********************************* * * * Intui-Dms Professional V2.2 * * * ********************************* * * * Programmed by * * * * ROY HUNTLEY * * * * Using * * * * BLITZ BASIC II * * * ********************************* * * * Release Date - June 22 1994 * * * ********************************* INTRODUCTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fed up with the Cli ? Cant quite master all those tricky cli command parameters ? Got a modem and want to save money on your phone bills ? Prefer using a workbench environment to the cli ? If your answer to any of these questions is yes then this program may be of use to you. Intui-Dms Professional V2.2 is a graphical interface for the popular disk compressing utility from SDS software, namely Dms (DiskMasher). SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Intui-Dms should be compatible throughout the entire Commodore Amiga range of computers, from the A600 right up to a state of the art A4000/40. Sorry V1.2/V1.3 users, but this utility is V2+ only - why not upgrade ? You dont know what you're missing :-) Intui-Dms works with as little as 0.5 meg of memory and is compatible with Amiga setups consisting of only one disk drive, although users with 2 or more drives will benefit considerably when using certain features of this program. Intui-Dms is now hard drive instalable, for those lucky enough to own a hard drive. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Intui-Dms Professional V2.2 requires NO external files such as library files or fonts. It will work perfectly with just itself on a floppy disk, but I would ask for this documentation file to accompany the program when you copy the program to another disk. USAGE ~~~~~ Intui-Dms can be started from either the Cli or a workbench environment. It is used with no parameters, i.e. If any parameters are supplied, they will be ignored. E.g. 1> IntuiDmsProV2.2 When the program has loaded, a window will be displayed containing several gadgets: TIME - Displays the current system time. Note, this will be incorrect unless a battery backup clock is present in your machine or you have set the system clock manually prior to using IntuiDmsPro V2.2. CHIP - Displays the amount of chip memory available for use by the system. FAST - Displays the amount of fast memory available for use by the system. TOTAL - Displays the amount of free memory available for use by the system. SELECT - The first of the Select gadgets allows the user to select a filename for crunching (or decrunching). The state of the OPERATION gadget will determine whether the filename selected must exist or not. If the Action gadget displays CRUNCH then the filename should not exist. If however, the Action gadget displays DECRUNCH then the filename must exist and the file must be a valid file (i.e. one previously crunched by Dms). SELECT - The second of the Select gadgets allows the user to select a second filename. This is only enables when the OPERATION gadget is displaying RECRUNCH. The filename selected is treated as the destination file in this case. (Note, as well as clicking on the SELECT gadgets to select a filename, the user may click on the string gadgets and enter the filenames from the keypad rather than via the file selector.) DEVICE - Allows the user to select the device to be used in the operation. Three drives are listed, but the user should only select the drive which is present, otherwise an error will occur. ACTION - This gadget cycles between the modes which are supported by the Dms program: CRUNCH - Allows a disk to be crunched into a single file DECRUNCH - Decrunched a file onto a (blank) disk RECRUNCH - Recrunches a disk file e.g. to change efficiency etc TEST - Tests the integrity of a crunched disk file VIEW - Displays some information about the crunched disk file The gadget is a cycle gadget. Each time the user clicks the mouse on it, the mode will change. C MODE - This gadget cycles between the four different crunch modes that are currently supported by Dms. NONE mean that the disk will be copied onto a file but will not be compressed in any way. BEST reads the data to be compressed and selects the most efficient crunching mode for the data. This option will take the longest time but will give the best crunching efficiency. START - This gadget allows the user to enter a numerical value from which the crunching/decrunching process will commence. This value must be lower in value than the one in the END TRACK gadget otherwise the operation will not be carried out. The value must also be in the range 0-79. END - This gadget allows the user to enter a numerical value from which the crunching/decunching process will stop. This value must be higher in value than the one in the START TRACK gadget otherwise the operation will not be carried out. The value must also be in the range 0-79. PASS - Allows the user to enter a password (case sensitive) that is used when crunching a disk to a file. To decrunch the file back to a disk, the password must be entered in the gadget exactly as it was before, otherwise the file cannot be uncrunched. TEXT - Allows the user to merge a textfile when crunching a disk so that, upon uncrunching back to disk, the file will be displayed whilst the disk is uncrunching. Important...The text file must NOT be on the disk that you are attempting to crunch. The text file will not be added if this is the case. It is best to copy the textfile to ram and then add it to the crunched disk file. INFO - When selected, this gadget causes a window to be displayed over the main window. The info window contains some boring information like the authors address. To exit from the INFO window, just click on the CONTINUE gadget at the bottom of the window. HELP - When selected, this gadget causes two windows to be displayed over the main window. The windows contain brief descriptions on how to use the program. It is not meant to be a replacement for this doc file, but as a memory jogger. START - This is the gadget which starts all operations. The gadget will only be enabled when both the FILENAME and the DISK DRIVE gadgets have been selected and valid names been entered in both. Until this condition is met, the gadget will remain disabled (noted by a black "mesh" covering the gadget). Once this condition has been met and the START gadget selected, a message will appear in the STATUS gadget telling you to ensure the correct disks are in the correct drives. A 10 second countdown is displayed. Once this has expired, an output window will be displayed and the parameters set by the user via the gadgets will be passed to the DMS program. While this is happening, the mouse pointer will flash. The operation will then be carried out. Once the operation is complete, the output window will remain present until the user has selected its close gadget. The main window is then displayed and is ready for use again. ICONIFY- Hides the main window, displaying just a small title bar. To get back to the main window, select the title bar with the left button and then just press the right mouse button. The window will be displayed. QUIT - This gadget allows the termination of the IntuiDmsPro program. NB: The close window gadget has exactly the same effect as the QUIT gadget. Well, That pretty much explains it all. The status bar at the bottom of the screen will inform the user of what is happening at all times and will tell the user if the configuration has been changed. If an error occurs then the status bar will also tell the user what went wrong. The gadgets available will automatically be enabled/disabled depending on the mode which the program is in. This means it is impossible to click on a gadget that is not required for the operation displayed in the operation gadget. INFORMATION ~~~~~~~~~~~ This program is a shareware product. This means that you are allowed to try IntuiDmsPro V2.2 for a few days. If you find yourself using it after this period of time or you think it is worth something, please register with the author at the address below. To register with IntuiDmsPro V2.2, you should send a minimum of £5 (sterling) along with your name and address. This will entitle you to the source code, the next 2 versions of the program and any other programs which the author releases in the future. ***** SUPPORT SHAREWARE AUTHORS !!! ***** If you spot any bugs or have any ideas on improvements or added features for the program then please do not hesitate to contact me on the address below. Mr. R.A. Huntley 173 St. Agnells Lane Grove Hill Hemel Hempstead Herts HP2 6LQ. PROGRAM HISTORY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ V0.1ß - First ever version which was just a mock up to see if the program would work using Blitz Basic II. V1.0ß - Another Beta-test version, distributed to a select few, for ideas and bug testing. Now beginning to take shape. Just a few more features implemented. V1.0 - First fully released version. Still not perfect, but no major bugs are present (hopefully !). V1.1 - Now able to install on a hard drive. A few routines cleaned up. V2.0 - Now no longer requires ANY external files. Cleaned up the layout of the program and added recrunch, test and view operations. Password and textfile facility now incorporated. V2.1 - Huge bug concerning GTGetAttrs which stopped the program from running correctly 100% of the time on A600's has now been fixed, thanks to Mr John White. Cheers John !. V2.2 - ALL gadgets now enable/disable automaticaly correctly. After an operation, the gadgets were enabled/disabled incorrectly in some of the previous versions. Bug concerning file requesting ("Ram Disk:") is now fixed and works perfectly. DISCLAIMER ~~~~~~~~~~ Whilst no major problems have been found during the extensive testing of the Intui-Dms and Dms programs, neither the author of Intui-Dms (Roy Huntley) nor the authors of Dms (SDS Software) accept any responsibility whatsoever from the use of their respective programs. The use of Intui-Dms and Dms is entirely at your own risk. -*-