This is a thread I came across because although I was aware that 1.3 did not show folders/files if they did not have a corresponding INFO file I was wondering if there was a tool to automatically do it. From what I know so far, tools like DirectoryOpus can create INFO files for you, but I am not sure about anything that can do so recursively. Furthermore, when I create a new directory in DOpus the visual of the drawer is different to those used elsewhere and I get some weird artifacts when opening it up.
My Amiga 500 uses the ACA500+ (plus additional expansion cards) which allows flash cards to be inserted. The problem is, I often find myself copying over files from the PC onto the flash card and, of course, they do not always have INFO files. Thus, when inserting the flash card into the Amiga I get the disk icon - great. But, when I open the disk there is nothing there! In the most annoying cases, I have a folder in the disk that does not have an INFO file, but all the files in that folder have an INFO file: I am left thinking, if only the folder in the disk had an icon I would be able to freely browse using the GUI.
So, I decided to create RINFO which is officially released as of version 4: https://aminet.net/util/wb/rinfo.lha.
I have also posted a video demonstrating its usage: https://youtu.be/CPgIdDDbBtk.
All the information can be found by running:
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RINFO /?
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USAGE: RINFO <PATH_TO_DIR> [<DIR_INFO>] [<FILE_INFO>] [/F/D <NUM>]|/V|/E|/?
<PATH_TO_DIR>: Path to source directory to create INFO file
<DIR_INFO> : Path to INFO file that will be used for directories
DEFAULT: SYS:System
<FILE_INFO> : Path to INFO file that will be used for non-directories
DEFAULT: SYS:Prefs
/F : Also create .info files for files
DEAULT:OFF
/D <NUM> : Subdir depth to create info files
DEFAULT:0
/V : Version information
/E : Display examples of using RINFO
/? : Print this usage information
Note : <DIR_INFO> and <FILE_INFO> do not need to be paired, you
supply one or both and in any order. RINFO will assume that
if an INFO is supplied that is a directory then that shall
act as <DIR_INFO>. RINFO will not overwrite INFO files
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RINFO /E
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Example0 : RINFO <PATH_TO_DIR>
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result : Creates an INFO file for the specified directory if one
does not already exist. Same INFO file as that used for
SYS:System
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Example1 : RINFO <PATH_TO_DIR> /D 1
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result : The same as Example0 except all folders within
<PATH_TO_DIR> will also have INFO created if non already
exist
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Example2 : RINFO <PATH_TO_DIR> /D 2 /F
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result : The same as Example1 except any files (i.e. non directory)
also have INFO created if non already exist. Non-directory
INFO file will be the same as the one used for SYS:Prefs
but the INFO file will be a PROJECT type and will open with
SYS:Utilities/notepad. Additionally, any directories within
<PATH_TO_DIR> are examined and INFO files for directories
and files are also created becase DEPTH of 2 was specified
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Example3 : RINFO <PATH_TO_DIR> <DIR_INFO>
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result : The same as Example0 except <DIR_INFO> is used as the INFO
file for the directory rather than the default SYS:System
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Example4 : RINFO <PATH_TO_DIR> <DIR_FILE> /D 1
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result : The same as Example1 except the non-directory files within
<PATH_TO_DIR> use <DIR_FILE> as their INFO file
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Example5 : RINFO <PATH_TO_DIR> <DIR_INFO> <DIR_FILE> /D 99 /F
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result : Create INFO files for everything, including <DIR_INFO>,
where directories use <DIR_INFO> as their INFO file and
non-directory files use <FILE_INFO> as their INFO file
The point is, this tools creates INFO files and can do so recursively. You can provide your own INFO files if you prefer and RINFO should be smart enough to figure out what type of INFO file you are providing. If you provide a directory type then it will use that for all directory types. If it is a non-directory type then it assumes that it shall use it for non-directory type files if you have used the /f switch, of course.
I need to clear up something in the last paragraph and in the video: when I say "provide your own INFO files" - you should not select the INFO file but the non-INFO file. If that is confusing then you can see me doing that in the video.
The machine used in the video is an Amiga 500 with 1MB chip memory, ACA500+, ACA1233n. So, it is a fairly non-stock machine running a 42MHz 030' and has about 140MB of Fast Memory! But, rinfo will work on lesser machines too. However, I would not recommend running it with a massive depth on a root directory with many, many sub directories in case you run out of memory since it uses a recursive algorithm to examine folders.
The general expectation is that rinfo will be used to just create INFO files for a directory and perhaps a few sub-directories. Clearly, the /f switch is not particularly useful unless you really do want to open non-directory type files in notepad. All I can testify to is that it has been useful for me when I have inserted a flash card and found that I cannot click on a directory!
Lastly, and probably really importantly: people do not always like using the command line. But with DOpus you can just add a button and configure it anyway you like. This is also shown in the video. Although, if you are using DOpus anyway then you do not need to create INFO files!
Thank you,
Ryan.