CD-ROM Catalog (ROMCAT) Help Menu

Overview

Menu Commands

How to Search the Catalog

Search Screen Layout

How to Rebuild the Catalog

Revision History

Acknowledgments


Overview

ROMCAT was designed to catalog the directory structure of one or more CD-ROM's or floppy disks to a hard-disk resident catalog for lookup.  Multiple disks can be indexed under one catalog, facilitating cross-disk searching for a particular file.

In addition, ROMCAT was designed to collect keyword information and display thumbnails from CorelDRAW drawing files (through version 5).  Feedback from several users indicates ROMCAT appears to work with Draw 6, however the author has tested ROMCAT with DRAW 3, 4 and 5 only.

The extract of information from CorelDRAW files is based on a best guess of the file structure.  Whereas data appears to have extracted correctly for files available at the time of writing, it is reasonable to assume future versions or maintenance releases of DRAW may have variant formats for which ROMCAT's keyword/thumbnail extracts may not work.

ROMCAT can also extract font names from TrueType, Type 1 and Type 3 font files and store the names as keywords.  The consistency of font names depends on the font's author.


Menu Commands

File Menu

Open Catalog

Build New Catalog

Change Catalog Title

Update An Existing Catalog

Export Catalog To Text File

Import Catalog From Text File

Exit

Options Menu

Global Search

Copy Selected Path Name To Clipboard

Open Selected Drawing

Import Selected Drawing

Locate Cataloged Keywords

Configure Menu

Font

Lower-Case File Names

Screen Layout

Drive Search List

Double-Click Default Action


How to Search the Catalog

First, set the search method in the "Search By..." box.  To search by keywords, click the "Keyword" button.  To search by the DOS file name, click the "File Name" button.  Note: If the "Search By..." box does not appear on the screen, only DOS file name searches are possible.

Next, type the search key in the input field.  The list immediately below the input field will scroll as you type.  When the desired key comes into view, click with the mouse to select it, or press the tab key and use the arrow keys to navigate through the list.

As soon as a key is selected, a list of the related files appears in the other list box. Each file shows the DOS file name, the volume identifier of the disk, and the directory path name where the file can be found. If you cannot see the entire path name, single click on the file and the path name will be displayed in the message bar at the bottom of the screen.

Applications can be launched by double clicking on a file in the hit list box.  Only files with an extension associated in the Windows File Manager can launch an application.  When launching a file with a CDR extension, you may either open or import the drawing.  See the section Double-Click Default Action for more details.

See Also:

Search Screen Layout

Global Search


Search Screen Layout

The layout shown here is the horizontal layout, which is the default when the program is installed.  An alternate vertical layout is available and was the default in older versions of the program.  Both versions have the same information.  To request the alternate layout, see the section Configure Menu - Screen Layout

1.	Input field: the search key is entered here.

2.	Key list box: shows keys from the catalog closely matching the search key.

3.	Index selection box: selects the index used for the search.  Used only for catalogs with both keyword and file name indices.  If the currently open catalog has no keywords, the "Search By..." box does not appear on the screen.

4.	Thumbnail box: previews a drawing when a CDR or CMX file is highlighted in the hit list box (#5 on the legend).  Also displays thumbnails for many native Windows graphic file formats.  If thumbnail display has been disabled (Configure menu), the thumbnail box may not appear on the screen.

5.	Hit list box: shows files related to the search key.  If the full path is not viewable, single click any entry to display the name on the message bar.  Double clicking an item launches the application associated in the Windows File Manager.

6.	Message bar: shows information and reports problems.  Also shows the full path name of any file highlighted in the hit list box.  This should come in handy on lower resolution screens when the entire path name is not visible.


How to Rebuild the Catalog

1.	Pull down the "File" menu and select "Build New Catalog."

2.	ROMCAT will present a "Select Source Drive" screen.
a.	Enter the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.
b.	X-mark the keyword collection options you desire.
c.	Mount a CD in the drive, wait for the drive to come ready.

d.	Click on either "Scan All Directories" or "Scan Selected Directories" depending on how much data you wish to catalog.

3.	When scanning completes, a statistics box will be displayed.  At this point you have the option to "Read Another Disk" or indicate you are "Finished Reading Disks". The process repeats at step 2 if you elect to read another disk.

4.	You will be prompted to enter a title. You may wish to include the version of DRAW! (e.g. Draw 5.00.F1) in the title to distinguish your catalogs. The title can also be left blank.

5.	ROMCAT will prompt for a DOS file name for the new catalog to be built.  Enter a name of your choice.  Make sure the drive letter is pointed at a writable drive, such as the hard disk (not the CD-ROM).

6.	The catalog data will be compressed and saved to disk. When the process completes, the new catalog will be opened you may begin your search requests. ROMCAT will remember the "last opened catalog file," so you will come back to your new catalog the next time you launch the program.


Revision History

Version 2.0 11/11/95

Significant rewrite.

Added catalog update function: permits merging catalogs and/or scanning new disks into an existing catalog. Formerly it was necessary to re-scan all disks into a new catalog or use the Unload/Reload functions to accomplish the merging result.

Some items from the "Options" menu relocated to a new "Configure" menu.

User selectable font.

Choice of upper or lower case file names.

Add viewers for native Windows file formats: WMF, BMP, DIB, RLE, ICO, CUR.

List boxes on main screen are more responsive and respond in a manner more consistent with standard Windows list boxes.  Dragging the scroll bar's thumb button immediately updates the display.  List boxes also respond to accelerator keys.  For example, pressing the 'a' key scrolls to the first keyword (or file) beginning with the letter 'a'; pressing 'a' again scrolls to consecutive keys beginning with 'a'.  List boxes now scroll faster and there is less display flicker.

During the final phase of a catalog build, the completion status is now shown as a single running percent.

Unload and Reload functions retitled as Export and Import, respectively.

Added scanning rules for the Draw 6 CDR file format (based on a few CDR files found on public bulletin boards).

Some documentation relocated from README.TXT and HISTORY.TXT to this help file; HISTORY.TXT eliminated.

Bug fix: Upon completion of a global search, the display did not always position to the first key in the search result list.  Also, when run under Windows 95, part of the search result dialog box would occasionally position under the task bar.

Steps during catalog build reordered in a more logical manner: prompts for catalog title and save-as file name deferred until end of catalog build.

Ability to catalog thumbnails eliminated (archaic; obsolete since version 1.4).  Disk space estimates eliminated from documentation since this was significant only when cataloging thumbnails.  ROMCAT will continue to show thumbnails from old version 1 catalogs.

Version 1.6 3/16/95

Prebuilt catalog refreshed to Draw5-F1 maintenance release.

Version 1.5 1/9/95

The Global Search Results box is now "modeless".  This means the user can click on files in the main window (to effect a thumbnail preview) without first closing the Global Search Results box. The user can also use any function from the main window (open, import, etc.) without closing the result box.

Font names from TypeType, Type 1 and Type 3 font files can be cataloged as keywords.

Added a "Reload" function (File menu) to perform the reverse of the "Unload" function.

Prebuilt catalog refreshed to Draw5-E2 maintenance release.

Version 1.41 7/27/94

"3D" appearance.

Version 1.4 7/22/94

Cataloging of thumbnails is now optional. When thumbnails are not cataloged, ROMCAT will attempt to read the thumbnail "on the fly" from the source disk, provided it's mounted. The user can specify a list of drive letter(s) to be searched for the source clipart file.

When building a custom catalog, "Do not catalog thumbnails" is now the default (for reasons specified in the previous paragraph).

A new "Drive Search List" (mentioned in the first paragraph) is also used to auto-mount disks when launching applications (e.g. open/import of clipart). When the needed file is found on a drive in the search list, the "Mount Disk" box can be avoided.

Volume ID checking is relaxed. If the required file is found on a disk in the search list (and in the exact same path) the file will be considered as "found" even though the Volid of the disk does not match. This permits a prebuilt catalog for a "B" maintenance release to work with set of "C" maintenance release disks, provided the directory structure has not significantly changed. ROMCAT will still prefer a disk that has the exact Volid, it's just not a requirement.

When building a catalog and unrecognized CDR/CMX versions are encountered, ROMCAT will attempt to locate keywords and thumbnails according to the format of Draw 5 files. This might allow ROMCAT to work with future versions of CorelDRAW prior to the availability of a ROMCAT upgrade.

Launch errors: Missing or incorrect OLE registration entries when opening or importing clipart previously resulted in a cryptic "Error launching application (nn)" message. ROMCAT will now try to get around the problem.  Failing that, it will display a paragraph or readable English text explaining how to reload the registration entries.

Version 1.31 6/19/94

Import request for CMX files failed on some configurations.

Version 1.3 6/16/94

Support DRAW version 5.

Prebuilt catalog refreshed to Draw5-D1 maintenance release.

README.TXT updated with catalog disk space requirements for DRAW versions 3 and 5.

Added upgrade instructions to README.TXT plus other minor changes.

Version 1.21 2/10/94

New feature: Options Menu has added entry, "Import Selected Drawing", that will pass a request to CorelDRAW to import the CDR file selected in the result list box. This can be used in place of the former 5-step method of passing the path name through the clipboard. The user can also set the default action taken (open or import) when double-clicking a CDR file on the result list; this default is set using the "Options" menu, "Double-Click Default Action".

Screen enhancement: If viewing a catalog built without thumbnails, the thumbnail box is eliminated. Likewise, if viewing a catalog built without keywords, the "Search by..." box is eliminated. Both changes allow more room for the list boxes.

Screen enhancement: An alternate screen arrangement is now available that widens the list boxes. User can select the alternate arrangement from the "Options" menu, "Screen Layout".

Screen enhancement: Allow user to select the size of the thumbnail box, either small (optimal for 1K and 4K image headers) or large (optimal for 2K and 8K image headers). Formerly the program chose the size based on the video card's resolution. User can select the thumbnail box size from the "Options" menu, "Screen Layout".

Catalog build enhancement: Allow user to select clipart directories to be excluded during the catalog build process. Directory exclusion can apply to thumbnails, keywords, or both. If applied to thumbnails, catalog size can be reduced. If applied to both thumbnails and keywords, catalog build time is reduced.

Catalog build enhancement: Reading of keyword/thumbnail information from CDR files is deferred until after entire directory structure has been read. This way the total number of CDR files to be read is known, and a percent complete can be displayed while reading the files. Since a majority of time during a catalog build is spent reading CDR files (due to the slow access rate of CD-ROM), this 'percent complete' will give the user a better sense of how much catalog build time remains.

Catalog Update 12/9/93

Prebuilt catalog refreshed to Draw4-B3 maintenance release.

Version 1.1 8/7/93

Bug fix: if the user's disk ran out of room when saving the catalog, the error wasn't always reported.

Documentation update: The README.TXT file was updated to give an estimate of the disk space required to build a full catalog when the hard disk is compressed (via DoubleSpace, Stacker, etc.). With DoubleSpace, the full catalog gets about 1.5 to 1 compression, so the suggestion for a compressed drive is 27 million bytes of projected free space. Other products may achieve differing amounts of compression.

Version 1.0 7/13/93

Initial release.


Acknowledgments

See the program's Help/About box for copyright and disclaimer information.

Corel is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation. CorelDRAW is a trademark of Corel Corporation.

Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

TrueType is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.


Open Catalog

Opens an existing catalog for search operations.

If the catalog has keyword information, it will open in keyword sequence. Otherwise it will open in file name sequence.

The name of the "last open catalog" is stored in the ROMCAT.INI file so that the same catalog will re-open the next time the file finder is started.  Alternately a catalog file name can be passed as a command line argument in the properties of an icon in the Program Manager.


Build New Catalog

Initiates a catalog build.

For step-by-step instructions on rebuilding the catalog, see How to Rebuild the Catalog


Change Catalog Title

Changes the text that appears at the top of the ROMCAT window.  Normally this title is used to describe the contents of the catalog.  If left blank, the title bar will show the DOS file name of the catalog.


Update An Existing Catalog

Initiates a menu-driven update of a catalog.

Update operations allow new data to be added to a catalog by either scanning disks or reading export data.  Also, portions of the catalog can be purged if desired.  Two or more catalogs can be merged into a single catalog.


Export Catalog To Text File

For those who need to extract the catalog data for other purposes, Export Catalog To Text File can be used to get an extract of the catalog's data.

Data can be exported with either comma or ASCII-tab delimiters.  Each field can be optionally wrapped with double quotes.  These formatting options are commonly available for import to spreadsheet and database programs.

The extract can be done by either the DOS file name index or the keyword index (if available).


Import Catalog From Text File

Import Catalog From Text File performs the opposite of the export function.  It will read one or more text files (formatted according to specifications below) and create a ROMCAT catalog.  The process works much the same as building a catalog, except that instead of reading directories from one or more disks, text files are read.

Reasons you may wish to do a import: (1) To custom edit some of the catalog data or keywords, (2) to merge two or more catalogs, and (3) to index your own data and search using ROMCAT.

Input file format: Enclose each field with double quotes and separate the fields with commas.  Each line must have 3 or 4 fields; the first field (keyword) is optional:

Keyword (optional)

File Name (including period and extension, if it has an extension)

Path Name (including separating back slashes)

Volume identifier (DOS limits the length to 11 positions and so does ROMCAT)

Example:
"Keyword","FILE.EXT","\PATH1\PATH2\","VOLID"

If a particular file entry is to have multiple keywords, use multiple lines, one keyword per line with the file, path, and volume information replicated on each line.  There is no problem with reading duplicate information; ROMCAT eliminates the duplicate file names and keywords.

Another way to know the input format ROMCAT expects is to export an existing catalog and view the file it creates.

If you are importing or merging catalogs and you want to retain both the file and keyword indices, export in both file and keyword sequence from the source catalog(s) and read in all files during the import.  If only a keyword index is imported, the file index will contain only those files with keywords (it is valid to do this, if this is what you really want).


Exit

Shuts down the program.


Global Search

If searching by either of the indices doesn't yield adequate results, Global Search will initiate an intensive search.

The program will prompt for some text, and will locate the text anywhere in DOS file names, path names, volume identifiers and/or keywords.  Matching occurs regardless of upper/lower case.

After the catalog search completes, a box with the results will be shown.  This box is pushed to the lower right corner of the screen so as much as possible of the main screen remains visible.  As you navigate through the results list, the main screen updates to show the related files.  To preview files, you may click on the files in the main window without closing the global search box.  When you close the global search box, the search index (Keyword vs. File Name) may be changed; set it back if necessary.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+G


Copy Selected Path Name To Clipboard

Copy Selected Path Name To Clipboard is available when the highlight is currently on a file item in the hit list box.  When selected, the full path name of the highlighted file will be placed on the Windows clipboard.  The drive letter may or may not be included.

Use this to save time retyping the file name when opening or importing in another application.  Many applications will allow you to do a Shift+Insert key combination to paste the contents of the clipboard into the "File Name" field when opening or importing a file.

This was the primary vehicle for effecting clipart imports in older versions of the program.  The current version of the program has a direct menu method for importing.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+C


Open Selected Drawing

Open Selected Drawing can be used only when a file with a CDR extension is selected in the hit list box.  If CorelDRAW is not running, it will be started, then the drawing will be opened.

It is also possible to setup the double-click mouse action to do an open.  For more information, see Double-Click Default Action.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+O


Import Selected Drawing

Import Selected Drawing can be used when files with a CDR or CMX extension is selected in the hit list box.  If CorelDRAW is not running, it will be started, then the drawing will be imported.

For CDR files, it is also possible to setup the double-click mouse action to do an import.  For more information, see Double-Click Default Action.  For CMX files, double click always imports.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+I


Locate Cataloged Keywords

Locate Cataloged Keywords is available when a file is highlighted and the catalog has keywords.  It will show the keywords in the catalog (if any) that correspond to the file.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+L


Font

Selects the font to be used on the main screen.  Though scaleable fonts can be selected, raster fonts such as "System" and "MS Sans Serif" often provide the best readability.


Lower-Case File Names

Controls whether or not file names are displayed in lower case.  Lower case generally provides better readability when a proportional font is used, and is the default when the program is installed.


Screen Layout

Changes the appearance of the search screen.  The horizontal layout is the default when the program is installed and is the one documented in the on-line help.  The vertical layout is retained for compatibility with older versions of the program.

This menu can also be used to set the size of the thumbnail box.  In the auto mode, the program picks the thumbnail box size based on the video card's resolution.  The user can also specifically request the small or large size.  The small thumbnail offers the clearest resolution for 1K and 4K image headers, the large thumbnail is clearest for 2K and 8K image headers.


Drive Search List

The drive search list is consulted in three cases: (1) when the user has requested displaying of thumbnails (selected on this screen), (2) when opening and importing drawings, the search list avoids the "mount disk" screen, and (3) when copying a path name to the clipboard, the drive letter will be inserted if possible.

If the "Display thumbnails" check box is checked, the drive search list is consulted for disks to be checked for the drawing file.  If the file is found and it has an image header, the thumbnail is displayed.  Note that a drive search list (also entered on this screen) must be provided in order for the thumbnail lookup to work.

Here's an in depth description of how the drive search "order" works.  First, it is necessary to understand that finding a file is based on two pieces of information: (1) the "Volid" noted on the ROMCAT search screen, and (2) the full path name (directory name(s) plus file name plus extension).  The order of search is:

1.	If the Volid being sought was encountered during a previous search, that drive is consulted first.  If that drive contains the needed file, the search ends.

2.	Next, the drive search list is used, in order, for a matching Volid and path name.  If the file is found, the search ends.

3.	Next, the drive search list is rescanned, in order, for a matching path name irregardless of Volid.  This allows a catalog built for one maintenance release of clipart to work with another maintenance release, provided the directory structure is essentially identical.

4.	Last, all local hard drives are searched for the file.

Technically, steps 2 and 3 involve only one pass of the drive list, but the priority of the matching process is as described.


Double-Click Default Action

Sets the action to be taken when a file with the CDR extension is double-clicked in the hit list box.  The possibilities are to open or import the drawing.  Most users will probably want to set this to "import".

The user can set the double-click for the most frequently used operation, then use Open Selected Drawing and Import Selected Drawing when the other operation is needed.

Note that pressing the Enter key while the highlight is on a file performs the same action as a double-click of the mouse.

Note also that this setting applies to files with a CDR extension.  For files of type CMX, the action is always import.  For other file types, the action is always "open".