                                File Magician
                                    V1.0
                             Copyright 1993-1994
                              by Terry Bullard
                               for Windows 3.1


    Welcome to File Magician!!  First I must tell you a bit about myself and
 my company, then I'll get to the grit of the program.  My name is Terry
 Bullard and I've been programming on the Amiga computer since 1985.  I love
 creating utilities and have sold many to the different magazines, customed
 to different software companies, and have just sold out right to distributers.
 We are just a small company, man and wife, I do the programming and she does
 all the work.  After we had graduated to the PC world it didn't take me long
 to discover that there were a few things that would make life a good deal
 easier when dealing with the PC.  File Magician is one of the first programs
 I felt would benefit PC users. After talking with other Amiga users who are
 also PC users it was voted unanimous that the PC world needs a good file and
 directory program. Disk Master, Directory Opus, are the heart of the Amiga
 World.  Now that I have joined the ranks of the PC I hope to bring you the
 best of both worlds, and File Magician is well on its way to that.
    My main goal in all programs is to make it as user friendly as possible
 and I do not spare the coding or time to do so.  I believe that software is
 suppose to take the work out of whatever you are doing and should be able to
 to be used with little or no documentation at all.  The interface should be
 nice and should be straight forward in what it does.  I also believe that the
 customer is right!  A lot of places (no names) automatically assume that the
 customer is a dummy and if the customer did this or the customer did that or
 the customer bought this etc., I don't!  To me it means that I goofed, I
 should have taken that problem into account within the program. What this all
 boils down to is that I want to hear from you, I need your input so I can do
 my best in my programming.



Description
~~~~~~~~~~~
   Well, enough said on that subject!  Now to tell a little about File Magician.
 File Magician has a similar interface as Disk Master v1.4 for the amiga, if
 you own a amiga and don't have Disk Master, get it , it is a must have.
 File Magician has two view windows, one is always the 'Source Window' and one
 is always the 'Destination' window. Source and Destination can be swapped by
 clicking the LMB in the window or in the path bar above the window.  The
 clicked area will then become the 'Source' window.  The 'Source' window will
 have a red box around it plus the little toggle bar between the windows at the
 top of the screen will also point to it.  In the center of the screen between
 the two windows will be a column of push buttons. The first six buttons are
 for your drive configuations.  The program will automatically configure to
 your current devices. The following buttons will perform the different
 functions as is explained below.  Let me add at this point that File Magician
 is a shareware program and that it is for evaluation only.  Somewhere there
 had to be a stopping point with File Magician as a evaluation program.
 File Magician can only grow from this point.  I have over 50 planned functions
 that File Magician will have as time goes on, not counting new ideas that will
 be generated by time and user input. Basically File Magician has unlimited
 growth potential!  User registation increases that potential many times over.



So Just What Is File Magician?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    File Magician is a program that EVERY PC owner must have.  If you own a
 computer, at sometime during your computer lifetime you will Have To make
 some type of file or directory adjustment to your hard drive or floppy disks.
 File Magician is designed to be as simplistic as possible in allowing you to
 manage your files and directories.  File Magician is for all levels of users,
 beginning to advanced.

Requirments
~~~~~~~~~~~
    A computer
    Windows 3.1
    Be Registered


How To Register
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    There are a couple of ways to register 'File Magician'.  First you can send
 a check or money order for $40.00 US Funds to:

    Bullard Software
    3291 Mt. View Rd.
    Ferndale, Wa.   98248

 OR
     by Trust Mail.

Trust Mail
~~~~~~~~~~
    Trust Mail is a term that we invented.  Most places insist that first you
 send them money and then they will send you your requested items.  You trust
 them to do this after you have parted with your money.  With trust mail, we
 will send you our software first and when you receive it, we will trust that
 you will send us back a check or money order for it.  All you need do is to
 pick up your phone and dial the number supplied below and then register.
 Don't be surprised if you get just a "Hello" instead of "Hello this is Bullard
 Software".  I have a really hard time being so formal!  After you register
 we will within 24 hours have 'File Magician' on its way to you, first class
 and postage paid by us.  As our company grows with your support we will add
 additional lines for ordering and support.  For now you can order between
 5:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M. Pacific Standard Time.  Keep in mind that there is
 three hours difference between here and the east coast.
    Also  I must keep Trust Mail limited to the USA and Canada.  Don't get
 me wrong for those that don't live there, I must see how this works out first.
 I do hope you understand.

    CALL NOW:     1-(206)-384-6740

What You Get
~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Once you register, we will send you 'File Magician' without the dialog boxes
 that appear when any item is first clicked.  The program will be the lastest
 update of File Magician.  A printed manual that to begin with will be soft
 bound.  With the planned growth of File Magician it is not feasible to have
 any other type of manual.  The cost of re-printing such would be terribly high
 and unfair to pass this unneccessary cost on to you..  You would be placed
 on our mailing list and would be notified immediately by mail of future
 updates of File Magician and any new products we develop. The package will
 be postage paid by us.



Now the Grit
~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Now if you haven't already loaded File Magician you are one of the select
 few.  Who reads the docs anyhow?  (g)  I'll try and keep it as brief as
 possible, but please read below on "what you can do for us".

View Windows
~~~~~~~~~~~~
    File Magician has two view windows.  One is the 'Source' and one is the
 'Destination'.  The source window will always be the one with the red box
 around it.  The Source and the Destination window can be swapped. To activate
 a 'Source' window, click in the window itself or click in the path bar above
 the window.  Once a 'Source' window is established the opposite window
 automatically defaults to the 'Destination' window.    Often a directory will
 have more file and directory listings then the view window can display.  Use
 the scroll gadget to the right of the window to view the additional listings.
 The bottom scroll gadget is inactive with this release but is there for
 future compatability.

Selection
~~~~~~~~~~
    The left mouse button (LMB) is used to select a file or directory. Clicking
 once will select the listing and the listing will be hilited.  Double clicking
 a directory will instruct the program to enter and display to the view window
 that directory listing.  Double clicking a file listing causes No Action with
 this release of File Magician.  The next release of File Magician will contain a
 a smart mode file selection.  Smart Mode will be one of the main arteries of
 File Magician!
    When a file or directory is selected it means that the next command action
 will be taken on all files and directories selected.  Changing to a different
 directory will de-select automatically all of the previous selections.
    No action will be taken on any file or directory that has Not been selected.

Title Bar
~~~~~~~~~~
    The title bar is used as a action display.  There the program will show you
 the current action that is taking place such as, copying, deleting, or moving
 listings, bytes free on destination and source windows, files selected and
 total bytes of selected files.  Currently there is a 5 second timer after a
 title information display before it defaults back to a byte free display. This
 may change to something else, what I'm not sure yet.

Keyboard:
~~~~~~~~~
   F1   -  F1 activates "help mode".  When you active help mode you may then
           click with the LMB on any item that you need help for.  A brief
           help message will appear in the left view window.  Help mode will
           then deactivate itself.  If you require more help you must press
           F1 again.  To reset the left view window back to the file listings
           press F2.  This method of help is designed for a 800x600 display.

   F2   -  F2 will re-display the file and directory listings on the left view
           window.  This sometimes becomes necessary when de-compressing files
           or using the help mode feature.

   F3   -  F3 will re-display the file and directory listings on the right view
           window.

   ESC  -  Will exit the program.


Buttons:
**********

 Drive Buttons:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    The first six buttons from the top of the screen are reserved for your
 drive devices.  The program will automatically configure to the first six
 drive names in the list.  Clicking the LMB on one of these will display the
 root contents to the window that is active.  The view window will display
 yellow text as directories and white text as file.  To enter a directory
 double click the name of the directory.

Parent:
~~~~~~~
    The 'Parent' button will direct the program to reassign the current
 directory back one directory.  For instance, when you double click a directory
 name the program will display the contents of that directory to the view
 window, then you click the parent window, the program will re-display the
 previous directory.  This command is completely harmless.  The parent button
 only works on the 'Source' window.

All:
~~~~
    The 'All' command will select all the files and all the directories that
 are in the current directory of the 'Source' view window.  If a directory has
 more files and directories then the view can be displayed, those files and
 directories will also be selected.

Clear:
~~~~~~
    'Clear' will de-select any file or directory that has been previously
 selected.  All files and directories outside of the view window will also be
 de-selected.

Copy:
~~~~~
    To use the copy function, first select a view window that you wish to
 become the Destination point.  Next go to the opposite window and select the
 files or directories that you wish to copy.  Press the 'Copy' button.  Thats
 it.
    Copy will copy all files or directories that have been selected to the
 Destination device (view window).  If a directory has been tagged, the
 program will create and copy all files and directories within the selected
 directory to the Destination point.  This release Does Not have an option to
 check first to see if there is enough room in the destination area.  The next
 registered release will.  You may use the 'Byte Req' button on the Source
 directory before copying.

Rename:
~~~~~~~
    To rename a file or directory first select the item then press the 'Rename'
 button.  A dialog box will appear.  Enter in the new name excluding the full
 path, the program keeps track of the location of the listings internally so
 just the new name will be enough.  Select OK.

Move:
~~~~~
    The move function will move all files and directories that have been
 selected to the location of the destination area.  Moving a selected listing
 means that basically the file is copied to destination area and then deleted
 from the source area.  So once a listing is moved it will no longer reside
 in the source area!  If a directory is selected, all files and directories
 that are buried within that selected directory will also be moved.

Delete:
~~~~~~~
   The 'Delete' button will delete all selected files and directories that have
 been selected from the 'Source' window.  All files and directories that are
 buried within a selected directory will Also be deleted.  With this version
 of File Magician, when the 'Delete' is first invoked, a dialog box will appear
 giving you the option of aborting.  A later version of the program will allow
 you to discontinue this option.

Read:
~~~~~
    The 'Read' function is a seperate program that File Magician calls to read
 a text file.  The reason that I have done this is for future expandability!
 I can think of a zillion different things that a read program should do and
 I'm sure that you can too.  So for ease of development I'm doing it this way.
 Currently the read function is set to read text files only.  It will read
 anything but only text files will display properly.  The file size of the text
 file is not important, there isn't a byte limitation.  There are three button
 controls 'PageUp', 'PageDown', and 'Quit', also several keyboard controls are
 present.
    F1        = a brief help screen
    PageUp    = up a screen page
    U         = same
    PageDown  = down a screen page
    Space     = same
    Enter     = same
    D         = same
    ESC       = exit read function
    Q         = same
 For best results read only one file at a time.  Multiple selections are
possible but uses a lot of extra memory and it starts multiple instances of the
read program.  Possibly in future versions I might be able to make Windows be
a bit more behaved.

PkUnzip:
~~~~~~~~
    PkUnzip will decompress any .zip file that has been selected in the 'Source'
 window.  The decompressed files will sent to the destination area.  The
 PkUnzip program must reside within an assigned directory, the dos directory for
 instance.  File Magician will call PkUnzip and start a shell for PkUnzip to
 do its work.  After the files have been decompressed press either F2 or F3
 to re-evaluate the destination view window.  F2 = the left view window and
 F3 = the right view window.  This will display the new contents of the
 destination window.  This is neccessary because of Windows behavior that I'll
 hopefully be able to fix in the future.
    If you don't have PkUnzip, you should be able to obtain a copy of it from
 your local dealer, user group, or BBS.  It is a fine program and I strongly
 recommend that you register it promptly.

  COMPRESSION Functions
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    File Magicians next registered update will have compression functions
 for Lzh, Arj, and PkZip.  It will have functions for compressing and
 de-compressing files and will have configuration options that you can set
 within File Magician's Configuration.  If you are unsure of how to configure
 these programs, a default generic configuration will be supplied.

Byte Req.:
~~~~~~~~~~
    This function will total the bytes of all selected listings.  If a
 directory is selected, all the bytes of all the files that are buried within
 that selected directory will be totaled and displayed on the title bar at
 the top of the screen.  This function is very handy to use before moving
 or copying files to another device and just to know how large a directory might
 be.

MakeDir:
~~~~~~~~
    'MakeDir' will create a directory in the location that the 'Source'
 window is displaying.  Push the 'MakeDir' button, a dialog box will appear.
 Enter in the name of the new directory that you wish to create.  Press 'OK'

Config:
~~~~~~~
   This command will activate the configuration program.  With this version
 of File Magician the configuration program takes no active part in running
 File Magician.  It is only present to show you what configuring File
 Magician might be like.  With the next registered upgrade you will be able
 to configure different functions of File Magician like the compression utils,
 Warning boxes, palettes, etc.  The configuration program will save a data
 file that File Magician will read when it starts up.  Configuration will
 only need to be run once if your unsatisfied with the defaults and then again
 if you desire any changes that you have previously made.  Here like the read
 program this function has been made a seperate program, not only for future
 expandability but also to save on program size.  You can run the configuration
 program seperately if you wish where you can't with the read program.

Run:
~~~~
   The 'Run' function will attempt start any program that has been selected.
 'Run' works on: .pif , .bat, .exe (dos or windows), .com (dos or windows),
 files.   A little care must be used when using this command, it is not harmful
 but currently it has no way of checking to see how much memory an external
 application will use.  Good judgement and a knowledge of how much memory your
 computer has and how fast your computer is makes a large difference with
 the results of this function.  Personally I haven't had too much trouble
 using a 486(25) with 4 megs of memory and I was actually surprised on just
 what it would handle.


What You Can Do For Us!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Success of any software program depends on distribution and a good program.
 We feel that we have a excellent program that everyone needs but getting
 an evaluation copy of File Magician to everyone is impossible unless we have
 your help.  We need you to upload the evaluation copy of File Magician to any
 BBS that you might call that doesn't have it already, or to pass out a copy
 to friends, club groups or anyone that you know that has a PC.
   Secondly, register now, and get your friends to register now.  Registering
 not only just pays the bills but it gives programmers incentive to create
 more and better programs at a lower price, it keeps older experienced
 programmers in the shareware field.  Only you can make it happen!!

Upload Description:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   The following description might be a bit much, but sometimes it takes a
 little to grab people attention (grin).

 FM.zip - File Magician V1.0 - for Windows 3.1
          A Heavy Hitting program that ranks right
          up there with the runaway hit 'Disk Master'
          for the Amiga.  Full screen with Dual View
          Windows, too much to list.  A must have for
          all PC Users!! A Excellent File Management
          Program!         Shareware.

  Ideas
  ~~~~~
    I like nothing better then hearing ideas from people!  If you have an idea
 that you think File Magician should do, write it down either on disk or paper
 and send it to my address.  Its far easier for me to implement something
 that has a basic guideline that I can refer back to. (In calling voice the
 concept is lost.)  If I use anyones idea, you will be acknowledged in the
 Documentation for File Magician! But You must be a registered user.


                 Thanks for Taking the Time..

                      Terry Bullard
                       3291 Mt. View Rd.
                        Ferndale, Wa. 98248
                         (206)-384-6740 for ordering





