The LOCK and UNLOCK programs work very well to lock (scramble) or unlock (unscramble) any file. However, a few things need to be done before these programs will work.

In order for the LOCK and UNLOCK programs to work well, the LOCK.exe file, the UNLOCK.exe file and the file that needs to be locked (or unlocked) have to be kept in the same folder (also known as "directory.") All three files need to be in the same folder.

Therefore, before you attempt to use the LOCK.exe and UNLOCK.exe files, do the following:

1. Create a new folder (directory) on your C: drive. Let's call this folder "test" (you can give it any name you want. I'm using the name "test" as an example.)
   
2. Copy the LOCK.exe and UNLOCK.exe files into this new folder that you just created.
   
3. Also copy the "file" that you wish to lock (or unlock) into this new folder.

Now that you have everything you need copied into your new folder, you can use LOCK.exe to lock your file (or use UNLOCK.exe to unlock the file.)

Just follow the procedure outlined below:

To lock a file:

Let's assume, for this example, that the file you need to lock is called "MYBOOK.TXT"

1. From the Desktop of your computer, double-click on the "My Computer" icon.
   
2. Then, double-click on the icon for your C: drive.
   
3. Locate the new file that you just created (we have named this folder "test" in this example.)
   
4. Locate the LOCK.exe file within the new folder and double-click on it.

As soon as you double-click on the Lock.exe file, an MS-DOS window will pop up on your screen. It will contain the information similar to that shown below in brown:

LOCK FILE Ver. 1.0 Copyright 1985 SoftLogic Solutions Inc...

Enter File Name:

Type in the name of the file you wish to lock at the "Enter File Name" prompt and hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

You will now see another message (shown below) pop up:

Enter Password:

Type in a password to use to lock this file. (The password can be anything you choose. Just be sure to make a note of this password somewhere so you don't forget what it is.) Then, hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard.

You will now see the following message appear:

File MYBOOK.TXT has been successfully locked.

Now, close this MS-DOS window by clicking on the "X" in the upper right-hand corner of the window.

Try opening the file that you just locked. If everything went well, the locked file will not be readable. It will be scrambled.

To Unlock the file:

Let's again assume, for this example, that the file you need to unlock is called "MYBOOK.TXT"

If your new "test" folder window is still open, you can skip the section in green below. If you have closed everything out or are attempting to unlock a file at a later date, you need to follow the instruction in green below:

1. From the Desktop of your computer, double-click on the "My Computer" icon.
   
2. Then, double-click on the icon for your C: drive.
   
3. Locate the new file that you just created (we have named this folder "test" in this example.)
   
4. Locate the UNLOCK.exe file within the new folder and double-click on it.

As soon as you double-click on the Unlock.exe file, an MS-DOS window will pop up on your screen. It will contain the information similar to that shown below:

UNLOCK FILE Ver. 1.0 Copyright 1985 SoftLogic Solutions Inc...

Enter File Name:

Type in the file name that you want to unlock. Then, hit "the Enter" key on your keyboard. Another message will appear, shown below:

Enter Password:

Type in the same password that you had previously used to lock the file. Then, hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard. You will now see this message:

File MYBOOK.TXT has been successfully unlocked.

The file is now unlocked.

Close the MS-DOS window by clicking on the "X" on the top righthand corner of the window. Then, check the file that you just unlocked by opening it. This file should now be back to it's original form, unscrambled.

That's all there is to it. To lock or unlock any file, just follow the instructions above. Then...rinse and repeat :-)

Sincerely,