



        QTRIB - File Attribute Utility

        William Finck

        Bayonne, NJ

        Version 1.6 - February 19, 1992



        What's QTRIB ???
        A user-friendly replacement for DOS' "ATTRIB" command,
        that also does one or two other things.

                 File Attributes  

        What's a File Attribute ???
        A "marker" on a file which determines how the user (or
        third-party software) may treat it.  For those of you
        who aren't familiar with file attributes, I'll do my
        best to explain some of the attributes in simple terms:

        Files may have the following attributes:

        Archive
        (see below)

        Read Only
        You can see a read-only file when you type "DIR",  and you
        can view it with a file viewer, but you may not delete or
        change it.  DOS will execute read-only files (.BAT, .COM,
        or .EXE);

        Hidden
        You may not delete or change these files, and you won't see
        them with DOS' "DIR" command, although many DOS shell programs
        read these files.  You cannot execute hidden .COM, .BAT, or
        .EXE files from the command line. The hidden attribute may
        also be applied to directories, although you can still change
        to these directories and execute programs within them.

        System
        System files are just like "hidden" files. Although the system
        attribute is usually reserved for the operating system, many
        third-party software programs use this attribute to protect
        "crucial" files. See the DOS users manual for information on
        the system files in the root directory of your hard disk/bootable
        floppy. (MS-DOS: IO.SYS & MSDOS.SYS /// IBM-DOS: I think they're
        called IBMIO.SYS and PCDOS.SYS). Like hidden files, most DOS
        shell programs can view/display system files.


               The DOS "ATTRIB" Command  
        
        What the DOS "ATTRIB" Command does that QTRIB doesn't:

        Set the "Archive" Attribute. Is it necessary ???  If so, then
        please let me know. This attribute has no effect on the
        read/write access of a file, however, it is used by DOS'
        "XCOPY", "BACKUP", and "RESTORE" commands, according to the
        DOS manual.  I'm not sure how, since I've never had use for a
        backup program, especially DOS'.  QTRIB will leave this attribute
        alone, unless I get enough requests to warrant a change.

        The DOS 5 " . ",  with QTRIB command line parameters, typing
        *.* is still neccessary.

        The "/s" (subdirectory) switch. QTRIB does not support this
        switch, but anything's possible if there's a demand for it.

        For more information on the ATTRIB command, refer to your
        MS-DOS or PC-DOS manual.


        What QTRIB does that the DOS "ATTRIB" Command doesn't:

        Give the user a friendly, ordered environment in which
        to view/set file and directory attributes, along with
        the ability to Delete/Rename files as found neccessary,
        changing drives/directories with just a few keystrokes.
        

                   CAREFUL !!!    


        Hidden Directories & the BOOT Process.  There is no sense in
        making a directory "read only", since it does not protect the
        directory.  QTRIB has the ability to hide (or unhide) directories.
        You may still access them, but you will not see them with the
        DOS "DIR" command.  Booting your machine with AUTOEXEC.BAT or
        CONFIG.SYS commands in hidden directories will NOT affect the way
        your machine boots. The boot process doesn't care whether
        directories in your PATH are hidden or not, it finds them.
        A hidden directory is just a good place to stash stuff that you
        don't want to share readily (and it's alot better than putting
        your stuff on unlabeled floppies that you are going to
        accidentally format in a week or so).

        Although internal DOS commands like "PATH" and CD\ will find
        and use hidden directories, DOS will NOT execute a hidden
        file, EVEN WHEN BOOTING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        QTRIB has been tested on:
        a 386-25Mhz with super-VGA (DOS 5.0)
        a 386-16Mhz with VGA (DOS 5.0)
        a DELL NX-20Mhz notebook (LCD)(DOS 5.0)
        a clone 8088-10Mhz with CGA (DOS 4.01)

        I CANNOT foretell results with use of the following:

        Digital Research DOS (although it should work fine, if DR-DOS
        is as compatible as it claims to be).

        4-DOS. Although I downloaded this program quite some time ago,
        I never had the time to try it (with apologies to JP Software).

        Any MS-DOS or PC-DOS version lower than 3.3.


        Qtrib WILL NOT look very nice in 40x25 video text mode,
        if this is all your monitor supports, forget it.

        Microsoft Windows Users:

        Windows doesn't like it when you change the attributes
        of the following files:

        386SPART.PAR (your swapfile, if you have one, found in
                      the root directory of the drive where you
                      told Windows to put it).

        SPART.PAR    (has something to do with your swapfile,
                      found in the directory where you installed
                      Windows).

        Changing the attributes of any of these files  to "READ ONLY"
        may cause you to get a "Your Swapfile Is Corrupt" message.
        SPART.PAR should have a 'hidden' attribute.
        386SPART.PAR should have attributes of 'hidden' and 'system',
        but NOT 'read-only', since Windows has to write to it.



                EXAMPLE COMMANDS  

        The file QTRIB.EXE should be copied to a directory
        in your PATH.

        qtrib ?                      the help screen

        qtrib c:                    the full program in the root directory
                                    of drive C:

        qtrib h c:*.*               hides all files in the root direciory
                                    of drive c:

        qtrib a c:\dir\data\*.*     sets ALL file attributes (system, hidden,
                                    and read-only) for ALL files within the
                                    named directory.

        qtrib c:\windows\           Invalid Directory
                                    Type qtrib c:\windows


        QTRIB cannot delete or rename files from the command line.
        It is just as easy to use standard DOS commands for these
        routines.

        QTRIB will not execute in an empty ROOT directory. A sub-
        directory with no files is NOT considered by DOS to be empty,
        since it contains the "." and ".." files. If you type
        QTRIB F:, and the root directory of drive F is empty, QTRIB
        will give you a message, and then execute in the directory
        where you started.  If you start at drive F:, and it is
        empty, QTRIB will quit after the message.

        If the last file in a root directory is deleted, QTRIB will
        either quit or return to the drive you started from, depending
        on where you started.

        QTRIB implements a built-in DOS ERROR handler (ie: diskette
        drive not ready, etc...).  The program will intercept these
        errors, and return to the drive you were on before the error,
        after a message and a keystroke.


             ****************************************

        Batch file fanatics:
        On the Command Line:

        QTRIB has an exit code of 1 if it is executed with an
        invalid directory, and an exit code of 2 if it is
        executed with an invalid filename.  All other exit codes
        are zero.

        If these exit codes aren't sufficient, let me know,
        I'm not into complicated batch files.

             ***************************************

               BUGS THAT I KNOW ABOUT 

        If you run QTRIB from within MS-WINDOWS, and attempt to
        manipulate a file that Windows has open, you will get an
        error message stating:
                   "Check DISK/DISKETTE Format".
        I don't know why, since the error handler should respond
        with a "SHARE VIOLATION" message, but don't worry,
        nothing's wrong with your disk and the program won't bomb.
        Either close these files in Windows and return to the
        program, or wait until you close Windows.


                    HISTORY       


                              2/18/92
        -- Version 1.4 of QTRIB uploaded to the BBS' mentioned in FEEDBACK.

                              2/19/92
        -- Found a bug which caused QTRIB not to work from the command line
        in the current directory only (ie: with no path entered into the
        command tail - don't ask !!!) fixed it immediately.
        -- Added Directory navigation, a second HELP screen, and released
        the program as version 1.5 (prematurely, because of the bug).

                              2/19/92
        -- Removed some redundant code in the help screens and in the
        programs exit notice.
        -- Added error checking so that file attributes couldn't be toggled
        with the F9/F10 hide/unhide Directory keys.

                              2/20/92
        -- Added function to exit to DOS within the Current Directory.
        -- Added File Rename function.

                               2/21/92
         -- Added ability to change disk drives within program.
         -- Changed Delete File key from ALT-D to DELETE
        

                   FEEDBACK       

        I have built all the error checking into the program that
        I could think of.  If you get an error that the program
        cannot recover from, PLEASE let me know what happened, so
        that I can correct it.

        I would appreciate any comments, criticism, or (yecch!!!) bug
        reports. I can be reached on one of the following BBS':

        COMPUSERVE:     William Finck   76307, 1570     (at least monthly)

        NEW JERSEY PC USER'S GROUP:     201-471-6391    (at least monthly)
        
        BYTES 'n BITS BBS:              201-437-6391    (quite often !!!)

        *****************************************************************

        SUPPORT BOARD:
        Bill's Bar And Grill (BBS)      201-330-8119    (almost daily)
        Bill O'Neill, SYSOP (and my beta tester, thanks Bill)

        *****************************************************************


        QTRIB was written with the Microsoft "C" professional
        development system, version 6.00A.


                   SHAREWARE      

        QTRIB is distributed as shareware, and it's future
        depends on how well it is supported.  If you would like
        to receive the next version of this program, please
        send $15.00 (and a return address) to the following
        address:

                William Finck
                10 E 33rd Street
                Bayonne, NJ  07002

        Along with an improved version of the program, you will
        receive a copy of anything else I am working on at the
        time I ship your diskette.  Be sure to specify media
        type.


                  DISTRIBUTION    

        Feel free to distribute (please !) this program anywhere,
        as long as the files contained in the original archive
        are not altered in any way, and subsequent archives
        contain both the original executable and this text file.


                    PROMISES      

        QTRIB will contain a text file viewer, along with
        many other enhancements.


                     NOTICES      

        The author disclaims any liability for damages due to
        the use of QTRIB.  This program is distributed WITHOUT
        warranty.

        All trademarks are property of thier respective owners,
        they know who they are.








