A43 File Management Utility - Version 2.37 Copyright 2001-2004 B. G. Miller, all rights reserved. Thanks for trying A43! This help is brief, assuming you know what a file manager is and how to use it. What this help will do is fill you in on the extras that A43 offers. A43 was created for my personal use but I have decided to let others have a go too. CREDITS ------- First and foremost I want to thank all those in the development community that have so graciously shared with me over the years. Some components used in A43 have been made available that others might learn and to those I am forever grateful. I thank you and salute you. USING THE BUILT IN ZIP FEATURE ------------------------------- You can drag-n-drop zip files for easy extraction or select the zip file you want to unzip then select unzip from the file view menu or click the unzip button. To compress files simply select the files and drag-n-drop or select the files then select zip from the file view menu or click the zip button. WARNING: If you select an existing zip file and the files you want to compress already exist they will be overwritten without prompting. NOTE: If you choose to check Relative Path, only the relative path will be stored in the archive, meaning files will have no path information saved while folders will have the path information stored with any files they contain. If Relative Path is not checked then the path information is stored for both files and folders. ALSO NOTE: If a folder you want to archive is empty then it will not be stored. To insure it is included place a dummy file in it. For example, place a zero byte text file there. SELF-EXTRACTING ARCHIVES ------------------------ Drag-n-drop zip files or select zip files then select Make EXE from the file view menu or click the EXE button. Multiple archives can be converted at one time but if they are huge give A43 time to convert them. There is no abort for this operation. The converted files will remain in the same folder as the original zip files. CHANGING DATE/TIME STAMP OF FILES --------------------------------- Select the files you wish to alter then select Set File Date/Time from the file view menu. A dialog will be presented with the current date/time ready to apply or change the date/time then click apply. QUICK LAUNCH AREA ----------------- Here you can create shortcuts to your favorite programs or files. If you already have shortcuts simply select them, then drag-n-drop with the right mouse button, then select copy here. Or locate the programs/files and drag-n-drop with the right mouse and select create shortcut here. FM EXTRA -------- This simply mimics the file manager to allow an extra work area. The menus and toolbars are not active for this area. However, drag-n-drop and context menus are implemented. Right-click an object to perform an operation. FAVORITE BUTTONS ---------------- Drag-n-drop a folder onto the Favorites then select which button you wish to set. Now this button will take you there. TEXT EDITOR ----------- Use the Text Editor to edit text files and to quickly store them in a zip file. Drag-n-drop a file on the editor to open it for editing. To activate the popup menu press Ctrl+Alt+M while the editor is active. SPLITTER -------- Use the splitter buttons to minimize, maximize and restore the splitter. You can only drag the splitter when it splits the view. NAVIGATE -------- Use Ctrl+Alt+LeftArrow and Ctrl+Alt+RightArrow for the Back/Forward buttons. Use Ctrl+Alt+UpArrow to go ot the parent folder. NOTE: The file view must have the focus. FIND FILE --------- Enter your search criteria then click find. Double-click a file shown from the search to go to the file. HEX VIEWER ---------- Drag-n-drop a file to load it into the viewer. Double-click to clear the viewer. IMAGE VIEWER ------------ Drag-n-drop a file(s) to load it into the viewer. You can only drop files, not directories. COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS ----------------------- You can instruct A43 to open to a specific directory by passing the path: c:\temp You can instruct A43 to open a text file by passing the path to the file: c:\temp\myfile.txt You can instruct A43 to start with a certain file filter by passing the filter: /ext=*.txt;*.ini;*.bat You can instruct A43 to use a different ini directory by passing the path you wish to use: /ini=c:\temp NOTE: The directory you pass must exist. You can instruct A43 to use a different 'links' directory by passing the path you wish to use: /links=c:\temp NOTE: The directory you pass must exist. A43 will scan the entire command-line for your parameters. Seperate each parameter with a space. c:\myfolder /ini=c:\temp c:\myfolder\myfile.txt /ini=c:\temp /ini=c:\temp /links=c:\temp c:\myfolder c:\myfolder\myfile.txt ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A43 is constantly evolving so your feedback is welcome, positive or not. I hope A43 works for you. B. G. Miller http://www.shawneelink.net/~bgmiller/ bgmiller@shawneelink.net ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The unrar.dll is supplied by Eugene Roshal, the author of the excellent WinRAR. WinRAR is copyright 1993-2002 Eugene Roshal.