FILE MANAGER NDA'S FOR THE APPLE IIGS
Reviewer : Wayne Short
Copyright (c) 1990 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.


Drat! You just ran out of disk space and needed another formatted disk...If you quit your program to initialise a disk you lose your work. Or, you simply want to rename, copy, or delete a file without having to quit to the Finder. Well, you can now perform these and other "housekeeping" tasks without having to quit the program you are using. You can now accomplish file management tasks with some handy New Desk Accessories (NDAs) for the Apple IIGS that will save you countless hours of time and frustration!!
DISK ACCESS from Seven Hills Software is a full-blown application in a desk accessory! Everything you can do with the Finder can be done with Disk Access. DESKTOP FILE CONTROL, from Roger Wagner Publishing, has similar capabilities but is limited to working with one file at a time (the exception is file deletions). The table below compares their features:

                         Disk Access    DeskTop
                                        File Control
----------------         ----------     ----------
Version                  1.0            2.0
Price ($US)              $49.95         $24.95
Computer Model           IIGS           IIGS
Memory Required          768k           768K
Operating System         GS/OS 5.0.x    GS/OS 5.0.x

FILE MANAGEMENT
Catalog                  Yes            Yes
Copy                     Yes            Yes
Delete                   Yes            Yes
Move                     Yes            Yes
Rename                   Yes            Yes
Verify                   Yes            No
Lock/Unlock              Yes            Yes
Hide/Unhide              Yes            Yes
Deny Access              Yes            Yes
Change File Types        Yes            Yes
File Finder              Yes            No
Display Text Files       No             Yes
Multiple File operations Yes            Limited

DISK MANAGEMENT
Rename                   Yes            Yes
Initialise               Yes            Yes
Zero                     Yes            Yes
Eject                    Yes            Yes
Copy                     Yes            No
Verify                   Yes            No


Like the finder, both NDA's properly handle the data and resource "forks" found in the "extended" files introduced with System 5.0.
At $25 (USD), DESKTOP FILE CONTROL offers better value for money while being slightly more limited in function.
I am not aware of either program being marketed in Australia at this stage, however two likely sources are:
   * TWO SERIES SOFTWARE  - phone (02) 606-9343
   * TECHFLOW  - phone (063) 551-988

      DeskTop File Control - Version 2.0
      Copyright (c) 1990 by Roger Wagner Publishing
      1050 Pioneer Way, Suite P
      El Cajon, CA 92020, USA
      Cost : $24.95 (USD)

      Disk Access - Version 1.0
      Copyright (c) 1990 by Seven Hills Software
      2310 Oxford Road
      Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA
      Cost : $49.95 (USD)

THIS CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2007, APPLE MACINTOSH USERS' GROUP, SYDNEY
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Permission is hereby granted for non-profit user groups to republish this content.
PLEASE CREDIT THE AUTHOR AND THE SOURCE: Applecations, publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia

THIS PAGE COPYRIGHT © 2007, ANDREW ROUGHAN