USING PARTITIONS AND FILES

The best practice is to store application programs on one partition and all work or data files on other partitions. If everyone kept copies of the various application programs in their workspace partitions, the Hard Disk Memory would become full of duplicated programs. By having a single partition devoted only to programs, everyone can share their use without massive duplication. Also, since application programs are often upgraded, having everyone share a single copy on the SYSTEM partition ensures that everyone has access to the latest version.

Section 2.12.1 below describes how to move from one partition to another, and section 2.12.2 explains how to use programs stored in one partition and data files stored in another.

2.12.1 CHANGING DRIVES AND PARTITIONS.

Whenever you are using your workstation you are 'logged' to one of your four drives and the partition assigned to your logged drive is the one you are accessing. In a sense the logged drive/partition is like an open file drawer, and unless you specify otherwise, whatever you do will relate to that drive and partition. If you ask for a file and do not specify a partic-ular drive, the computer will automatically search the open partition. If you enter a

command the computer will assume you mean it to affect the partition on the logged drive unless you tell it otherwise.

If you are accessing the A drive (and whatever partition is assigned to that drive) you will see the 'A Prompt' (A». To change to another drive (and of course the partition assigned to that drive) you simply type the letter of the drive you wish to go to, a colon, and a carriage return. Thus A>C:<CR> would log you to the

e

'e

Prompt' (C».

NOTE---You cannot access a partition unless it is assigned to one of your drives. If you wish to access a partition not assigned to one of your four drives, you must first use the ASSIGN command to put it on one of the drives.

See section 2.11.5.

2.12.2 FILES, COMMANDS, & PARTITIONS.

Just because you are logged to one drive and partition does not mean that you are barred from the other partitions assigned to your various drives. You can easily specify that a command or file operation is to affect some other drive and the partition assigned to it merely by using the other drive's letter and a colon.

FILES.

Often you may wish to use an applications program even though you do not have a copy of the program stored in the partition assigned to your logged drive. You can easily bring a

another drive/partition into your computer's workspace. This is done from the command prompt by typing the letter of the drive/partition where the file is stored, a colon, the file's name, and carriage return.

For example, B>A:XYZ<CR> would bring a temporary copy of the XYZ program from the partition assigned to drive A and allow you to use it with with your files stored on the partition assigned to drive B. Any data files that the XYZ program created or altered would continue to be stored on B (the logged

drive/partition).

While you are using a temporary copy of that applications program in your station's workspace, other network users could also be using temporary copies of the same program to work with in their own partitions on their own workstation.

NOTE---When invoking a program for use it is not necessary to include the file type identifier (e.g., .COM or .CMD). Only the part of the file name before the period need be used.

For example, D>A:THIMK<CR> would call up the THIMK.COM program.

Of course, as soon as you exit the program, reset your workstation, or turn it off, the temporary copy of the program would disappear from your station's workspace. (If you wanted a permanent copy of the program stored in your partition, you would have to use the PIP command as explained in section 3.6.)

COMMANDS.

Many programs can also operate across partition barriers. This is done by adding the letter of the drive you want the program to affect, and a colon, to the end of the command

invoking that program. For example if you were in drive A and typed DIR you would get a

directory of the files on drive Ai but if you typed ^{DIR B:} you would get a directory of the files in the partition assigned to drive B.

THE COLON.

When used in a command, the colon (:) signals the computer to open a partition

assigned to a particular drive. There are three ways to use the colon to direct your work on drives and partitions.

1 .) Letter, colon, RETURN orders the computer to change the logged drive to that of the specified letter.

2.) Letter, colon, filename, RETURN tells the computer to look for that file on the drive of that letter and bring it into the station's workspace.

3.) Command, letter, colon, RETURN tells the computer to carry out the command on the drive specified by the letter.

For example:

C>A:ACROSS.PAR(CR> means open the partition assigned to drive A, bring a temporary copy of file ACROSS.PAR into the workstaton's memory and remain logged on to drive C.

C>DIR D:(CR> means apply the DIR command to drive D while still remaining logged to drive C.

Here are some of the different ways you can use the CP/M drives to work with partitions and files.

A)B:<CR)

B)A:ASSIGN<CR)

B)SD D:<CR>

B)A:SD D:<CR)

Change logged partition.

Use a program that is

stored in another partition.

Apply a program to one or more files in another partition.

Use a program stored in one partition and apply it to another partition.

2.12.3 PARTI'1'I<»J SIZES AID DIRECl'ORY SPl\CE

If you work with many small files, such as letters and memos, you must be aware of the limits of the directory space in your partition.

The space that is available to store the directory of the files limits the number of files you can have on the partition but does not affect the size of the files. For example, on a

512 Kbytes partition, there can be stored only a total of 128 files, even if each file has only 2 Kbytes stored in it. Therefore, even though only half of the partition is filled with files, you would not be able to add any more files.

In a situation like this you would get a Directory Full error message on your screen when you try to save the 129th file. This would

result in the loss of the file you were working on.

To prevent this kind of problem, be sure to routinely clean out old files from your parti-tion especially if you have a lot of small

letters and memos. Some word processing programs create a backup file for every original file you edit. This can quickly fill up the directory space of a small partition. Be sure to erase the backup files for those jobs that are completed and printed. You should also store important old letters and memos on clearly labeled Floppy Diskettes.