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Text File | 1991-08-28 | 188.5 KB | 4,235 lines |
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- ============================
- DV Tree - The DESQview Shell
- Version 2.1
- ============================
-
-
- DV Tree - DOS Simplicity Through DESQview Power
-
- Copyright (c) 1990, 1991
- Michael D. Weaver
- P.O. Box 4323
- Danville, Virginia 24540-0106
-
-
- DV Tree was written using Turbo C Professional (Borland International).
- DESQview interface functions are courtesy of Ralf Brown and his DVGLUE API
- library. Credit also goes to Robert Jourdain for his C Express Programmer's
- Library (1989, Simon & Schuster).
- DESQview is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems.
- DVTREE.EXE and all supporting materials are (c)1990-91 Michael D.
- Weaver. All rights are reserved.
-
-
-
- page -ii-
-
-
- Table of Contents
- -----------------
-
- Introductory Sections
- ---------------------
- Introduction ...................................... 1
- Disclaimer ........................................ 1
- A Note for the Impatient .......................... 1
- About Shareware ................................... 2
- System Requirements ............................... 3
- Notational Conventions ............................ 4
- Definitions ....................................... 5
-
-
- Basic Program Usage
- -------------------
- Getting Started ................................... 6
- Quiting DV Tree .............................. 6
- Basic Operation ................................... 6
- Marking files ................................ 6
- Explanation of @ 1024 ........................ 7
- The Mas(K) command ........................... 7
- The Dynamic Wildcard Feature ................. 7
- The @ (ALT) key command variation ............ 8
- The (U)nmark command ......................... 8
- Error/Informational message displays ......... 8
- Using Sub-Menus .............................. 8
- The ESC key .................................. 9
- Using A Mouse ..................................... 9
- Manipulating the Display .......................... 9
- The TAB key .................................. 9
- The / key (initiating split screen) .......... 10
- Flipping the split screen display ............ 10
- Exiting split screen ......................... 10
- Controlling the File Display ...................... 11
- PageUP/PageDN ................................ 11
- ^PageUP/^PageDN .............................. 11
- ^Home ........................................ 11
- The = (Jump) command ......................... 11
- The Backspace ('next' Jump) command .......... 11
- Home/End ..................................... 12
- (I)ncl/@(I)ncl ............................... 12
- E(X)clude .................................... 12
- ^R (the directory 'reread' command) .......... 12
- (S)ort ....................................... 12
- @(S)ort (the two-level sort command) ......... 13
- DV Tree's Command History Feature ................. 13
- Navigating Drives and Directories ................. 14
- The (T)ree command ........................... 14
- Paging and positioning commands .............. 14
- The > command (main and tree) ................ 15
-
-
-
- page -iii-
-
- (S)witch ..................................... 15
- Escape ....................................... 16
- Summary of other ways to change directories ... 16
- File Management Commands .......................... 16
- (D)elete ..................................... 16
- (C)opy ....................................... 17
- (M)ove ....................................... 18
- (R)ename ..................................... 18
- (A)ttr ....................................... 18
- @(C)opy (or 'Alternate Copy') ............... 19
- Create (Clone) ........................... 19
- Append to File ........................... 19
- The Find Command .................................. 19
- (F)ind/@(F)ind ............................... 19
- Example uses of the (F)ind command ........... 21
- - (the minus key, aka the (F)ind toggle) .... 21
- @= (the (F)ind 'jump' command) ............... 21
- A technique for (F)ind on multiple drives .... 22
- Exploiting the Split Screen Feature ............... 22
- The TAB key in split screen copy/move ........ 23
- [-M (Split menu-Match Identical) ......... 23
- [-N (Split menu-Name Only) ............... 23
- [-T (Split menu-Tag Newer) ............... 23
- [-L (Split menu-Lock Toggle) ............. 24
- ^\ - The 'Temporary' Directory Command ............ 25
- Managing Trees .................................... 26
- (A)dd ........................................ 26
- (D)el ........................................ 26
- (R)ename ..................................... 26
- Re(B)uild .................................... 26
- (M)ove ....................................... 26
- (K)lip ....................................... 27
- + (The 'Klip' toggle) ......................... 27
- (U)nklip ..................................... 27
-
-
- DESQview Specific Features
- --------------------------
- DV Tree's (E)xec Command .......................... 28
- (E)xec ....................................... 28
- @(E)xec ...................................... 29
- (P)rint - A File-Oriented 'Mark and Transfer' ..... 29
- (P)rint/@(P)rint ............................. 29
- Introduction to DESQview Functions ................ 30
- A tutorial with LIST ......................... 30
- Running DV Tree in a Small Window ................ 36
- @ESC ......................................... 36
- Setting up a Help System for DV Tree .............. 37
- A note about scripts ......................... 38
- More Fun with DESQview Functions .................. 38
- A little philosophy ......................... 38
- Sample 'real world' strings .................. 40
-
-
-
- page -iv-
-
- Two examples with PKZIP ...................... 41
- A variation on (E)xec ......................... 42
- Using LIST as a text scan utility ............ 43
- Creating a 'slave' DOS window ................ 44
- A DOS XCOPY window ........................... 44
- Miscellaneous DESQview Functions Features .......... 45
- User macro strings ........................... 45
- Cloning code strings ......................... 45
- Title Edit ................................... 46
- Open Keys Change ............................. 47
- Using .EXT Files ................................... 47
-
-
- DV Tree Customization
- ---------------------
- Configuration (Zpecial Menu) ................ 48
- DESQ Directory ............................... 48
- .DVP Directory ............................... 48
- File # Max ................................... 48
- Tree Size Max ................................ 48
- Exec K Addition .............................. 48
- Minimum Exec K ............................... 49
- Restore Defaults ............................. 49
- Color Customization (Zpecial Menu) ............... 49
- Method 1: (Uses own colors = N) ............. 49
- Method 2: (A)djust Colors ................... 49
- DESQview and color ........................... 50
- The Configurable Toggles .......................... 50
- ^A (Auto Refresh) ........................... 51
- ^C (Auto Split Copy) ........................ 51
- ^F (Field Marks) ............................ 51
- ^T (Tree Sorts) ............................. 51
- ^D (Directory Entries) ...................... 51
- ^E (Expert Keys) ............................ 52
- ^Q (Quik Floppies) .......................... 52
- Globals Save/View (Zpecial Menu) ............... 53
- The Directory Hot-Key Feature ..................... 53
- Setting up numeric hot-keys .................. 53
- ^Left/^Right ................................. 54
- Directory Customization ........................... 54
- + (plus) customization toggle ................ 55
- Command Line Options .............................. 55
- TREE=d:\fspec\filename ....................... 55
- FMAX=nnn ..................................... 55
- TMAX=nnn ..................................... 55
- RESET ........................................ 55
- EXEC=S / EXEC=E .............................. 56
- OPP=d:\filespec .............................. 56
- Controlling DV Tree's startup directory ...... 56
- DISP=n ....................................... 56
- NOHOP ........................................ 56
- TROOT ........................................ 56
-
-
-
- page -v-
-
- Running DV Tree in EGA/VGA Hi-Res modes ........... 57
- Running DV Tree from DOS .......................... 57
- The TREE= Environment Variable ............... 57
- @(Q)uit ...................................... 57
- Performance Notes ................................. 58
- Network Usage Notes ............................... 58
-
-
- Appendix A: DESQview Function Codes Reference
- ----------------------------------------------
- Major Codes ....................................... 59
- String Replacement Codes .......................... 60
- Special String Replacement Codes .................. 61
- 'PIF' Directory Codes ............................. 61
- Special Keystroke Codes ........................... 62
- Script Initiation Codes ........................... 62
- Delay Codes ....................................... 63
- Special Action Codes .............................. 63
- 'Hidden' DESQview Feature Codes ................... 67
-
-
- Appendix B: Files Created and Used by DV Tree ............ 68
- Appendix C: Error Messages produced by DV Tree ............ 69
- Appendix D: Script Ideas for DV Tree ..................... 71
-
-
-
- Part 1:
- Introductory Sections
- ---------------------
-
-
- ┌────────────────┐
- │ INTRODUCTION │
- └────────────────┘
-
- DV Tree is a small but very powerful file manager/shell for the
- DESQview multi-tasking environment. By exploiting DESQview's API, the
- program provides many features for DESQview users unavailable in other
- products, even the most expensive commercial file managers. And although
- DV Tree is packed with file management features designed to compete with
- the best alternatives in the 'plain DOS' world, it owes its existence to
- its DESQview specific functions.
-
- This document functions both as a plain English user's guide and a
- tutorial. Users who approach it as a tutorial and experiment when
- directed should, when finished, have a good grasp of DV Tree's obvious and
- potential uses.
-
-
-
-
- ┌──────────────┐
- │ DISCLAIMER │
- └──────────────┘
-
- DV Tree is distributed AS IS - the author cannot accept
- responsibility for the use or abuse of the program resulting in the loss
- of data or other imaginable damages. Though the author is dedicated to
- DV Tree's correct operation and the implementation and support of
- enhancements requested by registered users, he's not rich and cannot
- therefore accept legal responsibility for the care and feeding of users'
- hard drives and/or other equipment.
-
- Please don't let this section scare you - it's here because, in
- this land of lawyers, it has to be.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────┐
- │ A NOTE FOR THE IMPATIENT │
- └────────────────────────────┘
-
- The following sections of this manual should be considered HIGHLY
- recommended, if not required reading:
-
- NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS (description of NIOS string)
- GETTING STARTED (to learn how to 'quit' DV Tree)
- BASIC OPERATION
- DV TREE'S COMMAND HISTORY FEATURE
-
-
-
- page -2-
-
- THE FIND COMMAND
- EXPLOITING THE SPLIT SCREEN FEATURE
- INTRODUCTION TO DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS
- RUNNING DV TREE IN A SMALL WINDOW
- SETTING UP A HELP SYSTEM FOR DV TREE
- COLOR CUSTOMIZATION (ZPECIAL MENU)
- THE CONFIGURABLE TOGGLES
- THE DIRECTORY HOT-KEY FEATURE
- DIRECTORY CUSTOMIZATION
- COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────┐
- │ ABOUT SHAREWARE │
- └───────────────────┘
-
- DV Tree is distributed as shareware. What this means is that if
- you find this program useful, you are encouraged to 'register' with the
- author for a nominal fee, in this case, $35. Registration lets you feel
- good and will also give you the following:
-
- 1) The latest release of DV Tree with no timed delay at program
- startup.
- 2) A slightly smaller, slightly faster version of the program
- compiled especially for 286/386 machines and up.
- 3) Influence over potential future enhancements.
-
- Registrants will receive a 3.5" 720k diskette unless 5.25" 360k is
- specifically requested. Those outside the United States and Canada should
- add $5 to the cost to cover airmail shipping.
- The $35 cost is for a single user license; site/multi-user
- licenses are available at the following discounts*:
-
- 2-4 persons/machines: 10% discount per copy of program.
- 5-10 persons/machines: 20% discount per copy of program.
- 11-up persons/machines: 25% discount per copy of program.
- unlimited license for business: negotiable - please contact author.
-
- Receivers of site/multi-user licenses will receive a single
- registration disk accompanied by permission to duplicate it the requested
- number of times.
-
- If you use DV Tree a lot you should register, if only to encourage
- the development of more DV-specific software in the future.
- Registrations and all comments/inquiries should be addressed to:
-
- Michael D. Weaver
- Box 4323
- Danville, VA 24540-0106
-
-
-
-
- page -3-
-
- Electronic contact addresses:
-
- MCI Mail (422-7384)
- CIS (72210,2035)
-
- The shareware archive of this program (DVTREEnn.ZIP) may be freely
- distributed through electronic bulletin board systems or any other means
- as long as all files are included unmodified and no fee in excess of $5 is
- charged the person receiving the program.
-
-
- * Listed rates, including the $35 single user license, are guaranteed
- through December 31st, 1991, but thereafter subject to change without
- notice.
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────┐
- │ SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS │
- └───────────────────────┘
-
- To run this program you will need an IBM or compatible computer
- running DESQview from Quarterdeck Office Systems, version 2.0 or higher.
- To make use of the optional TSR, DVTXDI.COM, which can provide DV Tree
- with information on other applications running within DESQview, you must
- have DESQview 2.26 or higher.
-
- The presence of one or more hard drives is highly recommended,
- and, in fact, assumed in the documentation.
-
- If you have an older XT class machine, or a machine with a
- non-standard keyboard, you may need to be running DESQview 2.23 or later
- (symptom of this requirement: The keys for half the commands don't work).
-
- For practical purposes, a certain number of DESQview Applications
- are also required to exploit DV Tree's more advanced functions. When
- referred to in this document, a DESQview Application is a program that has
- an entry on, and may be started from, the main DESQview Open Menu. DV
- Tree's power and potential is greatly reduced on systems afflicted by the
- 'BIG DOS' style of DESQview management, that is, systems with only a
- handful of entries on the 'Open' menu wherein the vast majority of work is
- performed in 'BIG DOS' partitions. This condition can be handily cured
- through use of DESQview's Add A Program facility.
-
- At the least, we urge you to create Open Menu entries for your
- preferred file listing and editing programs. As DV Tree is a DESQview
- shell as opposed to an all-purpose, 'this is the only thing you need on
- your system' program, it provides no internal viewing or editing
- functions, even for ASCII files. You are assumed to have command line
- versions of these types of programs with which you are comfortable. Once
- these programs, and many others, for that matter, are available on the
-
-
-
- page -4-
-
- DESQview Open Menu, DV Tree may quickly be configured to interface with
- them, the end result being a file management system with far greater
- flexibility than other programs with primitive and/or clumsy
- listing/editing functions.
-
- Because of the above, certain levels of DOS, and especially
- DESQview, knowledge will be demanded of you. Great care has been taken to
- ensure this document is as clear and precise as possible, but as DV Tree
- depends on the presence of DESQview, so does this document depend, in
- parts, on an understanding of the DESQview manual.
-
-
-
-
- ┌──────────────────────────┐
- │ NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS │
- └──────────────────────────┘
-
- The following conventions are used throughout this document and
- other documentation for this program:
-
- @ ...preceding a command or key name. The Alt key should be
- depressed along with the associated key.
-
- ^ ...preceding a command or key name. The Ctrl key should be
- depressed along with the associated key.
-
- () ...around a single character. Parentheses are used to highlight
- the actual keyboard character required to execute a command. For
- instance, F will initiate the (F)ind command, while X will
- initiate E(X)clude.
-
- NIOS ...appearing on the right hand side of the page at the beginning
- of a command description. This indicates that the main screen or
- tree command does not have a reminder in the DVTREE Option Summary
- area; thus, if you have an ASCII viewing program with text search
- capabilities, you can quickly find descriptions of DV Tree's less
- obvious commands.
-
- N2.1 ...appearing on the right hand side of the page at the beginning
- of a command description or section. This indicates that the
- feature or command is new to DV Tree Version 2.1.
-
- N2.3 ...appearing on the right hand side of the page at the beginning
- of a command description or section. This indicates that the
- feature or command is new to DV Tree Version 2.3. You may also
- see N2.3 (N2.2) - this indicates that the enhancement was actually
- available in version 2.2, but this document wasn't updated until
- 2.3.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- page -5-
-
-
- ┌───────────────┐
- │ DEFINITIONS │
- └───────────────┘
-
- PIF
-
- Program Information File. With respect to DESQview, PIFs are
- small files, usually 416 bytes long and usually found in the main \DV
- directory, that provide DESQview with the information it needs to initiate
- an application. Within DESQview, PIFs are added/modified via Add a
- Program and Change a Program.
-
-
- pointed-at file
-
- The 'pointed-at' file refers to the file in DV Tree's display that
- is highlighted by the moving cursor bar.
-
-
- current
-
- As in 'current drive', 'current directory', and 'current display'.
- Current essentially means 'active', or, more directly, what you're looking
- at or acting on. The current drive is the drive containing the directory
- or the find list in the current display. The current directory is the
- directory visible in the current display, and the current display is
- either the full display, or the half of a split screen display in which
- you are currently working.
-
-
- abort
-
- 'Abort' is standard computer terminology for terminating an
- operation before it has completed.
-
-
-
-
- Part 2:
- Basic Program Usage
- -------------------
-
- ┌───────────────────┐
- │ GETTING STARTED │
- └───────────────────┘
-
- Complete installation instructions for DV Tree are contained in
- the ASCII file INSTALL.DOC. If you have not already done so, please
- refer to INSTALL.DOC to install the program before continuing.
-
- Once DV Tree has been successfully installed, selecting TL (DV
- Tree 100k) on DESQview's Open Menu will bring up the program. If you have
- a shareware copy, the program will present a screen to provide you
- information on how to obtain a registered copy; after a short delay you
- should see the program's main screen.
-
- The major portion of the display shows information on files, while
- the right side of the screen provides a summary of options along with
- system status information such as the number of files in the current
- directory and the number of free bytes on the current drive. The Option
- Summary, due to space constraints, cannot possibly show all commands
- available in the program. The most obvious omission is the (Q)uit command
- - if you like, try it now (key 'Q'), then restart DV Tree. The program
- may also be quit by keying @Q; this method bypasses the quit verification
- prompt. Still another way of ending the program is via the DESQview
- 'Close Window' command.
-
- Now that you've got your feet wet, you might want to change the
- the directory you first see when DV Tree starts up. To do this, all you
- have to do is put the name of one of your favorite directories in the
- Directory.: field of DV Tree's PIF using Change a Program.
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────┐
- │ BASIC OPERATION │
- └───────────────────┘
-
- As demonstrated in the previous section with the Q key, many of DV
- Tree's functions are based on single keystroke commands. In the Option
- summary, the necessary key for a given command shows as a highlighted
- character.
-
- Some commands, like Q, have no relationship to the state of the
- file display, while others are dependent on the position of the cursor
- bar. For instance, (R)ename and (A)ttr are commands that apply only to
- the file under the cursor bar. This is known as the 'pointed-at' file.
-
- Other commands, such as (C)opy, (M)ove, and (D)elete, can work on
- groups of files as well as the pointed-at file. To create a 'group' for
- these commands, you must 'mark' the appropriate file names. Marks may be
-
-
-
- page -7-
-
- toggled on and off for a file with either the Enter key, or the Spacebar.
-
- When files are marked, statistics related to the marked files are
- show in the bottom right hand corner of the display. These statistics
- include the number of marked files, the total number of bytes in the
- marked files, and a third line labeled '@ 1024'. This third value is of
- potential significance if you are marking files with the intention of
- copying them to a floppy disk. The reason for this is that files on DOS
- floppy disks are 'blocked' in increments of 1024 bytes, meaning that a
- file with a 'size' of only 10 bytes will actually take up 1024 bytes of
- space on a floppy disk. The same is true for a hard drive (though the
- blocking factor may be 512, or 2048, rather than 1024), but in practice
- you are much more likely to find yourself trying to cram files onto a
- floppy disk than onto your hard disk, and this third value will tell you
- exactly how much floppy disk space the files will require.
-
- In addition to the Enter key and the Spacebar, there are other
- ways to manage file marking in DV Tree:
-
-
- Mas(K)/@Mas(K)
-
- Mas(K) is a DV Tree command - note how it appears at the left of
- the page; this is a 'standard' for commands throughout this documentation.
- The key to use for the Mas(K) command is K. When you hit it, you will see
- an input prompt that should be primed with '*.*'. Mask allows you to
- mark files in a way similar to DOS's own file masking logic - for DV
- Tree's Mas(K) command, you can use the * symbol, but not the ? symbol. If
- you hit the Enter key with the mask set to *.*, all the files in the
- display will be marked.
-
- Once you get used to this command, you will find it far superior
- to the standard technique of 'leaning' on the Enter key employed by other
- file managers to mark an entire directory of files in preparation for a
- copy, move, or delete operation.
-
- Another feature of the Mas(K) command is that it uses 'dynamic
- wildcard' logic. This means that if you enter only 'C' into the input
- prompt, Mas(K) will respond as if you had entered 'C*.*'. If you like, you
- can experiment with this feature. Note that once you've entered something
- like 'C', the next time you key K for Mas(K), the input prompt will
- already be primed with 'C*.*'. The reason for this is that the last
- Mas(K) command, like many other commands, is 'remembered' by DV Tree. To
- get quickly back to '*.*', you can - again by exploiting the 'dynamic
- wildcard' logic - simply enter '*' at the Mas(K) prompt.
-
- Other commands in DV Tree will also dynamically add wildcard
- specifications to your input. These command include the (F)ind command,
- and the (I)ncl command. If for any reason you want to defeat this feature
- for any given input, simply make sure that you specify your file mask to
- the qualifying dot (.). For instance, entering DVTREE at the Mas(K)
-
-
-
- page -8-
-
- prompt will cause the program to mark files as if you'd entered DVTREE*.*,
- but entering DVTREE. will only mark a file with exactly that name.
-
- Still another feature of the Mas(K) command is the variation
- produced when you hit the command key (K) in conjunction with the ALT (@)
- key. In this case, the input prompt is primed with the filename of the
- pointed-at file, minus its extension (rather than the last command
- entered). Again, several other DV Tree commands (including (F)ind and
- (I)ncl) work in the same way.
-
-
- (U)nmark
-
- (U)nmark is very quick and simple command that will immediately
- 'unmark' all of the marked files in the display. If you haven't marked
- any files, it will, of course, have no effect.
-
-
- From time to time, DV Tree produces error/informational messages
- in a small window in the top left hand corner of the screen. An example
- of this is when you change one of the configurable toggles - say the ^F
- toggle that toggles on and off Field Marks (the little » character that
- appears next to marked files.) If you like, you can try this toggle now
- to see the message it produces. To remove such a message and continue
- work, hit the ESC key. To toggle Field Marks back on again, hit ^F and
- ESC one more time. The ^F toggle is covered later in the section THE
- CONFIGURABLE TOGGLES.
-
- Many commands will result in scrolling 'sub-menus'. To see such a
- menu, key (S)ort. Choices on these scrolling menus in DV Tree may be made
- in two ways:
-
- 1) By positioning the cursor bar on the desired item and pressing
- Enter or the Spacebar.
-
- 2) By keying the first letter of the desired choice. An
- exception to this occurs when the first character of an item
- has already occurred 'higher up' in the menu; you can see this
- on the sort sub-menu in 'Date Only', the fourth item down.
- In this case, 'D' has already been used for 'Date/Time', so
- to select 'Date Only', you have to key 'O' (for 'Only' - the
- second word in the option.) This sort of situation is rare -
- the general rule is that the first character of a choice will
- activate that choice. The only menu that you MUST use the
- scrolling cursor bar on is the menu presented when duplicate
- files are found during copy/move operations.
-
- The 'letter selection' capability of the scrolling menus allows
- you to easily set up DESQview scripts to perform common functions. For
- instance, if you occasionally like to see the display sorted by name in
- ascending order, but at other times by date/time in descending order, you
- might record the keystrokes necessary to perform each of these sorts on
-
-
-
- page -9-
-
- keys not used by DV Tree, say F11 and F12, and then be able to quickly
- flip back and forth between the two sort orders. If you are not familiar
- with DESQview's Learn feature, refer to your DESQview manual for more
- information.
-
- Another general rule in DV Tree concerns the escape key. When
- you're presented with any menu, ESC will almost always just make it go
- away. In this respect, you might think of ESC as a universal 'do-nothing'
- key, and no harm should ever come to your system when you use it.
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────┐
- │ USING A MOUSE │
- └─────────────────┘
-
- Most, but not all, functions of DV Tree can be accessed by mouse
- users. On the main and tree displays, the left mouse button functions as
- the Enter key, while the right mouse button will 'pull down' a mouse
- selectable menu. On the mouse selectable menus, select a choice with the
- left button. The right button will function both as ESC and PageUp.
-
- On scrolling menus, use the left button to make a selection, and
- the right button as the ESC key.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────┐
- │ MANIPULATING THE DISPLAY │
- └────────────────────────────┘
-
- DV Tree has several commands to enhance the usefulness of its file
- display. Try the following:
-
-
- TAB
-
- The TAB key will toggle the file display between three column and
- a single column, maximum file information mode. If the screen is split
- vertically, it will toggle between the two sides of the split. The
- description of the TAB key will change accordingly in the Option Summary
- area.
- In the single column mode, DV Tree tells you as much about the
- file as it knows. This information includes the file size, the file date
- and time, and the file attributes (details on attributes are given later
- in the description of the (A)ttr command.) In the 3-column mode, DV Tree
- displays only the filename and the file size.
- By default, DV Tree will start with the display in maximum
- information, or 'INFO' mode. If you find you prefer the 3-column display,
-
-
-
- page -10-
-
- you may set this permanently. How to do this is covered in the section
- titled GLOBALS SAVE/VIEW.
-
-
- / (the slash key)
-
- The / key initiates split screen or dual directory mode. The file
- display is divided into two halves which may be positioned independently
- to different drive/directory combinations. To test this feature, use / to
- split the screen, then bring up the directory tree of your hard drive with
- the T command, and use the cursor keys to select a new directory. After
- hitting enter, you should see the new directory displayed in one side of
- the split, and the one you started from in the other. Once in split
- screen, the / key will toggle you from one side of the split to the other.
- Also, DV Tree has a group of commands that apply only to split screen
- mode; a selection list for these commands may be accessed via the left
- brace key ([).
-
-
- [-F (Split menu-Flip Horz/Vert)
-
- By default, the / command splits DV Tree's display vertically.
- For many purposes, this vertical split is the most convenient as it allows
- side by side comparison of two directories, but its major limitation is
- lack of screen space to show all the available information related to
- files shown (note that, in vertical split mode, the TAB key acts like the
- / key, instead of toggling between the 3 column and informational
- displays.) To compensate, the file display may also be split
- horizontally. To see this, use the [ key to bring up the special split
- screen menu, and key F to select Flip Horz/Vert (or highlight this entry
- with the cursor bar and press enter). The screen should 'flip' into
- horizontal split mode, and the TAB key will now act in the same way it
- does on an unsplit display.
-
-
- [-E (Split menu-End Split)
-
- Use this command to end split screen and return to single
- directory mode. The 'current' side of the split (the side pointed to by
- an arrow in the dividing bar) will become the current, single directory.
-
- As you may have guessed from the [ menu, split screen mode has
- more uses - these are covered later in a section specifically on
- exploiting the possibilities of using DV Tree in split screen.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- page -11-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────────┐
- │ CONTROLLING THE FILE DISPLAY │
- └────────────────────────────────┘
-
- The previous section explained the various ways DV Tree's display
- can be fundamentally changed; this section explains how to view the file
- list itself in different ways.
-
- First, five commands are available for navigating 'multi-page'
- displays:
-
-
- PageUP/PageDN NIOS
-
- Respectively, the paging keys do exactly as you might expect:
- move forward or back by a 'page'. If DV Tree is running in less than a
- full screen, the paging keys will respond intelligently (i.e. if you've
- shrunk the window to a single column display that shows five files, PageDN
- will show the next five files. For more, see the section RUNNING DVTREE
- IN A SMALL WINDOW.)
-
-
- ^PageUP/^PageDN NIOS
-
- When used in combination with the CTRL key, the paging keys will
- position respectively to the first or last 'page' of available files.
-
-
- ^Home NIOS
-
- ^Home is a special, but particularly useful key in some instances.
- This key will cause the display to reposition so that the pointed-at file
- becomes the first file shown.
-
-
- = (Jump)
-
- The = key is another special key for positioning the display. DV
- Tree prompts for input, which should be a 'high level' substring of a
- filename, then attempts to position the display so that the first file
- with a name beginning with the input string becomes the first file in the
- display. For instance, if you key in 'CON' at the input prompt, the
- display might position with a file named 'CONFIG.SYS' at the top.
-
-
- Backspace ('next' Jump) NIOS N2.1
-
- The backspace key repeats the effect of the = (Jump) command,
- looking for the next match to input string (as opposed to the first match
- that another use of = would produce.) Expanding on the example cited for
- the = command, the backspace key might cause the display to move down from
-
-
-
- page -12-
-
- 'CONFIG.SYS' being the first file shown, to 'CONTROL.FIL' being the first
- shown.
-
-
- The following two command are related to the above group, but they
- affect only the position of the cursor bar:
-
- Home/End NIOS
-
- The Home key will cause the cursor bar to be positioned
- immediately over the first file visible in the display. End does just the
- opposite, positioning the cursor bar to the last file.
-
-
- Another set of main screen commands can also affect how you see
- the files displayed; experiment with the following:
-
-
- (I)ncl/@(I)ncl
-
- This command affects how the directory information is obtained
- from your disk. (I)ncl asks you to input a file mask, and the current
- directory is reread according to the mask, i.e., a mask of *.BAT will
- cause the file display to show only those files with an extension of 'BAT'
- (just like DIR *.BAT from the DOS command line.)
- The (I)ncl command supports the dynamic wildcard feature, and if
- hit in conjunction with ALT key, the input prompt will be primed with
- the filename minus the extension of the pointed-at file.
-
-
- E(X)clude
-
- This command allows you to quickly cull unwanted or distracting
- entries from a file display. Either the marked, or the unmarked entries
- can be put 'out of sight' by selecting the appropriate entry on the
- scrolling menu produced when this command is used.
-
-
- ^R NIOS
-
- The ^R command provides a quick way to reread the directory
- information from disk (or repeat a FIND operation - covered later in THE
- FIND COMMAND.) All file marks will be lost, and any 'culling' of the
- file list through use of the E(X)clude command will be undone. ^R is
- particularly important as in DESQview, files may have been created or
- deleted in another window. For more detail, see: %r in Appendix A.
-
-
- (S)ort
-
- (S)ort allows you to order the files in the display in virtually
- any way imaginable, in either ascending or descending order. The best way
-
-
-
- page -13-
-
- to get a feel for the flexibility of this command (as well as the @(S)ort
- command) is to experiment with it.
-
-
- @(S)ort NIOS
-
- This command provides an even more powerful, two-tiered sort. you
- can, for instance, sort the display first by extension, then by date/time
- within occurrences of the extension.
-
-
- Sort settings and other program values can be made 'permanent' in
- DV Tree in two ways, either globally or by specific directory. The two
- methods are covered later in this document in the sections GLOBALS
- SAVE/VIEW and DIRECTORY CUSTOMIZATION.
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ DV TREE'S COMMAND HISTORY FEATURE │
- └─────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- If you have experimented with the commands in the previous
- section, you will have seen on a few occasions a window appearing in the
- center of the display to prompt you for input. This is a 'common' window
- that is shared by many commands and features, and it itself has a 'hidden'
- feature. That is, it not only will 'remember' the last string entered for
- a particular command, but it will 'remember' the last eight strings
- entered for any reason. To test this, hit K to bring up the Mas(K)
- prompt. Now, see what happens when you use your cursor keys: The down
- cursor key should show you the last command you entered, while the up
- cursor key will start a backward search.
-
- The maximum length of an input string supported by this feature is
- 50 characters; if you enter something longer than this, characters beyond
- the 50th will be truncated when later shown.
-
- This 'hidden' feature of the input prompt may be useful in a
- number of ways, especially in situations when you find yourself entering
- complicated input. Also, in the section MORE FUN WITH DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS,
- there is an example of how to create a DOS 'slave' window for DV Tree for
- which DV Tree's command history may be used to remember DOS commands in a
- way similar to DOS command line history programs.
-
- The command history buffer can even be saved from the (Z)pecial
- menu so that it is retained for future executions of DV Tree. To save the
- current command history buffer, key Z-L from the main screen. You can use
- this capability for any number of things, from saving often used match
- strings for the '=' command, to saving common but complex DOS commands for
- use with a 'slave' DOS window.
-
-
-
-
- page -14-
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ NAVIGATING DRIVES AND DIRECTORIES │
- └─────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- DV Tree allows you to view the DOS directory structure of your
- disk(s) in graphical, or 'tree' format, and the standard way to change
- current directories in the program is via the (T)ree main screen command.
- Other ways of changing directories are covered at the end of this section.
-
-
- (T)ree
-
- The (T)ree command pops up a window showing a section of the DOS
- tree on the current drive of which the current directory is a part.
- Unless your drive has more than 215 subdirectories, this will be a
- cursor-scrollable tree that will wrap around from bottom to top or vice
- versa as you move your up and down cursor keys.
-
- The Tree window may also be repositioned with the paging commands
- described for the file display in the section titled CONTROLLING THE FILE
- DISPLAY. In brief:
-
-
- PageUP/PageDN NIOS
-
- Positions the tree window forward or backward by a 'page'.
-
-
- ^PageUP/^PageDN NIOS
-
- Positions to either the first or the last 'page' of the tree.
-
-
- = (Jump)
-
- Allows a 'jump' based on a high level name match. New features
- added in version 2.3:
-
- N2.3
- - 'Fuzzy' search ability. If the input begins with '=', DV Tree
- looks for a match anywhere in the file or directory name. For
- example, '=com' will find COMMAND.COM, MYCOM.BAT, FC.COM, etc..
-
- - While strings are being entered, DV Tree will adjust its displays
- accordingly. Note: This feature is NOT available for 'large
- trees' (trees for which cursor scrolling is not active.) As this
- facility may conflict with scripts depending on high speed key
- entry into the prompt window, it may be disabled with the NOHOP
- command line option.
-
-
-
- page -15-
-
-
-
- Backspace ('next' Jump) NIOS N2.1
-
- Repeats the effect of the = command.
-
-
- Home/End NIOS
-
- Positions the cursor bar, respectively, over the first or last
- directory shown.
-
-
- If your current drive has greater than 215 subdirectories, you
- will have to use the above commands to navigate the tree as the cursor bar
- will not cause the tree to scroll. However, there is a way to 'klip'
- entries from large trees covered later in the section MANAGING TREES that
- might allow you to reduce your visible tree size below 216 directories and
- hence allow you to use the cursor scroll function.
-
- To select a new directory for the file display, position the
- cursor bar over the desired directory and hit Enter or the Spacebar (or
- the left mouse button). The tree window will go away, and the file
- display will be reloaded with the contents of the new directory. Other
- commands to try are:
-
-
- > (DOS prompt character or 'greater than sign') NIOS (tree)
-
- This command is applicable to both the main and tree windows. DV
- Tree will pop up a window with a list of your available DOS drives, and a
- new drive may be selected by letter. If the command is used on the tree,
- you will be presented with the tree of the selected drive. On the main
- display, the > command will cause a direct 'jump' to the current
- directory on the drive selected.
-
-
- . (dot) NIOS N2.3 (N2.2)
-
- This command is functionally equivalent to > - added for ease of
- use as it is the unshifted state of > on most keyboards.
-
-
- (S)witch
-
- This command is in every way identical to the > command, but it is
- available only on the tree window ('S' on the main screen means (S)ort.)
-
-
-
-
- page -16-
-
-
- Escape NIOS
-
- The ESC key will simply remove the tree window as if it were just
- another scrolling menu. Your current directory will not be changed.
-
-
- As mentioned at the beginning of this section, there are other
- ways to change directories in DV Tree besides the tree. These ways are:
-
- 1) The > command (already discussed.)
- 2) Directory Hot-Keys (covered later in THE DIRECTORY
- HOT-KEY FEATURE.)
- 3) Direct selection by name (with the ^D toggle on - see
- the section THE CONFIGURABLE
- TOGGLES.)
- 4) @= from the (F)ind display (covered in THE FIND COMMAND.)
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────┐
- │ FILE MANAGEMENT COMMANDS │
- └────────────────────────────┘
-
- The file management commands are the 'backbone' of any file
- management program, and with DV Tree this is no exception. The following
- commands give you the power to quickly organize and reorganize the files
- in your system:
-
-
- (D)elete
-
- The (D)elete command performs a function identical to the DOS DEL
- command. Hitting (D)elete will result in a confirmation window. If you
- have marked files, the confirmation window will tell you how many files
- you have marked for deletion. If you have not marked files, the
- confirmation window will tell you the name of the file it is prepared to
- delete (the pointed-at file.) To abort the delete operation, type N for
- 'NO', or hit ESC. If you respond 'Y' to the confirmation, the marked
- files, or the single pointed-at file, will be deleted.
- The delete operation does not actually destroy the file data
- immediately; destruction will occur over time as you copy files or create
- new files on your disk. If you accidentally delete an important file, you
- can recover it if you have a program with an 'undelete' function (this
- function is not available in DV Tree.) If you find yourself in such a
- situation, the best thing to do is immediately cease using your computer
- until you have 'undeleted' the file in question.
- Please note that (D)elete cannot delete a file with its READ-ONLY
- attribute set on. If you want to delete such a file, you will have to
- first use the (A)ttr command (covered below), to turn off the READ-ONLY
- attribute.
-
-
-
- page -17-
-
-
-
- (C)opy
-
- The (C)opy command allows you to copy the single pointed-at file,
- or multiple marked files, to other directories or drives. Hitting (C)opy
- will automatically bring up the tree display of the current drive along
- with a small work window in the top left of the screen that tells you how
- many bytes you've selected to copy, and how much free space is available
- on the drive you are currently positioned to copy to. While the tree is
- displayed for the copy operation, most of the normal tree screen commands
- are available. That is, while you are copying files, you are allowed to:
-
- * Cursor scroll and using page and positioning commands.
- * Switch destination drives via the > or (S)witch commands.
- * (R)ename a directory.
- * (A)dd a new subdirectory anywhere on the tree.
- * Use the Re(B)uild command to reread the directory structure
- from the disk.
- * Toggle the 'Klipped' tree on and off.
-
- Details on the tree commands not already covered in NAVIGATING
- DRIVES AND DIRECTORIES are covered later in the section TREE MANAGEMENT.
-
- To select a destination for the copy operation, position the
- cursor bar over the selected directory and hit Enter or the Spacebar.
- An exception to this occurs if you select a floppy disk via the > or
- (S)witch command, and the floppy disk has no subdirectory structure. In
- this case, DV Tree will assume you want to copy the files to the floppy's
- 'root' directory (if one can be said to exist!) and proceed with the
- operation.
-
- If you select a destination disk on which there is insufficient
- free space to hold the files you are copying, DV Tree will give you a
- warning message and ask whether or not you want to attempt to proceed with
- the copy operation. A situation when you might want to do this is when
- you are trying to overlay files at the destination with files of the same
- name. You should respond Y or N to this prompt as the situation demands.
-
- Once the copy operation is underway, if DV Tree discovers that a
- file with same name as one you are copying exists at the destination, you
- will see another warning prompt that gives you the option of proceeding
- with the copy, skipping the file in question, proceeding without asking
- any more questions (because, let's say, you already know your copy
- operation is going to overlay many files at the destination), or skipping
- all files that turn out to have duplicate names. At the bottom of this
- window, there are two display lines designed to aid you in your decision.
- These lines tell you the size, date, and time of the source file (on a
- line labeled SRC:), and the size, date, and time of the destination file
- (on a line labeled DEST:). To abort the entire copy operation from this
- window, hit the ESC key.
-
-
-
-
- page -18-
-
- As the copy proceeds, a window in the top right corner of the
- screen will keep you informed of DV Tree's progress, telling you the file
- it is currently working on, and the number of bytes successfully moved.
-
-
- (M)ove
-
- Use of the (M)ove command results in a quick confirmation prompt
- to make sure you want to move files. If you reply Y, the move proceeds.
- (M)ove is logically identical to a (C)opy followed immediately by
- (D)elete. However, when moving files to another directory on the same
- logical DOS drive, the move operation is very quick because DV Tree is
- able to 'cheat' by simply renaming the files. For details on the move
- command, reread the explanation of (C)opy (thinking 'move' every time the
- word 'copy' appears.)
- (M)ove's confirmation prompt is designed as a safeguard to make
- sure you actually want to move files, rather than copy them. If you are
- an experienced user, you might find this prompt of negligible benefit. If
- so, you may 'defeat' it by using a DESQview script that keys 'M' followed
- immediately by 'Y'. A practical key for such a script assignment is @M
- (alt-M). A very impractical key would be ^M (ctrl-M) because DOS, via a
- wacky quirk, considers ^M to be equivalent to the Enter key.
-
-
- (R)ename
-
- The (R)ename command will present you with an input prompt for you
- to enter a new name for the pointed-at file. To abort the operation, hit
- Escape.
- If you attempt to rename a file to a name that already exists in
- the directory, DV Tree will give you an option to 'overwrite' the existing
- file. If the overwrite fails, the probable cause is that the 'file' with
- the same name is either a READ-ONLY file, or a subdirectory.
-
-
- (A)ttr
-
- The (A)ttr command gives you the power to alter the DOS file
- attributes of the pointed-at file or directory if no files are marked, or
- a group of files if files are marked. These attributes include the
- SYSTEM, the HIDDEN, the READ-ONLY, and the ARCHIVE attributes. The SYSTEM
- attribute is usually only found 'on' for the main files that comprise the
- DOS operating system. The ARCHIVE attribute is intended for use by file
- backup programs - if you don't use a backup program to save your data, you
- will discover that the ARCHIVE attribute for almost all the files on your
- system will be on, and if you do use a file backup program, you'll
- discover that the ARCHIVE attribute is on only for files that have been
- changed since the last backup. The HIDDEN and READ-ONLY attributes may be
- used by various applications on your system to protect files for their own
- purposes.
-
-
-
- page -19-
-
-
- In general, you probably won't want to use the (A)ttr command very
- much, but it's there if you need it. One of the reasons you might want to
- use it is to enable you to delete a file that has its READ-ONLY attribute
- on (this situation might occur if you're attempting to delete an
- application from your system that utilized certain forms of copy
- protection.) When you use the (A)ttr command, DV Tree presents a small
- window with entries for the four attributes listed above. Attributes that
- are on will be highlighted, and you may use the Enter key or the Spacebar
- to toggle all of the attributes on and off. When you have set the
- attributes the way that you want them, hit ESC. DV Tree will ask you
- whether you really want to change the attributes for the file or files in
- question, and if you reply Yes, the attributes will be changed.
-
-
- @(C)opy (or 'Alternate Copy') NIOS
-
- The @(C)opy command produces the alternate copy menu with the
- following options:
-
- Create (Clone)
- Append to File
-
- The Create (Clone) option allows you to create a duplicate copy of
- the file in the current directory by giving the duplicate (or 'clone') a
- different name.
-
- The Append to File option allows you to 'tack' the pointed-at file
- (which should usually be an ASCII text file) onto the end of another file.
-
- The best way to understand these two commands is to try them out.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────┐
- │ THE FIND COMMAND │
- └────────────────────┘
-
- (F)ind/@(F)ind
-
- DV Tree's (F)ind command gives you a very powerful, alternate way
- of managing your files. The (F)ind command returns a sub-menu with the
- following options:
-
- File Mask
- Date (Equal)
- Since Date
- Before Date
- Attributes
-
-
-
- page -20-
-
- > Size
- < Size
- = Size
-
- In it's simplest form, (F)ind can help you locate a file about
- which you can remember the name or a part of the name, but not what
- directory you put it in. To do this, select File Mask on the sub-menu,
- and enter a file mask for the find operation. Remember that (F)ind has
- dynamic wildcard logic, so entering AUTO will cause (F)ind to respond as
- if you had entered AUTO*.*. The (F)ind file mask, by the way, also
- supports the '?' DOS wildcard character (unlike the Mas(K) command.)
-
- After you have entered a file mask, (F)ind will ask you if you
- want to search only the current directory and its subdirectories. If you
- reply N to this question, (F)ind will perform the search across your
- entire hard drive. Replying Y, on the other hand, will cause (F)ind to
- limit its search to just a portion of the tree, thus resulting in a much
- quicker response from the program.
-
- If the (F)ind display is active and you initiate a second,
- different (F)ind command, you will also be given the option to append the
- results of the new find operation to the end of the current list.
-
- Once you have created a (F)ind display, it is possible for you to
- use virtually all of the commands available when you are in the 'normal'
- directory display. That is, you are free to mark files, delete files,
- copy files, rename files, change attributes, even use the (S)ort or
- @(S)ort commands to get the list into any order you like. You can also
- use the ^R (refresh) command to repeat the find operation.
-
- This, of course, isn't all. As you might guess from the option
- list, (F)ind can also locate files in a variety of other ways. After
- selecting and entering input for anything other than 'file mask' on the
- sub-menu, you will also be prompted for a file mask, so you can use the
- additional options either to 'qualify' a file mask other than *.*, or to
- search independently with respect to the various characteristics by
- entering '*' into the file mask prompt (if '*.*' is not already there.)
-
- Another thing you should know is that if you use the @(F)ind
- command, all of the prompts will be primed with the appropriate
- information related to the pointed-at file. In other words, if the cursor
- bar is pointing at a file with a file date of, say, 01/04/91, you can find
- all files on your hard disk with the same date using the following series
- of commands:
-
- @(F)ind (alternate (F)ind)
- Type D (for 'Date (Equal)')
- Hit Enter ('01/04/91' is already loaded)
- Type * (to clear the mask to *.*)
- Hit Enter (to 'go')
- Hit ESC (to scan the whole drive)
-
-
-
-
- page -21-
-
- In other words, the @(F)ind command in the above example saved you
- the need to key in the 8 character date for 01/04/91. Similar examples
- might be given for the find options related to file size and file
- attributes, and you might also note that the command sequences are such
- that you could easily Learn them into a DESQview script.
-
- To get used to the (F)ind and @(F)ind commands, the best thing to
- do is experiment. Some possible uses you might discover for the (F)ind
- command include:
-
- 1) Scanning for *.bat so you can copy all of the batch files on
- your hard drive to a single floppy disk (or even have them
- compressed onto the floppy with an archiving program like
- PKZIP - see the example in MORE FUN WITH DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS.)
- 2) Scanning for files with a file size < 1 so you can delete
- them (note: Scanning for size = 0 will not work.)
- 3) Scanning for *.bak so you can delete back-up files and regain
- some space.
- 4) Scanning for files with sizes greater than 100000 bytes so
- you can learn just where all that free space you once had on
- your 40-meg hard drive has gone.
- 5) Scanning for files with their READ-ONLY or HIDDEN attributes
- on (just out of curiosity.)
- 6) Scanning for *.exe and/or *.com so you can experiment with
- DV Tree's (E)xec and @(E)xec commands (described later in the
- section DESQVIEW SPECIFIC FEATURES.
-
-
- DV Tree has the following additional commands to provide you with
- even more flexibility when using (F)ind:
-
-
- - (the minus key, aka the (F)ind toggle) NIOS
-
- The - (minus key) will quickly toggle between the (F)ind
- display and the current, 'normal' directory. Memory permitting, DV Tree
- does its best to keep to the 'found' list readily available (to avoid a
- repeat of the (F)ind process).
-
-
- @= (the (F)ind 'jump' command) NIOS
-
- When you are in the (F)ind display, the = (equal) key pressed in
- combination with the @ (Alt) key, will act like a directory selection key,
- causing a 'jump' to the directory containing the pointed-at file in the
- (F)ind display.
-
- Another small, but useful, thing occurs when you use @= : The file
- jump mask is automatically primed with the name of the file you selected,
- so if you follow @= immediately with the = or backspace key and Enter,
- you'll not only jump to the file's directory, but you'll also position the
- display so that the file you jumped 'with' is at the top and readily
-
-
-
- page -22-
-
- visible (now isn't that the sort of tip that makes trudging through this
- manual worthwhile?!)
-
-
- Some final notes on (F)ind:
-
- 1) Although (F)ind will not operate on more than one drive at a
- time, you can 're-perform' the current (F)ind on different drives in the
- following way:
-
- Type > (the 'switch drives' command)
- select a new drive
- Type - (the (F)ind toggle)
- repeat the above 3 commands as many times as you like
-
- 2) The default date used to prime the input prompt for date-
- oriented (F)ind commands is a configurable option. See the section
- GLOBALS SAVE/VIEW.
-
- 3) One of the reasons (F)ind is so fast is that it uses the
- current tree to determine the directories you want it to search, unlike
- other hard disk scan programs that have to build a tree as they work.
- This also means, however, that DV Tree won't find files if they exist in
- directories that do not exist in DV Tree's tree structure (such as a
- directory created outside of DV Tree since the last time the tree was
- rebuilt.)
-
- Find will also not find files in 'klipped' subdirectories unless
- the 'Unklipped' tree is active. The meaning of these terms can be found
- in the section MANAGING TREES.
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ EXPLOITING THE SPLIT SCREEN FEATURE │
- └───────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- In the earlier section, MANIPULATING THE DISPLAY, you were shown
- how to get into split screen using the / key, and also how to flip the
- split direction and end split screen mode from the [ or 'Split Menu'.
- Since then, split screen has not been mentioned and we've assumed that you
- weren't using DV Tree in split screen mode in the previous sections, even
- though you may have been, because everything works exactly the same!
-
- When you use the / key to put DV Tree into split screen mode, the
- only 'detrimental' things that happen are:
-
- 1) You see fewer files (or less information) per directory.
- 2) Each side of the split is capable of handling only half the
- the number of files the program can manage when not in
-
-
-
- page -23-
-
- split screen (and this is a configurable value, covered
- later in the sections CONFIGURATION and COMMAND LINE OPTIONS.)
-
- Of course, split screen has its benefits. Perhaps the most useful
- purpose for split screen mode is its functionality when it comes to
- supporting copy/move operations. Using split screen, it is possible for
- you to not only 'see where you are coming from', but also to 'see where
- you are going to'.
-
- In MANIPULATING THE DISPLAY, it was mentioned how the use for the
- TAB key changes when the screen is split vertically. The TAB key has yet
- another purpose: When you're in split screen, and you initiate a copy or
- a move operation, the TAB key allows you to quickly select the directory
- in the opposite split as the destination directory. In other words,
- copy/move operations from one split side to the other can be a quick, two
- or three step operation:
-
- (C)opy/(M)ove
- TAB (to select opposite directory)
- Hit Enter (if not a floppy with no tree)
-
- Beyond this, there is even a way to make DV Tree automatically
- select the opposite directory as the copy/move destination - refer to the
- description of ^C in THE CONFIGURABLE TOGGLES.
-
- Split screen also has a set of commands that can be particularly
- useful if you are working with two drive/directory combinations that
- contain similar or identical files - perhaps one might be a 'working'
- directory for one of your favorite applications, while the other is a
- floppy disk or another directory that you use to keep back-up copies of
- some of your important work:
-
-
- [-M (Split menu-Match Identical)
-
- This command gives you a way to quickly mark files on both sides
- of the split that have identical characteristics - that is, they have the
- same name, size, date, time, and attributes.
-
-
- [-N (Split menu-Name Only)
-
- This command gives you a way to quickly mark files on both sides
- of the split that have identical names.
-
-
- [-T (Split menu-Tag Newer) N2.3
-
- This command will mark the newer copy of any files with a name
- match. If files with the same name are identical, they will not be
- marked.
-
-
-
-
- page -24-
-
-
- [-L (Split menu-Lock Toggle)
-
- The 'Lock toggle' is particularly powerful in this situation.
- Like other toggles, alternating uses of it turn it off and on. The
- current status of the Lock toggle can be seen on the bottom display line
- when you are split screen mode.
-
- When the lock toggle is ON, a subset of DV Tree's normal commands
- will, when used, perform their functions on both sides of the split. The
- commands are:
-
- PageUP/PageDN
- The = ('jump' command)
- The backspace ('jump next') command
- The TAB key (if your split is horizontal)
- Mas(K)/@(M)ask
- (U)nmark
- E(X)clude
- (S)ort
- @(S)ort (two-tiered sort)
-
- Please notice that (C)opy, (M)ove, and (D)elete are absent from
- the above list.
-
-
- Let's return to our hypothetical example of a work directory and
- its back-up counterpart. For the purposes of the following example,
- we'll assume that the lock toggle is on.
- The first thing you might want to try is to mark the files in both
- directories that are exactly the same. To do this, use the [-M command.
- At this point, depending on what you're doing, you might want to:
-
- 1) Delete the duplicates in the back-up directory.
- 2) E(X)clude the marked files so you can examine just the
- differences between the two directories. From here you
- might move on to:
-
- A) Copying all non-duplicate files from the work
- directory to the back-up directory.
- B) Using the [-N command to mark the files with
- the same name (but different characteristics)
- so you can more readily see the differences.
-
-
- As you might guess from the example, the choices are all up to
- you!
-
-
-
-
- page -25-
-
-
- Some final notes on Split Screen:
-
- 1) The split screen direction (horizontal or vertical) is a
- configurable option. Refer to GLOBALS SAVE/VIEW.
-
- 2) It is possible to have DV Tree initiate in split screen,
- either in the same or in different directories or drive/directory
- combinations. Refer to COMMAND LINE OPTIONS.
-
- 3) If you use split screen a lot, and you have an enhanced
- (101-key) AT keyboard, you might want to use a DESQview script to define
- your @[ key to do a quick horizontal/vertical flip.
-
- 4) There's even more! (see the next section.)
-
-
-
-
- ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ ^\ - THE 'TEMPORARY' DIRECTORY COMMAND │
- └──────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- ^\ NIOS N2.1
-
- You can use the special ^\ command to quickly create a temporary
- subdirectory off the current directory with a name of TEMP$.DVT, and
- switch to this subdirectory in the right half or bottom half of a screen
- split.
- Also, if the screen is not already split, this command will cause
- a split to occur. If the screen IS already split, the current directory
- (either side) will end up in the left or top of the split after the
- command has completed.
-
- You can use the temporary directory like any other directory, and
- DV Tree will attempt to delete it when:
-
- 1) Split screen is ended with the [-E command.
- 2) Another CTRL-\ command is entered
- 3) When DV Tree is exited via the Q or @Q commands.
-
- Of course, if you have left files in the temporary directory, the
- delete will fail, and the directory will remain in the tree. At this
- point, you will have to either manually delete it to get rid of it, or
- rename it to something more meaningful. Or... you could just leave it
- there, and DV Tree will reuse it the next time you use ^\ with the display
- positioned to the same parent directory....
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- page -26-
-
- ┌──────────────────┐
- │ MANAGING TREES │
- └──────────────────┘
-
- Now that all the major aspects of the main screen commands have
- been covered, it's time to focus on what you can do with Trees. DV Tree
- provides the following commands to aid you in maintaining and managing
- the directory structure(s) of your hard drive(s):
-
-
- (A)dd
-
- The (A)dd command gives you a way to create a new subdirectory off
- off the pointed-at directory. DV Tree will prompt you for the new name,
- and if all goes well, the directory will be created, and an entry for it
- will be inserted into the tree.
-
-
- (D)el
-
- The (D)el command gives you a way to delete the pointed-at
- directory and remove it from the tree. The (D)el command will only work
- on a directory that is empty - that is, a directory that has no files in
- it, and no subdirectories attached to it. Also, (D)el will not work on
- a current directory.
-
-
- (R)ename
-
- The (R)ename command allows you to change the name of the
- pointed-at directory in much the same way as you can change the name of a
- normal file.
-
-
- Re(B)uild
-
- The Re(B)uild command is what you must use if you want to recreate
- the tree for a given drive from the information actually on the disk in
- question. Under normal conditions, DV Tree will rarely do this on its
- own.
- One of the reasons you might want to use Re(B)uild is after you've
- created a new subdirectory on your disk outside of DV Tree.
-
-
- (M)ove N2.1
-
- (M)ove is a powerful tree screen command that lets you move entire
- directories, along with their subdirectory structures, to a new location
- in the same tree. To use (M)ove, select the directory you want to
- relocate with the cursor bar, and key M. A window titled 'Cut/Paste
- Directory' should appear at the top right of the screen, indicating that
- DV Tree is ready to move the directory whose name is displayed in this
-
-
-
- page -27-
-
- window. At this point, you can abort the move operation by hitting
- Escape.
- To proceed with the move, position the cursor bar over the desired
- destination directory, and hit Enter or the Spacebar.
-
-
- (K)lip
-
- The (K)lip command gives you a way to put the pointed-at directory
- 'out of sight' - in this way, it's similar to the E(X)clude main screen
- command. When you (K)lip a directory, it remains on the disk (and, in
- fact, in the tree), but you won't normally see it.
- The purpose of this command is to give you a way to make
- navigating your trees more manageable by hiding subdirectories that are
- normally just in the way and that you will seldom, if ever, need to access
- with DV Tree.
- If you use (K)lip to hide a directory with subdirectories, all of
- the subdirectories will be 'klipped' as well.
-
-
- + (The 'Klip' toggle) NIOS
-
- The + (plus key) tree command gives you a way to see your 'full'
- tree after you have used the (K)lip command to remove one or more
- directories. Alternating use of the + command toggles the 'UnKlipped'
- tree on and off. When the 'UnKlipped' tree is active, you will be able to
- tell because the title of the tree window will be 'UnKlipped!'
-
-
- (U)nklip
-
- The (U)nklip command undoes the effect of the (K)lip command.
- (U)nklip works on the pointed-at directory, and if this directory has
- subdirectories (that will also, necessarily, be klipped), it will give the
- option to 'unklip' them as well.
- The (U)nklip command, of course, can do nothing useful unless you
- have used the + toggle to make the full, 'UnKlipped' tree visible.
-
-
-
- Part 3:
- DESQview Specific Features
- --------------------------
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────┐
- │ DV TREE'S (E)XEC COMMAND │
- └────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- (E)xec
-
- The (E)xec command lets you 'execute' the pointed-at .COM, .EXE,
- or .BAT file in a DESQview window without having to define the program as
- a DESQview Application. This can be a good thing, or a bad thing; the
- window used by this command is a 'Writes Directly to Screen',
- non-virtualized, foreground only window. These characteristics can't be
- changed, and they may not be the optimum characteristics for any given
- program running in DESQview. If you have a program you will often want to
- run under DESQview, you should create an Open Menu entry for that program
- using Add a Program (or by cheating by using Change a Program on an
- application with similar characteristics, then changing the title, the
- Open Keys, the program path, etc..)
-
- That pointed out, (E)xec does have its uses, particularly when
- you'd like to run a small game or other simple program, or 'test drive' a
- new program, without having to open a DOS window. DV Tree attempts to
- tailor the DESQview memory allocated to the window according to the file
- size of the pointed-at file. The default equation is:
-
- File Size + 64K (or 128K, whichever is larger)
-
- Both the addition value (64K), and the minimum value (128K) are
- under your control - see the section CONFIGURATION. You may need to
- increase these values if you want to use (E)xec to launch large programs
- started from small batch files.
-
- An additional note on .BAT files: The (E)xec window is 'Close on
- Exit', meaning the first program executed within a .BAT file will result
- in the batch file itself ending, and the window closing. In most
- instances, this is the most desirable action, but if you want to use
- (E)xec to initiate complex batch files that execute multiple programs,
- this presents a problem. For an 'work-around', see Exhibit C in MORE FUN
- WITH DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS.
-
- N2.1
- You can also 'tie' the (E)xec command to DESQview Function
- definitions if you have applications whose data files use a common suffix.
- For instance, if your word processor's document files have the suffix
- ".WP5", you can use the (E)xec command to load or re-load your word
- processor with any of its files. This feature can be particularly useful
- for mouse users as (E)xec is on the mouse menu, but F-Keys are not. To
- accomplish this, you should:
-
-
-
-
- page -29-
-
- 1) Set up a DESQview Function key for your word processor (or
- other application) and test it. DESQview Functions are covered
- extensively in following sections of this manual.
-
- 2) Add %X??? (where ??? is a file extension) to the end of your
- DESQview Function code string for the application. More detail is given
- for the %X code in Appendix A.
-
- To facilitate the application launching aspects of (E)xec, the
- command may be 'reassigned' to either the Enter key or the Spacebar.
- Refer to the section COMMAND LINE OPTIONS for more information.
-
-
- @(E)xec NIOS
-
- @(E)xec is a variation on (E)xec. For @(E)xec, DV Tree opens a
- window that allows you to specify a memory value other than the default,
- plus any command line parameters you might wish to pass to the program.
-
- One of the best uses for the @(E)xec command is its ability to let
- you 'fine tune' the memory requirements of a program you want to add to
- DESQview - in other words, it is much easier to repeatedly test a program
- with different memory values using the @(E)xec command than it is with
- repeated uses of Change a Program.
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ (P)RINT - A FILE-ORIENTED 'MARK AND TRANSFER' │
- └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- (P)rint/@(P)rint NIOS N2.1
-
- These commands allow you to 'print' the pointed-at file into the
- window immediately underlying DV Tree. (P)rint does an exact, character
- for character transfer, while @(P) will try to 'intelligently' strip out
- carriage returns (Enter keystrokes) to allow the receiving application to
- word-wrap.
-
- The utility of these commands very likely depends on the
- applications that you use. They're primarily intended to help overcome
- the shortcomings of editor-like applications with insufficient facilities
- for pulling ASCII, or 'text', files into existing documents. Many
- existing E-Mail oriented applications have this problem - (P)rint and
- @(Print) operate by typing the pointed-at file directly into the
- underlying application through its keyboard, exactly as if you'd done it
- manually.
-
- You may also find @(P)rint useful for reformatting large amounts
- text in an editor program, or for first time loading of an ASCII file into
-
-
-
- page -30-
-
- a word processor that would normally, using the word processor's methods,
- result in large numbers of 'hard' carriage returns at the ends of lines as
- well as paragraphs.
-
- Please note that these commands are designed for ASCII text files.
- We do not recommend their use on other sorts of data files (such as word
- processing files with imbedded formatting directives.)
-
- The 'underlying window' these commands 'print' into is the
- application directly beneath DV Tree's top left corner. If no application
- is there, DV Tree will produce an error message and do nothing.
-
-
-
-
- ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ INTRODUCTION TO DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS │ N2.1
- └──────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- In this section you will learn about DV Tree's most important and
- most exciting feature - the ability to launch other DESQview Applications
- while, at the same time, 'feeding' them information such as the pointed-at
- filename, the name of the current directory, and many other possibilities
- besides these.
-
- It cannot be overly stated that this capability is the one and
- only real reason why DV Tree exists at all. All the other 'nice' features
- of the program, such as the (F)ind command and the Split Screen feature
- are just icing on the cake (unless you want to chalk them up to some sort
- of weird, late-night, bit-juggling masochism on the part of the author) -
- the DESQview Functions feature is truly the 'meat' of DV Tree.
-
- Because of the flexibility and relative complexity of some aspects
- of DESQview Functions, the best way to proceed is to get away from cliche
- food analogies and work by doing.
-
- For all the examples in this section, we will use a single
- DESQview Application: Vernon Buerg's shareware LIST program (experienced
- users feel free to substitute LISTS.COM). If you do not have a copy of
- LIST, you can:
-
- 1) Run DV Tree's (F)ind with a mask of 'LIST' on your hard drive
- - this wonderful program is so common that it may be lurking somewhere
- in the recesses of your system without you even knowing it!
-
- 2) Try to get one quick; it's available in one version or another
- on virtually every bulletin board system (BBS) known to Man.
-
- 3) Select a suitable substitute program. Ideally the substitute
- program should be either an ASCII file viewer or an editor with the
- capability of accepting an input filespec on the DOS command line and the
- ability either to handle multiple files internally (as LIST can) or reload
-
-
-
- page -31-
-
- a new file once running. Once you have done this, you are ready to
- proceed (thinking the name of your substitute program each time LIST is
- mentioned.)
-
- The process we will follow is broken down into several objectives.
- If you're confident you can accomplish the stated objective without
- directions, feel free to skip the (rather detailed) directions as you see
- fit and accomplish the objective on your own.
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Objective 1: Make LIST a 'DESQview Application'. This │
- │ consists of creating an Open Menu entry for LIST. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- Tap your DESQ key (probably ALT)
- Type O (for Open)
- Type AP (for Add a Program)
- Type O (for Other)
- Hit F1 (for Specify Program Information)
- Key in a title ('LIST for DV Tree' might be ok)
- TAB (to Open Keys)
- Key some keys ('LL' might be good)
- Key 85 (in 'Memory in K' (use 32k for
- LISTS.COM))
- TAB (to 'Program...:' field)
- type the full path to LIST.COM
- TAB (to 'Parameters:' field)
- Hit your Spacebar (to clear the field)
- Hit Enter (to Add List)
- Hit Enter again (to say you're done)
-
-
- LIST should now be available on your DESQview Open Menu (you can
- check to make sure if you like.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- page -32-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Objective 2: Assign the LIST application to DV Tree's │
- │ F1 key so that we can load any file into LIST by │
- │ positioning DV Tree's cursor bar over the file in │
- │ question, and hitting F1. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- Now that LIST is an official DESQview Application, we will link it
- to a DESQview Function Key in DV Tree. From DV Tree's main screen, type
- (Z)pecial, followed by 'D'.
-
- At this point, it's time for a brief explanation of what you
- should be seeing: There should be two windows over the DV Tree main
- screen, a large one on the right with a list of all available DESQview
- Applications, and a smaller one in the middle-left with a line each for F1
- through F10. The DESQview Functions feature works by assigning any of 30
- possible F-Keys to DESQview Applications. What you see in the smaller
- window is the assignment status of the 'normal' F1 through F10 keys. If
- you hit your TAB key, you can scroll this window to see the bank of
- assignments for @F1 through @F10 and ^F1 through ^F10.
-
- Unless you've gotten ahead of this 'tutorial/manual', you should
- see {undefined} next to each and every possible F-Key assignment. Before
- we move on, if you've used the TAB key to scroll through the banks, use it
- some more until the bottom line of the smaller window informs you that you
- are looking at the assignments for the 'Main' bank - the bank for the
- 'normal' F-Keys.
-
- Now - on to assigning LIST. Use your cursor keys to position the
- cursor bar in the right hand window over the entry for LIST (if you have
- more than one page of DESQview Applications, you may have to use PageDN to
- obtain the next page in order to see the line for LIST.) Once you've
- positioned your cursor bar, hit F1.
-
- You should now see a window titled 'Startup Method'. Select 'Pass
- filespec on Command Line'. This should result in the window going away,
- and an entry appearing next to the F1 line in left-hand window to inform
- you that you've assigned LIST successfully. Hit ESC until you've returned
- to DV Tree's main screen.
-
- While you're here, play a little - with the cursor bar over any
- filename in the display, hit F1. The LIST application should open and
- load immediately with the pointed-at file. (On the outside chance that it
- doesn't, key Z-C-.(dot) from DV Tree's main screen and make sure that the
- .DVP path specification correctly specifies the full DOS pathname to your
- main DESQview directory.)
-
- Pretty nifty, huh? Hit ESC, then open LIST again on another
- file.... You can even switch back to DV Tree and open multiple LIST
-
-
-
- page -33-
-
- windows at the same time (and be able to switch quickly between them via
- two rapid taps on your DESQ (probably Alt) key.
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Objective 3: Use DESQview's Learn feature to create a │
- │ script in the LIST application on key {255} that will │
- │ bring the LIST application to its internal file reload │
- │ prompt. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- This step is where things begin to get a little more complex....
- The objective now is to use DESQview's Learn feature to give us a way to
- reload a running LIST application with a new file. To do this, we will
- Learn a script on ASCII key {255}:
-
- 1) In the LIST window, hold down your Shift key, and tap your
- DESQ key (probably Alt.)
-
- 2) You should now be at DESQview's Learn menu (if not, try step
- one again - believe it or not, it can be tricky). Let go of your Shift
- key, and hit your Enter key (for 'Start Script'). DESQview should respond
- with a window asking you to tell it the key you want to define.
-
- 3) We want to make this key {255}. To do this, hold down your
- Alt key, and keep it down(!) On the numeric keypad of your keyboard type
- '255', and let go of your Alt key.
-
- 4) If you successfully performed step 3, you should see
- DESQview's 'Start a Script' window, and a line in that window that says
- 'Key: {255}' If this is not true, hit ESC until DESQview again asks what
- key you want to define, then retry step 3.
-
- 5) At the prompt in the 'Start a Script' window, give this script
- a title ('Load new file' might be a good one.) When you've composed your
- title, hit Enter.
-
- 6) DESQview is officially 'Learning' your {255} script. To get
- LIST to its internal file reloading prompt, hit @F (alt-F). If you've
- done this correctly, the bottom left hand corner of your LIST window
- should say 'New File:'.
-
- 7) Hold down your Shift key again and tap DESQ to bring back
- DESQview's Learn menu. Tell DESQview to 'Finish Script' by hitting your
- Enter key.
-
- 8) Bring back the Learn menu (Shift-Alt), and tell DESQview to
- save the script file (Key 'S' followed by Enter.)
-
-
-
-
- page -34-
-
-
- With luck, you've successfully defined a {255} script that DV Tree
- can use to load LIST with additional files. To make sure, you can close
- the LIST window we've been using and open a new one. In the new window,
- hold down your Alt key (and keep it down), then key 255 on your numeric
- keypad and release your Alt key. If LIST responds by presenting the New
- File: prompt in the bottom left hand corner of the window (without any
- accompanying beeps or strange side effects), then you've won (!). If not,
- you can try repeating the above steps anew, and you might also want to
- refer to your DESQview manual so that you understand more fully what we're
- trying to do with DESQview's Learn feature.
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Objective 4: Modify DV Tree's 'understanding' of the │
- │ LIST application so that it knows how to exploit the │
- │ {255} script that we just defined. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- With the {255} script successfully defined for LIST, we can begin
- to get 'fancy' with DV Tree. In the DV Tree window, key Z-D to get to
- DESQview Functions, hit F1, and tell DV Tree you want to 'Edit Code
- String'. You should see an input prompt loaded with: %c%p . Change the
- string so that it looks like this:
-
- %c%p%A&z%p%e
-
- When you're finished, hit Enter. If all is well, you can ESC back
- to DV Tree's main screen and try your F1 key again. This time, instead of
- opening a new LIST application, DV Tree should reload the currently
- running LIST with the new file. And because LIST can handle multiple
- files at once, the 'old' file should also be there: ^PageUP in LIST takes
- you to the previous file, and ^PageDN takes you in the other direction.
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Objective 5: Expand on what we've just done so that │
- │ we can have LIST load or reload multiple files with a │
- │ single use of the F1 key. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- (Important note if you're NOT using LIST for this example: Skip
- this objective if the program you are using does not support the handling
- of multiple files in some way.)
-
-
-
-
- page -35-
-
- This step is easy: Repeat the steps in objective 4, but this time
- add %Z to the end of the code string so that it looks like this:
-
- %c%p%A&z%p%e%Z
-
- Hit ESC until you're back to DV Tree's main display, mark 4 or 5
- files with Enter or your Spacebar, hit F1, and watch what happens: LIST
- should load all of the files you've marked, and you can test this by using
- ^PageUP and ^PageDN to find them all. (If, by chance, all the files
- aren't there, or if you heard beeps when trying this, you probably need to
- add a 'delay code' to the code string to slow DV Tree down a little. To
- add a half second delay between reloads, make the string look like this:
- %c%p%A&.5&z%p%e%Z ).
-
- By the way, if you use F1 as it's presently defined in a display
- with no files marked, it will load LIST with only the pointed-at file, so
- you get the best of both worlds. On the other hand, you may decide you
- don't want this multi-file capability and prefer to be able to LIST single
- files, while leaving marked files alone; in that case you might change F1
- back to the way it was in Objective 4 (or you could assign LIST to
- multiple keys and have all sorts of possible permutations....)
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Objective 6: (Optional, but recommended) Compare the │
- │ DESQview Function code strings you used in this example │
- │ with their complete descriptions in Appendix A of this │
- │ manual to help you understand exactly what you just did. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- If all went well, you've just seen several practical examples of
- the most unique feature of DV Tree. If you were already familiar with
- LIST, you may also have discovered capabilities you weren't aware that it
- had! (And that isn't all - there's another neat 'trick' up LIST's sleeve
- that's shown later in MORE FUN WITH DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS).
-
- Although we used a single program as an example in this section,
- the steps we followed can, in principle, be applied to virtually any
- program you might want to run under DESQview. It may take some ingenuity
- on your part to get the code string right, but if the program can load a
- file, whether on the command line or through keyboard input, DV Tree can
- likely load it with that file for you, as well as reload it with a new
- file whenever you desire.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- page -36-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ RUNNING DV TREE IN A SMALL WINDOW │ N2.1
- └─────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- When using DV Tree to its full potential, such as in the example
- on LIST in the previous section, it may often be desirable to run it in
- less than the full screen window, thus leaving a portion of the underlying
- application visible on the monitor screen and giving DV Tree the effect of
- a 'pop up' file interface for the application. To accommodate this need,
- DV Tree acts in the following ways:
-
- 1) Paging commands on the main screen are 'aware' of the number
- of file entries visible on the screen and will act accordingly. For
- example, if you've reduced the display to five visible lines, PageDn will
- move ahead 5 files. With this feature, you could still have a useful DV
- Tree window even if you shrunk it to three or four visible lines in a
- skinny 3 x 13 window!
-
- 2) In split screen, if the window is small enough, the split swap
- commands (the '/' key and TAB in vertical split mode) will reposition the
- window so that the 'swapped to' side of the split becomes visible.
-
- 3) Also in split screen, if you've in some way 'shrunk' the
- window so that it 'hugs' one side of the split, the (F)lip Horz/Vert
- command on the split menu ([) will cause the window to be resized to
- compliment the changed format.
-
- To try DV Tree in a small window, you can use DESQview's Resize
- function (on the Rearrange menu) to test various window sizes. You may
- also want to try using the version of DV Tree's PIF shipped as TZ-PIF.DVP
- (Open Keys 'TZ' if you added this to DESQview's Open Menu during
- installation.) The 'TZ' PIF is nothing more than a variation on DESQview
- Tree 100K - the only differences are that it comes up in a 22 x 30 window,
- and has OPP=* on the command line to throw it automatically into split
- screen mode.
-
- DV Tree also has one more main screen command intended for use
- when running in this way:
-
-
- * @ESC NIOS N2.1
-
- This command requests DV Tree to bring the application directly
- beneath its top left corner to the foreground. This key is not available
- on non-enhanced keyboards, but a script could be manually created (or
- 'Learned' on a machine that does support @ESC) to reassign it to an
- available key.
- This command is useful because, if you use DV Tree as a pop-up
- file menu, it's a quick, common way to 'just make the menu go away'.
-
-
-
-
- page -37-
-
- Final note: If you habitually run in high-resolution mode on an
- EGA or VGA monitor, you should also read the EGA/VGA section later in this
- document.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ SETTING UP A HELP SYSTEM FOR DV TREE │ N2.1
- └────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- One of the reasons why DV Tree can be so fast and small is that it
- has no built-in help system beyond the Option Summary. However, many of
- the commands aren't shown on the Option Summary, and the author will not
- argue the fact that help would be useful. Because of this, DV Tree comes
- with a short text file shipped as DVQUICK.REF that gives you as short a
- summary of all the available commands as possible.
-
- You may be thinking, "But that's not a help system!" You're
- right, it isn't. But... If you've worked through the previous section or
- have for any other reason created a DESQview Open Menu entry for LIST or
- any other file viewing program, you can create your own help for DV Tree
- by doing Change a Program on your LIST (or other) definition and:
-
- Key a new title ('DV Tree Help' might work)
- Tab (to 'Open Keys')
- Change the keys (use '00' or something like that,
- i.e. something you wouldn't
- normally use)
- TAB 2 times (to 'Parameters:' field)
- type the full path to DVQUICK.REF
- Hit Enter (to finish this)
-
- You can test this quickly by doing an Open on 00 (assuming those
- were the keys you used.)
-
- To complete the process, use DESQview's Learn to create a script
- in the DV Tree window:
-
- Get the Learn menu (Probably Shift-Alt)
- Hit Enter (Start Script)
- Hit @H (a good key for help, no?)
- Type a title ('Help' or something like that)
- Hit Enter (to start 'Learning')
- Tap your DESQ key (probably Alt)
- Hit O (for 'Open')
- Hit 00 (the keys you used last step)
- Get the Learn menu again (Probably Shift-Alt)
- Hit Enter (Finish Script)
-
- Now, switch back to DV Tree, get back the Learn Menu, and save
- your script.
-
-
-
- page -38-
-
-
- If all has gone well, you can view DVQUICK.REF at any time in DV
- Tree by hitting @H (and who said multi-tasking was only good for
- background file transfers?)
-
- Please note that while you've 'Learned' this script for one DV
- Tree window, you may also need to Learn it in the others (if you use
- them). However, there's a trick you can use for this sort of situation:
- In the 'other' DV Tree windows, Learn a script named '!Startup' that
- brings up the Learn menu and loads your 'main' DV Tree script file
- (TL-SCRIP.DVS, or whatever). Doing it this way gives you only one DV
- Tree script file to maintain, and this is especially useful if you use a
- lot of scripts. (If you DO use a lot of scripts, you might find
- something of interest in the DVSCRIP1.ZIP archive that's included with
- DV Tree.) (You might already have done the above during install of 2.2+)
-
- You should also consider the DVQUICK.REF file to be entirely yours.
- Many of the commands in it you will learn by heart very quickly (or
- consider redundant because they are also in the Option Summary.) The
- power is yours to use a text editor to 'cull' whatever you already know
- from the commands listed so that what you don't know or feel you might not
- remember stands out more prominently. Another thing you might decide to
- do as you become more experienced with DESQview Functions, is move the
- DESQview Function reference to the top, since, in practice, you're more
- likely to need it handy more often than any other part of the file.
-
- Another DESQview Functions help Tip: If you find yourself doing
- lots of work with DESQview Functions, and you haven't printed out this
- manual (or even if you have), using a text editor to copy Appendix A to
- the end of DVQUICK.REF might be a very good idea.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ MORE FUN WITH DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS │ N2.1
- └────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- This section's purpose is to expand on the INTRODUCTION TO
- DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS using more real world examples. However, we will
- also assume that you at least know how to perform 'basic' tasks such as
- 'Learning' DESQview scripts, getting into the part of DV Tree where you
- can define DESQview Functions, and creating and changing DESQview
- Applications for your programs. In this sense, this section is written
- for the theoretical audience of the 'knowledgeable user'.
-
- Before we 'dig in', a little philosophy is in order: DESQview is
- designed to run applications in separate windows or partitions, and DV
- Tree is designed to maximize this capability. However, a lot of people
- tend to do a lot of work in DESQview's generic 'Big DOS' window or other
- DOS windows, thus avoiding the creation of separate Open Window entries
-
-
-
- page -39-
-
- for smaller programs. For 'miscellaneous' sorts of work, this is okay,
- but in the end it defeats the purpose of multi-tasking, especially with
- respect to DV Tree.
-
- You might interpret the philosophy expressed here as a call to
- give your 'small' programs the credit they deserve - run them in small
- windows. A version of LIST, LISTS.COM, will run well with all but a few
- features available in 32K with no problems at all. Most good dedicated
- editors, such as the widely available Q-Edit, will also run wonderfully in
- very minimal amounts of memory - Q-Edit, to continue the example, can
- function as the perfect batch file editor in a 70K window. This may make
- no difference to you if you have a 486 processor with 8 megs of memory,
- but most of us aren't there yet!
-
- To get the most out of DV Tree, you should create Open Menu
- entries for virtually all the software you use - word processors,
- spreadsheets, editors, listers, i.e. whatever you use often on a regular
- basis. In some cases, you might end up with multiple Open Menu entries
- for the same program - the author has a 70K Q-Edit window assigned to F2,
- a 200K Q-Edit window assigned to @F2, and a 400K Q-Edit window assigned to
- F8. Granted, all three keys technically execute 'the same program', but
- in reality, each performs a different 'purpose' (one edits batch files,
- another edits text files, and the third edits the source code for the
- program you're reading about and using.) There's a common myth in the DOS
- world that no 'useful' multi-tasking is possible on less than a 386
- processor with 2 megabytes of RAM. Well, DV Tree was written on a 286
- clone blessed with only 1 Meg of RAM for most of its development cycle
- (the author now has a second meg that he proudly uses as a RAM disk.)
-
- With that out of the way, it's time for the 'FUN' promised in this
- section's title. The idea is not only to present you with a lot more
- 'real world' examples that work with DV Tree's DESQview Functions feature,
- but also give you ideas of how you might use DV Tree with the applications
- you already use, and perhaps even to suggest some programs that you don't
- use, but might find useful.
-
- It should be pointed out at this time that the real documentation
- for the DESQview Functions feature of DV Tree is all in Appendix A.
- Everything works by what we call 'code strings', and code strings are made
- up of sequences of 'codes' and normal characters. A code begins with
- either the '%' (percent) sign, or the '&' (ampersand) sign. With a few
- exceptions, codes are two characters in length. To give an example, the
- code string generated when you select 'Pass filespec on Command Line'
- consists of two codes: %c%p. When alphabetic characters appear as part of
- codes, they are case-sensitive (i.e. %c is not equivalent to %C). %c
- tells DV Tree that you want to put something on the starting application's
- command line, and %p tells DV Tree what that something is, in this case,
- the full filespec of the pointed-at file. Much more detail on this, and
- on all other codes, is available in Appendix A.
-
- You might guess from the above that %c is an important code. In
- Appendix A, the various codes are divided into broad groups, and %c is one
-
-
-
- page -40-
-
- of the three 'major codes'. The other major codes are %k, which tells DV
- Tree to send keystroke input, rather than command line input, to the
- starting application; and %A, which does the same thing as %k, but only if
- the application in question is already active. %p, the full filespec
- code, is also major in the sense that it is the fully qualified filespec
- of the file you are pointing at when you hit an F-Key, and you're
- presumably hitting the F-Key because you want to do something with the
- file you're pointing at.
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Exhibit A: A bunch of miscellaneous │
- │ 'real world' strings │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- 1) Lotus 1-2-3 release 2 %k&3/fr%E%E%p%e
- 2) Lotus 1-2-3 w/Logitech mouse %k%e&5/fr%E%E%p%e
- 3) DESQview Notepad %k&1d%p%e
- 4) PKUNZIP to opposite split %c%p%O%r
- 5) Use QP.COM to print in background %c-f %p%-
-
-
- All of the above examples apply only to the initial file loading
- capability of DESQview Functions, not the reload capability. They make a
- good 'sample group', however, because you can see how different the code
- string may look from application to application. In fact, the only common
- thing among all these strings is that they each contain %p somewhere - the
- code to expand the name of the pointed-at file.
-
- The first two lines apply to the popular spreadsheet Lotus 1-2-3
- (release 2). If you are a Lotus user, these codes may work for you as
- presented, or they may require modification (specifically, modification of
- the &3 and &5 delay codes if you have a slow machine.) Incidentally,
- these are not necessarily the optimal codes for Lotus, especially if you
- think being able to quickly load different spreadsheets via DV Tree might
- be useful - these strings are just good examples of fairly complex
- keystroke input situations; note the %E (ESC) codes. A good project might
- be to try to implement the reload feature for LOTUS so that your string
- looks something like this:
-
- %k&3&z%p%e%A&z%p%e (Lotus 1-2-3 release 2)
-
- To be able to do this, you need to first Learn a {255} script
- for Lotus (this is what is required for the &z code) that brings it to
- its file reload prompt (i.e., it contains the keystrokes /fr ESC ESC ).
- Also notice how the delay code &3 is still in the string. Delays are
- almost always necessary in %k and %A strings.
-
-
-
-
-
- page -41-
-
- The string for the DESQview companion DESQview Notepad is shown as
- another example of an application that cannot take input on the DOS
- command line.
-
-
- The notable element of the string for PKUNZIP is the %O code - a
- code especially useful when working in split screen. If you create a
- PKUNZIP DESQview Application with a memory size of around 128K, these
- codes can enable you to 'unzip' the pointed-at ZIP file into the directory
- in the opposite split, or, if the screen is not split, the directory in
- the directory line of the PKUNZIP PIF (i.e. The 'Directory.:' field on
- page 1 of Change a Program). If the PIF directory is blank, DV Tree will
- cause unzipping to occur into the current directory. The %r code says
- that when PKUNZIP is finished and DV Tree again becomes foreground, the
- displayed directories will be automatically updated.
-
- PKUNZIP/DV Tip: In setting up a PIF for PKUNZIP, it is often
- useful to place a '?' in the Parameters: field on Add/Change a Program.
- The ? causes the PKUNZIP window to pause at startup, allowing you to add
- additional parameters to PKUNZIP's command line. This is useful because
- it allows you to add file masks for specific files if you want to limit
- what's extracted from the zip file, but if you just hit Enter when the
- window is paused, PKUNZIP will proceed to extract all files.
-
- If you are a regular user of PKUNZIP and/or other archive
- management programs, you should also take the time to review the contents
- of the UTILITY.ZIP file distributed with DV Tree. Among other things,
- you'll find a batch file you can run against ANY archive file type in
- order to invoke the appropriate un-archive program, plus an example of how
- to set up a DESQview Function for the common FV.COM (also by V. Buerg of
- LIST fame) that will let you quickly get a list of the contents of an
- archive file of virtually any type.
-
- The last example for QP.COM is good because it shows how you can
- mix normal DOS command line parameters with the actual codes in the code
- string. QP.COM is a small utility (distributed as QUPIE.ZIP) that does a
- nice job of performing background print functions (and you can use the %-
- code, as in this example, to have the program start in the background.)
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Exhibit B: PKZIP and the %@ code │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- In this exhibit we'll refer to PKZIP, but if you use a different
- archive manager, the same principles will very likely apply. PKZIP,
- specifically, will usually run well in a 128K window.
-
-
-
-
- page -42-
-
- Here are two example strings for use with PKZIP:
-
- PKZIP to opposite split %c%Q08 %d\*.*%O%r
- PKZIP using @list %c%Q08 @%@ %O%r
-
- Both strings begin by:
-
- Specifying command line input (%c)
- Opening an 8 character input window (%Q08)
-
- The %Q08 code gives you an input window for the zip file name,
- then the first example goes on to:
-
- adding the current directory filespec (%d)
- appending the characters \*.* (to get all the files)
-
- In the second example we:
-
- add the @ character (PKZIP's @list parameter)
- add the %@ code
-
- The %@ code causes DV Tree to create a work file in the DV Tree
- directory containing the names of all the files you have marked in the
- current display (it could be a directory display, or a (F)ind display.)
- DV Tree then adds the name of this file to the command line. With this
- setup, PKZIP should proceed to create a zip file from all the files you
- have marked.
-
- Depending on the way you use PKZIP, you might want to modify the
- examples to include some of PKZIP's other command line parameters such as
- -m or -r.
-
- The two examples each have their advantages, though the second is
- the most versatile. In the first you have a single keystroke way of
- zipping up everything in the current directory. In the second, however,
- you have a way to selectively run PKZIP, but if you want to get all of the
- current directory, you first have to mark all the files (probably by using
- the Mas(K) command.)
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Exhibit C: Creating a variation on │
- │ DV Tree's (E)xec command │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- The 'hard-coded' nature of the PIF used to start a program when
- you use (E)xec is explained in section DESQVIEW SPECIFIC FEATURES. You
-
-
-
- page -43-
-
- can overcome this by creating a DESQview Application with nothing in
- Program.: field, and assigning this to an F-Key with 'Pass filespec on the
- command line'.
-
- The resulting DESQview Function will act similarly to (E)xec,
- except that in this instance, the various parameters of the PIF, such as
- screen virtualization and 'Close on Exit', are now completely under your
- control via Change a Program. If your intention in creating this DESQview
- Function is, in fact, to set 'Close on Exit' to No to give you a way to
- run complex batch files, you might also want to do the following:
-
- 1) Add %Xbat to the end of the code string for the function; this
- will 'tie' the F-Key to the (E)xec command and, in the process, override
- the parameters for .BAT files only.
-
- 2) Add the statement EXIT to the end of your batch files; this
- will give you control on exactly when the .BAT file DOES exit and cause
- the window to close.
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Exhibit D: Using LIST as a text search │
- │ utility. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- Recent versions of Vernon Buerg's LIST (LIST75a+) have the
- capability to start a multiple file text scan through use of the /F
- command line option. We can exploit this easily by assigning the LIST
- application to a second F-Key with the following codes:
-
- %c*.* /F%?%D
-
- The meaning of the codes (as all other codes used in this
- section), may be found in Appendix A.
-
- A LIST F-Key setup in this way will give you an input prompt
- window for a text string to search for, then open LIST to search for the
- string through all the files in the current directory
-
- A note re:LIST: Once the first occurrence of the string is found,
- LIST's @A (alt-A) command will continue the search through the remaining
- files (the LIST F3 and A commands will not load the next file.)
-
- Depending on how you work, you may want to replace *.* in the
- example with the %i code.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- page -44-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Exhibit E: A 'Slave' DOS window with │
- │ command memory. │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- This exhibit might be otherwise called a 'DV Tree trick' - that
- is, it takes advantage of several features in order to produce something
- quite different than anything that might readily be apparent.
-
- Even though DV Tree can do a great deal, there may be times when
- what you want to accomplish is best done directly from the DOS command
- line. By using DV Tree's input prompt, you can do this via a DV Tree
- DESQview Function assigned to a DOS window with the following codes:
-
- %k&2%Q50%e%A%Q50%e
-
- Notes:
-
- 1) Things you might want to try in defining the DOS window are
- making it Writes Directly to Screen = N, and either leaving the starting
- row/col size blank, or using values to create a half-screen window.
-
- 2) A good thing to put in the Program...: field of a DOS window
- PIF might be CLS (rather than leaving it blank.)
-
- 3) A setup like this even gives you a 8 command history buffer
- in the input prompt window (see the section DV TREE'S COMMAND HISTORY
- FEATURE.)
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ │
- │ Exhibit F: A DOS XCOPY window │
- │ │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- In the section TREE MANAGEMENT, you learned how DV Tree can move
- directories and subdirectory structures to different locations on the same
- drive. However, there may be times when you want to either duplicate a
- subdirectory structure on the same drive, or on different drive. DOS
- provides XCOPY.EXE for this function, and you can exploit DV Tree's split
- screen to let you run an XCOPY DESQview Application quickly and easily,
- copying all files and subdirectories from the current side of the split to
- the opposite side with the following code string:
-
- %c%d /E /S%O%r
-
-
-
-
- page -45-
-
- With this example, the following happens:
-
- 1) The XCOPY application starts in the directory of the opposite
- side of the split (because of the %O code.)
- 2) XCOPY acts on the current directory (because of %d), and
- creates and copies subdirectories because of the command line parameters
- /E and /S.
- 3) DV Tree's display is refreshed when XCOPY finishes and DV Tree
- again comes foreground (because of %r.)
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ MISCELLANEOUS DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS FEATURES │ N2.3
- └────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- This section details various program features designed to support
- the creation and maintenance of DESQview Functions.
-
- From the main Z-D menu, it is possible to define 10 'user macro'
- strings. You may consider these 10 strings as 'substrings' that can be
- expanded into normal code strings, letting you create code strings longer
- than 30 characters, along with the ability to crunch commonly used
- sequences into two character positions:
-
- * To define any of these strings, hit a numeric key (0-9).
-
- * To expand a user macro string in another code string, use %n
- (where n = the numeric key you've defined).
-
- Please note that, in order to keep the macro string function as
- flexible as possible, DV Tree does not attempt to validate the correctness
- of macro code string sequences, so the only way to find out if you coded
- something correctly is by hitting an F-Key that expands the macro, and
- making sure you've achieved the desired result.
-
- Also in support of DESQview Functions, the following options are
- available on the menu when an already assigned function key is hit from
- the main Z-D menu:
-
-
- (E)dit Code String --- self-explanatory
- (U)nassign Key --- self-explanatory
-
-
- (C)lone Code String ( + (L)oad Cloned Codes )
-
- This option copies the key's existing code string into a temporary
- buffer so that you may later apply it to another function key, either at
- initial assignment by selecting (L)oad with Cloned Codes, or from this same
- menu by selecting (L)oad Cloned Codes. This can be particularly useful in
-
-
-
- page -46-
-
- cases where you want to 'move' a function key, or produce a new key that
- is a variation on one you already use.
-
-
- (A)ssign .EXT File ( + (R)eload .EXT file )
-
- These options control the linking of a key with a .EXT file. Use
- Assign to create the link, and reload when you have updated a .EXT file
- and want DV Tree to recognize your changes. For more information, see the
- section USING .EXT FILES.
-
-
- (T)itle Edit
-
- Title edit is a powerful as well as a complex option. On the
- surface, it simply allows you to change the title of the application to
- something different than that shown on DESQview's Open Menu. Some ways
- you might take advantage of this feature:
-
- 1) When you have the same application defined multiple times for
- different purposes, you can give each instance a more descriptive name.
-
- 2) When you have PIFs that are not on DESQview's Open Menu, you
- can give them names other than ??-PIF.DVP.
-
- Note: You can remove an alternate title by spacing out the
- alternate title prompt.
-
- The complexity of this option comes into play mostly with respect
- to the %A code that tells DV Tree what to do when the application assigned
- to a function key is already active, and what happens in these cases
- depends on whether or not you are running DVTXDI. But assuming you are
- using DVTXDI, you should be aware of the following:
-
- 1) When DV Tree looks for an active application, it first checks
- to see if it 'remembers' starting one. If this check fails, it then asks
- DVTXDI if there is another application running with this one's 'open
- keys', and if so, recognizes this as a copy of the application you are
- trying to use. This can be either good or bad when you have multiple
- function keys assigned to the same application, all depending on how you
- are trying to use them.
-
- 2) To have DV Tree treat two iterations of the same application
- as different applications, you *must* assign an alternate title to at
- least one of the function keys, and you *must* use the %T code in the code
- string of each. When the %T code is present DV Tree checks to make sure
- that the application identified by DVTXDI has the same title as the one
- it is working with, and, if so, only then does it consider it as the same
- application. This title comparison is carried out to a length of 14
- characters only, as DV Tree uses character positions beyond 14 (if they
- are available) for loading in application file names.
-
-
-
-
- page -47-
-
-
- (O)pen Keys Change
-
- This option lets you change directly the Open Keys for which the
- F-Key is defined. Any two character combination may be entered, and no
- check is made to ensure that the application is a valid one. However, as
- long an alternate title has not been assigned to the key, DV Tree will
- respond by showing you the name of application if the Open Keys are
- available on DESQview's Open Menu, or ??-PIF.DVP in other cases.
-
- For advanced users with some sort of DESQview PIF editor, this
- option, (T)itle edit, and the .DVP path configuration option may be used
- to create and maintain a customized DV Tree setup without respect to the
- contents of DESQview's Open Menu.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────┐
- │ USING .EXT FILES │ N2.3
- └────────────────────┘
-
- Version 2.3 (and above) of DV Tree allow you to associate multiple
- file extensions with a DESQview Function via a simple ASCII text file. To
- use this feature, you must use a text editor to create a file in DV Tree's
- home directory that contains the list of extensions. The list should be
- formatted with one extension per line, and should contain no other data
- but the list. For more information, please see the file SAMPLE.EXT. Once
- you have created the file, use the (A)ssign .EXT File option from the
- DESQview Functions edit menu to establish the link.
-
- You may view this feature as an extension of the %X??? special
- action code (see Appendix A). Both types of specifications are supported,
- but %X takes priority; in other words, when you hit (E)xec, all code
- strings are scanned for a matching extension in %X??? codes before any
- .EXT file data is searched.
-
-
-
- Part 4:
- DV Tree Customization
- ---------------------
-
- ┌────────────────────────────────┐
- │ CONFIGURATION (ZPECIAL MENU) │
- └────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- The following is an explanation of the items you can customize through the
- DV Tree's Configuration menu:
-
-
- DESQ Directory
-
- This should be the directory where DESQview keeps its own files.
- (default is C:\DV). A drive specifier is required. This path
- specification is what DV Tree uses to find DESQview's DESQVIEW.DVO file
- (which contains the Open Window list.)
-
-
- .DVP Directory
-
- You should generally set this option identically to the DESQ
- directory. It exists primarily for non-standard configurations in which
- PIF files are maintained in a separate directory for ease of backup or
- other reasons.
-
-
- File # Max
-
- This value controls the maximum number of files in a directory
- that DV Tree is prepared to handle. Possible values are 1 to 999, and the
- default is 200. On an attempt to access a directory with more files than
- this limit, an error message is displayed, and the file list available to
- you is truncated. Operations may then proceed as normal, but not all
- files will be available in the list. When running in split screen, this
- number is effectively cut in half for each side of the split.
-
-
- Tree Size Max
-
- This value controls the maximum number of directories per drive
- that DV Tree is prepared to handle. Default is 100. An attempt to access
- a tree on a drive whose directory count exceeds this limit will fail.
-
-
- Exec K Addition
-
- This is the value added to the size the pointed-at file to get the
- memory size value for new window when you use the (E)xec or @(E)xec
- commands. The default is 64k.
-
-
-
-
-
- page -49-
-
- Minimum Exec K
-
- This is the value that is used for (E)xec and @(E)xec if it is
- larger than the results of the normal (file size + 64K) equation. The
- default is 128K. You may want to increase this value if you want to use
- (E)xec to start large programs via small batch (.BAT) files.
-
-
- Restore Defaults
-
- This option resets DV Tree's color scheme (see section COLOR
- CUSTOMIZATION), all global options (see section GLOBALS SAVE/VIEW), and
- all of the above options back to their stated default values. You will be
- asked to verify your request before the restoration of defaults occurs.
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────┐
- │ COLOR CUSTOMIZATION │ N2.1
- └───────────────────────┘
-
- Two separate and distinct methods are available for managing the
- appearance of DV Tree's windows on color systems; the difference lies in
- whether the PIF of the DV Tree window has 'Uses own colors?' set to 'Y' or
- 'N' (This is one of the fields at the bottom of page 2 of the Add/Change a
- Program displays.)
-
- Method 1: (Uses own colors = N) (REQUIRED for monochrome systems)
-
- This value in the PIF tells DESQview it has complete control over
- the colors in DV Tree, and the window colors you see result from the four
- combinations configured in DESQview's Advanced Setup. Once the window is
- active, the colors may be changed via DESQview's Rearrange/Colors
- facility; DV Tree's Adjust Color feature will have absolutely no effect.
-
- Method 2: (Uses own colors = Y)
-
- This value in the PIF lets DV Tree take over. By default, the
- various DV Tree windows will have a blue on white color scheme, but this
- may easily be modified. To change the colors, issue the (Z)pecial main
- screen command and select (A)djust Colors. The program responds by
- popping up the tree window, then a small work window. Using the cursor
- keys, you can scroll through all available color combinations in the
- current palette. Using the number keys 1, 2, and 3, you can redirect the
- effect of the cursor keys between the three windows. When you are
- satisfied with the colors, hit ESC. DV Tree will ask if you want to save
- the new values, and if you respond with Y, your color settings will be
- stored in DV Tree's configuration file and remembered on subsequent
- executions.
-
-
-
-
- page -50-
-
- If you haven't modified the default installation PIFs that came
- with DV Tree, this is how color should work on your system. After you've
- changed the colors, if a copy of DV Tree is run in a window with Uses own
- colors = N, your color settings will be ignored. You should also know
- that DV Tree has no way of knowing of any color changes you may make using
- DESQview's Rearrange/Colors, so (A)djust Colors cannot save them unless
- you use it to set them.
-
- A final, general note on DESQview and color: DESQview specific
- applications like DV Tree can be very dependent on DESQview itself being
- configured with reasonable color scheme. Colors for programs running with
- Uses own color = N are entirely dependent on reasonable combinations
- configured by the Advanced Setup for DESQview. DESQview specific programs
- are also, regardless of the Uses own color setting, highly sensitive to
- settings in the DESQview color palette.
-
- With recent releases of DESQview, Quarterdeck Office Systems has
- bundled a small 'companion' program called DESQview Palette (DVPAL.COM).
- This program is not documented in the DESQview Version 2 manual, and it's
- mentioned only briefly in upgrade booklets, but it comes with a ready-made
- PIF that you can add to the Open Menu if you tell Add a Program to look in
- the main DESQview directory. Through DVPAL it is possible to customize
- the standard set of sixteen colors available to DV Tree, thus further
- enhancing the color scheme of the display. One of the most practical
- things possible with DVPAL is a modification of the color for highlighted
- black, since by default highlighted black looks little different than
- standard black, and this has an especially detrimental effect on attempts
- to setup DV Tree with black characters on any background. Changing
- highlighted black to something like yellow or gray vastly increases the
- usefulness of DV Tree's (A)djust Colors command.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────┐
- │ THE CONFIGURABLE TOGGLES │
- └────────────────────────────┘
-
- Most DV Tree commands that you find on Ctrl- key combinations are
- configurable toggles. Alternating uses of a toggle turn it on and off,
- and when you use a toggle, the new setting is shown via an informational
- message. These commands are set up this way because they are
- 'configuration-like' - that is, they apply more to how the program works,
- than to any operation you might want to perform - but they are also
- features that you might want to occasionally have on, but at other times
- have off.
-
- See the next section to learn how the settings of these toggles
- may be saved and 'remembered' in DV Tree's configuration file.
-
-
-
-
-
- page -51-
-
- ^A
-
- With this toggle on, every time DV Tree becomes the foreground
- application, it will reread its displayed directory or directories. This
- toggle makes permanent the effect available via the %r DV Function code
- and the DVTUPDAT utility in the UTILITY.ZIP archive. Initial default is
- OFF.
-
-
- ^C
-
- When on, this toggle has an effect only in split screen - on
- copy/move operations, DV Tree will assume the directory in the opposite
- split to be the desired destination. Identical to hitting C or M followed
- immediately by the TAB key. Initial default is OFF.
- Please note that the way ^C is set has a bearing on the function
- of the ^Q toggle as well - see ^Q for more information.
-
-
- ^F
-
- Toggles DESQview field marks (the '»' mark preceding selected
- fields) on/off. Initial default is ON.
-
-
- ^T
-
- Toggles alphabetical sorting of trees during build/rebuild
- operations. Initial default is ON. As of release 1.8.2, adds are placed
- at the bottom of the tree, and renamed directories are not moved.
- Rebuilding the tree with this toggle on will reinstate the current alpha
- sort order. Note: 'Klipped' subdirectories will always show at the bottom
- of their respective branches in a sorted tree.
-
-
- ^D (show subdirectories) N2.1
-
- With the ^D toggle on, DV Tree's file display will show entries
- for the parent directory (<..>), and any subdirectories of the viewed
- directory. These entries cannot be marked; 'selecting' them, however,
- will effectively change directories. Initial status is OFF.
-
- Notes:
-
- 1) If you select a directory entry that is not in the tree (i.e.
- you've created it outside of DV Tree since the last time the tree was
- rebuilt), an automatic rebuild of the tree will be forced.
-
- 2) If you select a directory entry that is klipped, the
- 'Unklipped!' will automatically be activated.
-
-
-
-
-
- page -52-
-
-
- ^E (expert keys) N2.3 (N2.2)
-
- ^E is a toggle for experienced DV Tree users that eliminates some
- of the informational messages and question/answer dialogs DV Tree produces
- while running. It has the following specific effects:
-
- - The Q&A to confirm the (M)ove command is bypassed.
- - the Q&A to confirm the Tree (K)lip command is bypassed.
- - The toggle status info window after changes of toggle status is
- never shown. Note that the status off all toggles is available on the
- Z-(G)lobals save/view screen (see next section). Initial status is OFF.
-
-
- ^Q (quik floppies) N2.3 (N2.2)
-
- This toggle is provided to improve the flexibility of tree
- operations, especially regarding copy/move. The default setting of this
- toggle is ON, but for users upgrading from DV Tree 2.1, it will be OFF.
-
- The ^Q toggle controls how DV Tree handles disks with no directory
- structures (these will usually be floppy diskettes.) With ^Q ON, the
- following occurs:
-
- 1) Copies to 'no-directory' disks will bypass the tree, making
- such copies a one- or two- step operation, depending on the status of the
- ^C toggle.
-
- 2) Selecting a 'no-directory' drive from the (T)ree-(S)witch menu
- will bypass the tree.
-
- 3) Copies from a 'no-directory' drive will go immediately to the
- (S)witch menu.
-
- Since the above three actions generally represent 'logical' next
- steps, most people will want to run with ^Q on. If, however, you keep the
- ^C (auto copy) ON on a normal basis, you may want to turn ^Q OFF. In any
- event, it's all a matter of taste, as shown in the following configuration
- combinations:
-
- Configuration 1: ^C OFF ^Q ON (default and 'old way')
- - copy/move brings up a tree positioned to the current directory.
- - TAB selects the opposite split.
- - If dest is a 'no-directory' drive, copy/move begins, otherwise,
- Enter causes copy/move to proceed.
-
- Configuration 2: ^C ON ^Q OFF
- - copy/move brings up a tree positioned to the opposite directory.
- - Enter causes copy/move to proceed.
-
-
-
-
- page -53-
-
- Configuration 3: ^C ON ^Q ON
- - If dest is a 'no-directory' drive, copy/move begins immediately.
- - (otherwise, like configuration 2).
-
- Configuration 4: ^C OFF ^Q OFF
- - copy/move brings up a tree positioned to the current directory.
- - TAB selects the opposite split.
- - Enter causes copy/move to proceed.
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────┐
- │ GLOBALS SAVE/VIEW │ N2.1
- └─────────────────────┘
-
-
- As its name implies, the Globals Save/View (Z-G from the main
- screen) display serves two purposes. You can use it to see the settings
- of all the configurable toggles and other 'global' options at once, and
- you can also use it to make these options permanent so that DV Tree will
- have them set this way each time you start it.
-
- The options that are saved include:
-
- All configurable toggles.
- The current main screen sort options.
- The current Mas(K) mask.
- The current (F)ind date.
- The current split screen direction.
-
- (To see how to make split screen itself permanent, see the OPP=*
- parameter in the COMMAND LINE OPTIONS section.)
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
- │ THE DIRECTORY HOT-KEY FEATURE │
- └─────────────────────────────────┘
-
-
- In DV Tree, numeric keys 1 through 0 (8,9,0) are 'directory
- hot-keys'. Once you assign a hot-key, you may 'jump' to it in either the
- main or tree displays by simply hitting the key.
-
- The purpose of this command is to give you a way to quickly move
- to your 'favorite' directories from anywhere else in your system. To
- assign a key: select the directory through normal tree navigation, then
- press @ (Alt) in combination with the numeric key (important: use the
-
-
-
- page -54-
-
- number keys on the top row of the 'typewriter' keyboard, not the keypad
- number keys.) If the chosen numeric key is already assigned, you will be
- warned before the definition is replaced.
-
- To check your hot-key assignment, key Z, then S from the main
- display. You can also unassign a key, if you wish, from this display.
-
- Now that you've made an assignment, you can get back to the
- directory from anywhere by just hitting the numeric hot-key (the keypad is
- okay for this now.) You can even select your assigned directory as the
- destination for a copy/move operation from anywhere just by hitting the
- hot-key.
-
-
- ^Left/^Right (more commands!)
-
- ^Left and ^Right give you another kind of 'hot-key' - they may
- normally be used to 'cycle' the file display through the last few
- directory/drive combinations you've worked from. DV Tree maintains up to
- a maximum of four destinations for this feature.
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────┐
- │ DIRECTORY CUSTOMIZATION │
- └───────────────────────────┘
-
- DV Tree offers a feature called Directory Customization based on
- the idea that file directories often contain different types of data, and
- you may therefore often wish to arrange these types of data in different
- ways, primarily with respect to sort options. For instance, you might
- always want to see a directory containing a large number of reference
- documentation files sorted alphabetically, regardless of the global sort
- options currently in effect. Likewise, the source code directories of a
- programmer - or the document directories of a writer - might best be
- viewed in descending date/time sequence.
-
- Through Directory Customization, this is easily possibly. Once
- customization is chosen, a small file in saved in the directory in
- question and then used by DV Tree on subsequent accesses. Options saved
- are: (S)ort options and directions, and (I)ncl and Mas(K) masks.
-
- To customize a directory, type Z from DV Tree's main screen, then
- (K)ustomize Directory. You will see the options DV Tree is prepared to
- save with respect ONLY to the current directory. To proceed with
- customization, select 'Customize Directory'. You can also use this screen
- to delete customization for the current directory (if it exists.)
-
- When directory customization is in effect, the word "Sort" above
- the 'Status' line on the display is replaced by "Cust".
-
-
-
-
-
- page -55-
-
- + (the plus key)
-
- Yes, this is yet another command! The plus key, on the main
- display, gives you a way to quickly toggle directory customization on and
- off for a customized directory you are currently viewing. (The 'parallel'
- of this command on the tree screen is the 'klipped/unklipped' tree toggle,
- also on the + (plus) key.)
-
- A final note: When a directory is customized, a small file is
- saved in that directory under the name DVTREE.DAT. If this file is
- deleted, either manually or by choosing 'Delete Customization' from the
- directory customization menu, the customization information will be lost.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────┐
- │ COMMAND LINE OPTIONS │
- └────────────────────────┘
-
-
- DV Tree will accept the following options on its command line (i.e., the
- Parameters: field of the Change A Program menu.)
-
-
- TREE=d:\fspec\filename
-
- This option can be used to tell DV Tree where to find it's files
- if your DV Tree directory is not c:\dv\dvtree, d:\dv\dvtree, or
- e:\dv\dvtree. (You can also do this with the TREE environment variable -
- see the section RUNNING DV TREE FROM DOS)
-
-
- FMAX=nnn
-
- This option may be used to override the Maximum # of files value
- in DV Tree's configuration file. This option (and TMAX=nnn) give you a
- way to customize multiple DV Tree PIFs for different memory needs. See
- also PERFORMANCE NOTES.
-
-
- TMAX=nnn
-
- This option may be used to override the Maximum # of directories
- per drives value set in DV Tree's configuration file. See also
- PERFORMANCE NOTES.
-
-
- RESET
-
- This parameter instructs DV Tree to destroy all previously built
- tree files and the DVTREE.CNF file (a last resort in cases when the
-
-
-
- page -56-
-
- program malfunctions due to inadvertently corrupted control files.) The
- command is confirmed before DV Tree proceeds. This option should not be
- placed in program PIF files - it should only be passed to the program by
- executing DV Tree from the DOS command line in a general-purpose DOS
- window.
-
-
- EXEC=S / EXEC=E N2.1
-
- These parameters on the DV Tree command line allow you to change
- the assignment of the (E)xec command from the E key to either the ENTER
- key (EXEC=E) or the space bar (EXEC=S).
-
-
- OPP=d:\filespec N2.1
-
- This option provides a way to automatically enter split screen
- mode and select a different subdirectory for display in the opposite side
- of the split at startup. Useful if you have more than one favorite place
- to begin work from. To just come up in split screen, use OPP=*.
-
- Related Tip: To control DV Tree's startup directory, place the
- filespec of the directory you first wish to see when DV Tree starts in the
- Directory: field in DV Tree's PIF by using Change a Program.
-
-
- DISP=n N2.3 (N2.2)
-
- This option gives you control over how DV Tree displays file
- names. By default, file names are shown contiguously in lower case with
- their extensions attached. The following are possible:
-
- DISP=1 ...causes file names to show in upper case.
- DISP=2 ...shows extensions in columns (ala DOS DIR).
- DISP=3 ...DISP=1 + DISP=2.
-
-
- NOHOP N2.3
-
- This option disables the automatic directory and jump feature of
- the = (jump) commands. Available for compatibility with scripts, and for
- anyone who doesn't like the blinking mouse cursor.
-
-
- TROOT N2.3
-
- This option causes DV Tree to create and maintain DVTREE_? (the
- tree files) in the root directories of all hard drives (rather than in the
- DV Tree 'home' directory). Functionally, it gives network users a way to
- maintain common tree files, but separate macro, hot-key, and other files.
-
-
-
-
-
- page -57-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ RUNNING DV TREE IN EGA/VGA HI-RES MODES │
- └───────────────────────────────────────────┘
-
- If you normally run in EGA 43 line, or VGA 50 line modes, you may
- experience problems when from time to time when DV Tree becomes the
- foreground application (specifically, you're suddenly kicked back into 25
- line mode.) You can defeat this effect by changing the PIF for DV Tree
- using Change a Program and setting DV Tree's maximum AND starting window
- sizes to 43x80 or 50x80. (This advice from READ.ME, DV 2.26.)
-
- The only thing you lose by doing this is a little bit of memory,
- plus the technique used in the TZ version of DV Tree (DESQview Tree
- (Pop-Up)) of putting 22x30 in the starting window size to get the small
- window. You can overcome this, however, by 'Learning' a !Startup script
- for DV Tree that uses DESQview's Rearrange/Resize feature to set whatever
- window size you desire each time you start the DV Tree window. If you're
- unsure how to create this script, see the section on Learn in your
- DESQview manual.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────┐
- │ RUNNING DV TREE FROM DOS │
- └────────────────────────────┘
-
- DV Tree provides you with two extra facilities to aid in running
- DV Tree from the command line in a general purpose (non-Writes Directly to
- Screen) DOS window:
-
-
- The TREE Environment Variable
-
- If you plan to run DV Tree from DOS often, and your DV Tree
- directory is not c:\dv\dvtree, d:\dv\dvtree, or e:\dv\dvtree, you will
- probably want to use the TREE environment variable so DV Tree can figure
- out where to find its files. The environment variable can be set in a
- batch file or from the command line with the following command:
-
- SET TREE=D:\DV31\DVTREE
-
- You of course should replace d:\dv\dv31\dvtree with the full
- filespec to the DV Tree directory on your system.
-
-
- @(Q)uit NIOS
-
- @Q is a variation on the (Q)uit command - the differences are that
- it doesn't ask you if you're sure, and it will 'quit' into the directory
-
-
-
- page -58-
-
- that is currently visible in the display.
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────┐
- │ PERFORMANCE NOTES │
- └─────────────────────┘
-
- 1) The program information files included with DV Tree assume the
- default values of file max and tree max to be in effect. If the values
- are increased (via the FMAX/TMAX command line options, or internally
- through configuration), DV Tree's memory size values (both normal and
- system) may need to be increased using Change A Program. Conversely, a
- decrease in the values may allow the memory sizes to be decreased - DV
- Tree's memory usage can therefore be fine-tuned to an individual
- environment's requirements. In general, you can depend on the system
- displaying messages when an increase in values is required. For both
- program and system memory, gradual boosts by 1 or 2 K until the complaints
- stop are recommended.
-
- 2) When modifying normal memory via Change a Program, care should
- used to avoid going overboard. Any memory amount specified beyond about
- 116K will be wasted - this is the absolute limit of what the program can
- use.
-
- 3) In a cramped environment, copy/move operations use only a
- small 4K buffer, therefore these procedures may take longer on large files
- than other file copy methods. If memory is available, DV Tree acquires a
- larger buffer for copy/move operations, and you can tell the size of this
- buffer by watching a copy/move of a large file.
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────┐
- │ NETWORK USAGE NOTES │
- └───────────────────────┘
-
- To the author's knowledge, DV Tree is compatible with all
- available network software. However, very large networks may have
- directory structures that are simply too large for the program to handle
- in any configuration. For users in a such a situation, DOS's SUBST may
- provide some remedy.
-
- On the positive side, DV Tree's TROOT command line option may be
- used to keep one copy of a tree file in the root directory of each drive
- so that it may be accessed by all users. With version 2.3, DV Tree will
- recognize when a tree file has been updated by another user or process and
- reload it where possible. It should also protect against one user
- 'undoing' another's update by asking whether it should proceed under such
- circumstances.
-
-
-
- Appendix A:
- DESQview Function Codes Reference
- ---------------------------------
-
-
- This Appendix is intended as a detailed reference source for the various
- codes that may be used in code strings for DV Functions. The codes are
- grouped and covered in order by the following categories:
-
-
- MAJOR CODES
- STRING REPLACEMENT CODES
- SPECIAL STRING REPLACEMENT CODES
- 'PIF' DIRECTORY CODES
- SPECIAL KEYSTROKE CODES
- SCRIPT INITIATION CODES
- DELAY CODES
- SPECIAL ACTION CODES
- 'HIDDEN' DESQVIEW FEATURE CODES
-
-
- ┌───────────────┐
- │ MAJOR CODES │
- └───────────────┘
-
- %c Denotes command line input. All following characters and strings
- from replacement codes will be placed on the application's command
- line at startup. For any application that accepts a filename as its
- primary input on the DOS command line, all that is usually needed for the
- %c code is %c%p.
-
-
- %k Denotes keystroke input at startup. All following characters and
- strings from replacement codes will be 'typed' into the
- application at startup. This code may often need to be followed
- immediately by a delay code (&1-&9) in order to give the application time
- to initiate to a certain point. If the application requires 'unusual'
- keystroke input to load a file or switch to a directory, a script
- initiation code (&z-&v) may be necessary. Also, and very importantly, you
- must have enough memory in your system for DV Tree to remain resident
- (i.e. the starting program may not force DV Tree to be "swapped to disk".)
- If sufficient memory is not available, an attempt to initiate the
- application will produce an error message.
-
-
- N2.1
- %A %A is much like %k, except that it applies only if the application
- is currently running (DV Tree 'knows' that it is running either
- through DVTXDI, or the fact that it started it earlier in the computing
- session.) Rather than start a new copy of the application, %A causes DV
- Tree to 'type' the following characters and strings into the active
- application. A delay code may often be necessary, and a script
- initiation will ALMOST ALWAYS be necessary. Important note: %A will be
- always be overridden by the %+ special action code.
-
-
-
- page -60-
-
-
- Every code string MUST begin with the %c code or the %k code. Beyond
- that, the three major codes may be 'mixed' in the code string in any
- fashion or order. The rule is that normal characters, string replacement
- codes, delay codes, and script initiation codes apply only to the previous
- major code.
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────┐
- │ STRING REPLACEMENT CODES │
- └────────────────────────────┘
-
- The primary objective of a DESQview Function code string is to allow DV
- Tree to load files into other DESQview Applications, and the string
- replacement codes are the 'heart' of this process.
-
- %p Expands into the full DOS filespec of the pointed-at file. This
- is probably the most important code of all.
-
- %s Expands into the (12-character) filename of the pointed-at file.
- It may often be a good idea to use %s along with %D PIF directory
- code instead of %p (for one thing, it can drastically shorten
- the length of the command line.)
-
- %x Expands into the filename minus the extension of the pointed-at
- file.
-
- %y Expands into the file extension of the pointed-at file.
-
- %n Expands into the full DOS filespec minus the drive specifier of
- the pointed-at file. (For programs that don't like drive
- qualifiers.)
-
- %d Expands into the full DOS filespec of the current directory. %d
- (also %o and %i below) provides a way to set up a DESQview
- Function at the directory level.
-
- %o Expands into the full DOS filespec minus the drive specifier
- of the current directory. (Again for programs that don't like
- drive qualifiers.)
-
- N2.1
- %i Expands into the DV Tree (I)ncl mask for the current directory.
- (example: %d\%i will result in the current directory, a slash,
- and the (I)ncl mask.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- page -61-
-
- ┌────────────────────────────────────┐
- │ SPECIAL STRING REPLACEMENT CODES │
- └────────────────────────────────────┘
- N2.1
- %@ Expands into the full pathname (or possibly a single filename) of
- the file containing a list of all files marked in the current
- display. This is also a special action code - please refer to the more
- detailed explanation in the special action codes section below.
-
-
- %? Allows you to insert variable text input (such as an output
- filename for an archival program like PKZIP). The window
- presented allows you to key 20 characters, and your input will be 'pasted'
- into the string at the position where %? occurs.
-
-
- N2.1
- %Qnn (where nn = 01 - 99) %Q is a 'customizable' %? and acts in much
- the same way except that the input window is 'nn' positions long.
- Please note that 'nn' is two characters long, so to get an 8 character
- window, the code would be %Q08.
-
-
-
-
- ┌─────────────────────────┐
- │ 'PIF' DIRECTORY CODES │
- └─────────────────────────┘
-
- These codes cause a value to be placed in the Directory.: field of the
- application's PIF at startup (just as if you had placed it there via Add/
- Change a Program.) This field controls the DOS directory that the
- application perceives as its current directory.
-
-
- %D Puts the directory filespec of the current directory in the
- directory area of the starting PIF.
-
- %O Puts the directory filespec associated with THE OPPOSITE side of a
- DV Tree split screen in the directory area of the starting PIF.
- If the screen is not split, %O will have no effect (therefore, you can
- make it default to the current directory when not in split screen if you
- like by leaving the Directory.: field blank on the Change A Program screen
- (refer to note 1 below).
-
- Notes:
-
- 1) If the Directory.: field in the PIF is left blank, DV Tree will
- AUTOMATICALLY assume a %D code (unless %O).
- 2) Some programs with lots of data files will not like either of the
- codes (these are programs that require you to start them from
- a specific directory.)
-
-
-
- page -62-
-
- 3) These codes, combined with string replacement codes, can create
- subtly different effects:
-
- Example A: %c%p
- Example B: %c%s%D
-
- Assume these codes assigned to an ASCII text editor that accepts command
- line input in a 'normal' way, and the PIF's Directory.: = c:\work, and you
- start the application by hitting it's associated F-Key while DV Tree is
- pointing at c:\dos\startup.bat. In both cases, you would find yourself
- editing startup.bat, but if the text editor has a 'shell to DOS' feature,
- in example A you would find yourself in the directory c:\work, while in
- example B you would be in c:\dos. On the other hand, if you took c:\work
- out of the directory field of the PIF, the effects of the two examples
- would be identical (and a shell to DOS would put you in c:\dos.)
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────┐
- │ SPECIAL KEYSTROKE CODES │
- └───────────────────────────┘
-
- %e Effects an 'Enter' keystroke.
-
- %E Effects an 'ESC' keystroke.
-
- %% Inserts a single % (percent) sign.
-
- && Inserts a single & (ampersand) sign. N2.1
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────┐
- │ SCRIPT INITIATION CODES │ N2.1
- └───────────────────────────┘
-
- &z This is a special and powerful keystroke code for use with the %k
- and %A major codes. &z provides a way for any combination of
- keystrokes to be sent to an application by exploiting DESQview scripts, or
- the Learn feature. This script may do almost anything a 'normal'
- DESQview script can do - that is, it can 'play back' recorded sequences
- of function keys, cursor keys, alt- keys, ctrl- keys, etc.. The only
- restriction on the script is that it may not enter a fixed- or variable-
- length pause and expect DV Tree to fill in the blanks (DESQview itself
- won't let this happen.) &z will execute the {255} script in the target
- window. See the section INTRODUCTION TO DESQVIEW FUNCTIONS for a
- step-by- step example of how to create a {255} script for any given
- application.
-
-
-
-
-
- page -63-
-
- &y-&v These codes are identical to &z except they execute {254} - {251}
- (counting backwards: &v = {251}.) For some applications,
- different scripts may be needed to fill different needs (for example, a
- {255} script at program startup, but a {254} script to handle file reload
- situations.)
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────┐
- │ DELAY CODES │
- └───────────────┘
-
- Delay codes are intended to give an application time to reach a point when
- it is ready to accept input. Some applications actually flush a system's
- keyboard prior to waiting for a keystroke, and these sorts of applications
- will almost certainly require delay codes. These codes make sense only in
- string segments following %k or %A.
-
- &n (where n = 1 - 9): Causes DV Tree to pause for 1 - 9 seconds
- when sending keystroke input to the started program.
-
- N2.1
- &.n (where n = 1 - 9): Exactly like &n, except the delay produced is
- of sub-second duration (i.e. %.5 results in a half second delay.)
-
-
- Note: &1.5 is NOT valid. (&1&.5 is)
-
-
-
-
- ┌────────────────────────┐
- │ SPECIAL ACTION CODES │
- └────────────────────────┘
-
- These codes may be thought of as special directives to DV Tree to perform
- specific actions, and, with the exception of %@, they may appear anywhere
- in the code string.
-
- N2.1 (N2.3)
- %X??? (where ??? = a DOS file extension). %X allows a linkage to be
- established between the F-Key and a given file extension (???).
- Hitting the 'E' (EXEC) key while pointing at a file with the ??? extension
- will activate the function just as if the function key itself had been
- hit. For mouse users, this is an important code as it allows the mouse
- to activate a DESQview Function by clicking on EXEC. Please note that the
- three positions in ??? are meaningful; an extension of less than three
- characters must be padded with blanks if the %X is not the last thing
- in the code string. To specify a link to files with no extension, code
- %x. (a . followed by two spaces). To link a function key to more than
-
-
-
- page -64-
-
- one extension, see the section USING .EXT FILES. A final note: %Xbat,
- %Xcom, or %Xexe will 'override' the normal (E)xec command action for the
- extension in question.
-
-
- %+ This code tells DV Tree to automatically allow a second copy (or
- third, etc.) copy of the application to be started without asking
- questions. Without this code (or %A), an attempt to start an already
- running application will result in a window titled "Appl Already Active!"
- that gives you the choice of making the currently running copy the
- foreground application, opening a second copy, or closing the existing
- copy first. %+ absolutely negates the effect of any %A string.
-
-
- %q Instructs DV Tree to immediately end execution after starting the
- application - this should generally allow the application to run
- in the same memory space held by DV Tree, avoiding DESQview initiated
- swaps to disk in very memory-constricted systems. %q is only valid in a
- string following %c.
-
-
- %r Activates DV Tree's automatic directory refresh feature. The
- application will start normally and (most likely) become the
- foreground application in the system. %r will have no effect until DV
- Tree again becomes the foreground application, at which time DV Tree will
- reread its displayed directory (or directories) from disk. Please note
- that there are two other ways to make the same thing happen:
-
- 1) The utility program, DVTUPDAT.COM, run from another window
- (for example, at the end of a batch file that compiles
- and links programs in the background.)
-
- 2) The ^A configurable toggle which causes an update to
- always occur when DV Tree comes foreground.
-
- The following enhancements to %r were made in V2.3: N2.3
-
- - By default, in split screen only one directory will be refreshed,
- allowing file marks in the opposite directory to be preserved.
- The affected directory will be the pointed-at directory *unless*
- the %O code appears before %r, in which case only the opposite
- directory will be reread.
- - To force a dual directory refresh, code %rb
- - Note: If the ^A (auto refresh) toggle is on, both directories will
- *always* be refreshed.
-
-
- N2.1
- %R Disables DV Tree's automatic directory refresh feature on a one-
- time only basis. This code is intended to provide a way to
- selectively defeat the effect of the ^A toggle.
-
-
-
-
- page -65-
-
-
- N2.1
- %Z Is a powerful special action code that tells DV Tree to perform
- the function recursively against ALL marked files in the display.
- You will almost always want to use it in conjunction with the %A code for
- an applications capable of handling multiple files at once, (or possibly
- for a small application with the %+ code.) The following examples are
- presented for Buerg's LIST program:
-
- %c%p%A&z%p%e%Z This will allow you to start or reload LIST
- with up to 10 files at once (LIST's maximum
- is 10 files, so if you mark more than 10,
- only the 'lowest' ten will be available.)
-
- %c%p%+%Z This will start a copy of the LIST
- application for each marked file. Not
- very recommended.
-
- If you've assigned %Z to an application, but no files are marked, %Z will
- be ignored and DV Tree will assume you want to initiate or reload the
- application with the single, pointed-at filename.
-
-
- N2.3 (N2.2)
- %P Forces replacement of an existing PIF parameter line with DV
- Tree's generated command line. Normally, DV Tree appends an
- existing PIF command line to the end of that generated by a code string.
- See also: %J.
-
-
- N2.3 (N2.2)
- %J Causes a DV Tree generated command line to be joined to the
- end of an existing PIF parameter specification. This is exactly
- opposite to the normal default action. See also: %P.
-
-
- N2.3 (N2.2)
- %Mnnn (where nnn = 3 digit numeric value). This code replaces the
- memory in K specified in the PIF at application startup with nnn
- and is potentially useful in situations where you might want to assign
- multiple F-Keys to the same application for different purposes (such as
- one for editing small files, another for editing very big files).
- Example: %M080. See also: %Nnnn.
-
-
- N2.3 (N2.2)
- %Nnnn (where nnn = 3 digit numeric value). This code replaces the
- memory in K specified in the PIF at application startup with nnn
- + the size of the pointed-at file, allowing for fine tuning of application
- memory usage based on input file characteristics. %Nnnn can be
- particularly useful with editor applications. See also: %Mnnn.
-
-
-
-
- page -66-
-
-
- N2.3
- %L Causes DV Tree to 'lock' this function key to its associated
- extension(s). When this code is present and the F-Key is hit, an
- error message will be displayed if the pointed-at file's extension does
- not match the key's %X??? specification or an extension included in the
- optional .EXT file. Useful for applications that should only be used
- against certain types of files.
-
-
- N2.3
- %T Associates the F-Key's 'uniqueness' with its alternate title
- as well as its Open Keys. This allows multiple F-Keys to be
- assigned to identical Open Keys with alternate titles and is particularly
- applicable to strings incorporating the %A code.
-
-
- N2.3
- %n (where n = 0 - 9) causes expansion of user macro code string n.
- Note: If code string n is not defined, this code will have no
- effect.
-
-
- N2.1
- %@ Provides a way to produce a file containing a list of all marked
- files in the display. %@ is specifically intended to support
- programs that accept an input file list, such as PKZIP. By default, the
- 'listfile' is created in the DV Tree home directory and contains the full
- pathnames of all marked files. The name of the listfile is also expanded,
- so in this way it is also a string replacement code. The following is an
- example for PKZIP:
-
- %c%Q08 @%@ %O%r
-
- This will:
-
- 1) Present an 8 character input prompt (%Q08) for the ZIP
- filename.
- 2) Tell PKZIP to work on an input file list (@).
- 3) Write the file and insert the name (%@)
- 4) Put the output file in the opposite split directory (%O) if
- the screen is split (else in the current directory if the
- Directory.: field in PKZIP's PIF is blank).
- 5) Refresh DV Tree's display when DV Tree next comes foreground.
-
-
- The %@ code has the following additional features and restrictions in
- order to support other possible uses:
-
- 1) If no files are marked in the display, the file list will
- be created with an entry for the pointed-at file.
-
-
-
- page -67-
-
- 2) %@%s - This will cause the file list to contain only
- 12 character file names instead of full filespecs.
- 3) %@%x - This will cause the file list to contain only
- file names minus extensions.
- 4) The various possible %@ strings (%@, %@%s, and %@%x) may
- be followed by a character string. If present, DV Tree will
- assume this string to be an alternate filename for the
- file list itself (instead of c:\dv\dvtree\pipe.lst, the likely
- default). If the filename does not contain full path
- information, it will be created in the current directory.
- 5) The %@ code, with or without the above subparameters, MUST
- be followed by a space (or be at the end of the code string.)
-
-
-
-
- ┌───────────────────────────────────┐
- │ 'HIDDEN' DESQVIEW FEATURE CODES │
- └───────────────────────────────────┘
-
- The following are special action codes that exploit features of DESQview
- for which there is no option on the Change a Program menus (as of this
- writing.)
-
- %!n (where n = 1 - 9): The 'TAME' feature. Through this code, you
- can tell DESQview to give control of the processor to other
- programs after the application has polled the keyboard 'n' times during
- a single clock tick. Experimentation with this option may allow DESQview
- to run more smoothly in some cases where an application polls the keyboard
- waiting for input, but in other cases it can be debilitating to the
- program in question (a case in point is LIST which polls the keyboard
- while doing string searches).
-
- %- Starts the application in the background (Your DESQview version
- must be greater than or equal to 2.26).
-
- %h Starts the application 'hidden' (Again DV must be >= 2.26).
-
- Appendix B:
- Files Created and Used by DV Tree
- ---------------------------------
-
- DVTREE.CNF location: DV Tree directory
-
- This is DV Tree's main configuration file, containing such
- information as file/tree maximum values, global option values, and
- customized color configuration values.
-
-
- DVTREE_? location: DV Tree directory
-
- (where ? is a drive letter specifier). These files, created one
- per DOS logical drive, contain directory structure information for the
- related drive.
-
-
- DVT_MAC0 location: DV Tree directory
-
- This file contains DESQview Function definitions and codes.
-
-
- DVT_HOT0 location: DV Tree directory
-
- This file contains drive specifiers and pointers used by DV Tree's
- Directory Hot-Key feature.
-
-
- PIPE.LST location: DV Tree directory
-
- This file is created when a DESQview Function code string contains
- the %@ directive to create a list of marked files to be processed by the
- target application. DV Tree will never delete this file, but it will
- reuse it.
-
-
- DVTREE.DAT location: The 'customized' directory
-
- DVTREE.DAT files are produced by the Directory Customization
- feature as required and stored in the customized directories themselves.
-
-
-
- Appendix C:
- Error Messages Produced by DV Tree
- ----------------------------------
-
- This appendix details some DV Tree error messages for which further
- information than that provided in the text may be helpful:
-
-
- "File error - Disk Full or DV Tree path invalid?"
-
- An error has occurred during an attempt to write a file. This
- message can occur if the 'TREE=' directory specified on the command line
- or through an environment variable does not actually exist.
-
-
- "Invalid Command on Directory"
-
- 'Normal' file management commands such as (C)opy may not be used
- on a directory entry in the file display.
-
-
- "Current Path too long!"
-
- DV Tree will not manage directories with full DOS paths exceeding
- 51 character positions in length. This is mainly due to DESQview's own
- limitation of 63 character maximums in the Parameters and Directory fields
- of PIF files. Unnecessarily long DOS pathnames are not generally
- recommended with DV Tree anyway, since they can radically increase the
- amount of System Memory required to display the tree window.
-
-
- "%.... - Invalid code(s) in string!"
-
- During an attempt to define or execute a DESQview Function, DV
- Tree has detected an invalid DESQview Function code. This message is
- prefixed with the portion of the code that begins with the invalid code
- (valid codes are documented in Appendix A.)
-
-
- "%.... - String expansion too long here!";
-
- This message usually means that the expansion of the code string
- would exceed the maximum length of the Parameters: field in a DESQview
- PIF, and the usual cause is an 'involved' command line with the %p code
- expanding into a long DOS pathname. In this situation, a good way around
- the problem might be to replace the %p code with %s%D. This message
- begins with the code that actually produced the error.
-
-
- "Max Files reached - Hit ESC"
-
- The number of files in the directory (or found with the (F)ind
- command) exceeds the maximum number of files set in the program
-
-
-
- page -70-
-
- configuration (or by the FMAX= command line parameter.) DV Tree will
- continue operations normally, but the file list will be not be complete.
-
-
- "DV start error - Not enough memory?"
-
- This message occurs when DV Tree fails (for whatever reason) to
- initiate a DESQview Application via an F-Key. This message can be caused
- by DESQview's memory being 'fragmented' by non-swappable programs such as
- communications applications. (In such a situation, attempts to use
- DESQview's Open Menu to start the application should also fail.)
-
-
- "Unable to swap in Active copy"
-
- In attempting to execute a DESQview Function, DV Tree has failed
- to "swap in" a running DESQview application that is "swapped to disk".
- This could mean either that a non-swappable application is in the way of
- the target application, or that DV Tree itself is in the way.
-
-
- "Assigned PIF not found!"
-
- In attempting to execute a DESQview Function, DV Tree could not
- find the ??-PIF.DVP related to the DESQview Application's Open Keys. This
- could mean either that the PIF has been deleted (via Delete a Program), or
- that the .DVP directory in DV Tree's configuration is invalid.
-
-
- "Nobody under top-left corner!"
-
- A command, such as (P)rint or @ESC, was issued to pertain to the
- 'underlying' application, but DV Tree could not find another window
- beneath it.
-
-
- "Changes to file/tree max require restart."
-
- Changes to file max or tree maximum values will not take effect
- until you (Q)uit DV Tree and restart the program.
-
-
-
- Appendix D:
- Script Ideas for DV Tree
- ----------------------------------
-
-
- This appendix contains DESQview scripts in text format that you might
- find useful for use with DV Tree. To use these scripts, you will either
- have to 'Learn' them yourself, or extract the statements from this text
- and use DESQview's CONVSCR program to convert them to binary format. See
- your DESQview manual for more information on the CONVSCR program.
-
- If you use scripts, you may also find something of value in the
- DVSCRIP1.ZIP archive distributed with DV Tree.
-
-
- A Script to assign ]-F (flip horz/vert) to alt-]:
-
- {Learn {Alt-[} "Flip Split Mode"}
- [f
- {Finish}
-
-
- A Script to quickly sort the file list by alpha ascending:
-
- {Learn {F11} "Sort Name"}
- snn
- {Finish}
-
-
- A Script to quickly sort the file list by date/time descending:
-
- {Learn {F12} "Sort Time Descend"}
- sdy
- {Finish}
-
-
- A Script to quickly sort the file list by extension ascending,
- then name ascending within the extension:
-
- {Learn {Alt-X} "Sort Extension"}
- {Alt-S}ennn
- {Finish}
-
-
- A Script to quickly get back to an unsorted display:
-
- {Learn {Alt-U} "Unsorted display"}
- su
- {Finish}
-
-
-
-
-
- page -72-
-
- A 'Move' script that answers the confirmation for you:
-
- {Learn {Alt-M} "Quick Move"}
- my
- {Finish}
-
-
- A 'Klip' script that answers the confirmation for you:
-
- {Learn {^K} "Quick Klip"}
- k{Enter}
- {Finish}
-
-
- A main DESQview script to give you a quick way to open DV Tree:
-
- {Learn {Ins} "Start DVTree"}
- otl
- {Finish}
-
- Note: The above script should be learned with DESQ menu visible. Once
- you've learned it, the INS key on the numeric keypad will bring up DV Tree
- anytime you have the DESQ menu up (assuming Num Lock is off.)
-
-
- A 'Delete entire directory' script:
-
- {Learn {Alt-D} "Delete Whole Dir"}
- {Enter}
- k*{Enter}
- d{Fixed-Pause 1}t{CursorPad Up}{Enter}
- t{CursorPad Down}d{Fixed-Pause 1}
- {Finish}
-
- Note: If you start the above script while pointing at a directory in the
- tree, the script will proceed to delete all files in the directory, switch
- back to the tree, make the directory just above it the current directory,
- then bring back the tree and delete the (original) pointed-at directory.
- It is highly recommended that if you use this script you keep the
- fixed-pauses in the script to give yourself an option to say 'N'.
-
-
- A 'ZIP entire directory' script:
-
- {Learn {Alt-Z} "Zip Whole Dir"}
- k*{Enter}
- {F6}
- {Finish}
-
- Note: You don't need this example unless you are using the %@ code for
- PKZIP. Also, be sure to change F6 in the example to your ZIP F-Key.
-
-
-
-
- page -73-
-
-
- A script that uses DV Tree's clone, command history, and file jump
- capabilities to 'imitate' a copy with rename:
-
- {Learn {Alt-R} "Copy w/Rename"}
- {Alt-C}c{Variable-Pause}{Enter}
- u={CursorPad Down}{Enter}
- my
- {Finish}
-
- Note: You'll probably need to use the NOHOP command line option for the
- above to work dependably.
-
-
- A useful script if you like running DV Tree in a small window (as in the
- TZ version of the PIF), but would rather bring DV Tree up full screen,
- but still have DESQview Zoom for getting quickly back to the smaller
- screen.
-
- {Learn {250} "!Zoom on Startup"}
- {DESQ}z
- {Finish}
-
-