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                               ZSVSTAMP.COM                                   

             Size (recs) CRC   Version    Author/Latest Issue      Disk
               2k (14)   4FC4  0.1        Howard Goldstein 88      Z3COM13

  1- Syntax  2- Automatic Mode  3- Manual Mode  4- Customization              

   ZSVSTAMP saves the create date/time stamp of a given file in memory.   At a
later time,  ZSVSTAMP can restore  the create  stamp to  a file.   This can be
useful when  modifying  a file with an editor that actually creates a new copy 
of  the file rather than modifying it in place.   ZSVSTAMP allows the original 
creation date of the document to be retained.

   In order to support all types  of date stamping under ZSDOS,  ZSVSTAMP uses 
the get/set stamp functions of ZSDOS (or ZDDOS) and thus may only be run under
these operating systems.   It  also requires ZCPR3 with multiple command line, 
external  FCB and message buffer.   If ZSVSTAMP is run  on a system that  does 
not meet these requirements,  the program will abort with  an error message.
:1

   Syntax:  ZSVSTAMP approg [dir:]filename.typ -- save/restore create stamp

            ZSVSTAMP [dir:]filename.typ /S or /G -- save create stamp

            ZSVSTAMP [dir:]filename.typ /R or /P -- set create date from saved 
                                                    stamp

            ("approg" is the actual application program 
             to be run on "[dir:]filename.type".)
:2

Automatic Mode:

   This mode is  the most commonly used.   It is extremely well suited for use 
in  alias scripts and can make  the whole process of saving and restoring date 
stamps virtually transparent to the user.  The syntax is:

   ZSVSTAMP approg [ufn]

where "approg" is the program,  such as  an editor,  that you  wish to run and 
"ufn" is an unambiguous file name to be modified by "approg."  When  a command
of  this type  is given,  ZSVSTAMP  saves "ufn"'s  creation  date in protected 
memory.   It  then  causes  "approg" to  be run,  and  when "approg" finishes, 
ZSVSTAMP is automatically run again to restore the  original create  stamp  to
"ufn." If "ufn" does not exist, or if the disk does not support date stamping,
ZSVSTAMP displays a warning message and immediately passes control to "approg"
without attempting to save a stamp.   In this situation, ZSVSTAMP is not rerun
when "approg" completes execution.


Automatic Mode (continued):

     Some editors allow a syntax such as:

     EDIT oldfile newfile

When  ZSVSTAMP  is  invoked  with  more   than  one  parameter  following  the
application name,  no stamps  are  saved  or restored.   This feature  can  be 
disabled if desired, (see the section on customization).
:3

Manual Mode:

   Manual mode can be used to save or restore a file's create stamp.  The 
syntax is:

   ZSVSTAMP ufn /G or /S

to Get or Save a file's create stamp, or:

   ZSVSTAMP ufn /P or /R

to Put or Restore a saved stamp back onto a file.
:4


Customization:

   There are  five configuration  flags located  near  the  beginning  of  the 
program.   Each flag  is preceeded by  an ASCII string  to  help  identify its 
function.  These flags may be patched to customize ZSVSTAMP as desired.

   The first four flags determine whether  or not various warning messages can
be displayed when ZSVSTAMP is being run in Automatic Mode.   Setting a flag to
0 disables  its associated message;  any other value enables the message.  The
flags  are labeled "NOSTMP,"  "NOFILE,"  "READERR," and  "UPDTERR,"  and  they 
affect the "Disk has no time/date stamps," "File not found," "Can't read time/
date stamp,"  and "Can't update  time/date stamp" messages  respectively.  The 
program is distributed with all four messages enabled.  Please note that these
flags have no effect in Manual Mode where error messages are always enabled.



Customization (continued):

   The fifth and final configuration flag is labeled "REPLALWS." It determines
what ZSVSTAMP will do  when  more  than one parameter follows  the application 
name in an Automatic Mode command.  If the byte following the "REPLALWS" label
equals 0, ZSVSTAMP checks to see if there is more than one parameter following
the  application program  name.   If there  is,  ZSVSTAMP simply  exits to the 
application  without saving  or updating  any stamps.   (This  is the  default 
setting in the distributed version.)   If the "REPLALWS" flag is non-zero,  no 
such check is made.  
