INTRO.DOC                                                   July 1997


     INTRODUCTION:

        This document is intended for new users of the file archiver, ARJ.

        ARJ is a program that allows the user to store one or more files in
        a compressed format in an archive file.  This saves space both in
        the compression and in the saving of disk sector clusters.  On a
        hard disk, each file requires a minimum amount of space, typically,
        2048 to 16384 bytes.  Combining 100 small files in an archive can
        save 200K bytes of space or more.

        For archiver flexibility, ARJ is arguably unsurpassed for features.


     INSTALLATION:

        This assumes that you have already executed the self-extracting
        distribution archive and extracted its archived files into a
        directory.

        To install the ARJ software, simply copy ARJ.EXE, REARJ.EXE,
        REARJ.CFG, ARJSORT.COM, and optionally ARJCRYPT.COM to one of the
        directories named in your DOS PATH statement found in your
        AUTOEXEC.BAT.  On many PCs, this directory may be C:\DOS or C:\BIN.

        ARJCRYPT.COM is ONLY found in versions of ARJ for USA use.


     ARJ COMMAND USAGE:

        The ARJ archiver gives you a lot of flexibility in command usage.
        You can use zero options or many options on a command line.

        The basic command line consists of:
        1) the command "ARJ"
        2) the ARJ command letter such as "a" (add), or "e" (extract)
        3) the switch options such as "-r" (recurse through subdirectories)
        4) the name of the ARJ archive
        5) the name of the target directory (if any)
        6) the names of the selected files

        ARJ <command> [<options>] <archive_name> [<target_dir\>] [<files>]

        Switch options (-r, -jp, and so on) may be placed anywhere in the
        command line after the command "ARJ".  The target directory name is
        optional and should end in a "\" symbol.  The default for the
        selected files is "*.*".


     CREATING ARJ ARCHIVES:

        To create an ARJ archive containing all of the files in the
        current directory:

            ARJ a archive

        To create an ARJ archive in another directory containing all of
        the files in the current directory:

            ARJ a directory\archive

        To create an ARJ archive containing all files with the ".DOC"
        extension in the current directory:

            ARJ a archive *.DOC

        To create an ARJ archive containing all files with the ".DOC"
        and ".EXE" extension in the current directory:

            ARJ a archive *.DOC *.EXE

        To create an ARJ archive containing all of the files in a
        named directory:

            ARJ a archive named_directory\*.*

        To create an ARJ archive containing all of the files in the
        named directory and all files in subdirectories of the named
        directory:

            ARJ a -r archive named_directory\*.*

        To create an archive containing files without pathname information
        in the archive, creating slightly smaller archives:

            ARJ a -e archive named_directory\*.*

        For maximum compression, use the "-jm" or "-jm1" options.
        For better speed, use the -m2 option.

            ARJ a -r -jm1 archive named_directory\*.*
            ARJ a -r -m2 archive named_directory\*.*

        To create an ARJ archive containing the full specified pathnames
        of the stored files including any drive and root specs:

            ARJ a -r -jf archive C:\top_directory\*.*


     LISTING THE CONTENTS OF AN ARCHIVE:

        To list all of the files in an archive:

            ARJ l archive

        To list all of the files with display pauses:

            ARJ l archive -jp

        To list only the files with a ".DOC" file extension in an archive:

            ARJ l archive *.DOC

        The last field on the LIST display "BTPMGVX" stands for:
            B -> file not contained in the last chapter (obsolete file)
            T -> text/binary/directory/chapter/label type
            P -> path information available in "V" listing
            M -> compression method used
            G -> file has been garbled (encrypted)
            V -> archive has been continued to another volume
            X -> this file is an extended portion of a larger file


     EXTRACTING ARJ ARCHIVES:

        To extract all of the files in an archive to the current
        directory:

            ARJ e archive

        To extract all of the files in an archive to a named directory:

            ARJ e archive named_directory\

        To extract all files with the ".DOC" extension to the current
        directory:

            ARJ e archive *.DOC

        To extract all of the files in an archive recreating the
        original directory structure within the current directory:

            ARJ x archive

        To extract all of the files in an archive containing absolute
        pathnames to the original paths:

            ARJ x -jf archive


     TESTING THE INTEGRITY OF AN ARCHIVE:

        To test the contents of an archive:

            ARJ t archive

        This testing verifies that the contents of the archive data matches
        the original file.  This is done using cylical redundancy
        checksumming, CRC for short.  ARJ uses a 32 bit CRC for increased
        reliability.


     CREATING A SELF-EXTRACTING ARJ ARCHIVE:

        A self-extracting ARJ archive is an EXE file that contains an ARJ
        archive.  This self-extractor when executed will extract the
        contents of its archive.

        The command "ARJ y -je archive" will create a full featured
        self-extracting archive from an already built archive.

        The command "ARJ y -je1 archive" will create a smaller
        self-extracting archive.

        Syntax:  ARJ y -je archive      produces archive.exe


     CONVERTING ZIP ARCHIVES TO ARJ ARCHIVES:

        You can convert a directory of ZIP archives to ARJ archives with
        the following commands:

        1)  Change to the directory with the ZIP archives.
        2)  Type REARJ *.ZIP


     COMMON PROBLEMS USING ARJ:

        By default, ARJ stores the path specified with the filename in the
        archive.  "ARJ a archive temp\*.*" will store the path "temp\" with
        the filenames.  You may eliminate the paths with the "-e" option.
        You can remove the paths with the "r" command as in "ARJ r archive".

        ARJ identifies each file by the name stored in the archive.
        Filenames with paths are considered by ARJ to be DIFFERENT from
        filenames without paths.  In other words, "temp\notes" is not the
        same as "notes".  This can result in archives that have duplicates
        if you archive a set of files twice with different file
        specifications as in
        "ARJ a archive temp\*.*" and "ARJ a archive *.*".

        When updating an ARJ archive, ARJ builds the new archive as a
        temporary file in the same directory as the original archive.  This
        can require a lot of extra disk space.  If you are adding files,
        you will need as much free space as the original archive plus space
        for the added files.

        When archiving files to DISKETTES, it is STRONGLY recommended that
        you use the "-w" option and the "-jt" option.  The "-w" option sets
        a working directory.  This should point to a fast disk drive
        directory.  The "-jt" option verifies the archive.

        ARJ a -wC:\ -jt a:archive *.*

        When copying archives to DISKETTES, it is strongly recommended that
        you verify that the diskette archives are intact.  Most damaged
        archives involve diskettes.


     FOR FURTHER STUDY:

        ARJ supports hundreds of options for functions such as archiving
        across multiple diskettes, accessing hidden files, selecting files
        by date, and more.  See the ARJ.DOC reference guide for more
        information.


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