===================================== *********** Z i p Z a p *********** Version 6.50 User's Reference Guide ===================================== Copyright 1988 KeyStrokes Computer Works / Keith G. Chuvala 812 East 15th Winfield, KS 67156 (316) 221-0814 CompuServe 71600,2033 Contents: Introduction & Essentials. . . . . . . . 2 Installation (Getting Colorfull) . . . . 2 Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Main Work Screen . . . . . . . . . . 9 Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Read Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Edit Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 The Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Introduction [*] Welcome! Welcome to ZipZap! I hope you find this utility useful. It was born out of a need for a good file zapper, and a lack of funds to run out and buy one! [*] INTRODUCTION (What the heck is a zapper, anyway?) ZipZap 6.5 allows you to view and/or modify a file or disk sector by sector. The data from the file or disk sector is displayed in two different formats: hexadecimal numbers and ASCII text. The information may be changed in either format. ZipZap allows to you to see data (which may be the contents of a text file, program file, or any other type of DOS file, as well as a floppy or hard disk) exactly as it is stored on the disk, and allows you to make modifications to that data. (1) [*] ESSENTIALS (Whatch'a gotta have) ZipZap 6.5 requires DOS version 2.0 or later and should work on any IBM compatible computer with at least 128K of RAM. ZipZap will zap files on any logical drive present in the system, but will only accept drive designators from A: thru H: for disk zapping. ZipZap is not designed to handle logical files or disks over 30 megabytes in size. [*] Getting Colorfull You can modify ZipZap's color table to your liking, plus you can specify whether or not you want ZipZap to double check with you before over-writing a sector or exiting to DOS. To run the installation simply include the parameter "/I" in the command line: 1. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you plan on making changes to a file, do yourself a favor and make a backup copy of the file first, and make the changes to the backup file. If all goes well, you've only added one or two simple steps to the process, and if you seriously trash a big important file, you'll be glad you didn't do it to the original! As for zapping a disk, DON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!! Note that neither KeyStrokes Computer Works nor the author are responsible for anything you do with ZipZap. If you blitz your original Symphony disk, your outrage will have to be self-directed! -2- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Getting Colorfull ZIPZAP65 /I This alerts ZipZap to the fact that all you really want to do now is set up the colors. A couple of things will happen here. If your system is runing under DOS version 3.0 or greater, ZipZap will go directly to the customization screen. If, on the other hand your working with an earlier DOS version, you will be prompted for a file name.... ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Enter the filename you have chosen for ZipZap 6.5: ZIPZAP65.EXE | ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you have chosen to rename ZIPZAP65.EXE to something a bit shorter, enter that name here. THE .EXE EXTENSION MUST BE INCLUDED! Once you press Enter ZipZap will look for the filename you entered and will alert you if that file cannot be found. If everything went well, you will move on to the customization screen, which looks like this: Current Values What the screen would look like ----------------------------- ----------------------------------- | | Confirm Writes / Exit?: YES ------------[ ZipZap ]------------- Press to change | | Filename Sector Wait | Filename Display: 79 | 00000000000000000000 Edited.... | Sector # / Dialogue Boxes: 78 | 00000000000000000000 ..Found... | Main Window / Odd Bytes: 31 | 00000000000000000000 .......... | Even Bytes: 30 | 00000000000000000000 ....**.... | Mode "Wait" Message: 47 | 0000000000 [ Help ]- .......... | Bytes Changed in Edit mode: 29 | 0000000000| | .......... | Border Color (CGA): 1 | 0000000000| | .......... | Bytes Found by Search: 26 | 0000000000 --------- .......... | Help Windows: 71 | 00000000000000000000 .......... | Cursor in Edit mode (**): 78 ----------------------------------- 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11... Add 128 to 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27... the number 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43... shown to make 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59... the fore- 65 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75... ground color 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91... blink. 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107... 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123... -3- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Getting Colorfull [ Esc:When done F3:Mono Defaults F4:Color Defaults ] The list in the upper left part of the screen shows the different options and their current color values. At the upper right is a mini-representation of the ZipZap work screen. The lower part of the screen contains the standard color or attribute table from which you choose the colors/attributes you want to use. The line at the very bottom of the screen reminds you of a few important keys. The very first option in the list, "Confirm Writes / Exit?" needs a little explanation. Some folks like the program to just do exactly what they tell it to, without asking for additional confirmation. I think this could be risky, especially when changing the contents of a disk sector, but the request has been made, and the arguments have been persuasive enough that you have the option to disable the confirmation dialogue boxes. Now, if all this is horribly confusing to you, just leave this option set to YES. If you do want to change it, just press the spacebar to toggle from YES to NO and back. To move through the list of options, use the up and down arrow keys. To enter a new color value, simply type in the number form the color/attribute table that corresponds to the color or attribute you want. Each time a change is made, the mini ZipZap screen will be updated to reflect the changes, so you can see immediately if the color or attribute you've chosen is really to your liking. ZipZap has built-in defaults for both color and one-color systems that can be called up at any time by pressing the F3 (monochrome) or F4 (color) key. If you make a bunch of weird changes and decide you don't like them, pressing one of these keys will give you a place to start over from! Note that any of the colors can be made to blink by adding 128 to their value. The "Wait" message will ALWAYS blink, so just use the color/attribute values on the screen - there's no need to add 128 to it. When you've got the combination you like, or when you're done, press . You'll then see: [ Update? ]----------------------------------------------- | | | Press

ermanenet, emporary, or to go back: | | | ---------------------------------------------------------- -4- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Getting Colorfull Pressing "P" at this point will update ZipZap to reflect any changes you've made. You may press "T" to quit the installation without actually writing the changes, or hit to return to the customization screen. Note that this whole process may also be done from within ZipZap while zapping a file or disk! See below under the Read Mode for details. [*] GETTING STARTED (Okay, what do I do now?) ZipZap may be invoked either with or without a filename or disk letter in the command line. A>ZIPZAP65 -or- A>ZIPZAP65 target "Target" in the second example is either a filename (like LETTER.DOC) or a drive designator (like A:, B:, C:, etc.) Specify /B in the command line to suppress the color display. This is especially useful to folks who setup ZipZap to run on a color monitor but find themselves occasionally needing to use it with a color/graphics card hooked up to a composite color or monochrome monitor. See the section on the Del key under READ MODE for more information. A>ZIPZAP65 /B -or- A>ZIPZAP65 target /B The entire filename and extension of "target" must be given, or ZipZap will tell you that the file can't be found. When started up this way, the filename screen is bypassed after the opener, and you are brought directly to the main ZipZap work screen. If the filename specified in the command line is NOT present in the specified directory or on the specified disk, a "File Not Found" message and a cute little beep will alert you to the fact that you goofed, and you'll be dumped back at the DOS prompt. Not very polite, but heck, at least the program won't melt your disks or anything nasty like that! NOTE: As mentioned in the installation section, you may by all means rename ZIPZAP65.EXE to make its use more convenient. On my disk, I call it ZAP, since it's easier to type in "ZAP filename" than "ZIPZAP65 filename." I keep ZAP.EXE in the DOS path so that it may be invoked from anywhere on the disk. You must, of course, retain the .EXE extension if you rename ZIPZAP65. When you invoke ZipZap without a filename or disk letter in the command line, you will see the following: ( Diagram on the following page. ) -5- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Getting Started ----------------------------------------------------------- | ***** ZipZap ***** | | Keith G. Chuvala, 812 East 15th, Winfield, Kansas 67156 | ----------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Enter file/disk (Esc:exit CR:dir):..................................| | | --------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Editing Keys ]------------------------------------------------------------ | CR: Accept Home: Beginning of line Esc: Exit Ctrl-E: Clear entry | | End: Last character Bksp/Delete: Delete characters Insert: Add one space | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the dialogue box at the bottom of the screen indicates, there are some editing keys available when entering the path and filename, as well as ANY time you get the little dots in the input field. These special keys are: Arrows: The right and left arrows move one character right and left, respectively. Ins: Inserts a space, and pushes the existing text to the right one space. Del: Deletes the character under the cursor, and "sucks" any text to the right in to fill the gap. Bksp: The backspace key (labelled "<---" on a lot of keyboards) deletes the character to the left of the cursor, and pulls text from the cursor right one space to the left. Home: Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line. End: Moves the cursor to the last character in the line. Ctrl-E: Erases the contents of the line completely. This is useful when using the Seek or Search functions a lot, since ZipZap "remembers" your input each time, and makes that the default answer, which you may not want. Sure beats hitting Delete 26 times! -6- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Getting Started Esc: Exits the current function without taking any action. Hitting Esc is always a safe move when you're not sure what to do. Enter: Indicates you're done with the line, and passes the input to the routine you're working with. At this time, enter the name of the file or disk you wish to work with. Full pathnames are supported (C:\WS\DOCS\MYFILE.TXT, etc.), and the entire pathname must be given unless ZipZap is invoked from within the directory containing the file you want to zap. To zap a disk, enter the proper drive letter followed by a colon (e.g. A:, B:, etc.) Note that you have the option of simply pressing Esc or hitting Enter without a file or disk name to exit the program. If ZipZap can't find the file specified, you'll see: --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Enter file/disk (Esc:exit CR:dir):MYFILE.TXT........................| | ----------------------------- | ---------| |----------------------------- | File not found: try again! | | | ----------------------------- A short alarm will sound alerting you to the error, and then you are prompted to try again. You may remove the "File not found" message quickly by pressing any key, or wait until the message disappears on it's own (only 3 seconds or so.) If you specified an invalid drive letter, you'll see: --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Enter file/disk (Esc:exit CR:dir):F:................................| | ----------------------------------- | ---------| |----------------------- | Invalid drive letter: try again! | | | ----------------------------------- The alarm will sound, and you are prompted to try again. You may also remove the "Invalid drive letter" message quickly by pressing any key. If you pressed the Enter key without specifying any particular drive or file, you will see this: -7- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Getting Started [ Directory ]-------------------------------------------------------- | | | Directory path? C:\TURBO\.......................... | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------- The current (default) directory name will be displayed. If you want the directory of a different drive or path, press Ctrl-E to erase the default directory, and enter the path you want. If the directory or drive you enter is invalid, the Directory window will simply disappear, and you can try all over again! NOTE: When specifying a subdirectory, make sure you include the "\" on the end, as in the example above. Next ZipZap will read the directory you asked for (you'll see a brief message that says "Reading Directory...") and pop up another window containing all the files in that directory. The window looks like this: [ Directory of C:\TURBO\*.* ]------------------------------- | | | README GRAPH.BIN KEYS.EXE T-REF.DB | | IEP.000 ACCESS.BOX MUNCHER.EXE DISPLAY.DOC | | T-REFDRV.000 ACCESS2.BOX README.EXE IEP.DOC | | IEP.001 ADDKEY.BOX T-REF.EXE INLINE.DOC | | T-REFDRV.001 DELKEY.BOX TDIR.EXE INSTALL.DOC | | IEP.002 GETKEY.BOX TINST.EXE T-REF.DRV | | IEP.003 SORT.BOX TPAL.EXE CUSTOMER.DTA | | IEP.004 GINST.COD TPINSTAL.EXE GINST.DTA | | MUNCHER2.ARC FASTFMT.EXE TURBO301.EXE INLINEI.HIX | | ZIPZAP60.ARC FIXER.EXE UNINLINE.EXE IEP.HDR | | DISPLAY.ASM FMAT.EXE ZIPZAP60.EXE BTREE.INC | | EXTERNAL.ASM GINST.EXE ZIPZAP65.EXE BUTTONS.INC | | TEST.ASM INLINE.EXE CUST.DAT CMD.INC | | TURBO2.BAT INSTX.EXE CUSTFILE.DAT CURSOR.INC | | | --------------------[ PgUp/PgDn for More ]------------------- The first file name will be highlighted. You can move the highlight around using the arrow keys. If there are more than 60 files in the directory, you can use PgUp and PgDn to go back and forth between the various pages of file names. When the file you want is highlighted, press Enter, and ZipZap will go on to the Main Work Screen. If you decide this wasn't such a good idea after all, press Esc to back out of the directory window. Simple! -8- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide The Main Work Screen [*] THE MAIN WORK SCREEN (What's all this garbage?!) Once ZipZap has verified that the file you asked for is indeed on the disk, or that the disk drive letter is valid, you are brought to the main work screen. It looks like this: Current Total Mode Save Disk letter or sector sectors (Read or File File path / name number in file Edit) Open ------------------- ---- ----- -------- ---- | | | | | | | | | | ZIPZAP65.PAS Sector: 0 of 85 Mode: Read (TOF) [S] | | 7B205A49505A415035372E504153207D0D0A0D0A50726F67 { ZIPZAP65.PAS }....Prog | | 72656D205A69705A65703B0D0A0D0A7B24565D2C432D2C55 ram ZipZap;....{$V-,C-,U | | 2D7D0D0A0D0A656F6E73740D0A20202065756673697A6520 -}....const.. bufsize | | 202020202020202020203D20313032343B0D0A2020206D65 = 1024;.. ma | | 7877696E2020202020202020202020203D20353B0D0A0D0A xwin = 5;.... | | 747970650D0A20202065697370737472696E672020202020 type.. dispstring | | 2020203D20737472696E675B38305D3B0D0A202020737472 = string[80];.. str | | 2020202020202020202020202020203D20737472696E675B = string[ | | 3235355D3B0D0A202020696D656765747970652020202020 255];.. imagetype | | 202020203D206572726579205B312E2E343030305D206F66 = array [1..4000] of | | 20656865723B0D0A20202073747238303D737472696E675B char;.. str80=string[ | | 38305D3B0D0A0D0A7665720D0A2020766D6F65653A202020 80];....var.. vmode: | | 20202020202020202065797465206565736F6C7574652024 byte absolute $ | | 303034303A24303034393B0D0A202070656765307365672C 0040:$0049;.. page0seg, | | 717365673A20202020696E74656765723B0D0A20206D6578 qseg: integer;.. max | | 706567653A20202020202020202020657974653B0D0A2020 page: byte;.. | | 65657265776569742C71776569743A202020656F6F6C6565 cardwait,qwait: boolea | | 6E3B0D0A0D0A202073657265656E5F737465656B3A202020 n;.... screen_stack: | | 202065727265795B312E2E6D657877696E5D206F6650696D array[1..maxwin] of im | | 656765747970653B0D0A202073657265656E5F726F773A20 agetype;.. screen_row: | | 20202020202065727265795B312E2E6D657877696E5D206F array[1..maxwin] o | | 6650657974653B0D f byte;. | | | | | ---------------------------------------------- ---------------------- Hex contents of sector ASCII contents of sector The top line, called the STATUS BAR, keeps track of where you are, and what you're doing (sounds kinda like a wife, doesn't it?! Sorry, ladies!) Four basic pieces of information are displayed here: 1. The first is the name of the file or disk you're currently zapping. In the case of files, if the entire pathname\ filename will fit here, it is all displayed; otherwise only the file name is displayed. -9- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide The Main Work Screen 2. The current sector number being viewed or zapped. ZipZap 6.5's capacity is a little over 65500 sectors - the approximate size of a 30 megabyte hard disk. (2) 3. The total number of sectors in the file. Useful when you know you need to find something "about half way" through the file. 4. The mode currently in use. While reading sectors, this is set to Read. While in zap mode, this reads Edit. If the current sector is the first in the file, (TOF) is displayed (for Top Of File) and if the current sector is the last in the file, (EOF) is displayed (for End Of File.) The majority of the screen is devoted to the WORK AREA. The work area contains 2 components: 1. Hex contents of the current sector. This area displays the contents of the current sector in hexadecimal format. Each line (except for the last) contains the hex values of 24 bytes. The last line contains 8 bytes. Every other byte is shaded yellow on color screens, light gray on monochrome and composite screens, so you can distinguish between bytes more easily. 2. ASCII contents of the current sector. This is the same data presented in section 1, but in ASCII format. This is especially useful when trying to locate text strings in a file for modification. Unless you think in hexadecimal, you'll probably find it easier to locate things here. The color or attribute of the bytes on this side correspond to the same byte on the hex side for easy reference. [*] MODES (What the heck am I doing?) There are really two modes of operation in ZipZap: the Read and Edit modes. We'll discuss these at length individually. Simply stated, while in Read mode you can't do much besides look around the file and read what's there. In the Edit mode, you can't do anything but edit the current sector. Now, let's take a long look at these two modi operandi! 2. NOTE: PC-DOS and MS-DOS normally limit disk size to 30 megabytes. ZipZap most probably will NOT work with certain "extenders" on the market which allow DOS to handle hard disks larger than 30 megabytes as one drive. I can't stop you from experimenting, but please use extreme caution! -10- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Read Mode [*] THE READ MODE (Let's see what we got here.) At the bottom of the screen is a line listing several function keys and a very brief hint as to their function. A more complete list can be viewed by pressing the Help (F10) key: [ Read Mode Command Keys ]--------------------------------------- | | | PgUp: Read the PREVIOUS sector Home: Go to the FIRST sector | | PgDn: Read the NEXT sector End: Go to the LAST sector | | | | F1: Open/Close Recovery File Ins: Color ON | | F2: Write Sector to Recovery Del: Color OFF | | F3: Enter the EDIT mode F4: SEEK a sector | | F5: Select another FILE or DISK F6: Find HEX sequence | | F7: Toggle non-ASCII on/off F8: Search for TEXT | | | | Shift-F4: Go to sector containing absolute offset | | Shift-F8: Repeat last search from the current sector | | Ctrl-R: Record length for highlight / turn highlight off | | Ctrl-Z: Configure Colors, confirmation on/off for ZipZap | | | | F9 or Esc: EXIT to DOS | | F10: Help (this window) | | | | -------- Press any key to exit Help -------- | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here's an overview of these functions: PgUp/ These are the workhorse keys. Use these to move PgDn through the file a sector at a time. PgDn reads the next sector to the screen, and PgDn reads the previous one. Gentle little beeps will alert you if you try to PgUp from the top of the file (TOF) or PgDn from the end of the file (EOF). Home Moves you directly to the first sector in the file or on the disk, always numbered 0. (TOF) is displayed next to the mode in the status bar. Home does nothing if you're already at the top of the file. End Moves you directly to the last sector in a file or the last logical sector of a disk. (EOF) will be displayed next to the mode in the status bar. The End key is inactive when you're already at the end of the file. F1 Open/Close Recovery (Save) File. This is almost always used when zapping a disk. You can use the Save File to -11- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Read Mode store "lost" data, i.e. data from a file that has been long deleted and is no longer recoverable with a program like Norton Utilities or PC-Tools. You can also use this function to save particular disk areas like the boot sector, directory, FAT sectors, etc., in order to examine them with your favorite file-based utility, disassembler, etc. When you first press F1 you'll get a dialogue box like this: [ Open a Recovery File ]=============================================== | | | File to use for saving (Esc to close): ............................ | | | ======================================================================= Enter a filename to which "recovered" data will be written. Any legal DOS filename will do. If the file already exists, you'll be asked whether to add saved sectors to the end of the file (Append) or write over the beginning of the file (Overwrite) by this dialogue box: ================================================= | | | File found: ppend or verwrite? (A/O): | | | ================================================= Just press "A" or "O" to indicate your choice. * Whenever a Save File is open, you'll see "[S]" in the upper right part of the screen on the status bar. Pressing F1 a second time, or any time a Save File os open will produce a dialogue box inquiring whether you wish to close the Save File: [ Yes or No ]--------------------------- | Do you want to close SAMPLE? (Y/N): | ---------------------------------------- Press "Y" or "N" to indicate your choice. If you inadvertently close a Save File, you can press F1 again and specify the same filename, and tell ZipZap you want to ppend data to the file. That way nothing gets lost! -12- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Read Mode F2 Write Sector to Recovery. Pressing F2 will save the current sector's data to the Save File specified with F1. If no Save File is open, you are brought to the Open Recovery File box (described above.) After the data has been saved, a dialogue box will pop up briefly telling you which sector in the Save File was just written: =========================================================== | | | Sector #14 written to SAMPLE | | | =========================================================== This box will disappear very quickly, but you can press a key to dispose of it immediately if you wish. F3 Enter the Edit (zap) mode. This is how you get to actually zap the current sector. The mode changes to "Edit" to let you know that you're ready to zap away to your heart's content! More on this later. F4 Seek (go to) a particular sector. Pressing F4 will bring up a prompt asking for the sector number to read. Use this when you know the sector(s) you need is not near the beginning of the file. If you specify a sector number higher than the number of sectors in the file or on the disk, the last sector will be read into memory. The dialogue box for this function looks like this: [ SEEK a sector ]---------------------- | | | Sector number to seek: ...... | | | --------------------------------------- Shift-F4 Seek to the sector containing absolute byte offset. WHAT?? Well, sometimes a person needs to change one particular byte (after doing a COMP operation, for example.) This function will ask for the byte offset to seek (in decimal) and will go directly to the sector containing that byte, highlighting it with the same color that's used for hex and text searches (see F6 and F8 below.) The dialogue box for this function looks like this: -13- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Read Mode [ SEEK Offset ]------------------------ | | | Byte offset to seek: ........ | | | --------------------------------------- F5 New file. This will take you back to the file selection screen, where you may choose a new file to zap. F6 Search for Hex Sequence. F6 and its complimentary key, F8, are both very handy to have around! See the description of F8 below for details on finding a text string. When you want to find a particular sequence of hexadecimal values, hit F6. ZipZap will ask for the text to search for, and the sector number to start searching from. If an illegal sector number is given, the search will start at sector number zero. If no search text is specified, or if Esc is pressed, the search is aborted. The Search dialogue box looks like this: [ Find Hex Sequence ]-------------------------------------- | | | Enter the sequence of hexadecimal values you wish to | | find. Separate each with a space (0A 1F 3B, etc.): | | | | 1A 2B 32 32 01.......................................... | | | | Start at sector: 22... | | | ----------------------------------------------------------- If the hex sequence asked for is found, the search will stop, a message will be displayed, and the sector containing the search values will be displayed. The values searched for will bw highlighted (green in color, bright white in monochrome.) If the sequence of bytes is not found, a message to that effect will be displayed, and the sector that was on screen before the search started will be displayed. Once a search is underway, you may stop it by pressing any key. When you do this, a message will indicate that the search has been aborted, and the sector that was on screen before the search started will be displayed. -14- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Read Mode F7 Toggle non-ASCII display. I know, you're saying, "Hey, there ain't no F7 at the bottom of the screen!" Well, I couldn't fit EVERYTHING on that one little line. In fact, this key is included on the Help screen (F10). Pressing F7 the first time will force ZipZap to display characters outside of the standard ASCII set (graphics, etc.) Pressing the key again will turn this feature off. Toggling this on will allow you to see on the ASCII side of the display characters used to make up borders, as well as a lot of garbage! The ASCII display is easier to read without these characters, since only the "readable" ones show up (all others are displayed as ".") NOTE: This key is active in the Read mode only. F8 Search for text. When you want to find a particular occurrence of text, hit F8. ZipZap will ask for the text to search for, and the sector number to start searching from. The same rules apply to F8 that do to F6. The Search dialogue box looks like this: [ Find Text String ]--------------------------------------- | | | Enter text to find: This is a test | | | | Start at sector: 1.... | | | ----------------------------------------------------------- You'll get the same messages with F8 that you get with the F6 search. See above for the details. Shift-F8 Pressing this key combination repeats the last search operation (hex or text.) A box pops up telling you that ZipZap is looking for the next occurance of the hex sequence or text string. Everything else works just like it does with the F6 and F8 keys. F9 Quit. Exit to DOS. Go away. Leave. Etc. A little dialogue box pops up asking you to confirm your desire to leave. Simply press "Y" to exit. Striking any other key returns you to the read mode. The dialogue box to confirm your wish to say adios looks like this: -15- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Read Mode [ Interruption! ]---------------------- | | | F9 has been struck. | | | | Exit to DOS? | | | --------------------------------------- Striking Esc, Ctrl-C, or Ctrl-Break will produce the same results as hitting F9. F10 Brings up the help screen. Press any key to return to the program. The help screen also contains the version number you have. Refer to this number in any correspondence about ZipZap. Del Turn color off. ZipZap automatically detects the type of display adapter in use (monochrome or color/ graphics.) For users who have a composite one-color monitor hooked up to a color/graphics card, the display may be unreadable. Pressing Del will clean up this problem by changing the display to black and white. It's also useful for folks who don't like my choice of colors! Ins Returns the display to the regular, colorful mode. For those who like an un-readable composite display, or who get used to my choice of colors. Ctrl-R Our local Sysop, Benn Gibson, gets the credit for annoying me to the point of finally including this function ("This ones for you," Benn.) Ctrl-R toggles the RECORD HIGHLIGHT function on/off. This feature will come in handy mainly for programmers, consultants, and hackers (Benn is all three.) It uses varying attributes on-screen to highlight fixed-length records. When Ctrl-R is first pressed, you will see: [ Highlight Records ]================== | | | Enter Record Length: .... | | | ======================================= Enter the record length you desire, then press Enter. ZipZap will then vary the attributes so that individual records can be easily identified. This highlighting will stay in effect in the Edit mode! -16- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Read Mode Simply press Ctrl-R to turn this feature off. Note that this function does not isolate records for viewing and editing - you still see an entire sector's worth of information, and more often than not records will cross sector boundaries. The highlight colors are kept consistent for each record, i.e. if a record starts off in one sector in white on blue, it will continue in the next sector with that same color. Ctrl-Z You may invoke the color customization routine by pressing Ctrl-Z. It will work just like it does when the "/I" command line option is used, but will return you to the file or disk being zapped rather than exiting the program. [*] ZAP!!! THE EDIT MODE (Let's play!) As mentioned earlier, the edit (zap) mode is entered by pressing the F3 key. A couple of things change when you do this. The line at the bottom of the screen is altered to reflect a new set of command keys, the mode changes to Edit, and a full-block cursor appears over the first character in the hex part of the work area. One of the first things you'll notice is that the 1st byte of the sector (the one the cursor's on) changes color on BOTH sides of the display. This will assist you in keeping track of exactly which byte the cursor is on. The cursor changes to flashing bright white on both color and monochrome screens, so it's easy to keep track of. Now it's time to have fun! As in Read mode, F10 brings up a short help window. It looks like this: [ Edit Mode Help ]------------------------------- | | | Home: Go to first byte End: Go to last byte | | | | * Arrow keys move the * Use 0-9 & A-F to | | cursor. enter new hex data. | | | | * ESC or F3 exit back * F4 writes new data | | to Read mode. to disk. | | | | * TAB selects Hex or * In ASCII mode, type | | or ASCII mode. new text. | | | | --- Press any key to exit Help --- | ------------------------------------------------- -17- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Edit (Zap) Mode Here's an overview of these functions: Tab Pressing the Tab key switches the cursor to the other side of the display. The first time it's pressed, you are put in the ASCII side. Press it again, and, ta da! You're back on the hex side. Note that when Tab is pressed, the cursor's RELATIVE position in the sector is maintained. Arrows The arrow keys move you around the screen - up, down, right, left, just as you'd expect. If you move past a left or right border, the cursor "wraps" around to the other side of the display. The arrow keys work the same in hex and ASCII zap displays. NOTE: At the bottom of the hex side of the work area you'll notice a small area telling you which byte the cursor is currently on ("Currently on byte: 0"). This is updated after each keypress, so you'll always know exactly where in the sector the cursor is located. The range, of course, is 0 - 511. Home Pressing Home moves the cursor to the first byte in the sector. End End moves the cursor to the last byte in the sector. 0-9/A-F Pressing these keys will alter the byte under the cursor. The cursor will move to the right with each key pressed. Any While on the ASCII side, you may change the contents of the sector by simply typing in new text. Notice that as each key to change a byte is pressed, the new letter or number is changed to a different color (magenta on color screens, and bright white on monochrome. These bytes will remain their new color until you write the changes to disk or abort the Edit mode altogether. Note that on the ASCII side of the display, new spaces may be detected as the cursor itself changes to the "edited" color when it is over a new space. This means you can always tell when ANY byte has been changed from its original value! Esc/F3 Pressing Esc or F3 a second time will take you immediately back to Read mode WITHOUT SAVING YOUR CHANGES. This is nice when you've really botched up a sector or are just practicing! In effect, F3 then will toggle between the Read and Edit modes, but does NOT -18- ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide Edit (Zap) Mode save changes when leaving Edit mode. See the description of the F4 key for more. F4 Write sector to disk. Your MUST hit F4 to record any changes you've made to the sector. Starting with version 6.3, you are prompted for confirmation of this could-be-disastrous-if-you-don't-know-what-you're-doing task. The dialogue box to confirm your wishes looks like this: [ WRITE the Sector ]------------------- | | | ARE YOU SURE you want to | | | | make these changes to sector | | | | number 0? | | | | es or o: | | | --------------------------------------- Pressing "Y" indicates you do in fact want to make these changes permanent. Pressing "N" (or any other key besides "Y", for that matter) returns you to the Edit mode right where you left it. The actual disk update (assuming you pressed "Y") is very fast, and if you have many buffers set in your CONFIG.SYS file, it'll seem like nothing happened at all. Fear not, the changes have indeed been made! You will be transported back to the Read mode immediately after the disk has been updated, so you can choose another sector to zap, or exit, or get a drink, or whatever you want to do. ==> IMPORTANT NOTE: When writing the LAST sector in a file, ZipZap will often change the file length as reported in a directory listing. In some cases this is undesirable, so be double sure you know what you're doing when writing changes to the last sector! I'm working on a way to avoid this problem in a future release of ZipZap. F10 Brings up the help screen. Press any key to return to the Edit mode. ZipZap 6.5 User's Reference Guide The Law [*] THE LAW (Darn it, I knew'd there be a catch!) * Neither KeyStrokes Computer Works nor the author (Keith G. Chuvala) can be held accountable or liable for any damage that might occur to any file or disk as a result of any use of any version of ZipZap. * Anyone who wishes to use ZipZap in ANY professional or business environment MUST register with KeyStrokes Computer Works as a Business/Professional User. Please send a short letter indicating the sort of work for which you intend to use ZipZap, and $10.00 for EACH copy used when in an institution, business, government, or otherwise. These users will have top priority for upgrades and support, but will not receive the source code for the program. Source code for ZipZap 6.5 (which compiles under Turbo Pascal 4.0) is available by sending $5.00 and a postage-paid diskette mailer to: KeyStrokes Computer Works 812 East 15th Winfield, KS 67156. ZipZap is still a free program for individuals who use it for non- professional or business purposes. Feel free to use it and share it; post ZIPZAP65.ARC on your favorite BBS! I do retain all rights to the program and ask that if you modify it in any way, do not distribute the program with your changes to anyone! Now a plug for our local BBS. You can always download the latest version of ZipZap from the best BBS in the Midwest: 9th & Main (316) 221-3276 300/1200/2400 8-N-1 24 hours a day 9th & Main is a great TBBS board operated by Benn Gibson. It's easy to move around on, it's fast, and you have full downloading privileges on the first call. To contact me through the board (I log on at least twice a day), simply address your message to Keith Chuvala, and I'll answer any questions via return message the same day or the next, if you call late. Note that the source code for ZipZap is NOT on the BBS - it's available by mail only. -20-  Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253