TrakMan is a utility to help you manage your MCM 1.0 Tracks.
Tool created by Eric Elliott. Mirrored here for archival purposes. Note there was a 1.0 version of the program that is currently lost.
TrakMan version 0.6beta
©1999 Eric Elliott
eric@eatmydirt.com
Geocities.com
This is an interim bug fix release. See below for version history
As you have noticed this version of TrakMan does not include a setup program. See the section below for Installation instructions. If you have any problems with this program, PLEASE email me. The only way bugs can get fixed is if I know about them. Also, if you have any suggestions for making the program better or easier to use, let me know. I'm open to suggestions. It only takes a minute to send an email, so help me out here.
Note: This version of TrakMan Only Supports National Tracks!
Don't email me complaing about this, because I plan to add support for all track types in the very near future.
Installation:
Create a new directory somewhere and unzip all the included files into it. If you don't already have a directory where you keep zipped up tracks, you will need to create a directory for that also. If you do not know how to create directories, perhaps you should consider waiting for the next version of TrakMan which will have a setup utility if I get my act together.
The first time you run TrakMan, it will force you to choose an Archive Directory. If you have a directory with Nationals, Stunt Quarries, and SX tracks mixed together, DO NOT run TrakMan using that as your Archive directory. First move all your Nationals to one directory, and choose that one. If you already chose the wrong directory, simply delete the trakman.ini file which is in the directory where you installed TrakMan. It will then allow you to choose your archive directory again.
Planned Future Enhancements:
Support for other track types.
Sorting by Date.
Better User Interface. (I need input on this. I'm undecided as to what would be best. I could have both lists shown at all times, but I'm not sure that would be an improvement.) I may switch to a toolbar across the top, instead of the buttons along the bottom.
Track Detail view. (let you read the txt files included in zips, and look at the track picture)
Ability to show only the tracks that are not currently installed in Archive view.
Easier Configuration. Including a setup program.
Exporting of Track info to Excel and/or HTML
Version 0.5 - initial public release
Version 0.6:
fixed reinstallation bug. No longer have to exit program to reinstall uninstalled tracks.
added option to delete zip files after installing. To make this the default, add DeleteZips=0 to trakman.ini in the directory you installed it to.
handles tracks with 2 scene files properly now. (forward & reverse, or day & night) In some cases before, it would leave a scn file behind.
better error handling.
For the latest version of TrakMan:
Geocities.com
Programming Notes:
When I first started thinking of writing this program, I was going to do it in Visual Basic. I have never used VB before, and I thought this would be a good way to learn. After a couple days of no progress whatsoever, I decided to switch back to VC++, which I am much more familiar with. I can see how VB would be a speedy development system once I learn more about it, but I wanted to get this program done sometime this year. hehe... If anyone knows of any good resources for learning VB, let me know.
The Zip & Unzip dlls are © Info-Zip, source code is available at: Cdrom.com
(I had a hella time getting those to work... even the examples didn't compile without modifications. You get what you pay for :0)