Category : File Managers
Archive   : NARC40.ZIP
Filename : IDCHELP.HLP

Do Not Edit This File.


IDCshell (tm) Help Facility, (C) 1987-89 Infinity Design Concepts, Inc.ð Index


Section 1 ............................................ Copy file(s)
Section 2 ............................................ Build ZIPfile
Section 3 ............................................ View file
Section 4 ............................................ Rename file(s)
Section 5 ............................................ Erase file(s)
Section 6 ............................................ File attributes
Section 7 ............................................ Tag file(s)
Section 8 ............................................ Move file(s)
Section 9 ............................................ Directory tree
Section 10............................................ Print file(s)
Section 11............................................ Misc. commands
and Function keys
ð
Copying Files Section 1

The "C" command will cause IDCshell to copy file(s) to another drive or
directory. If any files are tagged, then you will be asked if you want
to copy the highlighted file OR tagged files. After you select either
option, IDCshell will display a visual directory tree for you to select
the destination directory. You may also select another drive and directory
at this point as well or you may CREATE a new directory if need be. This
is one of IDCshell's most powerful features!

If any of the files already exist on the destination, you will be asked
whether or not you wish to overwrite the file.
ð Build ZIPfile Section 2 Page 1
The F2 KEY is used to SELECT THE TARGET ZIPFILE for archiving
operations. If the highlighted file has a .ZIP extension
and the F2 key is pressed, then this file will be the target of all
archiving operations. If the highlighted file does NOT have a .ZIP
extension, IDCshell will not allow selecting the file, but you will
be asked for the target ZIP filename, when necessary.

Z or A - Archive command (build zipfile).

This command will first display the two main options that are
available, namely, zipping from the tagged list of files -OR-
by searching subdirectories recursively.

The TAGGED LIST is the list of files that have been tagged on any
drive in any subdirectory.
The RECURSIVE SEARCH is performed beginning with a subdirectory name
and file mask that you supply (EX: F:\newasm\*.bat). Note that this
method automatically stores the pathnames in the zipfile.
Page 2

After one of the above methods is selected, IDCshell will gather all
selected files and display them broken down by subdirectories and allow
editing the list. You may delete individual files or complete
subdirectories from the list. Once the list is correct, several more
options will be displayed that will control the archiving function.

Once all options and filenames have been selected, the archiving
process is begun. Each file in the list is displayed, analyzed,
compressed and stored in the zipfile, along with its date,time,size,
file attribute and optionally, its pathname.
ð View File Section 3

The currently highlighted file is read, formatted and displayed on the screen.
The Pg Up, Pg Down, Home, End and arrow keys allow you to move easily through
the file.

F key toggles the filter so that the output files from some word
processors can be displayed correctly.

M key toggles the display mode from HEX dump to ASCII view.

S key causes IDCshell to ask for a string to search for. If the
string is located in the document, it is highlighted.

N SEARCH NEXT function (after having used the S command)

NOTE: REL,COM,OBJ,HEX,DTA,OVR,OVL,DBF,EXE,BIN,LIB and SYS
files are automatically displayed in HEX mode.
ð Erase File(s) Section 4

This option allows you to delete file(s) from the current directory. If no
files are tagged then the currently highlighted file is deleted. If the file
has been assigned a Read Only attribute, then you are informed of this status
before the deletion is performed and asked whether or not to proceed.

If there are tagged files, then the delete routine asks you if you want to
delete the highlighted file or the tagged files. As before, if any of the
tagged files are marked as Read Only, you will be asked before the deletion
is processed.
ð Rename File(s) Section 5

The rename option allows you to rename one or more files in the current
directory. The first prompt asks for a new name, assuming that you wish to

rename the currently highlighted file. If you respond with "*", then the
rename routine proceeds by asking you for a wildcard mask for files that you
wish to rename. You would enter something like *.PRG. After entering this,
you are asked for a new name mask and you would enter something like *.CMD.
The sequence in the above example would result in all files with the .PRG
extension being renamed to .CMD files.
ð Set File Attributes Section 6
Page 1

Each file on your disk has one or more file attributes. These attributes are as
follows.

Read Only (R) - the file cannot be deleted under normal circumstances
System (S) - your MSDOS files are system files
Hidden (H) - these files can be executed, but do not show up
when you request DOS to show the directory via DIR.
Archive (A) - not to be confused with .ARC files. This attribute
is used primarily for backing up harddisks.

IDCshell shows these attributes next to each file in the directory by displaying
the letters in parenthesis, as shown above. You can change these attributes
easily. If there are no tagged files, then IDCshell assumes that you wish to
set the file attribute of the currently highlighted file. If there are tagged
files, then you are asked if you wish to change the attributes on the
highlighted file or on tagged files.

Page 2

A dialog box is displayed on the screen showing each of the possible
file attributes. Beneath each of the attributes is displayed either "YES" or
"NO", indicating that the attribute will be either turned on "YES" or
turned off "NO". The left and right arrow keys will move the highlight bar
to the selections in the box. The SPACE bar toggles the attributes between
the "YES" and "NO" states.

The ENTER key will cause the file(s) attributes to be set.

The ESC key will abort the operation.
ð Tag File(s) Section 7
The space bar or the "T" key will tag the currently highlighted file.
The number of tagged bytes and tagged files are shown above the main
menu help window.

F10 will untag all files that have been tagged for inclusion into zipfiles
Each time that you tag files in a sub-directory, they are stored for
inclusion into an zipfile. This key untags those stored files.

F6 will tag all files in the current directory.

F7 will invert all tags, that is all files that are tagged will become
untagged and all untagged files will become tagged.

W will allow you to enter a wildcard filemask such as *.ASM, which
will tag all files with the .ASM extension.

Tagged files are used in COPYING, DELETING, MOVING, ARCHIVING, PRINTING
and setting FILE ATTRIBUTES.
ð Move File(s) Section 8
The move command will move either the highlighted or tagged file(s)
to another directory. If there are no tagged files, then IDCshell
assumes that you wish to move the highlighted file to another
directory. If there are tagged files, then IDCshell will ask whether
you wish to move the highlighted or tagged files.

This command differs from copy in two ways.

1) you cannot MOVE a file from one disk to another
2) the file will no longer exist in the source directory after the
move
ð Directory Tree Section 9 Page 1

This command will scan the complete disk searching for sub-directories. The
directories are sorted and sub-sorted and displayed in a visual tree. There are
several commands available at this point, such as creating new directories,
removing existing directories or scanning a new drive.

The disk is scanned for directory entries when you use the "D" command
from the main menu. This information is stored so that with subsequent
use of the "D" command, the disk need not be rescanned. Should you shell
to DOS, however, and modify the directory by copying or deleting files,
then you will need to use the "L"og disk command from either the tree or
the main menu, for IDCshell to reflect the changes.


It normally takes about 3 seconds to scan a 20MB drive. This speed is
achieved by reading the FAT tables directly rather than relying on the
relatively slow services offered by DOS.

Page 2

ALT-letter will take you immediately to the subdirectory whose name
begins with "letter". ALT-I would highlight the next directory name
that began with the letter "I" on the tree, ALT-I again would highlight
the one after that, etc. When no more matching directory names are
located, IDCshell will emit a beep.

ð
Print File(s) Section 10 Page 1
The print routine will print the highlighted or tagged files. You
have several options here. The first option that comes to the screen
is the printer string option. This allows you to select a character
font for printing the file. There are four optional fonts. They are,

0 Send no printer string (use printers default)
1 Set printer to 10 cpi (pica)
2 Set printer to 12 cpi (elite)
3 Set printer to 17 cpi (compressed)

These printer strings come with IDCshell configured for an EPSON
printer. They can be changed to anything that you like with ARCCFG.EXE.
Each string has a maximum length of 9 bytes.

The ESC key aborts the print operation completely.
Page 2

The second option tells IDCshell how to format the document. There are
three options. Each option is toggled between YES and NO with the SPACE
bar. The ESC key aborts the print operation completely and the ENTER
key accepts the currently displayed options.

Format -

YES - This option tells IDCshell that you want the document
formatted during printing. The formatting includes page
numbers, page breaks and expanded tabs.
NO - This option tells IDCshell not to perform any formatting at
all during print. This is for use on files that have already
been formatted with formfeeds etc.
Page 3
Strip High bit -

YES - This option tells IDCshell to strip the high bit off
of each character that is printed. This is to allow
WordStar (c) type documents to be printed correctly,
since WordStar and other word processors use the
high bit of some characters to denote paragraph
alignment etc.
NO - Do not strip the high bit from each character.

Strip Control Characters -

YES - This option tells IDCshell to remove all control characters
from the document before printing. The exceptions to this
are carriage returns, linefeeds and tabs.
NO - Do not remove control characters.
ð Miscellaneous Commands Section 11
Page 1

ALT-letter key will locate any file in the subdirectory having "letter" as
the first character of the filename. This same ALT-letter combination works
in the directory tree as well.

MOUSE: The left mouse button is always available and simulates the ENTER key.
The right mouse button is always available and simulates the ESC key.

ENTERING/EDITING TEXT:

CONTROL-R Will recall the last text that was entered
CONTROL-Y Will delete the current line
BACKSPACE Deletes the character left of the cursor
ESC Abort the text entry

Page 2

ALT-F1 - this command will allow you to change the filename mask for
displaying files in the current directory

ALT-F2 - this command allows executing the currently highlighted
program

ALT-F3 - displays machine statistics, amount of ram, type of machine
BIOS information, COM ports, LPT ports and much more

ALT-F4 - on EGA/VGA machines, this key causes the video card to be toggled
between 25 and 43/50 line modes.

Page 3

N - command.
This command will invoke NARC.EXE. NARC is located in your path via
the environment variable NARCPATH. This variable is set up in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file as SET NARCPATH=drive:\path\NARC.EXE. For a complete
description of how to set this up, see IDCshell.DOC. An optional way
of invoking NARC is to locate NARC.EXE in the current directory. If
the environment variable is not found, the current directory is
automatically searched for NARC.EXE.

If the currently highlighted file is a .ZIP/.ARC or .ARK file, then
this filename is passed to NARC. NARC is then run and opens the
passed file for operations. This is one of shells' best features!

L - command.
This command allows logging a new drive and displaying the
directory.

Page 4
S - command.

This command will prompt you for a drive letter, after which the
disk space statistics will be displayed in a dialogue box.

If the drive letter that you enter is not valid or just plain not
ready (drive door open) then an error box will appear telling you so.

+ and - keys.

The minus key will always move you back one directory toward
the root. The plus key will move you to the highlighted directory
(away from the root), if the highlighted name is a directory name.

Page 5
W - command.

This command will prompt for a wildcard mask that can be used to tag
several files at one time.

You may enter a mask such as *.BAK. This will cause all files with
the extension of .BAK to be tagged.

Page 6
F1 - function key.

This key will bring up the help system.

F2 - function key.

This command will select the target zipfile (if the highlighted file
has a .ZIP extension)

F3 - function key.

This command will display a file on the screen much the same as
the DOS Type command does. This feature is added primarily for
viewing files with ANSI escape sequences in them, consequently
this function lacks page up/dn etc. The ESC key aborts the view,
space or ENTER pauses the view.

Page 7
F4 - function key.

This command will send a copy of the current directory to the printer
in the same format as shown on the screen.

F5 - function key.

This command will allow running DOS commands. You also have to
option of running command.com again.

Type EXIT to return to IDCshell when finished in DOS.

F6 - function key.

This key will cause all files in the current directory to be tagged.

Page 8
F7 - function key.

This key will cause all file tags to be inverted, e.g. tagged files
become untagged and untagged files become tagged.

F8 - function key.

This command will allow changing the way filenames are sorted
and displayed in the directory window of the main screen.
You have the option of sorting the names by;

DOS order, Filename + Extension, Extension , Date or Size

Page 9
F9 - function key.

This command will run your editor. The environment variable IDCED
must be set up before this command will work. The syntax is SET
IDCED=drive:\path\editor name (INCLUDE extension). The file that is
currently highlighted will be passed as an argument to the editor.
This means that the file you are pointing will be edited when you
press the F9 key. Note: ALT-F9 will run the editor without passing
a filename.

F10 - function key.

This key will clear all files that have been tagged for archiving.
When you tag files in any directory, IDCshell remembers those filenames
and will display them when the ZIP function is selected for archiving.