------------------- ===== 4 - F I L E S ===== ------------------- DOCUMENTATION - Version 3.23 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Shareware by Larry T. Edwards, Copyright 1990-93 All Rights Reserved. Hand-Crafted Software Box 6001 Sitka, Alaska 99835 USA CompuServe:72037,3607 INTERNET:edwards@execpc.com 907-747-8996 FAX-747-4801 This copy of 4FILES is fully functional "shareware." You may evaluate it for free for up to 30 days from your first use. If you continue using it beyond that time, you must pay for your copy. The price is $30 (US) for a single installation, and includes a printed manual, the latest version, free upgrades, and related public domain utilities (free) and shareware (also for evaluation) by others. Discounted prices are offered for mult- iple installations of 4FILES. To pay for your single or multiple copies, see the Order Form included at the end of this manual or in the separate file on the disk. Payment may be made by mail, phone, or CompuServe. Your copy of 4FILES can be branded as paid-for with a serial number that you will be given by phone or e-mail when your order is received. Branding will remove both the payment reminder screen and the "unregistered" label that appears at log off. If you order through PsL or CompuServe, your serial number will be provided by Hand-Crafted Software as soon as your order is forwarded (usually the same day). TECH SUPPORT: (Available even during your evaluation period.) <1> Call or fax the author at the numbers above. <2> E-mail: CompuServe 72037,3607 or Internet:72037.3607@compuserve.com. <3> MAS-BBS, 718-444-5089 (8,N,1, 2400-14400). IMPORTANT: Select the Support Area, then the 4FILES Area. Use message area, plus download the latest version and related utilities on your first call. _______ ____|__ | --| | |------------------- | ASP wants to make sure the shareware | ____|__ | Association of | principle works for you; its Ombuds- | | |_| Shareware | man can help resolve any dispute with |__| o | Professionals | an ASP member on a shareware related -----| | |--------------------- | problem. Details on page 3. (R) |___|___| MEMBER (Pages are formatted for printing 59 lines by 75 columns; 12 Cpi, 6 Lpi) (Page 2.) =========================================================================== CONTENTS OF MANUAL ... ======================= File & Note Modes .. 15 MS-Windows ......... 32 Overview of 4FILES .. 3 File Management . 15-19 OS/2 & DESQview .... 34 About 4DOS & NDOS ... 4 Sorting File Lists . 18 Safety Features..... 35 Shareware Notice .... 4 Utility Ports ... 19-22 Tips on 4FILES use . 37 QUICK START ......... 5 Using NOTE MODE .... 22 Origin/Evolution ... 40 Special Keys ........ 7 Configuration ... 24-29 Agreement for Use .. 41 Disk Navigation .. 9,13 EMS & XMS Swaps ..25,40 Benefits of Ordering 41 Mouse 14,20,25-27,32-34 Video & Screens .... 30 Packing List ....... 43 Seeking a file ..... 14 Order Form ........ 44 =========================================================================== (Page 3.) AN OVERVIEW OF 4FILES ===================== 4FILES is a multi-purpose file manager that also includes a full-featured editor for 4DOS & NDOS "file notes" and the ability to act as a "front-end" for your favorite utilities and applica- tions programs. Command keystrokes are simple, to the point, and easy to remember. A very efficient method of directory navigation is provided. A built-in configuration routine makes on-the-fly changes of 4FILES' settings a simple matter, including changes to the "utility ports" (which are used to call your utilities and other programs), colors, and many custom setup choices. International keyboards and character code pages are fully supported. 4FILES runs under DOS, Windows, OS/2 and Desqview, and was recommended by PC-Computing magazine in its 9/94 issue. The 4FILES screen lists contents of the current directory with subdir- ectories at the top followed by files, each taking a full line. The list may be sorted any way you like, either on-the-fly or via command line switches. Except for sorts by file name (the default), the key field for the current sort is highlighted on-screen. All video modes 80x25 or higher are supported. For EGA/VGA, the number of rows is easily changed. File and subdirectory names are displayed on the left half of the screen, one per line, with full statistics. The right half is space for descriptive file notes. If you are using 4DOS or NDOS (superior COMMAND.COM substitutes), a file note will remain associated with its file during copy, move and rename operations. 4FILES works fine with COMMAND.COM too, except that your notes will be lost during the above file operations. Full file management facilities are provided via mnemonic single-key commands for use on single files and marked groups of files. These include file copy, move, rename, and delete; and directory create, remove, or rename. There is also support for ZIP, ARJ, LHA and other types of file archives. Any program file or batch file may be executed directly from the 4FILES screen, and any file or directory name can be quickly dropped into an editable DOS command line. Also, "executable extensions" are supported, allowing you to load a data file into its associated application (such as Word Perfect or dBase) based on its file extension. You can also drop back to DOS while leaving 4FILES loaded; your place in 4FILES is saved. There is an internal routine for branding this copy of 4FILES (or later copies you might obtain from bulletin boards or your vendor) with the serial number you will be given when you place your order. When you brand the program, the payment reminder screen will no longer appear. (Page 4.) 4FILES-PRO ========== 4FILES has been joined by an enhanced non-shareware version called 4FILES-PRO, available as an inexpensiive upgrade when you pay for your copy of 4FILES. It has added features allowing it to excell as a file selector and file manager when called from within other programs. For example, 4FILES-PRO can replace the built-in file selector/manager provided with the Multi-Edit text editor. This allows you to use your file descriptions when deciding which files to load, and gives you the same familiar file management interface you use from the command line. With 4FILES-PRO it is easy to select one file to load or mulitiple files from multiple directories. A macro in the calling program then loads the files into windows. 4FILES-PRO comes with a macro for the Multi-Edit text editor, and includes instructions for making your own macros for other compatible programs. AN ASIDE ABOUT 4DOS & NDOS ========================== 4FILES is at its best when 4DOS or NDOS is used instead of COMMAND.COM; however, 4FILES is only one small reason to select one of these excellent command interpreters. The ability they provide to annotate your files will revolutionize your computer use, but their powers go far beyond that, providing many time and frustration saving features which are missing in MSDOS. I cannot recommend these award winning products highly enough. 4DOS is shareware (NDOS is not), so it will cost you nothing more than download time or a handling charge to try it. Since 4DOS is a very long download, the shareware version is available from Hand- Crafted Software (maker of 4FILES), along with other shareware and public domain programs mentioned in this manual (see the Order Form). For brevity, all following references to 4DOS refer to NDOS as well. SHAREWARE NOTICE ================ 4FILES is commercial, copyrighted software and is distributed as shareware. Shareware is a marketing method that allows you to evaluate a fully functional program before deciding whether you want to keep it. If you decide to keep 4FILES beyond 30-days, you must purchase it by sending in the Order Form with full payment, or by ordering through PsL or CompuServe. You may not continue use of 4FILES beyond the 30-day period unless the copy you are using has been paid-for and your and your use complies with the agreement near the end of this manual. If you decide not to order, a frank critique or trouble report would be sincerely appreciated, via a collect phone call, E-mail, or a letter. (Page 5.) Your distribution of 4FILES to others is highly encouraged, provided that the distribution complies with the agreement at the end of this manual. Permission for commercial distribution may be withdrawn at any time. The author, Larry T. Edwards, is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related dispute or problem with a member, ASP's Ombudsman may be able to help resolve it. ASP does not however provide technical support for members' products. ASP Ombudsman: 545 Grover Rd, Muskegon, MI USA 49442-9427; FAX=616-788-2765; CIS Mail=ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. QUICK START Capacity: 798 records per directory. =========== Requires: DOS 3.0+ and 46-110K (depending on directory size). SYNTAX: 4F [d:][\][subdir] [/+ /8 /L /M ] [/D] [/E /S /C /N /U] Items in brackets are optional. The current directory is loaded by default. MANY FEATURES WILL NOT WORK UNTIL 4FILES IS CONFIGURED. BRINGS UP THE CONFIGURATION SCREEN. ** INSTALLATION: If you don't understand these these brief instructions, see the detailed instructions in the file 4F-INSTL.TXT. Either copy all files into a subdirectory listed in your PATH, or write a 4DOS alias to load 4FILES (it is best to specify the full pathspec to speed loading). Either method allows you to start 4FILES by typing just its name or alias, regardless of which drive or directory you are logged onto at any time. Also, you need to create a TEMP environment variable pointing to a directory or RAMdisk where it OK for programs to store temporary files. In AUTOEXEC.BAT you can put a statement like: SET TEMP=d:\ where "d" is a RAMDISK or hard drive. A directory may be added if desired. 4FILES deletes its temporary files when done with them. ** 4FILES may also be installed under Windows, OS/2 or DESQview, and icons are provided for the first two. See detailed instructions on pages 25-27. ** Symbols used in program menus and this manual: "@" means the ALT key, "^" means the CTRL key, and "$" means the shift key. (Page 6.) ** Quitting: Under DOS, <@ESC> quits to the current directory, and or <^ESC> quit to the original (startup) directory. You may disable plain via the configuration menu, and there are advantages to doing so. Under Windows and OS/2, <$ESC> terminates 4FILES, and <@ESC> and <^ESC> have their normal Windows functions. ** Configure 4FILES by typing <@F10>. Screen colors & blinking, "utility ports," many options, and branding as paid-for are on this menu. Your utilities, especially a browse utility such as LIST or TV, must be configured here for some 4FILES features (including help) to work. Providing a pathspec for a utility is unneeded if the utility is in the PATH, but will give best performance. An extension MUST be given with the filename; if the "utility" is a 4DOS alias, use the .ALS extension. ** Laptop computers: On the Configuration Options screen, select keyboard type "3". This will substitute easier-to-use keys for several important functions. The normal keys will not even work on some laptops. See key mappings in the next section. ** Modify or Replace your Old .CFG File: At a minimum, you will need to set the three "At Exit" switches on the Configuration Options menu. If you are upgrading from a version prior to 2S.0, delete your 4F.CFG file and do a new configuration. ** Switches: /R /E /S /C /N and /U are command line switches for list sorting (see P.9): respectively, for sorts by Reverse order, Extension, Size, Chronology, Note characters, and actual DOS order. Alphabetical sorting is the default. /R may be used alone or with any of the other four. If you are upgrading, note that the old /D switch is now /R, and /T is now /C. /8 is used to force an 80x25 display, in case you want to switch automatically while loading or in case of an incompatibility with the video mode detection. /+ must be used with HGC, MDA or CGA for over 80x25. The /L (Lock) switch causes NumLock to be restored to "numeric" when 4FILES exits, and is useful when using 4FILES with CAD and other number intensive programs. /M causes file marks from a previous session be to used again rather than be discarded. Marks are normally retained only for the current session. This may also be permanently set from the Configuration Options screen. (Page 7.) You may automatically run 4FILES with any of the above switches you desire by calling it via a batch file or 4DOS alias. ** Operation: Use the menu line for guidance, and go with the flow! Mnemonic keys are used for file management functions, and are shown on the following pages and the help screen. toggles between File & Note Modes. Some keys work in both modes, but are shown only on the menu of one due to line length limits. Navigate with the key (Grey-plus), and if you have an AT keyboard. Other keys will need to be used for PC and laptop keyboards (see below). If 4FILES is properly configured, shows help and <^F1> shows this manual. For a tour of a few features see 4F-INSTL.TXT. ** 4FILES may be fully evaluated under COMMAND.COM, except the MOVE command works only with 4DOS, DRDOS, or MSDOS 6+. For proper handling of file notes during file copy, move, rename and delete (either from within 4FILES or from the DOS command line), your COMSPEC environment variable must specify 4DOS.COM or NDOS.COM as the secondary (if not also the primary) command interpreter, instead of COMMAND.COM. Also, it is important that the ".COM" extension be included in the COMSPEC listing for any of the above command interpreters. ========================= DOCUMENTATION OF FEATURES ========================= SPECIAL CONTROLS ================ Most keys act as expected for text editing, and the others (below) are laid out logically. NOTE: Symbols: ^ is the CTRL key, @ is the ALT key, $ is the shift key. ---- Important Keys -------------- <@-F10> -- Shows the configuration menu. -- Toggles between FILE MODE and NOTE MODE. (Page 8.) Function Keys ------------- NORMAL ÚÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄ¿ Help * ³ F1 ³ F2 ³ Edit Current File * ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ File Finder* ³ F3 ³ F4 ³ Archive utility * ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ Mark File ³ F5 ³ F6 ³ Unmark File ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ Toggle Time/Attrib ³ F7 ³ F8 ³ (Utility of your choice)* ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ Execute Program, or ³ F9 ³ F0 ³ Paste Text Copy Text (note mode) ÀÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÙ CTRL + ÚÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄ¿ View this manual* ³ F1 ³ F2 ³ 2nd Editor or Word Processor * ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ ³ F3 ³ F4 ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ Mark All Files ³ F5 ³ F6 ³ Unmark All Files ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ Switch video mode ³ F7 ³ F8 ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ Cut Selected Text ³ F9 ³ F0 ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÙ ALT + ÚÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄ¿ Copy a Whole Note ³ F9 ³ F0 ³ Reconfigure 4FILES. ÀÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÙ "*" means 4FILES Utility Ports must be configured properly for the feature to work. NOTE: 1. As adjuncts to , toggles the current file mark and <^Space> toggles all marks. <^/> and <^\> duplicate <^F5> and <^F6>. 2. ^X duplicates the function of . (Page 9.) Here is the same key mapping shown for the horizontal function key layout: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F0 ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ Nrm³Show ³Editor³ Any ³Unzip ³ Mark ³UnMark³Show *³ Any ³EXEC/ ³Paste ³ ---³Help ³#1 ³ Util ³ ³ File ³File ³Attrib³ Util ³COPY**³Text ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ Ctl³Show ³ *** ³ ³ ³ Mark ³Unmark³Video ³ ³Cut ³ ³ ---³Manual³ ³ ³ ³ All ³All ³ Mode ³ ³Text ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ Alt ³Editor³ * Show file attributes. ³Copy ³CONFIG³ --- ³#2 ³ ** F9 = Execute in File-Mode; ³Whole ³4FILES³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ** F9 = Copy-text in Note-Mode. ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ *** Ctrl-F2, used in 4FILES-PRO (See 21.) NAVIGATION KEYS FOR DRIVES, DIRECTORIES & LISTS ----------------------------------------------- One of 4FILES' strengths is its efficient and flexible mapping of system navigation features to the keyboard. Three keys control drive-changes and several ways of changing directories. One of the keys controls three features through a logical progression of single, double or triple taps. Another key has a dual function -- if the highlighted record is a directory it changes to the directory; if the record is a file or archive, its contents are viewed. The mapping and functions are simple and easy to remember -- and the keys are handily close to the arrow and page keys. The navigation keymapping depends on the type of keyboard you are using. 4FILES attempts to choose an AT or PC keyboard for you based on a test of the keyboard BIOS, but this is not foolproof and may be overridden from the Configuration Options screen. The laptop keyboard cannot be automatically detected, and must always be explicitly selected. Here are the active navigation keys: (Page 10.) AT KEYBOARD PC KEYBOARD ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ º ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ º ³ ³ G* ³ ³ G- ³ º ³ Scl Lock ³ º ÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ º ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ º ÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ º ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ º ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º ("G" means ³ ³ ³ G- ³ º ÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ³ G+ ³ º grey key.) ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ º Ä¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ º ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ º ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ º ³ ³ ³ ³ º ÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ º ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ³ G+ ³ º Ä¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ º ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ º ³ ³ ³ ³ º ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ º (Choose your keyboard on the Config Menu.) ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ º Laptop Keyboard ³ [ ³ ³ ] ³³ ³ º ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙ³ ³ º ÚÄÄÄÄÄÙ ³ º ³ Enter ³ º ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ º º The and <[> keys have the same function as depending on the choice of keyboard type, and will always be referred to as in this manual. Similarly, <]> will be included in all references to and as . AT KEYBOARDS (KB=1): Drive change via a single key. Directory change via an input field. Goto PREVIOUS drive\directory. Goto PARENT directory. Goto HIGHLIGHTED directory. may be configured as a substitution in File Mode only. (On a highlighted FILE, will view the file or archive.) (Page 11.) PC KEYBOARDS (KB=2): Drive change via a single key. Directory change via an input field. Goto PREVIOUS drive\directory. Goto PARENT directory. Goto HIGHLIGHTED directory. may be configured as a substitution in File Mode only. (On a highlighted FILE, will view the file or archive.) LAPTOP KEYBOARDS (KB=3): <[> Drive change via a single key. <[[> Directory change via an input field. <[[[> Goto PREVIOUS drive\directory. <]> Goto PARENT directory. Goto HIGHLIGHTED directory. may be configured as a substitution in File Mode only. (On a highlighted FILE, will view the file or archive.) <@-Char> -- Fast scroll to next record starting with the character. or changes search direction (the former for AT and laptop keyboards, the later for PC keyboards). NOTE MODE KEY COMMANDS: ----------------------- ^H -- Destructive backspace (see also File Mode). ^W -- Write note edits to disk? Choices given are (S)ave or (A)bandon unsaved edits. This also works in File Mode. ^Y -- DELETE NOTE. @^Y -- Delete tail of note (from cursor to end). -- Go to TOP of directory listing. -- " " END " " " -- Go to TOP of page. -- " " END " " (Page 12.) -- Scroll display to show record ABOVE TOP of page. -- " " " " " BELOW END " " -- Shift cursor ONE WORD LEFT. -- " " ONE WORD RIGHT. -- 1) Bump text to the right of the cursor to right margin. 2) If no text to the right, enter Flush-Right (FLR) mode. -- Exit FLR mode (or use , or any bar movements). -- Destructive "Fore-space", available in FLR mode only. -- Like <^ESC>. Can be disabled with a configuration switch. <^ESC> or <@ESC> -- Quit to original or current directory, respectively, DOS only. (If you use NEWKEY, see page 18.) Under Windows & OS/2 these keys have their normal meanings. -- Terminate 4FILES. Active in Windows and OS/2 only. FILE MODE KEYCOMMANDS: ---------------------- <^E> or <^E><^E> -- Presents a DOS command line with or without the current file name. Appending "++" to a command freezes the screen temporarily after execution, or freezing can be permanently set via the Configuration Options screen. Executing a blank command line shells to a secondary "real" DOS session. <^H> -- Shell to 4DOS & show the selectable command history window. KEYSTACK.COM (a 4DOS TSR) must be loaded before 4FILES. <^X> -- Instantly executes records that are .COM, .EXE, .BAT or .BTM files; also acts on data files with "executable extensions". or -- Toggles between showing file attributes and file time. The works only on non-laptop keyboards; works on all. FOR FILES --------- A / ^A -- Change attributes of current file or all marked files. C / ^C -- Copy current file or all marked files. D / ^D -- Delete current file or all marked files. M / ^M -- Move file or all marked files. (Page 13.) R / ^R -- Rename current or marked files. (LCD 4.0B+ & ACD compatible.) S -- Resort the listed files with a new sort type or order. FOR DIRECTORIES --------------- N -- Create a "New" Directory. LCD/ACD/NCD compatible. K -- "Kill" (remove) highlighted directory. LCD/ACD/NCD compatible. R -- Rename current directory. Descriptive note, if any, will be lost. (LCD 4.0B+ and ACD compatible.) -- Change directory. (See above for KB=2 or 3 substitutions.) FOR DISKS --------- V -- Shows volume data, including bytes free and an editable Volume Label. FILE MARKING ------------ / -- Mark and Unmark the CURRENT file. <^F5> / <^F6> -- Mark and Unmark ALL files. <^/> / <^\> -- " " " " " -- Toggle mark on CURRENT file. <^Space> -- Toggle marks on ALL files. ==================================== DRIVE & DIRECTORY NAVIGATION DETAILS ==================================== After hitting (or one of the substitute keys for other keyboards) you will be prompted to enter a drive letter. A valid entry will cause an immediate change to the drive. A second hit on (instead of typing a drive letter) presents an input field for specifying a new directory and/or drive. makes an immediate change to the previous directory. The command is compatible with LCD, ACD or NCD (directory changing utilities) if 4FILES has been configured to use one of them, allowing you to enter fragmentary path names for directory changes. This REALLY saves time. The databases used by these programs are updated by 4FILES when directories are created, deleted or renamed. Hitting while the cursor is on a subdirectory record will cause 4FILES to change to that subdirectory. If this is the ".." record, the change will be to the parent of the current directory. is preferable (Page 14.) though, since it will change to the parent directory from ANY record. When changing to a parent directory, the cursor will quick-scroll from the top of the listing down to the record of the subdirectory you just left. This is helpful when inspecting a succession of child directories, since you always return to your last place in the parent, rather than its first record. The scrolling action gives a quick impression of your current location in the list. MOUSE NAVIGATION & OTHER USES ============================= The navigation key commands are mirrored in the mouse commands. For three button mice you will see that commands for navigating the listing are also included. Navigation functions are denoted here with AT-keyboard key representations. MOUSE BUTTONS: | L-- M-- R-- L-R LM- -MR LMR ===============|======================================================== 3 Button Mouse | | 2 Button Mouse | NOTE: (1) Mouse type is automatically detected. (2) OS/2's Presentation Manager disables the middle mouse button! (3) See the Mouse Use section for more information. The mouse handler is setup so that no action is taken until all depressed buttons have been released. To experiment, for a 'page-down' hold down the right button -- no rush -- and hit the middle button at your leisure. Then lift one finger -- again no rush -- and when the second finger is lifted the action is taken. To use the mouse when running under MS-Windows, the mouse driver must be loaded before loading Windows, otherwise the mouse will not function in Windows DOS sessions. The handler remains active in called utilities, giving mouse capability to utilities which have none. The right-button () will quit the utility, but the hair-trigger may also terminate 4FILES accidentally. For this reason, may be disabled as a means of terminating 4FILES. SEEKING A FILE ON THE LIST ========================== To scroll to a file in a directory listing press , where "char" is the alpha or numeric first character (Page 15.) of the file or directory name. You will be delivered to the next occurrence of a record starting with that character. On AT and laptop keyboards toggles the search direction at any time, including in mid-search. On PC keyboards, performs this function instead since is used for directory navigation. FILE MODE & NOTE MODE ===================== The default is for 4FILES to start in FILE MODE, with the file management functions are enabled. toggles between File Mode and Note Mode. The menu changes with the mode, and you will find that, due to limited length of the menu line, some commands shown on only one line actually work in both. =============== USING FILE MODE =============== The file mode commands are mnemonic keys: opy, ove, ename, elete, and ttributes for single files. <^C>opy, <^M>ove, <^R>ename, <^D>elete, <^A>ttributes and <^Z>ip for marked files. ew-directory, ill-directory, ename-directory for directories. <^E>xecute-field, <^E^E>xecute DOS shell, e<^X>ecute-now, and <^H>istory list execution. olume information. File Management --------------- Copy, move and rename rely directly on 4DOS resources, and keep the file notes with their files. Any errors (i.e. disk full, etc.) are trapped, flagged on the 4FILES screen, and stored in the file 0-4F-DOS.ERR. This is so named to always be found at or near the top of an alphabetical directory listing. Ctrl-L will cause this file to be displayed using your file browser, and when exiting the display you be prompted whether to delete the error file. For disks which are full, write protected or read-only, 4FILES will store 0-4F-DOS.ERR in your TEMP directory, if one is specified in your system environment. Under COMMAND.COM (but not under 4DOS), some simple errors such as 'drive (Page 16.) door open' will neither be trapped by 4FILES nor be displayed on-screen by DOS. The DOS operation will seem 'stalled,' but typing Ctrl-Break will correctly break this lock and return you to the 4FILES screen. The Z and ^Z (Zip) commands are for archiving files, and support ARJ and LHA archivers as well as PKZIP. The archiver is selected based on the extension given for the target file, and .ZIP is the default if none is given. File notes remain associated with their files in ZIP archives, and this feature will also be added for ARJ files as soon as possible. To unzip a file with its comments you can port the hareware program 4UNZIP to the key. (4FILES will soon have an internal function to ompletely replace the need for 4UNZIP, and will be able to provide the same service for ARJ files.) History lists are maintained separately for target file names for copy, move, archive (Z/^Z) and rename commands. A common target-path history list is maintained for those commands that use a target-path. The list capacities are all ten strings. The input field is initially blank, but pressing the DownArrow key will display the current filename for editing. The oldest filename is next in line. UpArrow accesses (from blank input fields) the most recent list addition. A and ^A are mnemonic commands to change file attributes. "A" presents an editable image of the current file's actual attributes is displayed for modification. If some files are marked, ^A shows an attribute template instead of the actual image. In the template, each attribute letter is initially preceded by a "?" wildcard, indicating that the existing attribute will be unchanged. Repeatedly typing an attribute character (R, A, S or H) toggles the action on that attribute through a cycle of, for example, ?R, +R, -R, and back to ?R. + and - indicate the attribute will be forced "ON" or "OFF" for each file. Especially with the ^A command it is useful to be able to see the current attributes for all files at once, but the default is to not display them. The file creation time field may be toggled between showing time and file attributes via the key, which functions in both File and Note Modes. 4FILES may be configured for attribute display as the startup default. "D" deletes the current file, and requires a double-tap of the "Y" key for confirmation. This double tap is a safety feature, so that typing a word such as "dynamic" while inadvertently in File Mode will not delete the current file. ^D acts on marked files, and uses a simpler confirmation. (Page 17.) Note that for the marked file and archiving operations to work as fast as possible you should have a temporary directory, named TEMP, set up. The "V" key displays volume information for the current disk, including the number of free bytes and an editable Volume Label. File Execution -------------- ^E presents a editable DOS command line loaded with the name of the current record name. ^E^E provides a blank command line in which you may enter any command; just like the DOS command line. ^Y deletes the command. A history list with a capacity of ten strings is maintained for the ^E and ^E^E commands. The typed-in command is executed, and when it finishes the return to 4FILES is automatic. In many situations this is desirable, but in some cases (the DOS SET command is an example) the information you want to see flashes off the screen. To prevent this there are two ways to cause 4FILES to delay clearing the screen until a key is hit. One is to set the configuration switch named "Pause after ^E" to Yes (NO is the factory default). The other is to append ++ to the ^E command line. ++ is a 4FILES flag, and is not actually part of the command. If the switch is set to YES, a "- -" appendage will force an immediate return after execution. If you wish to work directly from the real DOS prompt for a while, type ^E^E . Executing the blank command line will load a secondary DOS shell, and you will remain in the shell until you type EXIT to return to 4FILES (see 4FILES Tip #5, below). Back in 4FILES, you will be returned to the same drive:directory you were in before. The ^X or command will execute the current file immediately with no prompting. This works for both executable files and data files for which you have set up an executable extension. This command may be forced to pause after execution with the "Pause after ^X" configuration switch. An executable extension may be set up with a statement such as this in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: SET .DOC=C:\WP\WP.EXE Then, if you press ^X or on a file with a .DOC extension, 4FILES will load it into Word Perfect for you. This will not work with COMMAND.COM. (Page 18.) Directory Management -------------------- ew-directory and ill-directory are commands to make and remove directories. ename works both for subdirectories and files. These commands update ACD, LCD, and NCD databases, if 4FILES is configured to use one of these utilities. MARKING FILES ------------- There are several ways to mark files. & respectively mark and unmark the current file, and toggles the mark of the current file. <^F5> & <^F6> explicitly mark and unmark all records, and <^SPACE> toggles the marks of all files. <^/> and <^\> duplicate the <^F5> and <^F6> keys for Windows compatibility. Marking may be done in both File & Note Modes, and a count of marked files and bytes marked is shown on the second line in a configurable color. Marked file operations automatically pass over subdirectories and hidden files, and marking of DESCRIPT.ION is expressly blocked. Note however that during the next directory change or when exiting 4FILES, if no file notes remain, DESCRIPT.ION will be deleted for you automatically. A "0" length DESCRIPT.ION file may be deleted with the "D" single file command. When changing directories or calling a utility, any file marks are saved in a file named DEMARCAT.ION, kept in the current directory. When entering or returning to a directory, if this file is found the marks are restored. The exception is that if the file was written during a previous 4FILES session it is instead deleted. So, within a session all marks remain until they are unmarked, but they are usually not "sticky" between sessions. There are two ways to have "sticky" marks, if you wish. One is via a Configuration Menu switch. The other is the /M command line switch. The later is particularly useful to reuse marks on the spur of the moment, if the menu switch is "off." The marks in the current directory would otherwise be lost when 4FILES loads, before you have a chance to change the menu switch. SORTING THE LIST OF FILES ------------------------- While the subdirectory portion of the list is always alphabetically sorted, the files-portion may be sorted in various ways either on-the-fly or via command line switches. The default sort is alphabetical, in ascending order. For an on-the-fly change to the order, type S while in (Page 19.) File Mode. After making a selection, which may involve making settings for both the type of sort and its ascendancy, a second tap on the last key hit will exit the sort menu and cause the sort to be made. will exit also. Sort type and ascendancy may be also be set from the command line, as shown below. /D may be used by itself or in combination with other switches, and affects only the primary sort. Cmd Line SWITCH PRIMARY SORT SECONDARY SORT -------- ----------------- ------------------ DEFAULT = FILENAME .EXT /E .EXT FILENAME /S File Size FILENAME.EXT /C Chronological FILENAME.EXT /N File Note FILENAME.EXT /U Unsorted, DOS order -- /D Descending Order Descending Order Except when sorting by filename, the primary sort field is highlighted with a color that is set on the configuration menu. For (U)nsorted, the filename field is highlighted. International code pages are used for sorting when appropriate. The "tips" section has more on sorting. ============= UTILITY PORTS FILE BROWSING, EDITING, UNZIPPING, DUPLICATES, etc. ============= --------------------------------------------------- Some of 4FILES' most useful functions are performed by automatically loading programs of your choice with the current file at the stroke of a key. "Utility Ports" are the software mechanisms by which you associate your chosen programs with various 4FILES control keys. They also allow needed command line information (switches, filenames, etc.) to be fed to the utility. These ports may be customized via the Configuration Utility Ports screen, accessed with the key. Several programs are recommended below for use in various ports. If you don't have these utilities or equivalents, they may be downloaded free on your first call to my BBS, which is a subsystem of MAS-BBS in New York (see page 1 of this manual). The latest version of 4FILES and a collection of pertinent utilities are found there in separate directories. See page 1 for log-on instructions. Also, I can mail you a full set of (Page 20.) useful shareware and public domain utilities (including 4DOS, which is not available on the BBS) -- see the Order Form for details. BROWSING FILES -------------- The key (or its substitute) is overloaded in a sensible way. Not only will it allow you to "see" the contents of a subdirectory, if the highlighted record is a file, it will call up your favorite file browser or archive viewer to see the file. In File Mode, may be configured to duplicate the function of , although this is not recommended unless you really need it. 4FILES comes configured to use 4F-TV.COM as the browser, but any browser such as Buerg's LIST or the internal 4DOS LIST command can be used. The later is an internal command and requires shelling to DOS, a slow process. The external utilities, however, display a file in a literal eye-blink. The and <^G+> commands recognize archive files if they are self-extracting (.EXE) files or if they have one of these extensions: .ZIP, .ARC, .DWC, .LBR, .LZH, .PAK or .ZOO. When an archive is detected an archive viewer is called. There are various types of archive browsers available. FV.COM shows a simple listing of the contents. ZR, LR, AR and ZOR not only show a listing (of ZIP, LHZ, ARJ and ZOO file respectively), but can view the text of files inside the archive and extract selected files from the archive. These four programs can be found on BBSs as XRAY.ZIP or XRAY???.ZIP. 4F-XRAY.BAT was provided with your copy of 4FILES to allow the most appropriate one of these five browsers to be called automatically via one 4FILES utility port. If you use this batch file, it is best mapped to the key, and it is handy to then have FV mapped independently to the key. 4FILES comes with a different mapping. While in browsers and other utilities, mouse buttons work "as initialized" by 4FILES. The combination of = View and = Escape, combined with movement of the 4FILES cursor bar by the mouse, allows one handed "rapid-fire" inspection of multiple files. (Note: if you load 4FILES via SHROOM or call a utility via SWAPDOS, the mouse will be automatically disabled, temporarily. This is necessary since the mouse handler gets overwritten.) In the midst of your rapid firing though, you will sometimes inadvertently exit from 4FILES (even without the mouse). To avoid this, you can reconfigure to disable quitting via the key. The <^ESC> and <@ESC> keys still function, and allow you to quit to the original or current (Page 21.) directory respectively. Improper use will then display a menu of the proper keys. If you use NEWKEY, to enable 4FILES to use the <^ESC> key, run NEWKEYSP.EXE, pick "I" on the menu, and make an entry for <^ESC>. EDITING FILES ------------- calls your editor, loading it with the filename of the current record. As supplied, editor access to .COM .EXE .BIN .OBJ .SYS .LIB .WKS .DB & .OVL extensions and the seven above archive extensions is denied. The denied extensions configurable. Denials protect the integrity of non-text files. A second editor or word processor (or any utility, such as a .GIF viewer) may be mapped to <^F2>. The denied extensions apply to this key as well. If a disk is write-protected, will give an error message. If you have no editor, pick up PC-Mag's free TED.COM. Note that an "R" switch is provided in the configuration listing for each utility port. It forces reloading the current directory upon return from the utility, and should be "ON" for any editor or other utility which can change file size or directory contents. "W" (wait before redisplaying) should be off since you will want to return immediately from an editor. To create a NEW file, hit while on a NON-FILE RECORD. This will not work if the "R" switch is off. You will be prompted for names for the new files, but may hit on the blank field blank if you wish. Some editors may not be able to utilize more than one filename from the command line. OTHER UTILITY PORT KEYS ----------------------- Utilities of any type may be mapped to the and keys. is initially set up to find duplicates of the current file by calling WHERE.EXE. Bruce Gavin's utility FIND.EXE is a good choice here. UNZIPPING FILES --------------- is used to call an archive utility, such as 4UNZIP (a shareware utility which in turn calls PKUNZIP) or SHEZ or XRAY.BAT. A list is shown of the files archived in a .ZIP or other file archive, and files can be unzipped singly or in marked groups. 4UNZIP is important here since it will recover the file notes 4FILES archived with their files. Note: If certain keyboard buffer expanders are used, the current version of 4UNZIP crashes (immediately or a soon after use, with or without 4FILES) if (Page 22.) certain keyboard buffer-expanders are used. Test your setup! 4FILES will soon have a built-in routine which will replace 4UNZIP completely, and which will work on all types of archives, not just .ZIP. ==================== UTILITY PORTS IN USE ==================== A potential difficulty which 4FILES avoids is that some utilities and editors you might like to call allow you to delete/rename files or change drives/directories. When the utility is exited, 4FILES by default explic- itly changes back to its last drive/directory and rereads the directory list. The bar is returned to the last record it was on, or if deleted, to the nearest record number possible. This process takes a little longer than assuming that the directory structure is unchanged, and also destroys the "+/-" note-modified indicators and any file marks, but is SAFE. Alternatively, you may tell 4FILES not to reload the directory by setting the "R" switch for a utility port to "N". Use the "N" setting ONLY if you know the utility is incapable of the operations mentioned above. Note that the switch for the browser is also operative when displaying Help or this manual with or <^F1>. Two help files are provided: 4F.HLP and 4F.KEY. The file 4FILES will call is 4F.HLP, so if you wish to use the other, rename both files. =============== USING NOTE MODE =============== ANNOTATING FILES ================ 4FILES supports file notes (or "descriptions" in 4DOS parlance) up to 40-characters long. Each directory with annotated files will contain a hidden file named DESCRIPT.ION, containing the note data for all files in the directory. Beginning with release 5.0, 4DOS can handle file notes up to 200 characters long, but 4FILES will not be able to use the extra capacity until a later release. For now though, 4FILES does detect notes of over 40-characters and will warn you of the situation. To limit creation of notes by 4DOS or other utilities to 40 characters, be sure that in your 4DOS.INI file the directive DescriptionMax=040 is set (the default value). (Page 23.) File copying, moving, or renaming will however always work properly regardless of description length since 4FILES relies directly on 4DOS resources for these functions. The only caveat is, again, that once a note is edited and 4FILES rewrites DESCRIPT.ION, all notes are written to disk, and only 40 characters can be written for each. Great attention has been devoted to making 4FILES a true power tool for creating or modifying one or a multitude of notes. These are the features: CUT & PASTE & NOTE DELETES ========================== initiates text-copying mode. Highlight the desired text by moving the cursor horizontally, and then hit to put it in the paste buffer. <@F9> copies the whole note to the buffer, and <^F9> cuts (rather than copying) selected text to the buffer. Captured text stays in the buffer when changing drives or directories. pastes text in the buffer at the cursor position. If a PASTE causes an overflow of the 40-character note space, the note is moved to an 80-character space at the bottom of the screen. This expanded field is fully editable (see following). is inactive in FLR mode. ^Y deletes the entire note, and is also functional all text input fields and command lines in 4FILES. In Note Mode, ^D will delete the notes of all marked files. As with file deletion, a double-tap of the "Y" key is required to affirm the deletion. The prompt is put on a different part of the screen than for file deletion, to be sure you realize that you are deleting notes, not files. EXPANDED EDIT FIELD =================== Expanded Field Mode is triggered whenever typing or pasting causes the length of the current note to exceed 40 characters, and allows editing over a full 80-character field. The note is moved to a highlighted 80-character field at the bottom of the screen and the 40-character field is blotted out. Two "eyebrows" of "blot" characters, each 40-characters long, are placed above this field, and act as a guide for where the over-long note will be truncated when or is hit. The intent of the blotted out 40-character field, eyebrows, and highlighted bottom row is to draw your eyes down to the expanded field. To return to the 40-character field, hit or . will return to the current record and moves the cursor to the next record. In both cases the note is truncated after the 40th character. (Page 24.) FLUSH RIGHT (FLR) MODE ====================== To create notes which are easy to scan by eye, it is sometimes useful to make part of a note left justified and part of it right justified. Hitting provides right justified text in either of two ways: 1. If there is text to the right of the cursor, it is bumped over to the right margin. The cursor is not moved, and 4FILES remains in its normal, left justified editing mode. 2. If there is no text to the right of the cursor, 4FILES enters Flush- Right Mode (FLR). The cursor is moved to the right margin, and highlighted indicators are set-up to show the part of the note field which is available for FLR text entry. Text will grow leftward from the cursor, which is initially outside the field. Editing is forced into insert mode. All horizontal cursor movement keys are active. ^Left & ^Right behave slightly different than in normal mode, putting the cursor between words, and Shft-BS is enabled. Collision of new FLR text with any left-justified text is prevented. Cut and paste are not allowed. QUITTING FLR MODE ================= There are three ways to leave FLR mode, with differing effects on the text cursor and the cursor bar. In all cases, the pre-existing insert or overwrite mode will be restored. The choices: Leaves the cursor where it is. Sends the cursor home. (Record-change) (All vertical cursor keys act normally.) INSERT / OVERWRITE MODES ======================== The INSERT mode default may be changed from the configuration menu. The active mode may be toggled with . ============================== INTERNAL CONFIGURATION ROUTINE ============================== CUSTOMIZING 4FILES ================== You can change 4FILES' on-screen appearance, the INSERT / OVERWRITE default, "utility port" setups, and a number of other features. displays the Main Configuration Menu. If you make changes, this menu will have two choices added to it: "(S)ession only changes" or "(P)ermanent changes." The later choice saves the (Page 25.) configuration to disk in a .CFG file. When quitting 4FILES, you will have an another opportunity to save session-only configuration changes. If you rename 4FILES, 4FILES will detect its new name and will recognize only a .CFG file of the same name. "Utility Ports" Configuration Screen ==================================== Each utility port has a Key/Function name indicating which key accesses the utility and the recommended use for the port. The first field of each line is the "utility field", and is for an alias name, file name (filespec) or a complete pathspec for a utility or application. A complete pathspec will speed loading and is recommended, but is not necessary if the program is in your PATH. (DOS must know where to find the program, either from the pathspec or by searching each directory listed in your system's PATH.) In all cases, a file extension MUST be given. Valid extensions include .BAT, .BTM and .ALS. ".ALS" must be appended to aliases or DOS internal commands. .ALS is a flag for 4FILES, and is not included in the actual call. All commands without extensions will fail to execute. If you wish to swap 4FILES to EMS or XMS memory or a hard disk before executing a utility or application, SWAPDOS.COM can be used. Enter SWAPDOS in the utility field. The name of the program to be called then goes in the tail ("T=") field, preceded by any command line switches for SWAPDOS and followed by any of its own switches. Another swap program which can be used for this is SHROOM. 4FILES rather than the utility is loaded via SHROOM, so SHROOM should not be placed in a port's configuration. With SWAPDOS, swapping only occurs for the selected utilities, while SHROOM will swap for all utilities and when shelling to DOS. On the other hand, SHROOM does fast executions via the DOS EXEC function, while SWAPDOS makes a slower shell to DOS. On any utility or DOS calls in which SHROOM or SWAPDOS is active, the 4FILES mouse and keyboard handlers are necessarily disabled during the call. Errors in calling .COM and .EXE programs from 4FILES (e.g. file not found) are shown as "configuration incorrect", but execution errors for batch files and aliases are not trapped. If execution is a quick flash on the screen, you need to repeat the operation with a "screen pause" to see what is happening. There are two ways to do this; one global and one specific to the utility. To pause after execution of all utilities and the DOS shell (^E commands), set the "Pause after ^E" configuration switch to "Y". To cause a particular utility to pause after execution, set its "H=" (hold (Page 26.) screen) switch to "Y". There is also a "Pause after ^X" switch. Displaying Help and this manual with and <^F1> (respectively) will work only if the BROWSE key is configured correctly. The next field in the utility-port block is the command line tail. This sends filenames, command line switches or other parameters to the utility. The following macros may be placed anywhere needed among other parameters (to save space you may omit space characters before and after them): $D Inserts drive letter, colon, full pathspec and filename.ext. $P As above, but without the drive letter and colon. $F Inserts the filename and extension. $N Inserts the filename without extension. The "H" field is a YES/NO field which determines whether or not 4FILES waits for a keyhit after the utility has finished executing. Set it to "Y" for utilities which run straight through and exit without any user input. The "R" field is also a YES/NO field which determines whether 4FILES reloads the directory list and DESCRIPT.ION file after the utility exits. It must be set to "Y" if the utility is capable of managing files or changing drives and directories. It should for example be "Y" for an editor or word processor. "Configuration Options" Screen ============================== This screen provides switches, grouped into sections, for the following: KEYBOARD/MOUSE SWITCHES: ------------------------ International Keyboard Code: -- Two letter DOS keyboard-country-code. LEAVE THIS BLANK UNLESS YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. Takes effect next session. Keyboard Type: -- "1" = AT keyboard, , , keys active. "2" = PC keyboard, substitutes for . "3" = Laptop. Substitutes <[>, <]>, and for above. (Page 27.) Overtype Default? -- The INSERT mode default can be changed to OVERTYPE. The default state has the line cursor, the alternate state has the block cursor. Disable QUIT via ? -- To avoid inadvertent exits via set this to "Y" and exit with <^ESC> or <@ESC>. (If you use NEWKEY, see P.10.) In MS-Windows and OS/2, setting this switch allows task switching to occur. Substitute for Key in File Mode? -- "Y" substitutes the () key for the key, in File Mode only. retains its text writing meaning in Note Mode. Let 4FILES Enable the Mouse? -- "N" leaves the mouse set up as-received by 4FILES. "Y" causes 4FILES to install its own mouse handler. Takes effect in next 4FILES session. VIDEO SWITCHES: --------------- Video Mode (hex), Alternate #: -- Spaces are provided for three extended video modes, and these must be hex numbers from your video card manual. If these fields are blank, BIOS methods will be used to switch video modes on EGA and VGA monitors. Providing numbers here may provide better performance or more preferable fonts. switches modes. Use Snow Prevention if CGA? -- Set to "Y" if your CGA monitor has a snow problem. OK to restore font? -- Since 4FILES is capable of changing the number of EGA/VGA rows displayed, it attempts to restore the original video state when it exits. In some cases it is necessary or desirable to restore the original font as well, but a switch is provided since this fails on some systems. EMS memory is required for storing the font. At Exit & Shell: Enable Blinking? -- 4FILES disables blinking to allow all color choices. Set this to "Y" only if some programs you use display strange colors where there should be blinking text after 4FILES has been run or when called from within 4FILES. This is a problem of poorly behaved programs, not a problem with 4FILES. The Utility Ports Configuration now has a blink enable switch for each port to avoid this problem during calls. (Page 28.) At Exit: Use 4FILES Colors in DOS? -- "Y" leaves the screen set to the 4FILES text color at exit; with "N" DOS color is restored. (Results with "Y" may not be visually pleasing if you use ANSI.) If this is set to "Y," the Enable Blinking switch should be set to "N" to assure that all of your colors are maintained. If Enable Blinking is set to "Y" and your 4FILES text background is dark grey or a high intensity color, something has to give and at exit any colors that will blink will be to modified to non-blinking colors -- all or part of your DOS screen would flash otherwise. At Exit: Show Previous DOS Screen? -- Determines whether the 4FILES screen is left showing at exit or whether the previous DOS screen is shown. The later will not work unless you have a TEMP directory designated in your environment. SHELLING OPTIONS: ----------------- ^C/^M "prompt-for-each" prompt ON? -- Determines whether or not you will be prompted before each file is copied or moved when working with marked files. Eliminates one keystroke at the beginning of the operation. Has no effect unless you are running under 4DOS. Prompt before Copy/Move Overwrite? -- Determines whether duplicate filenames found in the target directory will be automatically over-written or whether you will be prompted to quit or continue. Use Copy/Move Alias? -- "N" is the default. Use __CAUTION__ if you change this. "Y" disables 4FILES' protection against trashing a file if you specify a non-existent directory during a marked files copy/move. If set to "Y" your aliases for both Copy and Move must provide this protection. Run COPY/MOVE/RENAME in Full Screen? -- For best appearance, set this to "N" and see if your video system will work properly with the smaller window provided. 4FILES sets up the window and DOS then runs within it. "N" works for most systems. Run Archivers in Full Screen? -- Similar to the above, providing separate control for windowing of file archiving operations (with the Z commands). (Page 29.) Pause After ^E DOS Commands? -- If the result of an (^E)xecute flashes off screen, either set this to "Y" or put "++" at the end of the ^E command input line to pause. Pause After ^X or Program Runs? -- Does the same as the above for direct executions (no "++" option). OTHER OPTION SWITCHES: ---------------------- Never Save File Marks on Exit? -- If you don't intend to use the /M command line switch, setting this to "Y" will avoid writing DEMARCAT.ION files unnecessarily. Never Save File Marks on Directory Change? -- If you don't care to have your file marks retained during a session, setting this to "Y" will avoid writing DEMARCAT.ION. AT STARTUP: Read Old File Marks? -- If the switch two above is set to "N," setting this switch to "Y" will cause file marks from a previous session to be used. AT STARTUP: Show File Attributes? -- Normally 4FILES starts up with the file time shown field displayed; this switch shows file attributes instead. (See also, key.) AT STARTUP: Start in Note Mode? -- Determines whether startup is in File Mode or Note Mode. AT STARTUP: Leave Num-Lock As-is? -- Determines whether the keypad controls the cursor or types numbers. Beep Turned On? -- 4FILES is supplied with this set to "Y." Further note on the "Use Copy/Move Alias?" Switch ------------------------------------------------- Setting this switch to "Y" is not recommended, but is provided for power users. It determines whether an existing 4DOS command or user alias named COPY, MOVE or RENAME will be unaliased before sending the command. NOTE THAT ENABLING ALIASES DISABLES THE SAFETY IN 4FILES WHICH PREVENTS MARKED FILES FROM OVERWRITING ONE ANOTHER IF THE TARGET DIRECTORY DOES NOT EXIST. You MUST incorporate this safety yourself into BOTH the copy and (Page 30.) move aliases you use, for example by using the 4DOS /D switch. The 4FILES switch is provided to support users who have aliases which complete a fragmentary target path, given for a copy/move operation, into a full path. 4FILES cannot be safe when used this way since such aliases would be pre-empted by 4FILES' prompt to create the non-existent target directory, which is what a path fragment appears to be. The switch is completely safe if set to "N." If set to "Y," you must take the above precautions, and your aliases must be able to handle (either by using or discarding them) both the /R and /P switches. "Configure Colors & Highlights" Screen ====================================== The color configuration screen does not truly portray the 4FILES colors (so that the location of input fields can be clearly shown), so a sample screen is shown at the bottom of the screen. Just follow the instructions on the screen. Since 4FILES turns screen blinking off, background colors and monochrome highlights not normally available may be used. If dark grey or high intensity background is used, you should set the "Enable Blinking" switch to "N." Some color combinations may not work with some "ported utilities". For example, if a utility automatically sets up a black on white cursor bar without clearing the screen to white on black text first, AND if you have 4FILES text set to black on white, you won't see the cursor bar. This occurs with 4UNZIP & VDE.COM. The only solution is to pick text colors for 4FILES which avoid the conflict. Please suggest to authors of such programs that they need a "smarter" set up of screen attributes. ================ DISPLAY FEATURES ================ 4FILES works with any video text mode of 80x25 or higher. At startup 4FILES automatically detects the display type and acts appropriately. You may quickly alternate between three or four video modes using the Ctrl- key if you have an EGA or VGA monitor. More about this in a moment. At startup, except for HGC, MDA and CGA video cards, if a higher mode is used it will be automatically implemented. For HGC, MDA and CGA running (Page 31.) higher modes (such as with UltraVision), the /+ command line switch must be used. The reason is that not all cards in this class are 100% BIOS compatible, in some cases defeating the automatic detection, and this arrangement assures that all systems will run " out of the box" in 80x25 mode. When calling 4FILES from an application running a higher mode, 80x25 mode may be forced with the /8 switch. When calling utilities or shelling, the screen may look its best (depending on your color choice) if ANSI.SYS is not loaded. If a CGA video card is detected, a no-snow video writing method is used by default. For faster displays, this method may be configured "off". Video mode switching is useful for displaying a longer list in fine type or a shorter list in more readable type. There are two ways to achieve video mode switching using the Ctrl- key. Method 1: By default, BIOS methods are used to alternate between a 25, 43 and 50 line display. (There is no 50-line mode for EGA.) Method 2: This method is supported by some VGA cards and gives superior results. It is activated by specifying extended video modes on the Configuration Options Menu. If these fields are blank, Method 1 will be used. You must use numbers supplied in your video card manual (there are no standards) and they must be hexadecimal values. You may toggle between the three (or fewer) specified modes and the mode you were in at startup (i.e. four modes to choose from). There is one case for which Method 2 will default to Method 1, and that is if when starting 4FILES, MODE CON LINES = nn had been used to set up a 43 or 50 line mode in DOS. Rules for Method 2: 1> The extra modes must use at least 80 columns. 2> You cannot switch between color and monochrome modes. 3> Use hex values from your video card manual -- other numbers will give unpredictable results. VIDEO RESTORATION. At exit the original video mode and number of lines is restored. A configuration menu switch determines whether the original font is also restored; the default is not to restore since this does work with all EGA/VGA hardware. EMS memory is needed to save the original font. WHAT YOU SEE ON-SCREEN ---------------------- "T" and "E" indicators near the top and bottom of the screen indicate that the top or end of the listing is shown on screen. Used disk bytes are shown in File Mode, and the 4FILES version number is shown in Note Mode. A file count is displayed at all times. An "S" indicator with an up arrow (Page 32.) symbol on the top row means the file search direction is upward; if there is no symbol shown the direction is downward. "PROTECTED" and "ROOT FULL" messages indicate that the full range of file management and note editing features are not available for the current disk. "Protected" means the disk is write protected. Records with altered notes are flagged with a "+/-" character at mid-line. A different character is shown for unaltered notes. A "delta" character next to a filename means the file is marked for group file management. =================================== OPERATING WITH SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTS =================================== RUNNING UNDER MS-WINDOWS ======================== 4FILES runs well as a non-Windows application. Windows is detected automatically, and the and keys will serve their Windows rather than 4FILES functions. or are then used to terminate 4FILES (depending on your configuration). Note that the mouse will work as intended only when 4FILES is run in a full screen window -- when the program is in a smaller window the Windows mouse handler is operative. As you should know, you may toggle between windowed and full screen with the Windows key. The provided 4F.PIF file causes 4FILES to startup in a window, but you may modify the PIF. This is the recommended way to install 4FILES in Windows: 1) It is best to have two 4FILES installations; one in the Startup Group which will always be loaded automatically into a minimized-icon or window whenever you load Windows, and one that is always handy in whichever Group is normally active on your desktop. This is one example of how to do this. Your DOS installation of 4FILES should be completed before proceeding. Be sure 4F-I-WIN.ICO and 4F.PIF are in the same directory as the program, or alternately put copies of them in your Windows directory. 2) Open (for example) the Startup Group. From the Program Manager menu line select "File," then "New" and "OK" with "Program Item" selected. You are now in the Program Properties dialog box. Leave the Description blank; to the next field and type d:\path\4F.PIF directly into the field (substitute pathspec to your 4F installation for "d" and "path"). Alternatively, you can browse through the directory tree to find 4F.PIF. Back in the Program Properties box, type "OK." Especially if you are using Windows for WorkGroups, running 4FILES.COM directly as the "Program Item," rather than listing its PIF there may result in messages like "Unable to access video display" or "This application has violated system integrity." If you get these messages, be sure you are running from the PIF and/or compare documentation in 4F-PIF.DOC to the settings in your PIF file. 3) You are now back in the Group box, with a DOS icon for 4FILES (Page 33.) highlighted. Select "File," "Properties." Type in the working directory you want 4F to log onto when it loads, and if the 4F.PIF default CTRL-CapsLock hotkey is unsuitable, select a different on in this box. Then select "Change Icon," and in the box which is shown, either type in d:\path\4F-I-WIN.ICO, or browse to select this file. Finally, if you do not wish 4FILES to load immediately (remember, this is the Startup Group), prefering instead to have it appear as an icon at the bottom of the screen, set the "Run Minimized" box. To save your work, select the upper left corner button of the box and select save. 4) If you ever create your own .PIF, set the KB Required to 128K. Although 4FILES is a .COM file, it needs memory for 64K of data in addition to its own code and buffers, which is also approaching 64K. Set KB_Desired to 640K, to leave room for utilities called from 4FILES. 5) It is recommended that you do a duplicate installation in the Windows Group you will normally have showing on your desktop. This way, if you terminate the startup group copy of 4FILES you have another 4FILES icon handy, eliminating the needed to reopen the startup group box first. Using 4FILES in Windows ----------------------- For regular 4FILES use (except during evaluation under COMMAND.COM) be sure your COMSPEC environment variable specifies 4DOS or NDOS. To use the mouse in 4FILES, your mouse driver MUST be loaded prior to loading Windows; although Windows does not need a pre-loaded driver, 4FILES does. The mouse will have 4FILES functions when 4FILES is full screen, and it will have its Windows functions when 4FILES is in a window. You may toggle 4FILES between full screen and window displays with . 4F.PIF, as supplied, starts 4FILES in a full screen. To change this default to a "windowed" startup, run the PIF-Editor icon and select Open on its left title bar button. Find the 4F.PIF file, and set the appropriate button under "Display Useage." swaps out of 4FILES to other tasks. When the swap cycle comes back to 4FILES, if 4FILES is running full screen, you will come back to the 4FILES icon and will have to reopen it. If it is running in a window though, you will come back to your place on the 4FILES screen, or the screen of a utility you may have called from 4FILES and been in when you swapped tasks. 4F-WIN.PIF sets the Windows short-cut to Alt+CAPSLOCK; this may be changed on the PIF-Editor "Advanced" screen. One handy use of 4FILES is to have it in a background window that has an edge or corner showing. Suppose you are in a Windows application, for (Page 34.) example PageMaker, and you are looking at a directory list, trying to decide which file to load. The Windows directory display does not show file notes or allow you to view a file, and it can be hard to figure out which file you want. Just click on the 4FILES window to bring it to the foreground, change to the same directory, and read your notes. Then click on the window for your application, and you are ready to go. Of course, with the 4FILES window handy in the background it is also easy to update your file notes after creating or editing a file with another application. RUNNING UNDER OS/2 ================== Behavior is like under Windows. 4FILES runs well from its icon, in a DOS VDM, or from the OS/2 (or 4OS2) command line. Using the icon allows the OS/2 Mouse_Exclusive_Access (M_E_A) switch to be configured "on," for proper mouse action. If it is on, any mouse button will extinguish the OS/2 mouse cursor; to restore it type Ctrl-ESC, and then ESC to clear the task menu. If M_E_A is not set, 4FILES must be run full screen for proper mouse action. To set M_E_A, press the Right Button on the 4FILES icon, press Right Arrow, then select in succession: Settings, Session, DOS Window, and DOS Settings. Type "M," find Mouse_Exclusive_ Access, turn it on, and save the setting. While you are at it, select the General tab in the Settings notebook and load the 4F-OS2.ICO icon. Unless you are simply evaluating 4FILES, be sure you have OS/2 setup to run 4DOS as the shell for any DOS VDM where you will load 4FILES. From within 4FILES, type: "^E^E ++" and at the ensuing command line type: "VER". You should see 4DOS and its version number followed by the OS/2 version number. This check is necessary to assure that your file descriptions will be transferred with their files and to take advantage of other 4DOS features 4FILES uses. See the Chapter 4 of the 4DOS Installation Guide for details. RUNNING UNDER DESQVIEW ====================== 4FILES is DESQview (DV) aware, and may be used in small or full windows. Even though 4FILES is fully DV-aware, "Writes directly to screen" must be set to "yes" since utilities you call from 4FILES may not be DV-aware. DV's Transfer and Learn functions are fully functional, even though 4FILES employs its own keyboard handler. 4FILES' time slice will be released while 4FILES is idling. Sufficient memory must be allotted to 4FILES for itself plus the largest utility (or the DOS secondary shell) which will be called from within it. You may wish to have "Open" menu entries for a few copies of 4FILES, each (Page 35.) with a different name and its own .CFG file. For example, one copy might be setup to call TED (a small freeware text editor) as the editor so 4FILES can be fully functional with minimal memory requirements; and another copy might call Multi-Edit (a full featured editor) and be set up for 350+K of memory. Due to 4FILES' small size it is realistic to use multiple copies (each with its own .CFG file) to provide this flexibility. When setting up for 4FILES it is suggested that the filename plus extension be used, causing DV to load 4FILES directly itself rather than calling DOS to load it. This saves several K of memory and saves much time during utility calls since execution will be direct. On utility calls if DOS loaded 4FILES, DV will shell to DOS before the utility is loaded. Also, if a utility is called while 4FILES is in a small window, the utility's screen may appear to be blank and unscrollable, depending on the location of text on the page. In this situation just zoom the window to full size. In the DV setup for 4FILES, set "Uses it's own colors" to yes, but don't use colors which interfere with blinking. For example, when dark grey is used for the 4FILES list background, 4FILES will display correctly but when you switch to another window the whole 4FILES window will blink. Some monochrome highlight choices have this same effect. Under DESQview the 4FILES CTRL-ESC and ALT-ESC keys loose their meaning since 4FILES always loads to its home directory. These keys can still be useful though, allowing "plain" ESC to be deactivated as described herein. =============== SAFETY FEATURES =============== DISK OVERFLOW PREVENTION ======================== In DOS, a file write that exceeds disk capacity truncates the file, usually with no immediate outward indication of a problem. Automatic protection against such data loss must be provided by the program itself, and 4FILES is so equipped. Whenever you change records or directories, 4FILES checks for an overflow condition. If your edits exceed disk capacity, you are immediately alerted with a message giving the number of excess bytes. At this point the note file is still in memory, and operations which would cause a file write are blocked. These include drive or directory changes, calling browse or edit utilities, and quitting. Meanwhile, you have FULL editing freedom, even text insertion and pasting, while editing your notes down. The overflow bytes message is updated on each record change, and the byte (Page 36.) tally can run up as high as necessary. When the message stops appearing, the notes will then fit on disk and blocked-off functions are re-enabled. Entirely deleting a note deducts more than the note size from the overflow; the length of the "filename.ext" plus three delimiter bytes are also nixed. If you delete a file (as opposed to just its note) or subdirectory with the D or K commands, the space freed up from the record and its note will be properly accounted for. Changes during ^E operations are accounted for also since the directory is always reread afterward. 4FILES pinpoints available disk space down to the last byte, but in one unusual circumstance the overflow detection behavior may seem strange, although it is still working correctly. Writing a new file requires at least one cluster of disk space (1024, 2048, or 4096 bytes, depending on the drive). Writing the first note in a subdirectory requires one cluster of available space, but if the disk is already full, doing so will cause an overflow condition. You might try going to another subdirectory that has notes and deleting a few notes, but this probably will not work. You may appear to free up enough bytes, but unless this also frees up a cluster 4FILES will still indicate an overflow since one does in fact exist. Unmarking files may also reduce disk requirements, especially if you unmark all files, freeing up a whole cluster from DEMARCAT.ION. READ ONLY "TRAP" AVOIDED ======================== 4DOS and 4FILES can move and edit notes only if the file "attribute" of DESCRIPT.ION allows a file write. Unfortunately, the "READ-ONLY" attribute can be inadvertently set by some utilities, especially those which can operate on blocks of files (such as XTREE Pro). When loading a directory, 4FILES checks ahead for the READ-ONLY attribute, and will prompt you to clear it. Were this not done, note edits you think you are saving could be lost or notes could be lost during file copying and moving. If you say "NO" to clearing the attribute during a directory change, you return to the old directory. During 4FILES startup, picking "NO" terminates the program. "YES" clears the bit, and operations are normal. NEVER intentionally mark a DESCRIPT.ION file "READ-ONLY" for any reason. 4FILES catches the error, but 4DOS unfortunately does not. 4FILES also will not allow you to use the A or ^A commands to change the attributes of DESCRIPT.ION, nor will it allow you to copy or rename it. It may be deleted only if all notes have been erased. Such protections are essential to the safety of the file description system. (Page 37.) TIMELY INACCESSIBLE-DISK DETECTION ================================== Files on a write protected disk cannot be altered, or if the root directory is full, files can't be added to it. During 4FILES startup and all drive or directory changes an immediate check is made to see if one of those conditions exists. If so, you will be alerted with a prominent "PROTECTED" or "ROOT FULL" message. As appropriate, certain 4FILES functions are disabled, and you will get an error message if you try to use them. For example, in a full root you will not be able to edit notes unless the DESCRIPT.ION file already exists. You can view files on a protected disk, but file management and note editing is impossible. No wasted time writing notes you can't save!! OS/2 sometimes gives annoying write protected disk messages even though 4FILES has already noted the condition -- I am looking for a fix for this. INTERNAL CRITICAL ERROR HANDLER =============================== DOS handles some simple, common situations as critical errors, and can disrupt execution of a program. These include leaving a drive door open or calling a drive with no disk inserted. 4FILES has its own critical error handler to treat such problems seamlessly, and goes also improves handling of drives A and B in single floppy systems. =========== 4FILES TIPS =========== Here are some ideas for making the most of 4FILES in everyday use. 1) TEAMWORK WITH LARGE APPLICATIONS #1: 4FILES is a real time saver when used in conjunction with some application programs. For example, you can write a 4DOS alias which loads 4FILES whenever you exit your comm program. Using Procom as an example, if you create this 4DOS/NDOS alias: ALIAS COM = C:\COM\PROCOM ^ 4FILES C:\COM\DOWN /T/D the command "COM" will cause 4FILES to be load when Procom exits. Your download directory will be shown sorted in reverse order by file creation time, placing new files at the top. Alternatively, using /E/D would put .ZIPS at the top. Then, using you may view the contents of the new text or .ZIP files. To unzip a file, type F4 to call PKUNZIP or 4UNZIP. 2) TEAMWORK WITH LARGE APPLICATIONS #2: In Windows or OS/2, keep a corner of the 4FILES window visible in the background where it is immediately (Page 38.) accessible. Use 4FILES to refer to your file notes when you are having trouble deciding which file to load into a Windows application from the "sparse" directory lists Windows provides. This also keeps 4FILES handy for quick file note updates when you created or modify data files. 3) MORE ROOM FOR BIG APPLICATIONS: To make more room for big applications, you can use SHROOM or SWAPDOS to swap 4FILES to EMS or XMS memory or disk. See details elsewhere in this manual. The freed-up memory may make the difference between your application running or not running. 4) MULTIPLE 4FILES CONFIGURATIONS: You can write a variety of aliases to quickly load 4FILES in specialized, frequently used configurations. An alias called 4E might call 4FILES with the /E switch set. Another called 4T, might make the call 4FILES C:\WP\TEXT. In such aliases, giving the full pathspec to 4FILES will speed loading, or you may want to have the directory containing 4FILES listed early in your PATH statement. 5) SPEED YOUR RETURN AFTER SHELLING TO DOS: use this alias: ALIAS = E EXIT. Then "E " gets you back to 4FILES (or other shelling program) fast from the secondary shell. 6) REMEMBER THE "DOUBLE-TAP" KEYS: ^E^E, < G**>, and the double strokes to quit the Sort menu. Also to return to the previous directory. 7) FREEZING THE SCREEN #1: With the ^E command or when using a utility port with a batch file or alias, a message might flash off screen too fast to read, or it may appear that nothing happens at all. Appending "++" to the command freezes the screen after execution until a key is hit, so you can see what happened. 4FILES can also be configured for automatic pause. 8) FREEZING THE SCREEN #2: Some utilities you may like to use will scroll several pages right off the screen. The solution is to call an alias, as in these silly but easy examples using DIR. They are most conveniently placed in your alias loading file, but can be entered on the command line if the alias expansion is enclosed in single quotes (once entered they are in memory, ready for use). "=" is not needed from the command line. ALIAS DP=DIR | MORE or ALIAS DL=DIR | C:\UTIL\LIST.COM /S The first example pipes to the MSDOS MORE program which pauses at the end (Page 39.) of each page. The later pipes output into Vern Buerg's LIST program, which allows back and forth scrolling through the output. To put this to heavy use, such an alias could be mapped to the 4FILES F8 key. 9) OPTIMUM KEYBOARD: If your function keys are across the top, getting a keyboard with F-keys on the left will REALLY speed up your work in all programs and make it more accurate. In 4FILES the proximity of these keys to , , and is handy, especially for marking and unmarking files with ^F5 and ^F6. I love my Northgate Ultra! If you have a laptop computer, be sure to select KeyboardType=3 from the Configuration Options screen. Also, check out the separate cursor keypad units described above under "Directory Navigation". 10) FAST LOADING OF CALLED UTILITIES: On the configuration screen, provide the full pathspec and filename for each utility, rather than relying on DOS to search for the program in your PATH. Your utilities will load in the blink of an eye; relying on PATH you will probably notice at least some delay, depending on how deep the PATH must be searched. 11) FAST SHELLING AND LOADING OF 4FILES: Setting your COMSPEC to a copy of 4DOS in a RAMdisk will dramatically improve performance. 4FILES loading will be blindingly fast if it too is called from the RAMdisk via an alias or your PATH. With 4FILES in a RAMdisk, you should call it with a 4DOS alias that, after after exit, clears the R attribute on the hard disk copy of 4F.CFG and over copies it with 4F.CFG from the RAMdisk. Besides saving any configuration changes, the session number (necessary to prevent file marks from earlier sessions from be redisplayed) is saved. 12) COLOR SUGGESTION FOR COLOR MONITORS: As supplied 4FILES displays in colors that won't interfere with screen blinking. Through experiment- ation I have come up with two other color schemes which I feel are easier on the eyes, and very functional. In particular, they give a good balance between the color of the cursor bar and the colors of both normal text and sorted fields. The best one has a dark grey background, which may require switch adjustments of some 4FILES utility ports if you have trouble with some utilities you call blinking uncontrollably (this is a quirk of IBM type computers, which can show either 8-bit color, or 7-bit color with one bit meaning "blink," combined with programs that assume 7-bit color.) (Page 40.) COLOR SET #1 COLOR SET #2 ------------------------- ----------------------- FIELD || BACKGROUND CHARACTER || BACKGROUND CHARACTER ------------- || ---------- ----------- || ---------- ---------- NORMAL TEXT || Dark Grey Dark Green || Black Dark Cyan SORTED FIELD || Dark Grey Light Yell || Black Light Yell CURSOR BAR || Light Grey Black || Light Grey Black CUT HI-LIGHT || Dark Red Black || Dark Grey Light Red FUNCTION KEY || Dark Grey Light Grey || Light Grey Black MENU TEXT || Dark Grey Dark Cyan || Black Rust INDICATORS || Dark Red Light White || Dark Red Light Grey ==================================== 4FILES ... ORIGIN & FUTURE EVOLUTION ==================================== 4FILES is coded entirely in assembly language for high speed and small size; consequently the work involved has been considerable. The code is is over 840K and 26,000 lines, written entirely in-house. The concept arose from the lack in 4DOS of two things. 1) 4DOS has no good means to create or edit the file notes it otherwise handles so well, and its internal note editor is basic and frustrating to use. 2) while 4DOS has its own internal transfer commands (COPY, MOVE and RENAME) which automatically keep notes with their files, it does not have a good way to perform these operations on marked groups of files. 4DOS unaware utilities capable of marked file operations (such as XTREE-PRO) are however also unsatisfactory, since they are oblivious to file notes and will trash them. 4FILES was designed as a tool to do all of these things and more, such as zipping file notes into an archive with their files. In addition, every file manager I tried left much to be desired in terms of efficiency from the user's viewpoint. A simple interface packing a lot of power has been my goal. The 4FILES project is not yet complete. Future releases will have an internal ability to unzip and view archived files, 200-character file description ability, a dual-directory workspace for file management, and a built-in ability to swap to EMS or XMS memory when calling utilities or shelling to DOS. Your requests for additional features or changes to existing ones are very welcome! (Page 41.) =========================================================================== AGREEMENT -- USE / PAYMENT / DISTRIBUTION / & LICENSING OF "4FILES" =========================================================================== WHAT YOU GET FOR PAYMENT ======================== With registration you receive: 1) The latest version of 4FILES and a printed manual; 2) a serial number which allows you to brand newer minor releases and the next major version as they appear on bulletin boards or at disk vendors ; 4) a free upgrade to the next major version by postal mail or E-mail; 5) related shareware and public domain programs to fill the 4FILES disk; and 6) free technical support. 4FILES has been a very time consuming project because I have gone to great pains both to maximize its convenience and power and to assure protection of your data. Please recognize this effort by paying for your copy promptly, and by passing 4FILES on to others who might enjoy it. AGREEMENT FOR USE AND DISTRIBUTION ================================== 4FILES and its documentation are copyrighted intellectual property which are distributed as shareware, and may be used or distributed only in compliance with the following terms and conditions. 4FILES is neither free nor in the public domain. All rights are reserved worldwide by the author. Any use of 4FILES constitutes your agreement to all provisions herein. USE & PAYMENT FOR A SINGLE COMPUTER =================================== Use of 4FILES is free during your evaluation period. This period ends when you begin to use 4FILES for any useful work which is not incidental to exploring its capabilities, and may not exceed 30-days beyond your acquisition date. When you use 4FILES for the primary purpose of accomplishing useful work (as contrasted to a genuine evaluation) you are obligated to do your "share" of the shareware arrangement by paying for your copy promptly. MULTIPLE USE & SITE LICENSING ============================= A site license is required if 4FILES can potentially be used simultaneously on more than one computer, terminal or workstation in a business, institution, organization, government agency, home, etc. To apply for a license, please fill out the Order Form below or 4F_ORDER.TXT. A sample site license and multiple-copy discount rates (Page 42.) are contained in the file 4F-SITE.TXT DISTRIBUTION OF 4FILES ====================== Distribution by any means is encouraged, provided: 1) ... that the distribution includes all original files (see Packing List, below) in their unaltered forms and with unaltered filenames, and does not include the .CFG file. If the package is incomplete its distribution is prohibited; please contact me for a complete package. A BBS may add a tag file listing it as the source, and disk vendors may add introductory or installation batch files. 2) ... that, unless a higher figure has been approved in writing, the distribution fee does not exceed $8 if 4FILES is distributed alone or $12 (in 1991 dollars) if it is packed on-disk with other programs. Commercial vendors who are not members of ASP must have written permission to distribute. Please inquire as necessary. 3) ... that in any vendor catalog or other publication, it is clearly stated that this is shareware and that $30 must be paid to Hand-Crafted Software if the program is useful, in addition to the distribution fee (if any). 4) ... that 4FILES may not be included or bundled with other goods or services without express written permission of the author. Inquiries are welcome, and a non-shareware version can be produced for such purposes. WARRANTY & DISCLAIMER ===================== Any use of 4FILES constitutes your agreement that it is provided "as-is" with no express or implied warranty (other than free technical support), that you assume full responsibility for assuring that it performs acceptably on your system, and that in no event shall Larry Edwards, Hand-Crafted Software or their successors be held liable for any damages arising from use of the program. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you think my soft"wares" are terrific; much extra effort has been expended toward that end. Your payment will be (or is) much appreciated. Please let me know of any improvements you would like. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Page 43.) ============ PACKING LIST (All files except 4F.COM, TV.COM & 4F.PIF ============ are readable text files.) 4F .COM 4FILES Program file. 4F .DOC Full documentation. 4F .HLP HELP text file. 4F .PIF Setup file for Windows. 4F-I-OS2.ICO Icon for use with OS/2. 4F-I-WIN.ICO Icon for use with Windows. 4F-INSTL.TXT Detailed installation instructions for DOS. 4F-READ .ME Introductory information, and a word on compatibility. 4F-ORDER.TXT Order Form. 4F-SITE .TXT Sample site license & multiple-copy discount rates. 4F-TV .COM Tiny Viewer, public domain file browser. 4F-TV .DOC Tiny Viewer documentation. 4F-UPDAT.TXT Changes in current version + 4FILES history. 4F-VEND .TXT Info for SYSOPs & disk vendors. 4F-XRAY .BAT Lets 4FILES call XRAY suite of archive viewers/extractors. FILE_ID .DIZ Description for BBSs. VENDINFO.DIZ Info on 4FILES formatted for BBS & disk vendor use. (More) 44. 4FILES ORDER FORM ================= Larry T. Edwards // Hand-Crafted Software // (907)-747-8996 Box 6001 // Sitka, Ak 99835 USA // (FAX)-747-4801 CompuServe:72037,3607 INTERNET:edwards@execpc.com PAYMENT METHODS: 1) By check, International Postal Money Order, cash (use registered mail if sending cash), or company or government purchase order to the above postal address. 2) By credit card with our agent: PsL 800-242-4775 or 713-524-6394, fax=713-524-6398, Box 35705 Houston, Tx 77235 (program #10574). 3) By credit card with Compuserve: !Go SWREG. (program #912=4FILES, #3504=4FILES-PRO). ===== PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY! ===== 4FILES VERSION 3.23 Your name: _____________________________________ Position:_________________ Company: _______________________________________ Phone: (W) ______________ Street or Box: ___________________________________ (H) ______________ City/State/Zip: __________________________________ Country: ______________ E-Mail Addresses: CIS ___________. INTERNET: _________________ Send free major upgrade by __E-mail, __ postal mail (__ 5", __ 3" disk). I got 4FILES from (name BBS/vendor/etc):________________, ____________ Forum Using 4FILES with: __ MSDOS __ Novell-DOS __Windows __OS/2 __DV __DV/X with: __ a network (type & version __________________________) with: __ 4DOS __ NDOS __COMMAND.COM $___ Payment for simultaneous use of 4FILES on one machine or terminal only, for $30. Price includes printed manual, related shareware & public domain utilities to fill the disk, unlimited free tech support, a free major upgrade, and minor upgrades by download. $___ Payment for use of 4FILES on up to ___ computers or terminals. (See the mulitiple-copy discount schedule in the file 4F-SITE.TXT.) $___ Upgrade to 4FILES-PRO ($5 per copy). $___ As they become available, mail me the next __ minor upgrades ($4 each). $___ Shareware copy of latest 4DOS ($4). ===== $___ TOTAL. Date: _____________ =============================================================== COMMENTS / PROBLEMS / CHANGES & ADDITIONS YOU DESIRE IN 4FILES: (Use back) ===============================================================