Directory Utilities
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^C^Bby George Leritte^B

Note: This month's Happy Hacker programs are DOS utilities meant
to be run from the command line.  They will not run from our
shell

Do you have trouble remembering all the directories (and those
long path names) on your hard drive?  As the hierarchical
structure of your drive becomes complex, it becomes essential to
have some help in quickly moving between directories.

To this end, On Disk Monthly presents Directory Manager, a package of
four DOS utilities that work together to help you quickly and
effortlessly manage the directories on your hard disk drive.  You can
save the directories YOU want (usually the ones you want to get to
often) in a database, and then call up a pick list of those
directories any time to switch to one.  You may also push a directory
and later pop it off!  Sounds darn useful, eh?  Well, let's learn
more, shall we?


^C^BCopy It^B

Since these are DOS utilities, they are best and most effectively
used from the DOS command line.  So, first, use the "Copy It" option
in the ODM shell to copy these four utilities to your UTILS
subdirectory (or wherever you keep your DOS utilities), and make sure
they are in your path.  (If you are baffled about the words
"IN YOUR PATH" please have a peek at your MS DOS manual for
a complete explanation.) You will want them to be accessible
from anywhere on your system.


^C^BUtilities #1 and #2: Save Directory (SD) and Get Directory (GD)^B

Save Directory saves the current directory (the one you are "in")
into a database in the root directory of C drive (C:\PATHS.DAT).
Up to 840 directories across multiple drives can be stored in
this database. To use, simply type SD from the DOS prompt to save
the current directory to the database.

Once the database of directories is available, invoke Get
Directory by typing GD from the DOS prompt to bring up a pick
list of these directories to choose from.  Use the following
commands from within Get Directory:

     UP/DOWN arrows,
     HOME, END,
     PAGEUP, PAGEDN. . . . . .Move within the directory pick list.

     ENTER . . . . . . . . . .Go to the highlighted directory.

     ESCAPE. . . . . . . . . .Abort GD and stay in the current
                              directory.

     DELETE. . . . . . . . . .Delete the highlighted directory
                              from the database.

     F1. . . . . . . . . . . .Get Directory Help.

     F2. . . . . . . . . . . .Get Directory information.


You may use a command line parameter when invoking GD to speed up the
search for the desired directory.  For example, type

     >GD C:\DB     or
     >GD DB

to make C:\DB the initial highlighted directory entry.


^C^BUtilities #3 and #4 : PushDir and PopDir^B

This useful pair of utilities work together to save a directory and
later restore it.  PushDir saves (pushes) the current directory onto
the end of the database file C:\PATHS.DAT; PopDir removes (pops) the
last directory entry from the database and changes to that directory.
Hence, these two can be used together to save a directory, do some
other stuff, and then restore the original directory.

You are probably thinking, "These would be perfect for batch files!",
and you are right--that is exactly what they are most useful for.
For example, you might be in your C:\MYSTUFF directory and want to
launch an application over in C:\TAXSTUFF.  Simply write a batch file
that looks something like this:

     Echo Off
     PushDir
     CD C:\TAXSTUFF
     CLS
     Echo Running Tax Manager v6.0...
     TAXMNGR
     PopDir

Now, to run your Tax Manager program, invoke this batch file from any
directory on your system (the batch file must, of course, be in your
path).  When the batch file ends you will be automatically placed
back in your original directory.

Note that with PushDir, you may create multiple instances of
identical directories in the database, since the current directory is
always pushed onto the end of the file.  And, with PopDir, you may
pop any number of entries off the database (down to zero, if you
wish) since the last entry is alway popped off the end of the file.

^CNow how much would you pay?
^C^BWAIT THERE'S MORE^B

We've included the Turbo Pascal 5.0 sources for these utilities
in a self-extracting EXE file named GDSOURCE.EXE.  This file WILL
NOT COPY with our built-in copy function.  You'll have to copy
it from our disk to your hard disk and unpack it.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO UNPACK THIS FILE ON THE ODM DISK--IT WILL NOT FIT!

^C^BOutside On Disk Monthly^B

These utilities can only be run outside of On Disk Monthly, so, first
copy them to a directory on your hard drive that is on your path.
Then, whenever you want to add a directory to the database, type

     >SD

and the current directory will be saved.  To recall a pick list of
those directories that have been added so far, type

     >GD or
     >GD parm

and choose a directory.  To push and pop directories, type

     >PUSHDIR  and
     >POPDIR

from DOS or from within a batch file.








^C^BFiles These Programs Use^B

^FSD.EXE
^FGD.EXE
^FPUSHDIR.EXE
^FPOPDIR.EXE
^FC:\PATHS.DAT