@database FloppyFlux.Guide
@master wip:FloppyFlux/FloppyFlux.Guide
@$VER: 1.1
@author "Andrew Bell"
@(c) "Copyright © 1999 Andrew Bell"
@width 76

@node "Main" "Welcome to the FloppyFlux help guide."

                      Guide to FloppyFlux version 1.1

            Copyright © 1999 Andrew Bell. All rights reserved.


 @{" Introduction  " link "INTRODUCTION" 0}  An introduction to FloppyFlux.
 @{" Features      " link "FEATURES" 0}  To tempt you :)

 @{" Legal         " link "LEGAL" 0}  Important DISCLAIMER, DISTRIBUTION & COPYRIGHT info.

 @{" Installation  " link "INSTALLATION" 0}  How to install the software.
 @{" Requirements  " link "REQUIREMENTS" 0}  What you need to use this program.
 @{" Usage         " link "USAGE" 0}  How to use the program.

 @{" Limitations   " link "LIMITATIONS" 0}  What the program can't do.
 @{" History       " link "HISTORY" 0}  Development hostory of this program.
 @{" Future        " link "FUTURE" 0}  What the author might add in the future.

 @{" FAQ           " link "FAQ" 0}  Problem solver.

 @{" Author        " link "AUTHOR" 0}  About the author (Hey, that's me!)
 @{" Credits       " link "CREDITS" 0}  Credit info and thanks.
@endnode

@node "INTRODUCTION" "Introduction"

@{b} Introduction to FloppyFlux@{ub}

 @{b}@{i}Short introduction:@{ub}@{ui}

 FloppyFlux is a floppy disk backup program that lets you store old
 floppy disks on your harddrive as 900K disk images.

 @{b}@{i}Long introduction:@{ub}@{ui}

 Have you had your Amiga for so long that you've built up a large collection
 of old floppy disks, and no matter how hard you try to keep them good, they
 still manage to get read/write errors?

 Do you have millions of old mega-demo disks, PD disks, magazine disks,
 etc. that you never use much, but you'd still like to hold a copy of, on
 your harddrive, so that you can write them back to another (good) floppy
 at a later date?

 If you answer yes to any of the above questions, FloppyFlux might be the
 program for you. If your harddrive has loads of free space, you can now
 quickly store your old floppies as 900K "disk images". You can even
 compress these disk images to save some space, if you have XPK installed.

 Please read the following points before starting the program:

 1. FloppyFlux does not just "copy" files off your floppies, but instead
    reads the whole disk and dumps it to a file (disk image), on your
    harddrive. This means that non-standard disk formats can be backed up
    too.

 2. FloppyFlux is not a replacement for DMS. FloppyFlux is designed for
    private users wishing to store their old floppies, and is not
    designed for creating disk images that are going to be distributed.

 3. Although FloppyFlux can read some types of non-DOS disks, it cannot
    backup protected disk, such as old commercial games like Shadow Of
    The Beast 2, Turrican 2, Overdrive, Project-X, etc. And it never
    will be able to backup these kinds of disks - period.

    Only disks that can be read by the trackdisk.device can be stored.
    This means that DOS disks, most magazine coverdisk, most mega-demos,
    most PD disks and so on, can be stored.

 4. Only double density (DD) disks can be stored, and not high density (HD)
    disks. This should not be a problem for most Amiga users because double
    density disks are more common, but anyone attempting to back up a high
    density disk on a high density drive should be aware of this.

 5. You need a lot of harddrive space. Each standard Amiga DD (double
    density) disk image requires about 901120 bytes of harddrive space. If
    you have the XPK system installed and have lots of free memory plus a
    fast CPU, you can compress the incoming disk images, so that they'll
    take up less harddrive space.
@endnode

@node "INSTALLATION" "Installation"

 @{b}Installation@{ub}

 You must have the gtlayout.library system installed on your system. This
 can be found on the Aminet at dev/gui/gtlayout.lha.

 If you have the XPK (v5+) system installed, then you can take advantage
 of the compression/decopression features provided by FloppyFlux. But XPK
 is not required.

 The XPK system can be found on the Aminet at util/pack/xpk_User.lha.

 After extracting the archive, just drag (in WB) the FloppyFlux drawer to
 where you want it.
 
 Or if you're using a file manager just copy the drawer (with its icon) to
 where you want it.

 Make sure the drive that FloppyFlux resides on has a lot of free space.
 
 That's it! No need for any assigns or modifications to your user-startup.
@endnode

@node "USAGE" "Usage"

 Using the program is straight forward. Here are the windows that
 you will encounter.

 @{" The main window             " link "WINDOW_MAIN" 0} This is the first window you see.
 @{" The image attributes window " link "WINDOW_IMAGEATTR" 0} Edit the details of a disk image.
 @{" The settings window         " link "WINDOW_SETTINGS" 0} Configure the settings for FloppyFlux.
 @{" The information window      " link "WINDOW_INFORMATION" 0} Show some information regarding FloppyFlux.

 All of the incoming disk images are stored in the @{"DiskImages drawer" link "IMAGEDRAWER" 0}.
@endnode

@node "HISTORY" "History"

@{b}@{i} The history of FloppyFlux (new entries are at the top)@{ub}@{ui}

 1.1 (Sun/25/Apr/1999)

  · First working version.

@endnode

@node "FUTURE" "Future"

 The future of this program depends on the amount of feedback I get from
 the users of this program (hey! that's you! :). If I get 5 e-mails, I
 doubt that any more releases will be likely, but if I get say, about 20
 e-mails, I *WILL* continue the public development of this program. There's
 not much point in me creating installer scripts, writing guide files,
 uploading, etc. if there's nobody downloading my programs, is there?

 @{b}Some features that I might add in future releases.@{ub}

 · Special index files for faster directory scanning.

 · A hide feature.

 · The ability to specify location of the disk image directory.

 · The ability to specify a different DiskImage drawer location.
 
 Send your suggestions via e-mail to: @{b}@{i}andrew.ab2000@bigfoot.com@{ub}@{ui}
@endnode

@node "AUTHOR" "Author"

 If you have have suggestions on how to improve this program, or if you
 have any problems/bug reports please contact the author (Andrew Bell) at:

 andrew.ab2000@bigfoot.com (Andrew Bell)

 or visit my website for the latest updates of this program:

 http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/ab2000

 You will be able to find the C source code to this program at this URL
 shortly.

@endnode

@node "REQUIREMENTS" "Requirements"

 To use this program the following Amiga setup is required:

 @{b}Your Amiga setup:@{ub}

 GTLayout.library (available on Aminet at dev/gui/gtlayout.lha)
 Amiga OS 3.0+ (exec.library v39+)
 At least a MC68020 CPU.
 A harddrive, size depends on how many images you will be storing.
 Some fastram is also recommended.

 @{b}Optional:@{ub}

 The XPK system version 5.0+ (only if you want compression).
 (this is available on the Aminet at util/pack/xpk_user.lha)
 About 2 MB of fastram to use the compression features.

 @{i}Note: Different XPK packer sublibs (methods) may demand different
 system requirements. For example, some might need more memory than
 others or some might require a faster CPU.@{ui}

 @{i}Note2: The gtlayout.library and XPK systems have not been included
 in the FloppyFlux package for bandwidth reasons.@{ui}

@endnode

@node "LIMITATIONS" "Limitations"

 @{b}Current limitations of the program@{ub}

 · Does not support HD (high density) floppy disks, only DD (double
   density) type.

 · Source drives limited to: DF0, DF1, DF2 and DF3.

 · Compression of disk images requires a lot of memory. About 2MB of fast.
   (Most serious Amiga user should have more than 16MB these days!)

 · It cannot backup copy protected disks, and never will. This is because
   most copy protected disk (ie: games) have their own special disk format
   and most use their own custom MFM decoding routines along with
   non-standard sync words. Such disks are designed to be as anti-
   trackdisk.device as possible and are therefor not supported.
@endnode

@node "FAQ" "FAQ"

 @{b}@{i}Q: What's a Disk Image?@{ub}@{ui}

 A: A disk image is a special file that you can store on your harddrive. It
    contains all the data from a floppy disk, allowing you to "recreate"
    that floppy disk at a later date. Each image is about 901K when not
    compressed.

 @{b}@{i}Q: How big of a harddrive do I need to use FloppyFlux?@{ub}@{ui}

 A: This depends on how many disks you're going to store. A standard Amiga
    double density (DD) disk image requires 901120 (901K) bytes of
    harddrive space.

    This size is calculated with (TRACKSIZE * 11) * AMTOFTRACKS. Where 
    TRACKSIZE is 512 bytes and AMTOFTRACKS is 160 tracks, 80 on the upper
    disk surface and another 80 on the lower disk surface.

    So for example if you wanted to store twenty disks this would require
    901120 * 20 bytes, which is 18022400 bytes, about 18MB. But if you have
    disk image compression turned on, then this figure will be smaller.

@{b}@{i} Q: Why can't I backup my old commercial Amiga games?@{ub}@{ui}

 A: Most old Amiga games that came on floppy disks are copy protected. This
    means that the data is stored in such a way that conventional
    (trackdisk.device) methods cannot access it. This stops people from
    making pirate copies of the game with a disk copier.

 @{b}@{i}Q: What is the trackdisk.device?@{ub}@{ui}

 A: A special Amiga device controller that allows applications such as
    FloppyFlux to read/write information from/to the floppy drives (DF0:
    DF1: DF2: and DF3).

@{b}@{i} Q: What is XPK?@{ub}@{ui}

 A: XPK is data compression system for the Amiga, that is stored in
    the LIBS: directory of your Amiga. It is used by FloppyFlux to
    compress the disk images you are storing.

@endnode

@node "FEATURES" "Features"

 @{b}Features (maybe one day this list will get bigger :)@{ub}

 · Store your old floppies as disk images on your hardrive.

 · Quickly save your floppy images back to floppy disk.

 · Compress all of your stored disk images with XPK.

 · Font sensitve GUI. Uses the gtlayout.library system.

 · Easy to use.

 · Errm, that's all I can think of!
@endnode

@node "CREDITS" "Credits"

@{b} CREDITS:@{ub}

 Design & Programming   : Andrew Bell

 GUI layout engine      : Olaf `Olsen' Barthel

 Thanks to the gtlayout library, I was able to design the GUI very quickly,
 thanks to Olaf for developing this library. It was a great help!

 XPK compression system : Dirk Stöcker,
                          Christian von Roques,
                          Urban Dominik Müller &
                          Bryan Ford.

 Thanks to these people for the their work on the XPK system.

 Also thanks must go to Phil Vedovatti for his NewIcons. The icons for
 the FloppyFlux document files were taken from the AESicon8 package, which
 is available from the Aminet at pix/nicon/AESicons8.lha.

@{b} COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:@{ub}

@{i} FloppyFlux@{ui} and all related files are Copyright © 1999 Andrew Bell.

@{i} gtlayout.library@{ui} is Copyright © 1998 Olaf `Olsen' Barthel

@{i} xpkmaster.library@{ui} is Copyright © 1999 Dirk Stöcker,
                                       Christian von Roques,
                                       Urban Dominik Müller &
                                       Bryan Ford.
@endnode

@node "WINDOW_MAIN" "The main window"

 @{b}@{i}The main window@{ub}@{ui}

 This is the first window that's opened. From here you can maintain
 your floppy disk collection. The large box in the middle of the
 window is known as the image listview. This listview shows all of
 the floppy images that you have stored, along with their sizes in
 bytes.

@{i} Note: The actual disk image files that are listed in the listview are
 stored in a directory called "DiskImages", which is located in the
 same directory as the FloppyFlux executable.@{ui}

 Also on the main window are the following gadgets:

 @{b}[ Drive ]@{ub}

 Change the current drive. Change this to the floppy drive that you want
 to work from. If you initiate any floppy disk IO, then FloppyFlux will
 attempt to use this floppy unit.

 Currently you can select one of the following floopy units:

 DF0, DF1, DF2 or DF3.

 DF0 is normally the internal drive, DF1 is first external drive that you
 have connected, and so on.

 @{b}[ Read Image ]@{ub}

 Press this to begin reading a disk. Before the actual disk is read, the
 @{"image attribute window" link "WINDOW_IMAGEATTR" 0} will be displayed. From here you can enter some
 details about the disk. You MUST supply a name before you can continue!

 Once you have finished, press the Accept button. If no disk is present
 in the current drive, a requester will open asking you to insert one.

 From hereon a progress window will appear showing how much of the disk
 has been read. If you have the image compression option selected in the
 @{"settings window" link "WINDOW_SETTINGS" 0} the disk image will be compressed after the reading is
 has finished.

 At anytime you may abort this operation by pressing the Abort button or
 by closing the progress window.

 @{b}[ Write Image ]@{ub}

 Pressing this button will let you write one of your previously stored
 disk images to a floppy. You must select one of the entries in the list
 before pressing this button. If a disk has not been inserted into the
 current drive, you will be asked for one.

 From hereon a progress window will appear showing how much of the disk
 image has been save to the floppy disk.

 At anytime you may abort this operation by pressing the Abort button or
 by closing the progress window.

 @{b}[ Edit ]@{ub}

 Pressing this button will open the @{"image attribute window" link "WINDOW_IMAGEATTR" 0} that will let
 you modify the details of the currently selected disk image.

 @{b}[ Delete ]@{ub}

 By pressing this button, you can get rid of the currently selected disk
 image. But remember, you cannot get it back!

 @{b}[ Delete All ]@{ub}

 This is the same as the delete button, but instead of deleting just one
 image, all images are deleted. Be very careful with this button!

 @{b}[ Info ]@{ub}

 By pressing this button you can open the @{"information window" link "WINDOW_INFORMATION" 0}. This window
 gives you various details and statistics.

 @{b}[ Rescan ]@{ub}

 Press this button to force FloppyFlux to rescan the @{"DiskImages drawer" link "IMAGEDRAWER" 0}
 for images. This drawer is located in the same drawer as the FloppyFlux
 executable. This button can come in handy when the contents of the
 "DiskImages" drawer has changed.

 @{b}[ Status gadget ]@{ub}

 This is a small recessed box that displays some basic information, such
 as current operations that are being carried out by FloppyFlux.

 When you click on one of the disk image entries in the main listview
 gadget, the comment of that particular image will be displayed here.

 @{b}[ About ]@{ub}

 This display the current version of the program and copyright/credit
 information.

 @{b}[ Settings ]@{ub}

 By pressing this button, you can open the @{"settings window" link "WINDOW_SETTINGS" 0}.

 @{b}[ Quit ]@{ub}

 You can exit FloppyFlux by pressing this button.
@endnode

@node "WINDOW_IMAGEATTR" "The image attributes window"

 @{b}The image attribute window@{ub}

 This window lets you edit the attributes of a disk image. To open it,
 you can press the Edit button or create a new disk image by pressing
 the Read button, both buttons are located on the @{"main window" link "WINDOW_MAIN" 0}.

 In the window you will see the following gadgets:

 @{b}[ Name ]@{ub}

 From here, you can enter the name of the disk image. This name will
 be used as the actual disk image's file name in the disk image drawer,
 so you must not use any non-standard characters such as "/" or ":".

 FloppyFlux with complain if the filename is empty or invalid.

 @{b}[ Comment ]@{ub}

 Write a short (max. 80 characters) comment about the disk image. This
 comment is stored in the actual disk image's file comment.

 You may leave this comment blank.

 @{b}[ Accept ]@{ub}

 Press this button when you're happy with the information that you've
 entered.

 If the filename is invalid, the you won't be able to continue until
 it's fixed, unless you press the Cancel button.

 @{b}[ Cancel ]@{ub}

 Press this if you have changed your mind and don't want to edit the
 attributes anymore, anything you've modified in the attribute window
 will be lost.
@endnode

@node "WINDOW_SETTINGS" "The settings window"

 @{b}The settings window@{ub}

 This window can be opened by pressing the Settings button that's
 located on the main window.

 From this window you can configure various settings for FloppyFlux. Saving
 these settings will result in a file called "FloppyFlux.Config" being
 created/updated in the same drawer as the main FloppyFlux executable.

 @{b}[Compress all incoming disk images]@{ub}

 Tick this check box to activate XPK compression. Every time you tick this
 check box, FloppyFlux attempts to open the xpkmaster.library, but only
 if it failed to open it at startup

 XPK compresssion is used for compressing and decompressing disk images
 that are stored in the disk images drawer. When using it, you can
 select a method and a mode (see below) to suit your requirements.

 To use XPK compression, you need the xpkmaster.library installed on your
 system. The full package can be found on the Aminet, refer to the XPK
 documentation for details on how to install it.

 @{b}[XPK method list]@{ub}

 This listview gadget contains a list of available XPK methods. Use the
 mouse button to highlight a method entry in the list. This method will
 be used to compress all incoming disk images.

 @{b}[XPK compression mode]@{ub}

 You can selected an XPK compression mode, from 1 to 100. Normally the
 larger this value, the better compression the method performs, but
 this normally means that the compression gets slower.

 @{b}[Settings status gadget]@{ub}

 This recessed box is used by the settings window to display information.
 In particular, it will display information on an XPK method you have just
 selected.

 @{b}[Save]@{ub}

 Save & use the configuration, then close the window.

 @{b}[Use]@{ub}

 Use the configuration (but don't save), then close the window.

 @{b}[Cancel]@{ub}

 Disregard all settings changed by the user and resort to the previous
 settings. The settings window will also be closed.
@endnode

@node "WINDOW_INFORMATION" "The information window"

 @{b}The information window@{ub}

 This is a small simple window that lets you view some statistics and
 details that are associated with FloppyFlux.

 @{i}Note: If you have a lot of disk images stored, opening this window might
 result in a short pause. This is due to FloppyFlux searching for compressed
 disk images.@{ui}

 Currently the following details are displayed:

 The total amount of disk images (including compressed images).
 The total amount of bytes used by the disk images.
 The total amount of XPK compressed disk images.
 The current version of the XPK system installed.

 To exit from this window, you may press the Continue button or press
 the window's close gadget (upper left-hand corner).
@endnode

@node "LEGAL" "Legal"

 @{b}Legal information@{ub}

 @{"  DISCLAIMER  " link "LEGAL_DISCLAIMER" 0} YOU MUST READ THIS BEFORE USING THE PROGRAM.
 @{" DISTRIBUTION " link "LEGAL_DISTRIBUTION" 0} Details on how to distribute this software.

 FloppyFlux is GIFTWARE, if you use it often, please consider sending the
 author a gift. For example, if you have created you own shareware program
 you could send me a registered version of it.

 @{b}Copyright@{ub}

 @{i}FloppyFlux@{ui} and all related files are Copyright © 1999 Andrew Bell.

 @{i}gtlayout.library@{ui} is Copyright © 1998 Olaf `Olsen' Barthel

 @{i}xpkmaster.library@{ui} is Copyright © 1999 Dirk Stöcker,
                                       Christian von Roques,
                                       Urban Dominik Müller &
                                       Bryan Ford.
@endnode

@node "LEGAL_DISCLAIMER" "Disclaimer"

 DISCLAIMER
 
 FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS DISCLAIMER, "SOFTWARE" REFERS TO ALL THE FILES
 PROVIDED IN THE ORIGINAL ARCHIVE DISTIBUTED BY THE AUTHOR.

 THIS DISCLAIMER APPLYS TO ALL WHO USE THIS SOFTWARE.

 THE AUTHOR HAS DONE HIS BEST TO ENSURE THAT THIS SOFTWARE IS FREE FROM
 DEFECTS, ALTHOUGH THE AUTHOR CANNOT GUARANTEE THIS. THE AUTHOR HEREBY
 REJECTS ANY LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE OR OTHER CONSEQUENCES
 FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO,
 DAMAGE TO YOUR EQUIPMENT, TO YOUR DATA, TO OTHER COMPUTERS / DEVICES
 YOUR COMPUTER IS CONNECTED TO, PERSONNAL INJURY, FINANCIAL LOSS OR OTHER
 EFFECTS.

 THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS-IS. THIS MEANS THE AUTHOR CANNOT GUARANTEE
 THAT IT IS FIT FOR ANY SPECIFIC PURPOSE AND THE AUTHOR DOES NOT GUARANTEE
 BUG FIXES, UPDATES OR HELP DURING ERROR RECOVERY.
@endnode

@node "LEGAL_DISTRIBUTION" "Distribution"

 @{b}DISTRIBUTION TERMS OF THIS SOFTWARE@{ub}

 This software is giftware, which means that this archive can be freely
 distributed provided it's components are not altered or deleted by anyone
 other than the copyright holder (Andrew Bell). It also means if you use
 the software often you should send the author a gift.

 Distribution via diskette, CD-ROM or other electronic medium is allowed
 provided the archive is distributed in it's original state, and that the
 end user is not charged for this software (Although you are allowed to
 charge them for the medium it is supplied on).

 Executable files should only be used for the purpose intended.
 Reassembling, reverse-engineering, translating and patching should be
 regarded as a breach of copyright.

 If you are going to distribute this software via a magazine cover mounted
 medium, I recommend that you contact the author for the latest version of
 the software.
@endnode

@node "IMAGEDRAWER" "The disk image drawer"

 @{b}The disk image drawer@{ub}

 This is a special directory that is created/used by FloppyFlux. It's
 where the user's disk images are stored. This drawer is located in the
 same directory as the main FloppyFlux executable.

 This directory reflects the main image listview, located on the
 @{"main window" link "WINDOW_MAIN" 0}. Each file in here is a disk image, if the user has the XPK
 compression option selected in the settings window, then some of these
 images might be compressed.

 All images in this drawer should be 901120 bytes in length, apart from
 compessed images, instead these should decompress to exactly 901120
 bytes. If you're going to copy images directly into this drawer, you
 must make sure that the files match this length! If not, FloppyFlux may
 complain!
@endnode