I really like utility programs. Always
have. There are always tasks which the operating system,
and the associated accessory software, either can’t
do at all, or doesn’t do very efficiently. This
situation provides the niche in which the clever
programming chappies can work their magic and come to
rescue of we mere mortals.
My recent application has been managing a
web site with over 200 individual files, most of which
are HTML code, and many of which are frequently being
updated. I actually do keep frequent backups of all this
material -- (gasp!) -- every time files change, for which
I use floppy disks. I also switch the files between my
machine at home, my machine at work, occasionally a
laptop computer, and the previously mentioned floppy
backup disks. Furthermore, I use a mix of Windows 95 and
Windows NT file utilities, and DOS copy commands. Thus,
there are lots of opportunities for files to get out of
synch, and their names certainly switch case with
monotonous regularity (which is a problem with a case-sensitive
web server!)
So, here’s one situation where two
small utility programs come in very handy…
WMatch32
In the good old days I used PC Magazine’s
DOS-based utility, DirMatch , with its two-panel view, to
synchronize files in two directories. Eventually, I
switched to WMatch -- the GUI successor to DirMatch. This
program works just fine -- until it encounters long file
names. At this point the insidious tilde character enters
the fray, and essentially it’s game over!
To avoid such trauma, I have steadfastly
maintained a file system with 8.3 file names and
extensions. But, all good things must come to an end. I
recently discovered how to develop on-line, server-side
processed forms. The downside is that my ISP insists that
the associated code files must have a .shtml extension,
so I’m now stuck using long filenames - like it or
not.
Fortunately, PC Magazine came to the
rescue with the release of a 32 bit version of WMatch
which, among other features handles long file name with
no difficulty (no tildes!)
Installation is simple. Unpack the
archive (ZIP file) into a specific directory, and create
a desktop shortcut to the executable file. There are no
registry entries, no DLLs scattered across the disk, just
a ready-to-run file system.
Similarly, operation is simplicity itself.
Disk and file directory selection is through a Windows-Explorer
like menu. Two selected directories are displayed side by
side with options to compare All Files, Different Files,
or Alike Files. Individual files can be tagged, or one
check box will tag all displayed files, in the selected
window. Tagged files can be deleted, copied or moved to
the other window. Thus the backup task is easy -- simply
copy all the "different" files from the working
directory on the hard drive to the backup floppy disk.
There are a couple of nice new features
of the 32-bit version of WMatch (over the operation of
the earlier 16-bit program). Directory selection is made
with a single mouse click, rather than having to double
click. Also, the program continues working normally when
the floppy disk is switched. In the earlier version, in
this situation, the program was unable to read the new
disk’s directory structure.
CaseRename
As noted, the use of multiple machines
and different operating systems can lead to changes in
the case of file names -- with files appearing in lower
case, upper case, and even first character as upper case,
depending on the application accessing the file. One
seems to be able to resolve this problem by going down
the list of files in Windows Explorer and over-typing the
leading capital letter with the equivalent lower case
character in rename-mode. With dozens of such files
spread through a directory of hundreds of files this isn’t
a welcome proposition!
Chris Taylor, OPCUG’s all-knowing
SYSOP, came to the rescue by suggesting a couple of
utility programs which change the case of filenames
automatically. In my view, the slickest of the two is
CaseRename.
Like WMatch32, installation consists of
unpacking the archive to a directory on the hard drive
and creating an appropriate shortcut (my preferred method
of file startup). Operation is intuitive. Running the
program (written and compiled in Borland Delphi 3.0)
creates a three-panel box on the screen. The middle panel
is marked "make lowercase". Drag a bunch of
file onto this panel and their file names in the original
directory are quickly changed to all lower case
characters. My kind of software!
Bottom Line:
WMatch32 (Freeware)
Version 1.1.0.0
PC Magazine, November 7, 1995
Author: Michael Mefford
Revised for 32-bit Windows by Neil J. Rubenking
http://www.zdnet.com/swlib/
CaseRename (Freeware)
Version 1.3
Author: Kjetil L. Nygård
k.l.nygard@hfstud.uio.no
http://www.uio.no/~kln/
Originally published: October, 1999
