Help Contents for File report generator
Help Contents for File Manager Change Tracker

Program Purpose:

   Allows the user to keep track of file changes, deletions and additions by supporting the creation, viewing, comparing, and printing of reports which list the contents (directories and files) of the file manager at the time the report is taken. This program is not an added File manager feature, nor does it perform any of the tasks normally done by the File Manager.

Commands

File menu

Search Menu

Shareware menu

Uninstall menu

Procedures

Creating a File Manager report

Displaying a File Manager report

Comparing File Manager reports

Printing a File Manager report

Exiting the program

Registering the program

Removing the program


Menu File
File Menu

(Press ALT + f to pull down this menu, or use the mouse)

This is the main menu for creating, viewing, comparing and printing reports of the directory and file contents as they were on the date and time that the report was taken.

Create a New File Manager report

Display a File Manager report

Delete a File Manager report

Compare File Manager reports

Save new File Manager report

Close File Manager report display

Print File Manager report

Exit program


Search Menu

(Press ALT + s to pull down this menu, or use the mouse)

This menu is enabled while a report is on display. It supports searching for any text string within the report or, in the case of a compare, searching for the same text string within both reports.

Find

Find Next

Find in both reports

Find Next in both reports


Shareware Menu

(Press ALT + w to pull down this menu, or use the mouse)

This menu gives registration and copyright information.

Registration Message

Registration Form

Copyright Message


Menu Uninstall
Uninstall Menu

(Press ALT + u to pull down this menu, or use the mouse)

This menu allows the user to have the program removed from the user’s PC.

Uninstall this program


Creating a File Manager report

1 ) From the File Menu select “Create a New File Manager report”.  An hourglass will appear on the screen while the report is being compiled. Be patient. This may take 20 seconds to a minute or even a little longer if your PC has a very large number of files. The number is critical here, not file sizes.

2) The report will be shown on your PC monitor. It will usually be contained in 2 or more boxes, only one of which will be visible at a time. The report will show all file directories, subdirectories and files, except for “hidden” files, which were in your PC’s hard drive memory when the report was taken. Each directory path is listed first, followed by any files contained in it.

Each file line contains: file name and extension, file size, file date, file time.

The date format is mm/dd/yyyy. The time format is hh:mm:ssam (or pm).

The date and time indicate when the file was created or last modified, whichever came last.

3) To review the report:

Use TAB or Shift + TAB to move to the next box or previous box, respectively.

Use arrow, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys, or the scroll bar and mouse to move the list up and down. Please note that ‘Home’ and ‘End’ will only move to the start or end of the box  which is currently in view, not necessarily to the very start or very end of the report.

To find something in the report, pull down the Search Menu (ALT + s or press F2), and select ‘Find’. See Find for more details.

4) Save the  report if you wish to review it again in the future, or make a printed copy of it. To do this select Save new File Manager report from the File Menu (ALT + f). There is no option for the user to designate the file name under  which the report will be saved. The file naming convention is always:

f       -- first letter is always “f”

mm -- where mm is the 2-digit month

dd   -- where dd is the 2-digit day

yy    -- where yy is the last 2 digits of the year

letter   -- “a” for the first report saved on a specific day, “b” for the next, then “c”, etc.

For example, the first saved report on July 7, 1997 would be named  “f070797a”. A second report made on the same day would be named “f070797b”. A third would be “f070797c”. The user doesn’t have to worry about these file names. You will make report selections by date and time, not file names.

All report files are kept in the “Windows” directory.

5) Close the report by choosing Close File Manager report from the File Menu.

If the report has not been saved, you will be asked if wish to do so. Answer  “Yes” to save, or “No” to throw the report away.


Displaying a File Manager report

1 ) From the File Menu select “Display a File Manager report”. A box will appear containing a list of reports by the date and time each was taken. Choose the report you wish to review by highlighting the selection using the arrow keys or mouse, then selecting the “Okay” button. Choose the “Cancel” button to return to the main window.

2) The report will be shown on your PC monitor. It will usually be contained in 2 or more boxes, only one of which will be visible at a time. The report will show all file directories, subdirectories and files, except for “hidden” files, which were in your PC’s hard drive memory when the report was taken. Each directory path is listed first, followed by any files contained in it.

Each file line contains: file name and extension, file size, file date, file time.

The date format is mm/dd/yyyy. The time format is hh:mm:ssam (or pm).

The date and time indicate when the file was created or last modified, whichever came last.

3) To review the report:

Use TAB or Shift + TAB to move to the next box or previous box, respectively.

Use arrow, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys, or the scroll bar and mouse to move the list up and down. Please note that ‘Home’ and ‘End’ will only move to the start or end of the box  which is currently in view, not necessarily to the very start or very end of the report.

To find something in the report, pull down the Search Menu (ALT + s or press F2), and select ‘Find’. See Find for more details.

4) Close the report by choosing ‘Close File Manager report’ from the File Menu.


Comparing File Manager reports

1 ) From the File Menu select “Compare File Manager reports”. A box will appear containing a list of reports by the date and time each was taken. Choose the 2 reports you wish to compare by highlighting the selections using the arrow keys or mouse, then selecting the “Okay” button. Choose the “Cancel” button to return to the main window.

2) The two reports will be shown on your PC monitor -- one on the top half, one on the bottom half. Each report  will usually be contained in 2 or more boxes, only one of which will be visible at a time. Each report will show all file directories, subdirectories and files, except for “hidden” files, which were in your PC’s hard drive memory when the report was taken. Each directory path is listed first, followed by any files contained in it.

Each file line contains: file name and extension, file size, file date, file time.

The date format is mm/dd/yyyy. The time format is hh:mm:ssam (or pm).

The date and time indicate when the file was created or last modified, whichever came last.

3) To review the reports:

Use Control + TAB to switch between reports.

Use TAB or Shift + TAB to move to the next box or previous box, respectively.

Use arrow, Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys, or the scroll bar and mouse to move the list up and down. Please note that ‘Home’ and ‘End’ will only move to the start or end of the box  which is currently in view, not necessarily to the very start or very end of the report.

To find something in one report, pull down the Search Menu (ALT + s or press F2), and select Find.

To find the same text string in both reports, pull down the Search Menu (ALT + s or press F5) , and select Find in both  reports.

4) Close the reports by choosing ‘Close File Manager report’ from the File Menu.


Printing a File Manager report

1 ) From the File Menu select “Print File Manager report”. A box will appear to your far left containing a list of reports by the date and time each was taken. Choose the report you wish to print by highlighting the selection using the arrow keys or mouse.

2) Select the desired type size from the box to the right of the above list. The choices are 10, 8, 6 or 4 point type. A point is 1/72 of an inch. The type size determines how many pages will be required to print the report. Font choices are not available. All printing is done in “Arial”.

3) Take note of the approximate number of pages which will be needed to print the report on standard size paper, 8.5 by 11 inches. This is shown in a box below the type size selection box.

4) Select the ‘Print’ Button to start the print job. A small window will appear with 3 buttons on the right side marked ‘Okay’, ‘Cancel’, and ‘Setup’. The setup can be selected if you wish to change printers or printer settings. Chose ‘Cancel’ to forgo the print. Chose ‘Okay’ to proceed with the print.

5) While the print job is being prepared, a small box with the wording “Cancel Printing” and a button labelled “Cancel” will appear on the screen. To stop the print job, select the Cancel button.

The printed report will show the words “File Manager Report” followed by the date and time the report was taken atop each page.  The page number will be in the top, right corner. The report format is exactly the same as used in displaying the report onscreen: file name and extension, size, date, time. The date format is MM/DD/YYYY. The time format is HH:MM:SSam (or pm). Date and time indicate when the file was created or last modified, whichever came last.


Exiting the Program

To exit the program pull down the File Menu (ALT + f or use the mouse), then select “Exit Program” or hold down the ALT button and press F4. This will close the program.


Registering the Program

To register this program, pull down the Shareware Menu (ALT + w or use the mouse), then select “Registration Form”. A template of the registration form will appear on the screen. Please fill in your name , address and type of payment. This form may then be printed and mailed to complete the registration. If you prefer, a handwritten registration may be sent in.

Please note that the program is complete and fully functional as you now have it. Your registration will be acknowledged with a postcard, and will be appreciated.


Removing the Program

To remove this program from your PC, bring down the Uninstall menu (ALT + u or use the mouse), then select “Uninstall this program”.

A message box will ask for a confirmation of the request. Answer “yes” to continue or “no” to cancel. The procedure will be repeated with another message box to reconfirm the request. Again, answer “yes” to continue or “no” to back out.

If you confirmed and reconfirmed the request, all files created by the program will be removed from your PC, but the program itself (“fmhst100.exe”) will still be in your PC. You will be instructed to delete this file yourself to complete the removal. The program cannot remove itself. At this point it is possible to keep the program by not deleting it, but all reports previously collected will be lost.


Create a New File Manager report

This File Menu command will create a report on the directory and files which are in your PC at the time the report is taken, and then display the report. See Creating a File manager report for details.


Display a File Manager report

This File Menu command will display an existing report. See Displaying a File manager report for details.


Delete a File Manager report

This File Menu command will delete an existing report. A list of existing reports, shown by date and time, will be displayed on the screen. Use the arrow keys or mouse to highlight the desired report. Select the “Okay” button to continue with the request or the “Cancel” button to stop the request. If “Okay” is selected a confirmation will be requested in a small box. Answer “Yes” to complete the deletion request or “No” to cancel it.


Compare File Manager reports

This File Menu command will place 2 existing reports on display for comparison. See Comparing  File manager reports for details.


Save new File Manager report

This File Menu command will save a newly created report so that it may be viewed again in the future. After  Creating a File manager report, select this File Menu item to retain it.


Close File Manager report display

This File Menu command will close the report display or comparison onscreen. If this is a newly created report which has not been saved (Save new File Manager report) you will be asked if you want to save it. Answer ‘Yes’ to keep it for future reference or ‘No’ to throw it away.


Print File Manager report

This File Menu command will print an existing report. See Printing a File manager report for details.


Exit program

This File Menu command will close the program.


Find

This Search Menu command is available only while a File Manager report or comparison is on display. The command will search for the first occurrence of the text string given. Letter case is ignored.

1. Set the search origin in the box in the far right corner of the search window. Set “From Cursor” to search from the current position in the display, or “From Start” to search from the start of the report.

2. Enter the desired search string in the box to the right of the word “Find”.

3. Press the “FIND” button.

If the text is found, the line it is in will be highlighted, else a message “Text not Found” will be shown.

The search will extend only to the end of the report. It will not wrap back around to the beginning.

4. Select the “Close” button when no more searches are desired.


Find Next

This Search Menu command is available only while a File Manager report or comparison is on display. The command will search for the next occurrence of the text string given. Letter case is ignored.

1. Press the “Find Next” button.

Note: This search is always started from the next line after the current position. If “From Start” is selected, it will be ignored.

If the text is found, the line it is in will be highlighted, else a message “Text not Found” will be shown.

The search will extend only to the end of the report. It will not wrap back around to the beginning.

2. Select the “Close” button when no more searches are desired.

3. After the “Search” box is closed, pressing the F3 key will repeat this command using  the last string searched for, but will not reopen the Search window.


Find in both reports

This Search Menu command is available only while a File Manager comparison is on display. The command will search for the first occurrence in each report of the text string given. Letter case is ignored.

1. Set the search origin in the box in the far right corner of the search window. Set “From Cursor” to search from the current position in each report, or “From Start” to search from the start of the reports.

2. Enter the desired search string in the box to the right of the word “Find”.

3. Press the “FIND” button.

For each report, If the text is found the line it is in will be highlighted, else a message “Text not Found” will be shown. The search will extend only to the end of each report. It will not wrap back around to the beginning.

4. Select the “Close” button when no more searches are desired.


Find Next in both reports

This Search Menu command is available only while a File Manager comparison is on display. The command will search both reports for the next occurrence of the text string given. Letter case is ignored.

1. Press the “Find Next” button.

Note: This search is always started from the next line after the current position. If “From Start” is selected, it will be ignored.

For each report, if the text is found the line it is in will be highlighted, else a message “Text not Found” will be shown. The search will extend only to the end of each report. It will not wrap back around to the beginning.

2. Select the “Close” button when no more searches are desired.

3. After the “Search” box is closed, pressing the F6 key will cause this command to be repeated using the  last string searched for, but will not reopen the Search window.


Registration Message

Shareware Menu -> Registration Message

This command presents an informational message regarding the registration which is expected for this program if the user decides to continue usage beyond a reasonable trial period.


Registration Form

Shareware Menu -> Registration Form

This command causes a registration form template to appear on the screen. See Registering the program for details.


Copyright Message

Shareware Menu ->Copyright Message

This command presents a small box with the copyright notice


Uninstall this program

This command, found under the “Uninstall” Menu, allows the user to remove the program from the user’s PC. It will prompt twice for confirmation of the command to give the user a chance to reconsider. All files created by the program will be removed. The program’s executable code is not removed by this command. The user will be instructed on that procedure.