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Text File | 1993-04-13 | 24.9 KB | 635 lines

DiskIndx v 1.02 Copyright 1991-1993 by JN Goodale _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER TABLE OF CONTENTS I General Description ......................... 1 Volume Labels ....................... 1 Starting up ......................... 1 II Menus Main Menu ........................... 2 Search .............................. 2 Add Volume to index file ............ 2 Volume list ......................... 3 Update/Display setup ................ 3 Remove volume from index ............ 4 Print ............................... 4 Quit ................................ 4 III Details Volume Label description ............ 5 Overflow ............................ 5 Index file description .............. 6 Requirements ........................ 7 Limitations ......................... 7 IV Error Messages .......................... 8 V Registration/Support Support ............................. 10 Registration ........................ 10 Shareware concept/Ombudsman ......... 10 i I GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Program to create an index of files stored on floppy disks. The index can then be searched to locate the diskette (by volume label) where a specific file is stored. VOLUME LABELS: The key to indexing is using Volume Labels, both internal and external. You can label diskettes when you format them with the /V option (DOS 3.x and below), or add them later with the LABEL command. Obviously, the internal label (written to the diskette) and the external label (the one you hand write on the outside) should be the same for this system to do you any good. See VOLUME LABEL DESCRIPTION in Section III. STARTING UP: DISKINDX - for color monitors DISKINDX/M - to force monochrome display (UPPER/lower case is not important) The program displays a path-name (which happens to be your current path) which you may accept or change. This is the path where it expects to find (or create) data files, with the extension ".!01". This is the extension used by the program for any files you create with DiskIndx. If you enter a different path-name, be sure to space out left over characters, if any. Then hit [ENTER]. If the program does not find any "*.!01" it assumes you are starting from scratch and gives you the standard options of quitting, stating a NewPath, naming an index file, or using the default name "DISKINDX.!01". If the program does find "*.!01" files it gives you the option of quitting, stating a NewPath, naming an index file and a list of all "*.!01" files. Select the file or option of your choice. If you select a file from the list, the Main Menu will appear. If this is a new file, you are automatically taken to the "Change/Update Setup" screen where you designate which drive(s) you will use for indexing. Then you're ready to go. A description of each menu follows in the next section. Page 1 II MENUS MAIN MENU options: The Main Menu Options are: Search Add Volume to index file Volume list Update/Display setup Remove volume from index Print Quit A brief description of each option follows. Search - ------ You can search on: Volume Name (up to 11 characters) File Name (up to 8 characters) Extension (up to 3 characters) or Return to Main Menu Search will match to the first "n" characters you input. If you enter "E" as the search string, then all items starting with "E" will match. If you enter nothing, all files are displayed. [ESC] will take you out of the display and back to the main menu. Add volume to index file - ------------------------ This option creates and/or adds to your current index file. A "volume" is a diskette. It creates the index by volume label. If there is no volume label, it will create one and tell you what it is creating. The label is written to the diskette, also. If the diskette is "write protected" you are given options to Skip it, Re-try, or go ahead and add to the index, but don't write a label on the diskette. If you have previously indexed this diskette (known by its volume name), it wipes out all previous entries and re-indexes the current one. Page 2 Volume list - ----------- This displays a "summary" of all volumes (diskettes). Information displayed is Volume name, number of directories, number of files, bytes used and bytes free. The top of the display will show the following, AFTER you get to the last page of the Volume list: nnnn Max - Maximum number of entries allowed in available memory. nnn Volumes - How many diskettes are indexed. nnn Dir - Total number of directories. nnnn Files - Total number of files indexed. nnnnnnnn Bytes - Total number of bytes on all volumes. Right under Max is "nnnn Entries used". This is the number of entries currently being used in the program. If you have not deleted any entries (described later) or re-indexed an existing file, that number will be = # Volumes + # Files +1. If you have deleted or re-indexed volumes during the current session, the number will be larger. If you exit and read the file in fresh, it will be as above. Update/Display setup - -------------------- Allows you to change the drive you use for indexing. Two drives are allowed. If BOTH are "A", then you will use drive A only. If both are "B" then you will use drive B only. Or you can flip/flop between A and B. When you "Quit", this information is saved with the file. It can be changed anytime during running of the program. If you have an "A" drive and "B" drive that are not the same size, and you want to index only from one drive, you may do so by changing your "SETUP" on the fly. That is, [ESC] from "Add Disk Files", elect option to "Update/ Display Setup", change it, then go back to "Add Volume to Index" option. This screen also displays the status of the number of entries used and the maximum allowable. Page 3 Remove volume from index - ------------------------ You are given a list of all volumes indexed. Point to the one to remove and hit [ENTER]. If you intend to re-index the same volume name, you DON'T need to remove it first. The program will delete all previous references to a re-indexed diskette. If you have "eliminated" some diskette, or given it a new volume label, then you would want to use this option. Removed volumes will appear as spaces. Hit [ESC] to Quit the option. Next time, deleted volumes will not appear on the list. Print - ----- Output goes to printer. Options are: Volume List Summary - prints essentially the same information that the "Volume list" option displays on the screen. Sequence by Vol/Dir/File - sorts and prints all entries. Sequence by Filename/Ext - sorts and prints all entries. Sequence by Ext - sorts and prints all entries. Except for the Volume List Summary, this option can take a lot of paper and print ribbon if you have a large index file. Quit - (You can also "Quit" by hitting [ESC]) ---- If there have been any updates to the file, it will be sorted and saved. Deleted entries are NOT saved. Sorting takes the most time. Be patient. Page 4 III DETAILS VOLUME LABEL DESCRIPTION: The program will also write labels for you, if you prefer. Just remember to write the external label on the disk that the program assigns (it tells you when it does it). However, the labels the program writes won't hold a lot of meaning for you. The first one it writes will be "VOL00000001", the next one will be "VOL00000002", and so on. It only writes labels to diskettes that are not already labeled. You may or may not have a meaningful scheme for labeling your diskettes (such as BASIC001, BASIC002, LOTUS001, BACKUPC0001, etc.) but the program generation of "VOLnnnnnnnn" is not very creative. However, it is there for labeling every one if you wish, and at the least it will write a label for you and index the diskette until you get around to doing it later. PLEASE NOTE that the program keeps track of the labels it has created for each "index" file separately. If you decide to create two index files, such as "SHARWARE.!01" where you keep the index of all shareware diskettes, and another as "PUBLIC.!01" where you keep and index of all public domain diskettes, each will label the first diskette it finds without a label as "VOL00000001". The first record on each index file stores this information, so each index file is a separate system. If you have enough memory in your computer and not more than about 7700 files total, you won't need more than one index file anyway. These 7700 files could be on any number of disks. OVERFLOW If You reach the maximum number of entries that your memory will allow (while "Adding" diskettes to the index) you will get the "File is full" message mentioned above. Hit [ENTER] to let the program try to find "deleted" entries to remove to make more room. While this is going on you will see the message "Removing 'deleted' entries ..". When it is finished you will get the message "There is now room for nnn more entries". Unless a lot of room was freed up (due to previously reindexing some existing diskettes or using the "Remove Volume from index" option), there should not be many free slots. Your best bet is to [ESC] to Quit and start a new index. When this happens, these are your options (after exiting the program): 1. Create another index file - You can have up to 32 on one path 2. Clean house - Get rid of files you don't need 3. Get more memory (if you have less than 640K) *** NOTE *** During the process of adding diskettes you can easily check on the status of how many entries you have used and compare it to the maximum allowed by periodically going to the "Update/Display Setup" option, which provides this information. Page 5 INDEX FILE descripton: The index file is created with the extension ".!01", which should be a fairly unique extension not likely to be found already on your system. The first 8 characters can be any name you choose. If you are just starting up, the program provides the name DISKINDX.!01 as a starter, but you don't have to use it. The file is made up of one record for every file it finds on a diskette, as follows: Record 1 (Configuration record) ------------------------------- Pos 01-11 "! Config" 12-19 Last number used to label a diskette 20 Blank 21-28 File Name of current file 29-40 Blank 45-52 Date the index file was updated 53 First drive used for indexing (default=A) 54 Blank 55 Second drive used for indexing (default=A) Records 2 through end --------------------- Pos 01-11 Volume Name 12-44 Directory (if any - only up to 33 char) 45-52 File Name 53-55 File Extension 56 File Attribute 57-60 File Date 61-64 File Size Page 6 REQUIREMENTS: IBM Compatible computer Monochrome or Color monitor 1 Floppy Drive (MUCH better if you also have a HardDrive). Printer (optional) DOS 2.11 or higher 256K memory LIMITATIONS: Limited to 32 index files on one path. The number of entries (one entry per filename indexed) allowed is based on how much main memory (up to 640K) you have. The following table is a very rough estimate of how many files you could handle in one index based on about 80K of system overhead: Memory Max # of Files 256 K 1700 384 K 3700 512 K 5700 640 K 7700 As you can see, it is 2000 files per 128 K, which makes sense since each entry is a 64 character record. Assuming you have 640 K and you have an average of 100 files per diskette, you could index 77 diskettes on one "index file". On the same path you can have 32 "index files", so could have within easy reach the index of 2,464 diskettes, or 246,400 files. If you use 360 K diskettes to hold the index file, you are limited to about 5500 entries due to diskette space limitations. Page 7 IV ERROR MESSAGES (Alphabetical sequence) Bad File Name entered --------------------- Cause: After selecting the "New File" option, you entered a file name with an extension. Do NOT enter an extension. Enter only the Base Name, which can be up to 8 characters. Response: Enter a proper file name and hit [ENTER]. Disk is write-protected ----------------------- Cause: Program is trying to write a label to a write- protected diskette. This only happens when the diskette doesn't have a label to begin with. Response: Hit [ENTER] and you will be given some options. They are: [ENTER] - Try again. But FIRST, remove the write- protect tab. [S] - Skip. Ignore this diskette. Remove it and put another one in. [ESC] - Bail out. Back to main menu. Also ignores this diskette. [SPACEBAR] - Indexes the diskette, but doesn't try to write a label. This allows you to index a diskette with permanent write-protection and no internal label. File is full - will remove deleted entries ------------------------------------------ Cause: The Maximum number of entries will be exceed when the current directory of the current diskette is indexed. Response: The program will remove deleted entries and then report to you how many entries are available. Try again, if you think there are plenty of entries left. If you get the same message again, then [ESC]. Please note that the diskette that caused the overflow has NOT been indexed. See OVERFLOW - Section II. File won't fit in memory - - [ESC] to Quit ------------------------------------------ Cause: Created file on a bigger computer, or have more "overhead" loaded. Now can't read the whole file into the memory remaining. Response: [ESC] will Quit and do nothing. [ENTER] will take what it can and drop the rest. Page 8 Invalid Path ------------ Cause: Path doesn't exits. Response: You get another chance to enter a valid path. Make sure the drive letter is correct. Not a valid drive letter ------------------------ Cause: During "SETUP" you entered something other than "A" or "B", or you entered "B" but don't have a "B" drive. Response: Change to a valid drive letter. Not enough memory to work with ------------------------------ Cause: Your computer does not have enough memory to hold a file array of even one element. The file is created in memory and there needs to be enough memory to hold the file array. Response: The program ends. Removing 'deleted' entries -------------------------- See OVERFLOW - Section III. There is now room for nnn more entries -------------------------------------- See OVERFLOW - Section III. This is NOT and index input file -------------------------------- Cause: A file on your current path has the extension ".!01" and you selected it, but it was not created by DISKINDX and could blow the program if read in. This could happen if you re-name some unrelated file and give it the extension ".!01". The program expects to find "! Config" in the first field of the first record, and if that isn't found, you get this message. Response: You are taken back to the file selection screen. Choose a different file. Too many "*.!01" selections on this path ---------------------------------------- Cause: There are over 32 files with the extension "!01" on the currently selected path. This is an absolute limitation due to program structure. 32 separate index files SHOULD be sufficient. If not, then put them on a different directory. Response: Program goes to Path selection. Enter a different path name, then exit and delete some files, rename them with another extension, or put them on a different directory (or drive). Page 9 V SUPPORT/REGISTRATION SUPPORT I will provide support for registered owners for six months. This includes free fixes for program bugs and notification of future enhancements. If you have questions, problems, or comments, I can be reached at: JN Goodale 7826 Littlejohn Court Charlotte, NC 28227 (704)-537-0329 CompuServe ID 71116,302 REGISTRATION You may become a registered owner by completing the attached registration form and sending it to me along with $15. Registration provides you with: 1] Support 2] Notification of upgrades 3] Latest version with reference to "UnRegistered" removed. 4] FREE copy of HARDINDX, a hard drive indexer. VI SHAREWARE CONCEPT/OMBUDSMAN INFORMATION Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it! Association Of Shareware Professionals Ombudsmen This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536 Page 10