@database "DiskManager 4.0 OnLine Help System"
@master DM4.guide

@node main "Main Menu"
DISKMANAGER VERSION 4.0 (APRIL 1994)
COPYRIGHT (C) 1992-4 ANDREW WOODS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SHAREWARE EVALUATION COPY

Welcome to the DiskManager 4.0 OnLine Help System!

Please pick a topic to get some help on:

  @{" Introduction        " link intro}     - What is DiskManager 4.0?
  @{" System Requirements " link sysreqts}     - Can you run DiskManager 4.0?

  @{" Shareware Info      " link swinf}     - Have YOU registered?
  
  @{" Program Features    " link features}     - What IS so good about DM?
  @{" Program Reference   " link reference}     - Using DiskManager 4.0
  @{" Changes from DM3    " link dm3}     - Veterans read this!

  @{" Credits             " link credits}     - Thanks to...
  @{" Commercial Break    " link also}     - Please read this
  @{" Version History     " link vers}     - Back in time...
@endnode

@node swinf "DiskManager 4.0 is SHAREWARE"

DiskManager  4.0  is  a SHAREWARE product which means if you find it useful
then  please register by sending £10 (UK cheques only, payable to "Kew=II")
to:

Kew=II
PO Box 672
South Croydon
CR2 9YS

Upon registering you will receive the following benefits:

· No more big ugly requesters.
· Peace of mind.
· An improved version of the program.
· Technical support.

The  easiest to register is to print out the OrderForm.doc file and fill it
in.  To those that register, a big thankyou!
@endnode

@node sysreqts "What DiskManager 4.0 Needs To Run"
System Requirements:

· KickStart 2.0 (V37) or above.
· 512K of memory, 1Mb recommended.
· 1 floppy drive, 2 recommended, harddisk even better.
· amigaguide.library available (see below).

Any of the following Amigas should have no trouble running DiskManager 4.0:

· A500+
· A1200
· A4000.
· Any other model that has been upgraded to Workbench 2.0+

Technical Information:

DiskManager 4.0 has been tested on the following:

· 68030 at 40MHZ on an A1200 running WB3.0 with 6 megs and 85 megs harddisk.
· WB2.0 on the above system.

DiskManager supports:

· Different screen fonts (DM is font sensitive).
· Public Screens (DM will happily run on ANY public screen).
· WB3.0 features (DM will use NewLook menus on WB3.0).
· High Density drives (probably!).
· Harddisks.

Library Requirements:

· Amigaguide.library. This can be in DM4/libs drawer or in your LIBS:
· Asl.library comes as standard on all WB2+ systems. Should already be
  in your LIBS:

If either of the above fail then a requester will appear telling you so!
@endnode

@node intro "Welcome to DiskManager 4.0"
Introduction

DiskManager  4.0 is a disk cataloging program.  That means you feed it with
all  the  disks in your collection one by one.  DM uses this information to
build  up  a comprehensive database of all the files on all your disks.  It
also remembers how the disk was formatted and how full it is.

At a later date, you can ask the program questions about the disks, such as
what  disk  all  archives  are stored on.  That is the basic idea of what a
disk  cataloger  is  but  DiskManager  4.0  extends  this  idea beyond all
recognition.

Now choose one of the following:

@{" Version III Users " link ver3}     - Past users read this.
@{" New Users         " link newuser}     - New recruits read this.
@endnode

@node features "DiskManager 4.0 Features..."
In DM you can:

· Enter  an  amount  of disk space required and DM will search the database
for all disks with the requested amount of disk space.

· Complex  file  searches.   DM  will allow you to search for single files,
file  patterns  (like  #?.doc).   In  addition  this can be combined with a
search  for files of a particular size.  So you could search for all #?.lzh
files greater than 50K and less than 200K (if you wanted).

· View  all  files.   Just  browse  through the entire database viewing all
files.  Great for just seeing exactly what is in your collection.

· Skip  icon files.  This is an Amiga problem with disk catalogers.  On the
Amiga  upto  half  the  files on a disk are .info (icon) files.  If you are
short on space or just not interested then these files can be ignored.

· DM  can tell you the file system a disk is formatted with.  Workbench 2.0
users  may  find this information useful.  (Well I did).  If you have WB2.1
or  WB3  then  this  program will tell you whether a disk is formatted with
Directory  Caching  and  International  mode.   Even  CrossDOS  disks  are
recognised.

· Disk  labels can be printed with ease using DM.  The labels are generated
from  the disk database so you don't need to type anything, just select the
files that will appear on the label and DM does the rest.

· DM  can skip the standard Amiga system directories.  This avoids clogging
up the database with the C, L, LIBS, DEVS, S, FONTS and PREFS directories.

· DM  sorts  files  into  alphabetical  order.   New for V4.0, this sort IS
instantaneous.  In other words there is NO performance slow down in sorting
files.

· Comments  can  be  attached  to  disks.   If you have a disk with a dodgy
sector, then you can make a note of it.

· DM supports upto 26 completely separate databases (now called categories).
You  can  have  one  for PD, one for archives, one for pictures, etc.  This
means that searches only need to search one database instead of everything.

· About  35  filetypes  are recognised now and existing ones have been made
more reliable.

· Fully context-sensitive help using the amigaguide.library (supplied).

· Uses the standard CBM Installer to setup your DM system.

· DM4  has  an AppIcon which allows you to drag a disk icon into it to scan
it without having to set the scan drive.

· DM4 can strip repeated files.

· Disks are sorted in alphabetical order on diskname or diskid.

· ID checking is instant so you can guarantee a unique disk id.

· DM4 allows an infinite (yes) number of files per disk.

· DM4 uses a lot less memory.

· DM4  supports  65536  disks  per  category  (up  from 676).  This gives a
maximum  of  1703936 disks in total with an infinite number of files stored
on each. Big improvement from DM3 (6760 disks with 2000 files on each).

· Database  can  be  backed-up  by simply dragging the data icon to another
disk.
@endnode

@node dm3 "Changes from DiskManagerIII..."
Changes From DiskManagerIII:

This section is aimed at DiskManagerIII users who have upgraded:

· DM  has some new pref files that replace the old ones, called DM4.dat and
DM4.setup  they  replace  the  similarly named files in DM3.  Also they are
stored  in  the  data drawer with the database.  They have moved because on
DM3  if  you  backed-up  the database by dragging the icon the (vital) file
DM3.dat would not be copied which would make the data drawer useless.

· Filenames  are  different  (again).   Although pretty transparent to most
users,  some  (the more nosey ones) may want to know.  Each filename starts
with a letter A-Z to denote which category it comes from.  This is followed
by  a  number from 1-65535.  Also each category needs an extra files called
A.index, B.index etc.

· When  DiskManager  4.0 is installed in place of DM3 it will automatically
sense  the presence of DM3 files and update them.  This means that no silly
converters  are  needed.   When  DM4  is  run for the first time you should
notice  a  delay as it sets about converting everything.  This could take a
long time if there is a lot of files to convert.
@endnode

@node reference "DiskManager 4.0 Program Reference"

Pull Down Menus:

  @{" Project Menu    " link projectmenu}
  @{" Search For Menu " link searchformenu}
  @{" Reports Menu    " link reportsmenu}
  @{" Options Menu    " link optionsmenu}
  @{" Utilities Menu  " link utilitiesmenu}

General Concepts:

  @{" Entering Text   " link entertext}     - String Gadgets in DM
  @{" Conventions     " link convent}     - Interface standards used

@endnode

@node utilities "Utilities Menu"

The "Utilities" Menu:

  @{" Summary           " link summary}
  @{" Pre-Sort Database " link presort}
  @{" Delete Database   " link deletedatabase}
@endnode


@node searchformenu "Search Menu"

The "Search" Menu:

  @{" Files      " link searchfiles}
  @{" Disk Space " link searchspace}
  @{" Browse     " link browse}
@endnode

@node searchfiles "Search For Files"

This option brings up a window with three fields:

· File of Pattern
· Lower K
· Upper K

The first field is for you to enter any AmigaDOS @{"wildcard" link patterns} (or just a single
filename). 

The second field is for the minimum file size in K you want in the report.

The third field is for the maximum file size.

The  defaults  that are already in the fields should list EVERY file in the
current category.  On a big database this could generate a big report so be
careful.

Examples:

[#?.doc               ]
[10  ]
[100 ]

The above would list all .doc files >= 10K and <= 100K in size.


[fred.lha             ]
[0   ]
[9999]

The   above  would  list  all  .lha  archives  called  fred.lha  that  were
(effectively) any size.
@endnode

@node reportsmenu "Reports Menu"

The "Reports" Menu:

  @{" View Last " link viewlast}
  @{" Delete    " link delete}
  @{" Print     " link print}
  @{" Save      " link save}
@endnode

@node viewlast "View Last Report"

The  menu  option brings up the report viewer to list the last report.  The
results of any search options or any operations that generate an output are
stored  in  the  current  report.  That means you can generate a report and
view  it  many  times,  save  it to disk and delete when memory becomes too
tight to mention.

The  report  viewer  is  simply a read only list which you can scroll up or
down.  At the bottom of the list are three options:

@{" Print Report  " link print}
@{" Delete Report " link delete}
@{" Save Report   " link save}

These equate to the menu options with similar names.
@endnode

@node delete "Delete Report"

The  Delete  option  removes the last report generated from memory.  If you
have  generated  a large report then memory may become short so this option
allows you to recover the situation.

The last report is automatically deleted when a new is created.
@endnode

@node print "Print Report"

This  copies  the  current report to the PRT:  device.  This means that all
your  preference settings will apply.  A requester will appear first giving
you a chance to setup your printer.
@endnode

@node save "Save Report"

This  option  uses  the ASL file requester to select a filename to save the
report  to  disk  as.  Feel free to hit CANCEL or the close gadget to abort
the whole operation.

To  save  over  a file just select it from the file requester, otherwise to
create a new file then type its name into the string gadget.

If  you  choose OK your report will be saved as that file.  All reports are
saved  as plain ASCII text files with no formatting or anything fancy.  You
can  load them into any text editor or wordprocessor or just print them out
at a later date.
@endnode

@node summary "Summary Report"

The  summary  report  is  a  simple  one disk per line sorted report of the
current  database.   It  lists  all the disks in the current database along
with a few other bits and pieces.
@endnode

@node optionsmenu "Options Menu"

The "Options" Menu:

  @{" Scan Drive        " link scandrive}     - Changing where disks are scanned.
  @{" Choose Category   " link choosecat}     - Or database (for DM3ers).
  @{" Edit Categories   " link editcat}     - Change the names of categories.
  @{" Sort Disks        " link sortdisks}     - The order disks appear.
  @{" Confirm Saves     " link confirmsaves}     - How cautious DM is.
  @{" Confirm Deletes   " link confirmdeletes}     - Ditto.
  @{" Browse on Scan    " link browseonscan}     - Inspect a scan before storing.
  @{" Skip Icons        " link skipicons}     - Get rid of those .info files.
  @{" Skip File Checks  " link skipfilechecks}     - Speed up scans.
  @{" Skip System Files " link skipsystemfiles}     - Save space.
  @{" Single Drive      " link singledrive}     - 1 drivers read this.
  @{" Exclusions        " link exclusions}     - Exclude files and dirs.
  @{" ID Format         " link idformat}     - Control ID generation.
@endnode

@node scandrive "The Scan Drive"

Generally DiskManager 4.0 scans (reads the details of) all disks from a set
drive on your Amiga. 

You  can  select  this  drive  from  any  available in the Scan Drive list.
Depending  on  your  Amiga and its WB version you should have between 2 and
200  devices.   It  really  is  that variable.  By default DM will use DF0:
(the  internal  floppy  drive) but you will probably want to change this if
you have two drives or more.

You  can change the device to anything in the list, harddisks and ram disks
and  even  the  credit card slot (on A600 and A1200) are valid.  However be
careful  when  using  strange  devices  as  they  may  not  support all the
operations  that a floppy disk can.  In general stick to your floppy drives
(DF0:   - DF3:) and possibly your harddisk.  Still there is no harm (or not
much) in trying.

If  you  do  scan  your  harddisk  partition,  be  warned in that a greatly
increased  amount  of  memory  is  needed to scan a harddisk because of the
larger  number  of  files  and  directories.   If you run out of memory, DM
"shouldn't"  crash  but  I  can't  promise anything as the WorkBench itself
often misbehaves when memory becomes tight.
@endnode

@node choosecat "Choosing a Category"
Choose Category

This  option  brings  up  a list of all the categories (26 in all).  If you
haven't  named  them then they will have default names of "Cat.  [x]" where
[x] is a letter from A-Z.

If  you  try  to select the current category (displayed in the main window)
then  you will be ignored.  If you select another category then any changes
to the current one will be saved and the new category loaded in.

The  current  category  is the focus of all other operations in DiskManager
4.0.   If  you  do  anything in DM then the results will affect the current
category ONLY.

The  last  category  selected  when  you  quit  is the one that will be the
current category the next time you start DM up.
@endnode

@node editcat "Editing the Categories"
Edit Categories

This  option allows you to change the names of any of the categories.  This
is   recommended  as  the  default  names  are  not  very  imaginative  (or
descriptive).

A  list of all the categories is presented.  If you click on one then it is
transferred  to  the string gadget at the bottom of the list.  Here you can
edit  it.   Press RETURN while in this string gadget and the edited version
will replace the original in the list.

Please  note  that you cannot "cancel" changes done in this list.  Clicking
on the close gadget has the same effect as hitting the OK button.
@endnode

@node projectmenu "Project Menu"

The "Project" Menu:

  @{" Scan Disk   " link scandisk}     - Adding a disk to the database
  @{" Delete Disk " link deletedisk}     - Removing a disk
  @{" Rescan Disk " link rescandisk}     - Updating a disk
  @{" Edit Disk   " link editdisk}     - Editing disk details
  @{" Move Disk   " link movedisk}     - Moving a disk to another category
  @{" About       " link about}     - About DiskManager 4.0
  @{" Quit        " link quit}     - Exiting DM
@endnode

@node rescandisk
Rescan Disk (Amiga-R)

This  option brings up the @{"Pick Disk" link pickdisk} window so you can choose which disks
you wish to rescan.

Rescanning  involves  updating  the database contents of a disk so that any
changes  on  the  disk  are  known  to  the  database.   The  disk may have
completely changed and the only thing that is constant is the disk id.  The
title, comment and contents of the disk can be completely different.

When  you have selected the disks to rescan, DM will ask you to insert each
disk  to  rescan.  The rescanning process itself is identical to the normal
scanning process.
@endnode

@node editdisk
Edit Disk (Amiga-E)

This option brings up the @{"Pick Disk" link pickdisk} window so you can choose which disks you want
to edit.

Editing  allows you to change the disk title, id and comment of any disk in
the  database.   If you change the disk id to something that already exists
then the screen will "flash" and the id will revert to the old id.

Finally  click on Save Changes to make the changes stick, otherwise hit the
close gadget or escape to edit the next disk or finish the whole operation.
@endnode

@node movedisk
Move Disk (Amiga-M)

This  option brings up the @{"Pick Disk" link pickdisk} window so you can choose which disks
you want to move.

When  you  have  chosen  which  files to move a list of the categories will
appear  for  you  to choose a destination category.  If you choose the same
category  as the disks are already in then it will automatically cancel the
operation.
@endnode

@node about
About (Amiga-?)

Tells you About DiskManager 4.0
@endnode

@node quit
Quit (Amiga-Q)

Exits  DiskManager  4.0  after  getting confirmation from you.  If you have
made  any changes to the configuration (anything in the Options menu) then
you will be given a chance to save it.

It  is  VERY  important  to  properly  quit DiskManager 4.0.  Many internal
tables  and  things  are stored in memory and are not updated to disk until
the  very last moment when you quit.  This is great for reducing the amount
of disk access but offers you the chance to damage your database.

Also  note  if  you quit DiskManager 4.0 by clicking on the close gadget of
the  Main  window  then  DM  is  only  iconfied into a disk icon on your WB
screen.  The icon is called "DiskMan AppIcon" and any disks dragged onto it
will be scanned (temporarily overriding the @{"scan drive" link scandrive}).

To  restore  DiskManager  4.0  to  a window instead of an icon, just double
click on it.
@endnode

@node deletedisk "Deleting Disks..."
Delete Disk (Amiga-D)

This  option brings up the @{"Pick Disk" link pickdisk} window so you can choose which disks
you wish to delete.

If  you have the menu option, @{"Confirm Deletes" link confirmdeletes} set then DM will ask you to
approve each disk deletion.

If  deletes  are  not  to be confirmed then DM will delete the whole lot of
disks in one go so be careful.
@endnode

@node confirmdeletes "Confirming Deletes..."

This menu option controls how cautious DM is about deleting anything. 

If  this  menu  option  is  SET  then DM will always ask you to confirm the
deletion of anything.

If  this  option is UNSET then DM will always go ahead with deletes without
getting  final  permission from you for each delete.  However DM will still
get a general permission from you.

An example:

· With Confirm Deletes OFF, Select 10 disks to delete.
· DM will ask you whether you want to delete these disks.
· Say yes and DM will delete the lot.

· With Confirm Deletes ON, Select 10 disks to delete.
· DM will ask you to confirm EACH disk deletion.
@endnode


@node confirmsaves "Confirming Saves..."

This  menu  option  controls  how cautious DM is about saving (and possibly
overwriting) things.

If the option is SET then DM will ask you to confirm any saves.

If the option is UNSET then DM will just go ahead and save.
@endnode

@node browseonscan "Browse on Scan"

When  DM  has  scanned  a disk it gives you the opportunity to examine (and
edit)  the  files  in  the scan.  If you are scanning a great deal of disks
then  this  can  be  irritating.   This  menu  option allows you to control
whether you get this opportunity or not.
@endnode

@node skipicons "Skip Icon Files"

On  an  average  Amiga disk that is designed for accessing from the WB upto
half the files on a disk are .info files.  By removing these you can save a
great deal of disk space (upto 40% on average) and speed up disk scans.

Obviously  if  you  wanted  to scan a disk that was an icon compilation you
would  switch it back on but otherwise it is recommended that you have this
option set at all times.
@endnode

@node skipfilechecks "Skip File Checks"

This option allows you to control whether DM tries to determine the type of
every  file  it  scans.  On PC systems, every file has a file extension, so
that  .EXE  means an executable program, .GIF would mean a GIF picture file
and  so  on.  On the Amiga there is no real convention for determining file
types  so  you  have to be pretty organised to name all your files in a way
that  will  mean  something  in  six  months time.  Even if you are such an
organised person other peoples disks will not be so meaningful.

With  File  Checks ON DiskManager 4.0 will attempt to recognise the type of
every file it scans.  This involves looking at the file extension to see if
that  gives  a clue, failing that DM will open every file and read in a few
dozen  bytes  to see if they are recognisable.  The disadvantage is that as
any  floppy  user  will  testify  it  is  very  slow  especially on a badly
fragmented disk

If  the option is OFF then DM will only check file extensions to figure out
the  file  type.  If you have the time it IS recommended that you have file
checking on.  Mainly because a file 1.dat that has meaning now will be just
another file in 3 months time.

Another  advantage  is you often discover pictures and music files that you
didn't even know you had.

See Also:

@{" Recognised File Types " link filetypes}
@endnode

@node skipsystemfiles "Skip System Files"

Bootable disks on the Amiga need some standard directories and system files
present  in them to boot.  By setting this option you are instructing DM to
ignore  these standard directories and system files -- saving space in your
database  and  avoiding  clogging up the database with hundreds of repeated
files.

I  can't  imagine you ever needing to switch this option OFF but you can if
you want to.
@endnode

@node singledrive "Single Drive"

This  option  MUST be set if you only have one disk drive.  When the option
is  set  the  database  disk is using the same drive as the scan drive.  By
setting  this  option  you will cause DM to pause with a message before and
after every scanning.

Sorry  to  single  drive  users  but you face two disk swaps for every disk
scanned.   There  is  no  way  to avoid this except by getting another disk
drive  or  a  harddisk.   I  do  not  consider  it to be such an outlandish
requirement  for  DM  to  expect  two  drives of some sort in these days of
A1200s  (which  are  impossible  with  one  drive  and  have  easy harddisk
expansion)

If you consider yourself to be a serious Amiga user you MUST have more than
one drive otherwise the use of your Amiga becomes a chore and not a joy.  I
would go as far as saying that if you a dead set against two drives then DM
is probably not the program for you.  I implemented the Single Drive option
as merely a stopgap for a few users until they upgrade.
@endnode

@node exclusions "File/Dir Exclusions"

This  options  brings  up  a  list  of exclusions, that is a list of files,
directories  or  patterns  that DM should ignore when it is scanning disks.
The  cycle  gadget  at  the right of the window has two options, "Files" or
"Directories".    This  controls  what  sort  of  exclusions  the  list  is
displaying.

Unused  elements in the list have the text "[NONE]" displayed.  You can add
an  exclusion  by  clicking  on  an  item in the list and editing it in the
string gadget at the bottom of the list.

As  well  as simply listing some files and directories that DM should skip,
you can also have @{"patterns" link patterns}.

A  pattern  allows you to specify a whole lot of files or directories to be
excluded.
@endnode

@node patterns "AmigaDOS Wildcards"

A  Pattern  (also  called  a  wildcard)  allows  you to specify any file or
directory that matches the pattern.

Patterns can contain any of the following:

· A-z, 0-9 etc as normal.
· #? match any number of any characters.
· ? match a single character.

To make the above clearer, here are a few examples:

· "#?.bak" would match ANY file with a ".bak" file extension.
· "1?"  would  match  ANY  file  starting  with  a "1" followed by a single
character.
· "anim.????"  would  match anything starting with "anim." followed by four
characters.
· "?at.#?"  would  match  ANY  file  containing  "at.",  starting  with ANY
character and having ANY series of characters as the file extension.

In  addition  the DM Wildcard window has a check box called "Invert".  This
makes  the  current pattern inverted.  So if you asked for all #?.doc files
to be selected this would make everything BUT the #?.doc files be selected.

I  hope the above make sense, you can experiment with AmigaDOS and the LIST
command  in the Shell to try out different combinations.  It is certainly a
very powerful feature that is well worth becoming good at.
@endnode

@node filetypes "Currently Recognised File Types..."

Executables (programs)
IFF Pictures
PowerPacked Data
AMOS Data (some .abk files)
AMOS Programs (.AMOS)
AMOS Sprites (other .abk files)
IFF Animations
IFF SMUS (Music Scores)
IFF Samples
ZOO Archives (.zoo)
GIF Pictures
ASCII Text
Icon files
Font headers (.font)
Font data (the stuff in the font:xxxx/ directories)
LH Archives (.lzh, .lha)
WordWorth documents
Other IFF files (generic type)
JPEG Pictures
Maxiplan Worksheets
MED 8 voice Modules
MED 4 voice Modules
Prodraw Clips
EasyCalc Worksheets
AmigaGuide® Files (.guide)
C source codes (.c)
Object Files (.o, .obj)
Assembler Source (.s, .asm)
Header Files (.h)
Include Files (.i)
Basic Source (.bas)
Pascal Source (.pas)

If you have a particular file from your favourite application that you want
DiskManager  4.0  to  be able to recognise then send me a couple of (small)
files on a disk from that application (and a SAE please!) and I will update
DM to cope with the new file type.

Contact me at @{"DM Support" link dmsupport}
@endnode

@node pickdisk "Choosing disks..."

Several  menu  options  in  DiskManager 4.0 call up the "Pick Disk" window.
This  is a list of all the disks in the current category.  The name of each
disk is displayed along with the disk id and how full the disk is.

The  disks  are  displayed  in  sorted order.  Either sorted on DISKNAME or
DISKID, depending on the menu option, @{"Sort Disks" link sortdisks}.

The Pick Disk window is used to select disks for other DM functions to use.
To  select  each  disk just click on a disk in the list.  It should briefly
highlight  and  a '»' symbol will appear to its left.  Click on it a second
time and the '»' will be removed.

The  "Wildcard"  button  allows  you  to enter a @{"pattern" link patterns} to select multiple
disks at once.

The "All" and "None" buttons allow you to select all or none of the disks.

You  can select as many or as few disks as you like.  Click on OK to submit
the  chosen  disks  to DiskManager 4.0.  If you hit the window close gadget
nothing is selected and nothing happens to the disks.
@endnode


@node scandisk "Scanning Disks..."
Scan Disk (Amiga-S) or the Scan Disk button

Displays the Scan Disk window. In this window you have three fields:

· Disk Title
· Disk ID
· Comment

The  disk  in the current "Scan Device" will be read.  If you only have one
drive  you  will  have  to  swap disks first.  In the Disk Title field will
appear the title of the disk or "UNREADABLE DISK" for a disk AmigaDOS could
not  figure out.  An unreadable disk could be blank, a game, a demo or a PC
disk without CrossDOS running (WB2.1 and above).

There  is  little  point  adding an unreadable disk to the disk database so
click on the close window gadget to abort the operation.

Assuming  you  had  a  valid  disk  which could be read then the Disk Title
should contain the diskname or just "Empty" if you never bothered to rename
it.   You can type into the Disk Title field and change the diskname.  This
will  have  no effect on the real name of the disk but allows you to rename
all those disks called "Empty" into something more meaningful.

The "Disk ID" will contain a completely unique code for that disk.  You can
edit it if you want but DM will make sure that the ID stays unique. 

The  final  field,  the "Comment" is a spare field that you can use to make
any  notes  about  a  disk.   The comment is completely ignored by DM.  Any
reports later on will display the comment field if it has anything in it.

See Also:

@{" Entering Text " link entertext}
@endnode

@node deletedisk "Deleting a Disk"

Simply choose all the disks you want to delete.

Then  click on OK to delete them.  If you have @{"Confirm Deletes" link confirmdeletes} set then you
will  have  to confirm each delete.  If you don't have Confirm Deletes then
DM will delete the lot!
@endnode

@node rescandisk "Rescaning a Disk"

Simply choose all the disks you want to rescan.

Then  click  on  OK  to  rescan.   You will be asked to insert each one for
rescanning.
@endnode

@node editdisk "Editing a Disk"

Simply choose all the disks you want to edit.

Then click on OK to edit them.  The details of each disk will be brought up
on screen for you to edit.
@endnode

@node about "About DiskManager 4.0"
@endnode

@node quit "Quit DiskManager 4.0"
@endnode

@node also "Commercial Break..."
Other Stuff Available From This Author:

EasyCalc Plus V1.0f

- This is the best Amiga shareware spreadsheet.
- £15 shareware registration fee.
- Has 48 functions.
- Graphs
- Import/Export.
- Arexx.
- FAST screen update.
- Easy to use.
- Register now, or check it out at your local PD library.


"EasyCalc  Plus:   undoubtedly  one  of  the  best  pieces of shareware ever
written for the Amiga.  If you need a spreadsheet, forget all the others".

 - Ian Wrigley of Amiga Shopper gave it 10/10

"The look and feel is excellent"

 - Stefan Pijanowski (a satisfied customer)


See  why  so  many  people have chosen EasyCalc Plus to run their business,
home accounts, portfolios, college work and market research.
@endnode

@node vers "A Potted History of DiskManager 4.0"
Version History:

V1.0a - This was the initial release.
V1.0b - Minor bug fixes.
V1.0c - Minor bug fixes.
V1.0d - Disk operations were speeded up by about 30%. Bug fixes.
V1.1a - Arp library is used now, so pattern matching can be done.  Program
   is more Amiga-rised with the use of requesters.  Memory usage has
   been reduced by 90K so multitasking is more credible on a 1/2 meg
   machine.
V2.0a - Reports have been improved. All known bugs from version 1.0 have
   been removed. Screen displays have been improved. User interface has
   been improved. Disk operations were speeded up again. This version is
   now twice as fast as the original release.
VIII  (shareware) - This release, improvements all over.  Online HELP system,
   new filetypes, multiple databases etc.  Lingering V2 bugs fixed.
VIII (registered) - EZCONVERT, EZINSTALL, Move Disk option added. WB2 vers.
V4.0a - Rewrite (see "history.doc" for the gory details).
@endnode

@node credits "DiskManager 4.0 Credits"
Credits:

· Thanks  to  all  the  registered  users of DM2 and III who have suggested
things  in  the past.  There are too many people to mention but if you sent
me  an  idea and you see it here then I must have read your letter.  Thanks
again.

· Amiga  Shopper (specifically Ian Wrigley).  The review of DiskMan 2.0 way
back  in  November  1992 started me in shareware programming.  Without that
who knows what I would be doing now.

· Kew=II PD and Shareware for giving me so much support.

· Carl Read of CyberCraft.

· Jan  van  den  Baard  author  of  GadToolsBox,  the  most useful piece of
software  in  my  collection.   Easily the most important piece of software
since  the release of WB2.0 itself.  C or Assem coders out there should get
it now.

· Commodore.   Yep,  or  more  accurately  the  people who brought us WB2.0
onwards.   It  is easily the best microcomputer operating system and thanks
for making it a pleasure to program!  (most of the time).

That's the end of my "Oscar" speech, if I missed you then sorry.


            ###
            ###
           #####
- ANDREW.  (< >)
           ( | )
           (===)
            \-/   (Not really how I look)
@endnode

@node ver3 "Existing Users Welcome!"

Version III Registered Users:

If  you are an existing DM user and you have upgraded then you will already
be  familiar  with  most  DM  functions.  However it would be wise to check
through  the  documentation  to  see what new features there are.  The file
"History.doc" lists all changes made from DiskManagerIII.

Also note that many functions have different names.  This is not to confuse
you  (honest),  but to make them more sensible.  An example is the old "log
device" option which is now called "Scan Drive".  The phrase log device was
confusing new users so I changed it.  In general you should find menu names
more logical and meaningful.

Another  massive change to DiskManagerIII is the new user interface.  Every
release  of  DM  has  seen  the  interface  change,  and this version is no
exception.   The  interface  is  explained  in more detail in the @{"reference" link reference}
section.

One  other  important change is that DM4 needs WB2 or above to run.  Sorry,
but such is the price of progress...
@endnode

@node newuser "Thanks for choosing DiskManager 4.0"

New DiskManager 4.0 Users:

Well  done for choosing DM.  This program is simply the best way of keeping
track  of  all  your  disks.   Here are a few quotations from Amiga Shopper
reviews of previous versions:

"DiskManager  will  be  found  useful  by anyone with a large collection of
floppies".

"DiskManager is certainly well worth its £10 shareware fee"

Now  here is DiskManager 4.0 which blows those previous versions out of the
water.

This  help  file  is fully accessible from the DiskManager 4.0 program.  So
load  up  DiskManager  4.0  and  press  HELP and the main menu will pop up.
Learning  to  use DM this way is much easier than reading the documentation
in isolation from the software.

See Also:

@{" DM Support " link dmsupport}
@endnode

@node dmsupport "Need to get in touch..."

You can write to me at:

Andrew Woods (DM Help)
1 Westwood Gardens
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
YO11 2JQ
UNITED KINGDOM

or telephone:

0723 368779

(in the evenings Mon-Thu please!)

Please note my address will be changing in the summer of '94.
@endnode

@node sortdisks "Sort disks on..."

This menu option has a submenu with the following options:

· by Diskname
· by DiskID

This option controls what order disks appear in reports and disk lists.
@endnode

@node entertext "Entering text into DiskManager 4.0"

Frequently in DiskManager 4.0 you will be presented with string gadgets for
you  to  enter  some text.  A string gadget is simply a container which you
can  click  in  to  activate it.  When the gadget is activated anything you
type will appear in the string.

String  gadgets support full editing of their contents with the cursor keys
and  the  DELETE  and BACKSPACE keys.  In addition string gadgets recognise
the following:

· RAMIGA+X      - Delete the entire string.
· SHIFT+DELETE  - Delete from cursor to the end of the line.
· SHIFT+BACKSP  - Delete from cursor to the start of the line.
· RAMIGA+Q      - Undo's the last operation.
· TAB           - Moves to the next string gadget.
· SHIFT+TAB     - Moves to the previous string gadget.
· HELP          - Brings up some context-sensitive help.

In  addition if you see a letter underlined in the string gadget name, this
denotes  a keyboard shortcut.  By pressing that letter you can activate the
gadget and start entering text.

Using  all  the above it is possible to run DiskManager 4.0 completely from
the keyboard.
@endnode

@node convent "Conventions Employed in DiskManager 4.0"

On all windows in DM, several ideas are carried through the whole program:

· The ESCAPE will usually close the current window.
· The main window stays open at all times.
· You can only quit DM when you are at the main window level.
· Underlined letters denote keyboard shortcuts.
· Press H or HELP to get some help.
@endnode

@node idformat "ID Format"

The  ID  Format option gives you a list of categories to choose from.  In a
similar  way  to  all  other  lists you can pick an item and edit it at the
bottom  of  the  list.   The  only  difference  here is when you click on a
category, the ID format appears instead of the category name.


But First... What Is An ID Format?

Good  question.   When you scan a disk, a default ID is generated in the ID
field.   This  default ID can be controlled to automatically generate an ID
that matches your system.

An  ID Format can contain any characters, which are just copied into the ID
when a disk is scanned.  However two characters have special meanings:

· #  -  Causes  a unique number (in the current category) to be copied into
the ID.

· $ - Causes a letter between A-Z to appear in the ID.

The  default  ID  as  you  will  see is #$ which will generate a completely
unique ID in the entire database.

Examples:

UTIL.# would generate IDS like UTIL.6, UTIL.23 etc.
SYS($)# would generate IDs like SYS(A)23, SYS(C)34 etc.

If in doubt about ID formats then just leave them at the defaults.
@endnode

@node presort "Pre-sort Database"

This  option  is  only useful if you have upgraded from DiskManagerIII.  In
DM3  disks  could  be sorted for the first time.  To maintain compatibility
with  DiskMan2  this  sorting  was performed "on the fly" every time a disk
record  was  loaded  in.   Although  the  sorting was very quick, on slower
Amigas and with large records there would be a speed penalty.

Now  in  DiskManager  4.0 records are sorted BEFORE they are saved to disk.
This  means they do not need sorting ever again.  Unfortunately if you have
converted  all  your records from DM3 then they WILL need sorting everytime
they  are  loaded  in.   Once  you  have got your DM3 records into DM4, you
should choose this option for each database that contains records.  Because
the  sorting  is  so  efficient  you  may only notice a slight improvement.
However  if you have a slow Amiga (any Amiga with no FAST mem and/or only a
68000) then this speed improvement is better than nothing.
@endnode

@node deletedatabase "Delete Database"

Choosing  this  option  will allow you to remove ALL entries in the current
category.  Be very careful with option as there is NO going back.

You have to confirm this option twice, so if you hit this option by mistake
you won't lose all your disks.
@endnode

@node searchspace "Search for DiskSpace"

This  option allows you to enter an amount in K (that is in 1000s of bytes)
which  you  want on a disk.  So if you wanted to see all disks with 50K (or
more) free you would type 50 into this string.

Choose  Start  Search and DM will produce a report that lists all the disks
with enough disk space.
@endnode

@node browse "The Browser"
Browse (Amiga-B)

This  window allows you to view everything in the current category.  It has
been  considerably  improved  from  previous  DMS and now has the following
gadgets at the bottom of the window:

· "<-" and "->" - move to previous/next record.

· "Pick Disks" - select all the disks you want to view.  This allows you to
view  the  1st,  10th,  87th  disks  without  having  to  view all the ones
in-between.   All the disks in the @{"Pick Disk" link pickdisk} window that are selected are
viewable  in  the  browser.  Note:  You can't deselect the current disk you
are viewing.

· "Wildcard"  -  allows  you to choose a select @{"pattern" link patterns} on all the files in
the currently displayed disk.

· "All"  and  "None"  -  selects/deselects  ALL  the files on the currently
displayed disk.

· "Strip"  -  removes  lots  of repeated entries on the currently displayed
disk.   Basically  if you had three files, fred.doc, fred and fred.bak then
two  of those files would be removed yet you could still search for "fred".

· "Rename" - gives you the chance to rename all the selected files.

· "Delete" - gives you the chance to delete all the selected files.

· "Disk  Label"  -  prints a disk label containing the first seven selected
files.  This works with any number of files (even none).

· "Disk Report" - creates a simple report (one line per file) of this disk.
The report viewer is used to display the results to you instantly.

The  rest  of  the  window  is  pretty self-explanatory and should not be a
problem.
@endnode