Disk Spanned Pieces

Spanned pieces are single files that span across multiple disks. This allows you to backup more files than would otherwise fit onto a single floppy disk (diskette). In other words, GSplit will span your file directly onto multiple disks and automatically determine the size for each piece according to the space available on the inserted disk. You will be asked each time a new disk is necessary until the original file is totally split.

Spanned disk pieces should be used only if the destination disk is removable: floppy disks, Zip (TM) disks, USB Flash keys...

The following operations are done: when splitting your file, GSplit asks you to insert the first disk, then the second one... until the final one. For each new disk, it determines the free space available on the latter. According to this parameter, GSplit creates a piece with the same size as the free available space, less the reserved amount space. Your disk is full after the piece has been copied.

There is no possibility to determine the number of needed disks because GSplit calculates the size of piece files according to the space available on each inserted disk. But do not worry: each time a new disk is needed, GSplit will show you how remaining space is needed so you can find how many disks you will roughly need.

Be sure that your floppy disks are not write-protected and that your disks are empty. In fact, GSplit does not delete any file and the piece sizes are calculated according to the remaining space.

Blocked Pieces

The original file will be broken into separate equally sized files (blocks) on the same disk. You get a set of equally sized split files that are saved to a hard drive in equally sized physical blocks. Splitting a file into equal sizes and saving the split files as equally sized physical blocks on the hard drive allows you the option of spanning these blocks over multiple diskettes at a later time.

With GSplit, you can:

• specify a unique size for all of your pieces. GSplit also knows some default values: click "Predefined" near the size field. Otherwise, you can enter a custom size and select a unit: Bytes, KB, MB and GB.
  
• enter the number of pieces you want to create. GSplit then automatically calculates the size of each piece file.
  
• define the size for each piece file: this option allows you to define the number of pieces and the size for each one. A list is displayed allowing you to add/remove pieces. You should add pieces until the "remaining byte(s)" counter indicates 0.
  • To add a piece, click Add Piece, and select between "With Specified Size" or "Remaining". Selecting "With Specified Size" will open a dialog box that asks you to enter the size of the piece (in bytes only). Click OK and the piece is added to the list. The "Remaining" option will add a piece whose size is equal to the amount shown by the "remaining bytes" counter.
  • To remove a piece, just select it and click Delete Piece.
• split after the nth occurrence of a specified pattern: GSplit splits your large text file (or a similar format) into pieces that contain a specified number of lines or occurrences of a given pattern. Learn more how you can specify the number of lines or occurrences.

Splitting files into blocked pieces can always be the selected option whether saving to a hard drive or saving to removable diskettes. If using removable diskettes, you will need to calculate the split file size to ensure the split files will fit on available diskettes. This differs from the auto-spanning calculation when saving split files directly to the removable media at the time of splitting them.

They can be used for distribution over the Internet, on networks, with file hosting services or through e-mail, for backups on CD/DVD and any storage device...
For example, if you want to burn a large file that does not fit on a single CD, you can split it into two blocked pieces and then burn these pieces onto two different CDs.

How to split a file