Bill Reid's FolderWatch 2.0 for Windows95
Copyright Bill Reid 1996, 1997  All Rights Reserved
breid@ebicom.net

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Changes made possible by funding from:
Telcom Network System, Inc.
Ann Arbor, MI
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Function Summary:

Program provides an automated method of keeping up with additions to / deletions
from a particular set of folders.

Short Description:

Designed to help me keep up with new files being posted on our network that 
demand my attention.  Select the folder, the conditions under which you want
to be alerted and let it watch.  The next time a change meeting your specs occurs, 
you'll be alerted.

Functions:

FolderWatch appears as a tray icon.  Right clicking the icon gives you a menu of functions.

-Configure: Show the configuration dialog, setup FolderWatch parameters
-Exit: Close the application graciously
-(Folders): Open any watched folders (explained below)
-Reset Menu: Reset watch notifications (explained below)

In the Configuration Dialog you have an opportunity to set up to 5 watches.  In order to
start a watch, you must check the "Active" box and select a folder to watch via the "Set 
Folder" button.  For each watch, you can specify if you want to be alerted for files added
or removed from the watched folder.  Leaving both unchecked basically uses up your machine
time to examine the folders but does not alert you - so it's not real wise to do so. Unchecking
the "Active" button will end the watch, but not clear any values you have entered, so it's 
safe to use this check to temporarily disable a watch.

For each watch, you can choose if you wish to be alerted by a dialog box that will pop up
on your screen or a change in the tray icon.  Checking the "Send message on folder change"
will send you the dialog box on every change; leaving it unchecked will update the tray icon
only.  If you choose to send a message, you can specify a custom message to appear in the
dialog - otherwise a default one will be generated.

Active watches appear on the right click menu between the Exit and Reset Menu options.
If you specify a custom message as above the menu option will be this message.  Otherwise
a default path string will appear there.  When a watch detects a change, a check will be 
added beside this menu option.  The menu option to "Reset menu" clears all of these checks.
("Re-initializes" the watches that were set off)

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This may be a bit confusing off the bat, so let me summarize:

If you want an immediate, attention-getting alert on the watch, check the "Send message on
folder change" option.  Specify a custom message if desired.  Any change will send a message
box to the screen where you will have to respond to it.  The right click menu will continue
to be updated.  The dialog itself will give you the option to proceed immediately to the 
folder (since it's important enough to warrant your immediate attention, this option saves
time in opening the folder in question to observe the changes made).

If you're just "keeping up" with the folder and don't need your work interrupted, uncheck
the "Send message on folder change" option.  When a change occurs, the tray icon will 
change.  You can right click and observe the checks on the menu to see which watches have
been set off.  The checks are only reset by your choosing to open the folder (or the Reset
menu option) through the program by various means, so you can ignore the tray alerts until
you get ready to without worrying about "missing" a watch.
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In both cases, clicking the menu resets the icon to the normal "nonmodified" state.

On the Configure dialog's "Options" screen are several user-definable values:

-Interval for folder check: # of seconds between folder scans.  Entering a value outside
 the specified range resets the box to the default 5 seconds.
-Double click launching:  Double clicking the tray icon opens a window for each watch that 
 has a check by this option.  The reasoning is that for watches you may wish to quickly 
 open a group of them for inspection - highly valuable at startup time.
-Keep window on top: Configure dialog will "float" above other desktop windows
-Alert sound: Make the computer beep on any alert situation.

The Configure dialog's "Hide" button hides (minimizes) the Configuration dialog.

Each watch also has its own "Open Folder" button that does just what it sounds like.

FolderWatch also saves its values between loads.  So if you set a watch and shut off the
machine for the night, when it starts up again it will let you know if the number of files
in the watch have changed since the program was last executed.

Although some of these options may seem convoluted, after working with FolderWatch for
a while you will immediately see the benefits to its highly functional interface.

Requirements:

The Visual Basic Runtime files and Windows95 common controls, not included in this
archive due to space limitations.  If you're having trouble finding these, I suggest 
doing a search at Carl & Gary's Visual Basic Site, a highly comprehensive source.

Licence:

Bill Reid's Folderwatch is offered as freeware.  This means that although I retain the
copyright to this program, you are free to use and distribute it without
making payment of any sort to me as long as the program or archive it is distributed in
is not modified in any way.  You are not licensed to resell the 
product by itself or as part of a larger package.

I would appreciate your comments by email.  Email is cheap enough that it
won't inconvenience you and I'd just like to know how many people actually 
got some use out of this program.  I also need your suggestions to make the
application the one you've always wanted it to be.

Support Policy:

As I receive no payment for this program, I guarantee no support of any
kind.  You may send questions via email, and I will attempt to answer 
them at my leisure, but use of this program in no way guarantees technical
support of any kind.

Disclaimer:

I do not guarantee (expressly or implied) that this program is suitable for
your use or free from bugs.  Every effort has been made to properly test it
for my own use, but this is not to be seen as a statement of quality.  You
use this program at your own risk; I will not be held responsible for any
losses incurred as a direct or indirect result of using this program.

