
   [the file may be CRLF delimited,less won't have problem with it:)]

   ------------------------------------------------------------------

   VF File Manager for Unix/Linux ( VFU )
   by Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade" <cade@biscom.net>
   http://www.biscom.net/~cade/vfu

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE THAT CONTAINS `I'M USING/EVALUATING VFU'
   TO <cade@biscom.net>. I WANT TO KEEP TRACK OF THE INTEREST IN VFU!
                                                      Thanx.adv! Cade
   ------------------------------------------------------------------

   [0] CONTENTS:

   [0] CONTENTS:
   [1] DISCLAIMER AND LICENSE
   [2] Distribution notes
   [3] Installation notes + vfu.conf description
   [4] Usage notes
   [5] FAQs
   [6] TO DO
   [7] Troubleshooting
   [8] HISTORY
   [9] Author/contact/end notes

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   [1] DISCLAIMER AND LICENSE

         VFU is distributed AS IS w/o warranty of any kind.
         The author does NOT guarantee problem-free work
         with VFU and He will not be liable for any direct
         or indirect damages resulted from the use of VFU.
         During the tests of VFU no damages or problems had
         been noticed.
         ( this is the old disclaimer note, but it is still true  )

         Since version 1.41 VFU is distributed under the GPL
         ( GNU General Public License ). See the `COPYING' for
         the full GPL text.

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   [2] Distribution notes

     - it is supposed that only source packages will be distributed
     - however sometimes binary packages will be released but not often
     - VFU packages are named in this way:

       vfu-X.xx-source.tgz       -- source package for version X.xx
       vfu-X.xx-bin-platform.tgz -- binary package for version X.xx
                                    for `platform' platform

       examples:

       vfu-1.44-source.tgz
       vfu-1.44-bin-linux-glibc.tgz
       vfu-1.44-bin-linux-libc5.tgz
       vfu-1.44-bin-dos.tgz

     - only .tgz packages are released, however I could pack .zip's
       if requested.

     When obtain new version always check HISTORY section in this
     document -- it often contains some usage notes/explanations!

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   [3] Installation notes + vfu.conf description

     1. If you have problems with screen, export your terminal type,
        for example:

        export TERM=vt100

        Well, I suggest first to try without this ( TERM is required
        by the Curses library if it cannot find terminal type )

     2. by default VF/U uses Joe for text editor and Less for text browser
        you can change this in the vfu.conf file or via environment:

        export EDITOR=joe
        export PAGER=less

        NOTE: you CANNOT give `%f' or other macros here! if you want to
        do it -- do it in the vfu.conf file.

     3. vfu.conf file:

     $HOME/.vfu/vfu.conf
     or
     $HOME/$RC_PREFIX/vfu/vfu.conf   ( please read CONFIG file )
     or
     /etc/vfu.conf
     or
     /usr/local/etc/vfu.conf
     or
     /usr/local/vfu.conf

     vfu.conf options:            | option description
     -----------------------------|----------------------------
     editor=shell-line             your (text) editor command (joe %f)
     browser=shell-line            your browser/pager command (less %f)
     pager=shell-line              same as 'browser' (cat %f|more)
     ; -note: you should try first the internal browser
     ;        to do so just leave `browser/pager' option out!

     presetdir0=dirname/path
      preset favorite dirs Alt+1
     ...
     presetdir9=...
               Alt+9
     dir1=...                      these are aliases for presetdir1
     ...                           ...
     dir9=...                      == presetdir9 etc.

     cGREEN=.ext.ext.ext.          which files are GREEN
     chGREEN=.ext.ext.ext.         which files are Light(Hi) GREEN
     cBLUE=...                     ... BLUE
     ...

     ux=descr,key,.exts.,shell-line define user external command

     ---eof-----------------------|----------------------------

     See sample `vfu.conf' from the VFU pack.

     some examples:
     1. add "presetdir5=/usr/bin" to vfu.conf
     2. press "`" + "5" and vfu will change directory to "/usr/bin"...
        (or press alt-5 on some terminals)

     3. cBLUE=.cpp.c.h.cxx.
     4. cYELLOW=.zip.Z.tgz.gz.

     5. UserExternals example:

        ux=TEST ZIP,KEY_F4,.zip.,unzip -t %f
        ux=View HTML,KEY_ENTER,.html.htm.,lynx %f

     6. UserExternals keys are:
        F1   -- F1
        F10  -- F10
        #F1  -- SHIFT+F1
        #F10 -- SHIFT+F10
        @F1  -- ALT+F1   (not available under Linux)
        @F10 -- ALT+F10  (not available under Linux)
        ^F1  -- CTRL+F1  (not available under Linux)
        ^F10 -- CTRL+F10 (not available under Linux)
        IC   -- `Insert' key
        INS  -- `Insert' key
        INSERT -- `Insert' key
        ENTER  -- `Enter' key

     'shell-line's may contain these macros:

     %f  -- replaced w. current filename (w/o path)
     %F  -- replaced w. full pathname of the current file
     %e  -- current file name without extension
     %E  -- current file extension
     %s  -- current file size
     %c  -- current path ( with slash at the end )
     %C  -- startup path ( with slash at the end )
     %R  -- re-read directory content after shell
     %?  -- prompt for user input and replace it in. if you press
            ESC shell will be aborted.
     %i  -- auto increment position after user external command
            (i.e. as if you press DownArrow after exec)
     %n  -- don't clear and redraw screen on user external command
     %w  -- wait a key after shell. replaced w. `' (i.e. empty string)
     %x  -- replaced w. `x'. `x' can be any char that doesn't recognized
            as any of the previous macros. so `%%' becomes `%',
            `%^' -> `^', `%A' -> `A', etc.

     DOS version only:
     %_  -- use short file names (SFN) for %f and %F
     %\  -- use backslashes for paths

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   [4] Usage notes

     1. Archives support
        VFU supports archives as kind of storage/directory, so you
        can enter into archive, browse/view the files, select some
        of them and copy/extract to somewhere.

        Supported archives are:
        ZIP -- PKZIP 2.04, InfoZip unzip 5.12
        TAR -- TapeArchiver
        TGZ -- TapeArchiver+GZIP (tar z)
        GZ  -- alias for TGZ ( may be disabled )
        BZ2 -- TapeArchiver+BZip2
        TBZ -- alias for BZ2
        ARJ -- ARJ 2.41
        RAR -- RAR 2.00
        LZH -- LHarc 1.14
        FTP -- ftparc utility (supplied with VFU package)
               provides FTP support!

        Of course all these archives are supported through the
        appropriate external executable!

        WARNING: some of the following archivers notes/limitations
                 may be out of date!

        Limitations/Notes:
        -- UC2 -- still cannot open .uc2 files on read-only devices
                 (I cannot imagine why UC2 should try to write when
                  the only thing is to report archive contents!?)
                  Workaround: when UC2 report write-error you
                  should answer `A'-Abort and everything will be
                  just fine.

                  I could NOT find way to print file directly to
                  the console/stdout with UC2. Actually there is
                  one alternative -- you have to change this line
                  in AIP-NL.INI file:

                  PRINT-FILE = COPY % PRN ^ ECHO + > PRN
                  to
                  PRINT-FILE = cat %
                  or
                  PRINT-FILE = type %

                  This is needed to view files from .uc2 archives.

        -- LHA -- my version (1.14) doesn't support list files
                  (@listfile -- this is big problem)
                  so you can only browse/view files from LZH's

        -- RAR -- All zero size files are not read from the file
                  list -- these files are accepted as directories.
                  (Well, really there is a dir-attribute but I cannot
                  rely on it for compatibility reasons)

        -- JAR -- same as RAR but not for compatibility reasons :)
                  Also cannot print files to stdout.

        -- ZIP -- for compatibility reasons and for LFN's under Win95
                  (s*** anyway) zip files are handled with
                  InfoZip/unzip utility. However if you haven't
                  unzip you can use pkunzip through this BAT file:

                  ---cut-here---
                  @echo off
                  pkunzip %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
                  ---cut-here---

                  Just name it `unzip.bat' and place it somewhere
                  in the PATH directories.

        -- FTP -- this is considered FAQ and is moved to the FAQ
                  section below...

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   [5] FAQs

     1. What is `TP' field on the third line?
        This stands for "type" and means:
        [] -- directory
        <> -- link to directory
        -> -- link
        ** -- executable
        ++ -- character device
        ## -- socket
        () -- FIFO (pipe)
        == -- block device
        -- -- regular file

     2. Does VFU follows directory links when calculating directory(ies) size?
        No. :)

     3. I cannot see entire filename?
        Try '>' -- it will show only filenames... or
        Try options/toggle `1'..`6'.

     4. What means this `!' at the end of the directories sizes?
        It means that the shown size is taken from the directory entry info,
        but not exact size of all files in it. Press `z' or `Z' to
        calculate real size of the directory (the sum of all files' sizes
        in it). Note: this can hardly be seen by now :)

     5. Do I need to set `HOME' environment variable under DOS, and where
        it is supposed to point?
        Yes. In general, the HOME directory is used to keep all
        configuration and status files. Well, if you don't set it, VFU
        will accept the VFU starting directory as HOME.
        But keep in mind that VFU is UNIX file manager in nature so
        it can use HOME under DOS for something else in the future,
        so it is recommended to set it. ( just to be safe )

     6. How can I use `JumpToMountpoint' function under DOS?
        The information for this function comes from the `/etc/mtab'
        file. This file always show currently mounted file systems.
        Under DOS platform the only way is to simulate this file, which
        is quite simple -- You have just to create `_vfu.mtb' file in the
        HOME directory. The example content of this file is:
        ---cut---
        -        c:/
        -        d:/
        -        j:/
        ---cut---
        Please note the leading `-', it must be here. However you can
        add whatever you want ( I mean paths ), but normally you just
        should add roots of all drives.

     7. I've just created `some/newdir' in the current directory. VFU
        reported no error, but I cannot see it.
        Well, you just have to hit 'r' to reload directory content.
        I know this may be confusing at first, but you'll get used to
        it quite fast. :)

     8. What `ExitCDHack' option means?!
        I couldn't find way to change working directory form inside VFU,
        and exit with it (I suppose this cannot be done?). `bash' always
        returns to the working directory in which I've started VFU. So... if you want to use that do following:

        -- turn `ON' the `ExitCDHack' option ( VFU will save needed exit
           directory to `HOME/.vfu.hcd' )
        -- put this command into `.profile'
           ---cut---
           alias vf="vfu; cd \`cat ~/.vfu.hcd\`; rm ~/.vfu.hcd"
           ---cut---
        -- done.

        After this you can use `q' to exit VFU and cd to the VFU's current
        working directory.

        NOTE: DOS version should work without this -- the `q'uit function
              will work alone.

        *if you have problems with this option, please send me message*

     9. What is `Name###' sort order? And why should I RTFM?! :)
        Well, you have to RTFM 'cos this `Name###' is not much meaningfull
        I think.
        So... the example follows:

        file names are: `vs011.txt', `vs04.txt', `vs030.txt'
        sort order is : `Name'
        the result is : `vs011.txt', `vs030.txt', `vs04.txt'

        sort order is : `Name###'
        the result is : `vs04.txt', `vs011.txt', `vs030.txt'

        And in a few words: if the file name (until first dot if exist)
        ends with number, VFU will sort them in regard to the numeric
        values found at the ends of the filenames.

        NOTE: This mode drops all after the first dot (for now)!
        NOTE: This mode will be replaced with normal `Name' sort
              order when restart VFU.

    10. How is done the tilde expansion in VFU?
        It works only in standard input line for getting directory
        name which is used for: chdir, copy, move... it won't work
        in vfu.conf or anywhere else.

    11. Whenever I type a file mask it becomes different (with `*' to
        the front or the end). Why is that?!
        This is mask expansion -- it is explained below. If you don't
        like it you can turn it off form the `Options'
        (key `O' or Alt+O)

    12. What are the mask expansion rules?
        If no `*' or `?' found in the mask then:
          1. add `*' at the end
          2. if mask starts with `.' then add `*' to the front
        else
          1. leave it `as is'
        Just try it -- if you don't like the expansion -- switch it
        off: Options(Toggles)/FilesMaskExpand and FileFindMaskExpand.

    13. Can I browse/view more than one file at the same time?
        Yes! You have just to select needed files and press 'B'
        (browse). Then use `1'..`0' to switch between files/slots.
        The limit is 10 files.

    14. What `Show Real Free Space' option means?
        Most of the operating systems keep users from filling the
        entire disks. So there is two `free spaces' the one is the
        `real free space' ( i.e. physical one ) and `user free space'
        which is the free space available to any user.
        By default VFU shows the free space available to the user.
        If you want to use the real free space count -- turn this on.

    15. How can I use the FTP support?
        VFU supports FTP protocol via external utility called `ftparc'.
        It main function is to handle FTP sites as archive files, i.e.
        to support (l)ist, (ex)tract, (p)print/pipe functions through
        FTP protocol. All you need to use FTP support is:

        a. to compile ftparc utility ( from the ../ftparc directory )
           and place it somwhere in the PATH.

        b. to create needed FTP file archives:
           example:

           create plain text file:

           cade-at-jane.ftp
           ---cut---
           jane.tetida.org
           cade
           password
           ---cut---

           This file has to contain three lines: host, username and
           password.

        c. Then from inside VFU press `+' or `ENTER' to enter FTP site
           just as it is plain archive file.

           More details could be found in the README file with ftparc.

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   [6] TO DO

     1. ...

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   [7] Troubleshooting

     1. If you get `Segmentation fault/Core dumped/SIGABRT/etc...'
        on VFU launch try first to erase `vfu.options'/`_vfu.opt' file
        from your home directory and try to restart VFU.

     2. After editing of `vfu.conf' file from inside VFU you
        should restart the program to reload properly some
        options/user-externals.


   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   [8] HISTORY

       NOTE: This chapter is moved to external file: `HISTORY'

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   [9] Author/contact/end notes

   that's all for now ...

   If you cannot understand something (?) feel free to send mail to me.

   NOTE1: I WILL BE GLAD TO RECEIVE YOUR BUG REPORTS AND/OR ADVISES!

   NOTE2: PLEASE,... READ NOTE1!

   NOTE3: DO CHECK [ http://www.biscom.net/~cade/vfu ] OFTEN!
          THERE MIGHT BE NEW VERSION...

   Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski `Cade'. <cade@biscom.net>

   An emergency (:)) address is <cade@iname.com>

   ------------------------------------------------------------------
   EOF
