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T U R B O F I L E M A N A G E R V 1.21 F O R T A G B B S
Copyright(C) 1992 - Royale Software, All rights reserved.
Written by: Mike Normand for TAG 2.6 and Higher
Table of Contents:
------------------
Chapter Description - Page -
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Packing List .................................................. 1
About Turbo File Manager ...................................... 1
Credits ....................................................... 1
Warranty ...................................................... 2
License Agreement and Copyright ............................... 2
System Requirements ........................................... 2
Support Information ........................................... 2
Setup Instructions ............................................ 3
Using TurboFM ................................................. 4
The Move Command .............................................. 5
The Offline Command ........................................... 6
The Remove Command ............................................ 6
The Delete Command ............................................ 6
The Erase Command ............................................. 6
Log Functions ................................................. 6
Multi-Node Concerns ........................................... 7
Registration Information ...................................... 8
BBS Support Site .............................................. 8
Turbo File Manager - Page 1 -
Packing List:
-------------
The following files should be included in this archive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TURBOFM .DOC 22349 08-08-92 TurboFM Main Documentation
TURBOFM .EXE 32488 08-08-92 TurboFM Main Program
SETUP121.EXE 5609 08-08-92 TurboFM Configuration Program
REGISTER.TXT 1323 08-08-92 Registration Information
ERROR .LST 913 08-08-92 Program Error Codes
100-121 .DOC 1356 08-08-92 Conversion from 1.0(a) to 1.21
WHATSNEW.121 938 08-08-92 Changes from the previous version
----------------------------------------------------------------------
About Turbo File Manager:
-------------------------
The Turbo File Manager Program was designed to make the life of a
sysop/co-sysop easier. Every aspect of the program has been geared
towards making an active file system an easy task to manage. This
documentation is an explanation of this program alone. If you do not
know how to use the TAG files system or the TAG menu system then you
will need to read the TAG manual regarding those features before
installing this program.
Like so many other utilities, TurboFM evolved to fill a definate need of
the Tag BBS sysop. After hearing other sysops request a simple and more
effective way of moving files around while logged on to the bbs, the
first beta of TurboFM was developed....from there many modifications have
been made to the program which have helped it to become one of the best
ways to manage your BBS files section area.
What this program does is make the files system in TAG much easier to
manage. It adds needed commands to the Tag File system that allow you
to Move, Delete, Offline, Remove and Erase files using wildcards. Best
of all TurboFM is a FAST program. It was one of the biggest concerns to
make a program that not only worked well, but one that didn't need input
from the user at every step of the way. Many other programs do the same
type of things as TurboFM, but unfortunately you were not able to use
them while logged onto the BBS and none of them worked from a Remote
location while logged onto the system. Worse yet, some of the programs
were outdated with the new editions and new features of the BBS software.
TurboFM is compatible with all of the new features of Tag 2.6c, such as
placing the *.dir files in the Gfiles directory (MultiNode Dir too), and
as the sysop you can restrict access to some of the functions of the
program. In other words, you could give your co-sysops access to move
files but not the access to delete them. But best of all, this program
works exactly like the TAG system that you are already familiar with, and
you don't have to exit the BBS in order for it to run.
Credits:
--------
Before going any further, thanks go out to all the people that help with
the programming of the TAG BBS software. They have given us a wonderful
program to use. The *BETA* testers of TurboFM should also deserve to be
thanked for all of thier help and suggestions.
Turbo File Manager - Page 2 -
Warranty
--------
No warranty is expressed or implied. Use this software at your own
risk. The author of TurboFM can not be held responsible for the use
or misuse of this software. Please read the documentation carefully
before setting up this program on your BBS.
License Agreement and Copyright
-------------------------------
You may freely evaluate this program during the evaluation period as
set by the programmer in each release version. The current version
will function until Sep. 16, 1992. If you have not registered the
program by this date the program will discontinue working.
This program may be freely distributed so long as all the original
files are left unmodified, no files have been added or removed from
the original archive, and no fee is charged.
TurboFM is not, and never has been, Public Domain, it is copyrighted
1992, by Royale Software and Mike Normand.
System Requirements
-------------------
Basically if you have TAG working on your system then TurboFM will work.
TurboFM reads the STATUS.DAT file from the directory that it is dropped
to when execute the program from a batch file. If the Status.Dat file
cannot be found in this directory then the program will not work.
This software has been tested to run fine using various versions of DOS
and using hardware from a 286 to a 486. If you are having problems with
the program and you feel that it is not your own error then please
contact me so that I may make any necessary changes.
Support Information
-------------------
If you need to contact the author regarding any problems or questions
with this program, then he may be reached at Castle Royale BBS in
Allen Park, MI. Phone 313-382-3996 or Node 1:120/359 on the FidoNet
system. A Royale Software Support Echo is available for those who are
interested in knowing the latest news and information regarding any of
Royale Software's newest TAG BBS utilities. The Echo Tag name is
ROYALE_SOFTWARE. If this Echo is not available in your area then it may
be picked up from Castle Royale 24 hours a day, providing that prior
arrangements have been made. For your convenience, this information will
be repeated at the end of this file.
Turbo File Manager - Page 3 -
Setup Information
-----------------
TurboFM is a very easy program to setup on your BBS system. You will
need to make a directory off of the Main BBS directory and name it
TURBOFM. Place the TurboFM.EXE directory (ex C:\BBS\TURBOFM). Then
place the SETUPxxx.exe program in the directory that contains the
Status.Dat file. Now run the SETUPxxx.EXE program and the TURBOFM.CFG
for this Node will be created for you along with 5 Batch files. The
created files are set up to run TurboFM in a directory named TURBOFM
located off of the main BBS directory, if you chose to run the program
from any other directory you will have to edit the Batch files so that
they choose the correct directory. (Multi Node BBS User see the Multi
Node section at the end of this text)
Now that all of the DOS based setup has been done you will need to load
up TAG and make the actual commands on the File System Menu which will
start the program.
Go into the Tag Menu Editor for the Files area and make five new menu
commands. You will then need to edit the commands so that they contain
the correct information for each of the five functions of the program.
You can set the access levels and flags as you see fit, but the Pkey and
Pdata must be entered correctly. Here is an example to follow:
Command number : 41
1. Long desc. : TurboFM Move Command
2. Short desc. : (/TM)Turbo Move
3. Key : /TM
4. General SL : 150
5. AR flag : S
6. Program Key : H
7. Program Data : "$?!OPTION-M"
F. Flags : SL access, GSL and AR, Normal, No Linking
Just repeat this format for the other 4 commands, using the different
options (-E,-O,-R,-D). Make sure that you have the $?! part of the
command in the correct order. Tag does not like that command segment
to be out of order.
With this done, TurboFM is setup!
NOTE: It is not necessary to use all five of the commands of the
program. TurboFM was made specifically so that you, as sysop of the
BBS, could determine which commands you wanted to use, and also
determine what access to give the commands.
Turbo File Manager - Page 4 -
Using TurboFM
-------------
Using TurboFM is very simple. Once you have the commands setup on your
system you simply need to type the key that starts that command. Once you
have used the program a couple of times it becomes second nature. This
is because every effort was made to keep the same feel that you are
already used to.
Typing the command /TM (Turbo Move) will produce a statement from Tag
that tells you that 'Wildcards accepted' and then it will prompt you for
the name of a file. You must then enter the name of a file that is in
the directory area that you are currently in. This is no different than
the regular Tag program, meaning that if you want to move files from area
3 to area 7 you must be in area 3 and the file that you want to move must
be located in area 3.
The filename that you type in at the prompt is then passed to the
program when it loads. For example, if you want to move all the files
that match TAG?????.ZIP you could just enter TAG*.ZIP and the program
would then know that it was working with those files.
If you type in the name of a file that does not appear in the area that
you are in you will be returned to the menu prompt. You can use any
combination of asterick (*) or question mark (?) wild card characters to
activate the program, even things like *.* are acceptable.
Now that you have an idea of how to setup and operate the program, lets
examine how the various commands of the program operate in a little
more detail.
Turbo File Manager - Page 5 -
The Move Command
----------------
The TurboFM Move command is the fastest way to move files from one area
of the BBS to another area. It uses some advanced logic so that it is
able to move the files using the least amount of work, and since wild
cards are accepted, it is not necessary to reply to a prompt for each
single file move.
Upon invoking the Move command you will be shown the list of files that
match the filename that you entered. If the files shown are the ones
that you want to move then you only need to tell the program what area
to move them to and it will do the rest for you.
Should you forget the area number that you want to move the files into
you can use the ? command and get a listing of all the file areas.
(SYSOP NOTE: Users on the system are only shown the file areas that they
have access to....so TurboFM works just like TAG in that it uses dynamic
numbering, and it allows you to preserve the access of restricted areas).
Once you enter the area to move the files to, TurboFM takes over and
moves all the selected files into that area. You are not required to
reconfirm that you want to move the files again and again, the program
just moves them. Please note that it moves all the files that are
selected. So if you only want to move a few files make sure that you
give the progam the correct file name so that it will only select the
ones that you actually want moved.
If the move request that you are making required TurboFM to move files
from one drive to another (ie C: to D:) then the program will use the
filesize from the Tag *.dir file to determine if the selected files
will fit on the Target drive. If the files will fit they are moved
automatically, however if there is a size problem you will be warned
and asked if you want to proceed with the move.
The reason behind asking if you wish to proceed comes from the fact that
many sysops have thier files offline, but the Tag *.dir files still
show the files as if they were actual size. In order to make the program
work faster, it reads the file sizes from the Tag file listings rather
than from the actual disk drives.
Also along those same lines, if the file sizes of the selected files as
read from the *.dir file total up to 0 blocks, then those files are
assumed to be offline and no effort is made to move the file, only the
directory listing is moved to the new area.
As an added feature of the program, whenever you move files, the Target
area is then sorted into Name/Ascending order. In future versions of
the program sorting may be optional, and it may also include the ability
to select the method of the sort.
For safety sake, (memory wise that is) TurboFM does not attempt to sort
an area that has more than 2000 files. If you happen to have one single
*.dir file that has more than 2000 files, I would seriously recommend
that you split it up into smaller and more manageable sizes.
Turbo File Manager - Page 6 -
The Offline Command
-------------------
This command allows you to mark the selected files as OFFLINE. This is
done by setting the blocks file size to zero. Again the wild card
characters may be used to select multiple files. This is a nice feature
of the program, because most utils that are currently available only
allow you to Offline all the files in one dir file. This program will
allow you to be more selective.
The Remove Command
------------------
This command takes the selected files and removes thier listings from
the *.dir file. The files on the Hard Drives are not touched and will
remain intact. You are asked to confirm this action before it is
performed.
The Delete Command
------------------
This command is the exact opposite of the previous command. This one
allows you to delete the selected files from the Hard Drive, while
leaving the directory information intact. This is useful if you are
planning to make files offline. However, the block size of the files
is left at its current value, so if you prefer to leave the file sizes
intact you will be able to do so. You are asked to confirm this action
before it is performed.
The Erase Command
-----------------
This command is nothing more than the previous two commands combined.
The selected files are deleted from the Hard Drive and thier directory
info is also removed. As usual, you are requested to confirm this
action before it is performed.
Log Functions
-------------
It is possible to log all of the actions of the program. In order to
turn this option on you only need to add a /L onto the end of the
command line that is loading the TurboFM program. By making the Log
file optional it is possible to log file moves, but to opt not to log
file deletions, or vice-versa. The included batch files all have the
log file option turned on, so if you do not want the program to log its
work then you will have to edit the batch files to remove the /L switch.
In registered versions of the program you can choose the path and
file name of the log file that you wish to use for the program. Simply
enter the path and filename of the log file in the TurboFM.cfg file on
the third line of that file. If the file that you choose does not exist
then it will be made for you. Unregistered versions log file will be the
sysop.log regardless of the information contained in the TurboFM.cfg
file.
Turbo File Manager - Page 7 -
Multi-Node Concerns
-------------------
With the release of Tag 2.6c and 2.6c1 there is now a multi-node version
of this software, and with that come some interesting programming
situations. Since the majority of the BBS systems are still running a
single node, it was felt that it would be better to release this program
now, rather than waiting until I had the multinode version finished.
This program is aware of *.dir files that are located in the Multi-Node
directory, so it will work on a multi-node system, but no work has been
done to make this a 'Share Aware' program and therefore it is recommended
that you only use this program while there are no other users online.
Provisions are being made to have a fully multi-node compatible version
of this program available soon. Everyone should be reminded that it took
the Tag Team about a year to make Tag multi line, so dont get too
frustrated if a month or two is needed to make the program work the way
it should under a multi user system.
Single line BBS systems can use this program 100%!
To run the program on a Multi-User system you need to have one
TURBOFM.CFG file for every node that you have. Each config file must
exist in the same directory as the Status.Dat file for that node.
(I am not sure if you have to have batch files for each node at this
point, but they are only about 55 bytes each so if you duplicate them
it wouldn't be a bad idea)
TurboFM works the same way as Tag in that it will search for the User.lst
and the Fboards.dat files in the Gfiles directory, and if they cannot be
found in that area then they will be looked for in the Multi Node dir.
If they still cannot be found then the program will abort.
Care must be taken not to use the program while users are on line due
to the fact that there are many things that can be done to conflict
between the nodes. TurboFM only READS the Status.Dat file, User.Lst,
and Fboards.Dat files. They are not written to in any way, so the
likely hood of something bad happening to them is remote. However, the
*.dir files are heavily manipulated and unforseen things can happen if
two people try to access the same file at the same time.
Suffice to say that you have been warned....a fully compatible Share
Aware version is in the works...just be carefull with this one until
that one is completely finished.
Again...Single Node systems may use the Program 100%
Turbo File Manager - Page 8 -
Registration Information
------------------------
Registration for this program is only $10.00. When you are ready to
register this program then you will need to send a check or money order
to the author for that amount. Include with it the name of your BBS
system, exactly as it appears in the Status.Dat file. Also include
either your mailing address, or a Fido Net Node number to which an
updated config file can be sent. If you provide a Fido Net Node number,
the author will pay for the phone call to send you the new config file.
Send your check or money order payable to Mike Normand to:
Mike Normand P.O. Box 164 Allen Park, MI 48101
BBS Support Site
----------------
Thats all there is to say regarding this utility program. If you have
any bugs to report, or if you have any suggestions for the program then
you can contact the support BBS.
Castle Royale
Allen Park, MI - (313) 382-3996
US Robotics 16.8 Dual Standard Modem
2400 - 16800 bps - 24 Hrs / 7 Days
FidoNet Address - 1:120/359
If you are interested in picking up the Royale_Software support echo
then send a Net Mail message and it will be turned on for you.
Enjoy the program!