Manual for Disk Navigator (DNAV) Version 1.3

Copyright 1987 Stanley C. Peters All Rights Reserved

From: Stanley C. Peters
4276-C Wilke Way
Palo Alto, Ca. 94306


TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page:



OVERVIEW
WHATS NEW WITH VERSION 1.3 ........ 1
TUTORIAL.
STARTING OUT ..................... 2
COPY ............................. 3
ADDING SUBDIRECTORIES ............ 3
KEYBOARD USAGE ................... 4
VIEW ............................. 4
SUBMITTING TO DOS ................ 5
SUBMIT MACROS ................... 6
EXAMPLE USAGE .................... 7

REFERENCE SECTION.
STARTING FROM THE DOS PROMPT. .... 8
COMMAND LINE MACROS .............. 9
KEYBOARD USAGE .................. 10
MEANING OF THE LINES DISPLAYED ...11
THE FUNCTIONS. ...................14
DNAV CHARACTERISTICS .............17
ERROR MESSAGES. ..................18
PATCHING COLORS. .................18
WARRANTY .........................20
HOW TO PAY .......................20
CONDITIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION. .....21
ORDER FORM .......................22



Page - 01
OVERVIEW

The directory aids that come with DOS are pretty feeble. And many
Shell programs draw lots of pretty boxes when all you want to do is
SEE your files in an appropriate level of detail. Disk Navigator
shows the files on the disk(s) in several display formats and
allows one to copy, move, and erase files on a group or individual
basis. Individual files can be browsed or renamed.

It has a SUBMIT facility, commands and file names can be simply
transferred to a command line which can then be passed to DOS.
The benefit: no misspellings! And now Macros!

Context sensitive help screens and popup windows ease use.

Shows files from multiple drives/directories (intermixed, if you wish).

Scans the directories of interest, reading the whole disk
directory structure is optional. To show only the current working
directory (CWD) type 'dnav' at the DOS prompt. If you wish to have
all disk files included for the C: drive type 'dnav c:\ -i'. These
command line options at the DOS prompt allow selective display.
'dnav ?' at the DOS prompt shows a summary of the options.

WHATS NEW WITH VERSION 1.3

Macros - Shorthand! One type for the Submit line and another
type for command line options when DNAV is first started.
Set some up for the new user - ease his learning curve.

Several keystroke sequences have been shortened:
Display format changes now have a Popup, called with one key - 'f'.
Function key F7 refreshes the directories on the screen.

If you have more than 1600 files, previous manual operations are
now done automatically.

Many detail improvements.

MACHINE REQUIREMENTS

DNAV will run in 98 K, but gains if more memory is available.
It is designed to aid hard disk users, but has some appeal to
those with floppy disk systems. DOS 2 or higher is required.

Six files are included in the distribution of DNAV:
DNAV.EXE the program
DNAV.DOC this file (has form feeds, set your printer)
DNAVSMRY.DOC a one page summary
DNAV-HI.BAT used in the tutorial
DNAV.MAC Sample macro file
DNAVTERM.USG conditions for usage and distribution
DNAV13.ARC the above files, archived (if you receive a disk)

LIMITS

26 Drives, 140 Directories
Files - none; up to 1600 will be saved for non-directory order display
40 Submit type macros, no limit on Command line macros
Page - 02

TUTORIAL.

STARTING OUT.

Even if you are an "old hand" with DOS, please go through the first
page or so of this tutorial. See also Characteristics in the
Reference section. Printing DNAVSMRY.DOC is also a good idea.

To illustrate the capabilities, place the six DNAV files (see
above) on a floppy disk. Then make that the default drive (enter
A: (or B:) at the DOS prompt). It should **REMAIN** the default
THROUGHOUT this tutorial. (Features can be shown quickly if I
know what is displayed on your screen.) Then enter 'dnav'
(press the enter key). In this tutorial, single quotes are used
to highlight keystrokes, don't enter the single quote character.

DNAV will load and give you a full screen presentation of the
files on the A: drive. Notice the bottom line on the screen. This
prompt is context sensitive, it indicates what functions are
effective for the current position of the cursor. (Functions are
called by pressing the first letter of the function.)

Now press the down arrow on the cursor pad. Notice that the bottom
line has changed. Press the F1 function key. A full screen of
help information, one line per function! Press the space bar to
get back to the main screen. Press the up arrow to put the cursor
back in its initial position and press F1. As you see, the options
available depend on the cursor position.

Press 'n' to add a drive. In the popup window enter the drive
letter for your hard disk and press Enter. Then press PgUp. We
now have files for two disks on the screen.

Now press the 'f' key. This Popup will appear:


Change the display format:
Select from:
Files per row - (2), (3), (4), (6)
Sort By Directory - (y)es, (n)o
Sort sequence:
(f)ile, (e)xtension, (d)ate, (s)ize
>_


Key in a '2' and press enter. The files are now shown two per
line with more information. Press 'f' again and enter '3e'. Now
we have three files per line with a major sort on extension.
Press 'f', then '4f' to get back to the initial display format.
(Whenever a sort is requested, the file that was in the upper
left corner remains there, so you may have to press PgUp to get
the first files of the directory. A highlighted "" appears
to the right of the fifth line to indicate more files "above".)

Page - 03
COPY.

Now lets use the copy function. Move the cursor to
Dnavsmry.doc and press 'c'. A popup will appear asking you for
the target directory to receive the file. Enter an 'a' and press
Enter. Another popup! This time informing you that the directory
doesn't exist. Respond 'y' and DNAV will make the directory
and the copy the file.

Press Home twice to move to the A:\ line. Press 'i'. to call
the INCLUDE function. It refreshes the directory under the cursor
and any subdirectories "beneath" it. This semi-automatic refresh
is the consequence of two desirable features, making directories
on the fly and reading the directory structure only at user
request.

Now move to the file Dash-hi.bat and enter a 't'. Move to
Dnavsmry.doc and enter another 't'. Press 'g' to call the group
action popup, and enter a 'c'. Again you will get the target
popup - enter an 'a' and . The first file will be copied and
then you will get a popup asking if you want to overwrite a file
with one with the same size and time. Respond 'n'. To the
"Remove Tags" popup, respond 'y'. Now press function key F7, it
refreshes the directories that are on the screen.

ADDING SUBDIRECTORIES.

Now move the cursor down to one of your hard disk subdirectories.
Press 'a' to bring that directory to the screen.

Now call the TREE function by pressing 'j'. The next layer of
subdirectories are shown. Directories read will show number of
files and size. (Those not read will have a double ?? indicating
that they havn't been scanned.) Press ESC. Now use the Home or
End key to move to the hard drive line (has "Label:") and press
'i'. This will include all the files on your hard disk.

There is a simpler way to acquire all the files on the C: drive.
At the Dos prompt enter: 'dnav c:\ -i'. The penalty here, is
that you have to wait for the disk tree structure to be read.
With DNAV that wait is at your option. (Also see below for Command
Line Macros that save keystrokes, e.g. 'DNAV 1' ).

Once we have the files, there are several ways to move around:
The simplest is PgUp and PgDn on the cursor pad.
If you want a partial screen scroll, move the cursor to the file
you want in the upper left corner and press 's'.
Use the Jump function (press 'j') to call the graphic directory
screen. Then you can enter the number of the subdirectory
of interest to go directly to that subdirectory.
If the root directory is on the screen, you can move the cursor
to a detail line subdirectory (it has a ''). and
press 'a' to go to that directory, adding files if needed.
This Add function is also available as a group function, so
you can tag subdirectories and press 'g'.
Page - 04


Four keys have extended programming to make it easier to move
around the screen quickly. Try them:
Enter - press repeatedly, and see that it wraps around
and stays within a directory.

Home and End - press repeatedly to move between directories.

ESC - toggle quickly between the Submit line and the
body of the screen. DNAV remembers where you were
last. When you are in a popup or the View or
Jump screens, ESC returns you to the main
screen without performing actions.

VIEW.

Now lets try the View function. Using the cursor pad, move to
Dnavsmry.doc. Press 'v'. The cursor pad works as labeled. Home
and End move to the top and bottom of the file. PgUp, PgDn, up and
down arrows move by screen or line. These four keys can be
preceded by a count to multiply their effect. For example,
pressing '3' followed by PgDn moves down three screens worth.
Entering '12' followed by down arrow moves down half a screen.
(Press function key F1 for a help screen).

View also has two variations of Find, both ignore case. Press 'f',
then in the popup window, enter 'dnav' and press . Now press
'f' again. The program remembered your last search string, so you
can just press to find the next occurrence. The second
variation, Scan, shows only the lines that contain the string. To
illustrate, press 'Home' to get to the top of file, then 's',
then . View works best with ASCII files, it also works with
some word processing files.

Page - 05

SUBMITTING TO DOS.

This function uses a DOS facility that has been described elsewhere
as a DOS gateway, as SHELLing, or as SYSTEM. With DNAV, you build
a line for DOS to execute. Move files to the Submit line (line 2)
with F5 and F6, edit the line if necessary, then submit the line to
DOS. Very few keystrokes and no mistakes in spelling file and path
names! For a help screen, move the cursor to line 2 and press F1.

For this function to operate, two lines should be in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your normal boot drive. I have these:

set comspec=c:\command.com
path=c:\;c:\bin

The first line tells DOS (and DNAV) where to find the Command
processor. The second line tells DOS where to find your programs.
Move the cursor to the Autoexec.bat file on the C drive and press
'v'. The first line and probably the second should be present in
the file. The terms after the = sign need not be identical to the
above. Also, sufficient memory - 115k plus room for called programs.

Now move the cursor to DNAV-hi.bat and press 'v'. This will show
you the file. Press to exit View.

Press F5. This moves the name and the cursor to the Submit line
(line 2) on the screen. Press F4. We have just passed the BAT
file to DOS and executed the file. Press a key to return to
DNAV. More often, on exit from the called program we want to
return to DNAV without having to press a key. You do this by
pressing Enter when the cursor is on the Submit line. Try it.

Press to move the cursor to the left edge of line 2. Now
press the Insert key and key in 'type '. The line should now read
"type A:\Dash-hi.bat". Press F4. We have just called a program.
On return to DNAV notice that the left term remains, but the right
term is forgotten - a feature of DNAV to minimize user keystrokes.

You can use any program that accepts a file name as an additional
parameter. Compiler? Sure! Word processor? Probably. Anything can
be entered on line 2 that would be legal at the DOS prompt.

When you use the F4 or Enter keys to "Shell", DNAV remains resident.
It reserves about 115K bytes. If you need that memory, or you a
through using DNAV, you can use the F3 key. This ends DNAV,
executing your request after releasing the memory.

When you use the Submit function and return to DNAV, the tables
DNAV keeps may be obsolete. The refresh function (press F7) will
update the directories on the screen. You can also Jump ('j') to
the root directory and use the Include ('i') to refresh all
directories. (See example below using the ARC program).

*** ONE CAUTION! *** You SHOULD NOT RUN any programs that remain resident
(TSRs such as Sidekick) from within DNAV. The DOS PRINT function
(only on the first request for a Print) is one such program. If you
run a TSR, the memory occupied by DNAV can not be released - then you
must re-boot with CNTL-ALT-DEL to get the memory back.

Page - 06

SUBMIT MACROS

On occasion you may run programs that use options on the command
line. Compilers use options a lot. So do many handy utilities.
So a macro or shorthand function has been added for use on the
Submit line. You define a macro, and with a couple of keystrokes
on your part, DNAV expands your abbreviation.

( Macros are stored in an ASCII text file. When DNAV loads,
it look for this file (which should be named DNAV.MAC) in the
current directory. If it doesn't find it there, it searches
for it in those directories specified in the PATH statement.
You make the macro file with an ASCII editor, Edlin, or
probably with a word processor in non-document or text mode. )

If you have Vern Buerg's excellent LIST program on your system,
there is a very simple demo you can run. Copy DNAV.MAC from the A:
drive to c:\. Use ESC to get to the Submit line and key in 'qmac'.
Press Enter, the macro is expanded. Press Enter again, and you are
looking at the sample macro file supplied with DNAV. Press ESC to
return to DNAV. If you don't have LIST, use DOS's MORE - enter 'qm'
on the Submit line and press F4 twice.

In DNAV.MAC, macros names for the Submit line start with a letter
in the left term and may be one to four characters in length. The
balance of the line (up to the ; ) is the macro definition.
Anything after the ; is considered a comment and not processed. If
a '^' occurs in the macro string, the file name you selected with
the F6 key is inserted at that point. You can have up to 40 of
these macros.

So, to use a macro, select a file (or directory) by pressing F6.
The cursor will be placed at the left edge of the Submit line.
Then enter a macro name and press Enter. The potential command
line is expanded with the terms from the macro definition. You
then have the opportunity to Submit the line as shown (via F3, F4,
or Enter). Or you can edit the line before Submitting.

In the below macros, the f macro uses this. Try it if
you have the DOS FIND command on your system. Put the cursor on
the file of interest, press F6, enter an 'f' on line 2, and press F4.
The macro will be expanded, and you can then overkey "P-A-T" with
the string you want to find. Now press F4 to execute.

If the ^ is immediately followed by an UPPER CASE D or P or N or
E, selected parts of the the name will be extracted (drive,
path, name, and extension respectively). So that ^DPNE is
equivalent to just the ^. Below are some examples:

qmac list c:\DNAV.MAC ;Identifying comments after ';'
qm more pm pmap : A comment - display memory usage
cp copy ^ prn ; print the file
f find "P-A-T" ^ ; DOS find, user keys over P-A-T
g1 grep -i ^ ; user keys in desired search pattern
aa arca indx-all ^ ; Add a file to INDX-ALL.ARC
pkv pkxarc /v ^ ; list members of an archive
pkl pkxarc /v ^ >>arclist ; Build an Arclist for viewing
akv list arclist ; Now look at it
su sort | uniq <^ >^F.srt ;drop dup lines, output in .srt extention
cl1 cl -F4000 -Zi ^ ;Microsoft 'C' - CL with debug
clw cl -W3 -F4000 -Zi ^ >cerr ;Microsoft CL with debug, full warnings
c1 c88 ^ -c ;Desmet compile with debug

Page - 07

EXAMPLE USAGE.

1. Delete subdirectory a:a
- move the cursor to the "a:a" subdirectory header line.
- enter a 't', then 'a' to tag all files
- enter a 'g' to do a group action
respond 'e' for erase, then 's' to stop prompting on each file
- move the cursor to the subdirectory line (has an )
press F6 to move the name to the SUBMIT line
- type in rmdir on the left part of the SUBMIT line
- press F4, asking DOS to remove the directory
(F4 pauses before returning to DNAV, so that you can read
any DOS messages that may appear)

2. Most of the directory shells, on exit, will leave you in the
subdirectory that you last inspected. This can be useful at
times. To do this:
- move the cursor to the subdirectory header line, Press F6.
- on the left edge of line 2, key in 'cd' and press F3 to exit
DNAV.

3. De-archive a file from directory PD to a TEMP directory.
- at the DOS prompt (c:\) enter 'md temp ' then
'cd temp '. This makes TEMP the target for the
de-arced files.
- at the DOS prompt enter 'dnav pd temp '
- select your file by moving the cursor and pressing F6.
- on the left hand side of line 2, enter 'pkxarc' (or whatever
you call your favorite de-arc program) and press Enter.
- the process will occur and return you to a DNAV screen.
- if the TEMP directory is not on the screen, move to it.
- Press F7 to refresh TEMP, showing you the new files.

4. Backup hard disk c: to a:
- at the DOS prompt >dnav c:\ -bi
(-b to show those needing backup, -i for all subdirectories)
- put an formatted, empty floppy in the A drive.
- move the cursor to the first directory line.
- enter a 't', then 'a' to tag its files
does the total tagged exceed the space on the floppy?
(shown on the right part of the Title line) an empty 360k
floppy will hold 354k (remember - 1024 byte blocks)
- repeat the above step for other directories, if tagged is less
than 354k.
- press 'g' for a group command, then 'b' to backup tagged files
- type 'a:/v' when it asks for the target directory
- your files will be copied to the A drive and the archive bit
will be turned off on the C: drive files.
- if you get an Overwrite file? popup, you have tagged the same
filename in two directories. respond 'n' and resolve the
problem later.

You should devise a consistent backup strategy. If you use
another backup system you should AVOID using DNAV for any backups
(use copy, not backup). The other system needs control of that
archive bit.

Page - 08

REFERENCE SECTION.

STARTING FROM THE DOS PROMPT.
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS:


When you enter DNAV from the DOS prompt, you can add several
parameters. Options are listed by entering 'dnav ?' at the DOS prompt.

These options allow you to be selective as to what files,
subdirectories, and drives are included in DNAV internal tables.
Four types of terms may appear after the 'DNAV':

- Options which are indicated by a leading / or - character.
You can use either / or -, they work identically.
- Filename type. These contain a '?' or a '*'. For
example 'ws.c?m'. In the DOS vocabulary, these are
known as ambiguous file names (afn's) or wildcards.
- Directory (or drive) names. No '*' or '?', and no
leading '/' or '-'.
- A number as the first term after ' DNAV '. This indicates a
command line macro. (See below).

Except for macro numbers, these terms may be in any sequence.

Options:
b - show files that need backup (archiving)
Using this option saves just the files that need to be
backed up. That is, those with the archive bit turned
on. (If your are confused, welcome to the crowd -
think of it as the "activity" bit). This acts like a
wildcard afn. If you also have afn's when you call
DNAV, you will get a mixture. The two and three column
screen forms show the archive bit.

i - include subdirectories
This option controls whether DNAV should search all
subdirectories beneath the directory(s) that you
specify.

n - sort files on name (this is the default)

x - sort files on extension

t - sort files on time/date, newest first

s - sort files on size, largest first

2,3,4,6 - number of files listed per line
Controls the number of columns on the screen.

Page - 09

Some interesting (with C:\ as the DEFAULT) examples:

dnav -i
chase all directories on C:, include all files

dnav /i ?
All directories, but few files, shows you a tree,
Allows you to add directory files selectively

dnav a: b: d:
All files in the root directories for three drives

dnav scrn2dsk.* procom*.* list*.* /i3
Acts like a "whereis", searching all directories for
the three file families. Show in a 3 files per line
mode.

COMMAND LINE MACROS

With the command line options, you can get quite surgical as to
what you want shown. And you will probably find this too much of a
nuisance to use often. A macro capability has been added so that
you can use this power without all those keystrokes. These macros are
stored in DNAV.MAC with the Submit macros. The left term of these
macros must be a number less than 32000. You may have a many of
these macros as you need. At the DOS prompt, enter, for
example, 'DNAV 3'. DNAV uses the corresponding entry from the
macro file, in this case, show all files on the C: and D: drives.

01 c:\ -i ;Comment area - show all files on c: drive
2 c:\ d:\ ; Show root directories of C: and D:
3 c:\ d:\ -i ; C: and D:, all files
4 c:dnav d:dnav ; Show just two directories
5 c:\ -i *.txt *.doc ; Show all 'txt' and 'doc' files on C:
9 c:\ -ib3 ; Show c: drive files that need backup
; 4000 files and you want to use intermixed
; to check for dups, newer, etc use something like the following
16 c:\ d:\ -i a*.* b*.* c*.* d*.* e*.* f*.* h*.* i*.* j*.* k*.*
17 c:\ d:\ -i l*.* m*.* n*.* o*.* p*.* q*.* r*.* s*.* t*.* u*.*
18 c:\ d:\ -i v*.* w*.* x*.* y*.* z*.* 1*.* 2*.* 9*.*

You can add terms after the number used to select a macro. For
example, given the above definitions, ' dnav 1 *.txt *.doc ' will
produce the same result as ' dnav 5 '.
Page - 10


KEYBOARD USAGE

ON THE MAIN SCREEN

The keyboard is customized to ease maneuvering around the screen:

arrow keys - move around the screen.

Home - Move to the left side. Successively, it will
move up the screen.

End - Move to the right side. Successively, it will
move down the screen.

Enter - Acts as a somewhat smarter down-arrow key. When
it gets to the bottom of a column, it goes to
the top of the next column, staying in the
subdirectory.

ESC - Toggle the cursor between the top and bottom
parts of screen. Generally remembers where you
were last. The key will 'quit' from popup
menus. It will also abort a copy and, when in
the View function, it will abort a search.

PgUp,PgDn - Go up (or down) a page of information. The 's'
key will allow you to shift in finer increments.
PgDn will overlap a few files. PgUp overlaps more
files. The jump ('j') allows larger increments.

alpha keys- The ones effective at any time are shown on the
PROMPT line at the bottom of the screen.
Also use F1 for help.

F1 - Function key 1 gives context sensitive help.

F5 - This key copies the file name at the cursor
to the left part of line 2. This line is used
to built up DOS commands to be submitted.
(See below).

F6 - This key copies the name at the cursor to the
center of line 2, adding the appropriate path.
Saves spelling it out. This name is used in macro
expansions.

F7 - Function key 7 refreshes the the directories that
are currently on the screen by rereading the
disk.

Page - 11

F8 - Function key 8 shows the directories known
to DNAV along with an index number. This number
can be entered when you are asked for a target
directory (for copy or move).

F09 - Quit, return to DOS.

ON LINE 2 - THE SUBMIT LINE

On this line, editing may be needed, so editing capability as
per IBM's suggestions is supplied. Left and right arrows, INSert
and DELete, and the backspace key are operational. HOME and END
work. CNTL-left (and right) arrows move a word at a time. The
down arrow or ESC take you out of the field. Three Submit
variations are controlled by function keys and the Enter key:


ENTER When you press this key, the contents of line 2 is
handed to a called copy of DOS which executes the
command. Just like an entry at the DOS prompt. At the
completion of the called program, control is returned to
DNAV.

F4 - At times, you may want to see what the called program
wrote to the screen. This key works like Enter, but
causes a pause before DNAV refills the screen.

F3 - The 'magic' of the above has its price. DNAV remains
resident and available memory drops by about 115 K bytes.
Often this will be unacceptable, so this function is
provided. F3 calls DOS with the contents of line 2, but
DNAV does not remain resident and the memory is released.



MEANING OF THE LINES DISPLAYED

TOP LINE

The top line looks like this:

DNAV Copr. 1987 S.Peters COLS:4 SORT: dir:Y files:F 12-03-86 21:09:58

Two fields on this line show how the file information
is sorted. These may be changed with the Form function by
pressing 'f' to get the Form popup.

dir: This shows whether the files appear by
directory sequence (Y) or intermixed (N).
Page - 12


files: This indicates the sort sequence of the files:
F - file name sequence
E - file extension sequence
T - time of last modification (newest first)
S - file size (largest first)

The computer date and time also appear on this line. It is
updated whenever the screen is painted. A symbol - INS -
will appear in edit Insert mode (for line 2 and popups).


SECOND (SUBMIT) LINE.

This line is blank when DNAV first comes up. Here you can build
a DOS command as you would if you were at the DOS prompt. This
can then be submitted to DOS which will execute the command.

This line may also occasionally contain an message.

THIRD LINE.

This line contains column headers for the lines in the body of
the screen. It may look like this:

Filename Ext Sz-K Filename Ext Sz-K Filename Ext Sz-K
or this:
Filename Ext Date Time Size Filename Ext Date Time Size
or this:
Dir Filename Ext Sz-K Dir Filename Ext Sz-K Dir Filename Ext Sz-K

Sz-K expresses the size in number of 1024 byte blocks.
Date often appears in five characters . If the file has
today's date, the time will appear with a colon - 14:23. If
the file was last modified this year, the date will be shown
with a slash - 11/22. If for a prior year, there are three
letters for month, two numbers for the year - Feb84. If you
want to see the full date and time select the 2 up, directory
sequence with the Form popup function.

If you have tagged some files, the right side of this line will
be replaced with the accumulation of the number of files tagged
and size (in 1024 byte blocks). Expressed in 1024 blocks, the
size of a 360k disk is 354k. Handy if you want to copy a
group of files to a floppy disk.
Page - 13


FOURTH OR DIRECTORY LINE.

This line will appear whenever the files are sorted in directory
sequence and identifies the files below it. It may look like this:

D:\ 11 of 91 Files 69857 Bytes, Label: , 716K free

or this:

D:\SNAPPER 2 of 2 Files 4237 Bytes

The first is for the root directory and the second is for a
subdirectory. Common to both is the 'nn of nn Files'. With
the DOS command line options available, only some of the files
may have been included. The first number shows the number
selected, the second shows the number of files actually on
the disk. The second number will, at times, contain a "??".
This indicates that the scan of the directory was incomplete.
Use the Add 'a' function for that directory. Bytes refers to
the size of the shown files.

If the line is for a root directory, two more fields appear.
The first is the label on the disk (in the above, the disk was
unlabeled). The last is the number of bytes free (in 1024 byte
blocks). For an empty 360k diskette, 354K will be shown as
this is the number of 1024 byte sectors.


DETAIL LINES 5 - 24.

These are the recurring data lines for the files. They
contain entries for the files and may also contain
sub-directories. When it's a sub_directory, the name is
preceded with a '\' and appears on the right. The '.'
may also be replaced by a '\' for subdirectories. In the 2
and 3 column forms, an 'a' may precede the filename. This
indicates that the archive bit is set (i.e., file has not
been archived). Also perhaps, s, h, or r for system, hidden,
and read only. Only the non-directory, 2 and 3 column forms
show the setting of all four attributes (a blank means
the bit is off).

If in non_directory mode, each file will be prefixed with its
owner directory something like this '11>'. The 11 is the
index number for the directory. You can see the index to
name cross reference by pressing function key F8 or using the
Jump function. If you have specified multiple drives, the
number will be prefixed with a letter identifying the drive,
e.g., 'a 1>' or 'c12>'.

PROMPT LINE.

This shows the functions available at the current cursor
position. Enter the first letter of any of any of the words.
Invalid keystrokes are ignored.

Page - 14

THE FUNCTIONS.

As the cursor is moved around on the screen, it stops at various
places. What you can do is indicated by the bottom PROMPT line
and by help screens available by pressing function key F1.

SECOND LINE.

Build a command line to submit to DOS, add names to line 2 with:
F3 - Left side, F6 - Right side
when the cursor is on the lower part of the screen.

Edit line 2, if necessary (see above for cursor pad action).

Submit to DOS with:
ENTER - Execute command and return to DNAV
F3 - Chain to DOS removing DNAV from memory
F4 - Execute, pause before returning to DNAV.

DOS internal commands are supported.
The left term is 'remembered' across SUBMITs. Put the name of an
editor or list program there, and you can browse files with two
keystrokes.

LINES 3 - 24.

As the prompt line will indicate, the functions that are available
depend on where the cursor is located. There are three different
groupings:
- Directory line (with nn of nn files)
- Subdirectory name located within the columnar area
- File name.
The first two are only available when the files are sorted in
directory sequence since only file names appear when files are
intermixed. Tag and scroll are not available for the second.


DIRECTORY ITEMS

These operate on entire directories.

Tag - This popup window will appear:


Tag files for this directory
A - all files shown
or wildcard pattern
to accept, ESC to abort
>


You can enter just an "a" followed by the enter key - this
will cause all the files shown to be selected. Or you can
enter an afn to include a subset of those shown.

Page - 15

Scroll - Scroll down making this first entry on the screen.

Since PgUp and Pgdn scroll a full page, this is provided if
you wish to scroll by smaller amounts. The item at the
cursor will be made the top item on the screen.

Add - Use this to add to or update DNAV's file table for a
single directory. This is an alternative to entering
directories at the DOS prompt when you start DNAV.

If you used wildcards on entry to DNAV, this popup will appear:

Add files for this directory
A - all files
C - as per command line (use afn's)
to accept, ESC to abort
>


Enter a 'c' to use the same criteria for including files
that you used when you started DNAV. An 'a' includes all
the files in the directory.

Include - Use this to add to or update DNAV's file table.
Include does an ADD for the subdirectory and also gets the
subdirectories "beneath" it. The same popup window may appear.

New - Add a new drive brings up this popup:

Add a drive
or a NEW floppy
Enter drive letter
to accept, ESC to abort
>



****** This IS NEEDED is when you change a floppy (e.g., when
using the backup function).

Xclude - Remove a dir (and all beneath) from DNAV's tables

Use this to remove a directory (and its files) from DNAV
tables. It does not affect any files on your disk(s). If
there are sub-directories below this one, they will also
be dropped.

Group - act on tagged files, copy, erase, move, backup, untag

A popup will ask which function you want to perform. It
acts on all files tagged, those on and off the screen,
in all directories. For those functions that would
alter an existing file, you will be prompted before the
Page - 16

operation is performed. ESC will cancel the group action.
This function also works for tagged subdirectories,
allowing you to Add, Include, and Xclude groups of
directories.
A popup will allow you to turn off prompting before each
file action. I found this too dangerous for the Erase
function - it is easy to overlook how many files you have
tagged. So if you have tagged files for erasure in
multiple directories, the popup will appear for each
directory.

Jump - Scroll to a directory

The directory screen appears when you press 'j'. It shows
the structure, with number of files and size of each
subdirectory. If you used afn's on the command line it
shows selected files and total files. If files contains a
'??', the directory (and its subdirectories) has not been
scanned by DNAV. If you see something like '37 of ??'
this indicates that the tables were filled while this
directory was being scanned. The display also show the
free space and the current working directory for each
drive.

PgDn and PgUp scrolls through the directories known to
DNAV. On the top line enter the number of the directory
you want shown.


FILE ITEMS (line 4-24)

Operate on a file:
Copy - copy a file, prompt appears for destination (see below)
This is a binary copy, for other options of the DOS
copy command (such as new name for the resulting file),
use the command line (line 2) feature and modify
before submitting.
Erase - erase file
Move - move to another directory, same drive
You will be prompted for the target directory
View - browse the file, ASCII style
Scroll - scroll down, placing this file at the top
Tag - mark this file for group action
Untag - remove the mark
Backup - copy to another drive, set archived bit
If you have another backup scheme, DO NOT USE THIS
FUNCTION. The other method need control of the
archive bit.
Rename - rename a file
You will be prompted for the new name.
Group - act on tagged files: copy, erase, move, backup, untag

For copy, move, and backup, you will see this popup:


Enter target drive/directory
(or dir # as per F8)
appending a /v turns verify write on
to accept, ESC to abort
>


Page - 17

Enter a valid DOS pathname, such as 'A:\P'. DNAV will make
sub-directories as needed to satisfy your request. You can
also specify the target (for existing directories) by entering
the number from the Jump screen or when you press F8. Adding a
/v will cause DNAV to copy with verify, i.e., 'A:P/V'. This is
recommended for floppies. Particularly if they are new disks
used for backup. (Where you will probably never read them
until you have a disaster). Hard disks have redundancy (an
error correction scheme), so verifying is less important. If
you use numbers for directory names, add some non-numeric
character, for example '\99' or 'C:99'.

DNAV characteristics:

- The Macro file is read when DNAV starts. If you make changes
to it while within DNAV, the new macros will not be available
until you restart DNAV.

- DNAV tables are not updated whenever there is a return from
calling a program. This can save a lot of disk time at the
risk of DNAV's tables becoming obsolete. If the tables are
obsolete, there is no danger to your disk files, but messages
such as "open failure" or "some copy problem" may appear since
DNAV's information is obsolete. Use the refresh key (F7) or
or the ADD function. If a floppy has been changed Use the
NEW function.

- DNAV's tables are set to accept up to 140 directories and
about 1600 files at one time. If the file limit is exceeded,
the program continues, automatically eXcluding directories
that have not been on the screen and that do not have
sub-directories. This is indicated on the Jump screen with
??. If the directory limit is exceeded, DNAV stops
accumulating. You can restrict with the command line options at
the DOS prompt or use the EXCLUDE function to remove un-needed
branches of the disk tree from DNAV's tables.

- Copy is fairly fast (about 20% slower than DOS copy), but it
can't match specialized backup or copy programs. The disk
buffer shares space with the file table. So copies (and View)
will perform better if you have less than 1000 files in DNAV
tables.

- All file operations use DOS level functions. Actions that
have a possibility of changing data on your disk show the file
name in a popup window before the action is performed.

- I have discovered a couple minor problems with DNAV:
The View function can get confused by non-ASCI files or when
backspacing with a line length exceeding 80 characters.
If you Jump to the last directory and it contains no files,
PgUp doesn't work. Use Jump.
Very rarely the Prompt line is lost and the cursor may be in
a strange position, try up and down arrows.
Page - 18

ERROR MESSAGES

Target doesn't exist, make directory?
This isn't an error message. But you may get it at times when
you don't expect it. It is probably a case where you don't know
the current working directories of the drives. If you are
surprised, press ESC, then 'j' - the Jump screen shows the CWD
for known drives. Press ESC and retry.

Term unknown: xxxxx
This message will appear when DNAV starts if any of terms on the
DOS command line are not recognized. The term will be ignored.

Not ready error reading drive A
Abort, Retry, Ignore?
This DOS error message can appear right in the middle of the DNAV
screen. Ready the drive and respond 'r'.

File not copied, too large
Open failure for Filename
Cannot open: File for View
These message can appear if you change the floppy disk without
informing DNAV (use the NEW function).

Make directory failed. Name in use as a file??
The name is probably in use as a file name. Or you may have
entered a DOS illegal name. Or the device is full.

Tables full, exclude something and retry
File table filled, search halted.
Directory table filled, search halted.
Press 'j' to call the Graphic Tree screen to see what was not
included. Use command lines options to be selective about what
is accumulated.

Path pool EXHAUSTED
Another overflow possibility. The aggregate of directory path
names and macros exceeds available space. DNAV aborts. Be
selective on the command line or shorten your macros.

*** Search incomplete ***
*** Not searched ***
These can occur when DNAV's space is filled. XCLUDE a
directory.

Call of program failed, see DNAV.DOC
COMSPEC must be set and the called program must within the
directories defined in the PATH statement. See the tutorial.
There must also be enough RAM free for the called program.

Called program returned ERROR LEVEL nnn
The concept of programs returning an ERRORLEVEL was not in the
early versions of DOS. Some older programs may give a return
that has no meaning and may be ignored. On newer programs,
look to the documentation of the program.

Page - 19

Patching Colors:

COLOR preferences are subjective and monitors differ. For this reason,
I am providing with this release the following information. It is
taken from the source code. It is located in the .exe file at about hex
DE10. A hex editor (e.g., HEXED) is the easiest way to make the
changes you wish. Search for the constant "switches" and make your
changes. When you use a mono monitor (or color in mode BW80), these
values are overwritten. In addition to patching for colors, you can
choose the default number of columns and whether modifying the attribute
byte is allowed.


atr: BRGBIRGB
| | | | - color for letter, 7 for white
| | | - intense if on
| | - background, 0 is black
| - blink if on

char l111[12] = "**switches*";
char sutxtr = 0b; /* submit area of line 2 */
char popatr = 5e; /* popup windows */
char helpatr = 4e; /* help screens */
char promptatr = 47; /* bottom line, msgs */
char detlatr = 1f; /* detail file names */
char hilatr = 2f; /* directory lines */
char v_detlatr = 79; /* inverse details */
char v_hilatr = 0b; /* inverse directories */
char ul_dirlatr = 01; /* mono underline */
int n_up = 4; /* initial # of columns */
int bk_sw = 1; /* allow backup, arch bit setting */


Page - 20

WARRANTY.

DISK NAVIGATOR IS DISTRIBUITED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT
WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE USER IS ADVISED TO TEST THE
PACKAGE BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST ASSUME FULL RISK AS TO
THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF USING THE PACKAGE. ANY LIABILITY OF
THE AUTHOR WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT. IN
NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM
THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PACKAGE.

LICENSE.

Disk Navigator is a copyrighted software that is being distributed
as shareware. It is NOT in the public domain. By using or
distributing this package, you agree to the conditions presented
here.

You may use the Disk Navigator for your own personal use; if
you find it useful, you are requested to pay a Registration fee as
outlined below. You may use the program on multiple machines.
Where there is the potential for use on multiple machines at the
same time, pay for additional copies. If you are using Disk
Navigator in a commercial, professional, educational, or
governmental organization, you are granted a limited license, valid
for thirty days, to use this package for evaluation purposes; if
you continue to use this package, you must pay the registration
fee. Operators of bulletin board systems that offer public domain
programs are exempted from payment.


HOW TO PAY.

The price has been made attractive to encourage users of the
program to send payment. For each copy in use send:

5 or more 20 or more

Commercial and Government $29 $25 $20
Individual and Education $19 $15 $12

Registered users will be notified by letter of updates to the
program. Add $6 if you wish to receive a disk with the latest
version. Please indicate the version you are using so I can send a
refund if you are current.

An audio cassette tutorial is also available for $6. It contains
thirteen brief lessons that elaborate on this document. DOS topics
relevent to the use of DNAV are discussed.

A printed manual will be made available if demand exists.

Page - 21

I urge you to support this effort, I have a list of improvements
for DNAV which will be forthcoming if I receive support. And I
welcome you comments and suggestions, with or without payment.

The idea of shareware with its low cost distribution of quality
programs is an American Treasure. Individuals with good ideas can
afford to implement them. And good, well integrated programs are
often the product of a single mind. The authors are talented
people that forego a year of salary to implement their ideas. They
are making a $40,000+ bet that their efforts will be accepted and
that users will respond. A survey has indicated that a very low
percentage of users supply support.

This is no way to keep the concept alive!

If DNAV does not fit your needs, please stop and think about what
shareware packages you do find useful. Support those that you use
regularly.


Send remittance to:
Stan Peters
4276-C Wilke Way
Palo Alto, Ca. 94306


DISTRIBUTION.

You may freely copy this program for friends so long as the six
files (see page 2 of DNAV.DOC) are included unmodified. Non-profit
user groups and bulletin boards may also include it in their
libraries.

For-profit organizations may distribute it provided there is a
PROMINENT statement urging users to support the user supported
concept. This should be in a brief index type (READ.ME?) file that
the user accesses to discover the contents of the disk. If in
doubt, write me, showing me how you get the point across to the
purchaser. In no case may the cost per disk exceed $6.50.

Page - 22



REGISTRATION AND ORDER FORM

Stan Peters
4276-C Wilkie Way
Palo Alto, Ca. 94306
---------------------------------------------------------------
PRICE PRICE
PRODUCT QTY EACH EXTENDED
----------------------------- --- ----- --------
Disk Navigator 1.3
Commercial ___ $29.00 $_______

Individual, Educational ___ $19.00 $_______

For Registered users:

Disk with current version ___ $6.00 $_______

Audio cassette tutorial ___ $6.00 $_______

Purchase Order (not prepaid) $5.00 $
-------


SUBTOTAL $_______


California orders, add sales tax (6%) $
-------


TOTAL $
-------


Name: _________________________________Phone:________________

Address:_____________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ___________________________________________



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