FILE MANAGERS FOR THE APPLE //GS
Product reviews by Wayne Short
Copyright (c) 1990 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
With the advent of more powerful software for the Apple //GS (finally!!) its users have begun to reach the following conclusions: more directly addressable memory and a hard disk are required to take advantage of this.
To run any of today's "useful" programs e.g., APPLEWORKS GS, PAINTWORKS GOLD, your system must have 1.25 megabytes of RAM available. Those contemplating program development will probably not be satisfied unless they have 2.00 megabytes of memory.
Similarly, the entry level for purchasers of hard disks is now 20 megabytes with a 60 megabyte hard disk a desirable option.
The GS Finder with its 'WIMP' interface is currently the default program selector by virtue of its distribution with the GS operating system. The release of System Disk 5.0 sees it in its fourth incarnation with all the maturity that brings. However, recently other authors have been writing program launchers/file managers to address any shortcomings they feel present in the Finder.
All the file management packages reviewed here combine the features of a menu selector with those of a file utility. (In fact, UtilityWorks takes this to its furthest extent by offering a separate launcher and utility program). They are all native 16-bit Apple //GS programs and therefore cannot be used on an Apple //e or //c.
A program selector contrasts with the icon based Finder where the desired application is highlighted on a user-defined menu and is executed by a press of a return key or a mouse click. Each menu has restricted number of titles per screen but other menus also can be invoked providing a flexible launching system.
The use of multiple menus allows your favourite applications to be grouped by type if so desire i.e. all utilities to reside on one menu while all the games reside on another.
^PROSEL-16^
ProSEL (PROgram SELector) is perhaps the most widely recognized file-management system. While similar to Prosel-8, Prosel-16 surpasses its predecessor in speed and power.
Applications can be added to the program-selector menus via the ProSEL editor, in automatic or manual modes.
The utility portion of the ProSel provides file and directory manipulation tools. Files can be copied, deleted, locked, unlocked, verified, and compared. A fast hard disk backup and restore program makes it easy to backup all or part of a volume.
Another option available from the ProSel utility menu will attempt to repair a damaged volume, correcting bitmap errors, correcting bad directory pointers and more. (The
utility has the potential to be dangerous and should only be used on volumes that have been backed up).
A disk "zap" utility or Block Editor is available to read and write data to a disk. Data retrieved can be disassembled and even edited. (Not really a task for the novice!)
^JUMPSTART^
JumpStart is a "shareware" package written by David R. Hill. It has all the refinements you would expect from a commercially available software package: Super-Hires screens, pulldown menus, mouse implementation, and more.
This program selector provides you with a quick "Run List" or roster of frequently used programs. The list can be contained on an unlimited number of screen pages, each with 16 program titles. This list can be installed, edited, or deleted at any time via a point and click process with the mouse.
Launching EXEC files from JumpStart is also supported. An option is also provided from creating a small text file to be used for "EXEC"ing an application.
JumpStart also includes a set of file manipulation utilities. Volume copy and disk formatting are also available. Currently no facilities for full or partial backups of volumes are provided.
A nice touch is the 64K print buffer which comes in handy if you wish a print a large text file and then carry out some house-keeping on your files: no need to wait for all the text to print!
^UTILITYWORKS^
Utilityworks is another shareware product for the //GS. It consists of a separate launching program and a file management package.
The program launcher may have up to 10 menu screens with 30 selectable items configured on each. The desktop and background colors are programmable for each application when it is launched.
The main program, 'UTILITYWORKS', has file management options for both volumes and files. Files may now also be copied across an Appleshare network. Its latest revision also has the facility for backing up or restoring volumes / files / directories. However it also has some interesting capabilities:
* A facility to display/print SHR graphics in either 640 or 320 mode
* A facility to display/print any font anywhere on a volume
* A facility to display/print the objects contained in Icon files.
TABLE 1 : File Managers at a Glance
--------------------------------------
ProSel-16 JumpStart UtilityWorks
Version 8.1 2.5 0.8
Price ($US) $60.00 $29.95 $25.00
Computer Model //GS //GS //GS
Memory Required 512K 512K 512K
Operating System (GS/OS) 5.0.x 5.0.x 5.0.x
Graphic Interface No Yes Yes
Documentation 60 pages 24 pages 80 pages
On-Line Help Yes Yes No
FILE MANAGEMENT
Catalog Yes Yes Yes
Copy Yes Yes Yes
Delete Yes Yes Yes
Undelete Yes No No
Lock/Unlock Yes Yes No
Verify Yes Yes Yes
Hide/Unhide Yes No Yes
Deny Access Yes No Yes
Change File Types Yes Yes Yes
File Finder Yes No Yes
Display Text Files Yes Yes Yes
Display SHR Graphics No No Yes
Display Icon Files No No Yes
Display/Print Fonts No No Yes
Sort Directory Yes No No
Purge Memory Options Yes Yes Yes
Enable/Disable/Install DAs No No Yes
Enable/Disable CDEVS No No Yes
Enable/Disable Init Files No No Yes
SUPPORT UTILITIES
Backup/Restore Yes No Yes
Optimiser Yes No No
Disk Repair Utility Yes No No
Block Editor Yes No No
MISCELLANEOUS
Volume Copy Yes Yes Yes
Print Buffering No No No
Command Line Processor Yes No No
PC Transporter Support No Yes Yes
^CONCLUSIONS^
Each program offers its own strengths: Prosel-16 offers many utilities for editing/repairing files or hard disks while Utilityworks offers unique facilities for displaying ICONs, SHR graphics and fonts.
PROSEL-16
Glen R. Bredon
521 State Road
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
List Price: $60.00 (USD)
JUMPSTART
MainFrame Software
Box 315A, Cousins Island,
Yarmouth, ME 04096, USA
List Price: $29.95 (USD)
UTILITYWORKS (launcher and utilities)
George R. Wilde
24402 Broadwell Ave.,
Harbor City, CA 90710, USA
List Price: $25.00 (USD)

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