Copyright (C) HiTech Laboratories (1999-2005)
Spectra 1.0 Full Version (by Denis Andrianov)
A unique GUI DOS File Manager.

==============================================================================

-
     DISCLAIMER
 --
 ---
   I will not be held responsible for any damages this program might cause.
   Use this program at your own risk. This version of Spectra is licenced under
   GPL. However, you are still encouraged to make a donation.
 ---

==============================================================================

If you like this program and find it useful, please make a donation.
If payment is done through cheques make sure that they are payable to
Denis Andrianov, the maker of this program, and send them to the address
below. If you wish, you may also transfer your money to my bank account.
By doing this you will:

   Make yourself feel better for paying for such a wonderful program.
   Make me happy.
   Increase the chances of this software being developed further.

E-Mail:
        d_andrianov@hotmail.com

Address:
        9/7 Parkview Drive, Aspendale,
        VIC, 3195, Australia

Keycard (Commonwealth Bank):
        560279 139180026 14


  
                           .  Version History  
 

See HISTORY.TXT file.



                             DOCUMENTATION



                                HOT-KEYS


ͻ
       Key Combination                          Action                   
͹
 <ESC>                        Show MS-DOS screen, interrupt Spectra      
 <F2>                         Command Line                               
 <F3>                         View / Edit a file                         
 <F5>                         Refresh screen                             
 <F6>                         Properties                                 
 <F7>                         Compress                                   
 <F8>                         Decompress                                 
 <F9>                         Quick Execute                              
 <F10>                        Exit to DOS                                
                                                                         
 <Left Arrow>                 Scroll files left                          
 <Right Arrow>                Scroll files right                         
 <Up Arrow>                   Scroll files up                            
 <Down Arrow>                 Scroll files down                          
 <HOME>                       Scroll to the beginning of the file list   
 <END>                        Scroll to the end of the file list         
                                                                         
 <Left Arrow on num-pad>      Previous directory in history              
 <Right Arrow on num-pad>     Next directory in history                  
                                                                         
 <CTRL+X>                     Cut selected files / directories           
 <CTRL+C>                     Copy selected files / directories          
 <CTRL+V>                     Paste files / directories                  
                                                                         
 <DELETE>                     Remove files / directories                 
 <CTRL+R>                     Rename files / directories                 
 <CTRL+D>                     Duplicate files / directories              
                                                                         
 <CTRL+P>                     Print                                      
                                                                         
 <BACKSPACE>                  Move up directory                          
 <ALT+DRIVE>                  Change current drive                       
                                                                         
 <*>                          Select All                                 
 <+>                          Select (mask)                              
 <->                          Invert Selection                           
 </>                          Deselect All                               
ͼ



                             MOUSE BUTTONS


ͻ
        Mouse Buttons                           Action                   
͹
 Single left click            Pushes buttons, opens menus                
 Double left click            Runs programs, opens registered files      
                                                                         
 Single right click           Selects files and directories              
ͼ





-
     GRAPHICAL DESKTOP
 --

This module of Spectra is a customizable program launcher. It supports
many resolutions up to 1600x1200 in 16-bit colour modes. Desktop requires
VESA 2.0+ BIOS extensions. If you have a VGA video card this program
will not run. However, if you own VESA 1.2 or similar version, you may
try to load a driver that would emulate VESA 2.0. UNIVBE is a good example
of such driver. If you try running Desktop on a computer that has VESA
less than 2.0, you are likely to get a blank screen and your computer
will freeze.


1. SELECTING RESOLUTION AND BACKGROUND
When you first start DESKTOP "hitech.bmp" will be loaded as a background in
640x480 16-bit resolution. If these settings do not satisfy you, follow the
steps.
   a. Double-click on the OPTIONS icon.
   b. Select DESKTOP button.
   c. Select appropriate resolution and choose a BMP image
      file. If full path is not specified, Spectra will look for the file in
      GRAPHICS sub-directory of Spectra.
Hint: It is much faster to load 8-bit colour BMPs than 16 or 24-bit.
      On slow machines you may not want to load a background file at all
      by leaving the file textbox blank. If you choose so the wallpaper
      will be black.

2. EDITING DESKTOP AND MENU SHORTCUTS.
Spectra shortcuts are BATch files!
  To create a shortcut on the Desktop, click EDIT while the programs
   menu is off.
  To create a shortcut in the programs menu, switch on the menu and click
   EDIT.
a. Press the QView button and type necessary DOS commands into the
   editor's window.
b. Save the file in DESKTOP or PROGRAMS sub-directory with a .BAT
   extension and exit the editor.
c. Exit Disktop file manager.
The shortcut should appear on the Desktop.

3. SELECTING ICONS FOR SHORTCUTS.
   a. From Desktop double-click on the ICONS icon.
   b. Select a shortcut.
   c. Click "Change Icon".
   d. Select an icon.
   e. Click "Change to this icon".
   f. Repeat steps b-e for other shortcuts or click "Exit".

4. *.ICO TO *.BMP
DESKTOP.EXE uses BMP files for its icons. If you wish to use ICO files
instead you can convert them to 37x36 pixel, 256 colours (8 bit),
uncompressed bitmaps using an image editing program (such as NeoPaint).
After doing so, simply copy the files into GRAPHICS\ICONS sub-directory
of Spectra.



-
     IMPORTANT OPTIONS
 --

[x] Use %COMSPEC% to run programs.

When this is off, Disktop tries to run EXE and COM programs using the DOS
"exec" interrupt. The positive side of this is that Spectra then takes only
~4.5 Kb of conventional or high memory. Most programs can be run correctly
this way. However, with some specific DOS configurations some programs
may have difficulty allocating memory or locating their working directory.
By ticking this option you allow Spectra to load a copy of the command
interpreter, which in turn runs your program and it would run as if you
typed it in plain DOS, without any side effects. Keep in mind though
that COMMAND.COM eats a couple of kilobytes of memory as well.


[x] Flush DOS buffers before running programs.

Microsoft SMARTDRIVE is a very buggy program. Under some DOS configurations
it works fine. However, on some systems it tends to crash when programs are
executed repeatedly. This often results in data loss. The option was
introduced to prevent SMARTDRIVE from corrupting Spectra configuration files,
which are updated when programs are run. If the option is ticked Spectra
forces DOS to write its buffers to disk before your program is executed.



-
     FILE EXTENSIONS IN DISKTOP
 --

    The Disktop file manager provides an excellent extension management system,
which has many advantages over all other shells. The main advantage is its
capability of registering up to 29 programs to a single extension! This
can save a lot of time when there is a need to manipulate a type of a
file with many programs. The system also allows registration of COM,
EXE and BAT files and directories.

    OPEN menu is used as a tool for opening files. It contains a list of
programs registered to the first selected file in Disktop's main
window. You may choose a desired program from the menu in order to run
the corresponding application. A double click on the file with a known
extension calls the very first program in the menu.

    The following table shows a list of all available flags that could be
used while associating an extension to a program.

ͻ
          Flag Name                            Returns                   
͹
 <FILE>                       The name of the file.                      
                                                                         
 <FILE.EXT>                   The name of the file with extension.       
                                                                         
 <DRIVE>                      Current drive letter.                      
                                                                         
 <DIR>                        Current directory in Disktop.              
                                                                         
 <DIR\>                       Current directory in Disktop with a        
                              trailing backslash.                        
                                                                         
 <SWITCH_TO_DIR>              Sets the program's directory as the current
                              directory, so that the application may     
                              locate its own files. This flag has no     
                              effect if it is used in the new syntax #2. 
                                                                         
 <PAUSE>                      Pauses after termination of the program.   
                                                                         
 <NO_PAUSE>                   Returns to Disktop straight after          
                              termination of the program.                
                                                                         
 <KEYS:yourfile.KEY>          Passes a set of keys or key combinations   
                              stored in a file with a .KEY               
                              extension to the program that is executed. 
                              The keys may be recorded in the key        
                              recorder in OPTIONS. If full path isn't    
                              specified, the .KEY file is searched in    
                              the KEYS subdirectory of Spectra.          
                                                                         
 <LIST:listfile.ext>          Generates a list file from selected files  
                              in Disktop. The name of the list file is   
                              then added to the command line.            
                              It is a very good idea, in most cases, to  
                              specify a path to the list file, otherwise 
                              the file is created in the current         
                              directory.                                 
                              The flag is very useful for creating MP3   
                              lists, which can then be played by a       
                              program.                                   
ͼ


ͻ
          Flag Name                          Output Example              
͹
 <FILE>                       COMMAND                                    
 <FILE.EXT>                   COMMAND.COM                                
 <DRIVE>                      C                                          
 <DIR>                        \DOS                                       
 <DIR\>                       \DOS\                                      
 <LIST:d:\temp\mp3.lst>       D:\TEMP\MP3.LST                            
 <KEYS:some.key>                                                         
ͼ


    The flags will be replaced by their values at runtime. If an unknown
set of characters is found in the command line, it will be passed to the
program as is. For example "<DRIVE>:<DIR\>test <FILE>" might return this:
"C:\DOS\test README".

    Only one flag is worth describing further - <KEYS:yourfile.KEY>. It
enables the user to pass key combinations to the associated application.
This may be useful if the program is SHAREWARE and requires the user to
push certain keys every time it is launched. A file containing
the keys must be created first in View, Options, Record Key Strokes.
Then an entry has to be made in registry as part of the command line
of the registered program, where "yourfile.KEY" is the name of the file
with the keys. If you don't specify the path to the file then it will
be searched in the KEYS subdirectory of Spectra. Also, if you're using
blocks of commands to describe an extension, it may be useful to
use LOADKEYS.EXE utility to load the *.KEY files at any specific line, as
using <KEYS:> forces Disktop to load them before your block of commands
begins executing.


-
     SYNTAX TYPES
 --

 Syntax #1
\_________/

This syntax is similar to the one used in WinDOS version 250 or 220.
It consists of a single line describing the program that would be used to
open the particular extension. This is an example.

{+C:\PROGRAM.EXE <DRIVE>:<DIR\><FILE.EXT> <SWITCH_TO_DIR> }

As you can see the line must be enclosed in {} and the + (plus sign) must
follow the opening bracket to indicate syntax #1. If there is no plus sign,
syntax #2 will be assumed. The purpose of this syntax is to enable Disktop
not to load COMMAND.COM before running your program, therefore, Disktop will
only take up ~4.5 Kb of memory. The option that forces Spectra to load
the command interpreter is ignored.


 Syntax #2
\_________/

When using this syntax, Disktop grabs everything inside {}, puts it into a
batch file and executes it. This leads to "unlimited possibilities". You
can use all of the exciting batch file tools! Here's an example.

{ @echo off
  copy <FILE.EXT> d:\temp
  del <FILE.EXT>
  d:
  cd \temp
  edit <FILE.EXT>
  echo You can do anything!!! }

Keep in mind that this syntax forces Disktop to load a copy of COMMAND.COM,
which takes an additional few Kb of memory.


-
     EXTENSION EDITOR
 --

    To be able to edit and manipulate the extension registration file
EXT.INI, we have to take a look at the structure of the file itself.
When a particular extension is selected and the OPEN menu is opened, Disktop
scans through EXT.INI and extracts all of the labels that apply to that
extension, even if they come from different extension definitions. This is
very powerful. Here is a documented example of EXT.INI. A more practical
example is provided separately in EXTINI.TXT.

NOTE: It is recommended that you don't use these brackets []{}() in command
      lines of programs or label text as it might confuse Disktop. If you
      must, create a batch file on disk and then execute that.


;Start of file *************************************************************
;This is a remark!
;Only semicolons can be used for this purpose.
;Spaces between lines are allowed.

;First specify the extension. '[' marks the beginning of an extension block
;']' must close the extension block.
[XM=

;A label is the name of the program to be displayed in the OPEN menu when
;this type of extension is highlighted. The label may contain maximum
;21 characters. It is compulsory to have a label for every registered
;program!!! The label text should always appear in () brackets.
(Label 1)

;A program line must follow a label! Your commands must appear in {}.
;PROGRAM1.EXE could be launched by either double clicking an .XM file
;(default for the first item) or by selecting the file with the corresponding
;extension and choosing "Label 1" from the OPEN menu.
;Using syntax #1.
{+C:\PROGRAM1.EXE <FILE.EXT>}

;Register more programs to this extension.
(Label 2)
{+D:\PROGRAM2.COM <FILE.EXT>}

(Label 3)
{+D:\PROGRAM3.COM <FILE.EXT>}

;If you leave the label brackets blank, Disktop will add a separator in the
;open menu. Disktop ignores the following {}. However there is no point
;putting anything in there.
()
{}

(Label 4)
{ @echo off
  c:
  cd\progs
  program4.com <DIR> <FILE>
}

;Close extension block. This bracket must be on its own on a separate line.
]


;Make another extension.
;'?' wildcard replaces any character. Therefore this definition would apply to
;MP3, MPG, MPE and similar files. '*' wildcard is not supported.

[MP?=

  (QuickView)
  {@c:\qv\qv.exe <FILE.EXT>}

]


'To register directories use '\\\' for an extension.
[\\\=

  (All dirs)
  {@c:\virus\check.exe <DRIVE>:<DIR>}

]


;Register all files.
[???=

  ;Add a separator
  ()
  {}

  (All files)
  {edit <file.ext>}

]

;....and so on.....
;End of file ***************************************************************





.-
     QUICK MENU
 --

    The QUICK menu enables the user to quickly access commonly used
directories and programs. The menu is 100% editable and was added to
Disktop for convenience. It can be customized in View, Options, Quick
Menu Editor. Enough help is available within the editor for you to
understand how to use it.





 -
     WORKING WITH HISTORY
 . --

        Spectra supports two modes when working with history:
1. Always records visited directories.
2. Records directories on request.

MODE 1
        Each time you change to another directory, Spectra automatically
records the current path, so that in the future you could easily switch
between visited directories by using back and forward arrows. This mode
is on by default. It can always be set by pressing the RST button.

MODE 2
        This mode stops Spectra from recording all directories you visit,
which gives you more control. If you want a directory to be remembered simply
press the MEM button (this mode will be activated after you click the MEM
button for the first time). You can always change to mode 1 by pressing the
reset button (RST).




-
     COMPRESSION
  ..--


1. Spectra COMPRESSION TOOL

    Spectra Compression Tool needs the following files to be COPIED to the
ARCHIVES sub-directory of Spectra in order to function properly!!!

PKZIP.EXE         \  Minimum requirements for
PKUNZIP.EXE       /  ZIP to work.
PKZIPFIX.EXE
ZIP2EXE.EXE
RAR.EXE           - Minimum requirements for RAR to work.
ARJ.EXE           - Minimum requirements for ARJ to work.
PAK.EXE           - Minimum requirements for PAK to work.
LHA.EXE           - Minimum requirements for LZH to work.

Compressing Files:
   Select appropriate files, choose File and Compress.
   Select appropriate files, click COPY, go to another directory, choose
    File and Compress. (Spectra would create the archive in the new
    directory).

Extracting Files From Archives:
   Select an archive file, choose File and Decompress.
   Select an archive file, click COPY, go to another directory, choose
    File and Decompress. (Spectra would decompress the archive file to
    current directory).

Testing or Fixing Archive Files:
   Select an archive file, click File and Decompress, click an appropriate
    button.




2. Spectra INTERNAL ZIP

    The internal ZIP support requires the following files to be COPIED
to the ARCHIVES sub-directory of Spectra!!!

PKZIP.EXE
PKUNZIP.EXE

Once these files are there, you can cut, copy, paste, delete,
QuickView, etc files in ZIP as you would in directories.




-
     UTILITIES
  --

-       

--> LOADKEYS.EXE <--

   The program copies the memory image stored in *.KEY files into the
keyboard buffer in BIOS, which results in simulated key presses that were
previously recorded using Spectra (in OPTIONS). This can become handy if
you would like Spectra to be launched automatically every time you go to
DOS (using F8 on Windows machines) without having to type "Spectra" at
the command prompt every time. You may simply record a .KEY file
containing the necessary keystrokes for running the application and
place the following line as the last line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

loadkeys.exe [drive:][path:]<keyfile.key>

On the other hand if you let Windows load automatically, it
would not be interrupted, because the keys would be lost due to the
absence of DOS prompt! Good idea isn't it? :)



 Spectra is devoted to 


                             Tatiana Shmotina
                                   and
          Everyone who died in the Kypck (Kursk) submarine accident.


 CREDITS 

LIBRARIES
1. Future 3    -- Michael Rye Sorensen
               -- Jorden Chamid

SPECIAL THANKS
Ilia Leikin            -- testing, support and ideas
Ross Koger             -- support and ideas
Daniel Slode           -- testing
Yuri Prokushev         -- testing, ideas
Steven Cambian         -- ideas, information


 ABOUT 

Spectra was written by Denis Andrianov.

If you have any questions, send me an E-mail
        D_ANDRIANOV@HOTMAIL.COM

Official website:
        http://www.hitechlabs.tk/

Thank You for downloading!

