ExpressCopy Demo Version 1.0 Documentation The following sections are excerpts from the ExpressCopy Manual which describe ExpressCopy and provide information on how to use the Demo. The following files must be present in the same directory for the Demo to run: XCO, XCO.info, XCO.doc, XCO.ham, and EWXCO You must also have the program RUN in your assigned C: directory. 1.0 Introduction ExpressCopy (XCO) is designed to rapidly copy directories and files from a source directory path to the destination 3.5" Floppy Disk(s). XCO can perform HD backups at up to 1MB/min, 600K Bytes/min with verify of backup disks. XCO is unique in that the disks it creates are compatible with either the Standard FileSystem or the Fast FileSystem included with Workbench 1.3. The advantage of XCO is that the disks that it creates have the same directory paths and files as the source directory, and the files can be used normally. Why is this an advantage? What if your HardDisk failed and was not available for several weeks. With ExpressCopy, the files saved on the backup disks XCO creates can be used normally, giving you easy access to those important files you need, until your HardDisk is repaired and you can restore the backup disks to the Hard Disk. Besides using XCO for backup of your HardDisk, it also comes in handy when you need to copy a large number of files from HardDisk to floppy disk(s). Search parameters can be specifed to limit which files are copied. You can eliminate files which have the archive bit set, files whose DateStamp is prior to a date and/or time you enter, and filenames which do not match a filename pattern you specify. If the source files will not fit on a single disk, you will be prompted for additional disks as needed to complete the copy. XCO allows you to use up to 4 disk drives to make additional copies of the disks XCO creates when performing a copy. XCO also allows you to alternate between up to 4 disk drives. Once XCO has begun copying to a disk, it will prompt you to insert disks into any alternate drives it will use. This allows you to pre-load disks so that you will not be bothered as often to feed XCO disks, and speeds up the backup slightly. XCO will automatically detect, and completely format and verify a new disk. For your protection, XCO will ask you if you wish to over-write any valid DOS disks you insert. XCO can also copy files that are larger than a single disk can hold. XCO allows you to set the ARCHIVE protection bit of the source files to help make incremental backups easier. XCO was designed to allow you to multi-task effectively. You can adjust the programs priority while it's running. You can HALT XCO if needed, and use the floppy drives normally. When you RESUME copying, XCO will check to make sure the correct disks are inserted, and if necessary, ask you to insert the correct disks. If XCO comes across a file or directory that it can't access because it is in use, it will give you a chance to finish whatever you were working on, then try to access the dir/file that was in use, or you can skip the dir or file. XCO can be used from either the CLI or Workbench. XCO also has the ability to load/save configuration files specifying parameters for backups or copies you perform frequently. If desired, XCO will create a Project Icon for the configuration file so you can start XCO with the Icon for the Configuration file. ExpressCopy includes the program XCORestore (XCR) for restoring the directories and files on the disks which were created by XCO. You don't have to use XCR for restoring files on disks XCO created. Since XCO creates normal DOS disks, you can use any file copy program to restore XCO backup disks to your HardDisk. The standard CLI commands in your C: directory for copying files, or your favorite Directory Utility program may be used. XCR can make it easier to restore files to your HardDisk, especially if XCO has split files which were too large for a single disk. In that case XCORestore can automatically copy those files to your HardDisk, restoring the original file from the multiple disks upon which the file is stored. You can have XCR restore only those files whose filename match a specific pattern, or the files on floppy disk which have a more recent DateStamp than those on HardDisk. XCR will automatically prompt you to insert the next sequential disk when restoring a backup that required more than one floppy disk. For additional confidence in the integrity of the files copied by XCO, you can have XCO list all files copied to a listing file. Not only will the file names be listed, but also all the file attributes and a CRC checksum value. You can then use the program XCOcrc from the CLI to check the integrity of all files on the disks XCO wrote. ExpressCopy is well documented with a 65 page manual. The manual includes a 25 page section on Hard Disk Management with help and ideas on how you can better organize and manage your Hard Disk. 2.0 Menus XCO has one Menu on the title bar, the Project Menu. Each MenuItem under the Project Menu can be selected by using the mouse, or the command key listed in the MenuItem. Refer to your Amiga Manual for more information on using Menu's. The MenuItems available and their use are as follows: Load Selecting the Load MenuItem will bring up a File Requester for selecting the XCO Configuration file to load. The information in the configuration file will be used by XCO for setting up the selections for the Backup or File Copy you want to perform. If the file selected does not contain valid Configuration data for XCO, the error "Unable to Load Configuration" will be displayed in the Error: box on the main XCO Window. If a valid Configuration file was selected, the XCO Toggle Gadgets, String Gadgets, and the Current Directory will be changed to reflect the XCO setttings contained within the Configuration file. Save When you Select the Save MenuItem, XCO will check your current selections in the XCO Window to ensure that all necessary selections and entries have been made. If there are any missing or invalid selections, an Error message will be displayed in the Error: box of the XCO Window. Once your selections are complete, a file requester will be displayed for saving the configuration file. Copy When you Select the Copy MenuItem, XCO will check your current selections in the XCO Window to ensure that all necessary selections and entries have been made. If there are any missing or invalid selections, an Error message will be displayed in the Error: box of the XCO Window. Once your selections are complete, it will start the XCO Background Copy Program. If the startup of the XCO Background Copy Program failed, an Error message will be listed in the Error: box of the XCO Window. Once the XCO Background Copy Program starts up successfully, you can start setting up XCO for another Copy, Save or Load Configuration Files, or Quit. But only one XCO Background Copy can be performed at a time. Copy&Exit The Copy&Exit MenuItem performs the same actions as the Copy MenuItem except that if the XCO Background Copy Program was started successfully, the XCO main program will terminate. Quit The Quit MenuItem is for terminating the XCO program. A Requester will be displayed asking "Do you really want to Quit?". Selecting YES will tell XCO to terminate, Selecting NO will return you to the XCO Window. 3.0 Setting up XCO for performing a copy The XCO Window which is displayed after XCO is started contains all the Toggle Gadgets and String Gadgets necessary to make the selections for performing a copy using XCO. The XCO Window is split up into three selection areas as follows: 3.1 Source File Options The Source File Options area contains Gadgets for specifying what operations you want XCO to perform on the Files contained in the Source Directory or Volume, and all the Files in it's Sub Directories. These are the Files that XCO will be copying to Floppy Disk. The CHECK A, DATE, and PATTERN Toggle Gadgets specify requirements for XCO to use in determining what files to Copy. In order for a file to be copied, it must meet all the requirements you specify. SET A Toggle Gadget Switching the SET A Toggle Gadget ON tells XCO to Set the Archive bit of any files from the Source Directory or Volume which XCO copies to Floppy Disk. CHECK A Toggle Gadget Switching the CHECK A Toggle Gadget ON tells XCO that it should not copy those files in the Source Directory or Volume for which the Archive Bit is set. DATE Toggle Gadget Switching the DATE Toggle Gadget ON tells XCO that it should not copy those files in the Source Directory or Volume whose DateStamp is earlier than the Date and Time entered in the Date String Gadget. In order to use this option, you must enter a valid Date and/or Time in the Date String Gadget. Date String Gadget The Date String Gadget is to the immediate right of the DATE Toggle Gadget. If you plan on using the DATE Source File Option, a valid Date and/or Time must be entered in the Date String Gadget in order to sucessfully start the XCO Background Copy, or to Save your current selections to a Configuration file. The Date and/or Time specifies a DateStamp which will be compared against the DateStamp of each file XCO finds. XCO will not copy any files whose DateStamp is prior to the DateStamp you enter in the Date String Gadget. XCO will only check the DateStamp if the DATE Toggle Gadget is ON, and a valid Date and/or Time has been entered. The Date must be specified in the format dd-mon-yy. The Time is optional and must be specified in the format hh:mm:ss using a 24 hour clock. Examples: 25-Jan-87 11-mar-87 22:25:30 PATTERN Toggle Gadget Switching the PATTERN Toggle Gadget ON tells XCO that only those files in the Source Directory or Volume whose filename match the pattern string entered in the Pattern String Gadget should be copied. Pattern String Gadget The Pattern String Gadget is to the immediate right of the PATTERN Toggle Gadget. If you plan on using the PATTERN Source File Option, a valid pattern string must be entered in the Pattern String Gadget in order to successfully start the XCO Background Copy, or to Save your current selections to a Configuration file. The pattern is a string of characters describing what filenames XCO should copy based on the pattern you specify. The string can contain valid characters for filenames and the below special characters. The pattern string can be a maximum of 78 characters. ? matches any single character except newline # zero or more occurrances of following character % matches the null string | or, (a|b) = a or b ' escape (match following special character literally) 'a any alphabetic character 'd any digit 'n any alphanumeric 's any white space character Examples: #?.(c|asm) Matches any files that have the extension .c or .asm. Such as test.c or mega.asm. test#'d Matches any files named test with a number immediately following, such as test2, test45. file? Matches any files named file with only one additional character, such as filea, file1. help'?me Matches the file named help?me. Notice that the special character ? had to be escaped with the ' character. 3.2 Destination Disk Options Area The Destination Disk Options Area contains gadgets for allowing you to specify to XCO what Floppy Disk Drives to use, the Volume Name for the Disks XCO writes, and options for performing the copy to the Floppy Disk Drives. DOS TYPE Toggle Gadget The DOS TYPE Toggle Gadget selects whether you want the disks XCO writes to be compatible with the Normal FileSystem or the Fast FileSystem. When this gadget is OFF, it will say DOS TYPE 0, and tells XCO to write disks compatible with the Normal FileSystem. When this gadget is ON, it will say DOS TYPE 1, and tells XCO to write disks compatible with the Fast FileSystem. Floppy Disk Drive Toggle Gadgets Immediately to the right of the DOS TYPE Toggle Gadget is where the Toggle Gadgets are for selecting what Floppy Disk Drives you want XCO to perform the copy to. Only normal 3.5" Disk Drives can be used by XCO, and only those Disk Drives which are installed in your Amiga will be listed. Each Gadget will have the name of the Floppy Disk Drive on it; either DF0:, DF1:, DF2:, or DF3:. Only the Disk Drives whose corresponding gadget has been switched ON will be used by XCO for performing the copy. At least one Disk Drive must be used. Up to 4 Disk Drives can be used to make additional copies of the files being copied. VERFIY Toggle Gadget Switching ON the VERIFY Toggle Gadget tells XCO to verify the integrity of every track that XCO writes to disk. Since you may be backing up important files on your HardDisk, use of this option is strongly recommended. If an error is encountered while verifying the destination disk the user is asked to RETRY or ABORT. If RETRY is selected, the data will be written to disk and verified again. If ABORT is selected, and only one copy of the source is being made, the user will be asked if the copy should be restarted from the beginning of the current Volume (RETRY), or ABORT. ALTERNATE DRIVES Toggle Gadget Switching ON the ALTERNATE DRIVES Toggle Gadget tells XCO to alternate which Disk Drive is being used for the copy. While XCO is copying to one disk drive, you will be asked to insert the next sequential disk needed for performing the copy in the next alternate Disk Drive. This option allows you to pre-load additional Disks for XCO to use in the Alternate Disk Drives. This will speed up the copying of files some, and also keep XCO from bothering you as often to feed it Disks. You can Alternate between as many as 4 Disk Drives, but you must select at least 2 Disk Drives. ESTIMATE Toggle Gadget Switching ON the ESTIMATE Toggle Gadget tells XCO to determine how many floppy disks will be needed to make one copy of the files meeting your selection criteria. If you are using ALTERNATE DRIVES to perform the copy to, using ESTIMATE will keep XCO from asking for more Disks than it would need for the copy. LIST Toggle Gadget Switching ON the LIST Toggle Gadget tells XCO to list all files copied to a listing file. The program XCOcrc can be used at a later time to verify the integrity of the backup disks by using this list file. Volume Name String Gadget The Volume Name String Gadget is located at the bottom of the Destination Disks Options area and immediately to the right of the text `Volume Name:'. You must enter a Volume Name for XCO to use to name the disks it writes. The length of the name is limited to 20 characters and XCO will not allow the use of leading spaces or either the colon `:' or slash `/' characters in the name. The actual Volume Name that the Disks XCO writes will consist of the Volume Name you entered with a sequential number starting at 1 added to the end. 3.3 Source Directory or Volume Area The Source Directory or Volume area contains gadgets for selecting the Volume or Directory that you wish to copy. At the topmost of this area is a box labeled CD: where the Current Directory (or Volume) name will be listed. This is the name of the Directory or Volume whose contents would be copied. The Selection box is used for displaying available Disk Volumes, or the available directories in the Current Directory. The remaining gadgets are used for selecting the Source Directory or Volume you desire to copy. Viewing the entries in the Selection box. The Selection box can list up to 7 Directories or Volumes. You can use the Scroll Bar to the immediate left of the Selection Box to view any additional entries. Refer to your Amiga Users Manual for more information on using Scroll Bar's. You can also use the Up and Down Arrow Gadgets to the left of the Scroll Bar to move up or down 1 item in the list. Selecting a Volume or Directory You can use the Current Directory String Gadget located above the Selection box to type in the desired Volume and/or Directory Path. If no CD: is listed you must start with a Volume Name. If there is a CD: listed the entry should be a legal Directory path for the CD:. You can also move the mouse pointer over the desired Volume or Directory in the Selection box and click the left mouse button. To return to the previous directory you can use the Left Arrow Gadget which is located to the left of the Scroll Bar. The new Volume or Directory selection will be listed as the CD: and the available directories within that Volume or Directory will be displayed in the Selection box. 3.4 XCO Configuration file Requester The XCO -- Configuration File Select Requester consists of a Title Box at the top which is also used to display errors. The Requester is identical for Load/Save of Configuration Files except that the Text for the Gadget to Load or Save a Configuration File lists the respective text; and for Save, an ICON/NOICON Gadget is also displayed. Selecting Volumes, Directories, and Files. The Drawer: String Gadget, the Selection box, and the Scroll Bar, Up, Down, and Left Arrow Gadgets work the same as those on the Main ExpressCopy Window with the following exceptions: A Volume Name will have (VOL) at the end of its name; a Directory will have (DIR) at the end of its name; and Files are listed by name only. To select a configuration file to Load/Save move the mouse pointer over the desired file name in the Selection box and click the left mouse button, or you can type the name in the File: String Gadget. If you selected the file name using the mouse, the desired file name will be listed in the File: String Gadget automatically. Loading and Saving the Configuration File If you wish to exit the Requester select the CANCEL Gadget. To LOAD a Configuration File, click on the LOAD gadget. To SAVE a Configuration File, Toggle the ICON/NOICON gadget to reflect whether you desire an Icon to be created for the Configuration File, then click on the SAVE gadget. If the file already exists, XCO will display a Requester asking if you wish to Overwrite the file.