* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ProFile! * * Version 1.0a * * (C)1992 Carl J. Hafner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED * * * * RELEASE DATE: 12/19/1992 * * * * Welcome to ProFile!, the Floppy and Hard Disk librarian ! Some of the MANY * * features that you will find within are 3 possible file formats, 2 floppy * * labelers, a ProFile! file conversion utility, an extensive text editor, * * multitasking floppy formats, user defined mice, configurable printer fonts, * * duplicate file searches, plus more !!! ProFile! also contains a special * * hook which allows it to tie into the power of HeidiSeek ! Best of all, ALL * * files are saved in ASCII format ! This allows you to view or print your * * library files from most ANYWHERE, including the GEM desktop ! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * DISCLAIMER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The author CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE for ANY DAMAGE to your equipment, other software or hardware products, or mental or physical well being CAUSED BY the USE, MISUSE, ABUSE or INABILITY to use this program. The author ALSO makes NO GUARANTEE as to the compatibility of this program with OTHER software or hardware products. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By using this program you are stating that YOU UNDERSTAND and completely AGREE with these terms and also agree to ACCEPT full responsibility for ANY and ALL circumstances arising from its implementation. If you do not agree or understand, DO NOT use this program. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SETTING UP PROFILE! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The files PROFILE!.PRG and PROFILE!.RSC _MUST_ be in the SAME directory with each other. Any default files (files which have the name PROFILE!.xxx) should also be in the same directory as PROFILE!.PRG if you wish them to load automatically. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - - - - - - - The manual is laid out in the order in which the functions appear visually on the screen. 1) PREFERENCES a) Alerts. b) ProFile! PF? and INF files. c) Backup files. d) Key clicks. e) Converting PF? and CJ? files. f) Text Editor. g) Disk formatting. h) Copyright information. i) Floppy Disk Labelers. j) Disk marker files. k) Menu Bar. l) Mouse snapping. m) Fileselector paths. n) Printer options and fonts. o) Library searches. p) Write verify. q) On screen help. r) Status display. 2) Source drives. 3) Destination drives. 4) Disk names and search strings. 5) Creating a file. 6) Appending a file. 7) Viewing a disks contents. 8) Sending a verbose listing to the printer. 9) Quitting. 10) Moving and storing panel positions. 11) Custom mouse cursors. 12) Memory Considerations. 13) ProFile! pipeline. 14) Distribution. 15) Registration. a) Terms of Registration. 16) Credits. 17) Version History. 1) PREFERENCES ----------- The options in the "PREFERENCE" file selector may be SELECTED merely by CLICKING on them. Some options are simply selectable, on or off, while others allow you to exit to a new function. a) ALERTS ------ When selected, warning ALERTS will appear when you are about to do something potentially destructive, like overwriting a file. b) PROFILE .PF? AND .INF FILES --------------------------- When *.PF? is selected, a "FILE PREFERENCES" panel appears from which you may select the TYPE OF FILE format you wish to create. You may also LOAD or SAVE a PROFILE!.INF file (a user preference file) from this panel by selecting either the LOAD or SAVE button. PF? FILE FORMATS ---------------- * The best way to describe a file format would be to have you actually see it. So, SELECT either the PF1, PF2 or PF3 button and CLICK on the EXIT box in the upper left hand corner of the panel. * Next, from the MAIN PANEL, (the panel which appears when you first load the program), select a SOURCE drive letter. These are the letters "A-P", which appear in their own box, on the TOP half of the panel. * Lastly, click on the SHOW button. The program will then scroll through that disks directory and print it to the screen. Repeat this procedure for the different file types to see what each type of file will look like. PLEASE NOTE that the different file types create different file sizes. ----------- The .PF1 and .PF3 formats are the most accurate of the 3 file formats. Of these two, the .PF3 is the smallest (since it doesn't contain the decorative formatting). The .PF2 format is the smallest of the 3 since it contains no decorative formatting and NO PATH information. * If you would like to have decorative formatting and accurate file location information, select .PF1 . * If you don't need decorative formatting, are merely curious as to which disk contains a file (and aren't really concerned in which folder, on the disk, the file is contained) and would like the smallest "file size", select .PF2 . * If you aren't interested in decorative formatting, and would like the most accurate file location information, select .PF3 . .INF FILES ---------- * Select the SAVE button from within the "FILE PREFERENCES" panel to save a PROFILE!.INF file. This file contains the user PREFERENCES specified in the "PREFERENCE" selector as well as the screen COORDINATES and OPTIONS of the programs many panels. * Select the LOAD button to load a PROFILE!.INF file. AUTOMATIC LOADING ----------------- As the program is LOADING, it looks for a resolution SPECIFIC filename within the SAME directory as that in which PROFILE!.PRG is contained. If it doesn't find one, it loads it's DEFAULT settings. The filenames it looks for are... PROFILE1.INF - 1 denotes ST/STe medium resolution. PROFILE2.INF - 2 denotes ST/STe high resolution. PROFILE4.INF - 4 denotes TT medium resolution. PROFILE6.INF - 6 denotes TT high resolution. The numbers are those returned by TOS when a resolution request is issued (in case you're wondering). You don't NEED to use these names if you are loading an .INF file from within the program. * Select the box in the upper left hand corner of the panel to exit. c) BACKUP FILES ------------ When the "BACKUP" preference is selected, FILES which are SAVED in the text editor are automatically BACKED UP. Files are also backed up when you are CREATING a library file. NO OTHER files are backed up. Backed up files are given the extender PAK. Therefore, a backup file of BUFFER.TXT would be named BUFFER.PAK. Every time you save a file, the "LAST SAVED" FILE is made the BACKUP and the backup is replaced with the new file, name and contents. When a backup file is created, the current files "archive bit" is turned OFF (See Section 7 for more information on archive bits). d) KEY CLICKS ---------- Selecting the "CLICKS" preference allows you to toggle the "CLINK" SOUND which accompanies a KEY PRESS. It will NOT register until another option initiates the exiting of the preference box. e) CONVERTING PF? AND CJ? FILES ---------------------------- Selecting the "CONVERT" preference enables a "File Conversion" panel. This option allows you to either upwardly CONVERT .PF? files or convert older .CJ? file formats to the new .PF? file format. * Select the PF1->PF2 button to call up the fileselector from which you will choose a .PF1 file. The selector will appear again allowing you to enter the new name and .PF2 extender of the file you wish to create. The names of the files will then appear on the SOURCE and DESTINATION lines at the top of the panel. If you wish, you may select the TRIM button. This button enables a feature which TRIMS the BLANK SPACES from the left and right of the text lines within the file. The files "formatting" WILL NOT be altered. The advantage of this option is that it REDUCES the actual "FILE SIZE". The disadvantage is that ALL of the lines within the file will be flush with the LEFT margin, and may not make for the nicest looking printout. * Select the CONVERT button to begin converting file formats. When the process is finished, an ALERT will prompt you as to whether or not you would like to DELETE the old format file. Repeat this procedure to convert a .PF1 file to a .PF3 file. CONVERTING CJ? -> PF? --------------------- * Select the CJ?->PF? button to select the .CJ? file you wish to convert. The DESTINATION file is automatically given the NAME of the OLD file, plus the new extender. In other words,DATABASE.CJH becomes DATABASE.PF1, DATABASE.CJ2 becomes DATABASE.PF2 and DATABASE.CJ3 becomes DATABASE.PF3. * Click on the CONVERT button to convert file formats. When the process is finished, an ALERT will ask you if you would like to DELETE the old source (.CJ?) file. The TRIM option is NOT available for this type of conversion. You may, of course, trim the file later in the text editor. Once converted, you may upwardly convert the .PF? file as described above (AND use the TRIM option). * Click on the CANCEL button to CLEAR all SETTINGS or on the box in the upper left hand corner of this panel to exit. f) TEXT EDITOR ----------- Click on the EDITOR preference to ACCESS the text editor (from which I'm writing this text file :-). The greatest advantage of this editor over many other text editors is that the actual EDITING FIELD is as HIGH and as WIDE as the SCREEN ! There are NO window elements BLOCKING any TEXT which may not fit in the window. You can therefore SEE the MAXIMUM amount of TEXT which will fit on a screen ! HELP \ TAB ---------- * Press the key on your keyboard to call up a panel of the available COMMANDS. You may also set the TAB distance at the bottom of this panel. * A ^ symbol means you must hold down the key when selecting another key. ie: ^-> means that you must hold down the key while pressing the "->" (right arrow) key in order to access that feature. MENU ---- * Hold down the RIGHT mouse button (at least 1 inch from the bottom or top of the screen) to call up a MENU (from which you may select editing options). Click the RIGHT mouse button OUTSIDE of the "MENU" to EXIT it without any choices. CLICK on a MENU OPTION to SELECT that feature. ALL of the menu options have a KEYBOARD EQUIVALENT, allowing you to ACCESS an OPTION without calling up the "MENU" ie: PRESSING Function key 2, (F2) calls up a file SELECTOR for SAVING your text file. The "UP ARROW" to the LEFT of a feature means that you must HOLD DOWN the key when SELECTING that KEY, F1 = Block start. NORMAL MENU OPTIONS ------------------- Load F1 - Allows loading of an ASCII (text only) file. Save F2 - Allows saving of the ASCII text file. Insert F3 - Inserts a blank line at the cursor position. Delete F4 - Deletes a line at the cursor position. Find F5 - Calls up a panel in which you may enter a search string. Text in this box is then sought out. If text is found, you may press ^F to continue searching for the text in the "Search" box without actually calling up the search panel. Replace F6 - Calls up the search panel so that you may enter text to find and replace. When the text is found it is automatically replaced with the "replace with" text. Pressing ^R allows you to continue searching and replacing without calling up the panel. Join F7 - Joins a line of text to the left of the cursor with the line of text to the right of the cursor. Split F8 - Splits a line at the cursor position. Up F9 - Scrolls up one page. Down F10 - Scrolls down one page. BLOCK MENU OPTIONS ------------------ A BLOCK of text is SELECTED by specifying a START point and an END point to a section of TEXT. This "section" is then "selected" and may be acted upon by the block functions. REMEMBER to HOLD down the KEY when selecting these function keys. Start F1 - Makes the cursor position the beginning of a block of text. End F2 - Makes the cursor position the end of a block of text. Copy F3 - Copies the "blocked" text to the cursor position. Move F4 - Moves the "blocked" text to the cursor position. Save F5 - Saves the "blocked" text to a text file. Merge F6 - Allows you to load/merge a text file at the current current cursor position. Print F7 - Sends the defined "block" to a printer. Kill F8 - Deletes the "blocked" text from the buffer. ---- -- - empty Clear F10 - Unmarks, or cancels, the defined block. To try this out, LOAD a text FILE into the buffer. Place the CURSOR at the TOP of the FILE and PRESS F1. Move the CURSOR to the SECOND LINE and PRESS F2. The first 2 lines will then become "SELECTED", indicating the "BLOCK" of text. * You cannot MOVE or COPY a block of text to a NON-EXISTENT location. As far as the buffer is concerned, the LAST LINE of text in the buffer is the END of the FILE. If you are COPYING or MOVING a block of text to the END of a file you must be certain to CREATE several blank lines into which you will COPY or MOVE the block. SCROLLING --------- * Move the mouse to the TOP or BOTTOM of the screen and hold down the RIGHT mouse button to scroll the screen in that direction. SORT or TRIM ------------ * Press T to call up the "Sort/Trim" options. * OTHER KEYS ---------- UNDO - clears the text buffer. INSERT - toggles between Insert and Overwrite mode. Insert mode inserts text and overwrite mode replaces text. CLR HOME - moves the cursor to the top of the screen. ARROWS - moves the cursor in the direction of the arrow. RETURN - returns the cursor to the left margin. ENTER - returns the cursor to the left margin. ^S - Saves any text within the buffer to the last filename loaded or saved from the fileselector, WITHOUT calling the fileselector. If no "filename" has been specified within the fileselector, either through SAVING or LOADING, the fileselector will appear and allow you to enter a filename. ^UP - Scrolls the screen up one page at a time. (like F9) ^DOWN - Scrolls the screen down one page at a time. (like F10) ^INSERT - Inserts blank line at cursor position. (like F3) ^DELETE - Deletes line at cursor position. (like F4) * LIMITATIONS ----------- * The editor will not work in a screen RESOLUTION larger than 640 pixels by 400 pixels. * You cannot MOVE the "PRINTING OPTIONS" panel on this screen. The panel will also not appear until at least ONE LINE of TEXT has been DETECTED. You can press ^? to find out how many lines of text you have. * There is a LIMIT of 5000 lines for the TEXT. This may not, at first, sound like alot. If, however, you max out the buffer, you'll end up with a file size of 410,000 bytes (roughly 43% of a standard double-sided disks storage capacity). I had to set a limit and this seemed reasonable. If you're curious as to how this works, read the next paragraph. Each character in the buffer is 1 byte long. Each line can hold 80 characters (or 80 bytes). Each line, when saved to a file, is followed by a carriage return, which adds 2 bytes to each line in the file. Therefore the total number of bytes per line, in the file, is 82. 82 bytes times 5000 lines equals 410,000 bytes. SEE ALSO: "MEMORY CONSIDERATIONS" g) FLOPPY DISK FORMATTER --------------------- Select the FORMAT preference to call up the floppy formatting options. This new formatter allows you to format 2 disks at a time ! NOTE: You SHOULDN'T use the SYNCHED or CONTINUOUS option within the formatter unless you HAVE 2 SEPARATE physical DISK DRIVES. In other words, unless you have a separate piece of hardware plugged into the "floppy disk" plug on the back of your computer. The floppy "drive" mechanism built into your computer would be drive "A". Floppy drive "B" would be the separate piece of hardware plugged into the back of your computer. If you tell the program that you have 2 separate hardware drives, when you don't, the operating system will keep asking you to "insert disk B into drive A" and so on until formatting is finished. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - IMPORTANT: _DO NOT_ under ANY circumstances REMOVE a DISK from a drive while that drive is OPERATING !!! The drive "light" will be lit (if it isn't burned out) to indicate that THAT drive is being used. Removing a disk from a working drive WILL cause SERIOUS DAMAGE to your disk drive ! If you do NOT _FULLY_ understand the concepts of WHEN it is SAFE to swap disks and WHY it is SAFE, DO NOT use "Continual" mode. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Select the SINGLE button to format a single SIDED disk or on the DOUBLE button to format a double SIDED disk. * Select either the 80, 81 or 82 button to reflect the number of TRACKS you wish your formatted floppy to have. * Select either the 9 button or 10 button to reflect the number of SECTORS you wish your formatted floppy to have. You will notice that as you select these buttons, the DISPLAY will change to REFLECT how many BYTES a disk will have if formatted to that CONFIGURATION * Select the "WITH QUERY" button to enable PROMPTED formatting. ALERTS will APPEAR allowing you to decide OPTIONS along the way. If you do NOT have 2 floppy DISK DRIVES you SHOULD use this option. DO NOT remove ANY disks from ANY drive until such DRIVE has stopped ! * Select the "SYNCHED" button to enable the formatting of 2 disks AT A TIME. When BOTH disks are DONE, an ALERT will appear allowing you to continue or abort. You shouldn't use this option UNLESS you have 2 floppy disk DRIVES as the operating system will keep asking you to "insert disk B in drive A" . DO NOT remove EITHER disk UNTIL the program has told you that it has FINISHED formatting ! * Select the "CONTINUAL" button to enable CONTINUOUS formatting. If you are formatting a disk in drive "A", the PANEL will PROMPT you to INSERT a disk in drive "B" (and vice-versa). When the program has FINISHED formatting a drive it will GO automatically to the OTHER drive and START formatting (WITHOUT STOPPING). Again, you shouldn't use this option unless you have 2 floppy drives. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - REMEMBER: DO NOT remove a disk from a drive which is being used or is about to be used within seconds !!! DO NOT wait until the last moment to swap disks ! If the formatter reads "Track 70" you SHOULD NOT swap disks. If a problem in swapping seems likely, press the key BEFORE the drive being formatted reaches track 80, to abort. I don't mean to scare you, but by using this program, you ARE agreeing to accept responsibility for your actions. If you do NOT _FULLY_ understand the concepts of WHEN it is SAFE to swap disks and WHY it is SAFE, DO NOT use "Continual" mode. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * To ABORT formatting, hold down the key BEFORE the formatter reaches track 80. * A DISPLAY at the BOTTOM will keep you advised of your progress. * Select the FORMAT button to INITIATE formatting, or on the BOX in the upper left hand corner to EXIT. h) COPYRIGHT INFORMATION --------------------- Select the INFO preference to obtain current copyright information. i) FLOPPY DISK LABELERS -------------------- Select the LABELER preference to call up the floppy labeler panel. LEFT FLOPPY ----------- * The "FLOPPY" on the LEFT is for entering normal TEXT. You may use the ARROW keys to MOVE from one line to the next. Once entered, you may either PRINT or SAVE this label, or LOAD an .LA1 file by selecting the appropriate button at the bottom of the LEFT floppy. RIGHT FLOPPY ------------ * The FLOPPY on the RIGHT is set up to allow INPUT of filenames. First, CLICK on the long TOP line. A PROMPT will appear at the TOP of the screen allowing you to ENTER a TITLE for this disk. * Next, CLICK on the smaller LINES to call up a fileselector. SELECT a FILE and click on OKAY in the fileselector to ENTER that filename on the appropriate LINE. Repeat this procedure for the remaining lines. * Selecting CANCEL in the fileselector allows an entry to be CLEARED. * Selecting OKAY in the fileselector WITHOUT selecting a FILE allows you to SCAN that drive for FILES. After scanning, an ALERT will allow you to SORT the filenames by NAME, TYPE or NONE. * Sorting by NAME lists the files ALPHABETICALLY on the label. Sorting by TYPE groups the files by EXTENDER, ie: .ACC or .PRG . Selecting NONE lists the files in the order in which they appear PHYSICALLY on the disk (NO SORT). * Select the PRINT, SAVE or LOAD buttons at the bottom of the RIGHT floppy to PERFORM that function. These files have the extender .LA2 . NOTE: The LABEL on the RIGHT will NOT fit on a 3 1/2 inch label UNLESS you first issue a Subscript or Superscript command. Please see the "PRINTER OPTIONS AND FONTS" section for more details. BOTH FLOPPYS ------------ * CLICK on a floppys "WRITE PROTECT" tab to CLEAR the selected floppys LABEL. * CLICK on the BOX in the upper left hand corner to EXIT. j) DISK MARKER FILES ----------------- Select the MARKERS preference to enable this feature. With this option ENABLED, every DISK which is ENTERED into your library is given a very small MARKER file. This allows the program to RECOGNIZE this disk as one which has already been ENTERED into the library. IF this file is FOUND, the program will REMIND you that this disk has ALREADY been catalogued, and give you the OPTION of either continuing or aborting. k) MENU BAR -------- Select the MENU BAR preference to gain access to the DESK (accessories) menu. l) MOUSE SNAPPING -------------- Select the MOUSE preference to call up the "MOUSE SNAP" panel. This option allows you to SPECIFY a POSITION to which the mouse cursor will SNAP when a fileselector appears. * Select the ON button to enable this feature or the OFF button to disable the feature. * Click on the POSITION SNAP button. MOVE the mouse CURSOR to the desired POSITION and then PRESS the RIGHT mouse button. The mouse X coordinate and the mouse Y coordinate will then APPEAR within the PANEL. * Click on the TEST button to SNAP the MOUSE to the coordinates specified within the panel. * Click on the RESET button to RECALL the last SET or LOADED coordinates. * Click on SET to OVERWRITE the RESET coordinates in MEMORY, thus making the coordinates listed in the panel the NEW coordinates. * Click on the SAVE button to save these coordinates to PROFILE!.INF. * Click on the little box in the upper left hand corner of the panel to exit. m) FILESELECTOR PATHS ------------------ SELECT the PATHS preference to call up a "FILESELECTOR PATHS" panel. This panel allows you to SPECIFY filename EXTENDERS to be used by the fileselector within the text EDITOR. * Use the cursor ARROW keys to MOVE from one extender to another. BACKSPACE over an extender to REPLACE it with a new one. * CLICK on an EXTENDER to SELECT it as the extender the fileselector will use. * Click on the SET button to set these extenders in MEMORY. Click on the RESET button to reset the last LOADED or SET extenders. * Click on the SAVE button to save the SET extenders to PROFILE!.INF. * Click on the wee box in the upper left hand corner of the panel to exit. n) PRINTER OPTIONS AND FONTS ------------------------- Select the PRINTER preference to call up a "CONFIGURE PRINTER" panel. Here you will ENTER the printer CODES which will ENABLE you to print with different FONTS. The NUMBER of fonts you may print in is only LIMITED by your PRINTERS capabilities ! NOTE: As the program is LOADING, it LOOKS for a file named PROFILE!.PFP within the SAME DIRECTORY as that in which PROFILE!.PRG is contained. This can be your DEFAULT font configuration. If this file is NOT FOUND, the program loads it's DEFAULT settings. * Click on the LOAD button to load a .PFP file . This file contains your font CONFIGURATIONS. * Click on the SAVE button to save a .PFP file. * Click on the SET button to SET the new configuration in MEMORY. * Click on the RESET button to reset the last SET or LOADED configuration. * The SHORTER lines are used to contain the NAME of the font. These names will also APPEAR in the PRINTING OPTIONS panel (which PRECEEDS print requests). These NAMES will HELP identify the font when it is time to print. * The ON line is the line on which you will ENTER the COMMAND which ENABLES a FONT. * The OFF line is the line on which you will ENTER the code which DISABLES the FONT. NOTE: The program issues the ON commands in the ORDER in which they APPEAR on the panel. SOME fonts may CANCEL others OUT. Please REFER to your printer owners MANUAL to determine the ORDER in which font commands must be issued (if any) . ie: Subscript may need to be issued BEFORE Courier. If so, you should enter that font FIRST (if you intend to use both). Within your printer MANUAL should be a list of "CONTROL CODES". These are the codes you will ENTER on the ON and OFF lines. NOTE: Although we refer to "fonts" here, you may issue ANY type of print command from this panel. ie: CHR$(12) = Line Feed CONTROL CODES ------------- * The CONTROL CODES must be ENTERED by CHARACTER. Therefore, you CANNOT enter "CHR$(12)" or "12" on the line. You must enter the character itself. To enter CHR$(12) on the line, hold down the key and press the "L" key. This is CHR$(12). If your manual says to enter "CHR$(27)" or "27", hold down the key and press the "{" key. The character that appears on the line will be CHR$(27). The following is a table of how to access the proper character codes from your keyboard. HOLD down the key while TYPING the CHARACTER listed beneath the CONTROL heading, to ENTER that code on the appropriate LINE. CHR$ CONTROL CHR$ CONTROL ---- ------- ---- ------- 1 = A 17 = Q 2 = B 18 = R 3 = C 19 = S 4 = D 20 = T 5 = E 21 = U 6 = F 22 = V 7 = G 23 = W 8 = H 24 = X 9 = I 25 = Y 10 = J 26 = Z 11 = K 27 = { 12 = L 28 = | (below delete) 13 = M 29 = } 14 = N 30 = 6 15 = O 31 = - (minus sign) 16 = P 127 = . (period) You MAY enter the _number_ ZERO in place of CHR$(0) if that CODE is required. PRINTING OPTIONS ---------------- In most instances, a "PRINTING OPTIONS" panel will APPEAR when a print COMMAND is ISSUED. From this panel you may SELECT the following. CONFIGURATIONS -------------- There are 6 configuration, or FONT, boxes at the top of the panel. They will contain the NAMES specified on the "PRINTER OPTIONS & FONTS" panel. * SELECT one of these BUTTONS to ACTIVATE any font or command assigned to this BUTTON. Again, the NAME should reflect the FONT or command you ASSIGNED in the "Printer Options & Fonts" panel. ie: If you configured the FIRST font in the "Printer Options & Fonts" box to be Italic, and placed the text "Italics" on the FIRST line of this panel, the text "Italics" will appear within the FIRST button on the "PRINTING OPTIONS" panel. When this button is selected, the program will issue any command you placed on the SECOND line, the ON line, in the "Printer Options & Fonts" panel (the ON line below the name "Italics"). After the program is finished it will issue the OFF command from the THIRD line of the "Printer Options & Fonts" panel to cancel the Italics font. Remember, each "Printer Options & Fonts" setup has 3 lines, the configuration NAME, the ON command and the OFF command. * BELOW this and to the left are the PORT options. If you have your printer connected to the PRINTER port, select the PRINTER button. If you have your printer connected to the MODEM port, select the MODEM button. NOTE: I don't have access to a serial printer and was unable to locate anyone who does. I am therefore unable to verify whether or not the MODEM printing worked properly. I WAS able to verify that the MODEM port WAS receiving the print commands. * BELOW this you may specify the NUMBER OF LINES to print per page. * To the RIGHT of the PORT options is a PAGE NUMBERING option. Select the YES button if you wish your pages NUMBERED. Select the NO button if you do not wish them NUMBERED. * Below this are the PRINT and CANCEL buttons. Select PRINT to begin printing or CANCEL to ABORT printing. * NOTE: MOST printouts can be ABORTED by holding down the key. o) LIBRARY SEARCHES ---------------- Select the SEARCH preference to call up an ALERT which will prompt you as to whether you would like to search your library for INDIVIDUAL files or for DUPLICATE files. INDIVIDUAL FILES ---------------- * To SEARCH for an individual (or SPECIFIC) file, ENTER a search STRING on the "NAME" LINE on the bottom right hand side of the MAIN panel and then SELECT the "SEARCH" preference. When the ALERT appears, select the "INDIV"idual button. * A fileselector will appear, allowing you to CHOOSE the FILE to search. The screen will CLEAR and any files matching your search string will be LISTED to the screen. This feature DOES NOT require WILDCARDS. Simply ENTER part of the NAME of the FILE for which you are looking. If say, you are looking for accessories, simply enter the string "ACC" (without the quotations :-). DUPLICATE FILES --------------- * To SEARCH your library for DUPLICATE files, SELECT the "DUPLI"cate button within the ALERT to call up the "DUPLICATE FILENAME SEARCH" panel. If you would rather START your search at a LINE other than 1, you should enter that line NUMBER on the "NAME" line at the bottom of the "MAIN PANEL". This allows you to "pick up where you left off" in the event you were searching a really long file and stopped somewhere in the middle. SELECT ------ * Select the SELECT button to call up the fileselector from which you will select the FILE to search. An ALERT will appear asking if you would like to search by file NAME or by NAME and SIZE. Select NAME to search your library for files containing the same NAME. Select the SIZE button to search your library for files which have the same NAME and SIZE. Files which have the same NAME may NOT necessarily be copies of the SAME file. Files which have the same NAME and SIZE are more LIKELY to be duplicate copies of the SAME file. Searching by NAME _is_ slightly FASTER, but LESS ACCURATE as to whether or not it is an EXACT duplicate of a file. * Another alert will appear asking as to whether or not you would like the search results sent to the PRINTER. If you select YES, any duplicate file matches will also be sent to the printer. The display WILL NOT stop after each file has been found. This allows you to do something else while the program is searching. You can STILL abort the search by holding down the RIGHT mouse button. This feature may take a little while because of the actual procedure taking place. The program reads the first name on the list and then checks it against every other name in the file. It then increments it's count and checks the next file against every file which follows it. ie: Say you have 100 names. The program reads line 1 and checks it against lines 2-100. It then reads line 2 and checks it against lines 3-100 . NOTE: The program automatically filters out FOLDER names as well as the following file names... NEODESK.DAT - Gribnif Softwares Disk Label file. DESKTOP.INF - Ataris desktop configuration file. PROFILE!.MRK - ProFile!s disk Marker file. UNCLELIB.MRK - UncleLibs disk Marker file. These are common files, which when used, will be found on almost EVERY disk. DISK NAME \ FILENAME \ LINE --------------------------- * If a MATCH is found, the panel will DISPLAY the name of the current file for which a duplicate is being sought on the filename LINE at the top. The disk NAME, if any, of this file will appear directly ABOVE this filename. BELOW the filename is the line NUMBER within the file on which the filename may be found. If the filename is on line 50, you may enter the text editor and go to line 50 to find this file. If you are searching by SIZE, the file SIZE will appear to the right of the file NAME. SEARCHING \ MATCH ----------------- As the program is searching, the SEARCHING button will be selected. When a match has been FOUND, the MATCH button will become selected. DISK NAME \ FILENAME \ LINE --------------------------- * If a match is found, these lines will contain the DISK NAME, FILENAME and LINE number of the file which matches the file on the first line. LINES REMAINING --------------- If a match has been found the "LINES REMAINING" line at the BOTTOM of the panel will reflect the number of lines left to search. CONTINUE \ ABORT \ SELECT ------------------------- If a match has been found you will have the OPTION of continuing the search or aborting the SEARCH. All other options are disabled at this point. * Select the CONTINUE button to continue searching. * Select the ABORT button to abort the search. * NOTE: As the search is taking place, you may pause, and optionally abort the search by holding down the RIGHT mouse button. An alert will prompt you for your decision. p) WRITE VERIFY ------------ Select the VERIFY preference to turn the WRITE VERIFY on or off. With this feature ON, sectors on the disk are compared against sectors in memory to verify the accuracy of the information being written to disk. Turning this option OFF is supposed to increase disk access speed, since the operating system is no longer checking to see if the information on the disk is being written correctly. I would advise caution, as you COULD write garbage to the disk (with this feature OFF) and not know about it until later. q) ON SCREEN HELP -------------- On most of ProFile!s panels you will find the little Atari FUJI symbol. When this fuji is SELECTED, the panels options, when selected, present an ALERT which tells you what that feature does (instead of performing the feature). This allows you to click on items and find out what they do WITHOUT actually PERFORMING the function. Deselect the fuji to re-enable the features of the panel. r) STATUS DISPLAY -------------- Below the "preferences" box is a little box containing the name ProFile!. As operations are performed, the text within this box will change to reflect the operation which is taking place. ie: If you are CREATING a new file, the text within this box will read "CREATING" . 2) SOURCE DRIVES ------------- These are the DRIVES from which information will be READ. They are located in a separate box on the top of the main panel and contain the letters A-P . Inactive drives will have their corresponding drive box disabled. To select a source drive, merely click on any of the ACTIVE SOURCE drive letters. 3) DESTINATION DRIVES ------------------ These are the DRIVES to which your library file (.PF?) will be WRITTEN. They are located within their own box just below the source drives and behave in the same way as their source counterparts. 4) DISK NAME AND SEARCH STRINGS ---------------------------- On the BOTTOM right hand side of the main panel is a box in which you will enter an identifying "DISK NAME" for your library file or a "search string" for the "individual" file search. 5) CREATING A FILE --------------- * To CREATE a library file you must first ACCESS the "FILE PREFS" panel (*.PF?) from the "preferences" box and select the TYPE of file you wish to create. * Select the "MARKERS" preference if you wish to create a marker file on your SOURCE disk. * Select a SOURCE drive to READ, and a DESTINATION drive to which a file, containing a listing of the source drives contents, will be WRITTEN. * ENTER an (optional) DISK NAME for this file. You may wish to use a name which makes that disk easy to locate. ie: If on the floppy you have the title Sara's MIDI files, you can enter THAT name as the disk name. When searching your library, it will be easier for you to find a file if it's on a disk which has a name. * Click on the CREATE button. A fileselector will appear in which you can enter the name of the FILE you are creating. NOTE: I tend to keep my files in groups, and therefore create files such as MODEM.PF3 or DATABASE.PF3. * Click on the OKAY button in the fileselector to begin creating a NEW library file. The status display will read CREATING for as long as it takes to create the file. The status display will go back to the DEFAULT TITLE when the operation is complete. REPEAT PROCEDURE ---------------- * AFTER the file has been CREATED, an ALERT will ask if you wish to REPEAT the SAME procedure. Place the next disk in your SOURCE drive and click on YES to repeat the procedure. A prompt will appear at the top of the screen which will allow you to enter a NEW DISK NAME. After entering a new name, the fileselector will appear again, allowing you to specify the NEW filename. Enter the NEW filename and click on OKAY in the fileselector to CREATE your next NEW file. * Select NO to the repeat prompt to end the file creating process. NOTE: Selecting CANCEL within the fileselector also cancels the operation. 6) APPENDING A FILE ---------------- * Repeat the CREATING procedure with two exceptions. Click on the APPEND button instead of the "create" button. When the fileselector appears, select a filename which already EXISTS. The program will then READ the contents of the SOURCE drive and APPEND (add) the listing of that disk to the existing FILE. This allows you to MERGE several similar disks into a single FILE listing. ie: A file named DATABASE.PF3 could contain the contents of the disks named "Frank's Work", "MaryEllen's Albums" and "Juniors Homework". The rest of the procedure is the same as when "creating". 7) VIEWING A DISKS CONTENTS ------------------------ * Select a SOURCE drive and click on the SHOW button to send a listing of the SOURCE drive to the screen. EXPLANATION OF DISPLAY ---------------------- The initial display consists of 5 elements. These are the 5 elements which are present in the "root" directory of a drive. They are the... NAME of file FOLDER slot SIZE of file TIME of creation DATE of creation FILE attribute After the "ROOT" directory has been searched, and the totals calculated, a search of all "SUBDIRECTORIES" or folders, begins. The display will be the same, with the exception of the "folder slot", which will not be included (doing so would be redundant). The last element at the far right of the display is the File Attribute. There are 5 columns allotted for each of the possible attributes. If applicable, the 5 columns would contain the following information... |W|H|S|V|F|A| "W" means that a file is "Write protected" "H" means that a file is "Hidden" "S" denotes a "System file" "V" denotes the "Volume name" (or disk name) "F" denotes a "Folder" "A" denotes an "Archive bit" This is pretty self explanatory with the exception of the Archive bit. The Archive bit is used by backup software to indicate if the file has been modified since the last time it was backed up. It is the backup softwares responsibility to turn off the Archive bit when the file is backed up. 8) SENDING A VERBOSE LISTING TO THE PRINTER ---------------------------------------- * Select a SOURCE drive and click on the LLIST (lprint/list) button to send a VERBOSE listing of the SOURCE drive to a connected printer. You will NOT be able to SPECIFY numbers per page. The ENTIRE file listing will be sent to the printer (which is why it's verbose ;-). NOTE: You may ABORT this printout by holding down the key. The "PRINTING OPTIONS" panel WILL NOT preceed this printout. If your printer is connected to the MODEM port you should configure the "PRINTING OPTIONS" panel from within the editor or floppy labelers panel to read "MODEM" before printing. 9) QUITTING -------- * Select the QUIT button to EXIT the program. 10) MOVING AND STORING PANEL POSITIONS ---------------------------------- * Most of the PANELS within ProFile! can be MOVED by GRABBING the BOX by it's "title bar" and moving it. To "CENTER" a box on the screen, click once on the panels "MAIN PARENT BOX". This is the box in which ALL of the panels features are contained. * The MAIN PANEL may be moved by grabbing the panels "main parent box". To center the MAIN PANEL on the screen, double-click on the panels "main parent box". ALL of the panels POSITIONS are SAVED to your PROFILE!.INF file. Every time you use ProFile! the panels will appear in the location specified within PROFILE!.INF. 11) CUSTOM MOUSE CURSORS -------------------- ProFile! supports the UncleMouse .CURsor file format. After CREATING a custom mouse CURSOR with UncleMouse, RENAME it PROFILE!.CUR and place it in the SAME directory as PROFILE!.PRG. If the program finds this file when loading, it will also load your custom mouse cursor. If not it will merely use it's default cursor. 12) MEMORY CONSIDERATIONS --------------------- ProFile! will not run unless it has at least 200,000 bytes of memory for itself and an extra 200,000 bytes left over for the system. This means that you must have at least 400,000 bytes of free RAM available when ProFile! runs. Some improperly written desk accessories request memory AFTER they've been installed. If they don't find it, they crash. The extra 200k of system RAM should help avoid most crashes which are caused by these accessories. ProFile! also has a set memory ceiling of 700k. Any memory beyond this will be given back to the system. The 700k allows ProFile! to fill ALL of its buffers to maximum capacity. Any shortage of memory will result in the amount of available lines in the editor being reduced. 13) PROFILE! PIPELINE ----------------- ProFile! has the ability to communicate with HeidiSeek through the special GEM pipeline. Click on the "Info" preference to call up the copyright box. If linkage HAS been achieved, a message will appear at the bottom of this panel. Any messages which ARE passed will be described under their respective headings in both the ProFile! AND HeidiSeek text files. 14) DISTRIBUTION ------------ You are free to copy and distribute the ProFile! DEMO as long the files... PROFILE!.PRG -> The main program. PROFILE!.RSC -> The programs resource file. PROFILE!.TXT -> This text file. PROFILE!.CUR -> Mouse cursor file (GEM arrow). PROFILE!.PFP -> Default font file (Epson compatible). LABELER1.PFP -> Floppy labeler font file (Epson compatible). PROFILE!.LA1 -> Sample label file. PROFILE!.LA2 -> Sample label file. PRO_REG .TXT -> Registration form. PRO_UD .TXT -> Update form. README .1ST -> Latest news and other information. OTHERTTL.TXT -> Current program versions/availability. are included, are NOT modified in ANY way and NO FEE of ANY type is incurred upon the recipient for the files _themselves_. 15) REGISTRATION ------------ The following registration terms and fees are subject to change without notice. Any materials which cannot be processed WILL be returned. See the file OTHERTTL.TXT for instructions on obtaining current prices. Anyone sending in a registration within 30 days of requesting a "current price" list will not be subject to any increase which MAY be incurred within those 30 days. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - o The suggested registration fee for ProFile! is only $15.00 (fifteen U.S. dollars) plus $3.50* for materials,shipping and handling ($18.50 total). o If you send in $25.00 (plus $3.50* for materials/shipping/handling - $28.50 total), you will also receive the most current version of HeidiSeek, the file finding and maintenance utility. o If you wish, you may include with your registration a floppy disk, a floppy disk mailer and SUFFICIENT U.S. Postage in lieu of the $3.50 materials/shipping/handling fee. o You may register by using the enclosed registration form, or by filling out the necessary information on a piece of paper and sending it to... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Carl J. Hafner RR 2, Box 184C Hawley, PA. 18428 U.S.A. ATTN: ProFile! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SORRY, NO PERSONAL CHECKS ON ORDERS OUTSIDE THE U.S. PLEASE CONVERT FOREIGN CURRENCY TO U.S.DOLLARS BEFORE SENDING. ALL CHECKS WITHIN THE U.S. MUST BE DRAWN ON A U.S. BANK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * ORDERS OUTSIDE OF THE U.S. AND CANADA PLEASE ENCLOSE AN EXTRA $1.00 FOR POSTAGE AND HANDLING. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - a) TERMS OF REGISTRATION --------------------- As a registered user you are required to ensure that NO copies of your registered version are distributed beyond the realm of yourself or family members. Distributing registered versions not only cheats the author out of the time and effort put into the development of the program, but also cheats YOU out of the money you have spent to become a registered user. Violation of this registration agreement will result in the immediate cancellation of ANY and ALL program registration agreements you may have made with the author. You WILL NOT be eligible for ANY future support or registrations. 16) CREDITS ------- Written in GFA Basic (C) GFA Systemtechnik ProFile! (C)1992 Carl J. Hafner 17) VERSION HISTORY --------------- 1.0a - Adds NEODESK.DAT, DESKTOP.INF, PROFILE!.MRK & UNCLELIB.MRK to the list of files to be ignored in a duplicate search. Added print option to duplicate file search. 1.0 - Original version.