Copyright: Copyright ® 1993-1994, Philipp Bachmann


Contents

Introduction

Who would use this product?

Feature List

Setup and use

Setting up

Frequently asked questions

Ordering information

Ordering Information

Technical Support

Technical support may be obtained from the following sources:

International users:	CompuServe 100026,506

Australian users:	PBACHMAN @ OzEmail

Desperate users:	Phone/Fax: 61-3-804-5411


Trademarks and Licence

The use of 'MS' and 'VB' throughout this document refer to Microsoft and Microsoft Visual Basic respectively.

Microsoft, MS, Visual Basic and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.  In no event shall Wonderful Computer Services or its suppliers be liable for any damage whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the software, even if Wonderful Computer Services has been advised of the possibility of such damages.  Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.


Introduction

Welcome WCS Developer's Workbench.

We believe that this product will become an essential tool for software developers who want to deliver high-quality applications to their customers.

Who would use this product?

Feature List

System requirements

Ordering Information


Who would use this product?

WCS Devloper's Workbench is an integrated tool for software developers.  It services the needs of individual developers and small development teams by assisting them in completing projects.  The following diagram illustrates this:

While this product is primarily targetted at software developers, the usefulness of individual components to other computer users should not be discounted.  For example:

•	The backup facility works well with accounting information, providing a very fast and sure way of keeping the optimal number of back-ups

•	The Code Library may be used as an all-purpose heirachy list, eg. customers, suppliers, phone numbers etc.


Feature List

The WCS Developer’s Workbench helps you create and manage software development projects.

It does this by providing the following features:

1.	Developers and maintenance programmers have easy access to files on which they are working.  See Editing Files.

2.	It ensures that work done by one developer does not overwrite work currently being done by another.  - See File Protection

3.	One-step 'smart' backup - see Backing-up Files

4.	Provides utilities for the routine maintenance of projects, ie. creating, deleting, renaming files - see File Menu.

5.	Special support for Visual Basic programmers.

6.	Simplifying operations logically-related groups of files - see Collections

7.	Integrates commonly used utilities into one package - see the Utilities Menu.

8.	An integrated To-do list that jumps directly to the items requiring work - see To Do Items.

9.	Provides an easy way to create release diskettes - see Creating Install Diskettes.

10.	Full multi-user capability


System requirements

WCS Developer's requires the following hardware and software environment:

•	Industry standard Personal Computer

•	Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher

•	5 meg free hard disk space

•	Windows compatible mouse or other pointing device

•	Networking hardware and software (for multi-user installation)


Ordering Information

What will I get by purchasing this product?

•	Immediate notification of a password to enable the complete functionality of the product.

•	A copy of the commercial version of WCS Developer’s Workbench.

•	Free, prompt technical support facility through CompuServe.

•	A professionally bound, printed manual.

•	Notification (through CompuServe mail) of upgrades/bug fixes.

Price details

Price: $US190 + $6 handling

The licence allows between 1 and 5 users to access the same installation simultaneously.

How to order WCS Developer’s Workbench

CompuServe:	Go SWREG and register the following product:

Registration ID:   2733

Program Title:     WCS DEVELOPER'S WORKBENCH 1.0

Telephone:	Phone: 61-3-804-5411 providing Visa or Mastercard details.

Mail:	Copy the following form (Select Copy from the menu and paste into Notepad or a word processor) and print it.

Name:_______________________________________________________

Company:____________________________________________________

Address1:____________________________________________________

Address2:____________________________________________________

City:________________________________________________________

State:_______________________________________________________

Zip:_________________________________________________________

Country:_____________________________________________________

Tel:___________________________________________________optional

Diskettes supplied are 3.5 inch.

Send completed form with payment to

Wonderful Computer Services

Mail Order Department

12/28 The Righi

South Yarra 3141

Australia


Setting up

The following flowchart illustrates the steps required in setting up:


Downloading WCSERVP

The following text applies only to users of the Demo pack:

If you do not have VB 3.0 Professional, you need to download the Workbench Service Kit:

WCSERVP.EXE

This file may be found on CompuServe in the MSBASIC forum.

It should also be available from the service from which you downloaded the demonstration archive, WCSWB.EXE.

Once you have download it, it should be copied to the same directory in which you had copied WSCWB.EXE.

Of course, the easiest way to see WCS Devloper's Workbench working is to order it!  See Ordering Information.


Installing Software

The software installation procedure is designed to copy files into a central directory to be shared by all users.  This directory is referred to as the Projects Directory.  In a multi-user environment, this directory should be located on a shared drive.  Specific software installation instructions for the demonstration version and commercial versions of the product appear below:

Demo Installation

The following steps apply to those who have obtained a copy of the demonstration version of WCS Developer's Workbench.

•	Place WCSWB.EXE in an empty, temporary directory and run this program.

•	Run SETUP.EXE.

•	When prompted for a directory, specify the directory you wish to nominate as your Projects Directory.

Commercial installation

The following steps apply to those who have purchased a copy of WCS Developer's Workbench.

•	Insert Disk 1-Setup into the most convenient floppy drive.

•	From Program Manager, select 'Run' from the 'File' menu and type a:\setup.exe.  (Substituting the correct drive where a: does not represent the drive concerned).

•	Follow the on-line instructions.

Once the software installation is complete, proceed to the section Setting up Users.

File compression

Users wanting to use the 'compress' option of the Target Manager will need to copy COMPRESS.EXE into the Projects Directory.  Owners of Visual Basic Profession will find this file in the \VB\SETUPKIT\KITFILES directory.


Setting up Users

At this point the software should have been installed as described in Installing Software.

For each user, the system administrator should complete the following tasks:

•	Go to the machine on which the user is to work.

•	Create a working directory (private directory) for the user, using File Manager.

•	Create a Program Manager icon for the user by selecting 'New' from the File menu.  When presented with the Program Item Properties dialog box enter information by referring to the following table:

Field name	What you should enter

Description	WCS Workbench

Command Line	<Projects Directory>\workbnch.exe

Working Directory	<Working Directory>

Shortcut Key	Your choice of start-up key.  Note that this key may be used as a hot-key after the application has started.

The screen snapshot below illustrates a Program Manager entry which has been completed:

•	Start the Workbench and enter a username (short names are best).  Select options from thje Options Menu and complete the options for this user.  Ensure that the user has an unique name and that all the directories are set up correctly.  Restart the Workbench to ensure all changes are effected.


Setting up Projects

A comprehensive outline of projects is presented below.

What are Projects?

Creating New Projects

Editing And Deleting Projects


What are Projects?

WCS Developer's Workbench defines a project as being a related group of source code, programs, data files that reside in a single directory tree off the Projects Directory.

Files stored in the projects subdirectories are not directly accessible through the Public List or Private List.  They are, however, accessible by being part of a Collection and may be referred to in a Target.


Creating New Projects

To create a new project, select New from the Project Menu and you will be prompted to enter the new Project's details.  These comprise:

Project Name

The project name is the name displayed by the Workbench.  This name can be changed at a later time.

Directory

Enter the name of the directory in which you want project information to be stored.  If this directory does not exist then it will be created for you.  If it already exists, no information in it will be erased.

NOTE:	This directory should not be a full path to your project but rather the name of the subdirectory off the main project directory.  eg. Scribble rather than c:\projects\scribble

Creation Date

This field is used to record the time the project was first created.  If the default is not appropriate then change it manually.

Contributing Members (Optional)

This field may be used to hold the names of people who will be (or have been) working on the project.

Project Information

The last field is used to hold miscellaneous information concerning the project.

Once these fields have been completed press the OK button and the new project will be displayed in the Public List.


Editing And Deleting Projects

Editing Projects

Project's details may be edited by selecting edit from the Project Menu.  Editing projects is a similar process to the Creating New Projects described above.

NOTE:	If you change the directory name you must also rename the corresponding physical directory.  If this is not done, next time Workbench is started it will complain about having information registered against files that no longer exist.

Deleting Projects

To delete a project select Delete from the Projects Menu.  Deleting a project will also delete all information associated with the files in that project. ie, To do information, file descriptions etc...

You will be presented with the option of deleting all the physical files associated with the project.  Ensure that these files are no longer required before answering yes.


Accessing your Files

Some applications have built-in multi-user share facilities while others do not.  Examples of applications with in-built locking include Windows Write and Microsoft Excel.  Examples of applications without such protection include Windows Notepad and Microsoft Visual Basic.

Where the locking mechanism provided by the application is adequate, WCS Developer’s Workbench provides a mechanism to directly access the files.  Where the existing sharing mechanism is inadequate, inappropriate, or non-existent, WCS Developer’s Workbench provides a Private Editing facility.

On some installations accessing shared files will be slower than accessing local files (for example, when the shared files reside on a slow network drive).  In these cases developers may want to move work to their local directories simply to improve load times.

Direct Access

The Workbench does not restrict the access of files in the shared directory.  This may be done simply by double-clicking on the required file in the Projects Window.  It is also possible to use an application launcher like File Manager to open your files directly.

Direct access is not recommended where the application has no in-built locking mechanism and there is a chance that other users may edit the file simultaneously.

Private Editing

Private editing involves moving the files that you would like to edit into a private directory so that you may be sure that you are the only person who has access to the file.  Move the required files from the Public List to the Private List by dragging the file from the left window to the right.

You will be prompted whether you want read or write access.  Read access moves a read-only copy to your working directory, which you may view, but not modify.  You may take a read-only copy at any time.

Write access moves a read-write copy to the working directory for editing.  Only one person may take a file for write access at any time.

See also:

Public List

Private List

File Types

Launching files

File Protection

Collections


Public List

The Public List shows the shared files, organised into their respective projects.  These files are public to all users connected to the Workbench.  Files listed in the Public List are designed to be edited straight from the public list or taken into a user's Private List (in cases where the user wishes to be protected from other users overwriting their work).


Private List

The private list appears on the right side of the Projects Window and shows all the files that have been taken for private editing.

By dragging files over to the right side of the screen you are moving them into a protected environment. (See Also:  File Protection)


File Types

In both the Public List and Private List, files are organised into types, usually corresponding to the application that is used to access them.  Common types include TXT (Notepad), WRI (Windows Write), MAK (Visual Basic).

When presenting the contents of a project, Workbench groups the files according to types.  It determines what type a file belongs to by scanning the following table for each file:

Type	Determination

Collections	Has this file been marked as the 'Main file' in a collection.  If so, group it under this collection type.

Automatic	Check this file's extension against the list of File Types listed in the Options Screen.  The default types are TXT, WRI & MAK.

Other	If the file is not one of the above, it is displayed in this category.

The diagram below shows examples of the three different category types:


Launching files

Files can be launched in a manner similar to the Windows File Manager by choosing the Run from the File Menu. The default directory for the program will correspond to the directory where the project file is stored.


File Protection

See Also:  Private List.

Many applications do not protect other users from accidently overwriting another users work.  To use files in a protected environment it is necessary to drag those files into the private list.  When the drag operation is performed the workbench will request the user to enter the permissions they wish to apply to the file.

Taking a file for write permission means that you can modify the file freely (effectively locking out other users from modifying the file).  Read permission however means that you only wish to look at the contents of the file.

Taking a file for write access has the disadvantage that other users will only be able to take the file for read access.  If you only take a file for read access then other users can take the file for write access.


Collections

In the Developer’s Workbench it is possible to associate a list of files with a single filename.  This process results in a Collection.

This can be a useful process for the following reasons:

•	There is often more than one file associated with a given unit of work.

•	The steps involved in copying over all files for a paticular work unit are reduced and simplified.

•	It is not uncommon for a list of files to be associated with a "main file". (For example in C there is a makefile which contains a list of files which make up the program).

There are two classes of collection in the WCS Developer’s Workbench:

Automatic Collections

These are collections that the workbench knows how to create automatically.  To date the workbench only recognises Microsoft Visual Basic MAK files.  When the workbench sees a Visual Basic MAK file it knows how to extract the files within the MAK file.  This can only be done with MAK files that are stored as text files.  If this is not the case and you do not wish to convert the file to text it will be necessary to define the contents of the MAK file as a manual collection.

Manual Collections

Manual collections are defined by the user.  To create a Collection the first thing you will need to do is create a Collection Type.  For example, to create a collection for a C++ program you would first create a C++ collection type.  You would then make a collection for each individual C++ program you create.

All collections are categorized under their respective collection types.  The advantage of collecting files under a single name are apparent when copying files to the private list and when building targets (to be discussed later).


Collection Types

Definition of a Collection Type

Collection types are used to organize collections into categories.  For instance users of C++ and Pascal may want to define two categories.  One for C++ and one for Pascal.

Collection's can be created by choosing Collection Types from the Options Menu.

Creating A Collection Type

Before collections can be created at least one collection type must be defined.  This is done by selecting Modify Collection Types from the Options Menu.  Selecting this menu item display a window that will allow you to modify or create new collection types.  Supply the following information when creating a new collection category:

•	The name of the category (this will typically be something like "C++" or "Pascal").

•	The name of the file to execute when the application is double clicked.


Editing Collections

Creating A Collection

The next step is to create the collection.  This involves choosing a "main file". If you are programming in C or C++ this file would usually be the makefile, other languages have their own concept of a makefile.

To create the collection select the Edit/Create Collection Menu item.  This menu option will bring up a window where you can enter all files that you want associated with this collection.  The main file will always be a part of this list and so should not be included explicitly by the user.

Once you have defined all the files you want included the only thing remaining to do it click OK.  The collection can now be used from the Public List or Private List.

Expanding a Collection

The contents of a given collection can be displayed in either the public or private lists by double clicking on the picture next to the collection name.  Double-click again to collapse this list.


File Maintenance

WCS Developer's Workbench allows you to create, modify and delete files.  It also allows you to assign information to files stored in a project.

See:

Creating New Files

Deleting Files

File Properties

To Do Items


Creating New Files

New files can be created by selecting new from the File Menu or pressing the "New File" button on the Workbench toolbar.  This will bring up a menu of the file types defined on this system.


Deleting Files

You may delete files by:

•	Using the mouse to click the Delete File Button.

•	Select "Delete" from the File Menu.

NOTE:	Files should be deleted using these methods rather than externally (File Manager, DOS etc).  This will ensure that information associated with the file (to do items, etc.) will be deleted also.

If this file is a Visual Basic mak file or a Collection, all the files embodied in these collections will be deleted also, as long as they are not part of another mak/Collection.


File Properties

The File Properties screen provides the following functionality:

File Details

Provides the ability to store a general information pertaining to a file.  The first line of this entry will be used as the file's description and appear in the Public List and Target List as such.

Backups to Keep

By default, the number of file changes that are kept are the same as the 'Default Backups to Keep' setting in Configuration Options.

File State

If the file has been taken for write access then a closed padlock will be displayed along with the name of the user that has taken the file.  Otherwise the padlock will be open.


To Do Items

Each file in a project may have work units attached to it.  These work units are refered to as 'To do items'.  To do items are displayed in a list at the bottom of the Projects Screen.

To create a new to do item, double click on the <<New>> entry at the bottom of the list.  The To Do Item Editor will then be displayed..

To edit an existing To do item, double-click it with the mouse.


To Do Item Editor

The components of the to do editor are outlined below:

User to complete Task

Select the person responsible for completing/evaluating the to do item. If you select someone other than yourself, the item will appear prefixed by two asterix symbols (**) when they review the to do list, and will remain in this state until that user has viewed the item and pressed OK.

Select user "Anyone" if you do not care who completes the to do item.

To do item description

Used to edit the text of the to do item.  Only the first line of this text will appear in the to do item list.  All of the to do item's text can be seen however when viewing from the To Do item editor.

Item type

This button displays the type of the To Do item.

When this button is pressed a menu is displayed of all possible to do item types.  The user may select from one of these types.

Urgent

Marking an item as urgent will cause it to:

•	Appear at the bottom of the list.

•	Appear preceeded with an exclamation mark (!).

OK

Press this button to accept the changes you have made.

Cancel

Press this button to return to the main screen without recording changes.

Complete

Marks the item as complete and returns to the main screen.  After an item is marked as complete it will no longer appear in the list.  It will, however, be left in the Microsoft Access compatible database (PROJECTS.MDB) for reporting purposes.

Delete

Deletes the to do item from the to do list and from the database.


Creating Install Diskettes

The Target Manager provides the following features:

•	Creation of installation disks that are error free first time.

•	Ease the difficulty involved in specifying the files to include.

•	Minimize the effect of changes invalidating the installation information.

•	Minimize the amount of time taken to create new release diskettes.

The overall process for targets is outlined in the picture below:

The process of creating a new target is accomplished by:

Creating New Targets

Building Targets

Modifying the Setup Program


Creating New Targets

What is a Target?

A target is a set of installation files, which may include a setup program.  These files will often include:

•	Executable programs

•	Source code

•	Documentation

•	Dynamic Link Libraries

•	VBX files

How to create a target

Targets are attached to projects.  For a given project there can be many associated targets.

The first step involved in creating a target is to select New from the Targets Menu.  This will create a target called "Target1" (assuming no Target1 already exists).  There are a number of details that then need to be filled in once a new target is created.  These appear on the right hand side of the screen.

The first of these is the compression option.  The compress option determines whether files are compressed by default.

Since Target1 is not very descriptive, you may may wish to modify is the name of the target.  The name selected here will also appear when the user is installing the program so ensure that the name is indicative of the purpose of the installation disk(s).

The description field should be chosen that describes the reason behind the creation of this target.

The install drive specifies the default installation path for this particular target.  This field is used when installation disks are created.

Finally, the target text box in the bottom right hand side of the screen should contain information to go into a README.TXT file.  This file is automatically generated when a target is built.  Generally the README file should direct users to relevant documentation or EXE files.


Adding Files to a Target

Adding a File

There are two mechanisms for adding files to targets.  The first of these is the drag/drop method:

•	Ensure the destination target is selected.

•	Click on a file in the projects screen

•	Without releasing the mouse button "drag" the file into the targets screen.

•	"Drop" the file by releasing the mouse button.  The file should now be added to the target.

The second method is to add the file using the New option from the Item Menu.  This will create a file called NEWFILE.TXT.  Change the name of this file to the name of the file you want to add.  This filename may include relative filepath specifications as long as they are not backward relative (eg. ..\TEST\TEST.C is invalid but DATA\DATA.DAT is acceptable).  If the file is from a project other than the default one, modify the source project (the source project being the project where the file resides).

File Details

The details concerning a particular file are edit in the right window:

Project:	Specifies the location of this file.  Files may be taken from any project.

Compress:	Indicates whether the file should be compressed or not.  If set to default, the file will take the compression of the target.

Add To Program Manager:	Check this box if you would like the file added to a Program Manager group when the user installs the target.

Description:	If the file has been assigned a description through the projects screen this box will appear gray.  Otherwise it will be white and you may enter the description of your choice.

Destination:	The destination is where the file is installed.  DLL's and VBX's typically go into the windows or system directory.  Other files should be placed into the installation directory or a subdirectory off the installation directory.

Wildcards

Wildcards are a special type of file.  Instead of specifying a single file, it's actually possible to specify a range of files.  For instance, to include all document files into a target:

1. Create a new wildcard by selecting New Wildcard from the Targets Menu.

2. Change the wildcard path to read *.DOC

When the target is built the Workbench will automatically include all files with the extension ".DOC".


Building Targets

There are two stages in the build sequence:

Build Update

The first is the update.  Any files which are new or have changed since the last build will be copied or compressed into the nominated directory.  At the end of the build update the target manager will have copied all files specified by the selected target into this directory.  If you are using subdirectories then some subdirectories may also be created during the build process.

An important point to remember is that if you change the compress option of a particular file you will need to clear out any old build files from the directory.  This is because the Workbench copies files based on whether the file has changed rather than whether its compression details have changed.

Build Disks

The second stage of the build process actually creates the disks.  The size of these disks is determined by an option in the Configuration Options screen.  This process is performed on the hard drive for speed reasons.  Once the disk build has completed a series of directories will have been created that contain the files that can be copied straight onto the floppy disks.

The application can also be install straight from the build disk directories created on the hard drive.


Modifying the Setup Program

For most installations the default setup program is enough.  However for those developers that need to customize their setup process the source code to the Visual Basic setup program has been provided.

Alternatively you may decide to rewrite the setup program altogether.  In this case any language may be used.


Backing-up Files

WCS Developer's Workbench assumes that backups are done for two reasons:

1.	To ward against major disasters - hard disk failures,  fire, theft.

2.	To remedy things after minor disasters - file deletion, copying over new files, source code changes etc.

The first type of backup is not catered for by Workbench, since it is assumed that the developer will aleady have archival backups to removable media in place.

The second type of backup is catered for by Workbench through the maintenance of a fixed number of backups for each file.  Files are only backed-up when they have changed, and only a certain number of changes are kept.  The number of versions that are kept may be specified in Configuration Options (system wide) or File Properties (individual files).

The backups are stored in a directory tree illustrated by the example below:

Each project defined in the Workbench will have its own directory.  Within each project there are backup directories numbered 1, 2, 3 etc.  Backup directory number 1 will always contain the most recently backup version of all the files.  Directory number 2 will contain the second most recent etc.

When a file is backed up all previous versions of the file will be moved down one position.  For example,  if the file TEST.TXT is backed-up it will go in backup directory number 1.  The TEST.TXT that was in backup directory 1 will be moved to 2, 2 moved to 3 etc.

See:

Saving File Changes

Restoring Old File Versions


Saving File Changes

There a number of methods for saving any changes you may have made.  The first of these is by simply pressing the backup button on the toolbar.  This will backup all files that have changed in all projects.  The menu option Backup Changed Files will also accomplish this task.

To only backup changed files for one particular project select the project and select the Backup Changed Files For Current Project menu option.

Another way of accomplishing the same task is by using drag/drop.  Simply drag a project from the public list and drop it in the backup button on the toolbar.

It is important to remember that the backup process only backs-up files in the public list.  Privately taken files will have to be restored before the Workbench will save changes to these files.


Restoring Old File Versions

How to restore files:

•	Using File Manager, locate the Backup Directory as specified in the Configuration Options screen.

•	Locate the name of the relevant project directory as specified in the Projects Propertie screen.

•	The latest version of the file will be in the directory '1', with later versions in higher-numbered directories.


Using Utilities

The Workbench has the following utility programs to aid development:

Code Library

Picture Viewer

Hex Viewer

Summary Sheet


Code Library

The Code Library comprises an all-purpose heirachy into which code fragments (or anything else) are stored.  Typically code items consist of modules and procedures.

The text attached to any item may be up to 32,000 bytes long.

To extract functions and subroutines from the code library:

•	Click on the code library button or select code library from the Utilities Menu.

•	Double-click on the category you wish to peruse, until you see a routine you wish to copy.

•	Double-click on this routine.

•	Switch to the Visual Basic development environment, open the module you want to contain the new code, and paste it into the declarations section.


Picture Viewer

The Picture Viewer aids the selection of bitmaps, icons and metafiles.

It assumes that the developer will most often be selecting icons for inclusion in his program, and therefore defaults to the Visual Basic icons directory.

Use the directory tree to navigate to the required directory and double click on the required file.

At this point the path of the file will have been copied to the clipboard.

If you are working in Visual Basic, the easiest way to include this picture in your application is to double-click on the Picture or Icon property of the control concerned, and simply paste in the file path extracted from the Picture Viewer.

The picture viewer can be started from the Utilities Menu.


Hex Viewer

The Hex Viewer is used to display small files in hexidecimal, ASCII or decimal representation.

Clicking on a character will mark it.  Clicking again will unmark it.


Summary Sheet

See also: To Do Items

The summary sheet is displayed by selecting summary sheet from the utilities menu or by pressing the summary sheet button on the toolbar.

This screen provides summary information about all To Do list items that have not been completed (represented by the numbers in the brakets).  If there are any unread to do items, a note will be attached identifying the user(s).


Adminstration Tasks

While administration has been kept to a minimum, an understanding of each of the following areas is required for the successful installation of WCS Developer's Workbench:

Configuration Options

Shared Drives

Menu Customization

Deleting Users

Error Recovery


Configuration Options

User Details

User Name:	This field identifies this user to the Workbench and to other users.

Registration Name:	The name of the person this product is licensed to goes here.

Company:	The name of the company this product is licensed to.

Password:	The password is based on the  name and company fields and will be received upon registration of the Workbench.  Entering a correct password here disables the registration reminder and enables all program functionality.

File Types

File types allow the categorisation of files into types (mak/mdb/txt/wri etc) to enable the faster location of files in the Public List and Private List.  Double-click << Add New >> to create a new automatic file type.  Press the delete key the currently selected item from the list.

Bytes Per Disk

The bytes per disk field allows the user to modify the default size of the disks created in the target build process.  The default is 1457664 bytes which is the size of a standard 1.44 megabyte diskette.

Backups

Default backups to keep:	This field represents the maximum number of versions that are kept for backup purposes.  This is the default for all files.  This default can be overridden for individual files from the File Properties screen.

Attribute Backup:	If this checkbox is set then the backup manager will determine whether to backup a file based on the file's archive bit.  Setting this option will make the backup operation faster.  Over some networks, however, the archive bit has been shown to be unreliable as an indicator of whether the file has changed.  Leaving this option unset will cause the program to use the file's date and time as its comparison method.

Select Directories

BACKUP:	This directory will store backups.  One directory should be nominated on the LAN as the backup directory (for multi-user installations), and all users should refer to that directory in this field.

SETUP FILES:	This directory is used to indicate where setup files are kept.  The files in this directory are copied to installation disks when a target is built through the target manager.  These are generally stored in a subdirectory called boot off the Workbench directory.  Demonstration users do not have the ability to build installation disks (and do not have a BOOT subdirectory).


Shared Drives

Shared drives are drives that every Workbench user should be able to access.  Because of the way some networks work, the actual drive letter used to indicate a physical drive can often change from one machine to another.

The solution to this problem is to assign a name to any drive used in the program.  This name remains constant across machines.  For example, one group might have the following shared drive names:

DAVID'S BOOT DRIVE

MARIE'S SECOND DRIVE

Each computer connected to the Workbench will need to have its own drive mappings.  On computer number 1 this might be E: for DAVID'S BOOT DRIVE and F: for MARIE'S SECOND DRIVE.  Computer 2 may define these as D: and E:

Once the drive mappings have been assigned  for a particular computer they will generally not need to be changed.  If there is a need to change these drives however it can easily be done by selecting "Shared Drives" from the options menu.


Menu Customization

Menu customisation allows you to add your own menu items to the Utilities Menu.  To add a new menu item:

•	Press the NEW button to create a new menu entry.

•	Enter the text of the menu item into the Menu Item field.  If you wish to include an accelerator, prefix a letter with the & symbol.  eg. &Notepad

•	Enter the path of the executable program and any parameters into the EXE File Path column.  eg. PBRUSH.EXE SAMPLE.BMP

Select OK to confirm changes.

Select Cancel to abort changes.

Select Delete to remove a menu item.


Deleting Users

The users screen has two uses:

•	To view all the users registered with the system.

•	To delete old users.

Deleting the user has the effect of not only deleting the user name itself but of also deleting all information associated with the user.  This is not always desirable so caution should be exercised before proceeding.  One reason not to delete a user is that the to do items registered with that user will be deleted.


Error Recovery

Errors

The Workbench maintains a large amount of information about projects and files.  Due to the fact that users may manipulate files outside the control of Workbench (through DOS, File Manager etc), this information will sometimes not reflect the real world.

To overcome this problem the Workbench implements a checking mechanism to test its internal information against the real situation.  If the program reports problems such as file not found etc. then restarting the program may help cure the problem.

If restarting does not cure the problem, try checking the project directories to ensure they correspond to the entries in Public List.  Also check the directories listed in the Configuration Options screen to ensure they are also correct.

Restoring Old Databases

If the problem persists then attempting to go back to previous versions of the database may help.  You will find these versions in the backup directory.  They are labelled PROJECTS.1, PROJECTS.2 through to PROJECTS.5.  Examine the dates to see which ones are the most recent.  Copy the most recent file back to the Workbench installation directory and rename it to PROJECTS.MDB (if anyone has a copy of the Workbench open close it first).

By doing this you should now have a working database.  You will, howevery, have lost changest to the file information from the time last back-up was done.

Restoring Files

If a file can not be restored by dragging it from the Public List to the Private List, an alternative is to restore it manually by copying the file from the working directory into the project directory.  Delete the working directory file and restart the Workbench to ensure the Workbench can clear up its database references.


Glossary

The following glossary items are defined:

Automatic Types

Backup Screen

Collection

File Access Prompt

Projects

Project Edit Window

Projects Directory

Properties Button

Release Build Screen

Target

Target File Compress Options

Target List

Target Readme Editor

Targets Window

Target Manager

Working directory


Automatic Types

Automatic types are types that Microsoft Windows itself defines.  For example, text files (TXT), Microsoft Write (WRI) etc.  As applications are installed new types often appear.  The Workbench does not automatically recognise all types defined by Microsoft Windows but rather allows the user to setup the types they want the Workbench to recognise.  This is done through the Configuration Options screen.


Backup Screen

The backup screen shows the progress of the backup.

Backup proceeds according to the type of backup initiated.  If more copies of particular files exist after the backup than are have been requested, the oldest copies are purged to save disk space.


Collection

A group of files referenced by a single main filename.


File Access Prompt

Select the files to which you require write access.

The following buttons apply:

OK

Take files to the Private List.

Cancel

Abort.

Toggle All

Flags all read files as write, and vice-versa.

See Also:	File Protection


Projects

A Project is defined as a group of files assembled in a single directory, usually comprising documents, data, programs, source code etc.


Project Edit Window

Project Name

A short description of the project that is listed Private List and Public List.

Directory

The name of the DOS directory under the Projects Directory in which all projects files will be stored.  Up to eight characters.

Creation Date

Used only for historical reference.

Contributing Members

Used only for historical reference.

Snapshots To Keep

Default: Use the Default Snapshots to Keep from the Projects Menu.

Custom: Specify an exact number of projects to keep.

Description

A free-form description of the project.  Notes, etc. may be stored here also.  The first line of this description appears in the text box of the file.

Snapshots (Project properties only)

A history of Snapshots taken for the project.


Projects Directory

A directory on a shared drive under which projects are permanently stored.

It may be specified through the options menu.


Properties Button

This button will allow you to view either File Properties or Project Properties.  Do this either by:

•	Selecting the file or project, and dragging it to the Properties button.

•	Selecting the file or project and pressing the Properties button.


Release Build Screen

Shows the progress of the build.


Target

A target represents a set of files to be provided to a third party.  Usually they represent the files sent to a customer as a set of Setup disks.


Target File Compress Options

This option applies both to Targets and individual files within Targets.

Targets

Yes: All files, unless otherwise specified, will be compressed through the SDK compress utility.

No: All files, unless otherwise specified, will remain uncompressed.

Individual target files

Yes: This file will be compressed, regardless of its Target's setting.

No: This file will remain uncompressed, regardless of its Target's setting.

Default: This file will be compressed or not according to its Target's setting.


Target List

Presents a list of Targets, and their associated files.

To create a new file, select New from the Targets Menu.


Target Readme Editor

This text box provides the facility to enter a Readme.Txt information to be supplied with the project.

Any text appearing in this box will appear as a Readme.Txt file on the Target diskettes, and be installed into the install directory.


Targets Window

This window is used to define project targets to culminate in release diskettes.

See:

Target List

Target Readme Editor

Targets Menu

Item Menu


Target Manager

The Target Manager stores the definitions of Targets created and provides the facility to create release diskettes.  It is activated by selecting Target from the Project Menu.


Working directory

A working directory is used to store copies of programs and data that have been taken by a user.  Every user accessing their projects should have a single working directory.


Appendix A Menus

See:

Project Menus

Target Menus


Project Menus

Project menus appear when the Projects Window is active.

File Menu

Options Menu

Utilities Menu

Window Menu

Help Menu


File Menu

This menu provides facilities to manipulate files.

New

Create a new file from the list of file types defined in the Configuration Options screen.

Properties

Allows the user to view and edit File Properties.

Delete

Delete the currently selected files.  Performs the same function as the Delete File Button.

Run

Selecting this menu option displays a dialog box with the name of the currently selected file.  If no file is selected then the prompt will be empty.

When OK is pressed the text entered into the prompt will be executed in a manner similar to the File Managers File Run command.  The default directory will correspond to the directory of the currently selected project.

Edit/Create Collection

This menu option allows the user to edit the current collection or to create a new collection.   See:  Editing Collections

Exit

Exits the program without logging the current user out.

Exit and Sign Out

Exit the program.  Next time the program is started it will ask for a user name.


Options Menu

This menu allows you to configure the Workbench to your requirements.

Options

Configure general options.  See Configuration Options

Users

View and set up users.

Shared Drives

Setup drive mappings for shared resources.

User Menu

Allows you to define the menu.  See Menu customisation.

Collection Types

Allows you to define the collection types used in the Workbench.


Utilities Menu

This menu provides access to commonly used developer’s utilities.

User Menu

The user may customize the menu to launch his/her own favorite utilities.  This is done through the 'User Menu' option of the Options Menu.

Code library

The Code Library provides access to your commonly used Visual Basic subroutines and functions.

Calculator

Runs the Windows calculator.

Hex Viewer

The Hex Viewer is a simple file viewing utility.

Picture viewer

The Picture Viewer reviews pictures for import into applications.

Summary Sheet

The Summary Sheet contains information concerning todo items.


Window Menu

Tile Horizontal

Arrange windows so that they are split horizontally.

Tile Vertical

Arrange windows so that they are split vertically.

Cascade

Arrange windows so that they overlap.

Arrange Icons

Line your icons up neatly.

Window List

Select from one of the open windows.  Useful if you prefer the keyboard over the mouse.


Help Menu

This menu provides facilities to view information about this program:

Contents

Displays the main help screen for this program.

Search For Help On

Lets the user search for a particular topic.

How To Use Help

Describes how to use the help system itself.

About

Displays ownership and copyright information.


Target Menus

Target menus appear when the Target Window is active.

Targets Menu

Target Project Menu

Item Menu

Project Menu


Targets Menu

New

Creates a new target.

Delete

Delete the currently-selected target.

Build

Initiates the build sequence.  This will create installation disks for the currently selected target.

Exit

Closes the Targets Window.  Does not shut down the application.

See Also:	Creating Install Disks


Target Project Menu

Selects the Project whose Targets you wish to review.


Item Menu

The Target's Item menu allows you to add and remove files from the current Target list.

New

Creates a new item in the current target list.

Delete

Deletes the currently selected target item.  Shortcut key: Del.


Project Menu

New

Create a new project.  The project may be an existing physical directory under your projects directory, in which case WCS Workbench will simply prompt you to give it a name.

Delete

This menu item will delete the currently selected project including:

•	The physical directory on the disk.

•	All files contained in this directory

•	All the To-do items associated with this project.

Edit

Edit the Project Properties.  Does not include a history of Snapshots.

Targets

Show the Target Window for the currently selected project.


Appendix B General Reference

See:

Login Screen

Frequently asked questions

Drive Selection Screen

Directory Selection Screen


Login Screen

Enter the user name you wish to login as.  If you do not have a valid user name, type one in and you will be prompted to have one created for you.

NOTE:	Do not log with the same name as another user of the system.  This would render impossible Workbench's task of tracking who has taken files.


Frequently asked questions

How do I set up a 'hot-key' make Workbench appear instantly?

Using the Program Manager it is possible to set up a hotkey system to activate the Workbench.  This is done by selecting the Workbench icon from the screen and pressing Control-Enter.  This will bring up a properties dialog box.  In the shortcut key field select the key you wish to assign as a shortcut.

From Program Manager you may now use this key to start the program.  Once the Workbench has been started using this technique you can always bring it to the foreground by simply using the hotkey you assigned.

NOTE:	One common use of the Workbench is to put it into the startup group of the Program Manager so that the program starts automatically when Windows is first started.  If this is the case, ensure the hotkey is assigned to the icon in the startup group rather than from one of the other groups.


Drive Selection Screen

The drive selection screen appears when the program needs to assign a physical drive to a given shared drive name.

Simply select the physical drive this represents and press the OK button.


Directory Selection Screen

A directory is selected by choosing the drive from the drive selection pulldown list and a path from the path list.  To create a directory, select the create directory button.  A prompt will appear where you may enter the name of the directory.

Pressing Shared Drive button allows you to create or edit the current shared drives.  If no shared drives exist you will be prompted with the shared drive dialog before the directory selection screen is displayed.

After selecting your directory.  Press the OK button or Cancel to abort the current operation.