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ShapeShifter(tm) Archive Conversion System Copyright (c)1992-93 By Curtis Little All Rights Reserved "Software Solutions That Make Sense"(tm) Table of Contents License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 How to Contact the Support Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Required Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Overview of ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ShapeShifter Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Registering ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Using a Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Selecting menu items with a mouse . . . . . . . . . 9 Selecting an input field with a mouse . . . . . . . 9 Exiting an input screen with a mouse . . . . . . 10 Using a mouse on dialog boxes . . . . . . . . . . 10 Starting ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 ShapeShifter Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . 11 Specifying On/Off Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ShapeShifter Option Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Archiver Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Author Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Bad files directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Check for Self Extr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Command to Execute After All Conversions Are Complete 16 Command to execute after creating an archive with this archiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Command to execute before beginning the conversion session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Command to execute before creating an archive with this archiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Command to execute before extracting an archive with this archiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Convert archives containing subdirs . . . . . . . . . 19 Convert to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Create Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Create list of files converted . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Date Stamping Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Dir File(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Dir Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Extract Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 File Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 File Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 File Start,Len . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Keep original archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Keep original file if it's smaller . . . . . . . . . . 27 Log File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Logging Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Max age of files to convert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Memory to make available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Preserve Author Verified files . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 R. Just . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Recurse Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Recurse Subdirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Redirect I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Redo archives that are already the target type . . . . 33 Save Converted List in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Scan All Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Scanner supports subdirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 SFX Id String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Size Start,Len . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Strip attributes (HSR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 SubDirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Switch! to EMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Switch! to XMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Test Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Update BBS/Dir File With New Extension and Size . . . 39 Use 43/50 Line Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Use Switch! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Use Virus Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Appendix A - How ShapeShifter Detects Corrupt Archives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Appendix B - Archivers, Scanners, and User Programs Supported by ShapeShifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Appendix C - ShapeShifter Error Messages . . . . . . . 47 Appendix D - Specifying Command Lines . . . . . . . . 54 Example Command Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Appendix E - Answers to Commonly Asked Questions . . . 57 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 License You are granted a nonexclusive personal right to use this Software under the terms stated in this Agreement. Unregistered users are allowed to evaluate this software for a period NOT TO EXCEED FIFTEEN (15) DAYS. If, on or before this time expires, you wish to continue using this software, you must register by sending the registration fee to the author "Curtis Little" for EACH COPY to be used. A message may be displayed to remind you if you exceed the trial use period. You may not modify or alter the Software or any of the accompanying files and/or documentation. This license is effective until terminated. You may terminate it at any time by destroying your copies of the Software. It will also terminate if you fail to comply with any term or condition of this Agreement. You agree upon such termination to destroy your copies of the Software. The shareware version of this software may be freely distributed as long as the following conditions are met: 1) All files are distributed as is and in unmodified form. 2) No more than a $5.00 handling fee can be charged without the express written consent of the author "Curtis Little". 3) This Software may not be distributed with or as a part of any other product or software package without the express written consent of the author "Curtis Little". Registered users may not transfer or assign ownership of this license to any other person without the express written consent of the author (Curtis Little). Attempts to sublicense, assign, or transfer any of the rights, duties, or obligations hereunder is void. You may not copy, modify, alter, electronically transfer, or lease the registered version of this Software and supporting files. Registered owners may use this software on more than one computer providing there is no possibility it will be used on more than one computer at any one time. Business and government users of the Software are not allowed the evaluation period. Use in a business or government institution without first paying the required registration fee is in violation of this license agreement. By using the Software you acknowledge that you have read this agreement, understand it and agree to be bound by it's terms and conditions. 4 ShapeShifter License Warranty With respect to the physical diskette sent to registered owners, the author warrants the same to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 60 days from the date of registration. In the event of notification within the warranty period of defects in material or workmanship the author will replace the defective diskette. The remedy for breach of this warranty shall be limited to replacement and shall not encompass any other damages, including but not limited to loss of profit, and special, incidental, consequential, or other similar claims. The author specifically disclaims all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose and the program license granted herein in particular, and without limiting operation of the program license with respect to any particular application, use, or purpose. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT, LOST SAVINGS, COMMERCIAL DAMAGE, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE EVEN IF THE AUTHOR (Curtis Little) OR AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of California. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 5 Getting Started Acknowledgments In this manual several products are referred to: MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. PKZIP & PKUNZIP are registered trademarks of PKWare, Inc. ARC is a registered trademark of SEA IBM PC, XT, AT, and PS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc. How to Contact the Support Board An electronic bulletin board is used to support ShapeShifter. You may contact the support board 24 hours a day. The support board is: Lost At C BBS (303) 280-1007 You may also contact me via US mail at: PO Box 33613 Northglen, CO 80233 If you have any questions/suggestions regarding ShapeShifter feel free to call or write. The support board is open to the public, however, registered users will receive priority service. Required Equipment IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or MS-DOS Compatible MS-DOS 2.0 or above At least 256K memory available to application programs 6 ShapeShifter - Getting Started Introduction Overview of ShapeShifter ShapeShifter is a highly sophisticated program designed to make the task of converting from one archive format to another an effortless task. ShapeShifter is also handy for scanning files contained in archives for viral infections. ShapeShifter sports many options affording the user a great degree of flexibility (ShapeShifter can even be set to automatically update BBS dir files!). Since ShapeShifter is designed to be used as a command line utility, it can be used for unattended operation (unattended operation is effectively available to registered users only due to the opening delay screen). This manual is intended as more of a reference than a users guide. I don't expect that too many people are anxious to sit down and read a long boring guide about a program when it's relatively easy to make things work without doing so. At a minimum you may wish to read this section of the manual to learn how to call ShapeShifter, and then refer to the reference section of the manual when you desire to learn the specifics about a certain field or error message. This section of the manual lists the major features supported by ShapeShifter followed by brief instructions on the calling syntax for ShapeShifter. Later sections of the manual explain each of ShapeShifter's options in detail. ShapeShifter Features ShapeShifter's major features include the following: o Supports internal recognition of self extracting files. The user has the capability to specify how ShapeShifter should recognize self extractors as well (allowing future formats to be supported!) o Mouse support o Support for virtually all archive types both past and present. The user may configure ShapeShifter to use future archive types in addition to adding support for types not configured at default. (And I won't claim ShapeShifter - User's Guide 7 ShapeShifter is the only one to support this like some others do ;-) o Supports a user configured Virus Scanner. The user has the freedom to determine which virus scanner (if any) should be used. Even if your scanner doesn't support subdirs, ShapeShifter can properly handle it so even archives that do have subdirectories will have every file scanned! o ShapeShifter can not only log information about the files converted, but it can also automatically update the BBS directory file(s) for virtually all BBS types available today. o Supports author verified files created by PKZIP. Since many authors (like myself) use PKZIPs -AV feature to certify authentic files, ShapeShifter was designed to not modify these files unless you specifically tell it too. o ShapeShifter can run virtually all archiving programs to perform the conversion - including memory hogs that can't be run from other archive converters. (ShapeShifter uses Switch! technology to free memory for the archivers that need it). o Output of the archiver programs can be redirected (and *yes* this does include LHA!). o Nested archives are no problem for ShapeShifter. ShapeShifter can efficiently convert nested archives to the desired format. o Provides full support of subdirectories in the archives. If the archiver you're using supports subdirs, ShapeShifter can as well! o Provides full support for file attributes (read only, hidden, and system). If the archiver you're using supports attributes, ShapeShifter can as well! If you desire, ShapeShifter can automatically strip file attributes during the conversion. o 43/50 line mode for EGA/VGA adapters is supported. o ShapeShifter can recurse subdirs looking for files to convert, allowing simple conversion of every file on your computer's disk(s)! 8 ShapeShifter - Introduction o ShapeShifter allows a great deal of customization. There are numerous options to control operation as well as hooks you can use to call your own programs to do things such as save archive comments before conversion, and then reinsert them after conversion! It's funny to note the list above doesn't scratch the surface of ShapeShifter's power. ShapeShifter clearly sets new standards for archive conversion software. Registering ShapeShifter ShapeShifter is *NOT* free software. It is distributed as shareware to allow users to test it before purchasing it. (It is shareware instead of commercial simply because I prefer the shareware concept over the inflated prices that go with commercial software to cover overhead that the user doesn't care about anyway). If you like ShapeShifter please send the registration fee of $15.00 to the author. For a measly $15.00 you will help support this software and help insure new shareware products will be available from the author. Your $15.00 entitles you to use any version of ShapeShifter, and includes a way to remove the beginning and ending delay screens for all past and future versions of ShapeShifter. Using a Mouse ShapeShifter supports the use of a mouse. If you have a mouse driver enabled on your PC, ShapeShifter will automatically turn on the cursor and be set for use of the mouse. Note that due to the nature of ShapeShifter, the main place a mouse can be used is the configuration program (SSCFG). The command line program SS supports a mouse for the error message prompts only. Selecting menu items with a mouse Using a mouse in ShapeShifter is pretty easily. At menus simply put the cursor on the item you wish to select and click any of your mouse buttons. Selecting an input field with a mouse On field input screens, you may use your mouse to select the field to edit. Simply put the cursor on the first character of the input field you wish to modify, click, and the cursor will be moved to that field ready for input. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 9 Exiting an input screen with a mouse After you are finished editing fields on an input screen, you may use the mouse to specify whether to save or abort changes. Simply click the mouse on the portion of the bottom status line that contains the text describing what you want to do. Using a mouse on dialog boxes ShapeShifter displays prompts and error messages using a dialog box. With a mouse, simply click on the box containing the answer you want to give. Starting ShapeShifter When you call ShapeShifter you specify what it should do using parameters on the command line (default settings as well as a few options that can't be specified on the command line are configured using SSCFG.EXE). With ShapeShifter you are not restricted to using different types of parameters in a predefined order; ShapeShifter can handle parameters in any order you specify them. The types of parameters that ShapeShifter accepts are: o On/Off Options o Other Options o File names Options configure the way ShapeShifter operates. Any parameter that starts with a '-' or '/' is considered to be an option. There are two categories of options that you should be aware of. The first type of option can only have an on or off value. These options are specified with the following format: /option[+-] Note that the trailing + or - sign is optional, and if present specifies how the option should be set (+ = ON, - = OFF). If you don't specify a trailing sign the option defaults to ON. The second type of option is one that can have a value other than on or off. The format for this type of option is: /option=XXXXX Note that the equal sign followed by the value to set the option is required. 10 ShapeShifter - Introduction File names specify the file(s) that ShapeShifter should operate on. ShapeShifter allows you to specify as many filespecs as you like - any of the specified file names can contain wildcards. ShapeShifter Command Line Options There are quite a few options available that allow you to control how ShapeShifter operates. The following list shows the options that can be used on the command line (see the option reference for details on what each option does): /4 Sets the 43/50 line mode option. (On/Off Option). /A=XXX Sets the maximum age of files to process. (You must specify a positive number in place of the XXX listed here). /B Sets the option to keep the newly converted file even if it's bigger than the original file was. (On/Off Option). /C Sets the option to create a list of converted files. (On/Off Option). /D=X Sets the date stamping method to use. (You must specify one of the following letters in place of the X listed here: L (Last file date), O (Original date), T (Today's date). /E=XXX Sets the extension to convert to. (A valid configured extension must be specified in place of the XXX listed here). /F Sets the option to attempt finding self extracting files. (When this option is turned on, ShapeShifter will recognize .EXE files as archives if they're self extracting). (On/Off Option). /I Sets the option telling ShapeShifter whether it should redirect output from the archivers/scanner. (On/Off Option). /K Sets the option telling ShapeShifter whether it should keep the original files that are converted. (On/Off Option). /L=X Sets the activity logging level (You must specify a number from 0 to 5 in place of the X listed here). /M Sets option of mechanical (unattended mode) operation. (On/Off Option). ShapeShifter - User's Guide 11 /N Sets the option to support conversion of archives that contain nested archives. (On/Off Option). /O Sets the option to tell ShapeShifter whether it should redo options that are already in the target format. (On/Off Option). /P Sets option to protect files created with PKZIP's -AV feature. (On/Off Option). /R Sets the option for recursion of directories when looking for matching files to convert. (On/Off Option). /S Option to tell ShapeShifter whether it should strip Read/Hidden/System attributes from files contained in archives. (On/Off Option). /T Test mode only option. (On/Off Option). /U Sets the option specifying whether ShapeShifter should update the configured BBS directory. /V Sets the option to use the configured virus scanner. (On/Off Option). /X Set support of XMS and EMS for use by Switch! (On/Off Option). Specifying On/Off Options When ShapeShifter scans the command line it looks for options by looking for a leading '-' or '/'. Once a '-' or '/' is found ShapeShifter considers the next block of text (until a white space character is hit) to be options specified by the caller. On the command line you can turn options on and turn options off. The syntax for specifying an option is as follows: -option[-|+][option 2[-|+]][option n...] Immediately after each option an optional "sign" can be used to specify whether you want to turn the flag on (+) or off (-). If the sign isn't specified the option is turned on. To look at an example let's say you want to use ShapeShifter to strip extended attributes, use logging level 5, not redo archives already in the target type, convert to LZH (LHA), and recurse directories. The following lists several different ways to specify these options (all examples do the same thing): 12 ShapeShifter - Introduction -s -l5 -o- -r -e=lzh -s+ -l5 -o- -r+ -e=lzh -so-r -l5 -e=lzh As you can see there is a great deal of flexibility in how you specify options to ShapeShifter. Choose the method that you feel most comfortable with. In the following Chapter each of the options supported by ShapeShifter will be explained in detail. ShapeShifter Option Descriptions The remainder of this chapter will be dedicated to a description of all options supported by ShapeShifter. The configuration program SSCFG.EXE should be used to set the default values of each option to what you prefer. Command line options allow you to override the defaults you configure as well. In this chapter each option will be presented in alphabetical order using the following format: Screen title (fieldname as displayed by SSCFG). Command line specifier for this option (if available) Screen this option is on in SSCFG. Synopsis (Description of this option) Notes (any special limitations or notes about this option). Okay, enough with the introductions, I'll move on to the option descriptions. ------------------------------------------------------------- Archiver Name Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options ShapeShifter - User's Guide 13 Synopsis This option specifies the name of the archiver associated with a specific extension (see the 'Extension' option). The name you specify is used to display what archive type is being converted to. ------------------------------------------------------------- Author Verification Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies whether the archiver supports author verified files. Notes ShapeShifter currently only supports PKZIP -AV files. Other author verification such as ARJ's security envelopes are not supported. (This decision mirrors the fact that PKZIPs -AV feature is currently the only one in wide use for BBS files). If you have ShapeShifter configured to leave author verified files alone (see the 'Preserve Author Verified files" option) it will check for -AV files when converting from an archiver type that has the Author Verification option set to 'Yes' (On). WARNING: ShapeShifter does not use an external command or archiver to determine if a file has -AV. Instead, it looks direct into the file expecting it to be in ZIP format. ------------------------------------------------------------- 14 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Bad files directory Command Line Specifier ** Not available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies a directory for ShapeShifter to move files that it can't successfully convert. If you specify a value here, ShapeShifter will move all archives it encounters an error on when converting. (If the directory name you specify doesn't exist, ShapeShifter will create it). Notes ShapeShifter considers a file bad if *any* error prevents it from being properly converted. Errors that keep a file from being properly converted include disk errors as well as corrupt archives. For a complete list of circumstances that cause ShapeShifter to consider the archive to be bad see the appendix 'How ShapeShifter Detects Corrupt Archives'. ------------------------------------------------------------- Check for Self Extr. (Check for self extracting .EXE archives) Command Line Specifier /F[+-] SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option tells ShapeShifter to look at .EXE files that are encountered (as specified on the command line) as archives if they are self extracting files. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 15 Notes This option turns on ShapeShifter's support for self extracting archives. In addition to this option, there are options for each archiver that tell ShapeShifter how to recognize a self extracting file created by the archive program. WARNING: ShapeShifter doesn't use an external command to determine if a file is a self extractor. It looks direct at the files contents to determine if they are self extracting. ------------------------------------------------------------- Command to Execute After All Conversions Are Complete Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On External Command Options Synopsis This option specifies the command line that ShapeShifter will execute after all file conversions are done. Notes This option provides a way for you to do any special cleanup desired. Note that the standard fields available for command lines from ShapeShifter don't have meaning for this command line. See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to specify a command line to ShapeShifter. ------------------------------------------------------------- 16 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Command to execute after creating an archive with this archiver Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies a command line that ShapeShifter will execute after each new archive of this type is created. Notes The error-level set by this command is ignored by ShapeShifter. See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to specify a command line to ShapeShifter. ------------------------------------------------------------- Command to execute before beginning the conversion session Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On External Command Options Synopsis This option specifies a DOS command line that ShapeShifter should execute before it converts the first file. Notes This provides you a way to do preliminary setup before ShapeShifter starts it's operation. Note that if the program you specify returns an error level, ShapeShifter will consider it a signal to abort the conversion. See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to specify a command line to ShapeShifter. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 17 Note that the standard fields available for command lines from ShapeShifter don't have meaning for this command. ------------------------------------------------------------- Command to execute before creating an archive with this archiver Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies a command line that ShapeShifter will execute before *each* archive of this type is created. (See the section 'Command Lines' for details on specifying command lines to ShapeShifter). Notes If the command returns control with an error level set, ShapeShifter will consider the archive to be corrupt and will abort the conversion of the file. See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to specify a command line to ShapeShifter. ------------------------------------------------------------- Command to execute before extracting an archive with this archiver Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options 18 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Synopsis This option specifies a command line that should be executed before *each* archive of the current type is extracted. Notes If the command that is executed returns control with an error level set, the current archive will be considered corrupt and won't be converted. See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to specify a command line to ShapeShifter. ------------------------------------------------------------- Convert archives containing subdirs Command Line Specifier ** Not available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc options Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should convert archives that contain subdirectories. When you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will convert archives that contain subdirectories (if the archiver used to extract the file *and* the archiver used to create the new file support subdirs). When you set this option to 'No' (Off), ShapeShifter will not convert files with subdirectories - even if the archivers do support dirs. ------------------------------------------------------------- Convert to (Extension to convert files to) Command Line Specifier /E=XXX ShapeShifter - User's Guide 19 SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies the file extension to convert archives to. The extension you specify must be an extension that is configured as an archive extension using SSCFG. ------------------------------------------------------------- Create Command (Command to execute to create an archive) Command Line Specifiers ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies the command line required to create an archive with the specified archiver. See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to specify a command line to ShapeShifter. ------------------------------------------------------------- Create list of files converted Command Line Specifiers /C SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options 20 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should create a list of the files that are converted. If this option is set to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter creates a list of files converted in the file specified by the 'Save Converted List in' option. ------------------------------------------------------------- Date Stamping Method Command Line Specifier /D=X (Where X is replaced by one of the options listed below) SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option determines what file date stamping option ShapeShifter is going to use. The date stamping method may be one of the following: Date Stamping Method What it means -------------------- ------------- 0 or O Original date - converted files will have the same file date after the conversion as they did before ShapeShifter saw them. 1 or T Today's date - converted files will be time stamped with the date and time they were converted. 2 or L Last files date - converted files will be time stamped with the date and time of the latest file found within them. ------------------------------------------------------------- ShapeShifter - User's Guide 21 Dir File(s) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies the BBS dir file(s) to update (update only occurs if you have the 'Update BBS/Dir file with new extension and size' option set to 'Yes'). You may specify multiple filespecs in this field (separated by a space), and any of the filespecs may contain wildcards. Notes When you have ShapeShifter configured to update a BBS file listing, *all* files matching the specs you specify in this field will be searched for files matching those that were converted. For faster operation you should not specify filespecs that will cause excessive files to be searched. ------------------------------------------------------------- Dir Type Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies the type of BBS directory file that ShapeShifter should update. (You must set the 'Update BBS/Dir file with new Extension and Size' option to 'Yes' to tell ShapeShifter to update the file). The following dir types are currently supported by ShapeShifter: 22 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Auntie (v 511 format) PC Board (v14.5 format) ProDoor Quick BBS TBBS User Defined Notes The support for defined BBS types is current as of the release of this software. In order to provide support for future versions with a different format, or for a type not listed above, you may use the user defined type to tell ShapeShifter about the DIR file format. It should be noted that ShapeShifter can't support every possible file format. To be able to update a BBS dir file, ShapeShifter has three requirements: The column that filenames start in must be reserved for the filename and not overlaid with other data on any line. If data other than the filename can lie in the starting filename column, ShapeShifter may incorrectly think it found a file when it didn't. A file size field must be present, and it must reside on the same line as the filename. In addition, it must be non- zero. The filename and size must each start in a fixed column. To update a user defined BBS file listing type, you must specify the file and size starting column information. See the following options to specify the layout of a user defined file listing: File Start, Len Size Start, Len and R. Just ------------------------------------------------------------- Extension (Archive Extension) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** ShapeShifter - User's Guide 23 SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies the extension used by a given archiver (if you're looking for the extension to convert to, see the 'Convert To' option). The extension you specify is used by ShapeShifter to identify files created by this archiver. ------------------------------------------------------------- Extract Command (Command to extract files from an archive) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifiers the command line required to extract files using the specified archiver. See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for details on how to specify a command line to ShapeShifter. ------------------------------------------------------------- File Attributes (Does the archiver support file attributes) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options 24 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Synopsis This option specifies whether the current archiver supports Hidden/System/Read only attributes. Notes If you have ShapeShifter configured to strip attributes (see the 'Strip attributes' option), this option is ignored. ------------------------------------------------------------- File Offset (Offset in an EXE file to look for the self extractor identifying string) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archive Options Synopsis This option specifies the offset that the SFX Id string can be found. The offset can be a number between 255 and -255. The various values have the following meaning: Value Meaning ----- ------- 0 Tells ShapeShifter to search the first 246 bytes of the .EXE header. Most programs that create self extracting files put their copyright in this area. When the file offset for a string is 0, ShapeShifter will search the entire first 246 bytes for the SFX ID String specified. Using this method to detect a SFX file makes it possible to detect future versions created by the archiver that may not put the information in the exact same spot. > 0 A value that is greater than zero causes ShapeShifter to look for the SFX Id String at the specified offset from the beginning of the file. The first byte in the .EXE file is considered as being at offset 1. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 25 < 0 A value that is below zero causes ShapeShifter to look for the SFX Id String at the specified offset from the end of the file. The last byte in the file is considered as being at offset -1. ------------------------------------------------------------- File Start,Len Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies the starting column and length of the filename field in the BBS file listing. The value you specify here is only used when you set the 'Dir Type' option to user defined. ------------------------------------------------------------- Keep original archive (Keep the original archive in addition to the newly converted version) Command Line Specifier /K[+-] SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether or not ShapeShifter should keep the original archive file after conversion. If you set this option to 'Yes' (On) both the original archive and the newly created archive will be kept on the disk. You should set this option to 'No' (Off) to cause the original archive to be removed after being successfully converted. 26 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Notes It isn't possible for ShapeShifter to honor the redo archives option when this option is set (since redoing an archive implies you will modify the original). When this option is set it automatically overrides the Redo option. ------------------------------------------------------------- Keep original file if it's smaller (Keep the original archive if the new format creates a bigger file) Command Line Specifier /B[+-] SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether or not ShapeShifter should keep the original archive file if the new format creates a bigger file. If this option is on and a newly created file is bigger than the original, the new file will be deleted and the original archive will be kept. ------------------------------------------------------------- Log File Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies the file name (or logical device) that ShapeShifter should log information about files converted to. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 27 Notes The logging level option must be set to non-zero for activity logging to occur. The file you specify may be a logical DOS device if desired. For instance, PRN causes output to go to the printer attached to your computer on LPT1. If the file you specify already exists, ShapeShifter will append the logging information to the end of the file. ------------------------------------------------------------- Logging Level Command Line Specifier /L=X (Where X is replaced by a number from 0 to 5) SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies the activity logging level for ShapeShifter to use. When set to a non-zero value and a log file is specified (see the 'Log File' option), ShapeShifter will log activity as it converts files. The following table shows the various log level values and what they do: Level Result ----- ------ 0 No activity logging is performed 1 Lists file names converted in addition to errors encountered. 2 File sizes (before and after are added to data logged from lower levels) 3 Internal (nested) archive names that were converted are added to the data from lower logging levels. 28 ShapeShifter - Option Reference 4 Totals by subdirectory are added to the data from lower log levels. 5 Adds overall totals to the other log levels. ------------------------------------------------------------- Max age of files to convert Command Line Specifier /A=X (Where X is replaced by the number of days) SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option sets the maximum age of files to be converted. If you set this option to a non-zero value, only files that are newer than the conversion date minus the maximum age will be converted. The following examples show how this option works: Max Age Setting What ShapeShifter Does --------------- ---------------------- 0 Converts all archives that match the specified filespecs - regardless of age. 1 Only converts archives that match the specified filespecs and have a file date of yesterday or later. 2 Only converts archives that match the specified filespecs and have a file date no more than 2 days old. ------------------------------------------------------------- Memory to make available (Amount of memory to free for archiver) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** ShapeShifter - User's Guide 29 SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies the amount of memory to make available for the archiver when Switch! is used (see the 'Use Switch!' option). Notes A value of 640 as well as 0 causes the maximum amount of memory to be freed for running the current archiver. ------------------------------------------------------------- Preserve Author Verified files Command Line Specifier /L SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should leave -AV files (created by PKZIP) alone when it converts files. ------------------------------------------------------------- R. Just (Is the file size field right justified) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether or not the file size field is right justified when you use a user defined dir type. (See the 'Dir Type' option). 30 ShapeShifter - Option Reference ------------------------------------------------------------- Recurse Archives (Convert archives that are nested inside other archives) Command Line Specifier /N SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether archives inside files that are converted should also be converted. If this option is set to 'No' (Off), any archives inside a file being converted will be untouched. If this option is set to 'Yes' (On), archives within files being converted will also be converted. ShapeShifter can properly handle nested archives to virtually any level. Notes If you set this option to 'No', ShapeShifter will still successfully convert (if no other errors occur) archives that contain nested archives. Be aware that archives within converted files will be left in their original format unless you turn this option on though. ------------------------------------------------------------- Recurse Subdirs (Recurse subdirectories looking for matching files to convert) Command Line Specifier /R SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options ShapeShifter - User's Guide 31 Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should search subdirectories for the specified files as it looks for files to convert. If you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter searches the child directories of each file specification looking for matching files. If you set this option to 'No' (Off), ShapeShifter will only look in the directories specified for filespecs. Notes The file specifications you use with ShapeShifter are honored even when this option is set. Consider the following examples: File Spec What ShapeShifter does with Recurse On --------- -------------------------------------- *.ZIP Searches the current directory as well as child directories for .ZIP files to convert. \*.* Searches the entire current drive for files of any of the configured archive types to convert. ------------------------------------------------------------- Redirect I/O (Redirect I/O from the virus scanners and archivers) Command Line Specifier /I SSCFG Screen This Option Is On Misc Options Synopsis This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter attempts to redirect the output from archivers and the virus scanner. Note ShapeShifter's output redirection requires output to be DOS redirectable. (Note, ShapeShifter *can* successfully redirect output from LHA and similar programs!). 32 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Although ShapeShifter can redirect output, it isn't really necessary. ShapeShifter can cause all but direct screen writes to be within it's defined window area. ------------------------------------------------------------ Redo archives that are already the target type Command Line Specifier /O SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter will recreate archives that are already in the target format. Notes Recreation of archives already in the target format is a handy way to remove BBS ad comments in addition to allowing you to insure the maximum compression of the archiver was used. ------------------------------------------------------------- Save Converted List in Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies the filename (or logical device) for ShapeShifter to save the list of filenames that were converted. Notes You may specify a filename or a DOS device for output of the converted files list. For example, PRN causes output to go to the device attached to LPT1. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 33 If you specify the name of a file that already exists, ShapeShifter will append the converted file names to the end of the file. ------------------------------------------------------------- Scan All Files Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option tells ShapeShifter whether it should scan all files in an archive including those in a protected -AV file or in an internal archive that isn't being converted. Notes Setting this option to Yes will cause ShapeShifter to expand files it doesn't intend to convert for purposes of virus scanning (assuming you have it configured to scan for virii). When this option is set to Yes, ShapeShifter expands -AV files even if you have the option set to protect them. In addition, it will expand internal archives for scanning regardless the setting of the recurse archives option. The files that are expanded as a result of this option but normally wouldn't be converted will not be replaced after the contents are scanned for virii (i.e. protected -AV files and internal archives when recurse archives is off). If this option is turned off, ShapeShifter won't even attempt to expand the contents of protected files. ------------------------------------------------------------- Scanner Command Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** 34 ShapeShifter - Option Reference SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option allows you to specify the DOS command line for the virus scanner of your choice. Notes See the appendix 'Specifying Command Lines' for information on special features available in ShapeShifter for command line specification. ShapeShifter requires a virus scanner that sets the DOS error level if a virus is detected (if you desire to use a virus scanner). The scanner should use an exit code (errorlevel) of 0 if there were no viral infections detected. A non-zero exit code is interpreted by ShapeShifter as saying one or more of the files are infected. ------------------------------------------------------------- Scanner supports subdirs Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether or not the virus scanner you're using supports automatic searching of child directories. Notes ShapeShifter doesn't require a scanner that supports subdirs. If you set this option to 'No' (Off), ShapeShifter will call the scanner to look at files in each directory as required. Setting this option to 'Yes' (On) may be faster for virus scanners that support dirs. ------------------------------------------------------------- ShapeShifter - User's Guide 35 SFX Id String (Self extracting identification string in an EXE file for this archiver) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archive Options Synopsis This option specifies the string that this archiver puts in the EXE file when it creates a self extracting file. This option works with the File Offset option to allow ShapeShifter a method of detecting self extracting files. The flexibility to specify how these files are detected give you the capability to add support for future archive programs that create them. ------------------------------------------------------------- Size Start,Len Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option sets the starting column and length of the file size field in a user defined BBS listing. ShapeShifter will only use the values you specify here if you set the 'Dir Type' option to user defined. Take a look at the 'R. Just' option to specify whether or not the file size field is right justified. ------------------------------------------------------------- 36 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Strip attributes (HSR) Command Line Specifier /S SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option allows you to tell ShapeShifter to remove Hidden, System, and Read Only attributes found on files that are inside archives being converted. If you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will remove all hidden/system/read only file attributes. Notes If the archiver you're converting to doesn't support file attributes and this option is off, ShapeShifter will report an error on attempts to convert any archive that contains files with one of the attributes set. If on the otherhand you turn this option on, ShapeShifter will remove the file attributes thus allowing the archiver to handle the files. ------------------------------------------------------------- SubDirs (Does the archiver support subdirs) Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies whether the current archiver supports subdirectories within archives. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 37 Notes If you have ShapeShifter configured to support subdirs (see the 'Convert archives containing subdirs' option) and this option is set to 'No' (Off), ShapeShifter will not allow conversion of archives with subdirs when converting to this type of archive. Note that if ShapeShifter isn't configured to support conversion of archives with subdirs, this option is ignored. ------------------------------------------------------------- Switch! to EMS Command Line Specifier /X (Note: This command line specifier also enables use of XMS as a first choice) SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter uses EMS when Switch!ing memory. Notes Switch! is only used if you configure it to be used for a given archiver. (See the 'Use Switch' option description). ------------------------------------------------------------- Switch! to XMS Command Line Specifier /X (Note: This command line specifier also enables use of EMS as a second choice) SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options 38 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Synopsis This option controls whether or not ShapeShifter uses XMS when Switch!ing memory. Notes Switch! is only used if you configure it to be used for a given archiver. (See the 'Use Switch' option description). ------------------------------------------------------------- Test Only Command Line Specifier /T SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis When this option is set to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will go through all the steps to convert the files you specify without actually creating or removing the old files. ------------------------------------------------------------- Update BBS/Dir File With New Extension and Size Command Line Specifier /U SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Option Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should update a BBS type DIR file with the new file extensions and sizes. If you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will update the file(s) specified (see the 'Dir File(s)' option). ShapeShifter - User's Guide 39 Notes ShapeShifter uses several options to determine how to locate file names and sizes in the BBS directory for updating. See the 'Dir Type' option description. ------------------------------------------------------------- Use 43/50 Line Mode Command Line Specifier /4 SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should operate using 43/50 line mode instead of the standard 25 lines. Notes This option is only available with an EGA, VGA, or equivalent. ------------------------------------------------------------- Use Switch! Command Line Specifier ** Not Available ** SSCFG Screen This Option is On Archiver Options Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should use Switch! for the current archiver. Switch! is a special function that allows ShapeShifter to free virtually all the memory it is using to make it available for running the archiver. 40 ShapeShifter - Option Reference Notes This option is closely related to several other options: Memory to make available Switch! to EMS Switch! to XMS ------------------------------------------------------------- Use Virus Scanner Command Line Specifier /V SSCFG Screen This Option is On Misc Options Synopsis This option specifies whether ShapeShifter should use the configured virus scanner (see the 'Scanner Command' option). If you set this option to 'Yes' (On), ShapeShifter will use the virus scanner you specified with SSCFG. Notes ShapeShifter requires a virus scanner that sets the DOS error level if a virus is detected (if you desire to use a virus scanner). The scanner should use an exit code (errorlevel) of 0 if there were no viral infections detected. A non-zero exit code is interpreted by ShapeShifter as saying one or more of the files are infected. ------------------------------------------------------------- ShapeShifter - User's Guide 41 Appendices Appendix A - How ShapeShifter Detects Corrupt Archives. There are many circumstances that can keep an archive from being successfully converted. The following is an alphabetic list by error message (as displayed on the ShapeShifter conversion screen) detailing all valid reasons for stoppage of a conversion, and whether the file will be considered corrupt by ShapeShifter (i.e. a corrupt file is moved to the configured bad files directory). Note that ShapeShifter will *NOT* delete a file for being corrupt - this is a decision best left to the user! Archive Moved Reason for failure To Bad Files Dir ------------------ ---------------- (-AV File) Author verification was detected in *NO* the file and you have ShapeShifter configured to preserve author verified files. (This is not considered as a corrupt archive - it just keeps ShapeShifter from modifying the file). (AttrAbort) File attributes are contained in the Yes archive to be converted when the type of archive you're converting to isn't configured as supporting attributes (and you don't have ShapeShifter set to strip attributes). (Corrupt) Archiver returns with an error level Yes set when ShapeShifter attempts to extract the contents of a file. (CreateErr) The archiver returned with an error Yes level set when ShapeShifter attempted to create the new file. (CreateErr) The target file already exists. Yes (CreateErr) The expected target file couldn't be Yes found after the archive creation command was completed. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 43 (DirAbort) Subdirectories were detected in the Yes archive when the type of archive you're converting to isn't configured as supporting dirs, or ShapeShifter is configured to not allow conversion of files containing subdirs. (EXEC Err) Failure to spawn the archiver, virus Yes scanner, or a user command (i.e. not enough memory, command not found, etc) (INFECTED!) Virus Scanner returns with an error Yes level set. (RedoAbort) When attempting to redo an archive Yes that was already in the target format, ShapeShifter was unable to generate a unique filename. (It tries 1000 different extensions when attempting to create a temp file for the conversion). (Scan Only) The file was not converted because *NO* it was looked at for purposes of virus scanning only. The file is protected from conversion based on the options that are set. (Size Skip) The conversion of the file is skipped *NO* because the new file is larger than the original. The original file will be kept. (Skipped) Skipped file because it is already *NO* in the target format and ShapeShifter isn't configured to redo archives already in the target format. (SysError) Internal program error Yes (This occurs if a system or internal error in ShapeShifter occurs). 44 ShapeShifter Appendices (UserAbort) User configured program returns with Yes an error level set. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 45 Appendix B - Archivers, Scanners, and User Programs Supported by ShapeShifter ShapeShifter supports a wide variety of programs including user commands that allow you to customize operation for a variety of situations. There is one *major* requirement for a program to work properly with ShapeShifter - use of the DOS error level (exit code). ShapeShifter expects commands to return with the error level set if an error is detected (it doesn't matter what the error level is set to - as long as it's non-zero). Likewise, ShapeShifter expects the error level to be cleared (set to zero) when an error doesn't occur. Any program that returns control to ShapeShifter with a non-zero errorlevel set without an error condition can't be used. On the other hand, if a program always returns control with the error level cleared, ShapeShifter will work with the program but will be crippled in that it can't detect when an archive is corrupt. 46 ShapeShifter Appendices Appendix C - ShapeShifter Error Messages This appendix gives a list (alphabetical) of the common ShapeShifter error messages. Each message is accompanied by a short description describing what the message means. Abort ShapeShifter? This message is displayed when the ESCape key is pressed during a conversion session. Aborted: Archive creation error This message occurs when the archiver fails to create the archive as expected. Note that this message is only used when you have activity logging turned on. Aborted: Contains subdirs This message occurs when ShapeShifter fails to convert an archive because it contains subdirs and the archive being converted to doesn't support dirs (or you have ShapeShifter configured not to support them). Note that this message is only used when you have activity logging turned on. Aborted: Contains attributes This message occurs when ShapeShifter fails to convert an archive because one or more files in the archive have an attribute set, and the archive type you're converting to isn't configured as supporting attributes. You may also specify the strip attributes option to overcome this problem. Note that this message is only used when you have activity logging turned on. Aborted: Internal error This message occurs when an internal error in ShapeShifter kept the archive from being properly converted. Note that this message is only used when you have activity logging turned on. Aborted: User program canceled This message occurs when a user configured program returns a non-zero exit code (causing the conversion of the current archive to be aborted). Note that this message is only used when you have activity logging turned on. Aborted: VIRUS! INFECTED! This message occurs when the configured virus scanner returns a non-zero exit code after scanning files contained in an archive. Note that this message is only used when you have activity logging turned on. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 47 <ext>: Already defined for archiver (<archiver name>). Replace? This message is displayed by SSCFG when you save archiver information containing an extension already defined for another archiver. ShapeShifter only supports one archiver per extension, so it isn't possible to have the same extension listed for use with two different archivers (although you may use different archivers for the create and extract commands since you specify the command line to be used! Typically this is done for programs such as PKZIP that use separate programs to create and extract files). Archiver name must be specified. This message is displayed by SSCFG when you attempt to save information about an archiver with the archiver name listed as blank. The archiver name is a mandatory field - if you don't want to save the archiver information abort by pressing ESCape instead of using the F10 key. AttrAbort This message is displayed in the work history window for a file that is not converted since it contains attributes, and the archive type you're converting to isn't configured as supporting attributes. (Use the strip attributes option to overcome this). -AV File This message is displayed next to a file in the work history window to indicate the file wasn't converted because it contained the PKZIP -AV marking (and you have ShapeShifter configured to leave AV files alone). Both the redo & protect options are set - ignoring the redo option This message is displayed when you specify ShapeShifter should redo existing archives AND keep the old files. (Since redoing a file implies it will be changed, it is not possible to redo the file and keep the old one too. This message just lets you know that ShapeShifter is protecting the original files and ignoring the request to redo files that are already in the target format). Complete This message is displayed in the work history window (and log file) indicating a file was successfully converted. Configuration not initialized. Run SSCFG. Before you use ShapeShifter for the first time you *must* run the configuration program. Run SSCFG and save the configuration to overcome this message. 48 ShapeShifter Appendices Corrupt This message is displayed in the work history window (and log file) indicating an archive was corrupt. ShapeShifter considers the archive corrupt when the archiver used to extract the files returns a non-zero exit code. CreateErr This message is displayed in the work history window. It occurs when any of the following happen: Archiver returns a non-zero exit code when ShapeShifter asks it to create the new archive. The target file already exists. (I.E. you're converting TEST.ZIP to LZH and TEST.LZH already exists). The new archive file can't be found after the conversion is complete. Create command appears to be missing the archive file name specifier. This message is displayed by SSCFG when you save the information about an archiver if the create command doesn't contain one of the substitution fields to specify the filename. Since an archiver generally requires the name of the file that should be created you probably should add the proper substitution field so ShapeShifter can tell the archiver which file is being worked on. (It is suggested you use the %1 field, but other fields are also available). DirAbort This message is displayed in the work history window when an archive conversion is aborted because the archive contains dirs (and the archive type you're converting to doesn't support them OR ShapeShifter is configured to not allow conversion of archives containing subdirs). Error: Invalid option (X) This message occurs when you specify an invalid command line option (the X is replaced by the letter of the invalid option). EXEC Err This message is displayed in the work history window when an error keeps one of the configured commands from being executed (archiver, virus scanner, and user commands are included). In general this error means the command you specified either doesn't exist in your path, or there isn't ShapeShifter - User's Guide 49 enough memory to run the command. Memory problems for the archivers can be overcome by using the Switch! option. If you're having memory problems for other commands - please let me know - if there is a need I can add use of Switch! for all commands. EXEC Failure This message means the same as EXEC Err (listed above), except this message is what appears in the activity log. Extension is blank. Save record anyway? This message is displayed by SSCFG when you ask to save information about an archiver with a blank extension. Although this isn't really an error, it's brought to your attention because most archivers use a non-blank extension for archives created. Extract command appears to be missing the archive file name specifier. This message is displayed by SSCFG when you save the information about an archiver if the extract command doesn't contain one of the substitution fields to specify the filename. Since an archiver generally requires the name of the file that should be extracted you should add the proper substitution field so ShapeShifter can tell the archiver which file is being worked on. (It is suggested you use the %1 field, but other fields are also available). File length too large. This error message is displayed by SSCFG when the file length (for the user defined BBS dir) is too large. The maximum value ShapeShifter allows is 70. <file>: Has a size bigger than the size field! <file size> This error occurs when ShapeShifter is asked to update a dir file that contains a file size field that is defined as being smaller than the minimum required for the file. (For example, the dir type has a file size of 6 associated with it, and the actual file size is over 999,999 bytes). INFECTED! This is the message that is displayed in the work history window when the virus scanner indicates one or more files inside an archive are infected with a virus. Invalid date stamping method: An invalid date stamping method was specified on the command line. 50 ShapeShifter Appendices No file(s) specified/found to convert. This occurs when you don't specify filespecs to convert, or if there aren't any files of a configured archive type that match the filespecs you specify. No matching dir files! This occurs when you have the option set to update a BBS dir file, but no DIR files are found matching the filespecs you configured. Pre command returned error: <9> Continue conversion? This message is displayed when the external pre command (the one that is ran before any conversions are done) returns a non-zero exit code. <file>: Read error. There was an error encountered when ShapeShifter tried to read the specified file. RedoAbort This message is displayed in the work history window when ShapeShifter is unable to create a unique extension for a file already in the target format that is being redone. ShapeShifter tries 1000 different extensions before giving up. Scan Only This message is displayed in the work history window when a file is not converted because it was being scanned only (i.e. an internal archive when you have ShapeShifter set not to convert them). SFX Offset must be between 255 and -255 This message is displayed by SSCFG when the value you specify for the file offset of the SFX Id String is outside the range of 255 to -255. Size length too large. This message is displayed by SSCFG when the length of the size field (for the user defined BBS type) exceeds the maximum ShapeShifter allows. The maximum supported is 20 characters. Size Skip This message is displayed in the work history window when a file is skipped because the new file would be larger than the original file was. Skipped ShapeShifter - User's Guide 51 This message is displayed in the work history window when a file is skipped because it's already in the target format and the redo option is turned off. Skipped: (Already in target format) This message is the same as above except it's the one displayed in the activity log. Skipped: -AV File This message is displayed in the activity log when a file is skipped because it contains PKZIPs AV signature (and you have ShapeShifter configured to leave AV files alone). Skipped: Only scanning internal arc This message is displayed in the activity log when an internal archive is skipped because you have ShapeShifter configured to not convert internal archives, but it was scanned for virii. Skipped: Original file is smaller This message is displayed in the activity log when a file is skipped because it the new file would be larger than the original was. SysError: This message is displayed in the work history window when an internal ShapeShifter or operating system error occurs. Target archiver create command is blank: This message is displayed when you ask ShapeShifter to convert to an extension that doesn't have a create command specified. Unable to create a temp directory. This error means ShapeShifter was unable to create it's temp work directory for conversion of a file. (ShapeShifter creates a working directory as a child dir of the path containing the original file to be converted). If you get this error message your file is either in the root directory of a disk with a completely full root, or is likely on a disk that you don't have write capabilities to (i.e. a network security problem). <file>: Unable to open. This error message occurs when SSCFG can't open the configuration file for reading. Unable to open file for converted files list 52 ShapeShifter Appendices This message is displayed when ShapeShifter is unable to open the file you specified for saving the list of converted files in. Unable to open log file This message is displayed when ShapeShifter is unable to open the file you specified for activity logging in. Unable to read configuration file. This message means that ShapeShifter can't locate the configuration file (or the file is corrupt). Unable to rename to <file> This message is displayed when the attempt to rename the temp file created while an archive of the target type is redone fails. UserAbort This message is displayed in the work history window when conversion of an archive is aborted because one of the user defined commands returned a non-zero exit code. <file>: Version x.x required to read. This message is displayed if your configuration file was created with a later version of ShapeShifter than you're currently using (and the format was changed). You should use the same version of ShapeShifter (or a later one) than you use to create the configuration file. You must define some archivers before saving! This message is displayed by SSCFG if you attempt to save the configuration file while no archivers are defined. You must specify what to convert file(s) to. Use /EXT=xxx This message is displayed when you run ShapeShifter with an invalid extension specified as the target. (ShapeShifter requires the target extension to be configured as an archive). You probably need to specify *.* in the create command. This message is displayed by SSCFG when you ask to save the current archiver information and the create command doesn't contain *.* in it. For most archivers you need to specify the files to add to the newly created archive (which means you should have *.* in your command line). <file>: Write error. This message is displayed by SSCFG when an error occurs writing the configuration file. ShapeShifter - User's Guide 53 Appendix D - Specifying Command Lines Several of ShapeShifter's options are intended to contain a command line. In ShapeShifter the text you type as the command line is handled to look as if you typed it at the DOS prompt - with an important exception. Before passing the command line to DOS, ShapeShifter first examines the command line to determine the location of fields such as the current filename. To allow you to specify where things like the filename should go, ShapeShifter supports a type of field substitution. The following table lists fields that ShapeShifter supports. When ShapeShifter encounters the text in a command line option it will perform the substitution listed in the table. (Note that it doesn't matter if there are spaces before or after the field in the command line. In addition, case is not sensitive. You may specify the fields using upper or lower case): Field Value that is substituted ----- ------------------------- %1 The full path of the file (includes the filename and extension). %D Drive letter of the file currently being converted. %E The extension of the file that's being converted. %F Filename that's being converted (without the extension). %N The filename and extension that's being converted. %P Directory of the file being converted. %% Sends a single percent sign. This allows you to override the substitution that ShapeShifter normally performs when a field listed above is required in the command line. For instance, if your command line contains %%D, ShapeShifter will send %D to the command line instead of substituting the drive for %D. Notes: The extension that's substituted (for any field that contains an extension) depends on where in the conversion process you are. The extension you're converting to is substituted in the following commands: 54 ShapeShifter Appendices Archive create command Command to execute after extracting an archive Command to execute after creating an archive For the extract command as well as the command to execute before extracting an archive, the original file extension is substituted. Commands that don't appear on the archiver options screen in SSCFG don't have valid values for the fields listed above (i.e. this includes the scanner command, command to execute before beginning the conversion, and the command to execute after all conversions are done). If any of the fields are specified in these command lines, they will be removed. Example Command Lines The following examples assume that you're converting a file called IC186.ZIP to IC186.LZH. For the examples, the directory IC186.ZIP is in is: D:\CATALOG. Command Line Field This Command Line Is In ------------ ----------------------------- mycmd %f %e Command to execute before extracting the archive. Resulting command line that's executed: mycmd IC186 ZIP ---------------------------------------------- mycmd %f %e Command to execute after extracting the archive. Resulting command line that's executed: mycmd IC186 LZH ---------------------------------------------- pkunzip %1 Archive extract command Resulting command line that's executed: pkunzip D:\CATALOG\IC186.ZIP ---------------------------------------------- lha a %1 *.* Archive create command Resulting command line that's executed: lha a D:\CATALOG\IC186.LZH *.* ---------------------------------------------- ShapeShifter - User's Guide 55 mycmd %1 %%1 Command to execute after archive is created Resulting command line that's executed: mycmd D:\CATALOG\IC186.LZH %1 56 ShapeShifter Appendices Appendix E - Answers to Commonly Asked Questions Q: Are there any dangers to having ShapeShifter update my BBS directory file? A: All ShapeShifter does when it updates a BBS file is changes the extension to the new one, and also modifies the size information to be correct for the new file. You need to insure that any external programs that need ran to create index files, etc are done by you. Auntie users should note that modification of the DIR file to change the file extension causes the number of times the file was downloaded to be lost (the original file name contained in the history file has the old extension). Q: All I want to do is scan the file contents for virus and then move them. Is there a way I can do this without converting them? A: ShapeShifter allows you to effectively do this by using the test mode option. If you desire to move the files after the test is complete, simply specify an external command to be executed after the test. Q: How do I include redirection in the command lines? Redirection appears to be ignored by ShapeShifter. A: Redirection can be accomplished using three different methods. To cause ShapeShifter to support redirection in your command lines you should either: 1) Turn on the use of Switch! for the command. 2) Start the command with: 'command /c '. For example to call PKZIP to create an archive you would use 'command /c pkzip -a -ex FILE *.*' instead of 'pkzip -a -ex FILE *.*'. 3) Use a batch file to call the external command (which would force you to also do one of the two options above). ShapeShifter - User's Guide 57 Index activity logging create command setting level 28 option 20 age of files date stamping specifying 29 option 21 answers 57 dir archive to convert to size start,len specifying 19 option 36 archiver dir file create command 20 file start,len extract command 24 options 25, 26 support dir option option 22 37 r. just option 30 archiver name update option 39 option 13 dir type archives option 22 detecting corrupt dirs 43 archiver support 37 recursing 31 EMS redoing 33 Switch!ing to 38 attributes equipment stripping 37 required 6 author verification error messages 47 option 14 work history window author verified files 43 preserving 30 extension AV files converting to 19 preserving 30 option 23 bad files directory extract command option 15 option 24 bbs features 7 support 6 field substitution BBS DIR in command lines 54 specifying type 22 file attributes update option 39 archiver option 24 check for sfx file start,len option 15 option 25, 26 command lines i/o redirection 32 specifying 54 keep original archive convert archives with option 26, 27 subdirs license 4 option 19 log filename convert to option 27 option 19 logging level converted files option 28 create list of 20 max age of files to converted list filename convert option 33 option 29 corrupt archives memory detecting 43 making available 29 memory to make available scanner command 34 option 29 scanner supports options dirs 35 archiver name 13 size start,len 36 author verification specifying 12 14 strip attributes 37 bad files directory subdirs (archiver 15 support) 37 check for sfx 15 Switch! to ems 38 command line 11 Switch! to xms 38 command to execute test only 39 before update bbs dir 39 conversion 17 use 43/50 line mode convert archives 40 with subdirs use Switch! 40 19 use virus scanner convert to 19 41 converted list parameter filename 33 types 10 create command 20 preserve author verified create list of files converted files option 30 20 protecting date stamping 21 original file 26, dir file 22 27 dir type 22 purchasing 9 extension (of Q&A 57 archiver) 23 questions extract command 24 common 57 file attributes 24 r. just file start,len 25, option 30 26 recurse archives keep original option 31 archive 26, 27 recurse subdirs log filename 27 option 31 logging level 28 redirect i/o max age of files 29 option 32 memory to make redo archives available 29 option 33 overview 10 registering 9 preserve author required equipment 6 verified files scan all files 30 option 34 r. just 30 scanner command recurse archives 31 option 34 recurse subdirs 31 scanner supports dirs redirect i/o 32 option 35 redo archives 33 self extracting scan all files 34 checking for 15 60 self extractors detecting 36 sfx files detecting 15, 36 sfx id string option 36 size start,len dir option 36 specifying age of files 29 archive to convert to 19 BBS dir filename 22 BBS dir type 22 command lines 54 date stamp method 21 Starting ShapeShifter 10 strip attributes option 37 subdirs recursing 31 support option 19 subdirs (archiver support) option 37 support getting 6 Switch! to EMS option 38 Switch! to xms option 38 test only option 39 update bbs dir option 39 use 43/50 lines option 40 use Switch! option 40 use virus scanner option 41 virus scanner command 34 using 41 warranty 5 XMS Switch!ing to 38 ShapeShifter - User's Guide 61 62