THIS PROGRAM IS IN BETA TEST OF PRE-RELEASE CODE.

FileStar/2 has been in development for approximately one year. It has been 
subjected to limited beta tests to date. Testing has been thorough but 
limited to a small sample of hardware. However, it should not be hardware 
sensitive. It has been tested under OS/2 v2.1, 2.11 and the Performance 
Beta and performs identically on all three versions, including starting either
WinOS2 or Windows programs.

The author believes the software to be relatively free of bugs and safe to 
use. However, you must read the MUSTREAD.TXT file and agree to the 
conditions stated therein prior to using the software.

The pre-release code is being made available at this time for wide beta 
tests. Tests on networks are of major interest. Any user that encounters 
incompatibility or other issues or bugs is strongly encouraged to report the 
circumstances to the author through CompuServe.

The beta release is distributed with on-line help only. Users should read 
the "General Help" section, and its hyper-text links, prior to evaluating 
the program. There are features, such as popup menus, that might 
otherwise not be used in the best manner for the program and could affect 
your opinion as to useability. The on-line help is also pre-release and 
comments on its content are welcome.

FileStar/2 is also distributed without an "install" program. It is simple 
to install and the installation details are provided both in the on-line help 
and in the file INSTALL.TXT. A PM install program is planned for the 
release version. 

ISSUES AND THE FUTURE

The following are issues that the author would like feedback on:

1.  File Drag and Drop Implementation. This version does not drag and drop 
WITHIN Filestar like WPS folders. You cannot pick up an unselected file. 
This was intentional to keep one from dragging the wrong file(s). Also, the 
entire file window is an acceptable drop zone. The files in the window 
WILL NOT accept a dropped file. Again, intentional. Just made finding a drop 
zone easier. If pick up and drop is in same window, nothing happens. The 
author perfers this implementation to that of the WPS. If users complain, 
an option may be implemented.

2.  Drive Scan. Drives are scanned into a file and this file is normally used 
when changing drives. The entire tree is read in on each drive change. This 
was done for quicker drive changes. However, this does requires the user 
to initiate a drive rescan whenever directory changes are made outside of 
FileStar. Other methods have been tried and the best alternative seems to be 
to only partially read the directory tree real time on each drive change and 
then read the rest when a directory is selected. This appears to be the 
method used by the Drives Object and other file managers as well. Probably 
will go with the option of either.

The following are planned, but not promised, improvement changes:

	a. Drag and drop of directories.
	b. Implement a scheme where both directory trees could be made 
           visible simulatenously. 		
	c. Undelete capability.
	d. File association support.
	e. Extended attributes capability.
	f. Ability to create program objects.
	g. Compare file lists in file windows.
	h. Additional archiver support.
	i. Configurable Button Bar.

SPECIAL REGISTRATION OFFER

The author is also interested in a measure of general acceptance of the 
program. Therefore, during the beta test period the program may be 
registered for the reduced fee of $20. The registration will be valid 
through version 2.0 after which a small fee may be necessary for upgrade.

The beta test period will end on 15 October, 1994. The above registration 
offer expires on that date.

SPECIAL THANKS

The author wishes to acknowledge and send a very Special Thanks to 
Larry Tubbs and Dale Diamond. Their contributions in time, patience and
ideas while testing FileStar throughout it's development have greatly 
influenced both the features and stability of the program. 
Thanks to both of you! You're "life of the program" registrants.

Jim Read