RMBAK32 

by Bob Swanson

A windows 32-bit backup file finder/deleter program. 
Updated to November 21, 1998.

This program was written using Borland CBuilder 3.

It is designed to be a very simple user assistant.
Most "finder" programs, such as the one that comes 
with the Windows Explorer is too complex to use, especially
for finding "backup" files. An example of the more 
troublesome backup files to find and eliminate are
generated by Word 97. This program makes that
process quick and simple.

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Initial Use

If you install the "INI" file that comes with
this package, you will have a starting place
for backup file types. You will still want to
reset the disk drives to search. The best way to
do this the first time, is to select the
"Disk Drives" tab and press the "List All Drives"
button.

If you choose not to install the "INI" file,
the following will happen:

When the program is invoked for the first time,
it looks for (and won't find) a file in
the system area (drive:\WINNT for NT 4.0,
and drive:\WINDOWS for Win 95/8) called
"rmbak.ini". It will construct this file
on its own, using the currently available
hard drives on the machine as the basic
search set. Each drive to be checked is
listed in the INI file as:

"drive[number]=flag

"flag" is 0 (don't search) or 1 (search)

The "number" is the set 0 through 25, where
0 represents drive A, 1 = B, 2 = C, down to 25 = Z.
These flags are manipulated by the "Drives"
tab on the main display, and you don't have
to change the INI file manually, unless
there is a severe problem.

Since the program won't find a set of search
strings for identifying backup files, it will
tell you that it is using ".bak" as the one
and only search string.

The program will also initially come up for a 800x600
screen. When you resize the window, the final size and
location will be remembered in the INI file. However, be 
warned that the program may not look so good on a 640x480
screen.

Once the INI file is set up, the program will
read it, and rewrite it with changed values
for every invokation of the program (not of
the search function!). Multiple instances of
the program will yield unpredictable results!

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You can manipulate the search strings used to
identify backup files. The example INI file in this
ZIP release contains some useful items, including
those files you should remove after using CBuilder
3. Some of its temporary files are VERY LARGE!

You can alter the strings, using the "Search Strings"
tab. Highlight any string you want to remove, and 
press the "Remove Selected String" button.

You can add a new string using the "Add String" button.

Note that search strings are used as is. There are
no wildcards, the program simply looks for the string
imbedded in any filename (not the path) seen
on the selected drives.

Empty search strings are ignored.

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

Aside from the INI file mentioned, the program does
not alter the Registry, and can live in its own
directory. To install, just copy the files to
a working directory. Note that you need to copy
the "rmbak.ini" file to your system area, if you
want to use the example defaults for the program.
The "system area" will probably be "drive:\WINNT" 
for NT 4.0, and "drive:\WINDOWS" for Win 95/8. Quite
often, the "drive:" is the C: drive, but you should
check your own system for the exact drive used.


To uninstall, just remove the files from the
directory into which they were installed (and rmbak.ini, 
if you wish).

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

While a search for backup files is active, a popup
window will appear containing an "interrupt" button.
If you click the mouse on the "interrupt"
button, the program will quit within
a short time. You may process any of the files
that already appear.

The "interrupt" is not available on the pull-down
menus, but most other functions are present
there.

The hot buttons are present in this design, since
the most common use of the program is to
hit RETURN to start the search, and then
select the files to be removed.

Note that you can copy the current list of found
backup files on the clipboard. Thus, the list can be
processed by any program of your choosing, such
as a text editor (for saving and/or printing).
I purposely did not put a print function in the
program, since users have such differing preferences
as to print formatting and characteristics.

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Unfortunately, the usual disclaimers apply. We live
in a society with too many possible legal actions. Simply 
said, this program is provided AS IS. I have made every
effort to prevent the program from causing any
harm, but cannot warrant it as such, since so much of
the programming model is out of my hands (see Borland,
now Inprise, for more disclaimers yet).

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

Copyright 1998, Robert Swanson

You may use the program freely as long as the
copyright notice and package contents are maintained 
in their original form.

If you find this program useful, please send $10 US
to:

Bob Swanson
P. O. Box 387
Bay City,  MI  48707  USA

e-mail: rds@swansongrp.com
