Dir tool
Tools - The Directory Tool
The "dir tools" program is a utility you can use to quickly create a new √directory file for your download directories. It is true that Color 64 would automatically create a √directory file the first time a caller asked for a directory, but that directory regeneration can take quite a while (especially if you have a lot of files on the disk). The "dir tools" is a small BASIC program, leaving plenty of free memory so that the program is very fast. The program has two utilities: one to create a directory from scratch, and one to regenerate the directory listing.
To use the "dir tools" program, you can boot up the ML shell (the "+shell" program) and then load and run the "dir tools" program. You can also load and run this program after using any other program that also uses the ML (such as SETUP). The tools program reads in your PARMS file.
Once the program is booted, you can use the Create Directory option for creating your √directory file the first time (it will scratch an existing √directory file if you have one on your disk). This routine will be a lot quicker than doing a full regeneration while the BBS system is running. So, if you want to start your system with hundreds of files already in your download areas, I recommend you use this directory create utility on all your disks before you load up your BBS.
You can also use the Regenerate Directory option to scan through the disk directory and update the √directory file with any new entries. Also, the program will eliminate any entries which are no longer valid. It is suggested that you perform this operation routinely, just to clean up the directory. Again, using the regeneration function in this stand-alone program is faster than doing it from the actual BBS system.
Next Section: Password File Tool