The Flashstore popdown
- Vic Gerhardi
- Gunther Strube
About Flashstore
This new application is part of the OZ 4.5 Operating System.
Introduction
The Z88 when it was introduced had two ways of saving files.
- RAM pack
- EPROM card.
The RAM pack is good. It is convenient and quick to use. The downside of it is that if the Z88 goes wrong or the batteries go flat, the files saved there will have gone. EPROM packs are really useful. They can store the files, which remain there even when the RAM has lost them. The disadvantage was that to erase the files, they needed to be exposed to UV light. This meant that 20 minutes, a mains supply and an EPROM Eraser was required.
When the Flash chip appeared it could save files like the EPROM but it had these advantages.
FAST ERASING - takes less than ten seconds to erase 1024K bytes.
FAST SAVING - takes three seconds to save a 20K file.
LOW POWER - uses a 1/10 of the power used by a standard EPROM.
Running the Application
To start the application either move the cursor down to the FlashStore (the application name in the command window in the Index) or start it with 
J
Cursor Movements
Flashstore supports all the cursor movement commands. These are useful when moving up and down in the FILE AREA or for moving the cursor to the beginning or end of line before editing.
  | Beginning of line |  | Top of the list | ||
 | Back a word | | Up a screen | ||
| Back a character | | Up a line | ||
 | Down a line |  | Forward a character | ||
| Down a screen | | Forward a word | ||
| | Bottom of the list | | End of line |
Menu
Pressing the 
key displays all the commands for quick reference.
Help Screen
Pressing the 
key displays the following screen.
Simple help description's are available for each menu command; press key and position the cursor on command you want help for, then press .
Windows
The three windows (from left to right) are:-
The COMMAND window - selects the mostly used commands
The FILE AREA window - displays, fetches and deletes files and shows you what flashstore is doing.
The INFORMATION window - displays device statistics and commands.
The COMMAND Window
Seven commands are quickly available by moving the cursor with the 
and 
arrow over the command, then press the 
key.
| COMMANDS |
|---|
| TOGGLE FILE VIEW |
| SELECT CARD |
| SAVE TO CARD |
| FETCH FROM CARD |
| BACKUP FROM RAM |
| RESTORE TO RAM |
| DEFAULT RAM |
The FILE AREA Window
The middle window displays all files and size that are in your file card area. By placing the cursor over the file name (point and shoot), the following 4 commands can be selected by these keystrokes.
| COMMAND | KEY |
|---|---|
| Fetch File | |
| View File | V |
| Delete File |  |
| Copy to Card | C |
This information is shown in the information window whilst the file area window is in use.
The COMMUNICATION Window
When executing Flashstore commands the COMMUNICATION window replaces the FILE AREA window. It displays the following:-
- Banner with the command name
- Relevant statistical information to allow informed choices.
- The filename already loaded in the command line ready for editing if required.
- Warnings - if files are being overwritten or deleted.
Press 
or at the end to leave the window.
The INFORMATION window
This displays two sets of information.
1. When the cursor is in the COMMAND window it shows the following:-
DEVICE INFORMATION
which slot you are using in the Banner
- Flash Chip Number or EPROM and Size
- File Area Size
- A Graphical Display of the complete file area. Deleted (grey), Saved files (black) and free area (white) give a quick indication of file usage and whether it is time to reformat the device and get rid of the deleted area.
- Free and Used Space in bytes up to 1K or Kbytes
- Number of Deleted and Saved files.
2. When the cursor is in the FILE AREA window it shows the following:-
See The FILE AREA window for more information.
For an in depth look at this popdown go to Section Eleven - Flashstore reference for a list of the commands.