Folder Information for Windows 95 Version 1.0

Copyright (C) 1996 by Silent Software.
All rights reserved.

30-Mar-96
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If using Wordpad, select View | Options, Text and then Wrap To Window.

CONTENTS
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1. INTRODUCTION
2. INSTALLATION
3. UNINSTALLING
4. FILES INSTALLED
5. KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS
6. PERFORMANCE ISSUES
7. RELEASE HISTORY AND CHANGES
8. LEGAL LIMITATIONS
9. FURTHER INFORMATION

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1. INTRODUCTION

Thankyou for choosing Folder Information for Windows 95. This program allows you to analyse the space taken up by a given folder. For a given folder and all its subfolders, it can display either the different file types, the subfolders, or those folders directly off the analysed folder. For a given type, it displays the total number of files, total file size, average file size, percentage of the folder used by that type, and percentage of the disk used by that type. It also displays the total number of subfolders, files, and bytes used by the folder. The information can be displayed in a graph for quick analysis. From the program you can open a subfolder in Explorer, or find all the files of a given type within the searched folder. This enables you to perform standard Explorer operations on the files, e.g. Copy, Paste, Quick View, etc. Analysis starts either by selecting a menu option from within the program, or by selecting a menu option from Explorer.

See (4) FILES INSTALLED for a list of files installed when you install Folder Information.
See (9) FURTHER INFORMATION for more information on what Folder Information does.

2. INSTALLATION

To install Folder Information, perform the following actions:-

a. Extract the contents of the zip file to a temporary directory using a tool like PKUNZIP or WINZIP. You will have already done this if you are reading this file (!)
b. Locate the file "FLDRINFO.INF" (File type is 'Setup Information') in Explorer.
c. Right click the file, and select "Install".

Installation should take a few minutes. You will require 103Kb of hard disk space.

3. UNINSTALLING

To remove Folder Information from your system (i.e. uninstall it), perform the following actions:-

a. Click the Start button on the task bar.
b. Select "Settings", and then "Control Panel".
c. Select "Add/Remove Programs".
d. In the list box at the bottom of the dialog box, locate "Folder Information".
e. Select"Add/Remove".
f. Folder Information will be uninstalled.

4. FILES INSTALLED

The following files are installed.

Filename		Size
FLDRINFO.exe		63Kb
FLDRINFO.hlp		29Kb
FLDRINFO.cnt		 1Kb
FLDRINFO.txt		 8Kb
FLDRINFO.inf		 3Kb

Shortcuts are added in the Accessories program group.

5. KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

The following items detail bugs and limitations in the product, that are known about in this release:

* I wanted the program to display compressed file size and compressed : uncompressed ratio for compressed files, but this involved "thunking" to 16 bit code, and sounded like too much hard work. This may be included in a future release.

* The Windows 95 way of doing things would suggest that Folder Information should appear as another page in a folder's property sheet. I don't think that the information would fit well into a standard property sheet, i.e. you would spend a lot of time scrolling through the list view to see the data, so for this version, this has not been implemented.

6. PERFORMANCE ISSUES

Analysing a folder can sometimes take a long time. This is NOT due to the size of the folder, but due to the number of files in a folder. For instance, analysing a folder which is 2Gb in size, but consists of only one file, will be practically instantaneous; analysing a folder which is 2Gb in size but contains 2 million files, will take an exceptionally long time.

On my 486DX2-66 with 16Mb of memory, and a 1Gb EIDE hard disk, Folder Information could analyse, on average, about 2000 files per. minute. My entire hard disk therefore takes about 2 minutes to analyse. If analysing a CD-ROM, this value drops to about 1000 files per. minute, even for a 6-speed CD-ROM drive. Analysing a folder on a mapped network drive performs at about 1250 files per. minute.

The important factor here, is the ACCESS SPEED of the drive containing the folder. The amount of information being read from a folder is quite small, so the data transfer rate has little effect on the overall analysis time. However, the speed with which the drive can find the next block of data IS important. This is one reason why hard disks produce results faster than CD-ROM drives. Note that the access speed of a network connection is limited by Windows, but more importantly, by the current load on the network, i.e. the amount of data being moved around on the network - this is affected by the number of users and the amount of data that each user is transferring.

This information will hopefully give you a reasonable clue as to how long a folder will take to analyse. Most importantly, don't worry if Folder Information appears to have hung - if the program reaches a number of folders each containing a lot of files, the progress bar will appear to stop for long periods, but the program is still working!

7. RELEASE HISTORY AND CHANGES

30-Mar-96
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Managed to stop playing guitar and finish off the program!
Help and About added.
Installation routine created.

12-Mar-96
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Search is now multi-threaded.
The Cancel button now works during a search operation.

11-Mar-96
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Improved Find to handle multiple extensions.
Added View By Root Folder command.

10-Mar-96
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Added Graph, Find, Open, and Search From Here commands.

09-Mar-96
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Added New command, and the Browse For Folder Dialog
Spent some time trying to get a compressed file size.

17-Feb-96
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Initial test version.

8. LEGAL LIMITATIONS

Folder Information is copyright (C) 1996 by Silent Software. All rights reserved.

Folder Information is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.  The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Folder Information.

Folder Information is a "freeware program" and is provided at no charge to the user.  You are allowed to distribute it to your friends. Do not alter Folder Information or any of the supporting files. Do not separate the files included with this release. Do not give away the files as a package, or a subset of the files, as part of another system.

Shareware vendors and CD-Rom manufacturers are freely allowed to distribute this product and ask a nominal charge for the distribution. Vendors are also advised to contact the author before distribution to ensure that they are distributing the most recent version of Folder Information.

Magazine cover disks can only contain Folder Information, or any of its supporting files, after permission has been granted by the author. Contact information is given in section 9.

9. FURTHER INFORMATION

If you require further information on how to use the program, or what it does, see the Folder Information help file (FLDRINFO.HLP). This is accessible from the Help menu within Folder Information.

If you would like to contact the author, I can be e-mailed at:

sharris@netcentral.co.uk

At the time of writing (30-Mar-96), I can only guarantee this address until the end of August 96.

Any comments about Folder Information, bugs (argh!), or whatever - I'll be happy to hear from you.

Finally, thanks for installing Folder Information - I hope you find it useful, and that it improves your day to day use of Windows 95.

	Steve Harris
	Sandbach, Cheshire, England
	30th March 1996.