ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN LIMA NEWSLETTER JANUARY 1990
 
 
     ^^^ CREATING A DISK LIBRARY LIST WITH BIRDWELL'S 
     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^DISK UTILITIES v4.12  
     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^by Charles Good 
     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Lima Ohio User Group 
      
     Part of
     the "official software library listing" of the Lima
Ohio User Group is a series of long DV80 test files that
show commented disk directories of each disk added to our
software library since 1987. Software is listed numerically
by disk number.  These are the text files distributed to our
paid members and to user groups who are likely to want to
make copies of our library at the Lima TI MUG Conferences.
As group librarian, I generate these text files from chained
disk directories created using John Birdwell's DSKU v4.12
that are subsequently slightly edited.  In response to an
inquiry from one of my correspondants, I am in this article
going to describe the whole process of making these library
listings. 
      
     Boot DSKU and from the first menu select 5) System
setup.  From the next menu select 1) Printer setup.  Where
it asks Select Printer Type type over the displayed printer
name with DSK2.FILENAME, using the drive number and file
name of your choice.  This file will containe the chained
disk directories.  Normally DSKU prints everything to your
printer, but it can just as easily print to a disk file.
The disk file is automatically created as DV80 and opened in
APPEND mode.  This means that subsequent disk reports
printed to this file DV80 file are just added to the end of
what is already in the file.  The file is not overwritten by
new data.  After typing in the file name, space down to the
next item and then press BACK (FCTN/9), and then BACK again
to get to the main menu. 
      
     Now from the DSKU main menu press 3) Disk Utilities. 
Insert the disk to be added to the library list in DSK1.
and press 2) Directory/Comment.   Press 1 to bring up the
disk directory, and you can now add comments to each file on
the displayed disk directory.  These comments become a
permanent part of the disk.  Every time the disk is copied
with any sector or track whole disk copier, and every time
individual files are copied with DSKU (but not with any
other disk manager), the comments are transferred to the
copy disk.  These comments can be read any time by using a
sector editor or buy using DSKU. 
      
     When you are finished creating comments, press BACK,
and then from the Disk Utilities menu press 1) Disk Report. 
This prints the disk directory, complete with comments, to
your DV80 file.  Now press BACK. Insert a new disk, then 2)
Directory/Comment and repeat the process. 
      
     Keep an eye on the growing length of the DV80 file of
disk directories you are making.  When it reaches about 120
sectors stop adding more commented disk directories to the
file.  Back out of DSKU and load the DV80 file into TI
Writer or Funnelweb's text editor.  If the file is much
bigger then 120 sectors it will be to big for the text
buffer of these text editors.  Edit the file as desired,
deleting extra lines and adding additional comments to each
disk.  It is important to blank out all the control
characters at the beginning and end of each disk directory
by spacing over them.  DSKU inserts a printer reset at the
end of each disk report.  If you don't blank this out, your
printer will only be able to print the DV80 file in standard
pica type.  Now save the text file back to disk with
S(ave)F(ile).  The resaved file will usually be smaller than
it was before, sometimes considerably smaller.  You may be
able to add a few more DSKU disk reports to the end of this
somewhat smaller file. 
      
     That's it folks.  This procedure is quick and easy.
The comments stay on the disk, and the DV80 text files tell
readers exactly what is on each disk of the user group's
library. 
     .PL 1