



                                 What Floppy Format?
                             (c) 1992-94 by Angel Babudro

                             "Organic Computer Wizardry"
                            Box 132 * Paonia, CO 81428 USA
                    (303) 527-6756 Mon-Fri 10am-6pm Mountain Time


        I.   DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

             THIS SOFTWARE  PROGRAM AND DOCUMENTATION ("WFF")  IS PROVIDED "AS
        IS" WITHOUT  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS, EXPRESS  OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING,
        BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THOSE CONCERNING MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
        PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  BY  USING WFF, YOU ARE EXPRESSLY  RELEASING ANGEL
        BABUDRO FROM ANY LIABILITY RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND
        DOCUMENTATION.  YOU MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING WFF.  YOU ARE
        ADVISED TO TEST AND SUPERVISE WFF THOROUGHLY BEFORE RELYING ON IT.


        II.  LICENSE

             1.   WFF  is  being distributed  as copyright-reserved  Freeware.
        There is no  registration fee and  you are licensed to  use it for  an
        unlimited time.

             2. You may  keep as many backup copies of WFF as you wish and you
        may run  WFF simultaneously on as many computers as you like.  You are
        granted the right to share WFF with others, as long  as you distribute
        the original files exactly  as you received them, with  all associated
        files included.

             3. Under no circumstances  may you charge any fee  or receive any
        other form  of consideration  for distributing  the WFF  files without
        express  written consent  from  the copyright  holder, Angel  Babudro,
        other than to charge a fee of not more than US$6 (six dollars) for the
        media and/or service of distribution.


        III. TECHNICAL SUPPORT (HOW TO REACH ME)

             If  you have  questions or  need  help, just  send a  note to  me
        through the mail or a BBS listed below.  Registered users (or those in
        the  process of registering), vendors,  and sysops may  contact me via
        telephone as well.  Sysops and shareware vendors please see VENDOR.DOC
        for distribution information.

              Mail        Angel   Babudro,    "Organic   Computer   Wizardry",
                          PO Box 132,      Paonia,      CO     81428      USA,
                          (303) 527-6756 Mon-Fri 10am-6pm Mountain Time

              Official Distribution Bulletin Boards

              On bulletin boards  I use the  first name "Angelo"  - it  avoids

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        gender confusion and I am used to either name.  Scan for the file name
        WFF*.* to locate the latest version.   All six of my software packages
        are free downloads on both systems (that is, you can download them the
        first time you call).

        East Coast   Excalibur  (Central NY)  (315) 736-3792.   USR DS  modem.
                     FREQ  (File REQuest)  from  this board  via RBBS  address
                     A:954/401,   FIDO  address   1:26501,   or  ICN   address
                     91:315/101.

                 WhiTech  BBS (NC)  (910)  944-1165.   Zyxel  14.4 V32b  V.42b
                 modem.  FREQ via Fido 1:3636/2.

        West Coast   Researcher's  BBS  (CA) (805) 949-8151.    USR DS  modem.
                     Enter "J;136" to  join the  Organic Software  conference,
                     then use "E" to leave me a message and "F;1"  to view the
                     list of available files.

              My software  can also  be found  on large, subscription  systems
        such as Exec-PC  (Wisconsin) and Channel  1 (Mass.) - these  BBSs cost
        money to use, though...


        IV.   INTRODUCTION

              WFF  is  a  menu  shell  for  use  with Christoph  Hochstatter's
        FDFORMAT.  WFF is Freeware; it is my contribution back to all the fine
        programmers who have donated their labour in the form of public domain
        software.  Please distribute complete copies of WFF to bulletin boards
        and  friends  --  please shackle  any  temptations  you  might have  to
        eliminate or modify anything -- not nice. :)  I am open to donations if
        your situation  warrants.   For the  latest  version of  WFF order  my
        Sampler Disk (see ORDER.FRM).

              Now, let me tell you what it is that I've created.

              What  Floppy  Format? (WFF)  is an  easy  way to  quickly format
        floppies without remembering commands  and option switches for various
        disk types using FDFORMAT, a formatting utility written and donated to
        the  public  domain  by   Christoph  Hochst tter  (normally  found  as
        FDFRM16A.ZIP or FDFORM18.ZIP on  BBS's).  FDFORMAT is the  best floppy
        format  utility  I've seen,  but  it's so  flexible  that there  are a
        million  and one combinations of options.   So I wrote WFF to allow me
        to set  & test certain  options, save the  options I prefer,  and then
        format a disks  without having to  remember any of  it.  I  don't even
        need to remember which drive is A: (not that it's a problem...).

              I use the extra high-density and off-colour formats provided via
        FDFORMAT  for my  archive disks.   FDFORMAT packs 1.48Mb  on a 5-inch
        disk and up to  1.72Mb on a 3-inch  disk, which dramatically  reduces
        the  number of disks  I need to  off-load large software  from my hard
        disk.   And I've noticed that with  a CompatiCard IV the <300-byte TSR
        isn't needed for the extended densities.  It's the best  disk capacity

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        extender I've seen, and it's public domain, too!  Can't beat it.

              If you  can't  find  it  on your  local  BBS,  FDFORMAT  can  be
        downloaded from the BBSs listed above.

              By the way,  I don't  have any interest  in FDFORMAT other  than
        using it.  I'll have to write a letter to the author some day...


        WARNING   WFF allows  you to  format disks in  drive letters
        _______
                  other  than A: or B: by assigning drive A: to that
                  drive.   I did this so  that I could format  my 8"
                  drive (which is K: on my system) using FDFORMAT.

                  To  illustrate, my 8" drive  is K: so  WFF does an
                  "ASSIGN  a=k" before issuing the FDFORMAT command.
                  When FDFORMAT is finished, an "ASSIGN"  command is
                  issued by itself to remove the drive assignment.

        BEWARE    If you set  a hard  disk letter as  a floppy  disk
        ______
                  drive  I have no  idea what  will happen  (I'm not
                  going  to  try it!).   So  be  careful if  you use
                  something other  than drives  A: and B:  -- double
                  check that it's a floppy disk letter you're using!


        File List
        _________

              The files that make up What Floppy Format? are as follows:

              wff.exe     The executable file
              wff.txt     The documentation (this text) in ASCII format [*]
              wff.wp      The  documentation  (this  text)  in  WordPerfect  5
                          format (so you can format for your printer) [*]
              wff.new     Late-breaking news [*]
              file_id.diz Description file for BBSs [*]
              desc.sdi    Description file for BBSs [*]
              order.frm   Order  form  for  all   of  my  Shareware!    Please
                          TYPE ORDER.FRM > PRN

              These are the files which make up  WFF.  When you give copies to
        friends,  BBSs, etc.  please be sure  to include  all of  these files.
        Additional files will be created in the same directory as  you use the
        software.  The files marked with [*] can be deleted if disk space is a
        premium, but I ask that you please keep ORDER.FRM handy in case you or
        someone else you  know wants to contact me.  Since  I am asking for no
        money for WFF I hope you will do this for me.  Thanks.







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        Using WFF
        _________

              NOTE:  WFF.EXE should reside  in a  directory in  your DOS
              PATH.  Otherwise you  will have to  use "cd" to change  to
              that directory each time.   To set your path use  the "set
              path=" command in your autoexec.bat file.

              Just  type WFF from the DOS prompt.   The first time you use it,
        WFF  will pop-up its set-up  screen for you to fill  in.  Just tell it
        whether  you have a monochrome or colour screen, which types of floppy
        disk drives you have (up to 4) and the drive letters, and the  path to
        the FDFORMAT programme.   If FDFORMAT resides in a  directory which is
        in your DOS  PATH it will  automatically be filled  in.  (See  WARNING
        above  about floppy drives.)  Default values for disk verification and
        sector sliding  are also presented for  you to change.   If you aren't
        sure what you want to  use, just leave the defaults as they are -- the
        default  sector sliding values should improve  the floppy disk's speed
        on any computer.  See the documentation for FDFORMAT for details about
        these.

              Directory Command -- While you are formatting disks you can press
        F5  between disks  to see  a directory  on the  screen.   This  is the
        directory command, and  parameters, you like to use.   You can use the
        DOS "DIR" command, or "NDIR" as I use, or "HDIR" or anything else.

              Root Dir  Files -- This is  the maximum number of  files the disk
        may  have in its  root directory (\).   In more  technical terms, this
        setting  determines the size of the FAT  (File Allocation Table).  See
        FDFORMAT docs.   Leave "112" for  default of 112 or  224, depending on
        disk type.   You can lower the number to  squeeze a few more bytes out
        of your  disks.  This does not  affect subdirectories; only the number
        of files you can have in the root.

              After you've  done the set-up,  just pick  the size of  disk you
        want from the  horizontal menu --  3-inch, 5-inch,  and 8-inch --  and
        press RETURN.  You'll see a vertical menu of  the densities available,
        depending on whether  you have double-density or high-density drives --
        densities  which are not valid  for your drive(s)  cannot be selected.
        Highlight your selection and press RETURN.  That's all there is to it!


        Special Features & Functions
        ____________________________

              Quick Format  -- If you  have verification  turned OFF,  FDFORMAT
        version 1.8  will re-format a disk  in 5-10 seconds by  only verifying
        already formatted tracks and clearing the FAT.

              Continuous Format -- After a disk is formatted you will hear some
        tones to tell you the disk is finished (so you don't have to watch the





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        screen),  and a ticking will begin.1  This is to let you know that WFF
        is waiting for your response:

              1. You  can press Esc to  stop formatting disks  or F5 to  see a
        directory of another disk.

              2. You can remove the disk.  This will initiate WFF's Continuous
        Format feature -- WFF will wait for you to insert another disk or press
        Esc to quit or F5 for a directory.

              Before inserting another disk you can  press the F5 key to get a
        directory of a disk.  WFF will prompt for a drive letter at the bottom
        of the  screen.  While  it is  waiting for  the drive  letter you  can
        insert the disk you would like to view.

              NOTE  Both  FDFORMAT and  WFF test  the  disk drive.
                    Usually this causes no noticable delay,  but I
                    stumbled across a  combination of  electronics
                    that   took   16-seconds   to    identify   an
                    unformatted disk.  If this is happening to you
                    there  may  be  a  conflict  in  your  system;
                    experiment with card  settings (address,  IRQ,
                    etc.).  In my case it was an address conflict.

              Drawbacks -- I  designed WFF  to allow selection  of disk  drives
        based on size  rather than drive letter.   This avoids confusion where
        one 5.25" and one 3.5" disk drive are used since you can't even assume
        that the  top drive is A: (Tandy  broke that rule).   But, if you have
        two of the same drives  (like an old AT or XT with  dual 5.25" drives)
        there is no way to choose between them.  Anyone got a good idea on how
        to deal with this??



















                            
        ____________________
               1  These sounds are only  audible if the  Sound option under
          "File" is turned ON.

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