It Utilities

The It Utilities are a collection of three utilities: Trash It, View It and Zip It for Windows File Manager, along with an application launcher. The three utilities are integrated in a floating toolbar to which you can add any application you may wish to launch. There is also a loader to automatically load or unload the It Utilities when you start or stop the File Manager.

The It Utilities use drag and drop from the File Manager as much as possible. You can drag files to each utilities and to any added applications. You may drag applications to add them to the toolbar (you will need to stretch the toolbar to see them). You may drag a file on an application to start an application with a data file. You may drag applications to rearrange the toolbar.

You access the It launcher menu by clicking once on the dash at the upper left corner of the toolbar. You access properties for the It Utilities or an added application by clicking the right mouse button on it's icon. You can launch an application or access Trash It and Zip It's list of files by double clicking on the icon.

Dragging and dropping files and/or directories

It Toolbar

Trash It

View It

Zip It

Load It


Dragging and dropping files and/or directories

The It Utilities uses the drag and drop feature of the File Manager extensively.  You can drag one or more files and/or directories from a file window (right side) of the File Manager. You first highlight what you want to drag, click and hold the left mouse button down on the selection, then move the mouse over the utility or application icon on which you want to drop the files and release the left mouse button. The example shows one directory and two files dropped on Zip It.


It Toolbar

The It toolbar holds the three It Utilities and any applications you may wish to add to it. When first started the toolbar contains no application, just the three It Utilities and looks like this:

Adding applications from the File Manager

Adding applications from the Program Manager

Removing applications

Rearranging applications

Application properties

Running an application

Running an application with a data file

Always on top


Adding applications from the File Manager

To add an application from the File Manager you must drag the executable from the File Manager to the It toolbar. You should first make room for the new application by stretching the It window using it's border. You can drag a file from a file window (right side) of the File Manager. You may drop either on the title or on uncovered space as shown:


Adding applications from the Program Manager

To add from the Program manager simply select "Add from PM..." from the toolbar menu. This will take you to the Program Manager Groups dialog box. Adding from the Program Manager as the benefit of filling the properties for an application using the ones from the Program manager.

To add an application: 1. Select the group, 2. Select the application and 3. Press the 'Add' button


Removing applications

To remove an application from the toolbar simply drag the application off the toolbar.  Please be aware that the three It Utilities can not be removed from the toolbar.


Rearranging applications

You can easily move applications around. Simply drag an application over an other and it will take it's place. Please be aware that the three It Utilities can not be moved and that no applications can be moved to take their place.


Application properties

You access the properties for an application by right clicking on it's icon. The following dialog box will appear: (please note that this dialog is for applications only, utilities properties dialogs are different and described in their respective help section)

Any field followed by this sign is a drag and drop field. You can drag a file or directory from a files window (right side) of the File Manager instead of typing it.

Click on any item for more information.


Title

The title will appear below the icon of the application. It should be short since there isn't much space below the icon.


Command line

The command line gives the path and any parameters for the application.


Working directory

The working directory is the directory you want current when starting the application. If you leave it blank the current directory of the File Manager will be used. This feature will let you work on the files you currently see in your File Manager. Be aware that some applications do not use the current directory and this setting will have no affect on them.


Sound File

If you put a full pathname to a sound file it will be played each time the application is launched.


Icon

You can select the icon you want for the application.


Icon File

If no icon suit your taste you can change the file from which to choose from.


Window Size

You can choose the size you want for the applications main window when it is run.

Default         lets the application decide

Minimized       run as an icon

Maximized       fill the whole screen


Remove application
Remove

Clicking here will remove the application from the toolbar.


Running an application

You can run an application simply by double clicking on the application's icon in the toolbar.


Running an application with a data file

You can run an application with a data file simply by dragging it on the application's icon in the toolbar. You can drag a file from a file window (right side) of the File Manager. The application will be started with the data file. Be aware that some applications do not accept a data file when started. In that case the application will be run without the data file.


Always on top

You can make the It Utilities stay on top all the time. This can be useful if you would like to have the toolbar available even when you are not in the File Manager. Simply select 'Always on top' in the menu, a check mark will appear at the left. You might also like to set Load It so that the It Utilities are not unloaded when you close the File Manager.


Trash It

Trash It will delete the files and/or directories you drop on it. It can also keep the dropped files so that they can be deleted or undeleted later. Trash It stores the kept files in a directory called TRASHIT.DEL in the root of every drive that it is keeping files for.

You trash files and directories by dragging them on the Trash It icon. You access the kept files dialog by double clicking on the Trash It icon. You can change the properties of Trash It by right clicking on the Trash It icon.

A little document will appear in the lower left corner of the icon when Trash It is keeping files.

Kept files

Trash It Properties


Kept files

You access the kept files dialog by double clicking on the Trash It icon. This dialog box gives access to previously dropped files. Files are kept by trash it only if the keep files option is checked in the options dialog box and the files are located on a fixed disk. If the files are from a removable or network drive, Trash It can't keep them and you will be given the opportunity to delete them.

Click on any item for more information.


Files

You can pick one or more files and/or directories from the list box to be deleted or returned to their previous location (undeleted) using the buttons on the right side. If no files or directories are selected and you press either the delete or undelete button you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them. You browse through your kept files the same way as in an open file dialog. Your files are organized in the same tree structure as before they were trashed.


Delete

Pressing delete will delete the selected files and/or directories.  If no files or directories are selected, you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them


Undelete

Pressing undelete will return the selected files and/or directories to their previous location. If no files or directories are selected, you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them


Trash It properties

You access the properties for Trash It by right clicking on it's icon. The following dialog box will appear:

Click on any item for more information.


Trash can type

Using radio buttons you can choose from three different looking icons for Trash It.


Sound

Sound options enables you to turn off the sound or choose between 8 bits or 16 bits sound if you have a sound card that supports It.


Show trashing

The Show trashing option is enabled by default and a window will pop up after you have dropped files on Trash It displaying the names of the files being trashed. This window will also have a cancel button to cancel the on-going operation.


Keep forever

If this option is checked, the default, Trash It will not delete the files from a non-removable drive when they are dropped on it. Instead they are moved elsewhere on the same drive. Using the kept files dialog you can then access these files. The files are kept forever, you must explicitly delete them using the kept files dialog to regain disk space.


Keep for session

If this option is checked, Trash It will not delete the files from a non-removable drive when they are dropped on it. Instead they are moved elsewhere on the same drive. Using the kept files dialog you can then access these files. The files are kept until you exit Trash It when they will be deleted for you.


Do not keep

If this option is checked, Trash It will not keep files, they are deleted as they are trashed.


View It

View It will show the files you drop on it inside a file window. View It can show up to four files in one or more drop and can show files in either text or hex mode. View It has two icons: one for the program itself, on which you can drop files, and one for minimized files, on which you can't drop files.

running program icon

minimized file icon

You view files by dragging them on the View It icon. You can change the properties of View It by right clicking on the View It icon.

File window

View It Properties


File window

A file window consist of a viewing area and a menu. You can move around using the mouse or the keyboard.

Click on any item for more information.


Close

This menu command is simply a shortcut to the close command found in the opened file window system menu.


Copy

This menu command copies the contents of the file window, in either mode, to the clipboard, ready to be pasted in any text editor.


Find

You can start a search for specific text at any point in a opened file window. The upper left character of the window denotes the start of the search. When a search has been successful, the whole line will be grayed and the searched text will be in inverse. Any subsequent search will start from there. You may need to scroll to the right to see the text if it is beyond the right border. You may not see the text if it is past the 256 characters per line limit of View It, but the line will still be grayed.

Click on any item for more information.


Find what

To find specific characters or words: Type the characters or words you want to find here. Make sure the Hex check box is unchecked.

To search for an hexadecimal string: Enter digits, letters A-F and spaces. Spaces are meant to separate each byte. If no spaces are entered bytes will be taken as two characters. For hexadecimal search you must check the Hex check box, the Match case check box and Match whole word are not used.


Match whole word only

If you want to search for whole words only select this check box.


Match case

If you want to match capitalization exactly, select this check box.


Hex

To search for an hexadecimal string you must select this check box.


Direction

To specify the search direction, select the Up or Down option. The Up option will search from the top of the window to the beginning of the file. The Down option will search from the top of the window to the end of file.


Find Next

Choose the Find Next button to start the search. To find the next occurrence of the text, choose the Find Next button again.


Mode

You can choose from two different modes:

Text	File is displayed as text.

Hex	File is displayed in hexadecimal notation with position in the file on the left and text on the right side.

View It attempts to auto-detect the type of file to view and should open the file window in the right mode.


Font

You can choose from three different fonts:

System Fixed	Fixed size (non-proportional) bold font.

MS Sans-serif	Variable font (proportional) non-bold font. Best for long lines.

Dos (IBM-PC)	Dos fixed (non-proportional) bold font. For dos text with graphic characters

You can have different fonts for Text and Hex modes.


Next

This menu command is only valid if there are more than one file opened. It will bring the next file window to the forefront.


View It properties

You access the properties for View It by right clicking on it's icon. The following dialog box will appear:

Click on any item for more information.


Windows positions

Using radio buttons you can choose from three different arrangements of opening file windows.

Cascade

File windows will open in the center of the screen each a little lower and to the right of the preceding window.

Maximize

File windows will open fully maximized.

Keep positions

File windows will keep the size and position that you give them.


Default Fonts

You may set default fonts for both Text and Hex mode. These fonts will be the default when a file window is opened.

You can choose from three different fonts:

System Fixed	Fixed size (non-proportional) bold font.

MS Sans-serif	Variable font (proportional) non-bold font. Best for long lines.

Dos (IBM-PC)	Dos fixed (non-proportional) bold font. For dos text with graphic characters


Keys

Esc	Closes the file.

Page Up	Move one full page up.

Page Down	Move one full page down.

Up Arrow	Move one line up.

Down Arrow	Move one line down.

Home	Go to top of file.

End	Go to end of file.

Left Arrow	Shift window one character to the right.

Right Arrow	Shift window one character to the left.

Ctrl-Left Arrow	Shift window ten characters to the right.

Ctrl-Right Arrow	Shift window ten characters to the left.


Zip It

Zip It is a PKZip and PKUnzip shell. Zip It will keep a list of the files or directories you drop on it. When you have dropped as many files or directories as you wish to include in the zip, you use the Files to zip dialog to specify the zip file name and to call PKZip to create the zip. If you drop a single zip file on Zip It you will be given the choice to either add the file to the list of files to zip or to unzip the file. Using the Zip file dialog you will be able to select files to unzip and specify a path for the extracted files.

You zip files by dragging them on the Zip It icon in one or more drops. You then access the files to zip dialog by double clicking on the Zip It icon. You can change the properties of Zip It by right clicking on the Zip It icon.

A little document will appear in the lower left corner of the icon when Zip It has files to zip.

Files to zip

Zip file

Zip It properties

The utilities PKZip and PKUnzip are required. They are trademarks of, and can be obtained from:

PKWARE, Inc.

7545 N. Port Washington Rd.

Glendale, WI 53217


Files to zip

This dialog box gives access to previously dropped files.

Any field followed by this sign is a drag and drop field. You can drag a file or directory from a files window (right side) of the File Manager instead of typing it.

Click on any item for more information.


Files for zip
Files

You can pick one or more files from the list box to be included in the zip or removed from the list, using the buttons at the bottom. If no files are selected and you press either the zip or remove button you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them. Files included in a zip are automatically removed from the list of files to zip. For convenience all files are selected when entering the dialog.


Destination zip file pathname

A default pathname, that you can change, is given. If the pathname for the zip file already exist, you will be asked if you would like to destroy the old zip file or add the files to it.


Zip

Pressing this button will zip the selected files. If no files are selected you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them.


Remove files to zip
Remove

Pressing this button will remove the selected files from the files to zip list box. If no files are selected you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them.


Zip file

This dialog gives access to the files inside a zip file

Any field followed by this sign is a drag and drop field. You can drag a file or directory from a files window (right side) of the File Manager instead of typing it.

Click on any item for more information.


Zip name

This is the full pathname of the zip file you are working on.


Files to unzip
Files

You can pick one or more files from the list box to be extracted. If no files are selected and you press the zip button you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them. For convenience all files are selected when entering the dialog.


Selected file(s) information

This area shows information about the selected files. If more than one file are selected, the size informations are the total sizes for all the selected files. If only one file is selected you will also get it's date and time.


Path for extracted files

A default path, that you can change, for the extraction of files.


Unzip

Pressing this button will unzip the selected files. If no files are selected you will be given the opportunity to act on all of them.


Add

Pressing this button will add this zip file to the list of files to zip instead of extracting files from it. This is in case you wish to include a zip file inside another.


Zip It properties

You access the properties for Zip It by right clicking on it's icon. The following dialog box will appear:

Any field followed by this sign is a drag and drop field. You can drag a file or directory from a files window (right side) of the File Manager instead of typing it.

Click on any item for more information.


Path to executables

Here you specify the path to the executables PKZIP.EXE and PKUNZIP.EXE. They must reside in the same subdirectory. If the path to these executables is included in your PATH statement, you can leave this field blank. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'.


Store file paths

This tells PKZip to include the full pathname of all the files added to the zip file.


Recurse subdirectories

This tells PKZip to include all the subdirectories found under directories that you have dropped on Zip It. If you do not check this option, only files directly under the directories dropped on Zip It will be included in the zip.


Store recursed dir paths

This tells PKZip to include the partial path of subdirectories found under directories you have dropped on Zip It. This option is only valid if the Recurse subdirectories option is checked and has no effect if the Store files paths option is checked, since full paths will be included.


Default path for zip file

Here you specify a default, existing path where you wish to have the zip files created. You will always be able to override this default path when creating the zip file. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'. If you leave it blank, Zip It will query the File manager for the current path and use it as the default. You will always be able to override this path when zipping files.


Path for temporary files

Here you specify an existing path for temporary files. You should specify your fastest disk drive to speed up zipping. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'. If you leave it blank, the same directory as Zip It will be used for temporary files.


Create directories

This tells PKUnzip to recreate the directory structure included in the zip file.


Default path for extracted files

Here you specify a default, existing path where you would like PKUnzip to put extracted files. If you specify a path that has a subdirectory in it, you should not include a trailing '\'. If you leave it blank, Zip It will query the File manager for the current path and use it as the default. You will always be able to override this path when unzipping files.


Show sending

The Show sending option is enabled by default. A window will pop up after you have dropped files on Zip It displaying the names of the files being sent to the zipper. You also can cancel the on going operation using the provided button.


Show on drop

The Show on drop option is enabled by default. The files to zip dialog box will be opened automatically when you drop files on Zip It. If you build your zip using multiple drops, you may want to turn this option off and call the files to zip dialog box by the menu or by double clicking on the icon.


Update File Manager

This option is enabled by default. Zip It tells the File Manager to update it's Windows after calling PKZip or PKUnzip. Since these programs are run under DOS, the File Manager is not aware when new files are created. This can be a long process and you may wish to do it manually. If so, uncheck this option. To do it manually, you can either press F5 in the File Manager's Window(s) you want to update or simply go out of then back into the subdirectory you want to update.

You may also have Windows track any changes to the file system while in DOS by changing the setting of 'FileSysChange' in section '386Enh' of SYSTEM.INI to 'on'. You can use notepad to edit your SYSTEM.INI file. It should then look like this:

[386Enh]

<other entries>

FileSysChange=on

<other entries>

You must restart Windows for this setting to take effect. You should uncheck the 'Update File Manager' option so the File Manager will not get updated twice. You should be aware that 'FileSysChange' affects every DOS program under Windows. Microsoft warns that 'Enabling this setting can slow down system performance significantly'.


Load It

Load It is a loader for the It Utilities for Window's File manager. Load It will add a menu extension to the File manager that will enable you to load the It Utilities when you desire. You can also have Load It load and/or unload the It Utilities when the File manager is started and/or exited. Windows 3.1 is needed since earlier versions of Window's File manager did not support menu extensions.

Load It menu

The Load It menu is accessed through the Load It menu command of the File manager menu. The about menu command simply pops-up the standard about box with copyright notice. The help menu command gets you here. The other choices are:

Load It Utilities	Load the It Utilities

Properties

Load It is added to the File manager using the [AddOns] Section of WINFILE.INI. This file is located in your Windows directory. If you move Load It, you will have to edit WINFILE.INI to reflect the change. Also the executables started by Load It MUST reside in the same directory. If the default path was used when installing, this section would be:

WINFILE.INI	[AddOns]

Load It=C:\ITUTIL\loadit.dll


Load It properties

The It Utilities can be automatically loaded or unloaded when you start or exit the File Manager. You may wish to turn this off if you would like to use the launching capabilities of the It Utilities when working in other programs than the File Manager.

Click on any item for more information.


Load the It Utilities

Checking this option will make Load It start the It Utilities whenever you start the File Manager.


Unload the It Utilities

Checking this option will make Load It close the It Utilities whenever you close the File Manager.