February 10, 1990

ZIPMNU.DOC - Documentation for ZIPMENU.EXE
---------------------------------------------
ZIPMENU - Version 1.03 (c) Copyright 1990 by Tom Grubbe
All Rights Reserved


TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------
1. Overview
2. Additions & Improvements
3. Getting Started
4. Extract
5. View
6. NewZip
7. Path
8. SetUp
9. Info
10. Disclaimer


1. OVERVIEW
-----------
ZIPMENU.EXE is a small utility for those of us who are too lazy
or just don't want to bother with command-line arguments. I wrote
this program to be used with PKUNZIP and its various command-line
switches. It doesn't utilize all of PKUNZIP's options but instead
uses the ones that you probably use most often.

I decided to keep the list of options small and not overcrowd
the program with seldom used functions, as well as to keep the size
of the program down. It is designed for you to run it, manipulate
the .ZIP file(s) of your choice, and then get out. I use it on a
daily basis and find it extremely useful and easy to use.

NOTE:
ZipMenu works best when the following files are all in the
same subdirectory:

ZIPMENU.EXE
ZIPMNU .CFG
PKUNZIP.EXE
LIST .COM
all of your .ZIP files

If your .ZIP files are scattered all over your hard disk, you
will certainly have to change directories several times while
working on them, and the directory setup options will provide no
real help to you. Also, ZIPMENU.EXE looks for the configuration
file ZIPMNU.CFG in the startup directory and therefore should
reside in the same place as ZIPMENU.EXE.
The program will still function well if the files are located
in separate places, but I strongly recomend the above setup for
best results.

I hope that you find this program useful enough to share it with
others and to upload it to your favorite BBS's.


2. ADDITIONS & IMPROVEMENTS
---------------------------
a. You can now enter the .ZIP file on the command-line.
b. Added the option of using LIST.COM for viewing text files
within the .ZIP file.
c. Additional SetUp screen for configuring ZipMenu.
d. ZipMenu automatically adjusts to mochrome or color displays.
e. Additional "Info" menu option to view current settings and
basic system information.
f. The "Drive" menu option is gone and instead, the drive is
taken from the pathname.
g. When selecting "NewZip" from the main menu, another menu is
drawn allowing you to perform basic DOS functions such as
renaming and deleting files (see section 6. for details).
h. The command Alt-X was added to quick exit from the program.
i. The message "Press any key to return to ZipMenu" is no longer
displayed after viewing or extracting files.
j. Various display enhancements were added.


3. GETTING STARTED
------------------
Files in the archive:
ZIPMENU.EXE - The executible program file
ZIPMNU .CFG - The configuration file
ZIPMNU .DOC - This documentation
Requirements:
IBM PC/XT/AT or compatable
256k or greater main memory
DOS 3.0 or greater
Color or Monochrome monitor
PKUNZIP.EXE v1.01 or greater
LIST.COM (optional)

To run, Just enter ZIPMENU at the DOS prompt. It should
be in the same directory as PKUNZIP.EXE. If not, then the directory
in which PKUNZIP is in should be listed in the DOS PATH statement.

ex: PATH=C:\ZIPS if pkunzip.exe is in the C:\ZIPS directory.

The main screen is drawn and a window is popped up listing all
the .ZIP files in the current directory. Use the up/down arrow keys
to scroll through the list, press to select the highlighted
file you wish to see. If promped with a "File(s) not found" message,
press and select the "Path" option in the main menu to change
to the desired .ZIP drive\directory.

You may also enter the ZipFile name on the command line:

ex: ZIPMENU drive:\path\zipfile.zip

In which case the contents of specified ZipFile is read and displayed
without the files selection window popping up.

If this the first time that you are running the program, I
strongly suggest selecting "SetUp" from the main menu before doing
anything else. This way you can properly configure ZipMenu for
your system and run the program without any problems.

Getting around within ZIPMENU should be pretty self-
explanetory but pressing the F1 key will pop up a help screen
listing the basic ways to get around and some additional options
as well.

The rest of this document explains the options available from the
main menu. You can skip it if you are an experienced computer
user, but please read the disclaimer section at the end.


4. EXTRACT
----------
Selecting this option will pop up a menu prompting you to
select extracting ALL, TAGGED, or HIGHLIGHTED files from the
archive.

Extract ALL files:
This will extract all of the files in the archive
regardless of tagged status.
Extract TAGGED files:
Pressing the spacebar will tag or untag the individual
highlighted files for extraction. Or you can press F10
to tag/untag all files.
Extract HIGHLIGHTED file:
This option will extract only the file under the
highlight bar.

Then you are asked for the directory for the extracted files
to go (e.g. c:\pathname\pathname). You can either enter the new
directory name or press to accept the directory name
already listed.

The screen will clear and PKUNZIP is invoked and the
selected files are unzipped and put into the directory that you
specified.

NOTE: If you are extracting tagged files, ZipMenu creates a temporary
file called ZM.000 which contains a list of the tagged files.
If you have a file of the same name in the current directory,
it will be overwritten by this file. So be forewarned!


5. VIEW
-------
There are 2 options for viewing files. You can select either
option from the "SetUp" menu.

1.Console Viewing,
2.Use LIST.COM to View

Console viewing lists the highlighted text file on the screen.
It uses the command line:

PKUNZIP -cm

This uncompress the text file to the console for viewing. You
would normally choose this option if disk space is a problem or if
you simply don't have a version of LIST.COM.

Using LIST.COM to view the text file will extract the selected
file from the archive. LIST.COM is invoked to display it and you
can use all of the standard commands of that program to scroll through
the file. After exiting LIST, the text file is deleted and you are
returned to ZipMenu. If you don't have LIST.COM, you obviously cannot
use this option.


6. NEWZIP
---------
Select this option whenever you want to choose a different .ZIP
file to work on. A pop-up window is displayed listing all of the
.ZIP files in the current directory. A new menu is displayed at the
top of the screen with several options available. You can use the
usual cursor keys to get around the menu and file list.

LoadZip:
Choose this option to read a new .Zip file and display its
contents in the main screen for tagging, viewing and/or
extracting.
Display:
This option toggles the files window display between filename
only, filename and date and wide display.
FileMask:
Select this option to display files by selected filemask. It
supports all valid DOS wildcard characters except for pathname
specifications.
Rename:
Choose this to rename the currently highlighted file. You can
also move the file to a different subdirectory by entering
the destination pathname along with the current filename for
example:
Rename MYFILE.EXT to:
C:\NEWSUBDIR\MYFILE.EXT (same filename, new directory)
If no files are found matching the current filemask, this
option is inactive.
Kill:
Select this option to delete the currently highlighted file.
You are then prompted for conformation, and only by answering
with a "Y" to the prompt, will the file be deleted. Any other
key will return you to the menu.
If no files are found matching the current filemask, this
option is also inactive.
Exit:
You can either choose this option or press to return
you to the main menu and the currently displayed file.


7. PATH
-------
Choose this option to change to a different .ZIP drive\directory.
You should enter the complete pathname (ex: C:\PATHNAME\PATHNAME)
or press to cancel.

You are then changed to the new .ZIP drive\directory that you
entered. The directory window pops up and lists all the files in
the current directory that match the current filemask (if any). You
may then use all the commands available under the NewZip option (see
section 6. above).


8. SETUP
--------
Selecting this option allows you to change ZIPMENU's default
configuration.

The SetUp menu options are described below:

ZipFile Directory:
Select this menu option to tell ZipMenu where to find
your .ZIP files. This is also where PKUNZIP.EXE should be
if this directory is not listed in the DOS PATH statement.
(see section 3. on Getting Started for more info).
Extract Directory:
When selecting this option, enter the directory where you
want your extracted files to go. Since this is not going
the same directory every time you want to extract files,
ZipMenu allows you to enter an alternate extract directory
when selecting "Extract" from the main menu.
Viewing Options:
Select this option to determine which way ZipMenu will
display a text file within a .ZIP. See section 5. under
"View".
Modify Colors:
When this option is selected, The screen will clear and a
mini ZIPMENU screen is drawn as well as a color selection
grid and a menu for selecting which colors to change. When
you select a color to change, the box around the color
selection grid will highlight and the cursor will be on the
current color of the item you chose to modify. Use the
cursor keys to cycle through the different colors, press
to select the new color change. Press to cancel
all menu operations.
Quit and Save SetUp:
Choose this menu option when you are satified with the above
configuration. The configuration will be saved to disk and
you will be returned to the main menu and the current ZipFile.
Quit Without Saving:
This option will discard any changes you have made to the
configuration, and you are returned to the main menu and
current ZipFile without saving the changes.

I should note that the configuration file ZIPMNU.CFG is used
to save this information. I hate configuration files and tried over
and over to write the information to ZIPMENU.EXE, but I kept
crashing the system. So I decided that I would go with the config
file method for saving this information. Sorry.

You can also change colors by modifying this file. It's up
to you.


9. INFO
--------
This menu option will pop up a window and diplay some basic
system statistics as well as current ZipMenu settings. It
will display the system time, date, current drive, current
directory, display type, disk size and free disk space available.
It also displays the current ZipFile directory and the current
Extract directory.


10. DISCLAIMER
--------------
Although ZIPMENU is shareware, it is NOT a public domain
program. It is a user-supported software product and is
copyright (c) 1990 by Tom Grubbe, and the author retains all
rights to distribute this program and all source code and
documentation for profit. There is absolutely no guarentee that
ZIPMENU will work correctly in all situations, and in no event
will the author be liable for any damages arising from the use or
misuse of this program.

Please support the shareware concept:


ZIPMENU
Written by Tom Grubbe in Turbo C 2.0, 02-10-90

ZIPMENU - Version 1.03 (c) Copyright 1990 by Tom Grubbe
All Rights Reserved

If you use this program regularly, you are encouraged
to contribute $5 or $10 to the shareware cause.

Send contributions to:

Tom Grubbe
575 Curie Drive
San Jose, CA 95123

If you decide to contribute, I will send you, free
of charge, future versions of this program along with its
complete source code.


If you discover bugs in the program or if you have comments
or suggestions to improve the quality of the program, I can
usually be reached at:
NITELOG BBS - 408-655-1096