How to generate .info when copying files to PC volumes...?

[motorollin]

hotchalupa wrote:
- If I transfer an executable, it does not carry its attributes (executable bit), so the file is a simple binary on the Amiga.

This is because you're transferring the file [EDIT]from[/EDIT] a filesystem which does not support Amiga file attributes.

hotchalupa wrote:
- I have a very limited WB 1.3 boot floppy that has none of the important commands (such as protect...or even list/copy/makedir...etc!), so no way for me to go to a CLI window and alter files through command line.

Can you alter these properties through the Information window? I can't remember on 1.3 now but it might be worth a try.

hotchalupa wrote:
- Because of the first bullet above, transferring any of the standard (and important for what I'm trying to accomplish) commands from the PC into the SYS:c/ directory is useless because they come through as plain binaries with no executable bit set.

Why not just put the "protect" command in C:?

hotchalupa wrote:
Now, at some point during me experimenting with file transfers, I copied a few files from an ADF (happened to be the standard WB 1.3.4 image included with Amiga Forever) to a mounted Windows volume using the Amiga Forever provided WB 3.1 environment.  I simply dragged and dropped these files and it actually generated respective .info files for them... When I transferred the files over to the A1000's RAM: disk, on their own they were unusable, but when I transferred the corresponding .info to the same path, the files became useable.

If you drag and drop the icon then the .info will be copied as well, which probably kept the "Tool" icon type, which is why it was then executable.

hotchalupa wrote:
I have since been unable to duplicate this, although I've noticed there are, by default, .info's residing in specific ADF directories but mostly accompanying directory names (I guess holding the dir icon data, etc).  I want to be able to generate these for executable files so that I can transfer these and make them work on the A1000.

Don't know of any way to do this automatically.

hotchalupa wrote:
My ultimate goal is to be able to transfer the important AmigaDOS commands and "transdisk" or "transADF" so that I can actually start sending disk images to my A1000, one of which contains the necessary stuff to boot into a WB 1.3 environment with all the messyDOS stuff in it, which will in turn make life a lot easier for me.

Just get "protect" on to your floppy. Then copy transdisk on to it and make it executable. Then you can fix any subsequent commands you transfer.

--
moto

[motorollin]

Do you want me to post you a floppy disk with the protect command on it? Then you can copy it to your Workbench disk and use it to make TransDisk executable, and then write the Workbench 1.3 ADF from Amiga Forever to a disk.

[EDIT]
There might be another way if you have lha, unzip or similar already on an Amiga floppy. Do you have this?
[/EDIT]

--
moto

[motorollin]

I understand your problem that every time you copy a command from the PC to the Amiga you lose the executable bit. This means you can't copy TransDisk, LHA or UnZIP in order to get get the tools you need on to your Amiga. If you create a Tool icon inside Amiga Forever, for example for LHA, then copy it along with LHA, then LHA will have an icon. The problem is that LHA is a CLI command not a Workbench command so you won't be able to use it from the icon. You will still need to use the CLI to execute it, which won't work unless it has the executable protection bit. Your only hope is one of the following:

1. Obtain a disk with the protect command on it. Copy the commands you need to your Amiga and make them executable with Protect.

2. Obtain a disk with LHA, LZH, or Unzip on it. Inside Amiga Forever, create an archive containing the commands you need. Copy the archive to your Amiga. Unarchive it on the Amiga, and you will end up with files with the executable bit preserved.

3. Buy a Workbench disk :-)

[EDIT]
4. A GUI-based ADF writer would also work if you copied its Tool icon (.info) as this would be executed as a Tool from Workbench, but I can't find any of these which work on 1.3.
[/EDIT]

--
moto

[motorollin]

hotchalupa wrote:
" 3. Buy a Workbench disk "

You mean the ADF's in Amiga Forever don't count as buying?  :-D

Yes it does, but that doesn't help you to get them on to floppies :-)

hotchalupa wrote:
Okay, so I can get to a command prompt by hitting Ctrl D during startup... I then type loadwb and I get WB + the AmigaDOS shell still open... Since the disk I have happens to have AmigaBASIC in it, too, if I type AmigaBASIC from the command prompt it loads up, so I know that's working...  Also, when I transfer a file, such as transwarp, to my RAM disk, if I type RAM:transwarp I get an "Unable to load RAM:transwarp: Error code 121", which I believe is the same as saying it does not have a "default tool" associated with it (since it's seeing the file as a plain file).

Default tool is only relevant for Project icons launched from Workbench. AmigaDOS error 121 means that the file is not executable.

hotchalupa wrote:
Everything's pointing towards me being stuck in the good ol' chicken and the egg situation.

Correct unfortunately! I'm in England so it might take a while to get you a disk with Protect on it, but I'm happy to send if you need it.

hotchalupa wrote:
I did try using the .info from another executable by naming it transwarp.info (for example), but the results are catastrophic...

... because the application need to be run from the shell and you ran it using a tool icon. This won't work (same reason why you can't run LHA using an icon).

--
moto

[motorollin]

No worries. Hopefully a WB1.3 disk will sort your problems :-D

--
moto

[motorollin]

Glad you got it working! Interesting about the system attribute in DOS. It must translate to the Executable bit on an Amiga filesystem for some reason. Weird!

--
moto