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|A |6Helpware|A  ^1Simple Format |Aͺ |6Helpware|A 
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^Cby
^CBob Falk

^C^1----- Introduction -----^0

      One of the most useful utilities provided with MS/PC-DOS is the FORMAT
 command.  Unfortunately, it is difficult to use because of all the command 
 line switches.  Have you ever tried to format a 360K floppy in a 1.2 Meg 
 drive?  If you have, you know exactly what I mean!  ^1SIMPLE FORMAT^0 employs 
 an easy-to-use menu system that allows you to quickly select the type of disk 
 format to perform.  With Simple Format, you won't ever have to reach for your 
 DOS manual again! 

^C^1----- Using SIMPLE FORMAT-----^0

      After the program starts, the Simple Format menu is displayed.  From this 
 menu you can select the floppy drive to format; designate creation of bootable 
 disks; input a volume label; or specify the type of format to perform.  You 
 may press <F10> at any point in the menu to start the formatting process.  
 To exit the program, press <ESC>.
  
      1.  Selecting Drive to Format

           Select a disk drive by pressing the <UP> or <DOWN> arrow keys until 
      the check mark is next to the corresponding drive letter.  Press <ENTER> 
      and move to the next field. 
    
      2.  Making Bootable Disks

           Press either <Y>es or <N>o to instruct Simple Format to include the 
      system files and COMMAND.COM on the disk.  Press <ENTER> and move to the 
      next field.  NOTE: For SIMPLE FORMAT to be able to find the files needed 
      to make a disk bootable, it must be started from a bootable disk.

      3.  Including a Volume Label

           Type in the volume label to be included on the formatted disks.  A 
      volume label can contain no more than eleven characters long and may not 
      have any of the following characters:

^C* ? / \ . , ; : + = < > [ ] 

      Press <ENTER> and move to the next field.

      4.  Selecting Format Type

           Select the format type by pressing the <UP> or <DOWN> arrow 
      keys to position the check mark next to the corresponding format 
      description.  Press <ENTER> and return to ^1Selecting Drive to ^1Format^0.

      5.  Formatting the Disk
    
           After all appropriate menu selections have been made, press <F10> to 
      start the formatting process.  You will be prompted to insert the disk to 
      format.  Insert the disk and press any key.  You can exit the format 
      process and return to the Main Menu at any time by pressing <ESC>.  After
      a disk is formatted, you will be prompted to insert the next disk to 
      format.  You may either 1) insert the next disk and press any key, or 
      2) press the <ESC> to return to the Main Menu.

^C^1----- Command Line Switches -----^0
 
      If you want to skip the SIMPLE FORMAT Menu, there are numerous command 
 line switches that can be used to make menu selections.  The following is the 
 structure of command line switches for SIMPLE FORMAT:

^CSF [D] [/S] [#] [/V:volume label]

      where:

           D = Drive Letter (A or B)
          /S = Make Disk Bootable     
           # = Format Number **        
          /V = Volume Label           

      ** Select numbers to specify the Format Number (#) from the 
         following list:

           1. ->   1.44 Meg         
           2. ->   720K           
           3. ->   1.2 Meg         
           4. ->   360K           
           5. ->   320K
           6. ->   180K
           7. ->   160K

      For example, to format a bootable 3.5 inch high density disk with a 
 volume label in drive A using the command line switches, type this command at 
 the DOS prompt: 

^CSF A /S 1 /VBOBFALK^0

^C----- End of Instructions -----


^CTo run this program outside ^1Big Blue Disk^0, type: ^1SF^0.

 Disk files this program uses:  
^FSF.EXE
