LHCATCH - make ArcShell work with LHarc 1.13xx ============================================== This package contains: ---------------------- - LHCATCH2.PRG Version 2.0 of the LHCATCH program. See bottom of this text for new features. - LHCATCH.TXT This text. To use LHCATCH you need: ----------------------- - ARCSHELL.PRG by Charles F. Johnson. Current version 2.1b. - LHARC.TTP version 1.13xx (optimised by Thomas Quester). Current version 1.1316. Why? --- I wrote this utility because I am a steady user of Charles F. Johnson's ArcShell (yes, I paid my shareware fee). The only problem with ArcShell is that it doesn't completely support LHarc archivers. You can't extract or create archives containing folders. At the moment there are several versions of LHarc for the ST. We have a version by Jon Webb (currently version 0.60), by Bill Shroka (currently version 1.02) and one by Thomas Quester. There also is a stand-alone LHarc, called FASTLZH by Gary Burke (currently version 2.0). All of these, except the first one, support archives with full path names. There is an unpacker, UNLZH by John Harris (version 1.72), which does a nice job (as long as the archive doesn't contain folders). And there is a program called SFX_LZH by Stefan Gross (now version 1.6) that transforms an *.LZH archive into a self-extracting program. You should be able to obtain these programs from the same source where you got this. Problem: they are not fully compatible with each other... To my opinion, the LHarc by Thomas Quester is the best choice. Archives created with this one can be extracted by all the others (which can't be said about those others...). It's compatible with LHarcs on MS-DOS and Macintosh machines. Furthermore, it supports subdirectories and it's the only one whose archives can be transformed *correctly* into self-extracting archives (using SFX_LZH.PRG). This is the one you should be using, and LHCATCH makes it possible to use it with ArcShell. How? --- So what does LHCATCH do? Like the name says, it catches the command line ARCSHELL sends to the archive program and, depending on what you want to do, it will ask additional questions, modify the command line and pass it on to our favorite LHarc. You will have to install LHCATCH2.PRG as the 'Alternate Archive Program' in the ArcShell configuration (where you normally would have your LHarc program installed). Read the ArcShell documentation if you're not sure how to do this. The first time you use the program it will search for LZH11316.TTP in the directory from which it was started. If it doesn't find it, you will be asked to point out where it is (it *must* be version 1.13xx by Quester, but the name can be anything). Next you will asked if you want to save the configuration. This will be saved within LHCATCH2.PRG itself. Don't rename the program and definitely don't use any packers on it. If the program is not in the current directory you will be asked to locate it. Now you're ready to go. You can use ArcShell like you're used to. If you work with an *.LZH file the command line ArcShell would normally send to LHarc is now going to LHCATCH. It modifies the command line and passes it on to the LHarc program you configured. If you want to extract an archive which contains folders, they will be created automatically. If you want to add (or move, update, freshen) files from a folder to an archive an alertbox will appear asking "Include path names?". The default is NO. If you want to change the configuration, just rename or remove the program you have configured. LHCATCH will ask for a new program the next time you use it. New? --- .....in LHCATCH version 2.0 (jan 1991): * Now works with the latest LHARC version 1.1316 (22/12/1990) (memory bug fixed). * If an archive contains folders they will be created automagically (no more Y/N prompts). * When you add (or move, update, freshen) files to an archive, LHCATCH will check if there are subdirectories (folders) within the directory you want to archive from. If so, you will be asked whether you want to 'search subdirectories'. The default is NO, because... - What's 'search subdirectories'? ... if you click YES, all files matching your specification in the current directory AND its subdirectories will be archived, with the directory structure. For example, if you choose to archive "A:\*.*" with this option enabled, ALL files and ALL files in ALL folders on drive A will be archived. If you click NO and you're archiving files from a folder you will get the regular "Include path names?" prompt. NOTE: Because of the memory required for ArcShell, LHCATCH and LHarc, running it on a 520ST might cause problems. You will get a warning when you're short on memory. This program is for the public domain and can be distributed freely with this text included. Problems, comments? Let me know. .----------------------------------------------------------------------. | Rob Vousten | | University of Nijmegen - Dept. of General Linguistics & Dialectology | | Erasmusplein 1 NL-6525 HT Nijmegen The Netherlands | | BITNET: U218008@HNYKUN11 INTERNET: U218008@hnykun11.urc.kun.nl | '----------------------------------------------------------------------'