Version 2.2 February 21, 2007 Copyright 2006 - 2007 by Jamal Mazrui Contents Installation Introduction Edit Commands Find Commands Go to Commands Navigate Commands Query Commands Tag Commands Transfer Commands Miscellaneous Commands Hot Key Summary Development Notes ---------- Installation The installation program for FileDir is called dirsetup.exe. When executed, it prompts for a program folder, the default being C:\Program Files\FileDir The installer also creates a program group for FileDir on the Windows start menu, containing choices to launch FileDir, read Documentation, and uninstall. Additional choices either set or clear an association between FileDir and folders or the .zip extension when opened by other programs. This setting also causes FileDir to opan a view of a zip archive after downloading it with Internet Explorer and choosing the Open button from the "Download Complete" dialog. The FileDir installer creates a desktop shortcut with a hot key, enabling the program to be conveniently launched by pressing Alt+Control+F. If this hot key happens to conflict with an existing one, navigate to the FileDir item on the desktop, press Alt+Enter for properties, and then change the hot key to something else (or leave it blank). The FileDir setup program checks whether the required .NET Framework 2.0 is already installed, and if not, lets you conveniently do so. After installing FileDir, the setup program presents a list of two checkboxes that are on by default. The first checkbox offers an an optional set of JAWS scripts to fine tune the FileDir speech interface in a few ways that could not be accomplished otherwise. Mainly, these scripts suppress the often unnecessary verbalization of keystroke names, such as "Shift S," leaving just the command name if appropriate, such as "Size." If the scripts were installed and you would later prefer default JAWS behavior instead, however, you can do this by pressing Insert+0 when FileDir is active, and then down arrowing to the following line: ;SwitchToConfiguration("default") Delete the initial semicolon character (;), which uncomments the code, and then press Control+S to save and recompile the scripts. Press Alt+F4 to exit JAWS script manager. If you prefer not to install the JAWS scripts in the first place, e.g., because you are a Window-Eyes or HAL user, press Spacebar to uncheck that option of the setup program. The second checkbox in the list, available via DownArrow, offers FileDir documentation in the default web browser (usually Internet Explorer). FileDir may be safely installed over previous versions. The About option from the Help menu, or Alt+F1 key, indicates the current version number and release date. The Change History option, Shift+F1, summarizes fixes and improvements over time. ---------- Introduction FileDir is a file and directory manager developed in the C# language, which requires the .NET Framework 2.0 to run -- a free Microsoft download from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en FileDir is designed to be a powerful, efficient, and convenient alternative to Windows Explorer or My Computer for managing files and folders on a Windows-based computer. Almost every command can be done through a mnemonic keystroke, as well as a menu or mouse operation. These commands begin with those available in Windows Explorer. FileDir then adds several beneficial features above this base command set. Finally, a set of optional JAWS scripts provide further fine tuning of the speech interface. Since the number of possible FileDir commands is large, involving nearly every letter and several punctuation keys, some organizing concepts, explained below, help the learning curve. The standard environment of FileDir is a view of items in a particular folder of the computer's file system. The title of the window says "FileDir" followed by the path and name of the folder being viewed. Below the title bar is a list of items contained in the folder, one item per line, folder items first, then file items after. The date and time of the current item, its size, the sort order, and filter specification (if any) are displayed on the status line. This may be reviewed with Alt+Z or a screen reader-specific command such as Insert+PageDown in JAWS. Note that the size of a folder item will be -1 until a Size or Yield query causes it to be calculated (by recursively summing the sizes of all contained files and subfolders). On the status line, the size is expressed in an abbreviated manner using K for kilobytes, M for megabytes, or G for gigabytes. At any time, a single file or folder item has keyboard focus, which may be called the current item -- the location of the PC cursor in Jaws terminology. At any time, zero or more items may be tagged, that is, marked in a way that makes them available for further action by commands that can act on multiple items at once. Note that the focused or current item may not be tagged: focus and tagged state are independent. To remind you that a command may affect multiple, tagged files, the word "tagged" is included as part of its menu name. Conversely, command names without this word apply regardless of tagged state, e.g., to the focused item only, or independent of focus and tagged state. FileDir implements the list of items as a standard Windows ListBox control. This means, for example, that the up and down arrow keys navigate through the list, and the Home and End keys move focus to the top and bottom of the list, respectively. Navigation by initial character is another ListBox behavior. Pressing the letter "b," for example, will move focus to the next file or folder item with a name starting with that letter. Pressing multiple letters quickly, however, does not move to the next item starting with that sequence. Since initial letter navigation works the same whether lower or upper case letters are used, the upper case or shifted versions are used by FileDir to add features through hot keys. For example, the Shift+C hot key lets you copy files to another folder without using the more involved "copy and paste" method of Windows Explorer (though similar functionality is also supported by FileDir). Since you can type a lower case "c" to jump to a file that starts with either the lower or upper case form of that letter, FileDir's use of Shift+C means an extra capability without loss of functionality. This command needs more information to complete the copy operation, so it prompts for a target folder. It remembers the previous input, if any, which can be accepted by simply pressing Enter. To provide another value instead, type it, replacing other text, and press Enter to activate the default, OK button. You can also pick a folder from a standard tree control by activating the Browse button. If no items are tagged, the command assumes you want to process the current, focused item. With one ore more tagged items, the command performs a batch operation. If you want to verify what files are tagged before copying, use the Shift+L hot key to list tagged items. Use Shift+Space instead to say either the tagged items, or the current item if there are no tags. A > symbol following an item indicates that it is tagged (putting this symbol after rather than before preserves initial letter navigation in the ListBox. The > symbol is also the key (Shift+Period) to tag an item and automatically move to the next one in the list. The < symbol untags and also moves ahead, thereby allowing you to efficiently go through a directory list and selectively tag items. This tagging approach has benefits over selection in Windows Explorer, e.g., tags are not lost by an accidental key press that moves focus. FileDir uses a "Multiple Document Interface" (MDI), so any number of directory views may be opened, cycled among with Control+Tab, or closed with Control+F4. It is also a "single instance" application, so the desktop shortcut key, Alt+Control+F, activates the same program when FileDir is found in memory, rather than opening a new copy. Some commands differ in whether they open a new window ore re-use the existing one. Commands with "Go to" in the name re-use the existing window, whereas "Open" commands start a new one. Extra speech is provided through the APIs of JAWS or Window-Eyes. These are intended to be comprehensible chunks of targeted information. For example, pressing Shift+Y gives the "yield" or count and combined size of tagged folder and file items in the current directory view. Speech of this nature can be efficient for screen reader users as opposed to, say, a message box that generates additional screen reader speech describing the dialog, and then has to be dismissed with another key, triggering more screen reader speech. Typically, a key combination using Alt or Control rather than Shift performs another variation of the command. For example, Shift+L lists all tagged items, Control+L lists all items regardless of tagged state, and Alt+L lists all files, but not folders. FileDir commands often include verbal confirmation during execution, e.g., announcing the name of each file before a copy attempt and the message "Done!" after batch processing is complete. FileDir initially opens the Personal/My Documents folder when launched with no command line parameters. If a folder is passed as a parameter, however, that folder is opened instead. In subsequent sessions, FileDir remembers the last directory viewed, including its sort order and filter specification. It remembers other values from the previous session as well, including those for the Copy, Find in Files, FTP, Go To, Jump, Keywords, Move, Open, Unzip, and Zip commands. The default sort order is reverse date/time, meaning that most recently modified items appear first. All folder items, however, appear before any file items. FileDir applies the current sort order and filter specification when creating a new directory view. Since there are numerous FileDir commands beyond those in Windows Explorer, learning the software may seem daunting at first. Getting started is not hard, however, since FileDir works similarly to Windows Explorer. You can then learn additional commands according to your time and needs. Remember that you can review this documentation at any time by pressing F1. You can also get a summary list of commands by pressing Alt+Shift+H for a hot key summary. If you have trouble remembering the key or menu associated with a command, try the Alternate Menu command, Alt+F10, which lets you pick a command from a complete, alphabetized list. FileDir commands can be subdivided into several categories, related to the following conceptual labels: edit, find, go to, navigate, query, select, transfer, and miscellaneous. You can edit file attributes, find items by textual match, go to different folders, navigate among items in a folder, tag files for further action, transfer them to various places, and do other, miscellaneous tasks. The sections below explain these categories. ---------- Edit Commands Edit commands change the content, name, or other attribute of an item. Press Alt+Enter for the standard Properties dialog, like in Windows Explorer. Press Control+W to load the current file into a word processor. Microsoft Word is the default, but a different one may be configured with the Options command, Alt+O. Press Control+T to open it in a text editor instead, the configurable default being TextPal, available at http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/palsetup.exe If another word processor or text editor is to be used, its full path may need to be specified if the executable is not located on the Windows search path. Such configuration options may also be manually edited, since they are stored in a standard .ini file, FileDir.ini, located in the FileDir program folder. The Rename command, Shift+R or F2, lets you edit the name of the current file or folder item. Control+R lets you rename multiple items using the * and ? wildcard characters. A DOS command is used behind the scenes to accomplish this, so all items in the current directory are processed -- regardless of their tagged state within FileDir. You can use Control+Shift+R to rename tagged items based on "regular expressions" -- a powerful but complex syntax that is beyond the scope of this documentation. Like the greater than symbol meaning tag, special symbols are associated with folder and file attributes. A backslash symbol after an item indicates that it is a folder rather than a file. A right parenthesis after a list item means that the Hidden attribute is set. As a memory aid, you may think of parenthesis hiding something from full view. The RightParen key, Shift+0, sets the Hidden attribute of the current or tagged items. The LeftParen key does the reverse, removing the Hidden attribute. Similarly, the right bracket symbol means that an item has the ReadOnly attribute set. You may think of a bracket protecting something from being modified. The LeftBracket key removes the ReadOnly attribute. Finally, the right brace symbol means the System attribute is set. You may think of a brace as a character used in programming systems. The LeftBrace key removes the System attribute. Press Exclamation Point (! or Shift+5) to stamp the current or tagged items with a different modification date and time. FileDir prompts for numeric values for the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, defaulting to those of the current file or folder item. ---------- Find Commands Find commands search for an item by a string of characters in the name or body. Press Alt+Shift+F to find a file anywhere in the current folder or subfolders based on text it contains and/or a wild card pattern. For example, you could search for the term "strategic plan" in each file with a name matching the minutes*.doc specification (meaning a name that has minuttes at the beginning and .doc at the end). FileDir will present a list of files that match the wild card pattern. Use arrow key or initial letter navigation to focus on the item of interest. Pressing Enter will then go to the folder containing that item and place focus on it. Press Control+J to jump to an item within the current folder, based on a sequence of characters (no wildcards) appearing somewhere within its name. The command also recognizes symbols associated with file attributes. Thus, you can jump to a ReadOnly file by entering a single ] character as the search string. A [ would find the next item without the ReadOnly attribute set. Using the Jump Again command, Alt+J, you can efficiently hop from one match to the next. The Control+K command searches for a keyword inside the body of a file. The command supports multiple conditions. Use the vertical bar character (|) to separate words or phrases where any one of those terms can produce a match. Use the ampersand character (&) as a seperater where all terms must match. For example, entering "C#|Visual Basic" would match files containing either language, whereas "C#&Visual Basic" would require both to match. Press Alt+K to hop to the next matching file. Press Control+F to filter files in the current folder to a restricted view of those matching a wild card pattern. You can separate multiple patterns with the vertical bar (|) character, meaning the pattern can match alternate conditions, e.g., "*.doc|*.rtf" for files in either Word or Rich Text Format. Press Control+Shift+F to remove any filter and make all items available in the view. ---------- Go to Commands Go to commands change the FileDir view to another folder. Press Control+G for a dialog in which you can accept a previous path, enter a new one, or choose from a tree view control. Control+O works similarly except that a new window is opened rather than the existing one being reused. Press Control+Shift+O to open a folder from a list of those with special names designated by Windows, e.g., My Documents or Start Up. Press Alt+Shift+O to open a drive in a new window. FileDir presents a list of all available drives, and then activates a view of the one chosen in the directory that Windows considers to be the current one on that drive. Press Alt plus a digit between 1 and 9 to quickly open the drive whose letter is in that numeric position of the alphabet. For example, Alt+1 opens Drive A, and Alt+3 opens Drive C. There are a few pairs of Open and Go To commands. Open commands preserve the current directory view, including its tagged states, and activate a different directory view in another window. Go To commands reuse the current window, instead, for another directory view. In the following pairs of commands, the shifted version is a Go To command, requiring more conscious effort due to a more destructive nature, since it discards the current directory view. This difference is similar to how Shift+Delete is more destructive then Delete, since the shifted version does not permit recovery from the recycle bin. Enter opens a subfolder whereas Shift+Enter goes to it. Backspace opens the parent folder whereas Shift+Backspace goes to it. Backslash opens the root folder of the current drive whereas Shift+Backslash goes to it. As before, FileDir checks if a view of the target directory already exists, and if so, activates that window rather than creating another for the same directory. ---------- End of Document Press backslash (\) to go to the root level of the current drive. Press comma (,) or Backspace to "come up" a level in the folder tree, going to the parent of the previous folder. Press the Period (.) or F5 key to refresh the current folder. This may be needed if items on disk were changed in a way that FileDir does not automatically track. When the current item is a folder, pressing Enter goes to it. When it is a zip archive, FileDir presents a view of the contained items that is similar to a directory view. The Quick Links feature efficiently opens favorite files, folders, or URLs. Press Shift+Q to add a quick link for the current item. A standard Windows shortcut (.lnk file) will be created in the Quick subfolder of the FileDir program folder. FileDir lets yu rename the shortcut before creating it. Use the Quick URL command, Alt+Shift+Q, to create a quick link to an Internet resource. FileDir prompts for the name and URL, and then creates a standard .url file in the Quick folder. If Internet Explorer is open, FileDir attempts to get default values for the name and URL based on the title and address of the web page last opened. For this to work, the Address Bar setting should be checked on the View menu of Internet Explorer. Sometimes, FileDir cannot retrieve the values anyway, so you need to manually type or paste them into the edit boxes. Press Control+Q to open the Quick folder at any time -- or the grave accent key (`) at the far left of the numeric row, which may be an easier key to press (U.S. keyboard). You can navigate the Quick folder like any other. Press Enter to execute a quick link. Press Alt+Enter to review or modify the settings of a .lnk file. a .url file is editable text in the standard .ini format. Alt+R lists recent shortcuts, which may be files or folders for which Windows has created a shortcut in the Recent special folder. They are listed in reverse chronological order -- most recent first and a maximum of 100. Choose an item from this standard listbox to open it. Nine commands on the Window menu let you quickly open or go to an existing view on a drive. Drives A through I are associated with the digits 1 through 9. For example, press Alt+1 to go to Drive A or Alt+3 to go to Drive C. In general, FileDir checks if you are trying to open a folder that already has an open window. If so, it says "Returning and activates that window rather than creating a new one. Press F4 to pick one of the currently open windows from a standard ListBox. Alternatively, Control+Tab or Alt+RightArrow activates the next open window, and Control+Shift+Tab or Alt+LeftArrow activates the previous one. Press Shift+W or Alt+NumPad5 to hear the titles of all open windows. As you type in the edit box for specifying a folder, it guesses the input desired based on existing paths -- similar to how Internet Explorer guesses URLS as you type. If the path you ultimately entered is not found on disk, the dialog prompts whether to create it. This makes it convenient to copy, move, or unzip files to a new folder with a single command. ---------- Navigate Commands Navigate commands change the focus within a folder, based on a fixed increment or boundary. Press Home to navigate to the beginning or first item, or End for the end or last one. If the current folder contains subfolders, then the beginning item will be a folder since they always appear before files. Press Alt+B to go to the beginning file, skipping over folder items before it. A group of shifted letter keys navigate similarly within the set of tagged items: Shift+B for Beginning tagged, Shift+E for End tagged, Shift+N for Next tagged, and Shift+P for Previous tagged (if any). These commands let you review or inspect the subset of tagged items. Shift+L also may be useful to list all tagged items. Press Shift+I for Initial Change, which jumps to the next item that starts with a different letter. Similarly, press Shift+X for Extension Change, which jumps to the next file with a different extension. These commands are most useful when the sort order is by alpha/name or extension. ---------- Query Commands Query commands announce aspects of the current environment via speech output. Press Shift+W (or Alt+NumPad5) to hear the titles of all FileDir windows currently open. Press Apostrophe for the name of the current file or folder item, as well as its tagged state if set. Press Shift+Apostrophe for the name of the parent folder containing the current item. Press Control+Apostrophe for the path of the parent folder. For example, if the current item is the file whose path is C:\Temp\Calendar.doc Pressing Apostrophe says Calendar.doc whereas Shift+Apostrophe says Temp and Control+Apostrophe says C:\temp Press Alt+P to confirm the complete path C:\temp\Calendar.doc Press Alt+Semicolon to query the current time and date. Press Alt+Apostrophe to hear text currently on the clipboard (You may think of this as quoting the clipboard). Press Question Mark (?) for the What command, which verbalizes the textual content of the current file item, or lists items contained in a folder item or zip archive. For technical reasons, the command reads a maximum of about 20K from a file. Press Shift+S for the size of the current file or folder item. Press Shift+D for its date and time stamp. Press Shift+T for Type, which provides miscellaneous information, including the file type and ReadOnly, Hidden, or System attributes set (if any). Press Control+L to list all items in the current folder, or Shift+L for those tagged. Press Alt+L to list files but not folders. Press Y for the yield, or count and combined size, of items in the current folder. Press Shift+Y for those tagged or Alt+Y for files only. Press Control+Shift+Y for the total size and free space on the current drive. Press Alt+Shift+Y for operating system information, including the Windows version, physical memory, and virtual memory. Press % (Shift+5) for the Percent Through command, which indicates the relative position of the current item in the list, e.g., "6 of 20 items, 30% through." If you are sequentially examining the files in a folder or ZIP archive, this gives you a sense of how much is done and what remains. Use the Filter Query command, Star (Shift+8), to quickly check the current sort order and filter specification. ---------- Tag Commands Tag commands increase or decrease the subset of items that are marked for further action by actions that can operate on multiple items at once. Press Control+A to tag all file and folder items, or Control+Shift+A to clear all tags. Press Alt+Period (associated with the grater than symbol) to select all files but not folders. Press Alt+Comma to untag all items except the current one. Press Control+I to invert all tagged states, untagging items that were tagged and vice versa. Press Spacebar to toggle the tagged state of the current item. Press semicolon (;) to tag the current item regardless of its previous state, or ForwardSlash (/) to untag it. To navigate and make tag decisions together, use the GreaterThan key (Shift+.) to tag and go to the next item, or the LessThan key (Shift+,) to untag instead. Alternatively, use arrow keypad commands similar to Windows Explorer. For example, press Shift+DownArrow for Tag and Next, or Shift+UpArrow for Tag and Previous. Press Shift+End for Tag to Bottom, or Shift+Home for Tag to Top. Shift+NumPad5 tags the current item. Adding the Alt modifier key performs the same actions except for untagging rather than tagging. Thus, Alt+Shift+NumPad5 untags the current item, Alt+Shift+Home untags to the top of the list, Alt+Shift+End untags to the bottom, Alt+Shift+DownArrow untags en route to the next, and Alt+Shift+UpArrow untags en route to the previous. Other arrow keypad actions duplicate home row commands for navigating among tagged items. Control+Home goes to the Beginning Tagged item, like Shift+B, and Control+End goes to the End one, like Shift+E. Control+DownArrow goes to the Next Tagged item, like Shift+N, and Control+UpArrow goes to the previous one, like Shift+P. Press Control+S to save tags in the current directory view, and Control+Shift+S to restore them. This could be useful if you need to temporarily change which items are tagged. ---------- Transfer Commands Transfer commands take action on a whole item, copying or moving it to another folder, the clipboard, printer, or recycle bin. Press Shift+C to copy, Shift+M to move, or the Delete key to delete. The Recycle Toggle, Alt+Shift+R, determines whether deleted files or folders are moved to the recycle bin. The initial setting is On, and then FileDir remembers the value between sessions. Regardless of the current setting, Shift+Delete deletes without recycling, whereas Control+Delete deletes and recycles. Use the Delete Recycle Now command, Control+D, or Delete Now Command, Control+Shift+D, to quickly delete a single file (but not folder) without a confirmation dialog. Note that the Delete, Copy, and Move commands execute noticeably faster when deleted or replaced items are not moved to the recycle bin. Press Shift+Z to zip files into a compressed archive, or Shift+U to unzip them. The Control+Z command also zips, but then deletes originals after confirming the integrity of the zip target. Control+U unzips without preserving subfolders. It unzips all files to the chosen folder, but not subfolders below (folder paths, if any, are ignored). You can test whether a file can be unzipped successfully by pressing Alt+U. Press Alt+Shift+U to set a password to be used by FileDir when creating, extracting, or viewing zip archives. It may also be set in the Options dialog, Alt+O. For security, the password is saved between FileDir sessions in an encrypted form rather than as text with other settings in the FileDir.ini file. Some commands work with a copy of a zipped item that is unarchived to a temporary folder as needed. This lets you use the What command, Question Mark, to identify the content of a file without unzipping the archive that contains it. The Run command, Entor, and Send to Word Processor or Text Editor commands, Control+W or Control+T, also work in this way. The Copy or Move Tagged commands, Shift+C or Shift+M, prompt whether to overwrite existing folders and files. You are informed whether the date of a target with the same name is older, newer, or current and whether its size is smaller, larger, or equal. You can choose to keep all targets with the same names, replace them, or replace them only with updated source items. Similar to Windows Explorer, you can use Control+C and Control+V to copy items from one folder to another. Control+C copies the full paths of tagged files or folders to the clipboard, one per line (as plain text that may be reviewed with the Quote Clipboard command, Alt+Apostrophe). Control+V copies paths listed on the clipboard into the current folder. Control+Shift+V moves the originals rather than copying them (equivalent to Control+X followed by Control+V in Windows Explorer). To put a list of file names on the clipboard without preceding paths, press Control+Shift+C. Control+M starts a mail message with its body being the textual content of the current item. For example, pressing Control+M when a Microsoft Word document is the current item will extract its text for the message body and use its name (without extension) as the default subject. Control+Shift+M starts a message with the current or tagged items as attached files. Control+P sends current or tagged items to the default printer. Press Shift+O to output tagged files in plain text format. The original, source files will not be affected. The target, converted files will have the same names but a .txt extension. Conversions to text are available for the following formats: .doc, .htm, .pdf, .ppt, .rtf, and .xls. Some conversions require Windows 2000 or above. The same conversion mechanism may be used to place text on the Windows clipboard instead of creating new files. Press Shift+A to append the textual body of currently tagged files to the clipboard. They will be separated by a sequence of characters indicating a divider between sections of a composite document: a line of 10 dashes followed by a form feed (hard page break). A termination sequence says "End of Document." This command is useful for combining multiple, related files, e.g., downloaded web pages, into a single document. You can use the Clear Clipboard command, Alt+Shift+', to clear the clipboard before appending to it. Alt+P queries the full path of the current item, whereas Alt+Shift+P copies it to the clipboard, e.g., C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Music\MySong.mp3 This may be useful so that the string is available by pressing Control+V to paste it into the open file dialog of another application. In addition, Control+C copies the full path of tagged items to the clipboard, whereas Control+Shift+C copies their names only -- no preceding directories. Control+Shift+P copies the full paths of all items below a subfolder item in the directory hierarchy. For example, if the My Documents directory is being viewed, and focus is on the My Music subfolder item, pressing Control+Shift+P would copy the paths of all files and subfolders under My Music. The Export Clipboard command, Alt+Shift+E, prompts for a file name and saves clipboard text to it. Press Control+N to create a new folder. Press Control+Shift+N to make a new copy of the current file or folder item. It will have the same name except for a unique numeric suffix after the root, e.g., plan_01.doc would be a copy of plan.doc, and plan_02.doc would be the next copy. Such a file is sometimes useful when you want to preserve the original unaltered and then make changes to a copy in the same folder. FileDir includes the capability to "put" or upload files to a directory on an FTP server, and to "get" or download from there. For private directories, a user name and password may be set either in the specific dialogs for these commands or in the general Options dialog, Alt+O. For security, the password is saved between FileDir sessions in an encrypted form rather than as text with other settings in the FileDir.ini file. Use the FTP Put command, Shift+F, to upload files. FileDir prompts for an FTP directory. If the value entered does not contain the :// sequence of characters, FileDir adds an FTP:// prefix and a / suffix for more convenient typing. For example, a value of smart.net would become ftp://smart.net/ If you include the :// sequence of a protocol, however, FileDir accepts the value verbatim -- without making changes. The URL is remembered as the default value for the next FTP command. The opposite command is Get FTP, Shift+G, which downloads files from a remote directory. FileDir presents a multiple selection list box with all file names it found in that directory. The files selected will be downloaded to the current directory view. Any existing files with the same names are replaced and sent to the recycle bin according to the Recycle setting, Alt+Shift+R (on by default). The Web Download command, Alt+Shift+W, lets you download files from a public web site. FileDir prompts for a URL and inserts the http://prefix if no protocol is specified. After running an external utility to extract links from the web page, FileDir presents them in a multiple selection ListBox for downloading to the current directory. If the URL of a link does not end in a valid file name, FileDir creates a file name for the target on disk based on other characters in the URL. ---------- Miscellaneous Commands Miscellaneous commands do not fit neatly into previous categories. Use the Options command, Alt+O, to configure FileDir options such as the word processor invoked with Control+W or the text editor invoked with Control+T. The main interface of FileDir is a ListBox containing items that are either folders or files, with folders listed first. The default order is by most recent date and time, so that a file most recently modified will appear before others and be convenient to locate. Subsequent sort order can be controlled by pressing Alt+A for alphabetic/name order, Alt+S for size order, Alt+D for date/time order, or Alt+T for type/extension order. Add the Shift key to reverse the order, e.g., Alt+Shift+S puts the largest file first. To get its precise size, press Shift+S. Press Alt+Shift+B to burn tagged files to a CD. An external utility is invoked (as with TextPal) that lets you pick a drive and check estimates of space before and after on the CD. The Context Menu command, Shift+F10, lets you choose an action to perform on the current file based on those available for its type/extension (in the Windows registry). Also included is the OpenWith action, by which a default program may be associated with files of this type. The Send To Menu, Control+F10, lets you choose among SendTo shortcuts (installed by various applications) to perform on the current or tagged files. Press Control+Slash to go to a command prompt in a console mode window. Its current directory will be the same as in FileDir. You can enter DOS-style commands there. Use the Elevate Version command, F11, to download and install the latest version of FileDir. You are prompted for confirmation. The installer is downloaded to the folder for temporary Internet files so it will be deleted automatically when Windows reclaims space in that folder. The current FileDir version is then unloaded so that the installer can replace any files that were in use. You can reload the updated version in the usual manner after installation, e.g., by pressing Alt+Control+F. Since FileDir is a program designed to be generally available while running others, it offers a few, simple utilities not directly related to file management. The Evaluate command, Control+E, prompts for a mathematical expression, and then copies the result to the clipboard. Standard arithmetic operators may be used, as well as methods of the C# programming language. For example, the expression 3 * 4 produces 12 and Math.Pow(3, 4) produces 81. Use the Calculate Units command, number sign (#) or Shift+3, to convert between different units of measure, e.g., between metric and other units of distance, volume, weight, or temperature. Pick the type of conversion from the list box and enter the input value in the edit box. The output value is spoken and copied to the clipboard (and may be reviewed with the Quote Clipboard command, Alt+Apostrophe). About 80 conversions are available as follows: Acre to hectare Atmosphere to psi BTU/hour to watt Celsius to Fahrenheit Celsius to Kelvin Centimeter to inch Cubic ft to cubic m Cubic m to cubic ft Day to hour Day to minute Degrees to radians Fahrenheit to Celsius Fathom to meter Foot to inch Foot to meter Ft/sec to meter/sec Gallon (US dry) to liter Gallon (US dry) to quart (US dry) Gallon (US liquid) to liter Gram to ounce (avoirdupois) Gram to ounce (troy) Hectare to acre Horsepower (elec.) to watt Horsepower (metric) to watt Hour to day Hour to minute Inch to centimeter Inch to foot Kelvin to Celsius Kg/sqcm to psi Kilogram to pound Kilogram to ton (UK) Kilogram to ton (US) Kilogram to ton (metric) Kilometer to mile Kilowatt to watt Knot to mph Kph to mph Light-year to mile Light-year to parsec Liter to gallon (US dry) Liter to gallon (US liquid) Liter to pint (US dry) Liter to pint (US liquid) Meter to fathom Meter to foot Meter to yard Meter/sec to ft/sec Mile to kilometer Mile to light-year Minute to day Minute to hour Minute to second Mph to knot Mph to kph Ounce (avoirdupois) to gram Ounce (troy) to gram Parsec to light-year Pascal to psi Pint to liter (US dry) Pint to liter (US liquid) Pound to kilogram Psi to atmosphere Psi to kg/sqcm Psi to pascal Quart (US dry) to gallon (US dry) Radians to degrees Second to minute Square cm to square in Square ft to square m Square in to square cm Square m to square ft Ton (UK) to Kilogram Ton (US) to Kilogram Ton (metric) to Kilogram Watt to BTU/hour Watt to horsepower (elec.) Watt to horsepower (metric) Watt to kilowatt Yard to meter Conversions may be added, modified, or deleted by editing the Convert.txt file in the FileDir program folder. A new installation of FileDir will replace this file, however, so custom changes would need to be manually backed up and restored. F12 related keys provide timer and alarm features (you may associate the number 12 with a clock). Press F12 to start a timer. FileDir prompts for the announcement interval and stop time. The announcement interval , measured in seconds, is how often FileDir will announce the amount of time elapsed since the start of the timer, e.g., a value of 60 means to announce at minute intervals. These verbal announcements occur regardless of what program is currently in the active window. Use a blank or 0 value to run the timer without automatic announcements. Press Alt+F12 at any time to check how much time has elapsed so far. If a timer is already running, the F12 key pauses it. If paused, F12 resumes. Press Shift+F12 to stop the timer and hear the total time it was running. In the dialog that prompts for the announcement interval, another field is the stop time. A blank or 0 value means that the timer will run until manually stopped by pressing Shift+F12 or exiting FileDir. Instead, a stopping point may be specified as a date and time. The date and time components are each optional. If a date is used, it must include at least the month and day, separated by the forward slash character (/) -- or equivalent for non-U.S. formatting conventions. If a time is used, it must include at least the hour and minute, separated by a colon character (:) -- or non-U.S. equivalent. If both date and time components are used, type the date, a space, and then the time. Without a time, today's date is assumed. A time may use either the military, 24-hour convention, or the AM/PM suffix (otherwise AM is assumed if the hour is less than 13). Examples of valid date/time values are as follows: 2:00 PM 14:00 7/27 6:30 2007/7/27 6:30:15 When the stop time is reached, FileDir plays some chimes and ends the timer. Such an alarm may be used either with or without intervening announcements of time intervals. A timer runs independently of other FileDir operations, so you can continue working in FileDir while using this capability. ---------- Hot Key Summary Alt+Control+F Launch FileDir from Windows desktop (default shortcut key) Enter, Open Item, Open subfolder in new window, view zip archive, or launch file Shift+Enter, Go To Item, Go to subfolder in same window, view zip archive, or launch file Alt+Enter, Properties, Invoke Windows properties dialog for current item Backspace, Open Parent Folder, Open parent folder in new window and jump to folder item that was previously open Comma or Shift+Backspace, Go to Parent Folder, Go to parent folder in same window ("come up level") Space, Toggle Tagged, Invert tagged state of current item Shift+Space or JAWSKey+Shift+DownArrow, Say Selected, Say tagged items or current one if no tags Shift+A, Append Tagged, Append textual content of current or tagged files to the clipboard Control+A, Tag All, Tag all items Control+Shift+A, Untag All, Untag all items Alt+A, Alpha Order, Sort items in alphabetic/name order Alt+Shift+A, Reverse Alpha Order, Sort items in reverse alphabetic/name order Shift+B or Control+Home, Beginning Tagged, Go to beginning tagged item Alt+B, Beginning File, Go to beginning file item, skipping over folder items Alt+Shift+B, Burn Tagged to CD, Add current or tagged items to CD Shift+C, Copy Tagged, Copy current or tagged items to another folder Control+C, Copy Path Tagged, Copy path of current or tagged items to clipboard Control+Shift+C, Copy Name Tagged, Copy name of current or tagged items to clipboard Shift+D, Date, Say date and time of current item Alt+D, Date Order, Sort items in date/time order Alt+Shift+D, Reverse Date Order, Sort items in reverse date/time order Control+D, Delete Recycle Now, Delete current file item and recycle without confirmation Control+Shift+D, Delete Now, Delete current file item permanently without confirmation Shift+E or Control+End, End Tagged, Go to end tagged item Control+E, Evaluate, Evaluate mathematical expression and copy result to clipboard Alt+Shift+E, Export Clipboard, Export clipboard text to file Shift+F, FTP Put, Upload current or tagged files to FTP directory Shift+G, Get FTP, Download files from FTP directory Control+F, Set Filter, Set filter with wildcards to view a subset of items Control+Shift+F, Clear Filter, View all items Alt+Shift+F, File Find, Find file in current folder or subfolders based on match of textual content and name filter Control+G, GoTo Folder, Go to another folder in same window Shift+I, Initial Change, Go to next item with different initial letter Control+I, Invert Tagged, Invert tagged and untagged state of items Alt+Shift+H, Hot Key Summary, Display list of FileDir keys, command names, and descriptions Control+J, Jump, Jump to item based on a string within its name Alt+J, Jump Again, Repeat Jump command with same string Control+K, Keywords, Jump to item based on a string within its content, optionally with multiple match conditions Alt+K, Keywords Again, Repeat Keywords command with same string Control+L, List, Say items in current folder Shift+L, List Tagged, Say tagged items in current folder Alt+L, List Files, Say file items (but not folder items) in current folder Shift+M, Move Tagged, Move current or tagged items to another folder Control+M, Mail Body, Mail textual content of current file as the body of an email message Control+Shift+M, Mail Tagged, Mail current or tagged files as attachments to an email message Shift+N or Control+DownArrow, Next Tagged, Go to next tagged item Control+N, New Folder, Create new folder on disk Control+Shift+N, New Item Copy, Create copy of current file or folder item with similar name and numeric suffix Shift+O, Output Tagged, Output textual content of current or tagged files to files with same names but .txt extensions Alt+O, Options, Configure FileDir options Control+O, Open Folder, Open folder in new window Control+Shift+O, Open Special Folder, Pick special folder (e.g., My Documents) to open in new window Alt+Shift+O, Open Drive, Pick drive to open in new window Shift+P or Control+UpArrow, Previous Tagged, Go to previous tagged item Control+P, Print Tagged, Print current or tagged files Control+Shift+P, Path List to Clipboard, Copy to clipboard file paths below current folder item Alt+P, Path, Say full path of current item Alt+Shift+P, Path to Clipboard, Copy to clipboard full path of current item Shift+Q, Quick Shortcut, Create .lnk file for current item in Quick folder Alt+Shift+Q, Quick URL, Create .url file for Internet resource in Quick folder Control+Q or Accent, Quick Folder, Open folder of quick links Shift+R or F2, Rename, Rename current item Control+R, Rename with Wildcards, Rename all items in current folder with wildcards Control+Shift+R, Rename with Regular Expression, Rename current or tagged items with regular expressions Alt+R, Recent Shortcuts, Pick recent file or folder to open Alt+Shift+R, Recycle Toggle, Toggle On/Off setting for whether deleted or replaced items are moved to the recycle bin Shift+S, Size, Say size of current item Alt+S, Size Order, Sort items in size order Alt+Shift+S, Reverse Size Order, Sort items in reverse size order Control+S, Save Tags, Save which items are tagged in current directory view Control+Shift+S, Restore Tags, Apply previously saved tags Shift+T, Type, Say type/extension of current item Alt+T, Type Order, Sort items in type/extension order Alt+Shift+T, Reverse Type Order, Sort items in reverse type/extension order Control+T, Send to Text Editor, Send current file to text editor (default is TextPal) Shift+U, Unzip Tagged, Unzip current or tagged files Control+U, Unzip Tagged without Subfolders, Unzip current or tagged files without subfolder paths Alt+U, Unzip Test, Check if current file item can be unzipped successfully Alt+Shift+U, Unzip Password, Set password to be used when creating, extracting, or viewing zip archives Control+V, Paste Copy, Copy items listed on clipboard to current folder Control+Shift+V, Paste Move, Move items listed on clipboard to current folder Shift+W or Alt+NumPad5, Windows Open, Say titles of open windows Control+W, Send to Word Processor, Send current file item to word processor (default is Microsoft Word) Shift+X, Extension Change, Go to next item with different extension Control+Y, Yield, Say count and size of items in current folder Shift+Y, Yield Tagged, Say count and size of tagged items in current folder Alt+Y, Yield Files, Say count and size of file items (but not folder items) in current folder Control+Shift+Y, Yield on Drive, Say total size and bytes free on current drive Alt+Shift+Y, Yield in Operating System, Say Windows version, physical memory, and virtual memory Shift+Z, Zip Tagged, Add current or tagged files to zip archive Control+Z, Zip Tagged Then Delete, Add current or tagged files to zip archive, then delete originals Alt+Z, Status, Say status line, containing date and time of current item, its size, the sort order, and filter specification (if any) Delete, Delete Tagged, Delete current or tagged items and recycle according to setting Shift+Delete, Delete Tagged without Recycle, Delete current or tagged items permanently Control+Delete, Delete Recycle Tagged, Delete and recycle current or tagged items Backspace, Parent Folder, Go to parent of current folder Comma or Backspace, Come up Level, Go to parent folder in same window and jump to folder item that was previously open Period or F5, Refresh Folder, Read current folder again from disk in same window Backslash, Open Root Folder, Open root folder of current drive in new window (e.g., the C:\ folder) Shift+Backslash, Go to Root Folder, Go to root folder of current drive in same window Tag, Tag current item Semicolon or Shift+NumPad5, Tag, Tag current item Slash or Alt+Shift+NumPad5, Untag, Untag current item Greater Than or Shift+DownArrow, Tag and Next, Tag current item and Go to next one Less Than or Alt+Shift+DownArrow, Untag and Next, Untag current item and Go to next one Alt+Period, Tag All Files, Tag file items and untag folder ones Alt+Comma, Untag All But Current, Untag all but current item Apostrophe, Say Item Name, Say name of current file or folder item Shift+Apostrophe, Say Folder Name, Say name of folder containing current item Control+Apostrophe, Say Folder, Say folder or archive being viewed Control+Shift+Apostrophe, Folder to Clipboard, Copy folder or archive being viewed to clipboard Alt+Apostrophe, Say Clipboard, Say clipboard text Alt+Shift+Apostrophe, Clear Clipboard, Clear clipboard text Alt+Semicolon, Say Current Time, Say current time and date Question, What, Say textual content of current file item, or list contained items if current item is a folder or zip archive Control+Slash, Command Prompt, Open command window in current folder Exclamation Point, Stamp, Stamp date and time of current or tagged items RightParen, Hide, Set Hidden attribute of current or tagged items LeftParen, Show, Remove Hidden attribute of current or tagged items RightBracket, ReadOnly, Set ReadOnly attribute of current or tagged items LeftBracket, ReadWrite, Remove ReadOnly attribute of current or tagged items RightBrace, System, Set System attribute of current or tagged items LeftBrace, General, Remove System attribute of current or tagged items Shift+3, Calculate Units, Convert between different units of measure and copy result to clipboard Shift+5 or Alt+Delete, Percent Through, Say current position, item count, and percent through Shift+8, Filter Query, Say current sort order and filter specification Alt+1 ... Alt+9, Drive A ... I, Open new window on drive letter corresponding to digit Control+Tab or Alt+RightArrow, Next Window, Activate next open window Control+Shift+Tab or Alt+LeftArrow, Previous Window, Activate previous open window F1, Documentation, Display FileDir documentation Shift+F1, Change History, Display history of FileDir fixes and improvements Alt+F1, About, Display FileDir version number and release date F2 or Shift+R, Rename, Rename current item F4, Current Windows, Pick window to open from list of current ones Control+F4, Close Window, Close current window F5 or Period, Refresh Folder, Read current folder again from disk in same window Shift+F10, Context Menu, Pick action to perform on current or tagged items based on file extension/type Control+F10, Send To Menu, Pick Send To shortcut and pass current or tagged items to it Alt+F10, Alternate Menu, Pick command to execute from complete, alphabetized list F11, Elevate Version, Download latest FileDir version and run installer (after confirming) F12, Start Timer, Start, pause, or resume timer Shift+F12, Stop Timer, Stop running or paused timer Alt+F12, Say Timer, Say elapsed time since start of timer (not counting any paused periods) ---------- Development Notes For the technically curious, I developed FileDir with the C# 2.0 programming language from http://microsoft.com The GetText utility is from http://www.kryltech.com with a license in the file GetText.txt, located in the FileDir program folder. This folder contains the complete source code for FileDir in the file named FileDir.cs, as well as in the Layout by Code library lbc.cs. The code is covered by the GNU General Public License in the file gpl.txt, also explained at http://gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html I welcome feedback, which helps FileDir improve over time. When reporting a problem, the more specifics the better, including steps to reproduce it, if possible. The latest version of FileDir is available at the same URL, http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/dirsetup.exe This may be downloaded and installed with the Elevate Version command, F11. Jamal Mazrui jamal@EmpowermentZone.com