Norton Commander 5.5 other - readme file
- Norton Commander 5.5
- other
SYMANTEC LOCALISATION GROUP IRELAND
README.TXT--
Copyright 1998 Symantec Corp. All Rights Reserved.
NORTON COMMANDER
Version 5.5
Welcome to Norton Commander Version 5.5 !
------------------------------------------
Please read this document carefully, it contains important information not
included in the documentation.
Topics covered in this note include:
* Files that come with Norton Commander 5.5
* Memory Requirements
<> Commander Memory Requirements
<> Launching Commander with Small and Tiny memory configurations.
* Compressed File Support
<> Compressing Hidden Files
<> Password protected Compressed files
<> Limitations in Compressed Files
* Viewer Support
<> Internal Viewer
<> Defining Viewers
* Filters
* Commander File Transfer
<> Cloning using SHARE.EXE
<> Pin layout of Commander cables
- Pin layout of the serial cable
- Pin layout of the parallel cable
* Special Characters in the Commander Editor
* Norton Commander Environment Variables
* Limitations in Changing Drives
* Accented characters in file and directory names
* Installing Commander under Windows 3.1
* Datex.p File
* Windows 95 and OS/2 Compatibility
* Copy Diskette Utility
* Playwave Utility
* Telephone Book Conversion Utility (DIR2DIR)
* NC_EXIT Utility
* Novell NDS
* Useful advice when running Commander on a 1MB or less system
* Running Norton Commander from a shared Network Drive
* Creating a user defined tools menu
* Using screen savers under Windows
Norton Commander 5.5 File List
------------------------------
Diskette 1 : Installation Diskette
install.cfg Installation Configuration File
install.exe Installation Program
installd.exe Installation Program
nc.cfg Configuration program for Viewers
nc.exe NC Loader
nc.fil NC Filters Database
nc.hlp NC Main Help File
nc.msg NC Message File
ncclean.exe NC Cleanup Utility
ncclean.ini NC Cleanup Utility INI File
ncedit.exe NC Internal editor
ncedit.msg NC Internal editor Message File
ncff.exe NC File Finder
ncff.msg NC File Finder Message File
ncmain.exe NC Main Shell
nczip.exe NC Compression Engine
nczip.msg NC Compression Engine Message File
packer.set NC Compression Configuration File
readme.txt Readme File
whats.new List of what's new in Commander 5.5
Diskette 2 : Program Diskette 2
123view.ex! Spreadsheet Viewer
4372ansi.set Conversion Table CP437->ANSI
8502ansi.set Conversion Table CP850->ANSI
8632ansi.set Conversion Table CP832->ANSI
8652ansi.set Conversion Table CP852->ANSI
8662ansi.set Conversion Table CP866->ANSI
ansi2437.set Conversion Table
ansi2850.set Conversion Table
ansi2863.set Conversion Table
ansi2865.set Conversion Table
ansi2866.set Conversion Table
arcview.ex! Compress File Viewer
bitmap.ex! Bitmap Viewer
bug.ns! Screen Saver
bungee.ns! Screen Saver
clp2dib.ex! Viewer Conversion File
dbview.ex! Database Viewer
draw2wmf.ex! Viewer Conversion File
drw2wmf.ex! Viewer Conversion File
evileye.ns! Screen Saver
faces.ns! Screen Saver
flip.ns! Screen Saver
ico2dib.ex! Viewer Conversion File
message.ms! General Message File
mouse.ns! Screen Saver
msp2dib.ex! Viewer Conversion File
nc.ic! Icon File for NC 5.5
norton.in! INI File for NCSF, NCDD
packer.ex! Compression Converter Engine
pct2dib.ex! Viewer Conversion File
q&aview.ex! Q&A Database Viewer
refview.ex! Reflex Viewer
saver.ex! Screen Save Utility
term95.gt! Terminal Emulation File
term95.hl! Terminal Emulation Help File
term95.in! Terminal Emulation INI File
term95.re! Terminal Emulation Message File
tif2dib.ex! Viewer Conversion File
tornado.ns! Screen Saver
vector.ex! Viewer Conversion File
wpb2dib.ex! Viewer Conversion File
wpv2wmf.ex! Viewer Conversion File
wpview.ex! Wordprocessor Viewer
Diskette 3 : Program Diskette 3
dir2dir.ex! Telephone Book Conversion Utility
fish.ns! Screen Saver
ncdd.ex! NC Disk Copier
ncff.hl! NC File Find Help File
nclabel.ex! NC Label Utility
ncnet.ex! NC Network Utility
ncpscrip.hd! NC Postscript Header File
ncsf.ex! NC Diskette Format
ncsi.ex! NC System Information
nc_exit.co! NC_EXIT Utility
nc_exit.do! NC_EXIT Documentation
paraview.ex! Paradox Viewer
playwave.ex! WAV Sound File
rbview.ex! Database Viewer
term95.ex! Terminal Emulation Program
term95.sc! Term95 Scripts
Memory Requirements
--------------------
<> Memory requirements for Commander.
Norton Commander needs at least 512K conventional memory in order to
run all its external viewers. Some of the viewers need additional
memory to run in quick view mode.
<> Launching Commander with Small and Tiny memory configurations
In some low memory situations, you will not be able to quickview
large files using the Commander built-in viewers. In order to help
you get around this problem, Norton Commander 5.5 comes with two
additional memory configurations that can be selected from the
command line. Each memory configuration limits the number of files
that can be stored in each Commander File Panel. The command line
syntax of these memory configurations are :-
Command Line Description
------------------- --------------------------------------------
nc /s Launch Commander with SMALL memory
configuration. Number of files per panel
is 700.
nc /t Launch Commander with TINY memory
configuration. Number of files per panel
is 300.
Compressed File Support
-----------------------
<> Compressing Hidden Files
If a hidden file is compressed using Norton Commander Compression,
it will loose its hidden file attribute. This is to keep the
Commander Compression File format compatible with PKZIPs. PKZIP at
this time does not support hidden compressed files.
<> Password protected Compressed files
While the Norton Commander Compression Engine is compatible with
PKZIP 1.x and PKZIP 2.x compress file formats, Commander only
allows a single password for each compressed file to be active.
<> Limitations in Compressed Files
If the current panel contains an open compressed file, then it is
not possible to change the drive of that panel. This compressed file
should be closed first and then the drive selected in the normal
manner.
Due to the wide range of different compression utilities on the
market today and the major differences in behaviour, you may find
some features of Norton Commander impossible to implement using your
compression utility. This is especially true of some compression
utilities that do not support the decompressing of files into a
destination location other than the current directory. In addition
to this not all compression utilities support the storing of full
pathnames and directories.
Consult the instructions at the top of the Packer.Set file for ways
to program Commander's compressed file support.
Viewer Support
--------------
<> Internal Viewer
To launch the internal viewer contained within NCMAIN.EXE,
type ALT+F3.
<> Defining Viewers
All viewers that are supported by Norton Commander v5.5 are defined
in the file NC.CFG. You can modify the list of files that are
associated with viewers. For example, if your word processor
documents have a special file extension such as .DCC, then you can
change the list of files that the wpview.exe file handles by simply
adding this file specification to the list of files that are defined
underneath WPVIEW.EXE. For example, the WPVIEW section of NC.CFG
would look similar to :-
~wpview.exe
$*.exe,p
$*.com,p
$*.dll,p
$*.dcc,p <----- Line added here to support
$*.* *.dcc files
Filters
-------
The definitions for the Panel Filters used in Norton Commander Version 4.0
were stored in a file called NC.CFG. In the new Commander, Panel Filters
(and indeed File Operation Filters) are stored in a binary file called
NC.FIL. You will need to convert your existing Commander 4.0 filters to
this new filter file by creating the filters from within Commander 5.5.
Refer to your User's Guide for instructions on how to define Filters.
Commander File Transfer
-----------------------
<> Cloning using SHARE.EXE
A problem exists when you are trying to clone to a COM port on a
machine that has SHARE.EXE installed. A conflict exists between the
Clone software opening the device COMX and SHARE granting exclusive
rights to this port to the Clone Bootstrap loader. This results in
sharing violation errors occurring during a cloning session. To get
around this problem use the CTTY AUX command instead of CTTY COM1:.
<> Pin layout of the cables.
You can order a special Commander Cable to link any two computers
together. A special order form is included in the Norton
Commander 5.5 box. Please refer to it for further details on this
offer.
<> Pin layout of the serial cables.
9 - 9 Serial 9 - 25 Serial 25 - 25 Serial
2 ======= 3 2 ======= 2 2 ======== 3
3 ======= 2 3 ======= 3 3 ======== 2
4 ======= 6 4 ======= 6 4 ======== 5
5 ======= 5 5 ======= 7 5 ======== 4
6 ======= 4 6 ======= 20 6 ======== 20
7 ======= 8 7 ======= 5 7 ======== 7
8 ======= 7 8 ======= 4 20 ======== 6
<> Pin layout of the parallel cable.
1 ======= 7
2 ======= 15
3 ======= 13
4 ======= 12
5 ======= 10
6 ======= 11
7 ======= 1
8 ======= 14
9 ======= 16
10 ======= 5
11 ======= 6
12 ======= 4
13 ======= 3
14 ======= 8
15 ======= 2
16 ======= 9
17 ======= 17
18 ======= 18
19 ======= 19
20 ======= 20
21 ======= 21
22 ======= 22
23 ======= 23
24 ======= 24
25 ======= 25
Special Characters in the Commander Editor
-------------------------------------------
To enter special European characters, it is sometimes necessary to use the
CTRL+Q key first followed by the character you wish to enter. For example, to
enter the German paragraph character, type CTRL+Q followed by SHIFT+3.
Norton Commander Environment Variables
---------------------------------------
Norton Commander searches your environment for the following three
environment variables in order to determine where to locate and store
temporary work files :- TEMP, TMP, NC.
Accented characters in file and directory names
-----------------------------------------------
On a Novell network, using NDOS, it is possible to create different files
or directories using upper case or lower case accented characters.
For example :
MD „Ž
MD Ž„
creates two new directories. For this reason, Commander does not convert
accented characters in file names or directories to upper or lower case.
Installing commander under Windows 3.1
--------------------------------------
Go to the section headed "Installing Commander under Windows" of
the user manual. Perform steps 1 to 7.
Select the Change Icon button.
Type in the full path name of the NC.ICO file, e.g. C:\NC\NC.ICO, or use
the browse button if you are not sure of the path.
Select the OK button.
The Norton Commander is now installed on your desktop.
Datex.p File
------------
The file DATEX.P contains a list of telephone numbers that can be used
when running the script file CMPSRV.SCX. This file is used by the Terminal
Emulation Program. The format of this file is a follows :-
Position 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 5 5 5 5 5 5
<300 ><1200/75 ><1200 ><2400 ><9600 >
The telephone numbers that are stored in this file correspond to the numbers
that are used to connect to the CompuServe Bulletin Board System. The numbers
specified after position 25 are the different numbers to be used depending on
the baud rate that you wish to connect at. You can add in you own telephone
numbers easily by modifying this file using the Commander Editor.
Windows 95 and OS/2 Compatibility
---------------------------------
Under Windows '95 and OS/2 2.x and 3.x you may experience difficulty in
running some of the Disk Utilities. This is especially true of Disk Format
and System Information.
In addition to this, copying files with long filename on a Windows '95 machine
using Commander will result in the long filename associated with the file
being lost. This is also true for Long Filename under OS/2.
Copy Diskette Utility
---------------------
The Option to Skip Bad Sectors is never saved in the Commander INI file. It
defaults to OFF automatically when the utility is launched. All other options
in Copy Diskette will be saved.
Playwave Utility
----------------
Norton Commander 5.5 comes with a viewer for playing WAV files. Since this
viewer does not rely on additional sound hardware on your machine, the
quality of play back may be poor on some machines.
Telephone Book Conversion Utility (DIR2DIR)
-------------------------------------------
The DIR2DIR.EXE utility can be used to convert your phonebook files from
NC 4.0 to the new format in NC 5.5. Type DIR2DIR at the command prompt
for more details on this utility.
NC_EXIT Utility
---------------
This useful utility unloads the Norton Commander kernel without the use of
a TSR program. It can also be used to optionally stuff up to an 11 character
command for processing after. See the NC_EXIT.DOC file for more information
on this utility.
Novell NDS
----------
The Norton Network Utilities will operate on Netware 3.x and 4.x. The login
component will have problems attaching to Netware 4.x servers running Novell's
Directory Services(NDS).
Useful advice when running Commander on a 1MB or less system
-------------------------------------------------------------
The memory management system that Commander uses to run its external utilities
is to swap the Kernel (NCMAIN) into extended or expanded memory. If your system
has less then 1 megabyte of memory, Commander will swap NCMAIN to a disk file.
This Commander SWAP file is stored in a temporary directory which is located by
searching for the following environment variables TEMP, TMP, NC, NORTON.
If you are running Commander from a floppy disk on a 1 Megabyte system, to
ensure maximum performance, you should set one of these variables to a
temporary directory on your hard disk, otherwise Commander will attempt to
create its SWAP file on your floppy diskette.
Running Norton Commander from a shared Network Drive
----------------------------------------------------
Norton Commander can be run from a shared network drive as follows :-
1. Installation on shared network drive.
- Log into your server as the Supervisor.
- Create a directory called NC5NET.
- Install the Norton Commander software into this account using
the standard installation diskettes.
- Create an User account called NC5NETUSER.
- Ensure that this account has only Read/File Scan rights to the
NC5NET directory.
2. Installation of NC 5.5 on User machine.
- Copy only the INI files from the NC5NET account to the NC directory
on the users machine.
- Modify the autoexec.bat file and set the following environment
variables :-
SET NC=c:\NC5
SET NORTON=c:\NC5
- Login into the network as NC5NETUSER and ensure that the NC5NET
directory is in the user's DOS PATH.
- Type NC at the command prompt.
Creating a tools menu
---------------------
It is possible to add a user defined Tools Menu to the Norton Commander's
main menu. To define a Tools Menu create a file called TOOLS.MNU and store
it in the same directory as the NC.INI file.
Each line within the TOOLS.MNU file corresponds to a single menu item. To
define a Menu item use the following format :-
Menu_Item_Name;Command_to_be invoked_when_selected
For example a simple Tools Menu may look like :-
File Date;fd.exe
Norton Control Centre;ncc.exe
Norton Disk Doctor;ndd.exe
Norton Disk Editor;de.exe
Text Search;ts.exe
The number of menu items that can be defined in the TOOLS.MNU file is
limited only by the amount of free memory.
Using screen savers under Windows 3.1
-------------------------------------
When Commander is running in a DOS box under MS-Windows, its graphical screen
savers will be disabled even if one is selected from the configuration panel.
In circumstances like this, Commander's default screen saver will be
invoked instead.
