CompuServe Thread

Dana, Autopilot -is- compressed using Lha, when you first downloaded it from CIS it was called "AP.LHA" the .lha extension tells you the file is compressed using lha… Lha is a program that compresses data into a small file so it's cheaper to download, thus saving CIS connect time and phone charges.. Now then, here's the easy way to unpack and install Autopilot.. First of all copy the Lha utillity to your C directory, to check if its already there just open a shell and type: lha <hit return> if you get a load of bumf telling you about lha then you're ready to continue.. Next step copy the Autopilot file (AP.Lha) you got from Compuserve to your Ram Disk. Open a shell, type CD ram: <hit return> the shell "cursor" will change to Ram Disk:> ..now type dir <hit return> it will hopefully list the contents of the ram disk and somewhere in there will be the AP.lha file, now to unpack, simply type Lha x Ap.lha <hit return> ..sit back and watch all the autopilot stuff appear as if by magic.. When its finished, open the Ram Disk and you should have a drawer called AP.. open it, inside will be the AP-install icon you've been looking for, double click it and follow the instructions it gives you to put AP on your hard drive… The only reasons the above might not work for you are: a) you havn't got enough Ram: (not likely on a 3000) if however if that -is- a problem, just use a directory (drawer) on your harddrive instead of Ram, I only use ram to save having to go back and tidy up the hard drive after unpacking etc.. and: b) You don't have the "Installer" program in your C directory. You can get installer from the Libraries here or failing that let me know and I'll email you one… You'll find Autopliot makes this CIS thing -very- addictive, and more important.. -easy- <g> Good luck! Steve

LHA is an archiver(de/compression) program. First you need to unarchive AP.LHA, to do this at a prompt type-> lha x ap.lha ,If for some reason your AP file no longer has a .LHA extension just rename it to AP.LHA by typing-> rename what_I_named_it to AP.LHA ,You know it just dawned on me that you may not be familier with CLI and the Shell. I hope you are, as I just downloaded my upgrade to AP version 1.74, not 3 days ago, and it is infact an lha archieve. So my guess is that Atalk didn't keep the file.extension when you downloaded. The file should be ~474279 bytes long, if its less then it may not have downloaded right. LHA will usually not extract if the extension isn't on the file. Matt Straney, 3 hours late, without your luggage from Grand Ledge — on AutoPilot ——–>

Ok, simple and to the point. When you mail a letter at the post office, you have to go through several steps, which include collecting pages of the letter, and placing them in an envelop. The same goes for files sent over the modem. A application like Autopilot can consists of dozens of separate files. The main program, data files, help files, etc. And other programs may also have custom fonts, libraries, device drivers, and extra commands files. A special program is used to create a special 'archive' file, to act as an envelop in which to place the dozens of separate files. This allows a person to upload a archive file, so others only need to find and download that single file. Simular to placing several pages of a letter into a single envelop, instead of mailing the pages — one page at a time. One such program is called 'LHA'. This program can create the envelop file called a <aname>.lha, then pack several file inside it, and later can be used to unpack the files from this envelop. When you downloaded the file 'AP.LHA', you actually got a package containing several files. You need the LHA program to unwrap the package. LHA, is in LIB14 (Archivers/Crunchers) as program 'LHA138.RUN'. This program can unwrap itself. After you download it, you run LHA138.RUN and it will unpack the actual LHA program and docs to disk (RAM, HD or floppy). You will need to move the LHA program to a place were it can be easily accessed and re-used (like the C: directory). Once you have LHA, you can use LHA as a crowbar to open the AP.LHA package and other '.lha' files. To open AP.LHA, you would use the CLI and enter something like: LHA -x dh1:AP.LHA RAM: This: – runs the LHA program – tells LHA to eXtract files from the .lha (envelop) file – the envelop is to be the AP.LHA file found on dh1: – and to place the unpacked file in the RAM: directory Once the files are extracted, you can then access them. It this case, I placed them in the RAM:. The AP.LHA file, included an 'installer script'. This is a set of instructions that can be read be the program called INSTALLER. Installer, can read this instructions, and based on them — it can ask the user questions on where to place the AP program on the Harddrive, and it can also place the other included files where they need to be. You may also need to download the INSTAL.LHA file from LIB2 (upgrades), to get the Installer program. — Does this help? Ron. – ("I'm not stupid, I'm not expendable, and I'm not going!" – quote made by any low level RPG player.)

First things first. To run AutoPilot you need an Amiga with 1 meg of chip RAM and 2 megs of fast RAM (I have heard that some people have gotten away with less but it isn't recommended.) Your Amiga must have a hard drive with about 5 megabytes of space free. Finally, you must have AmigaDOS 2.04 or higher. If you are uncertain about any of these requirements please leave a message stating what model Amiga you have (Amiga 4000, Amiga 3000, etc.) and any additional equipment installed in your computer. The program you want to download is "AP.LHA". This is always the latest version of the program. This file is compressed using another program called LHArc. It allows AutoPilot and all its support files to be placed in one compact package. LHArc is found in download section 14 in the AmigaUser forum and I believe it is a self extracting file named "LHA138.RUN". To extract the needed file open up a shell or CLI window (found in the "system" drawer on your Workbench) and "cd" to the disk or partition that has the LHA138.RUN. (Example: the file is on a disk in DF0: type "cd DF0:" without he quotes.) Type "run LHA136.RUN" without the quotes to extract the LHArc and its other files. Finally you want to copy the main program to your main "C" directory. Type "copy LhA sys:c" without the quotes. Now you are ready to decompress AP.LHA. From the shell or CLI window type "CD" to the device or partition containing AP.LHA Assuming it is on a disk in drive DF0: type "cd DF0:" without the quotes. Then type "LhA x AP.LHA sys:" without the quotes to place AutoPilot your system (or sys) partition. If you want to place it elsewhere replace the "sys:" in the above command string with the destination you wish, like "LhA x AP.LHA work:" to place it on your "work" partition. Once all this is done double click on the AP drawer, double click on the installer icon and follow answer all the questions. I hope I haven't confussed you or over simplified some things. LHArc and AutoPilot are programs well worth the time to get to know. If there are any more questions leave me a message.