE> key works the same way, only in reverse. Once the highlighted field is on the command that you wish to execute, press <ENTER>. These commands will be discussed in further detail in Section 4. Directly under the two 'space bar' command lines is a line containing nothing but the characters: A> This line is used by various routines, as needed, when additional information is necessary to execute a specific instruction. The A> in this case is the current logged disk drive where the current directory is located. At the very bottom of the screen, the following line appears: F1-CHDIR F2-SORT F3-COMPOSE F4-RUN F5-MARK F6-VIEW F7-FIND F9-DISPLAY F10-QUIT This is the function key line, containing nine 'function key' commands. These commands are toggled by pressing the indicated function key. The commands that should be brought to your immediate attention are the <F1>-CHDIR command, which changes the drive and directory of a disk being displayed, <F9>-DISPLAY command, which switches the file display between the current file display to one that shows one file per line with all relevant file information to its side, and <F10>-QUIT command, which allows you to escape from File Commando. 9 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Section 2.1 Global Abort Key An important key to remember is the <ESCape> key. This key will allow you to abort any menu without consequence. Of course, the <ESCape> key is no miracle worker, if you have completed entry of all necessary information asked for by File Commando and have pressed <ENTER>, the <ESCape> will have no effect. The FCAbort key, the Shift PrtScr key, aborts a current or pending File Commando operation. This is helpful if you chose the option DELETE ALL UNTAGGED FILES and suddenly realized that that was not what you wanted to do. This key will not reinstate anything lost before being pressed, and it is not guaranteed to stop the execution of the command immediately. For example, if you choose to format a disk and then change you mind and press the FCAbort key, the format procedure may have already begun and your disk may be unreadable by any program other than a good disk editor. Section 2.2 POPPING Back to FC from a running program The Popback hot key is the 'AL╘ ╜ ' key combination, with both the AL╘ key and the equals sign, '=', pressed simultaneously. The Popback feature, for those of you who are not already familiar with it from other programs, permits you to suspend operation of a program that you are currently running to return control to File Commando. The easiest way to explain the command is to give an example. After pressing <F3╛ or <F4╛ to run your favorite word processing program from File Commando, you may realize that there is not enough room on the disk for your newly edited file. By using the Popback command, the AL╘ =, you can return to File Commando and do the necessary operations to help you finish your task. Under File Commando you can delete files from the disk, format a new disk to use, or do whatever is needed. You can then use the Popback key again to return to your program and continue on with what you were doing. We cannot guarantee that this routine will work with all programs. It is recommended that you try it out before using it with a important file. Sometimes when this key is pressed, a low pitched beep will sound. This beep means that the DOS is currently busy and can't respond immendiately. It can also sound when there is no file to pop back to. As long as there is a file to pop back to, keep trying the POPBACK key. Section 2.3 Bigger Keyboard Buffer FileCommando expands the original 15 character keyboard buffer to 128 characters! This feature is enabled at all times (i.e., including to programs executed from File Commando). 10 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Section 3: The Function Key Commands F1-CHDIR F2-SORT F3-COMPOSE F4-RUN F5-MARK F6-VIEW F7-FIND F9-DISPLAY F10-QUIT The commands located on the bottom line of the screen are the 'function key' commands. By pressing one of these keys, you will begin execution of the indicated function. Normally, this is not irrevocable, since only the <F6>-VIEW and the <F9>-DISPLAY commands are executed automatically, otherwise, pressing <ESCape> before entering all requested information will abort you out of the command and back to the File Commando screen. Most of the information collected concerns the execution of a command and collection methods include either one or more menus, data field prompts, or both. To select an option from any of the following menus, use the cursor/numeric pad shown in Diagram 2.1 to move the selection up or down, then press <ENTER> to record your choice. The SELECTION field at the bottom of the menu should show the number of the option currently being pointed at by the selection arrow. 11 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F1>-CHDIR Pressing <F1> invokes the Change Directory command. File Commando responds by displaying the following menu in the center of the screen: ╔══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ CHDIR MENU ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . RE-READ CURRENT DIRECTORY ║ ║ 2 . RE-LOG CURRENT DISK ║ ║ 3 . CHANGE DIRECTORY ║ ║ 4 . CHANGE FILE SEARCH WILDCARD ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 3.1: The CHDIR Menu. For this menu, there are four options. The first is the reread current directory option, which re-reads the current directory from the disk. The second is the re-log current disk option, which re-reads the entire directory table for the disk. The third is the change directory option, which allows you to change either the current drive, the current directory, or both. The fourth is the change file search wildcard option, which changes the current file search pattern. The Re-Read Current Directory option allows you to re-read the current directory from the disk in order to update its record of files and related file information. This is to update the display after a file has been edited or created, or after a file has been squeezed or unsqueezed. The Re-Log Current Disk option allows you to re-initialize the current drive. This command is used when you swap diskettes, but wish to stay logged to the same disk. The Change Directory option allows you to select the drive and directory that you wish to access. When this option is selected, File Commando will respond with the query: A> CHDIR to drive (A-D): A At this prompt, enter the drive you wish to be logged to. Notice that the default is the current drive, in this case A. Also notice the drive values located in parentheses. This is a list of all drives File Commando currently recognizes as being resident on your system. This list includes any RAM disks on the system, hard disk drives, 3-1/2 floppy disks, and 5-1/4 floppy disks; in short, any drives the system notes as existing. Please note that if you exit File Commando after changing drive or directory, you will be returned to the directory where you first invoked File Commando. 12 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦══════════════════╗ ║FILES IN A:\ ║FILE: *.* ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬══════════════════╣ ║ >A:\ ║VOLUME:SANDI'S_DSK║ ║ │ ║SIZE : 730112║ ║ ├CALCULAT─────┤DOCUMENT ║FREE : 272384║ ║ │ ╠══════════════════╣ ║ ├DESMET ║DIRECTORY STATS ║ ║ │ ║ FILES 14║ ║ └WORKAREA─────├SANDI────────├HOMEWORK─────├PROJECTS ║ BYTES 252788║ ║ │ │ │ ║TAGGED ║ ║ │ │ └ETCETERA ║ FILES 0║ ║ │ │ ║ BYTES 0║ ║ │ └RECORDS ║TODAY'S INFO: ║ ║ │ ║ DATE: 2-03-86 ║ ║ └SHANE ║ DAY : MONDAY ║ ║dn ║ TIME: 23:14 ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩══════════════════╣ ║ ATTRIB COPY DELETE DIRECTORY DISK EDIT PRINT RENAME SPACE UTILITY ║ ║ DIRECTORY functions: MKDIR and RMDIR. ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║A>Use the cursor keys to move marker, <CR> for selection, ESC to quit█ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ F1-CHDIR F2-SORT F3-COMPOSE F4-RUN F5-MARK F6-VIEW F7-FIND F9-DISPLAY F10-QUIT Screen 3.1: The Directory Tree. After entering an appropriate drive specification, the file display clears and the current directory tree structure is drawn onto the screen. A triangular cursor is located at the top of the tree, pointing at the first directory of the disk, which is always the drive directory. This directory, named by the current drive, will always be located on your disk. The cursor keys control the movement of the directory pointer. Any directory located to the right of another directory is subordinate to the directory on its left; all directories created by the user are subordinate to the drive directory. If there are more subdirectories located on the disk than is room to display them, then a down arrow key will be displayed in the bottom lefthand corner of the directory tree display. Once you have found the directory you wish to display, move the pointer to it and press <ENTER>. Pressing <ESCape> will terminate the operation and return you to the directory where you were previously located. The Change File Search Wildcard option is responsible for recognizing and controlling what files are displayed onto the screen from a particular directory. The current file search pattern is located on the second line of the screen, directly above the volume label field. The default value is '*.*', which displays all files located in the current directory. Setting this field to an alternate wildcard value would result in only those files in the current directory being read that conformed with the wildcard specified. For example, if you specify a wildcard of '*.DAT', File Commando will re-read the directory, recognizing and displaying only those files that end with the file extension '.DAT'. This option can be helpful to those with a large directory of files, but only certain files sharing a common file name factor that you wish to work with. 13 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP A wildcard is denoted by an asterisk, '*', and in this case marks the remaining positions in the file name open to any legal character. A question mark, '?', differs from the function of an asterisk in that a question mark holds the place for any character, but it has no control on the following character positions in the file. For example, using the wildcard 'W*.*' means that only those files beginning with a W are considered. The field 'F?.*' means only those files beginning with the letter F followed by only one legal file name character followed by any file extension are related. When this command is chosen, the following message is displayed: ENTER NEW FILE SEARCH WILDCARD: At this point, enter the wild card that you want your files to conform to and press <ENTER>. The next message displayed is: RE-READ CURRENT DIRECTORY WITH NEW WILDCARD? Y Pressing <ENTER> for Yes will re-read the current directory looking for files conforming to the file search wildcard entered. Pressing N for no will change the file wildcard, but will postpone re-initializing the screen directory until the next time the directory is read in by File Commando. Pressing <ESCape> at this point is like pressing N for no, the wildcard has been entered, and the next time File Commando re-reads the directory, the files that will be displayed will reflect that fact. Notice the current directory statistics only reflects the number and size of the displayed files only, not all the files on the disk. Performing this operation is like logging to a new directory on the same disk; the files of the other directory are on the disk, but you cannot access them until you switch back to it. One important note to remember, the file search wildcard is NOT reset to '*.*' when changing to another directory or disk, so if no file on the current directory or the directory being read in conforms to the wildcard specified, a NO FILES IN DIRECTORY message may result. 14 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F2>-SORT The SORT function, when selected, will display the following menu: ╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ SORT MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . SET PRIMARY SORT KEY ║ ║ 2 . SET SECONDARY SORT KEY ║ ║ 3 . SORT FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 3.2: The Sort Menu. Under this menu will appear the following line: A>PRIMARY SORT KEY :=FILENAME [up] SECONDARY SORT KEY :=FILENAME [up]█ Selecting option 1 sets the primary sort key for the sort. Selecting option 2 sets the secondary sort key for the sort. These two fields are used to sort the files and subsequently display them based on the file fields chosen, using the primary sort key to sort all files in ascending or descending order, and using the secondary sort key to resolve duplicate primary sort matches. Thus, a good secondary sort key for any sort is either the file name or file size, since it would be unusual, if not impossible, for either to be duplicated in the directory exactly. The arrow following both sort keys indicates the direction the sort will arrange the files. The choices available are ascending order (signified by the up arrow key) or descending order (signified by the down arrow key) order. Selecting option 3 begins sorting the files in the current directory based on the sort keys entered. The default for both sorts keys is the file name sorted in ascending order. If either option 1 or option 2 on the SORT MENU is chosen, the following menu will appear on the screen: ╔════════════════════════╗ ║ SORT KEY MENU ║ ╠════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . FILENAME ║ ║ 2 . FILESIZE ║ ║ 3 . DATE ║ ║ 4 . ATTRIBUTE ║ ║ 5 . MARK ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚════════════════════════╝ Menu 3.3: The Sort Key Menu. Selection 1 will set the sort key to filename, sorting the files alphabetically. Selection 2 will set the sort key to file size and selection 3 will set the sort key to the date on the file. These are sorted numerically. Selection 4 will set the sort key to the file's attribute, which will sort in the order of: 15 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP 1-Read only 2-Hidden 3-System 4-(1,2) 5-(1,3) 6-(2,3) 7-(1,2,3) 8-Archive 9-Read/Write Selection 5 will set the sort key to the file mark state (whether the file has been tagged or not), with the tagged files appearing first. Once you choose a sort key, the following message appears on the screen: ╔══════════════════════════╗ ║ SORT ORDER MENU ║ ╠══════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . ASCENDING [up] ║ ║ 2 . DESCENDING [dn] ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚══════════════════════════╝ Menu 3.4: The Sort Order Menu. Option 1 sorts the files in ascending order, from 0 to 9, from A to Z, whereas option 2 sorts the files in descending order. After making your selection, you will be returned to the SORT MENU. 16 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F3>-COMPOSE This command exits the File Commando shell and allows you to execute a DOS command or a program located on another disk. An example of its application follows. In some situations, you may wish to copy a number of tagged files to another disk that does not have enough space available. In this situation, instead of having to change directories to delete files to make room, you can simply execute <F3> and enter DIR plus the drive specification. This will list all the files on the drive and directory. From here, you can determine what files you wish to delete from this disk to make room for your new files. Next, delete any unwanted files on the disk by pressing <F3> again and enter the delete command plus the files you wish deleted. After DOS is finished, you can return to File Commando and use its COPY command to copy to that disk all the files that you have tagged. When the COMPOSE function is selected, the following message will then appear on the screen: PRESS ANY KEY AND THEN ENTER COMMAND! As the command instructs, just press any key to clear the screen and type in the DOS command or the program that you wish to execute. Once it has completed execution, the following message is displayed: PRESS ANY KEY TO RETURN TO FILE COMMANDO! After pressing any key, the now familiar screen of File Commando is redrawn onto your screen. 17 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F4>-RUN This command runs the current file selected in the file directory listing. The only limitation is that only files with the extensions '.COM', '.EXE', and '.BAT' files can be executed. If a '.BAT' file is selected for execution, COMMAND.COM must be available on the disk that you are currently logged onto. Once execution of the program is finished, control is returned to File Commando. When this command is selected, the following line is displayed: PROGRAM PARAMETERS: This is where you enter supplementary information necessary for the selected program to run. Do not re-enter the file name to be executed. After executing the program to your satisfaction and exiting, the system will display the following message on the screen: PRESS ANY KEY TO RETURN TO FILE COMMANDO As before, in <F3>-COMPOSE, after you press a key, the screen will clear and will redraw the File Commando screen. When executing this command, the Popback key can be useful. ┴ complete explanation of its function appears in section 2.1. 18 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F5>-MARK This command tags or untag files. Tagging a file marks the file and allows you to perform certain operations on the group of tagged (or untagged) files as a unit. This includes copying, moving, deleting, sorting, and changing the attributes of the files. Files are automatically untagged when an operation has been performed on them using the tag option. Retag will then retag all files that were just untagged during execution of a command using the tag option. To tag or untag the current file, there is no need to press <F5>-MARK. The plus key, <+>, and the equal sign key, <=>, will tag the current file highlighted in the file directory listing. An asterisk, '*', will then appear immediately to the left of the file name that you have just tagged. To the side of the file directory display, the TAGGED files section will then be incremented by one and the file size section will be incremented by the size of the newly tagged file. To untag the current file, simply press the minus key, <->. This will remove the asterisk at the side of the file name, and also decrement the number of tagged files and the tagged size. When <F5>-MARK is selected, the <+> or <-> keys cannot be used to tag or untag a file. Instead, <F5> tags or untags a file or files based on a wildcard pattern. After selecting the <F5>-MARK option, the following menu is displayed: ╔══════════════════════╗ ║ MARK MENU ║ ╠══════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . TAG FILES ║ ║ 2 . UNTAG FILES ║ ║ 3 . RETAG FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚══════════════════════╝ Menu 3.5: The Mark Menu. Selection 1 is the TAG option, which lets you mark specified files for later group consideration. Selection 2 is the UNTAG option, which lets you take the tag marking off of a file or files that you wish to remove from consideration as a group. Selection 3 is the RETAG option, which re-tags files that were previously tagged but were untagged due to execution of a command using the tagged file option. 19 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP When either selection 1 or selection 2 is chosen, the following menu is then displayed: ╔════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ TAG / UNTAG KEY MENU ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . BY FILENAME ║ ║ 2 . BY DATE (BEFORE, ON, OR AFTER) ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 3.6: The Tag/Untag Key Menu. If you want to tag a file or files by their file name characteristics, select option 1 from the preceding menu. When selected, File Commando will respond with: A>ENTER WILDCARD: FC*.* You must then enter the file name or file wildcard specifications that you wish to have tagged. Just for clarification, a wildcard allows any or no characters to take the remaining places in the filename. For instance, '*.EXE' will tag all file names with the file name extension '.EXE', whereas 'C*.*' will tag any file beginning with the letter C. If you select to tag or untag by date, File Commando will prompt you with the message: A>ENTER DATE: 00/00/00 At this point, enter the key date. If you wish to tag files falling before or after a particular date, remember to make the day one day later or earlier then the first day you wish tagged. Once you enter this date, File Commando will then display the following menu: ╔════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ TAG / UNTAG BY DATE SELECTION ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . BEFORE DATE ║ ║ 2 . ON DATE ║ ║ 3 . AFTER DATE ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 3.7: The Tag/Untag By Date Selection Menu. Selection 1 will tag or untag all files with a date falling before the date entered. Selection 2 will tag or untag all files with a date identical to that which you had just entered. Selection 3 will tag or untag all files with a date falling after the date entered. 20 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP After pressing <ENTER>, File Commando will find and tag, untag, or retag all files indicated. A tagged file is recognized by the asterisk, '*', immediately preceding the first character of the file name. In the tag operation shown, the tag operation was based on file names that matched the wildcard 'F*.*'. Notice that in the TAGGED file section, the total number of tagged files is recorded, along with their combined sizes. This is helpful when you wish to copy a number of files to another disk and/or directory, and need to know how much room is needed on the target disk where you wish to copy them to. FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦══════════════════╗ ║FILES IN A:\ ║FILE: *.* ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬══════════════════╣ ║ FILENAME FILESIZE DATE TIME ATTRIBUTE ║VOLUME:SANDI'S_DSK║ ║> COMMAND .COM 15957 11-10-1983 12:03a . . . ARC ║SIZE : 730112║ ║ DOC .DOC 4106 01-01-1980 02:22a . . . ARC ║FREE : 272384║ ║ *FC .EXE 64000 02-03-1986 10:32a . . . ARC ╠══════════════════╣ ║ *FC1 .SCR 2560 01-01-1980 12:37a . . . ARC ║DIRECTORY STATS ║ ║ *FCDOC .PG1 11382 01-01-1980 12:45a . . . ARC ║ FILES 14║ ║ *FCDOC .PG2 27671 01-01-1980 12:49a . . . ARC ║ BYTES 252788║ ║ *FCDOC .PG3 23903 01-01-1980 12:16a . . . ARC ║TAGGED ║ ║ *FCDOC .PG4 22310 01-01-1980 12:06a . . . ARC ║ FILES 7║ ║ *FCDOC .PG5 4203 01-01-1980 12:04a . . . ARC ║ BYTES 156029║ ║ IO .SYS 8192 03-14-1985 02:27p R H S ARC ║TODAY'S INFO: ║ ║ LPTX .COM 7808 10-27-1985 12:37a . . . ARC ║ DATE: 2-03-86 ║ ║ MSDOS .SYS 17176 05-16-1984 11:32a R H S ARC ║ DAY : MONDAY ║ ║ P1 .S 0 01-01-1980 12:01a . . . . ║ TIME: 23:09 ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩══════════════════╣ ║ ATTRIB COPY DELETE DIRECTORY DISK EDIT PRINT RENAME SPACE UTILITY ║ ║ ATTRIB is used to change or set a file(s) attributes. ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║A>█ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ F1-CHDIR F2-SORT F3-COMPOSE F4-RUN F5-MARK F6-VIEW F7-FIND F9-DISPLAY F10-QUIT Screen 3.2: The File Commando 'long form' screen with files fitting the description 'F*.*' marked. 21 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F6>-VIEW The <F6>-VIEW command allows you to list a file sequentially onto the screen. Before selecting this command, be sure the file you wish to view is highlighted by the file field. When the <F6> key is pressed, the screen clears and begins listing the current file. Currently, only the first 80 characters on each line are displayed, if more exist on the line a '->' will appear in column 80. All tabs are expanded to 4 blank characters. The screen appears in the following format: ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ VIEWING FILENAME. ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ (contents of file) ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ F1 -- NEXT LINE F2 -- NEXT PAGE F10 -- QUIT ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Screen 3.3: The VIEW command screen. Notice at the bottom of the screen appears the command line. There are three options. To scroll the file one line downward, press the <F1> Next Line instruction. To scroll the screen one video page downward, press the <F2> Next Page instruction. To quit viewing the file and return to File Commando, press F<10> Quit key. As you can see, this only allows you to view a file sequentially, from top to bottom. If this is not satisfactory, and you wish to be able to page through the file at will, use the EDIT command under the 'Space Bar' commands. This will view any file, but if you attempt to look at a '.COM' file or a '.EXE' file, only garbage will be shown on the screen. If you attempt to view a squeezed file, the message: filename IS A SQUEEZED FILE. will be displayed. Viewing a squeezed file will be supported in a later version. 22 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F7>-FIND Command The message displayed when the <F7>-FIND command is selected is as follows: FIND is used to find a file in the current directory or anywhere on a disk. This command will let you look for a file anywhere in the current directory, anywhere on the current disk, or anywhere on any specified disk on any drive. It will also search for a particular subdirectory name. After selecting this command, the following menu appears on the File Commando screen: ╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ FIND MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . FIND FILE IN CURRENT DIRECTORY ║ ║ 2 . FIND A FILE ON A DISK ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.9: The Find Menu. Selection 1 allows you to search for a file on the current directory. This is helpful when you have a large number of files in a directory. This can also help when you wish to rename a file, and need to know if the name appears somewhere else in the directory. This routine allows you to enter either a specific file name, or a specified wild card field. When and if the file is found in the directory, the following prompt is displayed: A>FOUND FC.EXE. CONTINUE SEARCH (Y/N)? N Answering N for no will quit searching the directory and place the file cursor at the file found. Answering Y for yes will continue the search. Else if no file matching the description you gave can be found, File Commando will display the following message: A>I'M SORRY YOU COULD NOT FIND YOUR FILE. Selection 2 allows you to search for a specific filename on any disk. This can be helpful in finding a file when you have no idea where it could be on your disks, or it can help protect a file with the same name from being overwritten by alerting you that there is a file by that name on the specified disk and directory. Once you select this option the following prompt will be displayed: After selecting the desired drive (note that the default is the current drive), the following prompt will be displayed: 23 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP After entering a legal file name which you wish to search for, File Commando will commence searching the designated disk for its occurence. If found, File Commando will display the message: A>FOUND A:\WORKAREA\SANDI\FC.DOC. CONTINUE SEARCH (Y/N)? N In this message, the directory in which the file was found is displayed as part of the path name for the file. In the example above, FC.DOC was found on drive A:, in the subdirectory WORKAREA\SANDI. The default to the previous query is no, which if entered will return you to the former directory. If this was not the file you were looking for, or you need to see if it is elsewhere on the disk, under a different subdirectory, enter Y for yes. File Commando will then begin searching for the filename from that point in the disk onward. If no file is found on the disk that matches the one you wished to find, File Commando will respond with the message: A>I'M SORRY YOU COULD NOT FIND YOUR FILE. 24 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F9>-DISPLAY Choosing <F9>, the Directory Display option from the function key commands, switches the directory display between the two formats offered by File Commando. The first directory display is based on the assumption that there are a large number of files resident in the current directory (as might be the case on a large hard disk), and that it would be useful to be able to see as many as possible at once. If more files are resident in the directory than are shown on the screen, the arrow keys,as described in the introduction to the screen (see diagram 2.1 and the following explanation), will move the screen up or down by one line, up or down by pages, or to the beginning or end of the directory listing. Under the 'short form' of the directory listing, you can also move from left to right to each individual file. As stated previously, File Commando comes up under the 'short form' file display mode. If this does not display the file information you wish to see, press <F9> to switch the display to the 'long form', which shows the file name, the file size, the date and time attached to the file, and the attributes of a file, if any. At the beginning of the file name will appear an asterisk, '*', if the file had been previously tagged. Movement through the directory is almost identical to that of the 'short form', except that the left and right arrow keys have no use under the longer, one-file-to-each-line display. Pressing <F9> again will return the file display to the 'short form' display. FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦══════════════════╗ ║FILES IN A:\ ║FILE: *.* ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬══════════════════╣ ║ FILENAME FILESIZE DATE TIME ATTRIBUTE ║VOLUME:SANDI'S_DSK║ ║> COMMAND .COM 15957 11-10-1983 12:03a . . . ARC ║SIZE : 730112║ ║ DOC .DOC 4106 01-01-1980 02:22a . . . ARC ║FREE : 272384║ ║ FC .EXE 64000 02-03-1986 10:32a . . . ARC ╠══════════════════╣ ║ FC1 .SCR 2560 01-01-1980 12:37a . . . ARC ║DIRECTORY STATS ║ ║ FCDOC .PG1 11382 01-01-1980 12:45a . . . ARC ║ FILES 14║ ║ FCDOC .PG2 27671 01-01-1980 12:49a . . . ARC ║ BYTES 252788║ ║ FCDOC .PG3 23903 01-01-1980 12:16a . . . ARC ║TAGGED ║ ║ FCDOC .PG4 22310 01-01-1980 12:06a . . . ARC ║ FILES 0║ ║ FCDOC .PG5 4203 01-01-1980 12:04a . . . ARC ║ BYTES 0║ ║ IO .SYS 8192 03-14-1985 02:27p R H S ARC ║TODAY'S INFO: ║ ║ LPTX .COM 7808 10-27-1985 12:37a . . . ARC ║ DATE: 2-03-86 ║ ║ MSDOS .SYS 17176 05-16-1984 11:32a R H S ARC ║ DAY : MONDAY ║ ║ P1 .S 0 01-01-1980 12:01a . . . . ║ TIME: 23:09 ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩══════════════════╣ ║ ATTRIB COPY DELETE DIRECTORY DISK EDIT PRINT RENAME SPACE UTILITY ║ ║ ATTRIB is used to change or set a file(s) attributes. ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║A>█ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ F1-CHDIR F2-SORT F3-COMPOSE F4-RUN F5-MARK F6-VIEW F7-FIND F9-DISPLAY F10-QUIT Screen 3.4: The 'Long Form' directory file display of File Commando. 25 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP <F10>-QUIT Entering this command allows you to exit from File Commando. When entered, the line: A> EXIT FILE COMMANDO? N appears. Notice that the default is N for no, which when entered will return you to File Commando. If you truly wish to exit the program, at this prompt, type a <Y> and press <ENTER>. You will then be returned to DOS. 26 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Section 4: The Space Bar Commands ATTRIB COPY DELETE DIRECTORY DISK EDIT PRINT RENAME SPACE UTILITY Each of the following commands, called 'space bar' commands, are selected by moving the highlighted command field to the desired command and pressing <ENTER>. To move the field to the right, press the <SPACE BAR>, to move the field back to the left, use the <BACKSPACE> key. Most of these commands have menus associated with them. If a command is chosen by accident, you can exit the command by pressing <ESCape>, as long as you have not completely entered all information required by the command and have not yet pressed <ENTER>. Once under a command menu, to move the selection arrow upward, press the up arrow key, to move the selection arrow downward, press the down arrow key (as shown in Diagram 2.1). When the selection arrow is pointing at the desired option, press <ENTER> to select that particular option. 27 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP ATTRIB command When this command is highlighted, the following message appears on the next line, called the command message line: ATTRIB is used to change or set a file(s) attributes. A file's attribute is a one byte flag maintained in the directory entry for a file. Its purpose is to enable files to be marked for special treatment under DOS. The file attributes allowed are the read/write attribute, the read only attribute, the system file attribute, the hidden file attribute, and the archive attribute. The Read/Write attribute allows for normal access to a file and no special mark is necessary. The Read only attribute only allows the file to be read from, not written to or changed. The System file attribute is for special system files. The Hidden file attribute hides the file from DOS' view. For example, IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM are two files that are located on some MS-DOS boot disks, but they will not show up when a DOS DIRectory command is issued, because their attributes mark them as hidden. The Archive attribute is used by DOS to mark a file that has been changed (see COPY - BACKUP command appearing later in this section). Each file's attribute is displayed under the 'long form' of the directory display, visible when <F9>-DISPLAY is toggled. Selecting the ATTRIB option will display the following menu onto the screen: ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ATTRIBUTE CHANGE MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . CHANGE ATTRIBUTE OF CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . CHANGE ATTRIBUTE OF TAGGED FILES ║ ║ 3 . CHANGE ATTRIBUTE OF UNTAGGED FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.1: The Attribute Change Menu. Selection 1 allows you to modify the attribute of the current file, Selection 2 allows you to modify the attribute of all tagged files, and Selection 3 allows you to modify the attribute of any untagged files in the directory. 28 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Once one of these three options has been selected, the next menu will appear on the screen: ╔════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ATTRIBUTE(s) MENU ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . SET FILE TO READ ONLY. ║ ║ 2 . SET FILE TO HIDDEN. ║ ║ 3 . SET FILE TO SYSTEM. ║ ║ 4 . SET FILE TO 1 & 2. ║ ║ 5 . SET FILE TO 1 & 3. ║ ║ 6 . SET FILE T0 2 & 3. ║ ║ 7 . SET FILE TO 1, 2, & 3. ║ ║ 8 . SET FILE TO ARCHIVE. ║ ║ 9 . SET FILE TO NO ATTRIBUTE ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.2: The Attribute(s) Menu Selection 1 will set the file's attribute to read only, Selection 2 will set it to hidden and Selection 3 will set it to system attribute. Selection 4 will set a file's attribute equal to both read only and hidden, Selection 5 will set it to both read only and system, and Selection 6 will set it equal to both hidden and system attributes. Selection 7 will set the file's attribute to all three; read only, hidden, and system. Selection 8 will set the file's attribute to that of archive, and Selection 9 will set the attribute to the normal file attribute, read & write attribute which has no identifying label. After a selection is made, the following message is displayed: SETTING filename TO ...... attribute The filename in the above message is the file whose attribute is being changed by File Commando; the attribute is the attribute that you have chosen to change it to. After the operation is done, the screen is then returned to the normal File Commando display. 29 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP COPY command The message displayed by the copy command when highlighted is: COPY is used to backup, copy, or move a file(s). This command is responsible for copying, moving and backing-up files to other disks or to other directories. Copy can operate on the current file, on a multiple number of tagged files, or on all files not tagged by File Commando. When this option is chosen, the following menu appears: ╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ COPY MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . COPY FILE(S) ║ ║ 2 . MOVE FILE(S) ║ ║ 3 . BACKUP FILES (ARCHIVE) ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.3: The Copy Menu. The copy files option, selection 1, will allow you to make an exact copy of the file. This includes transfer of its current attribute, date and time. It will copy this to another drive or to another directory on the same disk, without deleting the file in the current directory. You cannot copy, however, to the same directory since that would effectively mean overwriting the original. Two files cannot have the same file name in the same directory on the same disk. When the copy option is selected, the screen then displays the following menu: ╔══════════════════════════════╗ ║ COPY FILES MENU ║ ╠══════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . COPY CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . COPY TAGGED FILES ║ ║ 3 . COPY UNTAGGED FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.4: The Copy Files Menu. 30 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP After choosing one of the three options above, the following prompt appears: A>COPY to drive (A-D): A After selecting the drive where you wish to copy your files, you are then shown the directory tree structure of the disk which you had selected. Here you must select the particular directory where you wish your files to be copied to. Just move the directory cursor, using the cursor keys, to the desired directory and press <ENTER>. File Commando will then copy all indicated files to the chosen drive and directory. The move files option, selection 2 on the COPY MENU, allows you to move an exact copy of the file or files to another directory or drive. This differs from COPY in that it erases the file from the current directory after the move has taken place. This is used when you wish to clean up your working directories by moving less-used files to other subdirectories or another disk. When selected, the screen then displays the following menu: ╔══════════════════════════════╗ ║ MOVE MENU ║ ╠══════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . MOVE CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . MOVE TAGGED FILES ║ ║ 3 . MOVE UNTAGGED FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.5: The Move Menu. After choosing one of the three options above from the MOVE MENU, the following prompt appears: A>MOVE to drive (A-D): A After selecting the drive where you wish to move your files, you are then shown the directory structure of the disk which you have just selected. Here you must select the directory where you wish your files to be moved to. Just position the directory cursor, using the cursor keys, to the desired directory and press <ENTER>. The move command will then move the desired files to that location, deleting them from the current directory as they are moved. So, in case you attempt to move more files than can be accomodated on the chosen disk, only those files actually moved will be deleted, and the files still remaining will be left unchanged. 31 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP The backup option, selection 3 on the COPY MENU, is used to back up ARChive files located on the current directory to another disk. It then removes the ARC attribute from the file name. When selected, the system finds all ARC files in the directory and copies them to another directory and/or disk. When invoked, it displays the following prompt: A>BACKUP files to what drive (A-D): A First, notice that all recognized drives are listed in the parentheses. Secondly, the default drive is the current drive. After selecting a drive, it will ask you to select the directory where you wish your files backed up to. You may not backup files to the same directory. After the files have been backed up, the ARC attribute specification is stripped from the files in the current directory. 32 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP DELETE command The message displayed when the Delete command is highlighted follows: DELETE is used to delete a file(s). Selecting this command permits you to remove a file from the current directory. Several options are offered, as shown below: ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ DELETE MENU ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . DELETE CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . DELETE TAGGED FILES ║ ║ 3 . DELETE UNTAGGED FILES ║ ║ 4 . DELETE TAGGED FILES WITH QUERY ║ ║ 5 . DELETE UNTAGGED FILES WITH QUERY ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.6: The Delete Menu. Selection 1 will delete the current file (the file at which the cursor arrow is pointing in the current file listing window). Selection 2 will delete all files currently tagged by File Commando. After choosing selection 2, the message displayed while deleting the files is: A>Deleting filename... Selection 3 will delete all files not currently tagged by File Commando. If you choose selection 3, File Commando will display the files being deleted in the same manner as above. You may be able to abort this operation by pressing <>, but this will not restore the files that were deleted before <> was pressed. Selection 4 provides for deleting all tagged files, with a query provided before deleting each. This will look like this: DELETE filename (Y/N)? N Entering Y for yes will delete the file; entering N for no will not. This is repeated for all indicated files, providing you with more control over the process, protecting you from irrevocably deleting a file through careless oversight. Selection 5 provides for the same control in deleting all files not tagged by File Commando. 33 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP DIRECTORY command The message displayed when the DIRECTORY command is highlighted reads as follows: DIRECTORY functions: MKDIR and RMDIR. This command, as shown by the message displayed above, allows you to create directories and subdirectories, to delete directories and/or subdirectories, and to change the volume label of a disk. Selection of this command results in the display of the following menu: ╔═══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ DIRECTORY UTILITIES MENU ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . MKDIR ║ ║ 2 . RMDIR ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.7: The Directory Utilities Menu. The option MKDIR, listed as selection 1, will create a new directory on any drive, at any point in the directory tree structure. The option RMDIR, listed as selection 2, will remove any directory but the drive directory. If the MKDIR option is selected, File Commando will respond with the prompt: A>MKDIR to drive (A-D): A File Commando can verify how many drives are defined by to the system, this value is the maximum value you can specify. The default drive is the current logged disk. After you input the preferred drive, File Commando will then display the complete directory tree on the chosen disk. If more directory entries are defined than can be displayed at once on the screen, the display will have a down arrow at the bottom of the current display. Moving the cursor down past this point, using the down arrow key, will display the next group of directories until all are displayed. Moving the cursor back up the tree structure is done by using the up arrow key. Notice that all second-level directories are lined up in the leftmost column on the screen directly under the current drive directory, designated by the current drive name followed by a colon, ':', and a front slash. The current drive directory is the only first level directory on the disk with all other directories on the disk 34 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP subordinate to it. This directory will always appear at the top of the directory tree listing. Directories appearing to the right of these directories are subordinate to them and are referred to as their subdirectories. The lines drawn on the screen between the directory names show the tree structure of the disk. Under the directory tree display, appears an instruction line. <CR> stands for carriage return, or in other words <ENTER>. FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦══════════════════╗ ║FILES IN A:\ ║FILE: *.* ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬══════════════════╣ ║ >A:\ ║VOLUME:SANDI'S_DSK║ ║ │ ║SIZE : 730112║ ║ ├CALCULAT─────┤DOCUMENT ║FREE : 272384║ ║ │ ╠══════════════════╣ ║ ├DESMET ║DIRECTORY STATS ║ ║ │ ║ FILES 14║ ║ └WORKAREA─────├SANDI────────├HOMEWORK─────├PROJECTS ║ BYTES 252788║ ║ │ │ │ ║TAGGED ║ ║ │ │ └ETCETERA ║ FILES 0║ ║ │ │ ║ BYTES 0║ ║ │ └RECORDS ║TODAY'S INFO: ║ ║ │ ║ DATE: 2-03-86 ║ ║ └SHANE ║ DAY : MONDAY ║ ║dn ║ TIME: 23:14 ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩══════════════════╣ ║ ATTRIB COPY DELETE DIRECTORY DISK EDIT PRINT RENAME SPACE UTILITY ║ ║ DIRECTORY functions: MKDIR and RMDIR. ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║A>Use the cursor keys to move marker, <CR> for selection, ESC to quit█ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ F1-CHDIR F2-SORT F3-COMPOSE F4-RUN F5-MARK F6-VIEW F7-FIND F9-DISPLAY F10-QUIT Screen 4.2: The Directory Tree Structure. To place the proposed directory in the first sublevel of directories, move the cursor to the current drive directory at the top of the directory tree structure and press <ENTER>. If you wish the new directory to be subordinate to another directory, move the cursor to the directory in which you wish the new directory to appear, then press <ENTER>. For example, in the directory tree listed above, to place a new directory LIBRARY in the DESMET directory, move the directory pointer to DESMET and press <ENTER>. You will then be asked to: A>Enter name of directory to make: A directory name follows the same rules as file names. It can be up to eight characters in length, followed by a period and a three character extension using any character permitted in a file name. The name of the directory, as the name of a file, should be meaningful and logical. Using silly, senseless names can make it hard to remeber what is located in it and can cause misunderstanding. Do not enter the drive specification or the path name. The only limits to the number of directory levels is that the resulting complete file path, including the file name itself, must be less than 66 characters in length. 35 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP If the RMDIR option is selected from the DIRECTORY UTILITIES Menu, File Commando will respond with the prompt: A>RMDIR to drive (A-D): A After entering the drive containing the disk where the directory is located that you wish removed, the file display screen will clear and then display the current directory tree structure of the disk in question. Only directories which are empty of files and subdirectories can be deleted. This is a safeguard protecting you from accidentally deleting a subdirectory with important files or with other subdirectories in it. This is shown above. Now move the cursor to the directory you wish to delete. Press <ENTER> and File Commando will then display the name of the directory that was removed. The only directory that cannot be removed by File Commando is the root directory. If this act is attempted, the following warning is displayed: A>YOU CANNOT REMOVE A ROOT DIRECTORY! 36 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP DISK Command When the DISK command is highlighted on the space-bar line, the following message is then displayed: DISK functions: DISKCOPY, FORMAT, and VOLUME LABEL. The DISKCOPY and FORMAT commands currently only support 5-1/4 inch disk formats intended for the IBM-PC. It cannot format or diskcopy to or from hard disks, RAM disks, 3-1/2 disks, or IBM PC-AT 1.2M disks at this time. The VOLUME LABEL can be placed on any of these disks. When this command is chosen the following menu appears on the screen: ╔══════════════════════════════╗ ║ DISK UTILITIES MENU ║ ╠══════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . DISK CATALOG ║ ║ 2 . DISKCOPY ║ ║ 3 . FORMAT ║ ║ 4 . VOLUME LABEL ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.8: The Disk Utilities Menu. Selection 1 on the DISK Menu is the DISK CATALOG option. This option is not currently available, but will be sent to registered users when finished. When this option is selected the following message is displayed: DISK CATALOGING WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE TO REGISTERED USERS. Press any key to clear this line and return control to File Commando. 37 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Selection 2 on the DISK Menu is the DISKCOPY option. This option is intended to facilitate the copying and backing-up of diskettes. DISKCOPY makes an exact copy of a diskette, down to the volume label. It will also format previously unformatted disks before the transfer of any files. Any information (i.e. files) on the target disk prior to the diskcopy procedure will be lost. File Commando will make use of all available free memory resident on your computer to facilitate copying. Therefore, the more memory you have on your system, the less disk access involved and the faster the disk copy procedure will be. Currently, only 5-1/4 IBM PC disks (not PC-AT) are supported, although IBM PC-AT quad density disks and 3-1/2 disks will be added and supported in the near future. When you select DISKCOPY, the following menu will then appear on the screen: ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ DISKCOPY -- SOURCE DISK MENU ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . SOURCE DISK IN DRIVE A ║ ║ 2 . SOURCE DISK IN DRIVE B ║ ║ 3 . SOURCE DISK IN DRIVE C ║ ║ 4 . SOURCE DISK IN DRIVE D ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.9: The Diskcopy -- Source Menu. As you may have noticed, File Commando lists all available disk drives on the system in the above (and below) menu. Only select a 5-1/4 drive to copy from and to. After you select the disk drive your source disk is in, the next menu will appear on the screen: ╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ DISKCOPY -- DESTINATION DISK MENU ║ ╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . DESTINATION DISK IN DRIVE A ║ ║ 2 . DESTINATION DISK IN DRIVE B ║ ║ 3 . DESTINATION DISK IN DRIVE C ║ ║ 4 . DESTINATION DISK IN DRIVE D ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.10: The Diskcopy -- Destination Menu. When File Commando finishes copying all files to the target disk, it will then flash the message: DISKCOPY ALL DONE! Press any key to return control to File Commando. 38 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Selection 2 on the DISK Menu is the FORMAT option. This option permits you to format a diskette while still under File Commando. Only the IBM standard formats of single-sided or double-sided, eight or nine sectors per track formats are supported. At this time, only 5-1/4 inch IBM-PC (not PC-AT) diskettes are supported at the present time. We hope to support other disk formats in the near future. When the format option is selected, the following menu appears on the screen: ╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ FORMAT MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . FORMAT DISK IN DRIVE A ║ ║ 2 . FORMAT DISK IN DRIVE B ║ ║ 3 . FORMAT DISK IN DRIVE C ║ ║ 4 . FORMAT DISK IN DRIVE D ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.11: The Format Menu. After selecting the disk drive containing the disk to be formatted, the next menu to appear on the screen is: ╔═════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ FORMAT TYPE MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . FORMAT DISK SS/DD 8 SECTOR ║ ║ 2 . FORMAT DISK DS/DD 8 SECTOR ║ ║ 3 . FORMAT DISK SS/DD 9 SECTOR ║ ║ 4 . FORMAT DISK DS/DD 9 SECTOR ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.12: The Format Type Menu. Option 1 on the FORMAT TYPE Menu is the single sided, 8 sectors per track format. This gives you a maximum of 160 kilobytes of storage space available on the diskette. Option 2 is the double sided, 8 sectors per track format, which gives you a maximum of 180 kilobytes of storage space available on the diskette. Option 3 is the single sided, 9 sectors per track format. This gives you a maximum of 320 kilobytes of storage space available on the diskette. Option 4 is the double sided, 9 sectors per track format which gives you a maximum of 360 kilobytes of storage space available on the diskette. After selecting one of the options above, File Commando will prompt you with the message: A>INSERT DISKETTE INTO DRIVE C AND PRESS ANY KEY TO BEGIN FORMAT!█ To abort the format procedure, press <ESCape>. Remember, once you press any key, any information currently residing on the diskette will be destroyed. Make certain that the correct diskette is in the specified disk drive, then press <ENTER>. The following message will be displayed on the screen during the format: 39 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP A>FORMATTING DRIVE C TRACK..... 0 As File Commando formats each track, its number will appear on the screen in place of the 0. When File Commando is finished, it will flash the message: FORMAT ALL DONE! When this is displayed, press any key to return control to File Commando. Selection 3 on the DISK Menu is the VOLUME LABEL option. This option appends a volume label to the disk chosen. If one currently exists, this command renames the volume to the new name given. If this option is selected, the following prompt appears: A>CREATE OR CHANGE VOLUME LABEL ON DRIVE (A-D): A The default value is the disk where you happen to currently be logged. The current volume label for the current disk can be found on the VOLUME line of the File Commando display screen (on the right side of the screen, on the second line, below FILE: *.* line). If no volume label has previously been specified for this particular disk, the following message will be displayed: A>NO VOLUME LABEL FOUND. ENTER VOLUME LABEL: Else if the disk currently has a volume label, the following message will be displayed: A>CURRENT VOLUME LABEL ON DRIVE A is 'SANDI'S_DSK'. ENTER NEW ONE: A volume label is useful in identifying each disk; a unique disk label is a name tag. This volume label, once entered by File Commando will remain on the disk chosen until removed. The volume label appears on the screen in many DOS commands like DIR, CHKDSK, or VOL. A volume label can be 1 to 11 characters in length, conforming to the rules specified by DOS for file names. No period is allowed, however. The volume label must begin with an alphabetic character and can only contain the characters: A - Z, 0 - 9, ! @ # $ % ^ & ( ) ` ' _ - ~ { } After entering a valid volume label for the disk, File Commando will respond with the message: A>CONGRATULATIONS! F_COMMANDO born at 2:11:49 on 1-29-86. After pressing <ENTER> or any other key, this name will be placed on the volume label line of the File Commando screen. 40 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP EDIT command The message displayed when the EDIT command is highlighted is as follows: EDIT is used to edit an ASC file or patch (hex edit) a binary file. When this command is selected, the following menu appears on the screen: ╔═════════════════════════════╗ ║ EDIT / PATCH MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . EDIT CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . EDIT NEW FILE ║ ║ 3 . PATCH CURRENT FILE ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.13: The Edit/Patch Menu. Selection 1 is the EDIT CURRENT FILE option. This allows you to enter the built-in editor to modify the file that is currently being pointed to in the file directory section of the screen. Selection 2 is the EDIT NEW FILE option. This allows you to create a new file and edit it. Selection 3 is the PATCH CURRENT FILE option. This allows you to modify disk sectors associated with a particular file. The Editor that is available in this program is rudimentary text processor. It is not intended to replace your favorite word processor for typing long documents or programs. Instead, it is available to make quick corrections to a file, or to type a short note without having to first find, load and execute your word processing package or text editor. It can only edit files up to 30k in length. The function of the editor is discussed further in Section 5. The Patch command available in File Commando is a disk sector editor. It will be discussed further in Section 6. 41 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP PRINT command The message displayed when the PRINT command is highlighted is as follows: PRINT is used to print an (ASC) file(s). Do not select this command if you have no printer installed on your system. When this command is selected, the following menu is displayed onto your screen: ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ║ PRINT MENU ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . PRINT CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . PRINT TAGGED FILES ║ ║ 3 . PRINT UNTAGGED FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.14: The Print Menu. Selection 1 prints the current file. Selection 2 prints all tagged files. Selection 3 prints any files not tagged by File Commando. Once one of these three options are selected, File Commando begins printing the indicated files. All files that are to be printed out must be in ASCII format. Wordstar-like control characters will not be translated, but graphics characters are recognized. Any printer redirection programs already in operation before execution of this command will work to redirect any and all file output to a disk file instead of the hard copy device. As a last warning, be sure a printer is attached and initialized, the power is turned on, and enough paper is available to print the specified files. If this warning is not heeded, your system may or may not lock up. 42 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP RENAME command The message displayed when the RENAME command is highlighted is as follows: RENAME is used to rename a file or a sub directory. As the message states, this command allows you to change a file name or a subdirectory name to one you feel is more appropriate. This command will not allow you to rename the root directory (the one named by the drive specification), to rename one file to another file name that appears on the same disk and directory, or attempt to remove a file from one drive or directory and place it into another by virtue of its name. Wildcards are not used rename a file, either. When this command is selected, the following message is displayed: ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ RENAME MENU ║ ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . RENAME CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . RENAME A SUB DIRECTORY (DOS >= 3.0) ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.15: The Rename Menu. Selection 1 renames the current file, Selection 2 renames a selected subdirectory. After choosing selection 1, the Rename Current File option, the following prompt is displayed: A>New name: This field allows for the input of twelve characters, which is the limit for a valid filename. A valid file name conforms to the following specifications. The first eight characters can be any of the following: A - Z, 0 - 9, ! @ # $ % ^ & ( ) ` ' _ - ~ { } This is followed by a period, '.', then a three character file name extension, which can contain any of the above legal file name characters. A file name should have some meaning. It is wise to adopt some sort of informal file naming rules for yourself and stick to them. Some people name their data files by their creation dates, others name them by their purpose. By using logically derived names instead of silly, whimsical ones, you may save yourself some extra time and headaches later on when you need to figure out what they mean. After choosing Selection 2, the Rename Subdirectory option, the following prompt is displayed: RENAME to drive (A-D): A 43 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Subdirectories can only be renamed if you are currently running DOS 3.0 or higher. Otherwise, after entering the new directory name an error message will be displayed onto the screen. This is not a fatal error, just press <ENTER> to continue. After typing in the drive that contains the directory you wish renamed, press <ENTER>. The display will then show the directory tree structure of the chosen disk. Move the directory cursor to the directory entry you wish renamed, then press <ENTER>. The following prompt will then be displayed: A>ENTER NEW DIRECTORY NAME: Subdirectory names conform to the same naming conventions as file names. A directory name can be up to eight characters in length followed by a period and a three character extension. All legal file name characters are allowed. A subdirectory name can be the same as another as long as its path name is different. In other words, a subdirectory name can be repeated, but only under a different parent directory. This practice is not recommended since it can become confusing later. Try to make your subdirectory names as mnemonic and logical as possible to avoid later confusion. The only directory that cannot be renamed is the root directory, designated by the drive specification. When you attempt to rename this directory, the following error message is displayed: A>YOU CANNOT RENAME A ROOT DIRECTORY!█ 44 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP SPACE command The message displayed when the SPACE command is highlighted is as follows: SPACE is used to find out available disk space on another disk. This command is used to find out how much space is available on another disk, without forcing you to log to a new disk for this information. The amount of space given when asked is the amount of free space on the disk (see Section 2 on FREE: ). When this command is selected, the following message appears on the screen: A>Free space for which drive: (A-D): B After entering the particular disk drive specification that you wish information on, File Commando will return with the free storage space available on the chosen disk. This appears as: A>DISK SPACE AVAILABLE ON DRIVE 'B' is 262144 This command is useful when you wish to copy or backup a particular file or files to another disk, and a specified amount of disk space is needed. If not enough disk space is currently available, you can then log to that disk and delete files to make room or to remain logged to the same directory and search other disks for the required disk space. 45 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP UTILITY command The message displayed when the UTILITY command is highlighted is as follows: UTILITY functions: ABORT RUNNING PROGRAM, SET DATE & TIME and SQ/USQ. The UTILITY command is a catch-all section responsible for making available various utilities that are useful for computer or file maintenance and that do not readily fit under another category. The utility functions currently available are the SET DATE AND TIME, and the SQUEEZE/UNSQUEEZE. If the UTILITY function is selected, the following menu appears on your screen: ╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ UTILITIES MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . ABORT RUNNING PROGRAM ║ ║ 2 . SET DATE AND TIME ║ ║ 3 . SQUEEZE/UNSQUEEZE ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.16: The Disk Utilities Menu. Selection 1 is the ABORT RUNNING PROGRAM option. This command allows you to abort a program that you have executed using either the <F3╛ of <F4╛ keys in File Commando. This command is not guaranteed to work 100% of the time, it should only be used as a last resort. For example, if you execute a program and it locks, first pop back to File Commando using the AL╘ ╜ key. Then try using this command to abort execution. 46 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Selection 2 on the UTILITIES Menu is the SET DATE AND TIME option. This option allows you to reset the time, the date, or both on the computer system clock. The system time, as it is on the computer itself, is displayed in what is called 'military time'. The system of time we normally use in everyday life is based on two sets of 12 hours, AM and PM. Military time is based on one set of 24 hours, where 1:00 AM is 1:00 and 1:00 PM is 13:00. Just remember, if the hour is later than 12:00 noon, add twelve hours to the time to get the correct time to input into the system clock. To read the correct time from the screen, just remember to subtract twelve hours from any hour appearing greater than 12:59. If this option is chosen, the following menu appears on the screen: ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║ DATE / TIME MENU ║ ╠═══════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . SET DATE ║ ║ 2 . SET TIME ║ ║ 3 . SET BOTH ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═══════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.17: The Date/Time Menu. After selecting one of the above options, press <ENTER>. If you have chosen option 1, SET DATE, the following prompt appears on the information line: A>ENTER SYSTEM DATE: 00/00/0000 Enter today's date with the first two digits representing the month number (1 for January through 12 for December), the next two digits representing the day in the month (maximum of 31, 30 or 29, or 28, depending on the month and year), and the last four digits representing the year. The computer system will not accept a date of before January 1, 1980 or a date past December 31, 2099. If you have chosen option 2, SET TIME, from the DATE/TIME Menu, the following prompt will appear: A>ENTER SYSTEM TIME: 00:00 Enter the current time, making sure to add 12 hours if necessary. The first two digits are the hour field, the next two are the minutes field. If you have chosen option 3, SET BOTH, from the DATE/TIME Menu, File Commando will first prompt you for entry of the date, then the time as above. 47 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Selection 3 on the UTILITIES Menu is the SQUEEZE/UNSQUEEZE option. This command, for those of you not already familiar with it, allows you to make you files smaller by removing unnecessary file level information from a file in a pre-arranged manner. The file name is then changed by the addition of the extension '.*Q*'. This will notify you that the file is squeezed. Squeezed files are commonly used in transferring files over modem lines, since no one likes to pay for unnecessary telephone time. Most users who make use of this utility have experience with public domain and/or user supported software. Any file that is currently squeezed cannot be accessed in the normal fashion by a program. This is the purpose of UNSQUEEZE, which allows you to expand the file back to its original size and characteristics. When this selection is made, the following menu appears on the screen: ╔═══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ SQUEEZE / UNSQUEEZE MENU ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . SQUEEZE ║ ║ 2 . UNSQUEEZE ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.18: The Squeeze/Unsqueeze Menu. Option 1, the SQUEEZE command, allows you to reduce a particular file to a smaller one. Such a file will then be renamed with the current name plus a 'Q' appearing as the second character of the extension. Option 2, the UNSQUEEZE command, allows you to undo the squeeze, restoring the file to its original size. Choosing the first option causes the following menu to appear onto the screen: ╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ SQUEEZE MENU ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . SQUEEZE CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . SQUEEZE TAGGED FILES ║ ║ 3 . SQUEEZE UNTAGGED FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.19: The Squeeze Menu. The choices above are self-explanatory. Option 1 permits you to squeeze the current file displayed in the file listing. Option 2 permits you to squeeze all tagged files. Option 2 permits you to squeeze any files not tagged by File Commando. 48 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Choosing the second option, the Unsqueeze option, invokes the following menu: ╔═══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ UNSQUEEZE MENU ║ ╠═══════════════════════════════════╣ ║ ║ ║ ══> 1 . UNSQUEEZE CURRENT FILE ║ ║ 2 . UNSQUEEZE TAGGED FILES ║ ║ 3 . UNSQUEEZE UNTAGGED FILES ║ ║ ║ ║ Selection: 1 ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════╝ Menu 4.20: The Unsqueeze Menu. As above, the choices above are self-explanatory. Option 1 permits you to unsqueeze the current file displayed in the file listing. Option 2 permits you to unsqueeze all tagged files. Option 2 permits you to unsqueeze any files not tagged by File Commando. 49 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Section 5: The Editor FILENAME: FILENAME. LINE: 0 COL: 0 MODE: INSERT FREE: 40720 (contents of the file) COMMANDS: F1-DEL LINE F10-QUIT The Editor under File Commando is not intended to replace your favorite word processor or text editor. Its main purpose is to be on hand when you need to type a short note, make a quick change to a file, et cetera. It is limited to accessing and editing files smaller than 29k in length. To edit larger files, it is recommended that you use your customary editor. 50 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP The Screen On the top line of the editor screen, the following line appears: FILENAME: CALC.C LINE: 0 COL: 0 MODE: INSERT FREE: 40720 The first entry on the line is the file name chosen to be edited. Following it is the current line number where the cursor is positioned. The next entry on the line is the current column number where the cursor is located. Mode can be toggled by pressing the Insert key on the cursor keypad. When the editor first comes up, it is in INSERT mode, which means that when you begin typing, the editor will insert the characters ahead of the previous characters located at that cursor position. Toggling mode will display the OVERWRITE mode, which will type over any characters appearing at the cursor. The last entry on this line is the space free indicator, which counts down from the buffer size available to zero. If you are creating a new file, the space free will equal _____, else the space free will equal this value minus the size of the file which you chose to edit. When the free space counter reaches zero, the editor will display a message underneath this information line saying: BUFFER FULL. At this point, you can still move through the file, save the file, or delete characters or lines, but no more characters can be entered past the zero space mark. Although this editor will not open a file larger than 29k, it will allow edits increasing the size to 30k. If you are creating a new file, underneath the above information line will appear the message: NEW FILE! Press any key to clear this message from the screen. Along the bottom of the screen is a line containing the functions available in this editor. At the present time, only the <F1>-DELETE LINE key and the <F10>-QUIT key is available. To delete one character, press the delete key on the cursor pad. To delete the line where your cursor is located, press <F1>. To exit the editor, press <F10>. If you have edited the file, the following prompt appears on the second line of the screen: At this prompt, enter Y for yes if you wish to save the edits that you have made, enter N for no if don't. If you made no edits, or after entering your response to the previous prompt, the following prompt then appears on the second line of the screen: EXIT EDITOR (Y/N)? Y Enter Y for yes if you wish to exit back to File Commando, enter N for no if you wish to continue editing the file. 51 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Cursor Movement The movement up, down, around and in the file is controlled by the cursor keypad. Most IBM-PC compatible computers incorporate a cursor / number keypad with a layout similar to the diagram described below: ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ║ │ ║ Up │ ║ │ ║ Home │ ║ Arrow │ ║ PgUp │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ <- │ ║ 5 │ ║ -> │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ╔═══════╕ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ End │ ║ Dn │ ║ PgDn │ ║ │ ║ Arrow │ ║ │ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ ╙───────┘ In the diagram above, you may notice that the up and down arrow are not represented by their ASCII characters, but are instead represented by words. This is because many printers do not support the up arrow, the down arrow, the right arrow, or the triangular characters. So, wherever there is one of these characters in File Commando, we will use their verbal label instead or their character for those of you who may wish to print this documentation file out. You may notice that this diagram is repeated from earlier in Section 2. This is to make it easier to explain the following cursor movement. To move the cursor down one line, press the down arrow key. Likewise, to move the cursor up one line, press the up arrow key. To move the cursor one space to the right, press the right arrow key, (->). To move the cursor one space back to the left, press the left arrow key, (<-). To move to the first position on the current line of text, press the Home key. To move to the last position on the current line of text, press the End key. To move one word to the right, press the control key and the right arrow key simultaneously. This will put the cursor at the first character position in the word. To move one word to the left of the current cursor position, press the control key and the left arrow key simultaneously. This will place the cursor at the last character position in the preceding word. To move one page downward in the text, press the PgDn key. To move one page upward in the text, press the PgUp key. To move to the first position in the file, press the control key and the Home key simultaneously. To move to the last position in the file, press the control key and the End key simultaneously. 52 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Section 6: The Patch Editor FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP Patching: B:\CALC.C Relative Sector 0000 ( 0) Byte 0000 ( 0) Page 0 -0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -A -B -C -D -E -F 0123456789ABCDEF -00 23 69 6E 63 6C 75 64 65 20 22 63 61 6C 63 2E 68 #include "calc.h 00- -01 22 0D 0A 23 69 6E 63 6C 75 64 65 20 22 6D 61 74 " #include "mat 01- -02 68 2E 68 22 0D 0A 0D 0A 69 6E 69 74 69 61 6C 69 h.h" initiali 02- -03 7A 65 5F 76 61 72 69 61 62 6C 65 73 28 29 0D 0A ze_variables() 03- -04 7B 0D 0A 20 20 64 69 76 69 64 65 5F 62 79 5F 7A { divide_by_z 04- -05 65 72 6F 20 3D 20 22 41 74 74 65 6D 70 74 20 74 ero = "Attempt t 05- -06 6F 20 44 69 76 69 64 65 20 62 79 20 5A 65 72 6F o Divide by Zero 06- -07 22 3B 0D 0A 20 20 69 6C 6C 65 67 61 6C 5F 76 61 "; illegal_va 07- -08 6C 75 65 20 20 3D 20 22 49 6C 6C 65 67 61 6C 20 lue = "Illegal 08- -09 56 61 6C 75 65 20 6F 72 20 4F 75 74 20 6F 66 20 Value or Out of 09- -0A 52 61 6E 67 65 22 3B 20 0D 0A 20 20 6F 76 65 72 Range"; over 0A- -0B 66 6C 6F 77 20 3D 20 22 4F 76 65 72 66 6C 6F 77 flow = "Overflow 0B- -0C 22 0D 0A 20 20 70 69 20 3D 20 33 2E 31 34 31 35 " pi = 3.1415 0C- -0D 39 32 36 35 34 3B 0D 0A 20 20 72 61 64 69 61 6E 92654; radian 0D- -0E 73 20 3D 20 30 2E 30 31 37 34 35 33 32 39 33 3B s = 0.017453293; 0E- -0F 0D 0A 20 20 7A 65 72 6F 20 3D 20 30 2E 30 3B 0D zero = 0.0; 0F- COMMANDS: F1 - SAVE F2 - TEXT F3 - UNDO F10 -QUIT KEYS: L R U D PgUp PgDn Home The Patch command, located under the EDIT command menu, allows you to display and modify any byte in a file. The screen, shown above, is divided into two sections, the hexadecimal representation of the file and the ASCII display of the file. Modification of the file can be accomplished in one of two ways, either by changing the ASCII characters or by changing the HEXADECIMAL representation of the file. The line underneath the title line identifies the file picked by you to modify under the PATCH command. Under this line is the location line, which informs you where you are currently at in the file. The Relative Sector entry tells where you are located in the file. A sector is made up of 512 bytes. Only 256 bytes are on the screen at a time. The Byte entry tells where you are in the 256 byte block on the screen. Each of these entries have one number followed by another number in parentheses. The first number is the hexadecimal notation, the second is its decimal equivalent ( HEX(DEC) ). The Page entry tells whether you are in the first or second half of the sector. Page will vary only from 1 to 2. The following are the page byte value ranges for each screen: Page 0 --- Bytes 000(000) - 0FF(255) Page 1 --- Bytes 100(256) - 1FF(511) The bottom line of the screen defines the commands available to use in modifying the file. This line appears as follows: COMMANDS: F1 - SAVE F2 - TEXT F3 - UNDO F10 -QUIT KEYS: L R U D PgUp PgDn Home The L R U D keys represent the left, right, up, and down arrows, 53 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP respectively. <F1> - SAVE The Save command saves only the current edited sector of the file to the DOS buffer. When the DOS buffer is filled, the saved sectors are written to disk. If the DOS buffer is not filled before exiting the PATCH command, the buffer is then saved to disk. <F2> - TEXT This option switches the edit option from hexadecimal format to regular ASCII characters. Pressing <F2> once will switch the displayed prompt to <F2> - HEX When displaying the label TEXT, the editor is in hexadecimal edit mode, meaning that the only characters that can be entered are the numbers 0 - 9, A - F. These characters will show up in the hexadecimal portion of the file display at the cursor. When displaying the label HEX, the editor is in text mode, meaning that almost any characters can be entered. These characters will appear in the ASCII character portion of the file display at the cursor. Each character is two hexadecimal characters long. The character or number entered on the activated side of the display will correspondingly alter the other side of the display. <F3> - UNDO The UNDO command resets the current page to its former state. This is useful when you have extensively changed a section of the file by mistake. This command will then redisplay the current page as it was before you began changing it. Once you move beyond a page, however, the changes are recorded in the current file buffer. These changes will not be saved unless each changed sector is saved. The only way to keep these changes from being written to the disk file is by not saving it, thereby losing all edits made on that sector. <F10> - QUIT The Quit command exits the PATCH command, saves the DOS buffer if so indicated, closes the file, and returns to File Commando. 54 FILE COMMANDO (TM) VERSION 1.00 29 JANUARY 1986 COPYRIGHT BY SANDI & SHANE STUMP KEYS: L R U D PgUp PgDn Home End The arrow keys (up, down, left, and right) are used to move the cursor to desired location for editing. They will not advance the page. The PgUp key will display the preceding page on the screen. PATCH displays the file one half of a sector at a time, so if Page currently equals 2, then when <PgUp> is entered, Page will equal one. If Page equals 1, then when <PgUp> is pressed, the relative sector will be decremented by one and Page will equal 2. Once <PgUp> is pressed, the edits are saved to the current file buffer. These edits will not be saved to disk unless you press <F2>-SAVE while in that sector. The PgDn key functions much as the PgUp key did, in reverse. When pressed, it will display the next screen, either page two of the current sector or page one of the following sector. The Home key displays the first page of relative sector zero on the screen. The End key displays the last page of the last relative sector of the file onto the screen. 55