-< LOOKER >- by John Lullie - Copyright 1991 Comments, suggestions and bug reports may be sent to: CompuServe: UserID 70700,2454 GEnie: UserID J.LULLIE Or write to: John Lullie 10701 SouthWest 10th Court Davie, Florida 33324 Looker uses a very powerful Amiga-Dos command called "Search" to locate files matching the criteria you enter. Therefore, the file "Search" should be in your "C" directory for Looker to work. It is supplied by Commodore with WorkBench and it should already be in your "C" directory. Looker will do a bit more than just find files for you. After successfully locating a file (or files) on any drive or assigned directory, there are a few options you can use AFTER the file(s) are found: * Open a Shell window directly into the path of your found file(s). * Print a listing of single or all found files with device and path names showing where all the files are located. (Handy if you have a lot of the same type files in different directories and want to reorganize your Hard Drive. (i.e. ".txt",".arc",".doc" files etc.)) * View a Report of Found files showing filenames only, number of files found and the search string used. Also, if a path name is too long to fit in the main window, you can click on a filename in the Report window and the path will be selected back in the main window. From there you can click the "Goto" button. (see "Goto" button below). * Copy, Move or Delete a selected file. * Display a graphic representation of the selecting files full path. Looker is ShareWare! ******************** ====================================================================== It is freely distributable, provided all documentation and authors notices are left intact. Should you decide you like the program, please register by sending a check for $10 to me, the author, at the address listed above... Your registration includes future updates and bug fixes, Laser Printed documentation, un-registered* versions of the following programs: (*SEE OPTIONAL OFFER BELOW!) AliasIcon - Creates an alternate Icon for any program that can be placed into any directory or kept right on the WorkBench screen (WB2.0). Attach an Icon for any executable program, a palette of 80 Icons to choose from, add your own script commands, completely mouse driven and a 3D interface. CDStore - Compact Disk Database/Tracker. 3D interface, many features; Sort, Search, Live Printer Preview Screen with three different Print Formats and some other stuff I can't think of right now. VideoStore- Almost exactly the same as CDStore but dedicated to Video cassettes/Movies. Same 3D Interface (different colors). *OPTIONAL OFFER! ================ If you send $15 instead of $10 for Looker!, I'll send you all three REGISTERED versions of AliasIcon, CDStore and VideoStore with Laser Printed Documentation for each. Believe me, you'll find this offer well worth the extra $5. ====================================================================== *>Un-Registered Version:<* ---------------------- You will notice that this un-registered version has some options disabled. All of the main functions are active and only the accessories (or Nifties) of the program are turned off. =============================================================== Misc. Changes/Additions To Version 1.5: ************************************** - The menu options; Copy File, Move File and Delete File have been moved to buttons on the Main window of Looker. This was done to simplify the process of clicking on a file and performing any one of these those functions. All are explained in this manual. - Added Chime sound to some requesters prior to opening: Print, Delete and Quit. - Report window has been re-vamped with new features. See "Report Window" below. - Overhauled this DOC file. Merged the 1.5 Addendum to THIS file. - Optimized some of the routines. Bug Fixes: ********* - The Zoom/Iconize window will now re-enable all menu options IF there was something in the List window when you Zoomed AND if the "Zoom Keeps..." option is ON in the Prefs dialog box. - Double-Click and Goto options were not working for all versions of 2.0? AmigaDos. You should now have no problem getting to the correct directory in Shell window. Requirements: Any Amiga w/512K or more WorkBench 2.0 Installing Looker: ***************** - Copy Looker (and it's icon) to any directory you wish. It will run from anywhere. - Copy "Deckrunner" to your "C" directory. To launch Looker, double-click its icon. QUICK TUTORIAL: ************** Running Looker!: --------------- When Looker is first started, you will see a small animated credit window come up. Click anywhere in this window to make it go away. Selecting the "About..." menu option will bring it back. Selecting Drive/Directory: ------------------------- To the left of the window are two buttons labeled "Devices" and "Assigns". The device button is the default and will already be selected. For this tutorial, click on the "Assigns" button. All of your assigned devices and/or directories will be listed in the center List window. Now Click on the "C" directory in this center List window. Entering Search Strings: ----------------------- Next, in the field at the top center of the screen (labeled "Search String"), type in the text "ist" after the wild card characters "#?". If you press [Return] after entering your text, the Search button will be activated and the search will begin. The Status Box and drive light will indicate that the search is in progress. Any files that match the text you entered with the wildcard will be displayed in the large Path window. In this case the command "List" in your "C" directory would be displayed along with anything else that ends with "ist" in that directory. You could just as well select "DH0" or "SYS" and the entire selected disk would be searched. "Goto"/"Goto & Quit" Buttons: ---------------------------- After a search is complete, the large List window at the bottom will display all found files and their paths. Click once on one of the path/files that were found in the large List window, then click the "Goto" button. A Shell window will open and you will be placed into the same directory that your selected file is in. If you click on the "Goto & Quit" button, that's exactly what will happen - It opens the Shell and quits Looker. I thought adding this option would make it more convenient (if you found what you were looking for) to put you where you want to be and quit at the same time. NOTE: Double-clicking on a found path/file in the large List window will also open the Shell into the selected files path. MENU OPTIONS: ************ Looker Menu: =========== About Looker: ------------ Animated display of Credits. Click anywhere on this window to close it. Prefs: ----- Opens a dialog box and presents you with the following options: Open With Animation: ------------------- If ON, the animated credit window will open when Looker is first launched. Insert Wildcard: --------------- If ON, the AmigaDOS wildcard characters "#?" will be inserted in the Search field. Search Starts on [Return]: ------------------------- If ON, pressing the [Return] after entering your search text will start the search. ZOOM Keeps Found Files: ---------------------- If ON, clicking the Iconize/Zoom button will keep what is currently in the Path/File List window before becoming a tiny window. When you zoom back to Looker's main window, all files and their paths will still be there. Keep Report Up After Goto: ------------------------- If you select the Goto option from the Report window, normally the Shell is opened and the Report window will close and bring you back to Lookers main window. With this button toggled ON, the Report window will stay open and allow you to open multiple Shell windows into several different paths. Sort Listing: ------------ Sorts the path and files in the list window. If a lot of files were found, this will help you locate the file(s) in the List or Report windows more quickly. Save Contents To: ---------------- -Clipboard: This option will save the contents of the path/file List window to the Clipboard. This will allow you to paste this text into a word processor, text editor or any other program that supports the Amiga's Clipboard. -File: Saves the contents of the path/file List window to an ASCII (text) file. A file requester will open and prompt you for a filename. Use the different buttons in this requester to navigate to where you wish to save this file. Print: ----- This acts as more of a utility than just printing a list of found files. If for example you wanted to find all the files ending in ".pic" or ".doc", this printed report would tell you what search string was used, how many files were found and exactly where they are located on your drive (i.e. May help you organize your Hard Drive). There are two Sub-Menu items for Print: -Entire List: Prints all path and file names found after the search. The printout will display which device was searched, the search text used etc.. -Selected Only: Prints only the highlighted path and filename along with device searched, search text used etc.... Looker Window Objects: ********************* Search String Field: ------------------- This is where you enter the text to search for. The standard AmigaDos wildcard "#?" is already in place and handled the same way as it is in the CLI. After entering text, pressing the [Return] key will begin the search without having to click the "Search" button. Assignment/Device Buttons: ------------------------- Assigns Button - Displays all current assignments in the list window; C,S,SYS etc... Devices Button - Displays all drives in the List window. DF0,DF1,DH0, DH1 etc... NOTE: Inserting or Ejecting a disk while Looker is running will update the device List window accordingly. Device/Assign List Window: ------------------------- The List window displays either drives or assigned devices depending on the button selected (Assigns or Devices). Iconize/Zoom Button: ------------------- Small button Located in the upper right corner under the Title bar. Clicking this button will reduce Looker's window to a small Icon and place it near the top center of your WorkBench screen and out of the way. If you wish to have Looker position this Zoom somewhere else on the screen, move it where you want it and select the "Snapshot Window" menu option. The next time you use the Zoom option, it will be placed in this new position. To return Looker to its normal state, click inside the tiny window. You may also quit Looker from this window by making it active and pressing LeftAmiga-Q. Copy Button: ----------- After selecting a file, clicking this button will call up a file requester asking you for the destination for the copy. Use the buttons in this requester to navigate through your drives or directories and click the "Ok" button. You will then have a new copy of the selected file in your chosen drive/directory. Move Button: ----------- Performs the same function as "Copy" except the original file will be deleted AFTER the copy has been made and verified. Delete Button: ------------- Calls up a requester to confirm your choice to delete the selected file. This function will remove the selected file from the window AND your disk so please use caution. STATUS Bar: ---------- Displays Looker activities such as searching, copying, moving and other information about what the program is doing at any given time. Search Button: ------------- Initiates the search on the drive or assigned device selected in the List window. Same as pressing the [Return] key after entering your search text. Goto: ---- Opens a new Shell into the path the found file(s) is in. (Button is only active if something was found) Goto & Quit: ----------- Same as "Goto" but will quit Looker after opening a Shell window and placing you into the selected files path. (Button is only active if something was found) Report Window: ************* Opens a dialog box showing Info about files found or selected. The List box on the left of this window displays the file names of a completed search. This makes it a bit easier to see only filenames without the path. For example, after a search is complete, and the path/filename(s) are too long to fit into the Main List window, the Report List window will show you the filename(s). The large area on the right will graphically display the physical path of a selected file using tiny icons. It also displays detailed information about a selected file such as the modified date, modified time, file size, etc.... You can access these features using the following steps: IconView Path Display: --------------------- Click once on a file name in the List box and you will be presented with a graphic path display of the file. These tiny icons will always be displayed in the order of Drive, Drawer and File. File Info Button: ---------------- To display detailed information about a selected file, click once on the small button located at the bottom left of the window. (The button shows a tiny document with a question mark in it.) Goto Button: ----------- The "Goto" button functions the same as in the main window. NOTE: Double-clicking the filename will NOT take you to the Shell like the Main window does. Therefore, the "Goto" button has been added to this Report window for convenience. If the User response to add this double-click option is strong, I will add it. But, I really don't think the extra code is necessary since the Goto button is so close and only one more click away. Like the Main window, this Report window may be moved anywhere on the screen by clicking on the drag bar and dragging it to another position. If you want Looker to remember where you placed this Report window - Simply make sure the Report window is selected (clicking anywhere on it) and select the "Snapshot Window" menu option. Selecting "Default" will put the window in its original position (as if you just installed Looker for the first time). NOTE: The Report window must be closed to access Lookers main window again. Quit: ---- Exits the program. Keyboard Equivalents: ******************** LeftAmiga - A Switches to the Assigned devices. LeftAmiga - D Switches to Drives; DF0, DF1, DH0 etc... LeftAmiga - S Starts Looking for files using the search string. LeftAmiga - Q Quits Looker. And if the tiny window is active. RightAmiga- Q Quits Looker. And if the tiny window is active. Up/Down Arrows- Moves cursor Up and Down in the Path window. Shifted Up/Down Arrows- Moves cursor Up and Down the Assign/Device window. General Notes: ************* You will notice some of the menu options are followed by an ellipsis ("..."). This simply means that some kind of requester or dialog box will appear before the option is selected. You will find that many applications use this symbol for this purpose. In CDStore2.0 for example, the main window has a "Print..." button that uses this symbol. Clicking this button will not print immediately but will take you to another screen entirely (Print/Page Setup). The Preferences dialog box, when closed, will re-initialize Looker with the new settings. All settings will take effect after the "Ok" button is pressed with the exception of the Animated window (This setting will be used the next time Looker is launched.). Snapshot Window options will take effect the next time that particular window is opened. You will notice a slight hesitation before your window is moved to your new assigned position. These windows will open in their original default position and THEN immediately move to your assigned position. Hopefully this will not become an annoyance.