PsiZip V1.3F
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Release date: 06 Feb 1998
README file
Introduction
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PsiZip is a compression and file packaging utility for the Psion Series
3a, 3c and Siena palmtop computers.
It is compatible with PKZIP v2.04g (PKWARE) for MS-DOS, Windows, UNIX,
OS/2, and VMS systems, and also ZIP 2.0.1 (Info-ZIP) for MS-DOS and
Windows. It is the ONLY program to provide effective and fast zip
compression AND de-compression on the Psion!
The PsiZip application includes many new and innovative features, of
which these are just a few:
* Improved compression. PsiZip makes use of the latest "Deflate"
compression algorithm.
* Unzip support. PsiZip also has the needed algorithms to support
the unzipping of zip files.
* Subdirectory storage. PsiZip can find and store subdirectory
pathnames within a zip file. Files can then be restored to
their original subdirectories, or the subdirectories may be
re-created.
* Password encryption. Sensitive data files can be scrambled
with password protection (Registered users only!)
* The ability to view files in an archive by associating their
extensions with specific applications on your Psion!
Installation
------------
PsiZip is distributed as a single zip archive. You will need an Unzip
program which can cope with standard zip formats to unzip the archive.
Examples include WinZip (Windows) or the original PKUnzip (MS-DOS),
but there are programs available which run on almost every computer type.
Then follow these 3 simple steps:
1. Unpack PsizipXX.zip (where XX is a version number) to an empty directory
and check the contents. If they are not as follows, then the archive is
either damaged or has been tampered with:
Psizip.app The PsiZip application
Readme.txt This readme file
2. Copy Psizip.app into an \APP\ directory on any of your Psion disks.
NOTE: Psizip.app IS suitable for storage on Flash SSDs.
3. Install PsiZip from the System screen with Psion-I. or use the menu
and select Apps | Install (on English Psions).
Registration
------------
If you wish to register the program, you can do so by post (snail-mail),
or on-line using the SWREG facility on CompuServe, or on the WWW by using
RegNet (credit cards).
If you are using the postal service, please send a cheque (check) for
15 UK pounds or US$25 or 50DM payable to 'RMR Software' (or the equivalent
in 'real money' in your actual currency - no foreign currency cheques please),
to one of the following addresses:
RMR Software
c/o 6000 Natick Court
Burke, VA 22015
USA
RMR Software
c/o 46 Mortimer Road
Kempston
Bedford
MK42 8RE
ENGLAND
RMR Software
c/o PSIOlogic Versand
Taunusstrasse 4
D 63589 Linsengericht
GERMANY
Please note these are the addresses of our 'agents'. Registration codes
will be sent out fairly quickly, but if you send a technical query, it will
have to be redirected to us, so might take a few weeks to reply. If you
have access,we can be reached by E-Mail at support@rmrsoft.com.
The quickest way to register, if you have access to CompuServe, is to use
GO SWREG and use Registration ID - 16830. The notification normally reaches
us in 24 hours and we can reply with the code quickly, again normally within
24 hrs. (Ignore the question about the disc size when you register, you do
not need one)
If you wish to register using a credit card you can register on the WWW through
RegNet, the Registration Network.
RegNet can be reached by e-mail: orders@swregnet.com or on the World Wide Web at
http;//www.swregnet.com or in the USA by calling 1-800-WWW2REG (1-800-999-2734)
or the easiest way is by following the links from our WWW Home page at:
http://www.rmrsoft.com/
This program has been allocated the REGNET Number: 1852 and this should be quoted.
Again, the notification tends to get to us within 24 hours and we reply within
another 24 hrs. (Note that paying by this method will involve an extra US$5
handling charge)
In each case, we (or our agent) will then send you a personalised registration
code to enter to remove the 'nag' screens and allow full use of the program.
Note that you will NOT need a new copy of the program, all the functionality is
already there but just needs 'unlocking' by the registration code.
Memory requirements
-------------------
PsiZip itself uses about 80k of memory when running, plus about 48k
for archive actions (Add, Delete, Extract, View, Test, Comment) and
12k for every additional 100 files in an archive. This option can be set
via 'Set preferences' (Psion-Q or Menu, Special | Set preferences | Total
files). This allows values from 100 to 500 for the maximum number of
files in an archive.
PsiZip also makes a temporary copy of each archive it works with in a
disk/directory that the user specifies (again using 'Set preferences')
So, if the disk for the temporary files is set to the Internal disk, and
the archive is also on the internal disk, then the amount of memory
required for PsiZip to run will be this:
Roughly 128k of internal memory for PsiZip program itself
+ Space for a temporary copy of archive
+ Space for the final archive file.
To make sure the actual program has enough System Memory from the internal
disk, the disk for temporary files can be set to an SSD disk (via 'Set
preferences').
If you do use an SSD then it MUST be a RAM SSD. If you use a Flash SSD,
then any temporary files created will be deleted, but space will not
be recovered until you re-format the disk (See the Psion User Manual for
details about Flash and RAM SSDs).
To give the user even more flexibility, PsiZip also allows you to use
a remote drive or the Cyclone floppy disk drive as a store for temporary
files (although this will slow down the compression process).
After the archive operations are completed, all temporary files are
deleted.
NOTE: If you set the path for temporary file to the same directory as
the one which holds the final archive, the temporary copy of
archive is not copied and then deleted, it is just renamed.
The amount of space needed for the temporary files and the final archive
and also the amount of compression obtained will depend on the files
you wish to compress:
Program files (.OPA, .APP, .OPO and .IMG) typically compress by
about 5% to 10%
Other files (such as .TXT, .SPR, .AGN,...) can be compressed by
up to 60%, and in some cases even more!
How many files can PsiZip allow in a zip archive?
-------------------------------------------------
A zip file may contain a maximum of 500 file entries under PsiZip.
The actual maximum value depends on the length of the file names
(including the full path if stored) and file comments.
PsiZip requires 12k system memory for every 100 files, thus 500 files
requires 60k system memory.
Usage summary
-------------
The following options are available both on the menu and by using the
relevant hotkeys. PsiZip has been designed to be very easy to use and
comes with an intuitive User Interface. As a result, you should be able
to use PsiZip without even reading this file or the Help screens.
Full on-line help is also available within the program - just press
the 'Help' key.
Use:
* 'New archive' to create a new zip archive, then..
* 'Add file' to add files to the archive. Note the 'Options...' line in
the resulting dialog. The options allow you to:
1) Select whether PsiZip stores
the directory of the files that
you are adding
2) Select an option to add a comment
to each file.
3) Select whether each file will be
password protected (and therefore encrypted)
4) Allows you to select if files are
'Stored' or 'Compressed'
* 'Open archive' to open an existing zip archive
* 'Extract file' (or just press Enter over a file or selected files)
to extract file(s) from the archive.
* 'Delete file' (or just press Delete over a file or selected files)
to delete file(s) from the archive.
* Left, Right, Home and End to move around the displayed columns.
* Up and Down to move rows.
Menu...
----
Archive
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Archive | New Archive
Create a new archive.
Archive | Open Archive
Open an existing archive.
Archive | Close Archive
Close the currently open archive.
Archive | Information
Display information about the open archive
Archive | Move Archive
Move archive to a different disk or directory
Archive | Copy Archive
Copy archive to a different disk or directory
Archive | Rename Archive
Change the name of the current archive
Archive | Delete Archive
Delete an archive
Actions
-------
Actions | Add file
Add files to the open archive
From the 'Add file' dialog, there are further settings which
can be selected by pressing Tab on the 'Options...' line:
'Select by'
When this option is set to 'Directory' , PsiZip will search the source
directory for subdirectories. If any subdirectories are found, PsiZip
searches them for files. If a further level of subdirectories is found
in a subdirectory, PsiZip will search these as well.
NOTE: Full paths are not stored when the 'Save dir info' is set to 'No'
'Compression'
PsiZip provides two different methods of compression.
To output the smallest files possible, specify the 'Compress' method. Using
'Store' (no compression) is useful when archiving files which will either
not compress or compress very little. This would generally be true when
archiving ZIP, ARJ, GIF, JPG files as these are already compressed.
By specifying no compression PsiZip will store the files directly rather
than first attempting to compress them.
'Save dir info'
This option sets whether full path names are stored with each file.
'File comment'
This is pretty obvious, it allows you to write a comment onto each file
as it is stored. This can be useful if you want to write a small
reminder about the contents of each file in case you forget.
'Password' (Registered users only)
By specifying this option you may encrypt data as it is compressed by
PsiZip. This feature of PsiZip causes the information contained within
a zip file to be 'scrambled'. A file which has been scrambled will be
unreadable until extracted with the same encryption key (which is derived
from the password which you supply).
Actions | Delete file
Delete file(s) from the open archive
Actions | Extract file
Extract file(s) from the open archive
Again, there is a sub-option from the Extract file dialog:
'Restore dir info'
This option uses the path names that have been stored in the zip
file by PsiZip. If the stored paths do not exist in the destination
directory, they will be created.
Actions | View file
View highlighted file in the open archive using viewer (which
is set via 'Set preferences | File viewer...')
Actions | Tag all/Untag all
Select/Deselect all files in an archive
Actions | Test archive
Test the integrity of an archive and check for errors.
Actions | Archive comment
Add/Edit the archive comment.
Special
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Special | Set preferences
Sets the preferences for PsiZip. All settings are saved to the file
\OPD\Psizip.ini on the default disk.
These are the options available:
'Style'
Set the font style (eg Swiss/Roman, Bold...)
'Columns'
Allows you to set which columns of information are shown on the
PsiZip screen.
'Grid lines'
Sets/reset the grid lines for the main screen (i.e. if they're shown
going up, down or both)
'File viewer...'
This allows you to associate file extensions with applications on
your Psion. When you extract a file which has an extension
association already setup, the program you specified will be
launched for viewing the file in. If no extension is setup, the
default viewer will always be used.
You can have up to 50 extension associations setup PLUS the default
viewer (which is WORD.APP). For your convenience, the following
associations are already setup:
AGN - Agenda.app
DBF - Data.app
OPA - A ROM:: program which runs OPA's
OPL - Program editor
OPO - A ROM:: program which runs OPO's
SCR - Script editor
SPR - Sheet
WVE - Record
WLD - World
WRD - Word
TXT - Word
You can add, edit and delete your own associations. All of the
PsiZip association details are always stored in the file
"\OPD\PSIZIP.EXT" on your default disk.
You can restore the default associations and get rid of any changes
you have made by deleting this file and then running PsiZip.
'Total files'
Defines the maximum number of files PsiZip will allow in the archive
(100-500). Every 100 files takes 12k system memory, thus setting 500
files takes 60k additional system memory. If you never use archives
with more than 100 files in them, then set 'Total files' to 100.
'Temp dir'
Sets the path for the temporary files.
Special | Zoom in/Zoom out
Change the screen's font size.
Special | Register
Allows you to enter a registration code for PsiZip. Once PsiZip is
registered, this menu item will no longer be shown.
1) Enter your personal registration code EXACTLY as supplied using
upper or lower case as required.
2) Press Enter
Special | About
Display the About screen with version, copyright contact details and
registration information.
Special | Exit
Exits PsiZip.
Tips & Tricks
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Creating the temporary files on alternate disk
----------------------------------------------
Every time a zip file is updated, PsiZip creates a temporary work file.
When the modifications to the zip file are successfully completed, the
original zip file is replaced with the temporary work file.
This means you must have at least as much additional disk space available
as was used by the original zip file.
For Example: If you have an existing zip file of 50k, and you are adding
another file to it that takes 10k compressed, you need additional
workspace of at least 60k during the update process.
The 'Set preferences', 'Temp dir' option allows you to create the temporary
zip file on a disk different from the one on which the original zip file
resides. This allows you to update large zip files when space is limited,
such as a large zip file on a internal disk.
If the temporary directory is on a RAM SSD, PsiZip's operation becomes
slightly faster.
Add comments for new files
--------------------------
Each individual file contained within a zip file may have a comment
attached to it. Comments are useful for identifying files, especially
if you need to go back months later to look at a file, or if you are
sending the file to someone else. Each comment may be up to 128
characters long, including spaces and punctuation.
Add comments to a zip archive
-----------------------------
Each zip archive file may have a comment embedded into it. A comment
may be added to an existing archive, or added when an archive is first
created. It can be up to 1024 characters long. PsiZip provides a built
in editor (with Bring, Copy and Paste functions) for you to create an
appropriate comment.
Using with PsiMail Internet v1.00F
----------------------------------
To allow PsiMail Internet to correctly associate zip files with PsiZip,
edit the following sections of your \MAIL\Mailint.ini file as follows...
[Apps]
ZIP=PsiZip;;LOC::M:\APP\PSIZIP.APP (or where-ever PsiZip is)
[Paths]
ZIP=\ZIP\ (or where-ever you keep your zips)
Using with PsiCode v1.2
-----------------------
To allow PsiCode to open a zip file (if found) with PsiZip, set the
PsiCode 'Decode/Detach preferences' as follows...
Open zip file if found Yes
Open zip file with: Name Psizip.app
NOTE: Use Tab on the 'Open zip file with' line to locate PsiZip.
Bug Reports / Comments
----------------------
Please send all bug reports and comments to the author (Serge Shestopalov)
at the address shown in the Support section below.
Support
-------
This product is supported via e-mail only.
Please send all messages to:
Internet: support@rmrsoft.com
The latest version will always be available from the Web page:
http://www.rmrsoft.com/
Disclaimer
----------
Although the program has been tested extensively, there is no guarantee
that it is error free. Please make backup copies of all your important
data!
The author will not be liable for any damage or consequential loss caused
by any error, defect or failure of the application.
Thanks
------
To my beta testers....
- Jochen Siegenthaler (100127.3167@compuserve.com)
- Phil Spencer (nicko@nildram.co.uk)
- Steve Litchfield (slitchfield@cix.compulink.co.uk)
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PsiZip and this readme file are Copyright (C) Serge Shestopalov 1997.
All Rights Reserved.