VIC-20 Disk Menu

[Boray]

Name: DIRPLUS V4.0
Author: Anders Persson
Genre: Utility / File browser / manager
Code: Basic, compiled basic and machine language
Requirements: unexpanded or expanded Vic-20 (fully expanded is optimal), or C64, Plus/4, C16
Description: File browser for SD2IEC, based on vic disk menu

Download on the web page:
http://www.boray.se/commodore/dirplus/index.html

Release notes:
News in V4.0 (August 2020)

* WELCOME TO THE VIC-20! There is now a Vic-20 version. But let's start with what's new in DIRPLUS as a whole:

* LOADING DIR IN THE BACKGROUND (C64/Plus4) The directory is loaded while you can browse around and use DirPlus. You can go ahead and start a program and not bother about if the dir has been completely loaded or not. You will literary see the file list being filled in while you browse. You can use all navigation and marking keys while it's loading. If you use any other function, then the loading is stopped and you continue with what you have. The title/path bar is blue if the whole dir has been loaded and orange otherwise. The bottom status text (page 1 of 3...) is orange if the dir is loading and blue if the loading has stopped (doesn't need to be complete). So the color combination of these two will give you the current dir status:
Orange + Orange = The directory is being loaded.
Blue + Blue = The loading is ready and the file list is complete.
Orange + Blue = The file list is not complete. The loading was stopped by user activity other than navigating and marking.

* IMPROVED PATH HANDLING (C64/Plus4/Vic-20) Something that has bothered me since the very first DirPlus release has now been solved and this came as a result of the Vic-20 development. Strangely enough, the SD2IEC has no command for getting the path of the current directory. So, before, if you wanted to copy something, you had to make sure that you had visited the root dir and then DirPlus could keep track of the path. No need for that any longer. The path is automatically traced from the current directory to the root and then back. (Because of this, the G=Guess command has become obsolete and removed. The G key has been reused for something else (see below)).

* ALTERNATIVE SEARCH (C64/Plus4/Vic20) When using the U key to load the directory, you can now choose a CBM dos pattern and only filenames matching the pattern will be included. If you have a huge directory, this will be radically faster than the normal search function. This is especially useful on the Vic-20 which lacks the normal search function and also can't hold too many file names in memory. A pattern could be *.d64, omega* or ????.txt for example. (But two stars doesn't work, eg *gammon*. Use the normal search function for that.)

* FILE INFORMATION (C64/Plus4/Vic-20) You can now press G to GET some information about the file. On the Vic-20, you will get the file's loading address in HEX and DEC as well as the file size. On the C64 and Plus/4 you will also get an educated guess of what the file is, for example a program for 8K expanded Vic-20 or a koala painter picture.

* A NEW AUTOMATION FEATURE (C64/Plus4/Vic-20) File names ending with .k are now automatically Shift-Return loaded. In other words, when you press return to load it, your cartridge will be killed after loading and before running. On the Plus/4, soft jiffy will be disabled instead. So, the .k extension stands for KILL. (I had actually started to rename files to remind me when to use shift-return to load, so automating it in DirPlus came as the next natural step).

* A FIX (C64) If you don't have a cartridge that can be killed (or if it's killed already), then Shift-Return (or .k extension as above) will work anyway instead of giving you a syntax error. Then you can use it to just load a program ,8,1 instead of ,8.

* ANOTHER FIX (C64/Plus4) The function to PUT the D Run/Stop starter started failing for me, maybe because I updated the SD2IEC firmware. This is now fixed by using other names for temporary files.

* THE VIC-20 VERSION (Vic20) There is now a Vic-20 version of DirPlus! Well, DirPlus originates from the Vic-20 program "Vic Disk Menu" and now, this program has been reintegrated into DirPlus. Daddy has come home to the DirPlus family so to speak. Be aware that the Vic-20 version doesn't have any error handling, so you have to observe for yourself that you got the result yo wanted. For example, if you want to move a file, then make sure after the copy that you see the file in the destination folder before going ahead and deleting the source. There are two versions, one for expanded Vic-20 (V40EX) and one for unexpanded (V40UN). The correct version is choosen automatically of course. The expanded version has more functions but not as many as the C64 and Plus4 versions. It doesn't have the picture viewers for example. Most of the features are there but implemented with limited memory in mind. The global tools feature works in another simpler way for example. The vic-20 versions has extra Vic-20 specific features, such as automatic memory configuration depending on the program you try to run and automatic starting of cartridge images. The optimal is to have a fully expanded Vic-20 and then it will degrade to unexpanded or 3K expanded automatically when needed. Soft jiffydos is selectable at startup and can be allocated to three different memory blocks, 0 (the 3k ram expansion), 3 or 5. You have to have ram expansion in the choosen block (of course) and you can not use that block for other things at the same time (of course). If Dirplus finds sjload in the memory after a reset, it will restart it without any questions.

Here follows the changes since vic disk menu V28 (which it was based on):
+ Integrated into Dirplus. Start with LOAD"//:D",8. The old vic menu can actually co-exist on the SD card without problems if you like (but why would you?).
+ Key adaptions. Which keys to use has been matched to those of DirPlus.
+ Use pattern search while loading dir (see above).
+ Disk Format was removed to prevent from accidents.
+ Tool links (global tools)! This works in a quite different way compared to C64 and Plus/4, but the purpose is the same: To run an external tool but remain in the current directory. It works like this: Put the tools you want to reach this way in the folder //DIRPLUS/V/TOOLS/ and give them short meaningful names that you will remember. When you want to start one of the tools from DirPlus, first press K and then just type the tool's name you want to start. It will be started and you will remain in your current directory. Very simple and memory efficient. (Works on the expanded version only and not inside of disk images).
+Now works with other boot device unit numbers than 8. Unit number is visible in the main screen.
+Q key to quit.
+Cursor keys also for page navigation. Also for going to the first and last file on the first and last pages.
+T key for built in text viewer (expanded version only). Files with .txt extension are viewed automatically. The text viewer is very very limited compared to the C64/Plus4 versions. You can view petscii texts and ascii texts (with reversed case).
+Shift-Return to force load ,8,1 (expanded only)
+Files with a start address not ending with $01 are loaded ,8,1 automatically. +Shift-L to load but not run. (expanded only). Tip: If you want to disable sjload after loading and before running something, then use Shift-L to load, then press runstop+restore and then run.
+F key to create New Folder and Shift-F to remove an empty folder.
+16 character support line for rename and new folder.
+You can now see all 16 characters of the filenames.
+8 and 9 keys for quick re-dir.
+Different colors for the two different versions (blue for 40EX and green for 40UN) so that you will know right away which version you are running.
+You can now copy files! First mark the files with M, then press C to copy and V to paste. A special feature of the Vic-20 version is that you can add an extra extension to all destination filenames in one go.
+A-key to mark all files and then toggle to no files.
+G key to GET informatioin about the file (loading address and size).
+New special Vic-20 feature: You can now easily autostart two-part cartridge images. Mark both files and then press Shift-M (for multiload). Note that Shift-M does something else in the C64 and Plus/4 versions (special marking feature).
+The Turbo/Memory config screen was made into an external module to save space.
+Various fixes and speed-ups.

To upgrade Dirplus to V4.0, just copy everything from the downloaded DIRPLUS folder to your SD card's DIRPLUS folder. Also replace the D starter in the root directory. This is extra important for the Vic-20 version to work.


(mod: this post moved from announcements to here, essentially duplicate intro post in the thread here deleted and new announcement post with link to here re-instated in a somewhat more compact form ...)

[Mike]

Hi, Boray,

Files with a start address not ending with $01 are loaded ,8,1 automatically.

you maybe should consider special-casing the $10F1 load address of MINIGRAFIK picture files. When loaded with ",8" to the normal BASIC start of $1201 (with +8K RAM or more) they expose a BASIC stub that starts the built-in display routine with RUN.

Greetings,

Michael

[Boray]

Thanks for that suggestion.