9- How to delete many object files at the same time.

The use of this tutorial is at your own risks.  Read it once up to the end before trying anything.

The first version of DecoTech™ has been released in 1992, three years before the release of Windows™ 95 and its long filename support.  So this is why we have decided to create our own long filename support to bypass the old 8.3 filename format.  That has been a great innovation at that time but today all that looks obsolete.

All our data files are saved using 32 bits hexadecimal filenames and their real filename is stored inside each of them.  We have also incorporated the possibility to add comments to each data file (Up to now Windows™ 95 doesn't offer this feature.)

Computer and hard disk were very slow in 1992, so to speed up the display of folder contents, we have created catalog-index files ("DSKCAT.IDX") in each data folder.  Each "DSKCAT.IDX" file contains all the 32 bits hexadecimal filenames present in the same folder and the corresponding real filenames and comments.  Each "DSKCAT.IDX" file is automatically created ONLY when you use a File Requester or Cabinet Requester to display the contents of a specific folder.  Also, all the "DSKCAT.IDX" files are automatically deleted in all the folders when you install new add-ons or when you run the Library Installer Program ("....\DecoTech\bin\libinst.exe").

To view the contents of a "DSKCAT.IDX" file, we have created a small program named IDX Lister Program ("....\DecoTech\bin\psidxlst.exe").  Each time you will run this program, you will need to specify a "DSKCAT.IDX" file.  If you want to make its use easier, you can specify a "DSKCAT.IDX" file as second argument when running the program.  To do so you have two possibilities :

Associated the ".IDX" extension with "....\DecoTech\bin\psidxlst.exe".  After that, simply double-click on each "DSKCAT.IDX" you want to view.

OR

In the "C:\WINDOWS\SendTo" folder created a shortcut with a command line set to "....\DecoTech\bin\psidxlst.exe" and name it IDX Lister.  After that, simply right-click on each "DSKCAT.IDX" you want to view and select the Send To menu and the IDX Lister submenu.

You can do multiple selections by using the SHIFT and/or CTRL keys.  The Copy button copies the selected text lines into the clipboard to let you paste them into a word processing program by example.  The Erase button permanently deletes the selected data files.  When you use the Erase button, the current  "DSKCAT.IDX" file is also delete because the IDX Lister program is only a viewer and it is not able to update the "DSKCAT.IDX" file.  By doing that, the File Requester and/or Cabinet Requester will automatically recreate the "DSKCAT.IDX" file and their display will be updated.