CBMXfer (C)2007-2010 Steve J. Gray (sjgray@rogers.

com)
======= V0.28 Apr 28,2010

CBMXfer is a freeware file transfer program for the PC which lets you transfer
files to and from a Commodore IEC or IEEE drive attached to the PC via X-Cable
or CBMLink cable. It is also a Commodore file viewer.

CBMXfer is a front-end (GUI) to several command-line utilities including:

* OpenCBM - device driver and utilities to connect a Commodore IEC drive

via "X-Cable"
* CBMLink - Talks to a Commodore computer via serial cable
* C1541 - Works with Commodore Disk Image files (like D64)

CBMXfer will not work without at least one of the above utilties. Please see
below for installation instructions!

CBMXfer is based on GUI4CBM4WIN by Leif Bloomquist, Wolfgang Moser, and

Spiro Trikaliotis. GUI4CBM4WIN Version 0.4.1 sourcecode was used as the base.

Intro
=====

I purchased an XM1541 cable to backup my Commodore disk collection and

preserve some of the old software and files from the old days. I also have
some 8050 and SFD disks that I want to back up. Unfortunately, because these
are IEEE devices they are not usable with the XM1541 cable and GUI4CBM4WIN
("G4C" from now on).

I didn't want to mess around with DOS or DOS-based utilities like

STAR COMMANDER and wanted to do everything in Windows. I found G4C 0.4.1
and started playing with it. It was okay but I found it lacking in some areas.

As a VB6 programmer I wanted to fix it up. Then I found it had been converted
to VB.NET. Unfortunately I do not have VB.NET and I also find it too different
and bulky for my tastes, so I decided to stay with VB6.

Having two different development forks for G4C makes no sense so I decided to
rename mine to CBMXfer, a much easier name. CBMXfer has additional features
that set it apart feature-wise from G4C.

I look forward to user feedback. Please email me your bug reports, and ideas
to help me improve the program! Enjoy!

Steve J. Gray

Email.......: [email protected]
Web.........: http://www.6502.org/users/sjgray/index.html
CBMXfer Page: http://www.6502.org/users/sjgray/software/cbmxfer/cbmxfer.html

Installation
============

Download CBMXfer, OpenCBM, CBMLink and WinVice.

I recommend installing OpenCBM and WinVice first, rebooting, and making sure
they work properly. Next, copy the CBMXfer files to the OpenCBM folder. Now
copy the "C1541.EXE" file from the WinVice directory to the same. Finally,
if you want to use IEEE drives, copy the "CBMLINK.EXE" file there too.

Program Operation
=================

This is a hastily written quick guide...

Please ignore the bad formatting and spelling ;-)

Options Screen
--------------

When you start the program for the first time you will be taken directly to
the options window where you can set the program options. By default, both
X-Cable and CBMLink are selected. If you don't use CBMLink you should uncheck
the "Enable as destination" in the CBMLink frame so you don't see that option.
In the "General Options" frame you can select which will be the default view
in the right pane. You can select the default paths, shell preview etc.

Click the "Save as Default" button when you are done. The next time the
program runs you will go to the main screen and won't see the option screen
unless you click the "options" button.

Basic Operation
---------------

The window is divided into three areas;

- Centre area for mode and transfer operations.

- Left/Local/Source (PC) pane.
- Right/Remote/Destination (Commodore) pane.

On the LEFT side is where your "Local" PC files are, where you can work with
disk image files, and also to view files.

On the RIGHT side is displayed the directories from remote Commodore drives that
are connected via a X-Cable or CBMLink cable. You can also view the local PC as
well,
just for convenience.

Centre Section
--------------

The centre section contains the two main transfer buttons, selects what is
displayed
on the RIGHT side, some path options, and the program option and info buttons.
Click
on the "->" button to rotate between X-Cable, CBMLink cable, or local PC view in
the
right pane. If you have turned off "Enable as Destination" for X-Cable or CBMLink
cable you won't see them. Click the "Options" button to set program options.

Click the "About" button for program information etc. If you have "Local PC"
selected
on the right pane then two additional buttons will appear to let you "Swap"
directories, or to make the RIGHT directory the same as the LEFT.

Clicking the "-->" button copies from the LEFT to the RIGHT.
Clicking the "<--" button copies from the RIGHT to the LEFT.

If you have an X-Cable directory on the RIGHT and you click "<--" then you can
create
D64 images of the disk in the 1541 drive. If you have a "Dxx" image selected on the
left and you click "-->" then the image will be written to the Commodore drive.

Left Pane
---------

The LEFT pane is your "source" pane. Most of the time this will be a view of your
Local PC's hard drive. From top to bottom are the Drive selector, the Path
selector,
Files, and Current directory. To the right are the buttons:

Refresh...... Refreshes the file list

Make Dir..... Creates a new folder
Set Default.. Sets the current path to be the default. Make sure you save your
options!
Rename....... Rename selected file
Delete....... Delete selected file
Run.......... Smart button. Runs EXE files, edits TXT files, or runs VICE
View......... Smart button. View Commodore files.

The "File Filter" lets you pick which types of files to view. So, for example, if
you set it to "D64" then you will only see files with an extension of "D64". You
can
select one or more files in the usual windows method. The size and "blocks"
(commodore
drive blocks) will be shown for all selected to help you figure out how much will
fit on a disk when copied.

Note: Since a D64 takes an entire disk you can only select ONE D64 at a time.
Any time a D64 is selected any previously selected files will be de-
selected.

The "Current Directory" box displays the currently selected directory. You can type
here to change directly to a specific directory. To the immediate right is a small
">" button that will open the directory in an explorer window if you need to do
more
advanced directory management.

If you click on a file with the extension "PRG","SEQ" or NO EXTENSION you can view
the file on the built-in Viewer. See "File Viewer" below.

If you click on a "Dxx" image file then click "Run", the VICE emulator will load
and attach the image and autorun the first file inside the image.

If you click on a "Dxx" image file then click "View" the Dxx file will be opened
and you can view the contents of the disk on the LEFT side. When you are viewing
an image file you can copy files from inside the image to the RIGHT pane or view
files in the file viewer! Clicking "Run", loads VICE, attaches the image, and
runs the selected file.
To return to the normal PC directory click on the "BACK" button.

Right Pane
----------

This lets you view directories on Commodore drives connected via X-Cable or
CBMLink.
Use the small "->" button in the centre section to select which to view.

* CBM Drive on X-Cable

The X-cable connects a Commodore IEC drive (1541, 1571, 1581 etc) or other drive
(1541-III, uIEC) to the PC via the parallel port.

IMPORTANT!: There are several different types of X-Cables. I recommend you

use an "XM" or "XA" type for use with windows. Other types may
not work.

From top to bottom, in blue, are the Disk Title and ID, Files, Blocks free, and
drive status. To the right are the buttons plus one drop-down menu to select the
device number (normally 8) of the drive you want to use.

* CBM Drive via CBMLink

The CBMLink (or PRLink) cable connects a PC to a Commodore computer via the PC's
serial port. This cable usually attaches to the Commodore machine's cassete port,
but may also be connected to a serial port if available. The Commodore drives are
connected to the Commodore computer as usual. The CBMLink program must be loaded
on the Commodore computer. There is a version specific to each Commodore machine.

Once CBMLink is running, any drive that is attached can be accessed.

CBMLink is commonly used on the older PET machines to access IEEE drives
(4040, 8050 etc).

At the top is a drop-down menu to select the device number and drive number
(to accomodate dual drive units).

Make sure that the correct speed and COM port are set in the CBMXfer options!

File Transfer
-------------

NOTE: There are 12 possible combinations for file transfer. Currently only 8 are
supported! Please email me if you need the remaining 4 ;-)

Basically, you select the file or files you want to copy and click the "-->" or
"<--" button in the centre section that points in the direction you want to copy.
To
select multiple files use the standard windows convention of SHIFT to select a
range,
or CTRL to select individual files.

To write D64 images to disk, select the D64 file in the LEFT pane and commodore
drive in the RIGHT then click the "-->" button.
 To make a D64 image from a disk, make sure NO files are selected in the RIGHT
pane
then click the "<--" button. You will be asked for a name to save the image (the
Disk
Title will be the default).

When transfering files from Commodore disk, PRG and SEQ files will added
automatically to the filename on the PC. When PRG and SEQ files are written to
Commodore disk the PRG and SEQ will be removed.

File Viewer
-----------

The file viewer is designed to view Commodore files. Since Commodore drives don't
use
EXTENSIONS like the PC there are only two file types you can view... PRG and SEQ.
There
are also USR and REL but those are not supported at the moment. We can assume SEQ
files
are plain data, probably text. However, without an extension we don't know what
type of
file a PRG might be. So, at the top of the viewer window is a drop-down menu to
select
the viewer mode. You can select:

BASIC... Displays tokenized Commodore BASIC files.

Most dialects and versions are supported.
SEQ..... Displays as text.
FONT.... Displays as 8x8 or 8x16 format Character ROM file
ML...... Disassembles 6502 machine code
BINARY.. Displays HEX and Text (not complete)

Note: The files "tokens.dat" and "6502opcodes.txt" are required for the viewer.

TODO: Options for each mode

TODO: CBM Font support
TODO: Binary viewer

Tips and Tricks

===============

* Use an XM or XA cable, as these are the only cables supported by OpenCBM.

* Make sure the X-Cable is plugged in and the drive ON before turning on your PC!
* Check for the latest releases of Vice, OpenCBM and CBMLink
* Set your paths to your Commodore files in the options

Change Log
==========
0.28 BEAT (Apr 28,2010... Released to web Nov 14,2010)
* Fix Dxx creation path problem

0.27 BETA (Nov 30,2009)

* Added additional ALT+key shortcuts to buttons
* Split "View/Run" into two buttons
* Source window "Run" button now can run Disk Images using VICE
 * Disk Image Viewer now has "Run" button to run PRG files INSIDE images using
VICE

0.26 BETA (work in progress)

* Improved support for D71 files
* ML Viewer:
* Fix addresses >$8000,
* Add missing space after branch instructions
* Add copy to clipboard button

0.25 BETA (Nov 30,2008)

* Version Number format change.. I don't need so many digits ;-)
* Added "Open Directory" button in Explorer to Src and Dest folders
* Added X-cable and CBMLINK enable checkboxes to options
* Improved error handling (still needs work. Thanks to Kees Zaaijer for
feedback!)
* Changed Basic Lister to Multi-format viewer
- View as: BASIC, Font, SEQ, Disassembler
- Not Working: Binary viewer
* Changelog file now in this readme
* Preliminary Documentation - Let me know what topics need more attention ;-)

0.0.1 BETA (Feb 17,2007) Initial Release

* Fix INI Options not saved or loaded (PreviewCheck)

* Added Confirm D64 Creation option
* New layout for Options window
* Changed Dir load so "blocks free" is in separate area
* Added Select All/None buttons
* D64 creation filename defaults to name of CBM disk header string
* Added D71 image writing to X-Device (real drive on X cable)
* Added "clear" box to prompt
* Removed message to check options.. it goes there anyway
* Removed startup check for EXE's. Changed to when called
(so users are not forced to download EXE files they don't need)
* Added Drag-and-Drop copy to CBM drive
* Fixed Blocks-free/KB overflow error on large files
* Cleaned up source to make more readable
* Renamed GUI elements to conform to VB naming convention
(ie: Labels start with lbl, Buttons with cmd)
* Fixed operations so Current Directory is not changed every time
* Added File Filter menu
* Added separate SOURCE and DESTINATION directories
* Path Swap/Copy functions
* Added support for Vice Team's C1541 commandline utility
to work with Disk Images
* View Image Directory
* Create new Image
* Copy files from Image to Local PC or X-Device
* Added support for CBMLink command to talk to Commodore Machines
via serial port link
* Reword Frame header text since there is more than one "CBM Drive"
(ie: Distinguish drives on "X-Cable" or via "CBMLink")
* Toggle between X/CBM/LocalPC destinations
* Added Tooltips
* Added Keyboard shortcuts to some buttons
* Added function to convert CBM filenames to PC-friendly filenames
* Added CBM BASIC Lister
 * Requires "tokens.dat" data file
* Supports all released version Tokens
* Autodetect correct BASIC version (override with dropdown menu)
* Displays Load Address and Best-guess of target Machine
* List Formatting options
* Select Text/Graphic mode
* Use CBM font if available (must be in system fonts dir)
* Expands special characters (ie: {RVS} )
* Break multi-statement lines
* Pad tokens with spaces
* Resizable window
* Export to clipboard
* Export to text File
* View with PRG files on LocalPC,inside Image or on X-drive

* This release 8 of 12 possible copy operations are complete

(The other 4 will display a "sorry" message)