Introduction

The problem: you know that one of your many CD-ROMs contains a certain program, but how to find it? Browsing through each of the CD-ROMs is time consuming and cumbersome since many CD-ROMs don’t have one single file with the contents, but many smaller files such as FILE_ID.DIZ or FILES.BBS with program details.

With CDROMLIB you may make a library of your CD-ROMs: for each CD-ROM it makes one library file which is stored on your hard disk. You can examine all of these files at any time using a file manager (my favorite is Ztree), a text search program or Windows’ Find function, specifying the text you search.

Starting the program will show a simple window with only three command buttons. Clicking on "Check CD-ROM" produces a library file with of a number of files of the CD-ROM and directory names. You may check the contents of the library file by clicking "View/Edit".

The files that are copied to the library file and other settings are specified in a file called CDROMLIB.INI that you may change to suit your own needs. The button ‘Settings’ allows you to edit the file CDROMIB.INI (more details below).

Installation

Simply copy all files to a directory of your choice and run CDROMLIB from there, no hassle with installation programs, no changes in your registry! You may wish to make a shortcut to the program from a convenient place.

How It Works

Activating CDROMLIB will first check CDROMLIB.INI for the default settings and read the command line options that may change the defaults.

Clicking "Check CD-ROM" will get the volume label of the specified CD-ROM. If this file is not yet in use, CDROMLIB will use this as name for the library file. If such a filename already exists, or if the CD-ROM has no label, the user will be prompted to specify a library filename.

CDROMLIB will then check the subdirectories on the specified drive. It will first add the name of the subdirectory to the library file.

Next, CDROMLIB will try to find the first filename specified in CDROMLIB.INI. If this filename is present in the directory then it will be appended to the library file, if not, a check will be done for the second filename, etc. Per subdirectory only one file will be added to the library file: the first filename from CDROMLIB.INI that is found.

All subdirectories on the drive will be checked, unless the 'subdirectory depth' (level) exceeds the specified number.

CDROMLIB.INI

If the file CDROMLIB.INI does not exist yet and when the program is run for the very first time, a new one will be created with default values.

Below are the variables specified in CDROMLIB.INI and an explanation following each line.

CDROMLIB.INI file. See CDROMLIB.DOC for Details

This is a title line without further meaning; it is not processed.

Drive=D:

This line specifies the letter of your CD-ROM. When the program is started for the very first time it automatically detects the first CD-ROM drive letter in your PC.

Full=FILE_ID.DIZ DESCRIPT.ION FILES.BBS

This variable specifies the files that will be appended to the library file in their full length. Filenames are separated with spaces.

Short=READ.ME README.TXT README.1ST README.DOC

Only the first part of these filenames will be appended (See next line)

ShortLength=1000

The files specified by the variable ‘Short’ will be truncated to this length.

CheckDirName=1

If the filenames specified as ‘Short’ or ‘Full’ are not found and the variable CheckDirName=1 then files with the same name as the directory name with extension .TXT or .DOC are searched for and appended if found.
As an example: suppose the directory name is PUPILS. Then the program will also search for the file PUPILS.TXT and then for PUPILS.DOC.

Level=3

This specifies the maximum depth of subdirectories that will be examined.

DirInfo=1

This specifies that each of the appended files is preceded with the directory name. If this value is 0, there will be no directory names in the library file.

AllDirs=1

If Alldirs=0 then the directory names will only be copied to the library file if a file is found. If AllDirs=1 then all inspected directory names will be copied to the library file.

Overwrite=0

Normally an existing library file will not be overwritten, but the user is asked for an alternative filename. If Overwrite=1 then the existing file will be simply overwritten.

Some More Details on File Specifications

CDROMLIB does not check for the validity of filenames as specified for ‘Full’ and ‘Short’ and does not support wildcards (* and ?) and spaces.

CDROMLIB does not search for an exact match of the filename specified: when you specify FULL=READ, then the first filename containing the word READ will be appended. For instance, this may be DO_READ.ME or README.EXE! When you specify FULL=.BBS, than the first filename found with a .BBS extension would be included to the library file.

• The first thing you would normally do is to check if the CD-ROM has a contents file that you can use!
• After the library file is made it makes sense to edit the file (click "View/Edit" directly after the file is made) and remove unwanted information or add info you may want to insert.
• If you wish to restore the default settings (which work fine most of the time), simply delete the file CDROMLIB.INI. When the program is run again it will automatically generate the default one.
• If you want to uninstall the program, simply delete the files in the directory where you installed it and you’re done!
• For DOS fanatics a DOS version (not supporting long files names) is also available.

Registration

You do not need to register this program. CDROMLIB is Kissware; that is, it is Freeware, provided you agree with the condition mentioned below. I know that many computer fanatics tend to spend much time hammering on their keyboards neglecting the needs of their partner. Therefore, this program is delivered to you under the following condition:

-->> Each time you use this program you give your partner a kiss. <<--

Have no partner yet? Find yourself another positive relational goal, for instance, for one time don't give your mum a hard time!

Disclaimer

The program is delivered on an as-is basis: it is believed to be error-free, but exceptional circumstances may exist where bugs can show up.
No responsibility whatsoever will be accepted by the author. All consequences for the use of this program are for the user. Legally this should be formulated differently, but this is clear enough I would say! If you don’t agree, do NOT use the program.
If you experience any difficulties, or have ideas on how to improve the current program, please notify the author who will be happy to hear comments and suggestions for improvements.