Introduction to ICF =========================================================== Copyright (c) 1994 LanTelligence Corporation All rights reserved Address any correspondence to 70274,46. This is an update to our ICF program. HELLO ============================================================ Welcome to the Inventory Capture Facility (ICF) by LanTelligence Corporation. It can: - report what programs are installed (user-defined database) - show what microchannel boards are installed (user-defined) - find files on all drives, local and remote - report on memory, cmos, and other system info - report on network data - function as a super-file-finder - capture config files (autoexec, config.sys, ini files) - capture user-specified text files, on any drive - save all info in dbase, lotus 1-2-3, or ascii delimited files - operate virtually identically on DOS and OS/2 systems! - record manually-entered data (i.e. printers, ID info, etc.) - function completely AUTOMATICALLY - no scheduling - be installed on a file server / login scripts - be passed from PC to PC on a floppy for standalone use - uniquely name output data files, one per PC - operate completely from the command line It is also one of the most inexpensive, yet powerful, inventorying packages available. If you're tired of being asked to pay high per-PC prices just to take inventory, look no further! ICF collects inventory information from PC's and writes the data to industry standard file formats so that it can be read and processed by any popular database or spreadsheet package. Maybe you've developed (or were thinking about developing) a home-grown inventory system for your company or clients, or you've used one of the commercially-available products. Instead of being limited by your own time or the limited reports provided by others, the sole purpose of this program is to give you the data you need in the format you need, so you can use your favorite tool to get those reports done and move on to something else. This program is invaluable for organizations that want to perform company-wide audits of PC software and hardware. While the inventory-collecting abilities will make the corporate PC staffs' jobs easier, ICF can also display the results of software identification and file searches on the screen, making it a valuable utility for users as well. This short guide is a brief description of the program. It should provide you with the necessary details to determine if ICF is for you and your organization. It also provides sample commands you can try with the shareware version posted here. Address inquires, comments, and suggestions to LanTelligence Corporation Compuserve ID 70274,46 or: LanTelligence Corporation P.O. Box 140627 Miami, FL 33114-0627 You can also reach as on our BBS at 305-598-4788. This document is divided into two sections. Section I contains information regarding ICF, its capabilities and benefits, and price information for the different licensed versions available. Section II is a brief ICF Quick Guide to allow you to use and evaluate ICF. Note that there are many additional options and strategies for using ICF than can be described here. SECTION I - ABOUT ICF CAPABILITIES ======================================================== A quick list of what ICF can do... FLEXIBLE OUTPUT OF DATA - Data collected from ICF can be displayed on the screen or output to dBASE (.DBF), Lotus 1-2-3 (.WK1) or Ascii delimited files. Just about every major spreadsheet and database program either supports these formats directly or provides conversion tools to bring the data in. NATIVE OPERATING SYSTEM SUPPORT - ICF is available in versions for DOS and OS/2. Use the DOS version for DOS and Windows systems. If you have OS/2 workstations, you have an identically functioning version for those as well! And the OS/2 version is native, so no DOS-box is required (i.e. OS/2 servers). COMMAND-LINE DRIVEN - The program is entirely command line driven. There are many commands and options available to control how ICF operates. POWERFUL INVENTORY AND DATA COLLECTION ABILITIES - This includes being able to collect the following information: MAIN COMPUTER INFORMATION - Processor, memory (different types), serial and parallel ports, mouse and video information. CMOS INFORMATION - Settings as defined in CMOS tables, including floppy and hard drive types, memory, etc. ADD-ON HARDWARE - If you have microchannel (MCA) computers, ICF will dynamically report on all boards installed in them. This does not require the reference disk! INSTALLED SOFTWARE - Most important to some organizations attempting to maintain legal compliance, ICF collects data about all software found on the computer. Best of all -- you control what it searches for! PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT - This refers to standalone, physical equipment such as displays, modems, etc. If the data is entered by the user or ICF administrator, ICF will automatically merge it with all the other data collected. CONFIGURATION FILES - The complete text of files are captured, including CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT or STARTUP.CMD files, NET.CFG and SHELL.CFG, and .INI Files such as LANMAN.INI and WIN.INI. You can also specify up to 6 additional files to search for and include. AUTORUN FACILITY - ICF can be set up to automatically run only when changes are detected to the configuration. You can run it from AUTOEXEC.BAT, STARTUP.CMD, or network logon scripts and it will automatically collect inventory data if the configuration has been changed! THIS IS A GREAT FEATURE! Unlike other programs where you have to set up arcane collection schedules, ICF can run everyday and take just a few seconds to determine if a configuration collection is necessary! If nothing substantial has changed, the user gets control of the PC right away (or the login script or Autoexec fil continues processing). NO TSR IMPLEMENTATION! - Forget about having to load more TSR's to collect your inventory data. ICF is a standalone program that doesn't take up precious memory or conflict with other resident programs. HOW TO GET STARTED USING ICF ======================================================== Shareware versions of ICF for both DOS (versions 2.0 through 5.0) and OS/2 (versions 1.1 through 2.1) are available on CompuServe and popular BBS's for downloading. Most commands and options are functional in the shareware version. Use the Quick Operation Guide below to learn sample commands in order to test and use the program. IF YOU NEED HELP ======================================================== Send an Email to us on CompuServe at 70274,46. IF YOU LIKE ICF ======================================================== Order a copy! ICF can be used on a single computer, but the benefits associated with it are really gained when used on many or all computers in your organization. ICF is priced aggressively to make it easy to obtain it (especially in relation to similar products!). An order form appears at the end of this document. For information on prices and licenses, please refer to the file ORDERING.TXT. WHAT IF YOU DON'T LIKE ICF ======================================================== Well, we tried. You can sent us a letter or Compuserve Email indicating why you didn't like it, or what changes must be made in order to make you a customer. Of course, you may have no need for a program with these capabilities. But then you probably wouldn't have read this far, anyway! Above all, we need your feedback. LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR SHAREWARE VERSION ======================================================== You are permitted to use the Shareware version of ICF for 30 days starting from the first day of use to determine if ICF is suitable for your use. After 30 days you must purchase one or more Licenses as described above if you want to continue using the program. The Shareware version may be distributed to others as long as no profit or money is involved in the transaction, excluding nominal distribution and/or duplication fees. SECTION II - ICF QUICK OPERATION GUIDE ======================================================== (Please read the WHATSNEW.TXT file if one is present with this package. It identifies the latest features that are not in this document!!!) Use some of the examples below to try ICF. But first a quick summary is in order. The following major commands are available: PROGRAMS - identifies programs installed on the computer STATUS - detailed list of computer status FILES - finds any or all files AUTO - performs STATUS command only if configuration changes The general format for running ICF from the command line is: ICF command /option1 /option2 ... Before we get into details, let's review the most powerful command: STATUS. The command ICF STATUS /DBASE /LANDRIVES /FINDEXTS /PROGINFO /FILENAME=$TEMP /UPF will perform a full inventory collection, send the output to an dBASE file, include Lan (remote) drives in the program scan, include unrecognized programs in the output (/Findexts), include all program information (/Proginfo), and assign a unique name to the output file (so that it won't conflict with others). The /UPF means UnPackFields, which will result in each data item to be output in its own field. Most commands output to the screen by default. If you want the data saved in a file, specify either the /DBASE, /LOTUS or /ASCII options. Each ICF command generally produces a data file with a different layout or file structure. In addition to these, there are over 200 other options that control the operation of ICF. Options can be specified on the command line, in the ICF environment variable, or in a ICF.INI file (or a combination of all three). These have a cumulative effect that permits extensive customization. For example, if ICF is utilized on a LAN then a shared ICF.INI file will be read from a public disk. Then user-specified options are processed either from their own .INI files, environment variables, or the command line. EXAMPLES - PROGRAMS COMMAND ======================================================== ICF PROGRAMS Identifies programs found on all local drives. It uses files called ICFPROG1.DBF through ICFPROG9 (up to 9 files at once) to perform the identification process. Demo versions of these are supplied with the this version. Since these are DBASE files, you are free to modify these to add your own software. Paid license versions of ICF include the latest full database. ICF PROGRAMS /DBASE /DRIVES=C Same as above, but only search drive C: and save the data in a DBASE file. ICF PROGRAMS /LANDRIVES /LOTUS Searches for programs on all drives, including remote drives, and saves the data in a LOTUS 1-2-3 file. ICF PROGRAMS /FINDEXTS There are different strategies associated with capturing software information. One is knowing all the programs you are looking for before you do the scan. Another is capturing the .EXE and .COM files to do a matchup after the data has been collected. ICF supports both. The above command uses /FINDEXTS to specify that .EXE and .COM files that are not matched so software in the database (ICFPROGn.DBF) should be included in the output file as well so that the administrator can identify programs unknown at scan time. ICF PROGRAMS /FINDEXTS /PROGINFO The /PROGINFO option includes file size, date, and time with the collected information. EXAMPLES - STATUS COMMAND ======================================================== ICF STATUS Displays all status information on the screen. NOTE: File structures using /DBASE, /LOTUS, or /ASCII options: Because of the requirement to process a flexible amount and variety of data depending on what information is being collected, the format of a DBASE, LOTUS, or Ascii delimited file consists of 2 fields. The first field is the ID field and contains a number representing the type of item stored in the VALUE field. The second field is the VALUE field and contains the actual VALUE (i.e. number or character string) of that item. If you want to process these files or merge them in with master databases of some sort, you will need to know what the ID's mean. You can guess, but there are 2 ways to save you some time. One is simple: buy the program and get the documentation. But-- as we want you to be able to evaluate ICF, you can also specify the /DESC option. This will result in a third field created in the file, which will be filled in with a generic description of each particular item. While using this structure may seem unwieldy, it offers several advantages: 1. Items (especially character strings) can be of fairly long length. 2. If you have a configuration management / tracking program you can easily read these files without learning lots of different file structures. 3. Future versions of ICF can include more additional types of status information without changing the structure (just more ID's will be created). 4. It supports status information that is repeated, such as software programs and installed boards found, lines from configuration files, etc. ICF STATUS /ASCII /NST:P Same as above, but saves the data in an ascii delimited file and the /NST (NoStatus) option causes the Program search to be skipped. Separate other information categories to be skipped by using the following letters separated by commas: B = boards M = memory A = main O = mouse I = id's P = programs L = lan D = diskinfo T = text files W = ini files C = cmos * Note: Boards are only detected in Microchannel computers. The ID's are displayed along their descriptions. The descriptions come from files ICFMCA1.DBF through ICFMCA9.DBF. You can add your own if necessary. ICF STATUS /DBASE /FILENAME=FILE1 /NST:P,D,W,T Perform the status command, save the data in a dbase file named FILE1.DBF, and skip the status check for programs, disk information, ini files, and text files. ICF STATUS /DBASE /USERNAME=SMITH Store the status information in a dbase file and set the user name to SMITH. ICF STATUS /DBASE /USERNAME=SMITH /FILENAME=$USERNAME /OUTDIR=S:\ICF Same as above but the $USERNAME results in a file name consisting of the first 8 characters of the specified user name. The file is saved in S:\ICF directory. ICF STATUS /ASK /ASCII ICF can collect data on physical, stand-alone equipment that cannot be recognized programatically. It does through the /ASK option. If this option is specified on the STATUS command, a screen appears permitting you to enter information describing the user (name, location, notes), and make, model, serial numbers and notes for computers, modems, displays, printers, etc. This information is then saved in a hidden file (by default: C:\AUTORUN.DAT and can be changed with an option) so it is read automatically each time the STATUS command is used. AUTO COMMAND ========================================================= The AUTO command is an extension of the STATUS command, shown in the example below: ICF AUTO /BATCH The AUTO command is an extension of the STATUS command, and ICF has several key features that make it easy to use. The AUTO command will tell ICF to quickly check for any configuration changes (including software!) made to the computer). Only if changes are detected will a full status check be performed. ICF also provides several options that are "shortcut" options. They actually set many other options for you so you can quickly use ICF to capture status information. One shortcut option is /BATCH. Among other things, this option suppresses many messages from being displayed on the screen, and signals data to be saved in .DBF format if no other filetype is specified. The overall effect is to make it easy to automate inventory collection by placing the following in an AUTOEXEC.BAT, STARTUP.CMD, or logon script file: ICF AUTO /BATCH EXAMPLES - FILES COMMAND ======================================================== ICF FILES Displays on the screen a listing of all files found on all local hard drives. ICF FILES D /ASCII Saves a record of all files found on D: in an ascii delimited file. ICF FILES EXE /LOTUS Saves a record of all files with "EXE" in the filename in a 1-2-3 worksheet. Note that ICF will normally search the entire filename for the specified text. In this example, "ICFEXE.DAT" would also be matched. This special processing usually makes it simpler to specify what files you're looking for. It also makes for a powerful file finder, as the next example illustrates. ICF FILES SAM /LANDRIVES /FILENAME=$TEMP Finds files that have "SAM" anywhere in the filename. Remote drives are included in the search. The special filename $TEMP specifies that the file should be named with a unique number so it can be saved on a LAN drive. OTHER OPTIONS FOR FILES COMMAND ============================================================ Some other options you may want to try with the FILES command are listed below: /SKIPDRIVES skips specified drives from being searched (i.e. /SKIPDRIVES=DE) /LANDRIVESO includes ONLY remote drives in search /NODESCEND do not descend directories /NSD don't show entries /DOSEARCH use normal wildcard file matching /SORTE sort by extension before displaying /TOTEXT compute totals by extension /ALLEXT include all extensions in TOTEXT report /TOTALS display totals summary /NOALIGNEXT don't align extensions in file display /PROTECTED search for only hidden, system or RO files /NORMAL exclude protected files /BIGFILES include only big files (controlled by /BIGFILESIZE) /SMALLFILES include only small files (controlled by /SMALLFILESIZE) /PAUSE pause every screenfull /RINGBELL ring bell when done (useful for batch jobs) /SIZEK show file sizes in K units OTHER GENERAL OPTIONS ============================================================ /ASCII produce ascii delimited output file /DBASE produce dbase .DBF output file /LOTUS produce lotus .WK1 output file /OVWR overwrite existing data file /APPEND append to existing data file (excl. lotus) /OUTDIR use this drive\directory for output files /INDIR use this drive\directory for input files /NEEDSPACE check for req'd disk space before running (/NEEDSPACE=50) specifed in K units /QUIET suppress status messages /USERID specify userid for inventory collection (also used for /FILENAME=$USERID) /USERNAME specify username for inventory collection (also used for /FILENAME=$USERNAME) /COMPUTERID specify computer id for inventory collection (also used for /FILENAME=$COMPID) * LOTUS, 1-2-3, and DBASE are trademarks of their respective companies.