

DirWork 2
Complex commands reduced to a single mouse click.

As intuitive as Amiga DOS 3.0 is, there is still a need for a rapid fire, point and click interface to handle most disk functions and file handling. That need has been met elegantly by a thorough upgrade of an old favorite, DirWork, now DirWork 2.

Many menu and directory utility programs have been written to handle disk and file-handling functions for novice and average users. A few of these programs offer advanced functions for power users but, these usually carry a steep price in terms of memory. One shareware product which was highly successful offering both basic and advanced functions, while making low memory demands, was the program, DirWork, by Chris Hames. Today, with the commercial release of DirWork 2, Chris Hames presents a tool that should delight everyone who owns an Amiga.

Ads claim DW2 is "the world's 1st totally configurable directory utility." Well, a quick look at this program proves they aren't kidding. It's amazing what this program can do. Not only configurable, but extremely powerful and, DW2 does it all with remarkably low memory consumption.

What does it do?  Well, it works with Amiga DOS 1.3 to 3.0, providing solid and fast file manipulation for novice users and near infinite customization and scripting capability for power users. Taken for granted with any good disk/file handling utility is the ability to copy, move, rename, delete, or deprotect any file or directory, invoke Amiga DOS commands and perform disk operations such as formatting. But, how many other directory utilities can be configured to recognize IBM format disks?  DW2 sports unlimited, fully configurable menus and programmable hotkeys. Just a mouse click can play SoundTracker and MOD files, display system information, pictures and icons. DW2 is fully 3.0+ compatible and supports AREXX. Simply put, this program makes operation of your Amiga a whole lot easier.

Installation and Fine Tuning
Certainly nothing could be easier than installing this program. Within minutes of opening the box DW2 was installed and running on my hard drive but, there is no reason it couldn't be used on a floppy-based system. The included Configuration Editor creates a text-based config file which you can tailor to your exact preferences and needs. You can also use one of the config files thoughtfully included with DW2 and `tweak' it as your needs grow. By the way, Super.cfg is an excellent first choice for all round ease and power. Almost any modification can be done with the Configuration Editor, and it may be deleted from your working disk if space is needed. For the most exacting fine tuning of DW2, the text-based config file may be directly edited with your favorite text editor but, as the manual warns; direct editing of the config file is only meant for advanced users. Most users can get exactly the results they want by examining one or more of the included config files and using the Configuration Editor to modify their favorite config file to produce the same results. Multiple config files may be stored in memory and called up on the fly or even simultaneously for multiple DW2s with different configurations.

Like other directory utilities Directory Works 2 uses a `source' and `destination' filelist format. Unlike other utilities DW2 can display any file information you choose to see in any order you choose to see it. Things such as date/time, size, comment, number of files selected, total files, etc. Buttons can appear anywhere on screen and be of any size you like with any font. Though, of course, a 40 point font still won't fit an eight pixel button.

File and directory operations are only a click to highlight and a click to select whatever action you wish to perform on them. DW2 can operate on multiple files and directories, can recognize file patterns and can even remove an entire directory all at once, with or without bothering to ask you if you really want to remove a non-empty directory.

This utility does everything with incredible ease and intuitive grace. To check or change protection bits, click outside the filelist, alongside the file you wish to inspect. This brings up a window with all selectible bits on individual gadgets as well as a line to read/enter comments. Have you forgotten which file contains that perfect phrase you sat up all night to get just right?  DW2 can find it for you and report all instances of your phrase in any number of files then report the line number and show the context of each occurrence.

For Writers, Artists and Music Lovers
Editing text or script files is a breeze. Once you select a file you can look at it with the built-in text viewer in ASCII, ANSI or HEX. This viewer allows searches, and prints the entire file or just the page shown. If you want to edit your file, click the edit button and the text viewer exits while loading the file into your favorite text editor. It is worth noting that the text viewer will show powerpacked files if you have the latest powerpacker.library but, it does not warn you that the file is powerpacked. So, unless your editor can read powerpacked files you may be in for a surprise. One solution is to print the file from within the text viewer since it will automatically decrunch files. Using CMD you can redirect output to a file in memory and edit that. Of course, you have PowerPacker or the file wouldn't be packed in the first place but, this solution is quicker than calling another program.

Speaking of quick, DW2 can be programmed to perform the entire sequence above with only two clicks of the mouse. Perhaps you have used utilities that could automatically recognize certain types of files and perform operations on them. DW2 excels yet again in this regard. In addition to operating on text files, it plays 8SVX sound samples at their sampled rate, as well as ProTracker and SoundTracker MODs. You can highlight several MODs and play them sequentially. DW2's configurable Instant Action Types can show both selected and unselected icons together and, display IFF and HAM pictures, even if power-packed, or very large files. The built-in picture viewer provides very smooth scrolling to view those large images as well as cursor, arrow and keypad movement. DW2 can display and print all datatype pictures, yes, even while it's playing your favorite MODs.

Instant Action Types can be taught to recognize almost any type of file and to perform whatever action you desire. With a three button mouse or keypress combinations the number of options are unlimited. LhA, for example, might view, freshen, extract, compress, etc., at the click of a single mouse button. By the way, working with LhA exposed a potential pitfall. Although it is not a problem with the program, the manual should warn you to put quotation marks around the expression "%p%f" in all config files if you have filenames with spaces in them. DW2 seems to support any archiving program although none are included with this package. In practice, I only found one program of any kind, a CLI-based text analyzer, that I couldn't get to work with DW2 in just a few minutes.

Hidden Menus
If you don't need to see a filelist, DW2 can easily create a multi-column menu to wait invisibly on your workbench and run virtually all operations. Anything DW2 can do from an Instant Action Type or programmable button can be done from its user configurable menus as well. Pull down menus seem to be a far better solution than programmable hotkeys. Of course you know your personal hotkeys should be unique key combinations but, programmers may want to use exactly the same key combination. If DW2 is "sleeping," waiting in the background with no visible window or screen but still active, those hotkeys may interfere with, or be the same as, some obscure program function call. Better by far, and now easy, to let the DW2 menus wait on the Workbench screen.

But wait, you say, why would you want a program to be constantly running in the background?  So you can instantly call it forth to work its magic. So that while it `sleeps' you can use its mouse accelerator, `sun mouse' feature, screen blanker and let it stop your drives from clicking. Also, `awake' or `asleep,' DW2 will automatically check each disk inserted for non-standard bootblocks and empower its System Monitor to record any attempted system access by all programs. This can be very useful to learn which files programs are searching for, if they will not run, or modifying, if they do.

I don't know of any directory utility that does so much with so little memory. Configured to do everything I could dream of and a little bit more, Directory Works 2 weighs in at just over 100K active memory but, when iconified or `asleep,' ready to be awakened by user-selected keystrokes, it takes even less memory.

This utility contains so many really useful built-in utilities it's like a swiss army knife...there's always something in there to get the job done. Furthermore, combining these utilities, takes much less memory than having to load each one and it's light-years faster than having to search for each one just when you happen to need it.

"...so much with so little..."
A good example of the built-in abilities of DW2 is a very complete Disk Operations window. Here, even novice users can copy, direct or from memory buffer, to up to four disks at once. All those confusing disk commands with the impossible to remember CLI syntax; OFS, FFS, Cache, International, verify, format quick, etc., are reduced to simple buttons. "DiskOp" claims to work with the new High Density drives but, while I was unable to verify this, the speed of these disk utilities is impressive. Comparing a `format without verify' between DW2 and SuperDuper, a dedicated disk copier/formatter, reveals DW2 is only slightly slower at 43 seconds vs 35 seconds. That should be fast enough for even power users. If not, when was the last time your blazing disk formatter played your favorite MODs and displayed an IFF slideshow while it was formatting all those disks?  Humm?

On the other hand, I did run into some problems transferring files on floppies between an A1200 and an A4000, when the disks had been formatted with DW2. Checking the disks before and after formatting, with QuarterBack Tools, revealed a "Bitmap Contents Incorrect" error was generated on each disk as it was formatted. DW2, itself, did not recognize this error when it performed a disk check.

Although the spiral bound users' manual, is in need of an index, it is very well written and well organized, once you understand that the first half of the manual is devoted to explaining configuration via the Configuration Editor and the last half is trying to explain direct entry via editing the text-based config file. Despite all the warnings, sooner or most users are going to try editing the config file directly. When you are ready for that step, study the included config files carefully. They aren't difficult to understand and it seems every function has been used in one or more of them.

There was only one function which I could never get to work on my A1200, the `Hunt' function. This is supposed to search for a file matching a user-specified pattern but, mine just sat there and stared back at me. Also, I could never get the filelists to fully expand after iconifying DW2. They always looked like "Figure 2." On startup and `awakening,' the filelists behaved normally so, if you experience similar problems, just put DW2 to `sleep' instead of iconifying it. Yes, you will probably have to use a hotkey combination to awaken it but surely, you can think up one safe combination. According to Quasar Distribution, a free patch should be available as you read this to fix minor bugs reported by users.

Other than the above, DW2 only has one limitation which I can find; it will only allow you to open two filelists. The solution, however, should be simple; open as many DW2s as you need, even if they have different configuration files.

In Conclusion
In summary, I can think of no other utility which I would rather have than this one. Nor can I think of any one more thoroughly satisfying utility which does as much as this one does in such a small package. Whether you are a novice or an experienced programmer, if you can only afford one utility, heck, even if you can afford 20, this is the one to have, hands down a winner.
