ThmIndxr^TM Command Line Usage Instructions

ThmIndxr^TM is run from the command prompt in a DOS window. The chart below lists the command line parameters that can be used when running the program. Note that, as a minimum, you must supply a title string for your HTML page, either with the -ttl command line switch, or with a Title String entry in a command file. The command file can either be identified with the -cmd switch or through a Command File entry in a configuration file specified with the -cfg switch.

Command line switches may be indicated using either the "-switch" form or "/switch" form. When two or more command line switches start with the same character(s), you must enter enough letters to differentiate which switch you are using, e.g., "-cf" is sufficient to specify the name of a configuration file, whereas "-c" could either be a configuration or a command file, and is ignored. Entering longer strings (as a mnemonic aid) such as "/trace" rather than "-tra" won't confuse the program. Command line switches are not case sensitive; however, some operating systems are sensitive with respect to file names, so caution is advised.

Usage: ThmIndxr [option [option [...]]]

where 'option' is one of the options in the list below:

	-h	help display, supresses all other operations
	-ttl	title string, '`-ttl="HTML Page Title String"`' If your title string contains more than one word (as is usually the case), the title must be enclosed in "" quotation marks, or the operating system won't know to pass the whole string to ThmIndxr^TM as a single parameter. This switch performs the same function as the Title String entry in a Command File.
	-cfg	configuration file, "`-cfg=[path]filename`" If the configuration file specification does not include any path information (drive letter or directory names) and the specified file cannot be found in the current directory, ThmIndxr^TM looks for it in the directory where the program is executing from (the location that contains the ThmIndxr.EXE file).
	-cmd	command file, "`-cmd=[path]filename`" This switch performs the same function as the Command File entry in a Configuration File.
	-d	directory to process, "`-d=[drive][path]`" This switch performs the same function as the Input Directory entry in a Configuration File.
	-o	output filename, "`-o=[path]filename`" This switch performs the same function as the HTML Output File entry in a Configuration File.
	-L	log filename, "`-l=[path]filename`" This switch performs the same function as the Log File entry in a Configuration File.
	-tra	trace level, "`-t=[0..6]`" This switch performs the same function as the Trace Level entry in a Configuration File.
	-q	"quiet" mode, no startup banner This switch performs the same function as the Quiet entry in a Configuration File.
	-v	"verbose" mode, extra information output during the run This switch performs the same function as the Verbose entry in a Configuration File.

Environment variables

ThmIndxr^TM uses environment parameters it recognizes as the first level in setting default operating modes. Command line parameters will override any conflicting environment settings and are, in turn, overridden by Configuration File and Command File settings. Thus, in the chain of control determining ThmIndxr^TM's actual operating mode, the Command File has the "last word" about parameters it controls.

ThmIndxr^TM will use the following environment variables (refer to the list above for descriptions and parameter formats):

	`ThmIndxr`		configuration file
	`ThumbCmd`		command file
	`ThumbLog`		log file
	`ThumbTrace`		trace level
	`OUTNAME`		output filename
	`VERBOSE`		verbose mode

Default operation

As a minimum, ThmIndxr^TM requires a title string for the HTML page it will create, specified either with a "-ttl" command line switch, or in a command file.

If ThmIndxr^TM is run with no other command line parameters or environment variables it recognizes, its default operation is:

JPG and GIF images are indexed from the current directory
thumbnail images are written to a "thumbs" subdirectory, which is created, if necessary
LOWSRC (low-resolution) images are written to a "lowsrc" subdirectory, which is created, if necessary
output is written to out01_01.htm in the current directory
operation is logged to log01_01.txt in the current directory
unspecified strings are not used in the HTML file
the program banner is displayed
no configuration or command files are used
minimal user interaction is needed to run the program
trace events are logged to level 2

NOTE: The default file names for the output files are built from ThmIndxr's version number, and may be different from the ones shown above.

Usage examples

ThmIndxr -l= /q -o=MyPage.html -ttl="My Page"
no log file created
nothing written to the screen unless existing files are found
output is written to MyPage.html in the current directory
the HTML page title is "My Page"
ThmIndxr -v -tra=6 -d=g: -ttl="Nutso Page"
maximum run-time information displayed
an insane level of detail is written to the log file
current directory on drive G: is processed
the HTML page title is "Nutso Page"
ThmIndxr /l=c:\indexer\thumb.log /cfg=c:\indexer\thumb.cfg
log file at c:\indexer\thumb.log appended by each program run
configuration is read from c:\indexer\thumb.cfg
the title string must be read from a command file referenced in the c:\indexer\thumb.cfg configuration file

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ThmIndxrTM Command Line Usage Instructions

Environment variables

Default operation

Usage examples

ThmIndxr^TM Command Line Usage Instructions