Upgrading from previous versions of DOSSBOSS ============================================ *********************************************************** * This file contains VERY IMPORTANT information on * * upgrading previous versions of DOSSBOSS * *********************************************************** This file contains 2 sections: * Important Notes for those upgrading * History of DOSSBOSS (includes list of new features found in version 3.1) Important Notes for anyone upgrading from a previous version of DOSSBOSS: =========================================================================== 1. Number of Screen Rows & Upgrading If you have your DOSSBOSS display set to 43 or 50 rows and you do an upgrade, the FIRST command you should run when you start DOSSBOSS again is the 'Row' command found under the 'System' command menu to set your row value back to what it was. This will avoid the possible loss of any tool references on your pages! 2. If you are upgrading from version 3.0 or later... * Function key assignments and bookmark settings will be lost & need to be re-entered. 3. If you are upgrading from version 2.5 or earlier... * DOSSBOSS will replace all the system tools in your tool file with new system tools. Therefore any changes you made to the system tools will be lost & need to be remade. * Function key assignments will also be lost. * Because of the different type of menu system used in versions 3.x, the 'Run-Menu-Command' tool command is no longer available to you. DOSSBOSS will no longer recognize this command when it is found in a tool. * Your To-Do list will NOT be compatible with 3.x versions of DOSSBOSS! The file format of the to-do list was changed slightly so that the to-do list could be printed out in a nice format (using the 'Print To-Dos' tool found on the 'Utilitys' page). If your to-do list is small, the easiest thing to do is to replace the the file by doing a FULL installation and when prompted for each file (whether you want to replace it or not), answer 'No', except for the DB_TODO.DAT file, for which you should answer 'Yes'. Then simply add all your to-do list items again. However, if your to-do list is large (or you simply don't feel like re-typing it all in), you can make the file compatible with DOSSBOSS v3.1 fairly easily. Simply follow these steps: a) Open the file DB_TODO.DAT using an ascii text editor (however, do not use the DOS full screen editor 'EDIT.EXE', because it converts tab stops into spaces!). Don't use a fancy word processor that is going to add all sorts of formatting information to the file when you save it again. b) Each to-do item takes up one line, with the priority listed in the first column and the actual item in columns 2-56. To make the file compatible with DOSSBOSS v3.1 you must insert a single tab character in column 2 of every line (make sure you are in insert mode when you do this, and not in over-write mode). The last line of the file is a null line. Do not edit or remove that line!! c) Save the updated file. Make sure you made no changes other than that specified in step b) above!! Your to-do list will now work fine with DOSSBOSS v3.1 The History of DOSSBOSS =========================== DOSSBOSS was written in assembler and assembled using the rather impressive shareware assembler, A86 V3.22 (copyright 1986-90 by Eric Isaacson) and associated debugger, D86 V3.22 (copyright 1986-90 Eric Isaacson). Thanks to Eric for a great development tool! July 1994 - Beta Releases v1.0 and v1.01 and v1.1 of DOSSBOSS (distributed to a few individuals who helped me work out some bugs. Thx!) August 12, 1994 - First General Release = v1.2 Sept.1-10, 1994 - Release of version 2.x (some enhancements & a few bug fixes) Dec.1, 1994 - minor bug fixes and replaced the viewing utility SEE.EXE with my own BOSSVIEW.EXE Dec.6, 1994 - Release of version 2.5 January 1995 - Totally reworked user interface to make it more standardized, and user-friendly. Generally whipped the whole product into Shape! February 1995 - Released version 3.0 April 1995 - Released version 3.1 (100% mouse compatibility finally!) Details of Changes (by version number) -------------------------------------- New in version 3.1 * finally all screens in DOSSBOSS are 100% mouse compatible! * can now switch directories from the file window as well as the directory window. * new secondary line type for automatically jumping to end of tool after execution of a command * variable %i now can be up to 65 characters long. Also, when choosing what to over-ride %i with, more choice is now available. * added fast-find command for pages, and changed key stroke sequence for fast-find on tool list. * mouse usage changed, so that the mouse buttons can be used in a greater variety of ways (especially over the file window). New in version 3.0 * totally redesigned user interface, which has a more standardized approach to keyboard usage, is generally much easier to use, and looks better. Some of the more major changes include: shadowed windows on the main screen, switch from pull-down menus to one-key-stroke command menus, more standardized way of tagging/untagging files, more on-screen messages and improved on-line help facilities. Many other miscellaneous improvements which make it more pleasant to use. * improved support for monochrome monitors of the grey-scale variety. * improved mouse support! * Now there are 6 bookmarks which can be used (not just one). They can be viewed, set and jumped to (& they now also work across drives). You can also quickly copy/move files to the bookmark directories. * when sorting files by date or size, you can now choose between ascending or descending order. * added fast find command on tool list display. * frequently used DOS commands will now stay on the DOSSBOSS stack longer. * changed format of To-Do-List file, so that you can now print off your To-Do-List (tool is supplied to do the printing). * files pointed to by variables %1 & %2 can now be quickly jumped to in the file window. * changed way in which to over-ride tool input (%i) when tool launched. * remove ability to have personalized title below menu. This line is now used by DOSSBOSS to tell you when it is 'Busy Working...' * DOSSBOSS can now adjust the keyboard delay & repeat rate values for you (to make them a bit faster if desired). * allow delete of (or emptying of) non-empty directories * added command to FULLY expand all lower level branches of a directory * added ability to copy a partial directory tree (with OR without its files) into another directory. * enhanced tagging commands include ability to toggle all tags, or to tag all files having an extension similar to the currently selected file. * add ability to change attributes of a directory (eg. to hide directories) * Bug fixed - tool list was not displaying names correctly if the tool file was greater than 64K. * Bug fixed - collapsing root directory of LARGE directory tree could have caused the system to hang or act funny under a set of limited circumstances. * Bug fixed - only 256 tagged files were being processed at a time (when more then 256 files tagged). New in version 2.5 * Replaced the viewing utility SEE.EXE with my own BOSSVIEW.EXE * If expanding directory near bottom of directory window, the directory window contents will now shift up if necessary to display the results of the expansion. * Allow delete and move of read-only files now (after warning the user). * Allow user to directly turn off repeating reminders when they popup. * Now allow user to switch any of a file's (or multiple files) attributes on or off (not just the read only attribute). * Allow copy/move of file(s) to be done to target directory (%t). * Added ability to import small batch files into tools. * Added command to edit the file Association Tool. New in version 2.2 * Upgrading was a problem because system tools were not being replaced. DOSSBOSS is now able to detect old tool files and update the system tools in them. * Bug fixed - Moving or copying a file onto itself was not being prevented in the root directory of a drive. Sorry about that one! If you want details of changes prior to version 2.2, please contact me.