PC Media 2/PC MEDIA CD02.iso/share/udos/hdos/readme.doc

Text File | 1992-04-02 | 12.4 KB | 273 lines

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                    The 'HandyDOS' Utilities - (C) 1992
                            All Rights Reserved.
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       Abri Technologies, Inc., HCR62 Box 100K, Cacapon, WV 25422 USA
  ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                             ┌───────┐
                        ┌────┴──┐    │               (Tm)
                      ──┤       │o   ├───────────────────
                        │  ┌────┴──┐ │  Association of
                        │  │       ├─┘  Shareware
                        └──┤   o   │    Professionals
                      ─────┤   ╥   ├────────────────────-
                           └───╨───┘    MEMBER


 SHAREWARE INFORMATION:
     This is Shareware and not Public Domain Software. Examine this free for
     30 days and if you find it useful please send $25 registration fee to the
     above address. You will receive all updates, latest corrections and
     software support for a minimum of three months. You will also receive
     all other utilities added to HandyDOS since. Suggestions for "HandyDOS"
     additions are welcome.

     ** Please read the shareware agreement near end of this file and the
     Registration/Ordering form in file REGISTER which also contains
     information on other software available from ATI.

 INTRODUCTION:
     HandyDOS resulted from a need for several handy utilities which either
     do not exist in DOS or are available in other operating systems. The
     purpose was to improve users time efficiency and disk use without
     nonessential frills frequenting multipurpose programs. Several
     purpose-specific programs are often better than complicated
     multipurpose programs requiring several steps to do a simple task.
     When you want to cleanup or rearrange your directories you will find
     the BAK, MV and DELTREE utilities indispensable.

 COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS:
     The software uses little memory and should run on any DOS 2.1 and up.

 FILES INCLUDED:

     INSTALL.BAT
     README.DOC (this file)
     REGISTER
     BAK.EXE
     MV.EXE
     DELTREE.EXE
     D.EXE
     INPUT.EXE
     ECH.EXE
     VMODE.EXE

 INSTALLATION:
     The software should be installed in a DOS path - usually C:\DOS.

     You can use the INSTALL.BAT which creates a directory on a hard disc
     and copies the software to the directory.

     Alternatively, at any time you can copy the software files from
     diskette to a directory:

     Example:   COPY A:*.* C:\DOS

 DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS:
     NOTE: All programs will give USAGE summary information with the
     /? switch, as is common for DOS 5.0.

  a. BAK.EXE
     This program can delete all .BAK extension and zero length (NULL) files
     in a directory and all subdirectories. It is about as fast as the DOS5
     "DIR *.BAK /S" is in finding the files.

     USAGE:       bak [directory] [/S]

     If /S is used, all subdirectories are searched.

     [directory] can be omitted for current directory.

     NOTE: BAK does not delete files with system or hidden attributes.

  b. MV.EXE
     This program can rename or move any file or directory to anywhere
     else on the disc.
     USAGE:        MV OldPath NewPath [/O]

     OldPath can have wild card '*' chars for file transfer only.

     Switch /O will overwrite existing NewPath files/directories.

     NOTES: (I) A directory cannot be moved into its subdirectory. (II)
     MV does not transfer directories from one drive to another - for that
     use XCOPY /S and DELTREE (included here).

  c. DELTREE.EXE
     This program deletes any directory with its subdirectories and all
     files.

     This is handy for cleaning up the drive of stale software or moving it
     to another drive in conjunction with the XCOPY /S command. It is also
     an alternative to formatting a floppy in order to get rid of a lot of
     unwanted directories. Deltree can be used to delete backup files on
     floppies without use of ATTRIB -R *.* and then DEL *.* procedure - simply
     use the command DELTREE A: to delete all files on drive A:.

     After long use your hard disk files become fragmented and the disk
     slows down considerably. There are several ways of fixing this problem
     (1) purchasing a suitable disk defragmenting program - sometimes
     exensive. (2) backup all your files, reformat the entire disk, restore
     system files and then the rest of your backed files other files. (3)
     after backing up your files use deltree (example: deltree c:\) to
     delete all files from disk and then simply restore all backed up files
     again.

     Before deleting a directory the program sounds an alarm and prompts
     the user whether to proceed.

     USAGE:     DELTREE directory

     Any valid directory can be specified. If the current directory is
     specified it will be deleted (except the root) and the next upper
     directory will become the current directory.

     NOTE: Before deleting directories on floppies, it will save time if the
     dos verify is OFF, since each deletion has to be read verified with
     verify ON. It may make a small difference for hard drives but not as
     significant as for floppies.

  d. D.EXE
     This program enables users to change drives and directories by using
     a number (0 to 99) instead of the usual drive/directory reference.

     Some Uses of D:
     It can be used for different users to "logon" their directories and/or
     start programs. Also, PC users will often add the command "CD directory"
     to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to go to a particular directory at bootup. This
     can be now changed to "D #", the # representing a directory on the jump
     list. Subsequent changes to the directory reference can be simply done
     using D +# without editing the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

     USAGE:             COMMENTS:

      D # [program]    Jumps to directory # and optionally executes [program]
      D +# [program]   Sets jump point # to current drive and directory with
                         optional [program] execution.
      D -#             Deletes jump point # from list
      D                Lists jump points
      D /?             Lists this info
             # represents any number 0 to 99

  e. INPUT.EXE / ECH.EXE
     These are simple program but can be very useful in writing batch files.
     Even DOS5 still does not facilitate direct batch menu selection. This
     program pair fixes this need.

     INPUT USAGE:

     INPUT [/F] string1 string2 string3 .....

     The program gets keyboard input and returns to DOS the number (#) of
     the character string matching the input (i.e. returns 1 if string1 is
     same as the keyboard input, 2 if string2, etc.). A zero is returned if
     no match is found. The number returned is called the errorlevel - but
     is really not an error here. Upper/lower case character differences
     are ignored. If switch /F inputs only one character is accepted from
     the keyboard which is then compared to only the first character of
     each string. INPUT /F is a good substitute for the dos PAUSE command
     since it doesn't interrupt with 'Press any key to continue ...' or
     add an extra <CR><LF>.

     ECH USAGE:         ECH string

     This command is similar to the DOS echo but does not add a <CR><LF>
     pair - i.e. it does not move the cursor to next line. This is
     useful in batch menu programs when you want the cursor to stay beside
     the "question".

     If the string has spaces ECH will reduce all spaces to a single
     space. If you wish an exact string echo use quotation marks around
     the whole string. Example:

     ECH "Do you wish to make a selection?      (y/n) "

     A sample batch file program is listed below. Note the sequence of
     the errorlevel tests. Make sure you understand how DOS responds
     to errorlevels of programs - see DOS manual.

     ----------------------------------------
     @echo off
     echo .
     ech Do you wish to select programs? .
     input yes y oui
     if errorlevel 1 goto programs
     goto end
     :programs
     cls
     echo A Word Processing
     echo B Invoicing
     echo C Modem
     echo .
     ech "     " Press a selection letter (A/B/C)
     input /f a b c
     if errorlevel 3 C:\USR\COM\MODEM
     if errorlevel 2 C:\BUS\INVCX5
     if errorlevel 1 C:\WS5\WS
     :end
     ----------------------------------------

  f. VMODE.EXE
     This program can set or find the current video mode and graphics
     capabilities of the video card. It also indicates the corresponding
     GW/QBASIC SCREEN numbers used by BASIC programmers.

     The program is handy for laptop users to find the best video text mode for
     greatest contrast. For example, The Leading Edge DLT/386SX default is 3,
     but the best contrast is with video mode number 7. Thus an AUTOEXEC.BAT
     command "VMODE 7" will fix the problem at bootup.

     USAGE:              COMMENTS:

     VMODE              to display current video mode
     VMODE #            to set video mode #
     VMODE /A           to display all video mode #'s
     VMODE /I           to invert video text mode

 DISCLAIMER and SHAREWARE - AGREEMENT:
     Users of HandyDOS must accept this disclaimer of warranty: HandyDOS is
     supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or
     implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of
     merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no
     liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result
     from the use of HandyDOS."

     HandyDOS is a "shareware software" and is provided at no charge to the
     user for evaluation.  Feel free to share it with your friends, but
     please do not give it away altered or as part of another system.  The
     essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer
     users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide
     incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products.  If you
     find this program useful and find that you are using HandyDOS and
     continue to use HandyDOS after a reasonable trial period, you must
     make a registration payment of $25 to Abri Technologies.  The $25
     registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at
     any one time.  You must treat this software just like a book.  An
     example is that this software may be used by any number of people and
     may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as
     there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's
     being used at another. Just as a book is not read by two different
     persons at the same time.

     Commercial users of HandyDOS must register and pay for their copies of
     HandyDOS within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn.
     Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Abri Technologies.

     You are encouraged to pass a copy of HandyDOS along to your friends
     for evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their copy if they
     find that they can use it.  All registered users will receive a copy
     of the latest version of HandyDOS and software support for a minimum
     of three months after registration.

     For registration and software ordering view the 'REGISTER' file.

    "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 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe
    message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536."