(Pro/AutoPro)
Serialization is used by software developers and others who track the disks
they distribute. A serial number serves as an identification tag for a disk
and can be used to track the software, keep customer records, and discourage
software pirating.
A serial number can be inserted into a number of places, including labels,
executable files and data files. It can be as high as 2,000,000,000, up to 40
characters long, text or binary, can be incremented by any number, and can be
combine with other information, such as a date or version number.
The serial number can also be protected from snooping or debugging by
encrypting it or adding check digits.
With ASCII serialization, up to 11 characters in the Stamp Mask can be
incrementable numbers. With binary serialization, up to four bytes can be
incremented.
All of the serialization information for a particular master disk is stored
in the serialization file.
The first step in serialization is embedding a string of ASCII characters,
such as "00000," in a program on the disk. When DiskDupe copies the disk, it
replaces those characters with a unique serial number that serves as an
identification tag for the disk.
To serialize disks starting with the number "00001" you would search for
"00000" and replace it with the Stamp Mask "@@@@@," a special code that tells
DiskDupe to look for every occurrence of the Search String "00000" and embed
in its place "00001" on the first disk, "00002" on the second disk, "00003" on
the third, etc.
To add, for instance, a date to the serial number, put the string "00/00/00 00000"
in the program code and have DiskDupe search for it. Then tell DiskDupe to
replace it with "08/01/94 @@@@@". When the disk is serialized, DiskDupe will
replace the @'s with the actual serial number for that disk.
To look at the serial number on a disk, run Compare with Track Range set to
Data and DiskDupe will display the disk's serial number on the screen when
the destination diskette is read.
See also:
Binary Serial
Comparing Serial Numbers with Track Range
Track Range and Serial numbers
Serialization Choices
Replacing the Dos Serial Number
