
FastPack
A Shareware High Resolution Graphics Expansion/Compression Utility
Copyright 1989 by Mel Patrick


In the Beginning...

We had to tolerate 19.5K files for most high resolution programs. Now with the addition of the GrafPack driver you can take advantage of the much smaller compressed high resolution screens.

However, can you imagine having to load each one of your /HR files and then save it as a /CHR file? Especially if you are the usual sort who has a few disks full of these. Then what do we do for the person who has no high resolution board but wants to print out images others have done? There is no way they can use the GrafPack driver to convert software since they have no high resolution board to act as an interchange medium. 

FastPack was designed to avoid both of these pitfalls. It has the ability to take any /CHR (compressed image file) or /HR (standard 19.5K file) and convert it to the opposite format. Not only that, but it also has a batch mode so you don
t have to "babysit" it. Just set the source and destination drives and watch it go.

For those people who want to exchange /HR files, FastPack provides a method of packing as many /HR files on a disk as possible by converting them to /CHR types. You can then place a shareware version of FastPack on the disk so the receiver can unpack your /HR files.

Executing FastPack...

While everyone tends to over complicate things, FastPack is very simple to use once you know the sequence of events it uses. The first thing to do is execute FastPack from DOS Ready by typing in :

FastPack        [ENTER]

Once running you will see a screen display like the one shown in Fig 1. This is the main display screen and all operations are done from this screen. The letters within the <> signs indicate the letter on your keyboard to press to invoke that function.




Source Disk Selection

The first thing to do is select your source drive. Press "S" first to invoke the source drive selection option and then the drive number from 0 to 7 (maximum number of drives on a Model 4 is 8). It will then show up beside the SOURCE disk prompt on the main display screen.

If you are using a disk emulator such as ADE or Disk-Disk, it is permissible to select those are source drives as well. Even a RAM disk may be used.


Destination Drive Selection

Press the "D" key first to invoke the destination drive selection mode and then press the number of the drive (0-7) you want all the files to be written to. Note that it is possible to write to a disk emulator like Disk-Disk, ADE or even a RamDisk if you want to. You may even select the same drive number to write back to.

Be warned thought that if your destination disk becomes full one of two things will happen. If you have the shareware version of FastPack (Version 1.0 to 1.9) when the destination drive is full, FastPack will exit back to Dos Ready. If you have the registered version of FastPack, you will be prompted to insert a new destination disk and may continue the program. Versions 2.0+ are registered versions only.


Selecting Processing

The next task is to select whether you want to compress /HR files (19.5K) to /CHR files or if you want to expand /CHR files back to the original 19.5K types.

Press "E" to go from /CHR to /HR (compressed to 19.5K)
Press "C" to go from /HR to /CHR (19.5K to compressed)


File Counter

If you have the registered version of FastPack, you
ll see a counter of the file types you are going to be working under the MODE label on your display screen. For example, if you were going to expand the /CHR to the /HR file types, you would see the total number of /CHR files on the source drive selected.

During actual file processing in batch mode, this counter will decrement as files are processed so you can see just how many are remaining.

For those with the shareware version, this counter function is not available.


Sorting the Filenames

If you have the registered version when the /HR and /CHR filenames are read from the source drive they will be sorted in an ascending order automatically after loading. This will aid you in finding one particular filename if you are using the single processing mode.

For those with the shareware version, this is not available.


Single File Processing

Press the "O" key to enable single file processing. The filenames will show up on the same line as the ONE FILE prompt. Use the [UP] / [DOWN] arrow keys to step through the list. Once you have the file you want to process, press the [ENTER] key.

Once the single file has been processed, FastPack will resume at that single file and you may again use the arrow keys to select another file for processing. When you are completed with single processing, pressing the [BREAK] key will take you back so you can change source, destination or compression/expansion.


Batch File Processing

Pressing the "B" key will immediately start with the first filename and continue to the last filename using either /HR or /CHR extensions.

During expansion it is very likely that you will fill the destination drive if you are expanding /CHR types back to /HR types. FastPack will anticipate this and will stop to allow you to remove the full drive and insert a new formatted diskette. For example, during some initial beta testing we found we could take two 80 track double sided disks full of /HR images and put them on ONE 40 track double sided disk in the /CHR format. However if you were going to expand those and use only 40 track drives you would have filled over 4 disks worth. In this case FastPack helps by prompting you when the destination disk is full.


The shareware version does not have this feature. When the destination disk becomes full, FastPack will exit back to DOS Ready. In expansion mode you will have to estimate how many 19.5K files will fit on your destination disk and not batch process more /HR files than it can hold. When compressing /HR files it is impossible to calculate how many /CHR files will fit on a disk unless FastPack was a two pass utility which would hamper the program speed and make it less appealing to use.


File Size Counters

In one of the graphic boxes you will see the labels In Length and Out Length. When you are processing either single files or in batch mode, the file you are reading in will have the exact number of characters in it shown on the In Length, and as it is being written back to disk, the Out Length will show the number of bytes being written.


File Size Graphs

Since no one likes to figure out the savings in disk space, a graphic representation has been provided. At the graphic box on the bottom of the video, you
ll see two labels; Source File Size and Destination File Size. As files are being processed there will be a horizontal graph to indicate the length of the file during reading (source file size) and writing (destination file size). With both of these graphic lines available it won
t be too hard to see the advantages of using FastPack.


Help Menu

A brief command summary is available by pressing the "H" key when the help option is available.


Aborting Program Execution

When processing files either in single or batch mode, you may press the [BREAK] key to abort the function. Note that the current process will not be aborted but will stop before the next chain of events. For example, if you were compressing files and during a READ you pressed the break key, the reading will continue until it was complete and then it would abort. Same with writing, the write would be completed and then it would abort.



Future Enhancements

One or two items may be coming in the future for FastPack depending on the amount of support received. If you have any suggestions or just general comments about FastPack, please feel free to express them. Call my BBS at (604) 594-7398 300/1200/2400, or write me directly at :

Mel Patrick
13699 70A Ave.
Surrey, B.C.
Canada, V3W 2J8

FastPack is part of the GrafPack series and the complete series is not public domain but shareware. To registered your copy and receive the newest versions of the GrafPack series along with printed manuals, send $15.00 to the author.

FastPack Copyright 1989 by Mel Patrick