Space Manager 1.01


Copyright (C) 1998-99 by Dmitriy Beryoza, beryozad@cs.fiu.edu

Web site: http://www.cs.fiu.edu/~beryozad/wince

This software is free. However, if you found it to be useful, a
donation that will support further research will be greatly
appreciated. Please send checks or money orders to:

Dmitriy Beryoza
9355 Fontainebleau blvd, #C201
Miami, FL 33172

Contents

Introduction

The purpose of this application is to effectively manage and monitor RAM and storage space on the Windows CE HPC computer. The space is always limited and therefore it is important to keep the computer clean and free of any unused data files, unused applications, cache files, etc. Space Manager allows you to delete unused files, check and adjust the available space, close and uninstall applications.

Package contents


Space Manager is available for Windows CE Handheld PCs and Handheld PC Pros. Each version is packed into a separate ZIP archive that contains the following files:

 
File Purpose
SpaceMan.exe application executable
toolhelp.dll support library
readme.html this file
SpaceMan.htp application help file
arrowl.2bp help image file
arrowr.2bp help image file

Installing and starting Space Manager

Installation

In order to install the application on the HPC follow these steps:
  1. Download and unpack the appropriate version of Space Manager archive
  2. Copy SpaceMan.exe to a folder of your choice on the HPC (e.g. \Program Files\Accessories)
  3. Copy the SpaceMan.htp, arrowl.2bp, arrowr.2bp, and toolhelp.dll into \Windows folder
Space Manager can now be run by double-clicking on the SpaceMan.exe

Running at startup

Space Manager can be run at startup. To accomplish this follow these steps:
  1. Double-click "My Handheld PC" on the desktop
  2. Browse to the folder where SpaceMan.exe is located
  3. Highlight it and select Edit/Copy
  4. Browse to \Windows\Startup and select Edit/Paste Shortcut
After this, if you would like to set up Space Manager to run hidden in the system tray, do this:
  1. Highlight Space Manager shortcut and select File/Properties
  2. Select Shortcut tab
  3. Add "-hide" at the end of the Target field and click OK
Once the application is running hidden in the system tray you can double-click on the space indicator that it displays to restore it to full screen size.

Using Space Manager

Space manager allows you to perform a variety of operations to maximize the size of available RAM and Storage on an HPC. The main screen of Space Manager consist of the Command Bar, Tab screen, and Status bar and Tray Indicators.

Files Tab

This dialog allows you to list all files in the system and selectively delete some of them to free-up storage space.

Files that are located in ROM are never listed, because such files neither take writeable storage space nor can be deleted.

You can specify start folder, or folder from which the search should be started in the Start folder edit box. If the box contains just "\" or is empty, then the search will be done starting from the root folder. You can put any other folder in this box and in that case the search will be done only in that folder and all of its subfolders. To simplify the folder selection the browse button ("...") is available. When you press it, a directory tree is shown from which the desired directory can be selected.

Search filter is responsible for filtering out undesirable files. You can specify "*.*" or clear the edit box for the program to search for all files, but you may decide to change the filter to look only for a specific kind of files. For example, setting the filter to "*.h*" will force the application to look only for files whose extension starts with "h", such as *.html, *.htp and *.htc.

List files button starts the search which usually takes several seconds, depending on the system performance. The found files are displayed in the list on the left. If you change the search parameters or simply want to rescan the files press this button again. When the application first starts the list is empty so press it to fill the list.

Delete button deletes selected files or groups of files. This button is disabled if no files are selected. When you press this button, Space Manager asks if you really want to delete the selected files, and, if yes, deletes them.

The file list contains 3 columns, listing file names, folder name where each file is located as well as file size in bytes. The list allows multiple files to be selected and then deleted. When a file or a group of file is selected a special indicator under the Delete button displays the number of selected files and their summary size. By clicking on column buttons you can sort files by name, path and size in increasing or decreasing order. The same function is available from the menu under View/Sort.

Browse Dialog

This dialog is appears when you press the "..." button in the Files tab. It allows you to select the directory from which the file search should start.

You can select the particular directory by highlighting it in the directory tree. Tree branches with plus sign ("+") next to them contain subdirectories and can be expanded either by double-clicking on the directory name or by clicking the plus sign. Expanded directories can be collapsed by clicking the minus sign. Directories can also be expanded, collapsed and selected using the arrow keys.

Once the folder is selected you can click the OK button or press Enter to use it as a start folder. To close the dialog without selecting the folder click "X" or press Esc.

Common Tab

This dialog allows you to automatically clean the "commonly-cleaned" folders. There are 5 folders that fall into this category:

\Recycled - recycle bin
\Temporary Internet Files - Pocket Internet Explorer cache
\Windows\Recent - shortcuts to recently used files
\Temp - usually contains temporary files
\Program Files\Communications\Mail Attachments - Inbox mail attachments

When the Space Manager is started it builds a list of these directories. Some of them may not be available on your system and therefore will not be displayed. The list of locations contains the folder names, as well as the number of files in each and the total size of these files. The list cannot be sorted (there is little practical value in implementing this functionality).

To refresh the list contents press the Refresh button. The list will then be rescanned.

You have an option of deleting all files in all listed locations - this can be done by pressing Clean All button; as well as an option of cleaning locations selectively by pressing the Clean Selected button. The former is disabled if no files are selected. When either of the Clean buttons is pressed you are asked whether the locations should be cleaned, and, if the answer is yes, all files in selected locations and their subdirectories are deleted.

Processes Tab

This dialog allows you to view the list of currently running applications and selectively close some of them. This is useful when some application is invisible on Task Manager list or does not provide an easy way to shut itself down. Shutting down applications will free up the much-needed RAM.

When the Space Manager is first started the running application list is created and displayed. The applications on the list can be sorted by name in increasing or decreasing order by pressing the column header of selecting by Name from View/Sort menu.

Refresh button allows you to refresh the list, listing the currently running applications.

End Task button allows you to shut the selected application down. If no application is selected then this button is disabled.

Even though Space Manager tries to shut the application down gracefully, bear in mind that data loss may occur when the application is forcefully closed and some applications may be impossible to close if Space Manager does not have enough privileges to close them.

System Tab

This dialog allows you to invoke the control panel functions for adjusting available space size.

The first one, available by pressing Memory settings... button, brings up the control panel dialog that allows you to adjust the division between RAM and storage memory, which you can modify.

Second, Uninstall applications... brings up control panel facility for uninstalling applications. When applications are uninstalled and their files are deleted storage memory is freed.

Indicators

There are two kind of indicators displayed by Space Manager to provide you with the current available RAM and Storage space. Both kinds of indicators are updated once in a second and only if the value of the indicator has been changed.

First is the set of indicators in the Status bar. It shows the total and free memory sizes of the RAM and Storage.

Second type of indicator is located in the system tray and it shows only the free available space in kilobytes. The indicator consists of two numbers, with upper number showing the available RAM and bottom number showing free Storage space.
 

Menus

The following is the menu structure of Space Manager:
File
Exit - shut Space Manager down
View
Hide in tray - hides main application window leaving only the tray indicator visible. Main window can be restored by double-clicking the tray indicator

Sort

by Name - sort the file or process list by name
by Path - sort the file list by path
by Size - sort the file list by size
About Space Manager... - displays the About dialog box

 

License

This software is is provided to you free of charge on an "AS IS" basis, for your private personal use only. You agree not to reverse engineer, decompile,disassemble, alter, duplicate, make copies of, distribute or provide others with the software.

IN NO EVENT WILL AUTHOR BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF PROGRAMS OR INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE), OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE AVAILABILITY, USE, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE. AUTHOR MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THIS SOFTWARE.

Thank you!