CONTENTS

GENERAL
START-UP
SETTINGS
APPEARANCE
ARCHIVES
XTREE
OTHER THIRD-PARTY INTEGRATIONS
OLDER OPERATING SYSTEMS

GENERAL

Q: What is ZTreeWin written in?
ZTreeWin is about 70,000 lines of C code, currently compiled with MS Visual C++ 6.0, under Windows XP Professional.

START-UP

Q: When I start ZTreeWin, why are no files visible, and all directories have a '+' beside their name?
The default 'logging method' of ZTreeWin is 'root only'. To tell ZTreeWin to log an entire drive, you can do one of the following:

• Open the configuration module (via Alt-F10) and set the option on page 1-P, 'Disk logging method' to 'full disk'
• In the [L]og command, press F2 to change the method to 'full disk'
• Press '*', (or use Alt-Log/Branch), to fully log the current branch

Q: How do I start ZTreeWin in a specific directory?
ZTreeWin will start by default in the current directory, (or the working directory of your shortcut). 

• To start somewhere else, either make that directory current before loading ZTreeWin, or
• Change the working directory of your shortcut, or
• Pass the desired pathname to ZTreeWin as a command-line parameter, (for example, ZTW C:\DOCS)

Q: When I try to start ZTreeWin, I get a message that says the program cannot be run.
Under Win9x, make sure you still have a file called CONAGENT.EXE in the \Windows\System directory. Certain utilities delete this, assuming it's no longer needed.

Q: How do I launch ZTreeWin from a script with a specific icon?
Make a shortcut with your preferred icon and launch similar to the example below. Notice the spaces are not quoted.
RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,ShellExec_RunDLL %UserProfile%\Start Menu\Utilities\ZTree Windows.lnk

SETTINGS 

Q: How do I set the window size of ZTreeWin?
The size of the window is determined by the text-mode of ZTreeWin, (for example, 80x25), and the font being used, (when running in a window).

• Use Alt-F8 to change the width, Alt-F9 to change the height, or Alt-F7 to maximize the window size
• To set the default window size, use Alt-F10 to configure options 2-A and 2-B
• To change the font used in windowed mode, you must edit the ZTreeWin shortcut properties, (right-click on the shortcut and select 'properties')
• When maximized with Alt-F7, ZTreeWin uses the maximum size reported by Windows, which may cause its borders to go off-screen, or even some text to be chopped. Use the /MAX= command line switch to adjust the size used by ZTreeWin in maximized mode 

For example, /MAX=-1:-2 will set a max size one (1) row shorter and two (2) columns narrower than that reported by Windows.

Q: I want to change the screen settings in my ZTreeWin shortcut, but the options are not available.
If, in Win95/98/ME, your shortcut points to ZTW.EXE, it should instead point to ZTWIN.BAT, to display the advanced shortcut properties.

Q: How do I make ZTreeWin run in 'fullscreen' mode?

• If ZTreeWin is running in a standard-sized window, (80x25, 80x43, or 80x50), you can switch to/from fullscreen mode at any time using Alt-Enter
• To set ZTreeWin to open in fullscreen mode by default, you must edit your shortcut properties to select 'fullscreen' as opposed to 'windowed'
• If you switch to fullscreen mode with a non-standard-sized window, you may need to use Alt-F7 to have ZTreeWin redraw the screen correctly 

Note that fullscreen mode is not supported under Windows Vista or Windows 7,8, 10 or 11.

Q: How do I make Alt-Q exit to the current directory in a command prompt?
For this to work, it is necessary to start ZTreeWin using ZTWIN.BAT.
ZTWIN.BAT is created in the ZTreeWin directory the first time you Quit ZTreeWin.

Q: I edited my ZTWIN.BAT, but every time I quit ZTreeWin my changes are gone.
ZTWIN.BAT is rewritten each time you Quit, to support Alt-Quit. You should instead create a new .BAT file that contains all the settings you want and calls ZTWIN.BAT, passing your command-line parameters to it.

Q: When I try to use the Alt-F5 command to open a .ZIP, the screen flashes, but nothing else seems to happen.
Some ATI and NVIDIA video software 'hijack' the Alt-F5 command. You can use Shift-Alt-F5 in these cases. Alternatively,

• With ATI you can go into "Display Properties/Settings/Advanced/Options" and uncheck "Enable ATI taskbar icon application"
  With NVIDIA you can right-click the Desktop and use "nView properties" to release the Alt-F5 hotkey

Q:  After I upgraded to a newer version of Windows, ZTreeWin stopped working.
Delete the existing ZTreeWin desktop shortcut, and manually create a new one. 

For Win95/98/ME, point your shortcut to ZTWIN.BAT
In Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista you can point directly to ZTW.EXE

Q: When I Quit ZTreeWin, I get a Windows error message.
There are some cases where a video-related problem can cause a crash in 'WINOLDAP'. 
To avoid this, either set the window font in the ZTreeWin shortcut from AUTO to a fixed size or add /Y to the command line.

Q: Why won't ZTreeWin let me change the timestamp of a file to an odd number of seconds?
This is a limitation of the Windows FAT file system which stores the seconds of a timestamp in a packed format in multiples of two (2). 
Note that NTFS does not have this limitation.

Q: Why doesn't ZTreeWin v1 let me access a file or directory name containing a copyright symbol?
ZTreeWin v1 is a console application that is restricted to displaying characters from the current OEM codepage. 

Normally all characters can be converted from ANSI to OEM for display, but there may be exceptions. In such cases, try using the /O command line switch to disable this translation. It may cause other characters to be displayed with the wrong symbol, but you should now at least have access to all directories and files. 
Or, upgrade to v2.0.

Q: How do I tell ZTreeWin to print to my USB-attached printer?
It is not necessary to tell ZTreeWin which port your printer is attached to. In the print function, use the 'Print to:' option, then press TAB until you see the name of your printer. 
If printing directly to the named printer does not work, you can use the option 'Windows Drivers' and select your printer from the Windows print dialog when it opens.

Q: When I quit ZTreeWin, why do I have to manually close the black DOS window that's left?
Under Windows 9x/Me, it is necessary to edit the ZTree shortcut properties and enable the "Close on exit" option.

Q: Why are some of my directories, such as C:\Temp, not being logged?
ZTreeWin uses a configuration file called ZNOLOG.INI to specify a list of directories to be excluded from full disk, and branch logging. See that file for details on how to configure and/or disable this feature.
 

APPEARANCE

Q: After running programs from ZTreeWin, why does the window shrink?
When the window in which ZTreeWin is running uses a font setting of AUTO, the window will shrink when ZTreeWin closes. To prevent this, set a fixed font in the shortcut properties.

Q: I pressed 'maximize' on the toolbar, and now ZTreeWin is fullscreen. How do I get back in a window?
To return ZTreeWin to windowed mode, press Alt-Enter. Note that this toolbar is a function of Windows, not ZTreeWin.

Q: Why does the screen blink after I run an external program?
This is a known restriction in ZTreeWin caused by the use of 'bright' background colors. 
Until a solution is devised, it is advisable to use just the basic 8, (dim), background colors in your ZTreeWin color scheme.

Q: Why doesn't the Free Memory display (under eXecute) match the MEM command?
The MEM command displays memory available to the MS-DOS session running the command.  ZTreeWin uses the Win32 API to display available SYSTEM memory.

Q: How do I display long filenames?
Either use a different Alt-F file display mode, (or set permanently with Alt-F10), use Alt-I for extended file information, or press 'R' for Rename to display the current name and then Esc to cancel the function
You can also adjust the width of the extension for display using the Shift-Left and Shift-Right commands
Use Shift-Home to reset

Q: Why are my files all displayed in different colors?
ZTreeWin can color-code your files based on their name or attributes. Please refer to ZCOLORS.INI for information on customizing the colors. 
If you dislike that feature, just rename or delete ZCOLORS.INI.

ARCHIVES

Q: How do I make 'TurboZip' (or whatever) the default archiver?
First, save a backup of ARCHIVER.BB2 in case it should become corrupt. Be sure to move the entire section exactly as-is, including any blank lines.
Then, edit ARCHIVER.BB2 , and move the lines for your preferred default archiver to the top of the file. 

Q: How do I manage 'spanned' archives with ZTreeWin?
ZTreeWin can be used to create a spanned (multi-volume) archive if the archiver selected does this by default for removable media, (for example PKZip 2.50). 

Otherwise, you can manually add the required parameters to the archive command line before actually launching the archiver.

XTREE

Q: How do I view my .DBF files like I did in XTree?
ZTreeWin comes with a 'native' .DBF viewer, (ZTW_VDBF.EXE), which is launched using the Open command. 
Note that ZTreeWin's internal viewer does not provide 'formatted' viewing of special file types. For this, you will need the help of third-party viewer programs.

Q: Can I use the XYZ viewer from my copy of XTreeGold (for DOS) in ZTreeWin?
Yes, it is possible to make use of the graphics viewers from XTreeGold under ZTreeWin. Others do not work, unfortunately, as they cannot be executed from a command prompt.
As an example, assuming ZTreeWin resides in C:\ZTREE, here is how you can view AutoCAD .DWG files from ZTreeWin, using the XTreeGold v3.0 DWG viewer:

• Copy files EGAVGA.BGI, XTG_VGA.DRV and XTG_GDRV.XTP to C:\ZTREE.
• Copy XTG_GDWG.XTP to C:\ZTREE and rename to XTG_GDWG.EXE.
• Create a file in C:\ZTREE called DWG.BAT, the contents of which are:
          @C:
          @CD \ZTREE
          @XTG_GDWG.EXE %1 XTG_VIEW.TMP XTG_GDRV.XTP
• Then, highlight a .DWG file, and press 'O' for Open

Q: How did you get the source code for XTreeGold?
I didn't. I wrote the code for ZTree after XTree ceased development and support of its product. Of course, I take no credit for most of the design work as it was modeled after the look and feel of XTree, with the full endorsement of their developer. (Thanks, Jeff! See: http://www.jeffreycjohnson.com/).

OTHER THIRD-PARTY INTEGRATIONS

Q: How do I use my .XYZ viewer from within ZTreeWin?
ZTreeWin supports the use of external viewers and other applications via the use of the Open command. If the file you wish to open is a known file type for an associated application, there's nothing else to do. Just highlight the file and press 'O' for Open.

If, on the other hand, the viewer is not associated with a file type, you must create a simple .BAT file, named to match the extension of the file type for which you wish to use it, (for example DOC.BAT). The contents of this .BAT should specify the external viewer to run, with the necessary %1-%8 parameters to pass the current filename, (see F1 Help on Alt-Batch for the meaning of the % values, and see the supplied sample *.BA_ files).

Q: After upgrading/installing Norton Internet Security, whenever I try to use the Edit command or run an external command from ZTreeWin, my whole system locks up.
There appears to be an issue with NIS2003 that prevents ZTreeWin from launching a new command shell if it, itself, was loaded from one. The solution is to create a new shortcut that launches ZTW.EXE directly.

Q: Can ZTreeWin be used safely with FAT32 and NTFS?
Yes. ZTreeWin accesses devices only through the API, so it is fully compatible with FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS (as well as HPFS under NT).

Q: Does ZTreeWin work in DOS?
No. ZTreeWin is a Win32 program and will not run under DOS or Win32s with DOS.

OLDER OPERATING SYSTEMS

Q: Why do I get a User Account Control (UAC) message in Vista/Windows 7/8/10/11?
To provide access to protected directories and files in Vista and Windows 7/8 (rather than virtual copies of these directories and files),  applications like ZTreeWin must request access every time they run.  

ZTreeWin requests the highest level of privilege elevation available to that user. If the highest level is Administrator, Vista requires the user to confirm this elevation with this UAC dialog (even though the user is already logged in with administrator privileges). 

The alternative is to disable UAC, which removes this malware protection entirely.

Q: Why doesn't ZTreeWin see my mapped network drives?
A feature of Windows UAC hides mapped drive letters from the elevated ZTreeWin session.
To solve this, you can either add the following registry key:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
  EnableLinkedConnections =(dword)1   or
• Add a startup macro to run the 'NET USE Z: \\server\share' command 

Q: Why can't I access directories such as "Documents and Settings"?
Since Windows Vistaseveral common directories have been moved and replaced with 'junctions' that point to the new location (such as "Users" in this case).

There is no reason to access the old locations as they are there primarily for backward compatibility with older programs. Use Alt-F10 option 2-J to hide junctions from the directory tree entirely, or see ZNOLOG.INI for a method of preventing them from being logged.

Advertisement: