CAT2DIR.EXE CATDISK to PCBOARD File Directory Converter Version 2.00, September 7, 1992 By K. Scott Johnson WHAT THE HELL IS IT? CAT2DIR is a very simple program designed to fill a very simple need. Rey Barry, maintainer of the Freeware Hall of Fame and SYSOP of a BBS supporting that project, expressed the need for a program to help him keep track of offline files. Files maintained offline weren't listed in the PCBoard directories of his BBS, and therefore were being sent up again by unknowing users. Since the offline directories were maintained by the shareware program CATDISK, all that was needed was a way to convert these databases to the text format required by PCBoard, and to create the zero-byte file directory entries needed to block uploads. CAT2DIR does this, and does it quickly and elegantly. Since PCBoard file directories generally should contain archive files only, CAT2DIR will filter any non-archive entries from the output stream. This means that you can continue to maintain complete CATDISK databases, with 'look into archives' turned on, without worrying about the individual file entries polluting the converted PCBoard directory. HOW DO I USE IT? Using CAT2DIR is extremely simple. First, PLEASE make sure you're using a current version of CATDISK! The current version as of this writing is V6.31. If your version is earlier than this, you'll need to download CDISK631.ZIP from your friendly neighborhood BBS (see the end of this file for the number of a GREAT one!) Upgrading your databases is very simple and very necessary, since earlier versions of CATDISK used a different file structure. Be sure to carefully follow the upgrading instructions in file "READ.ME!". Assuming you have current files, you should next decide whether you want CAT2DIR to create the zero-byte files for you. If so, you need to decide where they'll be written, and make sure that subdirectory exists and is empty. With those two conditions met, simply invoke CAT2DIR as follows: CAT2DIR InFileName OutFileName [/FILES FileDirectory] where InFileName is the name (including path, if needed) of a CATDISK archive (.DTA) file, and OutFileName is the name (including path, if needed) of a file to which you'd like the PCBoard-format directory written. FileDirectory is the optional name of a directory to which zero-byte dummy files for PCBoard should be written. If you don't wish to write dummy files, omit this. Note that it's perfectly OK if the output file already exists. If it does, CAT2DIR will ask you whether you'd like to append to the file, overwrite it, or simply change your mind and do nothing. Since it's a good possibility that a SYSOP might want to copy several CATDISK databases into a single PCBoard directory, the append function should prove especially useful. Note also that if asked to create dummy files, CAT2DIR will run considerably more slowly. Just how much more slowly it runs will depend largely on your disk drive (and cache, if any). As it runs, CAT2DIR will keep you posted on its progress. For each CATDISK record it encounters in the input file, it will display a small marker character on the screen. These have the following meanings: + means "Record copied, no problem." - means "Record skipped because it wasn't an archive file." ? means "Record skipped because one or more fields is bogus." At the completion of each run. CAT2DIR will also give you counts of records copied and skipped, as well as how many bogus records it was unable to process. Should a serious error occur during the run, CAT2DIR will terminate and inform you of the problem. However, all records converted prior to the error will have been converted successfully, and the program will close all files and exit gracefully to the best of its ability. You may also abort CAT2DIR at any time using CTRL-BREAK, with complete confidence that all records up to the break point have been dealt with correctly. REVISION HISTORY Version Date Description ------- -------- -------------------------------------------------- 1.00á 09/01/92 First beta release. 1.10 09/03/92 First production release. Input record validation code improved & tightened. Documentation revised to reflect changes. 1.15 09/03/92 CATDISK database record structure changed from V6.15 to V6.31. No other changes this version. 2.00 09/07/92 Added capability to create zero-byte dummy files automatically for each entry. Documentation was revised slightly. WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS OUTRAGE? CAT2DIR was written by K. Scott Johnson, and is copyrighted material. It is released as freeware. This means that you owe the author nothing in exchange for the use of the program. You may distribute it freely by any means so long as the author's name and copyright notice remain intact, and so long as this documentation is distributed with each copy. If you have any comments or suggestions on how to improve this program, I'd love to hear from you. I can be contacted at any of these addresses: Scott Johnson 4205 Long Key Lane #1526 Winter Park, FL 32792 e-mail: ksj7i@virginia.edu bbs-ksj@jwt.UUCP BBS: The Freeware Hall Of Fame (Rey Barry, SYSOP) (804) 293-4710 (USR DS, 2400-14.4K bps)