Little Green Selector (The)

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Screenshots - Little Green Selector (The)

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Information - Little Green Selector (The)

GenreTape / Disk / Cartridge UtilityYear1989
LanguageMachine LanguagePublisher[no publisher]
DeveloperLittle Green FootballsDistributor-
ControlsKeyboard, MouseCountryUSA
Box / InstructionsEnglishSoftwareEnglish
Programmer(s)

Johnson, Charles F.

LicensePD / Freeware / Shareware
SerialST TypeST, STe / 0.5MB
ResolutionLow / Medium / HighNumber of Disks1 / Double-Sided / HD Installable
Dumpdownload atari Little Green Selector (The) Download / MSAMIDI
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Instructions - Little Green Selector (The)

                    The Little Green Selector
                    -------------------------

                 Shareware by Charles F. Johnson
          Copyright 1989 Little Green Footballs Software
                       All Rights Reserved.

                           Version 1.4
                 Release Date: September 3, 1989


     The Little Green Selector is a complete replacement for the
dreaded GEM item selector.  Once it's installed, all programs that
call the GEM item selector will end up using the vastly improved
Little Green Selector instead.  You can install it at bootup time
by placing it in an AUTO folder, or run it from the desktop at any
time after bootup.  The Little Green Selector (henceforth referred
to as LGSELECT) optimizes the process of selecting files, with
unique features that make this easier than ever before.  And
version 1.3 adds a special "communications pipeline" with CodeHead
Software's MultiFile desk accessory that allows you to copy, move,
delete, and rename files and folders, format disks, create new
folders, show or print files, and much more...any time you use the
file selector!

     If you've already received an earlier version of the Little
Green Selector, and are familiar with its basic operation, you
may want to skip ahead to the section titled "New Stuff" at the
end of this document.  This is where the new features (and/or bug
fixes) of each revision are explained.


              Shareware - a concept before its time?
              --------------------------------------

     The Little Green Selector is being distributed as
"shareware." This means that you're free to give copies of it to
friends, to upload it to bulletin board services, etc., as long as
both LGSELECT.PRG and this document (LGSELECT.TXT) are included
and neither file is altered in ANY WAY.  However, if you use and
enjoy this program, you are expected to pay for it just as you
would be expected to pay for a commercial program.  I'm asking a
contribution of only $15.00, so it's pretty painless to become a
registered user of the Little Green Selector.

     If you do find LGSELECT useful, please send a check or money
order for $15.00 to:

     Charles F. Johnson (LG Selector)
     P.O. Box 1250
     Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

     I've released two previous programs as shareware (ARC Shell
and Desk Manager), and I'll be honest with you - the response has
been less than overwhelming.  And I've been pretty lucky; I've
spoken to other shareware authors about this, and most of their
experiences have been even more dismal than mine.  Programs don't
come into existence spontaneously - the people who design them
spend many many hours thinking about, planning, testing, and
revising their work (not to mention the years spent refining
techniques and learning to use the tools).  It takes a leap of
faith for programmers to release the fruits of their labor into
free distribution, relying on the "honor system" to see some
reward for their creations.  I know it takes a little extra effort
to write out a check and drop it in the mail, but the fact is that
only you, the user, can make the 'shareware' idea work.  If you'd
like to see more programs distributed as shareware, you have to do
your best to support the programs you use.

     (By the way, I want to say a sincere "thank you" to everyone
who has contributed for ARC Shell and/or Desk Manager, lest you
think I've forgotten.  I haven't, and your contributions are very
much appreciated.)

     Anyway...end of sermon.  On with the show.


                       Installing LGSELECT.
                       --------------------

     LGSELECT is very simple to install.  You can either run it
from the desktop by double-clicking on its icon or filename, or
place it in an AUTO folder so that it installs automatically at
bootup time.

     To install LGSELECT automatically, just copy it into a folder
named AUTO on your boot disk.  If you don't already have an AUTO
folder, you can create one from the GEM desktop by using the 'New
Folder' option in the 'File' drop-down menu.  If you do already
use an AUTO folder with several programs in it, LGSELECT can
simply be copied into the existing folder.  After placing
LGSELECT.PRG in your AUTO folder, reboot your computer. During the
bootup process, you'll see a message from LGSELECT, and it will be
automatically installed.

     (NOTE: LGSELECT can run at any point during the AUTO
programs; however, there may be some improperly written AUTO
programs that need to run before or after LGSELECT.  If you have a
conflict, you should begin by removing everything from your AUTO
folder except LGSELECT, then start adding the other programs one
at a time until you find the source of the trouble.  Often, you
can fix incompatibilities simply by changing the order that you
copy programs into the AUTO folder.  Remember that AUTO programs
run in the order in which they appear in a disk's directory [not
alphabetically, nor by time/date stamp] -- if you're not sure about
the order, you can use LGSELECT's 'No Sort' feature [see below] to
show the true arrangement.)

     If you run LGSELECT from the desktop, a GEM alert box will
appear.  You can click on the button labeled 'Install' to make
LGSELECT resident, or on 'Cancel' if you change your mind.


                         Using LGSELECT.
                         ---------------

     In addition to the extra features it provides, LGSELECT
incorporates all of the functions of the standard GEM item
selector and provides a similar interface; so if you know how to
use the GEM selector you should have no trouble getting accustomed
to LGSELECT.  For this reason, I'm going to assume in the
following discussion that you already know how to perform basic
operations with the GEM selector.  (If you're unsure about how to
operate the GEM selector, please refer to your ST owner's manual.)

     LGSELECT uses both mouse buttons.  In many cases, an option
will behave differently depending on which mouse button you use
when you select it; so it's a good idea to read this documentation
through before using LGSELECT so you won't be surprised.

     To get your first look at LGSELECT, run some program that
uses the item selector.  When LGSELECT appears, the first thing
you'll notice is that it's larger than the GEM item selector.
The GEM selector only shows you 9 files at once; LGSELECT displays
16, so you can see more of a directory at a glance.  You'll also
notice that there are quite a few more controls and buttons in the
LGSELECT dialog box; I'll explain the use of those controls now.


                        The Drive Buttons.
                        ------------------

     On the right side of the box underneath the 'OK' and 'CANCEL'
buttons are 16 drive buttons labeled A through P.  To change to a
new drive with LGSELECT, all you have to do is click on one of the
drive buttons; no more editing the directory line!  Only active
drives are selectable - drives that don't exist on your system are
shown as "disabled".  When you change to a different drive by
clicking one of these buttons, LGSELECT will determine the current
directory for that drive and display its contents.

     The drive buttons are also used to display the amount of free
space (in bytes) remaining on a disk.  There are two ways to show
a disk's free space - you can either double-click the drive button
(with the left mouse button), or single-click it with the right
mouse button.  After a short delay to read the information from
the disk, an alert box will appear showing the number of bytes
left.

     Another important feature of the drive buttons - you can
force a "media changed" status on any drive by holding down
Alternate, Control, or either Shift key while you click on the
drive's button.  This is very useful for people with removable
media (like the Syquest drives or the Konica 10M floppy) that
sometimes don't properly respond when you change the disk (or
cartridge).  It's also handy for those who have floppy drives that
don't always recognize when you change a disk.

     This "force media change" feature also has another important
beneficial side effect; it "flushes" the folder count for the
selected drive.  This can be helpful in avoiding the so-called "40
folder bug" which lives in TOS 1.0 and 1.2.


                        The Sort Buttons.
                        -----------------

     Under the drive buttons are the buttons that represent the
different sorting options that LGSELECT offers.  You can choose to
sort the displayed files by Name, Extension, Size or Date, or you
can display them unsorted if you wish.  To select a new sorting
method, just click on its button and the files in the current
directory will be resorted and redisplayed in the new order.


                         The Info Button.
                         ----------------

     Click on the button labeled 'Info' to show the version number
of LGSELECT.


                       *.* (Show All Files)
                       --------------------

     Click on the button labeled '*.*' to show all files in the
current directory.  When you select this button, the current
directory search specification will be copied into the button, and
the search spec will be changed to '*.*'.  You can return to the
original search spec simply by clicking the button again.


                        The Paths Button.
                        -----------------

     The button labeled 'Paths' gives you access to one of
LGSELECT's nicest features.  Click on 'Paths' and a dialog box
appears, showing 18 blank lines and a list of 20 default
extensions, as well as several buttons for additional options.  In
the Paths box, you can set up as many as 18 default paths;
clicking on any path will instantly set it as the current
directory, and return you to the main LGSELECT box.  (This can
make navigating on a hard disk very simple!)

     To install paths into the list, simply hold down Alternate,
Control or either Shift key while you click on the 'Paths' button
in the main LGSELECT box.  The current directory will be copied
into the first empty slot in the path list.  The 'Paths' dialog
box itself will not appear when you're installing paths, so that
you can quickly set up a group of different paths.

     If you use up all 18 slots and try to install another path,
an alert box will appear; at this point you can either 'Cancel'
installing the path or 'Replace' the last (18th) entry in the list
with the current directory.

     If you click on 'Paths' without holding down Alt, Ctrl, or
Shift, the 'Paths' dialog box appears.  You can instantly set the
current directory to any path in the list by clicking on it with
the left mouse button.  This will return you to the main LGSELECT
box, and the files in the new path will be displayed.

     You can delete any single path from the list by clicking on
it with the right mouse button.  An alert box will appear, asking
you to confirm the delete.

     At the bottom left of the 'Paths' box is a list of 20
extensions (or file "types") which can be edited with the
keyboard.  Use the up and down arrows to move the cursor through
the list, and Esc to clear an extension.  When you click on one of
the extensions with the left mouse button, the directory line in
the main LGSELECT box is changed to the new extension.  This lets
you easily display only certain types of files.

     When LGSELECT is first installed, the extensions are preset
to a group of common file types.  You can change this default set
of extensions by editing them, and then using the 'Save' command
(see below).

     At the bottom right of the 'Paths' box is a group of buttons
with some further options:

     'Show Hidden Files' -- when this button is selected
     (highlighted), LGSELECT will show files which are marked as
     "hidden" or "system" files.  When hidden files appear in the
     file box they will be shown as disabled text, but they are
     still selectable.

     'Save' -- click on this button to save the current list of
     paths and extensions directly into the LGSELECT program file
     itself, so that the next time you boot up, your paths and
     extensions will already be set.  In order for this feature to
     work, LGSELECT.PRG must be in the same drive and directory as
     when you originally ran it, and you must not rename the
     program!

     'Clear' -- this option clears the entire list of paths so you
     can start again with a blank slate if you wish.  An alert box
     will appear, asking you to confirm the 'Clear' operation.

     'FILENAME.EXT' -- this button will always show the search
     specification that was passed to LGSELECT by the calling
     program, regardless of whether you modify it in the main
     LGSELECT box or not.  This lets you quickly return to the
     original search spec.

     'Exit' -- returns to the main LGSELECT box.


                      File Display Options.
                      ---------------------

     OK, back to the main LGSELECT box.  At the bottom of the file
box is a box displaying the total number of files in the current
directory that match the search specification, bordered by two
buttons containing left and right arrows.  If you click with the
left mouse button on either arrow, you can flip the file display
to show the last modification time and date of the files, or their
size.  If you click with the right mouse button on either arrow,
you will return instantly to the name display.  You don't have to
be showing names to select files; all functions are still active
no matter which display option is selected.

     The 'Date' display includes the day of the week that the file
was last modified, and the 'Time' display is shown in am/pm
format.


                          The Close Box.
                          --------------

     In the GEM item selector, the function of the close box
(located at the upper left of the file box) is to back out one
level at a time from the current subdirectory.  If you single-
click the LGSELECT close box with the left mouse button, it
behaves the same way.  However, if you double-click the close box,
or click on it with the right mouse button, you will instantly
back out all the way to the root directory of the current drive.
This is very handy for people with hard drives containing lots of
nested subdirectories.


                      The 'Directory' Line.
                      ---------------------

     It should be a rare occasion that you'll need to edit the
LGSELECT 'Directory' line manually, since you can select a different
drive simply by clicking its button.  However, if you do wish to
edit the 'Directory' line, you can do so by moving the text cursor
to the line (by clicking on the 'Directory' line once with the
left mouse button, or by typing the down arrow), making your
changes, and pressing Return.  If the 'Directory' line has been
changed when Return is pressed, the new directory will be set.
(The GEM selector simply exits any time you hit Return.  Ouch.)

     Another feature of the LGSELECT 'Directory' line is that you
can back out to any level in the current path simply by clicking
the right mouse button on the subdirectory you wish to return to.
For example, if your current 'Directory' line reads:

C:\UTILITY\ARC\ARCFILES\TEMP\*.*

you can back out to:

C:\UTILITY\*.*

simply by right-clicking on the word UTILITY.

     (You can also double-click the left mouse button on the
'Directory' line to back out to a certain level.)


                     The Up and Down Buttons.
                     ------------------------

     If you click with the right mouse button on the up or down
arrows, you will jump instantly to the beginning or the end of the
current directory listing.  Clicking with the left button scrolls
up and down through the list of files, just as with the GEM
selector...but *much* faster.


                        Selecting a File.
                        -----------------

     In the standard GEM selector, there are two ways to select a
file from the list and exit the selector.  You can click on it
once with the left mouse button, and click the 'OK' button; or you
can double-click it with the left mouse button.  LGSELECT also
lets you select a file and immediately exit by single-clicking it
with the right mouse button.


                   Passing a Title to LGSELECT.
                   ----------------------------

     This information is primarily of interest to programmers; if
you don't care about passing a programmer-defined title to
LGSELECT, you can skip to the next section.

     Programmers can pass LGSELECT two 12-character title strings,
which will be displayed in the box in the upper right; this lets
you tell the user the purpose of the file selector.  The code to
do this can be written in a way that is "transparent" to the
system.  In other words, if LGSELECT is present, your title
appears; if not, the normal GEM selector works as usual.

     To pass the title strings in assembly language, the following
code will do the job:

     move      #90,contrl          ; Set up contrl array
     move      #0,contrl+2
     move      #2,contrl+4
     move      #4,contrl+6         ; This parameter differs from
                                   ; standard fsel_input call
     move      #0,contrl+8
     move.l    #directory,addrin   ; Address of directory line
     move.l    #filename,addrin+4  ; Address of filename line
     move.l    #title1,addrin+8    ; First 12-character title string
     move.l    #title2,addrin+12   ; Second title string
     bsr       aes                 ; Call the AES

     I'd recommend that if C programmers are interested in using
the title string functions of LGSELECT, it would be a good idea to
code the call to fsel_input with in-line assembly.  Otherwise,
you'll have to alter your compiler's bindings for fsel_input.

     Just for your information, all CodeHead Software products are
written to take advantage of LGSELECT's title line feature, as is
my earlier shareware release, ARC Shell.


                 Don't Judge a File by Its Size.
                 -------------------------------

     Even though the LGSELECT.PRG file is over 36K on disk, when
loaded into memory it only takes about 30K, since it throws away
all unneeded initialization code and data at startup time.


                          Miscellaneous.
                          --------------

     The Little Green Selector will read a maximum of 300
filenames from a directory.  (Since the GEM desktop itself can
only show 256 files in a single directory, this seemed like a
reasonable limit.)  If your current directory is too long to fit
in the LGSELECT 'Directory' line, no harm will result; the GEM
selector just crashes.

     If you're using TOS 1.0, be careful not to type an underline
character in the 'Directory' line -- a bug in TOS 1.0's 'form_do'
routine will cause the system to crash if you do.  (Unfortunately,
there's nothing LGSELECT can do to fix this bug.)

     Normally GEM steals all keypresses during the drawing of a
dialog box, but LGSELECT uses some special tricks to allow you to
"type ahead" while the dialog box is being drawn, or while a
directory is being read.


                          New Stuff.
                          ----------


************************ VERSION 1.2 *****************************

     The big new feature in version 1.2 is keyboard control of
almost all options of LGSELECT.  Here's how the keyboard is used
with LGSELECT 1.2:


     In the main LGSELECT box
     ------------------------

     Alternate A through P	Select current drive.

     Control up/down arrows     Scroll up or down through the
                                list of files.

     Control left/right arrows  Display size, time, and date.

     Shift up/down arrows       Page up or down through the list
                                of files.

     Clr Home                   Jump to the top of the file list.

     Shift Clr Home             Jump to the bottom of the file
                                list.

     Insert                     Select the *.* button.

     Help                       Enter the "Paths" dialog box.

     Undo                       Back out one level in the current
                                directory.

     Control Undo               Back out to the root directory of
                                the current drive.

     F1 through F5              Select sort option.

     Return                     Exit LGSELECT, and accept choice
                                (if any).  Equivalent to clicking
                                on the 'OK' button.

     Alternate Return           Equivalent to clicking on the
     (or Undo)                  'Cancel' button.

     Alternate ?                Display version number, author,
                                and shareware message.

     Shift 0 through +          (On numeric keypad) Select the
                                first through sixteenth entry in
                                the list of files.  If the entry
                                is a folder, open it.

     F10                        Call MultiFile (version 1.2 or
                                higher).

     In the 'Paths' box
     ------------------

     F1 through Shift F8        Select new path for LGSELECT.
                                (The paths are now labeled with
                                their respective function keys.)



************************ VERSION 1.3 *****************************

               Communication with MultiFile.
               -----------------------------

     LGSELECT 1.3 has several new features, among them the ability
to "call" CodeHead Software's MultiFile accessory (included on the
CodeHead Utilities disk), so you can perform file operations
(copy, move, delete, rename, etc.), format disks, show or print
files, and all that kinda good stuff any time you're using the
file selector.  This feature requires you to have version 1.2 (or
later) of MultiFile installed as a desk accessory; otherwise the
"MultiFile" button will be disabled.  (MultiFile can be installed
either as an ordinary desk accessory, or loaded into CodeHead
Software's MultiDesk; it will work either way.)

     To call MultiFile, just click on the button labeled
"MultiFile" in the lower right of the LGSELECT main box, or type
the F10 function key.  The full-screen MultiFile dialog box will
appear, showing all the files in the current LGSELECT directory. 
If there is a file selected in LGSELECT when you call MultiFile,
it will be selected in the MultiFile box as well.  Up to 80 files
can be displayed at once in the MultiFile dialog, and you can mark
them individually or in groups for file operations.  (See your
CodeHead Utilities manual for full details on the operation of
MultiFile.)


                Selected File Size Display.
                ---------------------------

     When you select a file in LGSELECT 1.3, its size is displayed
at the bottom of the file box, where the number of files is
normally shown.  Any action which causes that filename to be
de-selected (e.g. scrolling up/down, clicking on a blank line,
etc.) will also cause the display to revert to the number of files
in the current directory.


             Two New Features in the Paths Box.
             ----------------------------------

GET PATHS
---------

     The button labeled "GET PATHS" controls what happens when you
click on one of LGSELECT's drive buttons to change to a new drive. 
When this button is NOT selected, LGSELECT will always set the
path to the root directory of the new drive when you click on a
drive button.  If the "GET PATHS" button is selected, LGSELECT
will determine the current path of the new drive (GEMDOS maintains
a record of the last accessed paths on each connected drive), and
set the directory line to display the files in that path instead
of the root directory.  Try it both ways, and see which one you
prefer.  (NOTE: If you're using a floppy system it usually won't
make a difference which way this button is set.)

FLUSH
-----

     The button labeled "FLUSH" lets you clear the "folder count"
for all connected drives, or just for a hard disk if you prefer. 
This feature is included to help alleviate a problem in TOS 1.0
and 1.2, which can cause crashes if you access too many folders
(subdirectories) in a single continuous session at the computer. 

     When you click o& "FLUSH" an adert box w)ll a?œ	ƒŸ  `$ÈYƒBž[ÝHÇ79ρ€Oˆ€ρƒˆOˆ€‰ˆÏŒ   Ïˆ€ÏÌžÌω„‚ ˆOÀ‚ðp‚ ŒL5des drives A and B), or just active drives with the letters C
through P.  Click on your choice, or "Cancel" to forget the whole
thing. 

     I recommend that you don't use the FDUSH button until you've
been operating your computer for a while after booting up.  If you
FLUSH too soon after booting, your number of folders used may
actually increase instead of decreasing.  This happens because
LGSELECT's FLUSH operation goes through and accesses all connected
drives to flush the folder count for each one.  If, in the course
of your computer session, you haven't yet accessed a particular
drive, FLUSHing that drive may result in an increased folder
count.  It all depends on how many folders you've opened or
accessed in one session. 

     If you have a hard disk, I strongly recommend that you use
Atari's FOLDRXXX.PRG to increase the number of folders your system
can access in one session.  FOLDRXXX.PRG is available on the major
information services like GEnie, Compuserve, and Delphi, and
probably also through most user groups and private bulletin
boards. 

     (NOTE: There is also a public domain program from Atari
called DIRSLEFT.PRG that will show you the number of "folder
slots" left in your system.)


                  More Information Saved.
                  -----------------------

     When you choose the "Save" option in the LGSELECT "Paths"
box, the status of the "SHOW HIDDEN" and "GET PATHS" buttons is
now saved along with the paths and extensions.  The current sort
option is also saved, so that LGSELECT will always come up with
your preferred settings.  (See above in the section titled "The
Paths Button" for more details.)


************************ VERSION 1.4 *****************************

                 Fast File Search Feature!
                 -------------------------

     Version 1.4 of the Little Green Selector adds a file search
feature that can very quickly search all the partitions of a hard
drive for a file or files, with optional wildcard matching.

     To use the file search feature, just type in the name of the
file for which you wish to search on the "Selection" line.  If you
wish, you may use the wildcards '*' and '?' to find all files that
match a certain specification.  The '*' character means "match all
characters up to the extension, or the end of the string." The '?'
character means "match any one character in this position."

     To start searching, click on the small button labelled "FIND"
in the lower right corner of the "Selection" box.  If drive "C:"
is active on your system an alert box will appear, asking you
whether you'd like to search only the current directory, or every
drive from C: to P:.  Click on "All" if you'd like to search
through every partition on your hard disk, or "Current" to limit
the search to LGSELECT's current directory.  If you don't have a
drive "C:" connected to your system, the search will begin
immediately when you click on the "FIND" button, and will be
limited to the current directory.

     If a file is found which matches the search criteria, the
directory in which it's located will be shown on the LGSELECT
"Directory" line, and you will be given the choice to either "Set"
the LGSELECT path to the one containing the matching file, keep
searching for other matching files ("Next"), or "Cancel" the
search operation and return to the directory from which you
started.

     While a search is in progress, you can abort it at any time
by holding down the Alternate key. 

     NOTE: The LGSELECT file search feature performs an automatic
"flush" operation after searching each drive, when you choose to
search "All" partitions; this should prevent the "40-folder bug"
from ever occurring when searching a large hard drive with many
folders.  (See the section titled "FLUSH" above for more details.)

     Another interesting note: for the sake of speed, the file
search routine in LGSELECT uses its own wildcard matching
algorithms instead of the built-in TOS wildcard features.  Along
with the automatic "flush" feature, this makes LGSELECT's file
search both faster and safer than most other file search programs. 


                  Disk Information Expanded.
                  --------------------------

     When you right-click (or double-click) on a drive button,
version 1.4 of LGSELECT will now show more information than
previous versions did.  You will see the total number of folders
and files, the number of bytes used and the number of free bytes
left on the disk. 


------------------------------------------------
Designed and developed by Charles F. Johnson.

The Little Green Selector and this document are
Copyright 1989 Little Green Footballs Software.
All Rights Reserved.

Please support shareware authors!

(Note: A very early version of this program
originally appeared in STart magazine, under the
name "STart Selector.")
------------------------------------------------

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