January 5, 1990 DAILYRUN REVISION HISTORY ========================= It seems there's an obsession with virus protection these days. Below is the information about the ORIGINAL DAILYRUN.EXE file as reported by McAfee's VALIDATE utility. If you don't have this utility I suggest you get it. If you run VALIDATE on your copy of DAILYRUN.EXE and the reported statistics match the ones below, you have the original file. If there is something that's different (especially the two CRC values!!), then your copy has been tampered with and is not identical to the one originally released by the author. If you suspect that someone has tampered with the documentation and changed the values below, please contact me for the true CRC values. The file verification information for DailyRun v3.13 is: File Name: DAILYRUN.EXE Size: 49,344 Date: 1-5-1990 File Authentication: Check Method 1 - FCBE Check Method 2 - 0EE3 ** NOTE: The above information will be updated for every future release of DailyRun. Version 3.13 (January 5, 1989) ------------------------------ * Previously, DailyRun would run tasks if the datestamp on the configuration was DIFFERENT from the system date. DailyRun will now only run the tasks if the datestamp on the config. file is an EARLIER date than the system date. * A new optional command can be placed in the configuration file. If the # symbol is placed on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th line of the configuration file, then any text following the # symbol ON THE SAME LINE will be treated as the description of that config. file. This description will be displayed before DailyRun executes your tasks, including when the /R switch is used. This is a handy feature if you're using several configuration files and want to keep track of the tasks run by each one. Version 3.12 (December 27, 1989) -------------------------------- * Fixed minor glitches. * DailyRun now has a built-in "timer" that times how long DailyRun is active. DailyRun will report with an "Elapsed time" message when it has finished running on its sign-off window. * DailyRun has grown in size by 15K due to my change in window/menu units. The main reason for the switch is the power of the new units and there was no way to get rid of "snow" with the old unit. If you have a CGA (like me), you'll notice that the snow will no longer be there. * On the choice menu in DailyRun (when *ask* is in the config. file), there is now context-sensitive help. The choices are quite self-explanatory, but should you need help, it's there. Version 3.11 (November 22, 1989) -------------------------------- * Added /W switch which will disable "exploding windows". It's handy if your machine's BIOS has a bug which causes the machine to lock up during an exploding window routine. * Added command processor detection. If missing (as specified in the COMSPEC environment variable), DailyRun will quit with an error message and an errorlevel of 5. * Removed "Revision History" section from the DAILYRUN.DOC file. There's no point in having this info. in two places and to take up unnecessary space. Version 3.10 (November 12, 1989) -------------------------------- * On the 'signoff' window after running your tasks, there will now be a message stating whether all the tasks were completed or if they were aborted (via ESC key at pause prompt). If they were aborted, DailyRun informs you of how many tasks were not run as a result of the abortion. * Added authenticity information for DAILYRUN.EXE, as reported by McAfee's VALIDATE utility. * Increased DailyRun's filename interpretation "intelligence". For example, if you specify a config. filename of ABCDEFGHIJKLM, DailyRun will now chop off the excess characters and leave an 8-character filename. Similarly, if you specify ABCDEFGHIJK.OOP, DailyRun will interpret it as ABCDEFGH.OOP, again making the filename 8 characters long (the maximum length for DOS). * Removed executable documentation file (DAILYDOC.COM) from package. This file has proven to be unnecessary since most people use a utility such as V. Buerg's LIST to view their text files. The ASCII documentation file has also been renamed to DAILYRUN.DOC. * Added 'free bytes' and 'total bytes' value display on the DailyRun ID window. The values are for the current drive (indicated in brackets). * Added /D switch to disable the search for and display of free/total disk space info. The search sometimes causes a short delay, and this switch can be used to avoid it altogether. * Added *ALLPAUSE* statement for config. file. If placed on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd line of the config. file, DailyRun will pause after EVERY task. * Added *ALLNOCLEAR* keyword for config. file. If placed on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd line of the config. file, DailyRun will not clear the screen and will not display the 'Running Task #??' message before EVERY task. * DailyRun now has a limit of 999 for the amount of tasks that can be run. I doubt that anyone would run an amount even close to that number, so there should be no problem. In any case, you can split up your tasks into several config. files. If more than 999 tasks are encountered, DailyRun will display an error message and will exit with an errorlevel of 4. * Fixed minor display bug. Version 3.01 (November 3, 1989) ------------------------------- * When using the *PAUSE* statement, the prompt for pressing any key will now allow you to abort DailyRun. By pressing ESC at that prompt, DailyRun will not run the rest of the tasks (if there are any left), and will quit there, telling you how many tasks were run to that point (as usual). Version 3.00 (October 30, 1989) ------------------------------- * Added monitor type detection for MONO, CGA, EGA, MCGA, and VGA monitors. * Added display of time when DailyRun starts and display of time at the end of executing the tasks. * Completely changed DailyRun's date comparison logic. Instead of creating the DATESTMP.FIL with the date placed inside it, DailyRun will now use the datestamp of the DAILYRUN.CFG file for comparison with the current system date. This results in an increase in speed, diskspace (hey, 2K is 2K!), and the size of the DAILYRUN.EXE file has not increased even with the new features added. If you want to change the datestamp on the DAILYRUN.CFG file manually, you'll need to use an external utility such as Norton's FD (File Date) to accomplish this. * DailyRun will now automatically search the current directory and the directories specified in your PATH string for the DAILYRUN.CFG file. The ROOT directory will NO LONGER be automatically searched. The current dir will be searched first. If DAILYRUN.CFG isn't found there, the directories in your PATH will then be searched. If you want the ROOT dir searched, you'll have to include it in your PATH string along with the other directories. This is a new file-searching method that's much more flexible. If you choose to specify an alternate config. filename on the command line, you must enter the full path and filename of the file (as usual). * DailyRun will now display filenames in "expanded" form. This means that the drive and directory of the file will be automatically displayed together with the filename. * Added optional *ASK* statement for configuration file. If placed on the FIRST line of the config file, and DailyRun runs for the first time that day, you'll be asked if you want to execute the tasks or quit (just to make sure). If this statement is not in the config. file, DailyRun will omit the prompt. Read the section "The *ASK* Statement" earlier in the manual for details on using this statement in the cfg file. * Added optional *NOCLEAR* statement for configuration file. When placed before a task, this statement will suppress screen clearing and the 'Running Task #??' message before running that task. * Added errorlevel 3 if DailyRun can't find DAILYRUN.CFG in the current dir or PATH. Errorlevel 2 is now used only if DailyRun can't find the config. file specified on the command line. * When DailyRun displays the current date, it will now display the day of the week. * Cursor display is no longer disabled while running a task. Control of the cursor should be left entirely up to the task program. With some programs, the absence of the cursor can be very annoying. * Added DAILYRUN.HST revision history file for easy viewing of update news without going through the whole manual. Version 2.30 (October 4, 1989) ------------------------------ * Added /R switch, making it possible to run the DailyRun tasks more than once per day. * Added help screen, which can be invoked using the /H switch. * Control-Break aborting was disabled. If DailyRun was aborted in the middle of running, strange things occurred in DOS. * Added ability to enter an alternate configuration file filespec. The filespec, if used, must be the FIRST parameter on the command line, when loading DailyRun. * Added display of DOS version on DailyRun's identification window. * Before updating the datestamp file, DailyRun will check if it is marked READ-ONLY. If for some strange reason it is, DailyRun will remove the read-only restriction and will proceed with the updating. The datestamp file should NEVER be marked read-only, but if it is, DailyRun is ready for it! * Added 2 different errorlevels for the 2 error messages. * Fixed the 'Year' part of the date. * When DailyRun finished its run, the DOS command line would be placed on the last (24th) line of the screen. It will now be placed closer to the 'signoff' window, making it more attractive if there are other things to be run after DailyRun. * Made a few minor cosmetic changes. Version 2.20 (September 1, 1989) -------------------------------- * DailyRun now uses "exploding windows" to display some of its messages. * Changed "Execute DailyRun Tasks Now [y/N]?" question into an "exploding menu". The options 'Yes' and 'No' are now point-and-shoot options, meaning that wherever the highlight bar is, and [ENTER] is pressed, that choice is executed. * Fixed display of dates. If the month or day is lower than 10, a '0' will now appear in front of it. --> The first two changes are a result of an excellent windows unit for Turbo Pascal (TPW 7.3), written by Rick Fothergill. Version 2.10 (August 23, 1989) ------------------------------ * Fixed a small cosmetic bug. * Added current date/datestamp file date comparison status messages. * Added optional pause '*PAUSE*' statement in DAILYRUN.CFG. If placed before on a line before a task, you will have to press a key to continue after the task ends. * DailyRun now only searches the ROOT directory for the DAILYRUN.CFG and DATESTMP.FIL files. This avoids a mess if you run DailyRun from different directories, in which case you'd have DAILYRUN.CFG and DATESTMP.FIL lying all over the place. Version 2.00 (August 20, 1989) ------------------------------ * Initial public release; beta bugs fixed & many cosmetic changes made