POINT & SHOOT QUICK INDEX ------------------------- A) GENERAL PROGRAM USE #2 B) MAIN MENU COMMANDS #7 C) FILE COMMANDS #14 D) SETUP #25 E) TREE COMMANDS #27 GENERAL PROGRAM USE ------------------- When Point & Shoot is run (by typing PS from the DOS prompt or from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file), the main program screen will appear. The top line of the screen displays the name and version of the program a copyright notice and the current date and time. The center portion of the screen displays the current menu title and user defined menu entries. The bottom section of the screen displays the command menus with an explanatory line. At any time during the operation of the program, you may press the [Alt-C] key combination to activate an on-screen calculator. The [Esc] key will return you to the program at the point from which you started the calculator. Another "always available" command is the [Alt-S] command which displays the current space statistics of your hard disk and other program option settings. Again, the [Esc] key will return you to the point at which the statistics screen was activated. [Alt-P] displays a detailed copyright notice and [Alt-H] displays help information. When you use [Alt-H], the first screen to appear is a quick index for the help system. You may jump to a section of the help file by pressing the appropriate hilited letter. You may always return to the help index by pressing [Home]. Finally, [Alt-D] provides quick access to the DOS prompt. The current directory will be whichever directory was currenty in use by the File portion of Point & Shoot. From the DOS prompt, you may enter any DOS command. [F1-F10] will recall the last 10 commands entered. [Esc] returns to Point & Shoot. Most of the program functions are executed through the list of commands shown in the bottom area of the screen. The [space] or [BackSpace] keys may be used to highlight the desired command. The one line description of the command shown on the last line of the screen will change appropriately. To execute any of the functions, press the first letter of the command. The command corresponding to the selected letter will be immediately executed Some commands will move to another command list. The name of the current command list is always shown on the upper left corner of the command list box. You may move to a previous command list by pressing the [Esc] key. Each command list also has a QUIT command which will move to the previous command list. Occasionally, you will be presented with a vertical list of choices for some program function options. Select from these lists by pressing the up or down arrow keys and press [return] when the desired option is highlighted. If the first letters of the options are shown in bold characters, you may press the corresponding letter to make a selection. You may optionally press the [Esc] key to abort the selection process. In general, the [Esc] key serves to abort any operation or selection. To quit the program and return to the operating system, press [Esc] or select QUIT from the Main Menu command list. At many points in the program, you will be entering or changing information on the screen. The procedure is generally the same and is outlined here. Differences that occur in this procedure are covered in the appropriate detail sections of this documentation. When entering or updating data screens (in menu operations or setup), a flashing "*" will appear on the data screen to indicate where your information is to be entered. A cursor will also show the current position within a data field. (Data fields are the highlighted areas of the screen). Some or all of the following commands will be available for data entry: [left/right arrow]: Moves the cursor within the current field. If the cursor is at the first position within a field, then the previous field will be selected. If the cursor is at the last position within a field, then the next field will be selected. [ctrl-left/right]: Moves the cursor to the first position or last character of the field. [up/down arrow]: Select the previous or next data field for editing. [F3]: Same as left or down arrow for previous field. [F4]: Same as right or down arrow for next field [Enter/return]: Same as right or down arrow for next field. [Esc]: Aborts changes made to the data screen completes enter/update action. [F10]: Accepts changes made to the data screen completes enter/update action. MAIN MENU COMMANDS ------------------ Most of the Main Menu commands are used to manipulate the user defined program menus. User menus consist of menu titles, commands that you wish to execute, and the subdirectory path from which to execute the command. The menus entries are created and modified with the ADD and CHANGE commands described below. Up to 30 menu entries may be defined for Point & Shoot. Each of these menu entries may contain up to 10 more submenu entries. Following is a description of each of the Main Menu commands. ADD Used to add new menu entries into Point & Shoot. When you select ADD, a hilite bar will appear in the center portion of the screen. Use the arrow keys to select a position for your new menu entry (don't worry, you can move it later). When the desired position is hilited, press [return]. The MENU DETAIL data screen will appear. The following data fields are available: MENU ENTRY TITLE: This is the name (up to 20 characters) that will appear on the main screen. The first menu title line defines the main entry. The remaining 10 lines are for submenu entry definition. You must enter a title in the first line, but the rest may be blank. If you choose to enter submenu titles, it is best to use a different starting letter for each title so that you may select them by using the letter only. COMMAND TO EXECUTE: The command you enter here will be executed when you select this menu entry on the main screen. If you leave the first command blank and define some of the submenu commands, the submenu will will be invoked when you select the corresponding menu entry. Several commands (up to 50 characters) may be entered on one line by separating each command with the vertical bar |. A } symbol forces prompting for parameters. If you place the carat symbol ^ in the command string, Point & Shoot will not resume after command execution. IMPORTANT If you specify a batch file as the command to execute, the last line of that batch file must be "PS" so that Point & Shoot will resume after the command is complete. CURRENT MENU PATH: As you move through each of the menu title or command fields, the path for the current menu line will appear in this field. With Point & Shoot, you have the option of specifying different paths for each command in the menu entry. If you do not specify any paths, the root directory will be used. If you do not specify a path for a submenu entry, the path specified for the main entry will be used. The [F7] key will display a graphic directory tree from which you may select the appropriate path. Two additional commands are used during the ADD function. [F5] allows you to delete one of the menu entry lines, and [F6] allows you to switch two lines. When you have finished entering your menu entry, [F10] will save the entry and return to the main menu screen. [Esc] will abort all changes. CHANGE Used to change the specifications for an existing menu entry. When you select CHANGE, a hilite will appear on the first menu entry. Use the arrow keys and [return] to select the menu entry you wish to change. The MENU DETAIL data screen will then appear. Editing of this screen is the same as for the ADD command. DELETE Used to delete an existing menu entry. When you select DELETE, a hilite will appear on the first menu entry. Use the arrow keys and [return] to select the menu entry you wish to delete. [Esc] will abort the process. EXCHANGE Used to exchange two existing menu entries. When you select EXCHANGE, a hilite will appear on the first menu entry. Use the arrow keys and [return] to select the first menu entry for the exchange operation. A flashing arrow will mark your spot. Next, use the arrow keys and [return] to select the second menu entry for the exchange. [Esc] will abort the process. FILE Moves to the FILE COMMANDS described later. MOVE Used to move an existing menu entry to a new location. When you select MOVE, a hilite will appear on the first menu entry. Use the arrow keys and [return] to select the menu entry that you wish to move. A flashing arrow will mark your spot. Next, use the arrow keys and [return] to select the new location for the menu entry. [Esc] will abort the process. SETUP Moves to the program setup data screen described later. TREE Moves to the TREE COMMANDS described later. FILE COMMANDS ------------- IMPORTANT: YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SELECT ORIGIN AND TARGET DIRECTORIES BEFORE USING FILE COMMANDS!!! IF YOU CHANGE FLOPPY DISKS, YOU MUST USE THE ORIGIN OR TARGET COMMAND IN THE TREE COMMANDS TO RE-LOG THE DISK, OTHERWISE THE FILE DISPLAY WILL BE INCORRECT. The file commands in Point & Shoot provide a comprehensive set of functions for file manipulation. When you select FILE from the main menu, a dual display screen will appear. The left half of the screen displays a list of files and the right half of the screen displays the subdirectories on your hard disk. If no files are found, a NO FILES FOUND message will be displayed. The FILE and TREE commands work in concert. The file list shown is always for the directory (or floppy disk) marked on the tree with an "O" denoting Origin. File commands generally operate on the currently hilited file. Some commands like Copy will also use the directory (or floppy disk) marked with a "T" for Target. You may move between the FILE and TREE sides of the screen with the right and left arrow keys. Additional commands available with FILE that are not shown on the menu are: [return]: Tags/untags the currently hilited file for use with the BLOCK command. [+ or -]: Tags/untags all files for use with BLOCK command. [^PgDn]: Tags current file and moves cursor down. [up/down arrow], [PgUp], [PgDn], [Home], [End]: Moves the hilite bar throughout the file display. ATTRIBUTES Used to change the attributes or date of the currently hilited file. Choices include Read-only, Hidden, System, and Archive. A pop-up list will appear from which you may examine the current attribute settings or change to new attributes. [Esc] will leave the attributes unchanged. BLOCK Used to perform a Copy, Delete, Move or Rename operation on a group of files. When you select BLOCK, a new menu will appear on the bottom of the screen. The command options will be displayed along with the number of tagged files and the total size in bytes of the tagged files. When you have tagged the desired files, press the appropriate command letter and the operation will begin. Files will be untagged after each operation is completed. If all files are Deleted or Moved, then execution will automatically return to the FILE COMMANDS menu, otherwise, you must press [Esc] or [right arrow] when you are finished with the BLOCK commands. COPY Used to copy the currently hilited file from the ORIGIN directory to the TARGET directory. If the ORIGIN and TARGET directories are the same, then you will be prompted for a new file name. The result is a file duplication in the ORIGIN directory. If the selected file exists in the TARGET directory and DUP CHECKS (see OPTIONS) is on, then you will be asked if it is ok to replace the existing file. If DUP CHECKS is off, then the existing file will be erased without asking. DELETE Used to delete the currently hilited file. You will be asked if it is ok to delete the file before the deletion takes place. EDIT When you select EDIT, the external text file editor "PASE.EXE" will be automatically executed and will load your file. You may edit other files while in the editor. Complete documentation for the editor can be found in the file "PASEDOC.TXT" on the distribution disk. FILTER Used to filter the file search in the ORIGIN directory. The default is "*.*" which will find all files. File filter strings are the same as used in DOS (see your DOS manual for details). When you select FILTER, the cursor will jump to the top of the screen where FILTER appears. You may then edit the string to match the files of interest. GLOBAL Used to search your entire hard disk for files matching the current file filter. After you have used the FILTER command to select the appropriate files, use GLOBAL to search the entire disk. When a matching file(s) is found, you will be given several options: D)elete: Deletes the currently hilited file. If the deleted file was the only file left in the current list, the global search will continue. YOU WILL NOT BE PROMPTED BEFORE THE DELETION!!! N)ext Dir: Skips the current directory and continues with the global search. [Esc]: Stops the global search and stays in the current directory. All of the file list commands (arrows, [PgUp], [PgDn], [Home] and [End] will operate when global search has paused in a directory. A current count of files found and deleted will be displayed in the bottom portion of the screen. The ORIGIN directory will be hilited on the directory tree as the global search proceeds. HEX Used to edit any file in Hex/Ascii mode. When you select HEX, the first 256 bytes of the currently hilited file will be read into memory and the HEX screen will appear. The left side of the screen displays the file in Hex code and the right side displays the Ascii equivalent. Commands included in HEX are: [F1]: Rereads the current 256 bytes from disk [F2]: Saves the current 256 bytes to disk [F3]: Jumps to the Hex side of the screen [F4]: Jumps to the Ascii side of the screen [F10], [Esc] Quits the Hex/Ascii editing session The [PgUp], [PgDn], [Home] and [End]] keys work as expected. MOVE Used to move the currently hilited file from the ORIGIN directory to the TARGET directory. If the selected file exists in the TARGET directory and DUP CHECKS (see OPTIONS) is on, then you will be asked if it is ok to replace the existing file. If DUP CHECKS is off, then the existing file will be erased without asking. If you think you have lost a file after using move, check which directory is set as TARGET, then look there for your file. NEWFILE Used to create a new empty file. When you select NEWFILE, you will be prompted for a file name. If the name you select is that of an existing file, the operation will abort. OPTIONS Used to select certain options for FILE commands including the floppy drives used on your system and whether you want the program to prompt you on duplicate files during COPY and MOVE operations. PRINT Used to print the text files the file list. If printing the file list, you may select an expanded list including filename, size and date, or a filename only list. Print Text File prints the file as is. HP Laser 2 Column prints the file in a double column format on HP LaserJet printers. 80 characters per line and 60 lines per page are used. Use a word processor to format text files if they do not appear as desired. RENAME Used to change the name of the currently hilited file. When you select RENAME, the cursor jumps to the name of the currently hilited file. You may then enter a new name for the file. SORT Used to set the file list sort to Date, Extension, Name and Size. TREE Jumps to the TREE commands (same as right-arrow) VIEW Used to view the currently hilited file. VIEW commands include: [F1]: Toggles filtering of characters of Ascii 128 or higher. These characters are shown as their lower Ascii values. [F2]: Toggles the display of printable characters only. XECUTE Executes the currently hilited file in memory (.COM or .EXE only). DO NOT EXECUTE MEMORY RESIDENT PROGRAMS!!! SETUP ----- The SETUP command is used to establish the configuration for Point & Shoot. In SETUP, you can select program colors and other defaults. DATA FIELDS BEEPER ON?: If "Y", the computer's beeper will sound on errors and other places within the program. Set this to "N" if the sound drives you crazy. CHIME?: If "Y", the computer's beeper will sound whenever the time reaches the hour mark. EDITOR BAKS?: If "Y", when you edit a file with the Point & Shoot Editor (via the File Edit command, the editor will make backups (.BAK files) if you save a file while editing. Otherwise, no backups will be made. MENU NAME: This name will appear on the main program screen and is stricly for aesthetic purposes. NORMAL TEXT: The color (from a list) in which all normal text will appear. Normal text is used in all areas that do not demand the user's attention. BOLD TEXT: The color (from a list) in which all bold text will appear. Bold text is used in all areas that demand the user's attention. TREE COMMANDS ------------- IMPORTANT: YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SELECT ORIGIN AND TARGET DIRECTORIES BEFORE USING FILE COMMANDS!!! IF YOU CHANGE FLOPPY DISKS, YOU MUST USE THE ORIGIN OR TARGET COMMAND IN THE TREE COMMANDS TO RE-LOG THE DISK, OTHERWISE THE FILE DISPLAY WILL BE INCORRECT. The tree commands in Point & Shoot provide a comprehensive set of functions for subdirectory manipulation. When you select TREE from the main menu, a dual display screen will appear. The left half of the screen displays a list of files and the right half of the screen displays the subdirectories on your hard disk. The FILE and TREE commands work in concert. The file list shown is always for the directory (or floppy disk) marked on the tree with an "O" denoting Origin. You may move between the FILE and TREE sides of the screen with the right and left arrow keys. The [return] key will select the currently hilited directory as the ORIGIN. COLLECT Used to reread the directory names from the hard disk. Usually it is not necessary to use this command. However, if you make or remove a directory while in DOS, the Point & Shoot will not know that the directory structure has changed unless you use COLLECT. DELETE Deletes the currently hilited directory. You may not remove directories that have child directories or those that contain files. No prompting occurs before the directory is deleted. FILE Jumps to the FILE commands (same as left-arrow). GOTO Immediately exits Point & Shoot and moves to the directory that was hilited. HIDE Hides the currently hilited directory. The directory will be marked with an asterisk "*" to show that it is hidden. Point & Shoot can find these hidden directories, but they will be hidden from the DOS DIR command. MAKE Used to make a new directory following the currently hilited directory. When you select MAKE, you will be prompted for the new directory name. Directory names are the same format as file names. You may have to use SORT after this command to show the directories in correct sorted order. ORIGIN Selects the currently hilited directory as the ORIGIN for FILE commands. [Enter] will serve the same purpose as ORIGIN. PRINT Used to print the directory tree, optionally with a list of files after each directory. TARGET Selects the currently hilited directory as the TARGET for FILE commands. UNHIDE Unhides a previously hidden directory. ***** END OF HELP *****