ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Appendices ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 84 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± ASCII Character Set ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ This is the Mondo Font character set supported by RoboBOARD/FX: 33 = ! 61 = = 89 = Y 117 = u 146 = ’ 34 = " 62 = > 90 = Z 118 = v 147 = “ 35 = # 63 = ? 91 = [ 119 = w 148 = ” 36 = $ 64 = @ 92 = \ 120 = x 149 = • 37 = % 65 = A 93 = ] 121 = y 150 = – 38 = & 66 = B 94 = ^ 122 = z 151 = — 39 = ' 67 = C 95 = _ 123 = { 152 = ˜ 40 = ( 68 = D 96 = ` 124 = | 153 = ™ 41 = ) 69 = E 97 = a 125 = } 154 = š 42 = * 70 = F 98 = b 126 = ~ 155 = › 43 = + 71 = G 99 = c 128 = € 156 = œ 44 = , 72 = H 100 = d 129 = 157 = 45 = - 73 = I 101 = e 130 = ‚ 158 = ž 46 = . 74 = J 102 = f 131 = ƒ 159 = Ÿ 47 = / 75 = K 103 = g 132 = „ 160 =   48 = 0 76 = L 104 = h 133 = … 161 = ¡ 49 = 1 77 = M 105 = i 134 = † 162 = ¢ 50 = 2 78 = N 106 = j 135 = ‡ 163 = £ 51 = 3 79 = O 107 = k 136 = ˆ 164 = ¤ 52 = 4 80 = P 108 = l 137 = ‰ 165 = ¥ 53 = 5 81 = Q 109 = m 138 = Š 168 = ¨ 54 = 6 82 = R 110 = n 139 = ‹ 173 = ­ 55 = 7 83 = S 111 = o 140 = Œ 225 = á 56 = 8 84 = T 112 = p 141 = 241 = ñ 57 = 9 85 = U 113 = q 142 = Ž 242 = ò 58 = : 86 = V 114 = r 143 = 243 = ó 59 = ; 87 = W 115 = s 144 = 246 = ö 60 = < 88 = X 116 = t 145 = ‘ 248 = ø 251 = û ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± ASCII Character Set ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 85 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ This is the Bit Font character set supported by RoboBOARD/FX. 32 64 @ 96 ` 128 € 160   192 À 224 à 33 ! 65 A 97 a 129 161 ¡ 193 Á 225 á 34 " 66 B 98 b 130 ‚ 162 ¢ 194  226 â 35 # 67 C 99 c 131 ƒ 163 £ 195 à 227 ã 36 $ 68 D 100 d 132 „ 164 ¤ 196 Ä 228 ä 37 % 69 E 101 e 133 … 165 ¥ 197 Å 229 å 38 & 70 F 102 f 134 † 166 ¦ 198 Æ 230 æ 39 ' 71 G 103 g 135 ‡ 167 § 199 Ç 231 ç 40 ( 72 H 104 h 136 ˆ 168 ¨ 200 È 232 è 41 ) 73 I 105 i 137 ‰ 169 © 201 É 233 é 42 * 74 J 106 j 138 Š 170 ª 202 Ê 234 ê 43 + 75 K 107 k 139 ‹ 171 « 203 Ë 235 ë 44 , 76 L 108 l 140 Œ 172 ¬ 204 Ì 236 ì 45 - 77 M 109 m 141 173 ­ 205 Í 237 í 46 . 78 N 110 n 142 Ž 174 ® 206 Î 238 î 47 / 79 O 111 o 143 175 ¯ 207 Ï 239 ï 48 0 80 P 112 p 144 176 ° 208 Ð 240 ð 49 1 81 Q 113 q 145 ‘ 177 ± 209 Ñ 241 ñ 50 2 82 R 114 r 146 ’ 178 ² 210 Ò 242 ò 51 3 83 S 115 s 147 “ 179 ³ 211 Ó 243 ó 52 4 84 T 116 t 148 ” 180 ´ 212 Ô 244 ô 53 5 85 U 117 u 149 • 181 µ 213 Õ 245 õ 54 6 86 V 118 v 150 – 182 ¶ 214 Ö 246 ö 55 7 87 W 119 w 151 — 183 · 215 × 247 ÷ 56 8 88 X 120 x 152 ˜ 184 ¸ 216 Ø 248 ø 57 9 89 Y 121 y 153 ™ 185 ¹ 217 Ù 249 ù 58 : 90 Z 122 z 154 š 186 º 218 Ú 250 ú 59 ; 91 [ 123 { 155 › 187 » 219 Û 251 û 60 < 92 \ 124 | 156 œ 188 ¼ 220 Ü 252 ü 61 = 93 ] 125 } 157 189 ½ 221 Ý 253 ý 62 > 94 ^ 126 ~ 158 ž 190 ¾ 222 Þ 254 þ 63 ? 95 _ 127  159 Ÿ 191 ¿ 223 ß 255 ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Menu Tree ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 86 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ This is a standard menu configuration for a one language system. RoboBOARD/FX only looks in the correct directory or subdirectory for file based data so it is not advisable to change the directory structure. C:\ÄÄ¿ - Root Directory ÃÄROBOFX - RoboBOARD/FX main working dir ³ ÀÄÄÂÄ ROBODATA - SubDir for config files and ³ ³ data files ³ ÃÄ CFGRES - Config Resource Script files ³ ÃÄ FILES - Files RootDir (configurable) ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄ NEWFILES - NEWFILES dir (configurable) ³ ÃÄ MAIL - HUDSON MAIL dir (configurable) ³ ÃÄ ENGLISH - Default Language Root Dir ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÂÄ GRAPHICS - Menus and Bulletin pictures ³ ³ ³ for language ³ ³ ÃÄ MENUS - Menu Control Files ³ ³ ÃÄ RESOURCE - Interface language resources ³ ³ ÀÄ TEMPLATE - Input Templates for language ³ ÃÄ FXDRAW - FXDRAW operating directory ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄ ICONS - FXDRAW ICONS directory. ³ ÀÄ TEMP - Temp dir (configurable) ³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± File Types ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ C:\ROBOFX RoboBOARD/FX Executables and Overlay files. ROBOCFG.EXE - RoboBOARD/FX configuration executable. ROBOFX.EXE - RoboBOARD/FX executable. ROBOFX.OVR - RoboBOARD/FX overlay. C:\ROBOFX\ROBODATA RoboBOARD/FX configuration Data files and. FILEBASE.DAT - List of file areas/base. MSGBASE.DAT - List of message bases. NEWFILES.FBS - A file base named NEWFILES. NODE1.DAT - Settings for Node 1. NODE2.DAT - Settings for Node 2. ROBOCFG.DAT - RoboBOARD/FX Global Settings ie: SysOp Name and BBS Name. ROBOFILE.FBS - A file area/base named ROBOFILE. C:\ROBOFX\CFGRES RoboBOARD/FX configuration resource files used to manage the BBS. FILE.IDX - Index Files have an IDX extension. FILE.BLB - Database Blob Files have a BLB extension. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± File Types Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 87 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ FILE.CRS - Configuration Resource Script files have a CRS extension. FILE.ICO - Icon files have an ICO extension. SYS_7X16.BIT - Bit Font. SYS_8X16.BIT - Bit Font. TINY_6X6.BIT - Bit Font. C:\ROBOFX\FILES This is a suggested pointer Directory to File Areas/Bases that would follow the structure of C:\ROBOFX\FILES\NEWFILES. C:\ROBOFX\FILES\NEWFILES This is a required directory where RoboBOARD/FX will place new files until they have been Virus Scanned and SysOp verified. C:\ROBOFX\TEMP RoboBOARD/FX writes temporary files to this directory, and they are written over as required. Some file extensions seen in this directory will be, IDX, $$$, TED, TXT, TMP and DAT. C:\ROBOFX\ENGLISH This is a required pointer Directory to Language specific files. C:\ROBOFX\ENGLISH\MENUS Menu configuration files have a MNU extension. All files are English Language files. FILES.MNU MAIN.MNU MESSAGES.MNU C:\ROBOFX\ENGLISH\GRAPHICS The files stored in this directory are graphics files. FILES.IDX - FILES database index file. FILES.BLB - FILES database blob file. FILES.TFX - FILES raw Tel-FX drawing file. FILES.ANS - FILES ANSI equivalent screen. PRELOG.ASC - Pre logon ASCII banner. C:\ROBOFX\ENGLISH\RESOURCE RoboBOARD/FX language based resource files used by the BBS. FILEBASE.IDX - Database Index file. FILEBASE.BLB - Database Blob. SYS_ACC.PLT - Template file. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± File Types Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 88 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ C:\ROBOFX\USA\TEMPLATE User definable Template files are stored in this directory. LOGON.PLT NEWUSER.PLT C:\ROBOFX\FXDRAW FXdraw Executables and resource files are stored in this directory CLASSIC.FNT - Roman Classic Mondo Font source file. CLASSIC.SAM - Roman Classic 'ABCabc' sample file. FXDRAW.EXE - FXdraw executable file. FXDRAW.OVR - FXdraw overlay SYS_7X16.BIT - Bit Font file. C:\ROBOFX\FXDRAW\ICONS FXdraw stores its Icon files in this directory. COMMANDS.ICO FXDRAW.ICO FXLOGO.ICO C:\ROBOFX\MAIL The RoboBOARD/FX echo mail directory. LASTREAD.BBS MSGHDR.BBS MSGIDX.BBS MSGINFO.BBS MSGTOIDX.BBS MSGTXT.BBS ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Inline Text Tokens ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ RoboBOARD/FX provides support for a number of INLINE text tokens which allow you yet another easy way to customize your system. These token names are found by the Tel-FX text handler and replaced by standard values or values that RoboBOARD/FX has programmed into the terminal. Inline Text Tokens can be used in, file descriptions using RoboCFG, Templates, ASCII Text Bulletins, Graphical Bulletins created using FXdraw and all other Graphical screens created in FXdraw. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Inline Text Tokens Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 89 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ These tokens affect the colour of any text which follows them: Dark Colours Intense Colours Black {0} DarkGray {8} Blue {1} LightBlue {9} Green {2} LightGreen {10} Cyan {3} LightCyan {11} Red {4} LightRed {12} Magenta {5} LightMagenta {13} Brown {6} Yellow {14} LightGray {7} White {15} Default {*} These tokens are replaced by System variables: {VER} - Displays RoboBOARD/FX Program & Version ID. {BBSNAME} - BBS Name {SYSNAME} - SysOp Name {NODE} - Displays the Node Number {TCALLS} - Displays the systems Total Calls. {DCALLS} - Displays the System Calls Today {SFRATIO} - Displays the System file ratio (UUUU:DDDD). {SKRATIO} - Displays the System kilo ratio (UUUU:DDDD). {BAUD} - Displays the Connect Baud (if available). {LOCK} - Displays the locked Port Rate. {DEVICE} - Displays the I/O device. {PORT} - Displays the Port Number {UNAME} - Displays the users name. {UFNAME} - Displays the users first name. {ULNAME} - Displays the users last name. {UALIAS} - Displays the users alias. {UAGE} - Displays the users age. {UBIRTH} - Displays the users Birthday. {UCALLS} - Displays the number of calls the user has made. {UEXP} - Users expiry Date. {UFIRST} - Displays the users first call (MM/DD/YY). {ULAST} - Displays the users last call (MM/DD/YY). {UFRATIO} - Displays the users file ratio (UUUU:DDDD). {UKRATIO} - Displays the users kilo ratio (UUUU:DDDD). {UHPHONE} - Displays the users Home Phone. {UDPHONE} - Displays the users Data Phone. {UFDOWN} - Displays the number of files the user has downloaded. {UFUP} - Displays the number of files the user has uploaded. {UKDOWN} - Displays the number of Kb the user has downloaded. {UKUP} - Displays the number of Kb the user has uploaded. {UTIME} - The amount of time the user has left. {UBANK} - The amount of time in the users Time Bank account. {USTREET} - The users Street. {UCITY} - The users City & State (or Province). {ULAND} - The users Country. {UPOST} - The users ZIP or POSTAL CODE. {DATE} - Displays date in short form (MM/DD/YY) {FDATE} - Displays fancy date (MM DD, YYYY) {TIME} - Displays the time in am/pm format (HH:MMam) {TIME24} - Displays the time in 24 hour format (HH:MM) ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± System Screens ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 90 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ RoboBOARD/FX has had a number of Screen Names built into it. These screens, if found, will be displayed at specific moments during BBS operation. RoboBOARD/FX installs with several of these screens already created. In Graphics mode screens will display for 5 seconds before they are removed. If a button is placed in a window, RoboBOARD/FX will wait until that button (regardless of value) is pressed. In text mode screens will always delay. There are three screen types supported by RoboBOARD/FX at the moment. They are .TFX files (Tel-FX raw files), .ANS (Colour ANSI), and .ASC (Mono ANSI or ASCII). If a screen is missing for a particular video mode or language then it will be ignored (or not displayed). The following files may have a .TFX, .ANS or .ASC file extension: ACC_### - This file is displayed before WELCOME1. With this file ### represents and ACCESS LEVEL between 0 & 999. BIRTHDAY - This will be displayed to a user if the current date matches the Birthday field in RoboBOARD/FX. EASTER - This screen is displayed on easter. As easter always travels this screen will show up on the correct date. See the screen MMDDYY for more information regarding day-of-year screens. EXPIRED - This screen is displayed if the users access has expired since there last call. FILETIME - This file is displayed if a user tries to upload or download files during a non-transfer time period. FIRST_2 - This file is displayed to the user on their first 2 calls, this will be shown in place of FIRST_5 if it exists (but only for the first 2 calls). FIRST_5 - This file will displayed to the user on their first 5 calls. GOODBYE - This is displayed to a user as they exit your system. HOUR_## - This file is displayed if ## matches the current hour on the system clock. LOCKOUT - This file is displayed to users who have been locked out. NEWS# - There may be up to 3 news screens, these are displayed after the welcome screen(s) and new mail search. TOAST - This file is displayed to a user as they are being locked out of your system. WELCOME# - There may be up to 3 welcome screens, these are displayed to the user immediately after logging on. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± System Screens Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 91 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ NOTHERE - This screen will show up if the user tries to upload file types which are not allowed on your system. MMDDYY - This screen is shown to a user on a particular day of the year. For example, Christmas, or a national holiday. Please see the screen file called EASTER, this holiday travels. RATIO - This file is displayed to users who attempt to exceed their transfer ratio. SHORTIME - This file is displayed to a user if their time limit has been shortened by a pending event. DAYTIME - This file is displayed to a user when they have exceeded there daily time limit. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Templates ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ At one point or another, as SysOp you may need a way to acquire custom input from your users. For example, you may want to ask a few questions that will tell you what kind of users you have on your system or possibly you would like to set up a simple ordering interface. In RoboBOARD/FX this can be easily done using Templates. The RoboBOARD/FX template language allows you to gather input in a fashion that your users will find natural. The template language also allows you to save your input in a custom file format, delimited with nearly any control characters you like. That's not all, you can also route user input to the printer or to multiple files. This section is intended to demonstrate template functions and how they are created. RoboBOARD/FX templates are very simple to create and give you detailed control over where templates are placed on the screen, template size, text colour, and input type. About The Mysterious Template Format. A template file must follow a basic format: VARIABLES ... PLATE DISPLAY AND FORMATTING ... EXPORTS ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ Direct access to a number of RoboBOARD system ³Variables³ variables and temporary variables has been provided ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ using the RoboBOARD template language. Most of these variables are user variables or temporary text type variables, for your use in questionnaire templates. Variables are affiliated ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Templates Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 92 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ directly with template INPUT BOXes numbered 1-25. If the variable is a RoboBOARD variable that already has a value, that value is passed directly to the input box. Likewise if the value is changed, it will be passed back to RoboBOARD when the user is done with the template. Variable clauses are the first entries in a template file, the syntax is as follows: *VAR, < Input Box # (1-25) >, < Variable identifier > Lets say that the first input box in the template window asks for the USERs NAME, then the variable for this field is titled USERNAME. The declaration for this variable would be as follows: *VAR, 1, USERNAME Valid variables are: USERNAME - Current users name (RoboBOARD will verify this) ALIAS - Current users Alias (RoboBOARD will verify this) PASSWORD - Current users Password (Robo will verify this) HOMEPHONE - The users Home Phone number. DATAPHONE - The users Data Phone number. BIRTHDAY - The user Birthday. STREET - The users street Address. CITYSTATE - The users City & State (or Province). COUNTRY - The users Country. ZIPCODE - The users Zipcode. * RATIO_FUP - The users File Upload ratio. * RATIO_FDOWN - The users File Download ratio. * RATIO_KUP - The users Kilo upload ratio. * RATIO_KDOWN - The users Kilo Download ratio. * DAILYFILES - The users Daily Maximum file limit. * DAILYKILOS - The users Daily Maximum Kilo limit. * DAILYTIME - The users Daily Maximum Daily Time limit. * TIMELEFT - The users Daily Time limit. * TIMEBANKED - The users banked time. * CALLS - The number of calls the user has made. * FIRSTCALL - The users first call. * LASTCALL - The users last call. * ACCESS - The users Access. * TAGS - The users Tags. * EXPIRYDATE - The users Expiry Date (if any). * EXPIRYACC - The users Expiry Access. * NOTE - The SysOps confidential note about the user. F_SEARCH_STR - Used in the Text Search file template. F_SEARCH_DATE - Used in the Date Search file template. F_SEARCH_CARD - Used in the WildCard Search file template. STRING1 - 1-8 temporary strings(always cleaned by STRING2 RoboBOARD before the template is displayed). STRING3 STRING4 STRING5 ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Templates Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 93 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ STRING6 STRING7 STRING8 TIME - The time of day, this is only for log files. DATE - The date, this is only for log files. WARNING:These entries should only be used for output to log files, do not allow your users to change them. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ In order to actually display a ³PLATE DISPLAY AND FORMATTING³ template it is necessary first to ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ initialize it. This is done using the *PLATE command. The PLATE command is followed by a set of coordinates that define the position and size of the template window. The RoboBOARD plate language uses text based coordinates, this means that boundaries are thought of in characters and 0,0 is in the upper left corner of your screen. The maximum width and height of a window is 75 characters by 20. The syntax for the *PLATE command is as follows: *PLATE,,,,, Lets say we want this window to show up 4 characters in, and 4 characters down in the desktop window, having a width of 35 characters and a height of 6 characters. *PLATE,4,4,35,6,LOGON Now that we have established position and size the next step in creating a template is putting something inside it. Creating input fields is very easy using the RoboBOARD/FX template language. Up to this point all lines have started with an * (asteric) and they have been commands or variables. Lines to Format the Template start with a +. In the following example the first line shows a simple Prompt, and the second line shows an input box: ... + Your {1}FIRST {*}& {1}LAST {*}name: + [FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF] ... In the above example on the first line there is a {1}, which sets the text colour to Blue for all text that follows it. The {*} resets the colour to the default colour which in graphics mode is BLACK. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Templates Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 94 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Valid Colours are: Dark Colours Intense Colours Black 0 DarkGray 8 Blue 1 LightBlue 9 Green 2 LightGreen 10 Cyan 3 LightCyan 11 Red 4 LightRed 12 Magenta 5 LightMagenta 13 Brown 6 Yellow 14 LightGray 7 White 15 The next example shows a bracket [# or A or H or F] bracket. The Names of Input boxes are defined in the order they appear, this is very important when assigning variables to an input field or input box. The First input box relates directly to the First variable you defined and so on. This is how input boxes are defined. The following lines are examples of input boxes and their functions. + Number Box [(###)###-####] - Allows for numbers only with formatting. + Text Box [AAAAAAAAAAAAA] - Allows for Text or numbers (free form). + Hidden Box [HHHHHHHHHHHHH] - Hides text, this is useful for passwords. + Fancy Box [FFFFFFFFFFFFF] - Will capitalize first letters. +BAR - Draws a bar across the screen. The *ENDPLATE command is used after all the display and formatting information has been interpreted, telling RoboBOARD/FX, "display the template". ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ This section on Exports demonstrates how to export ³EXPORTS³ completed template Fields to Logging files, printers or ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ other files of your choice. The RoboBOARD/FX template language allows you to format output fields and delimit them as you desire. The syntax for the export command is as follows: *TOFILE, < File name or Device >, < OutPut Text & Variables > The file name may be any valid DOS file name and may include a path. The file name may also be any valid DOS device, but LPT1 or LPT2 are the only two devices that we recommend at this point. The output text may contain variable names which will be replaced by true values at output time. Here is an example of the TOFILE function. *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, DATE : {DATE} at {TIME} The above example exports two variables and would output to the file like this: DATE : MM-DD-YYYY at HH:MM ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Templates Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 95 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ There are two other specialty Output strings, these must follow immediately after the comma. They are the BAR command and the FORMFEED command. *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, BAR - OutPuts a flat bar 78 characters across. *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, FORMFEED - OutPuts the FormFeed (new Page) character (for printers). ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ Lets modify a template you already have, and ³A Working Example³ give it the ability to log the name of ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ everyone who has entered your system. The file is named LOGON.PLT, and is found in the TEMPLATE subdirectory of your main language. This is the file as it is found: *VAR,1,USERNAME - Sets input 1 as the USERNAME *VAR,2,PASSWORD - Sets input 2 as the PASSWORD *PLATE,4,4,35,6,LOGON - Draws the Template window + Your {1}FIRST {*}& {1}LAST {*}name: - Prompts user on line 1 of window + [FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF] - Creates Fancy input box #1 + Your {1}PASSWORD{*}: - Prompts user on for password + [HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH] - Creates Hidden input box #2 + - Blank line + [DONE] [EXIT] - add DONE and EXIT buttons *ENDPLATE - Done Template. This template is very simple, and is handled completely by RoboBOARD. When the user leaves a field blank, RoboBOARD will either prompt them for it, or assume they are a NEW USER. Lets say we want to override RoboBOARD for a few and store their name in a file named LOGON.LOG. The following 6 lines of instruction can be added after the *ENDPLATE statement and will instruct RoboBOARD to CREATE (or APPEND) the file named LOGON.LOG. *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, BAR - Add a separator bar to file *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, - Add a blank line to file. *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, DATE : {DATE} at {TIME} - Add prompt then DATE and TIME *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, NAME : {USERNAME} - Add prompt then USERNAME *TOFILE, LOGON.LOG, - Add another blank to file. and/or if we wanted to use a printer: *TOFILE, LPT1, BAR - Add a separator bar to file ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Templates Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 96 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ *TOFILE, LPT1, - Add a blank line to file. *TOFILE, LPT1, DATE : {DATE} at {TIME} - Add prompt then DATE and TIME *TOFILE, LPT1, NAME : {USERNAME} - Add prompt then USERNAME *TOFILE, LPT1, - Add another blank to file. *TOFILE, LPT1, FORMFEED - Waste a sheet of paper! ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± MultiNode Operation & Optimization ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ After a SysOp has their basic BBS system up it usually doesn't take long before they ask, "I know its fast! But how do I make it FAST!". This question is particulary important for the SysOp who is an avid DesqVIEW or LAN user, or for the typical SysOp with a unquenchable power lust. There are a few areas where RoboBOARD/FX can enjoy a substantial performance increase. Of course simple maintenance like defragmenting your HD with the DOS 6 DEFRAG program will always help things out. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ The first optimization we recommend has to do ³Text Logging Mode³ with the host end graphical display. The ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ problem is with VGA and its slow output in HiRes mode. Couple that with a multi-tasker and performance gets worse. A 640x480x256 screen of graphics contains 307,200 pixels and in VGA mode each pixel equals one byte of data. As one can see, that is exactly 300Kb of data to manage. Whether you run a single line system, or a number of nodes on a lan, we suggest passing a -16COL to the ROBOFX command line which will force RoboBOARD/FX to use 640x480x16 colour mode. This mode uses a packed memory format and therefore only manages 150Kb of memory to process. By passing a -TXT to the ROBOFX command line you can eliminate local end graphics and still have users online in full graphics mode. Out of all the optimizations suggested this one will probably be the single largest performance gain. When RoboBOARD/FX is run in text mode the user still retains their ability to view full colour graphics at a resolution of their choice. Logging Mode will make the turn around time on the remote end nearly instant. You will be able to view the user(s) through a very fast textual interface which requires, NO time spent processing or displaying local graphics. In Logging Mode you are given user statistics and a log of the users activity. As SysOp you will still be able to chat with your users and take care of other basic user services. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± MultiNode Operation & Optimization Con't ±±±±±±± Page 97 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ We have found that a RAM DRIVE can greatly improve ³RAM Drives³ the responce and display speeds of menus and ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ graphics. By default, languages branch off the ROBOFX root directory. Lets say you have set up a RAM DRIVE of about 1 to 2 megs using the drive letter "D:". Under the Language menu in RoboCFG you will find an option to set the language path. The default should look something like this "C:\ROBOFX\ENGLISH\". Instead of reading these files off the hard drive lets point RoboBOARD/FX to the RAM DRIVE by changing the template to say "D:\ENGLISH\". It becomes very obvious that we are going to need to copy all the language, graphics files and subdirectories from the C drive to the RAM DRIVE for this to work properly. This can be done easily with a batch file like the one we have named ZAP.BAT. Please note the actual language directory may be named different than the one in the example! @ECHO OFF D: CD\ MKDIR ENGLISH CD\ENGLISH XCOPY /S /E C:\ROBOFX\ENGLISH\*.* C: CD\ROBO As you already know RoboBOARD/FX is run from a BATCH file. The advantages of running a BBS from batch files will be most obvious to people who have some experience with programming batch files. If you run ZAP.BAT before RUN-ROBO.BAT, RoboBOARD will read its graphics from the RAM DRIVE instead of the hard drive. If you are using a LAN setup, a small RAM DRIVE on your server for graphics will definitely help kick the speed up. Another thing which really increases performance is changing the RoboBOARD/FX temp directory from C:\ROBOFX\TEMP\ to the RAM DRIVE directory (in our last example this would be D:\TEMP\). To make this change you will have to modify the TEMP directory specified under the SYSTEM PULLDOWN to say something like "D:\TEMP\". You will also have to modify ZAP.BAT to look like this: @ECHO OFF D: CD\ MKDIR ENGLISH MKDIR TEMP CD\ENGLISH XCOPY /S /E C:\ROBOFX\ENGLISH\*.* C: CD\ROBOFX ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± MultiNode Operation & Optimization Con't ±±±±±±± Page 98 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ If setting up RAM DRIVES is Not advantageous ³Hard Drive Caches³ for you, then perhaps a CACHE suits your needs ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ more completely. We suggest both a RAM-DRIVE and a CACHE for the "real performance edge" especially while multitasking!. A cache size of about 2-4 megs can result in substantial performance increases, however smaller caches will still make things faster. Both SMARTDRV.EXE and HYPERDISK are excellent software caches that will greatly improve the access speed of your hard drive. Real performance can only truly be achieved with hardware solutions. We have tested a few caching IDE Hard Drive Controllers with 2 megs of SIMMS installed (expandable to 8 megs). We found that transfer speeds from between 2.5 megs and 8 megs a second were possible, using a 4 meg Smart Drive software cache and a 2 meg hardware cache. Performance only gets better with faster hard drives, and better Local Bus or EISA controllers with bigger caches! ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ In our quest to squeeze that last CPS out of ³I/O Performance³ modems we have tested a number of I/O devices ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ranging in price from less than $50 to over $1000 dollars. We are going to discuss two recommended devices that will improve the efficiency of your modems, and at the same time reduce the number of I/O errors. As is always the case with the basic PC, it wasn't designed for what you want to do with it. The basic I/O chips supplied with most computers(and cheap I/O cards) are called 16450's (or older). These chips seem to function well at 2400 baud, but in a busy machine with a 9600 or 14400 baud modem connected to it these chips start to cause problems. You will notice CRC errors or the occasional letter randomly missing from a text string, and you may be thinking "My modem claims to do error Correction?". The truth is your modem has probably corrected everything perfectly between itself and the other modem. The problem resides in your computer. A typical 14400 baud connect will reach rates of up to 1650 characters per second. With a standard UART chip like the 16450, your computer must stop what it does 1650 times a second to go get new characters. These little stops are called Interrupts because they interrupt your software to do some, behind the screens hardware management. This often isn't a big deal with fast PCs, but it starts to become a problem if you want to access graphics, a mouse, your hard drive, or more fearfully a LAN device. Because the PC can only do one thing at a time under DOS (even under DesqVIEW) your computer may be busy doing something else for that thousandth of a second when it should have been grabbing a character. As a result the character that should have been grabbed is overwritten by another character. The final outcome of this common scenario is a CRC error, or a missing character in your text. In graphics protocols this may result in garble. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± MultiNode Operation & Optimization Con't ±±±±±±± Page 99 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ Don't worry, there is a solution. It is called the ³The 16550A³ 16550A (or now AFN) UART. It has a tiny 16 character ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ First-In First-Out (FIFO) Buffer to hold incoming characters while your computer is busy servicing another interrupt. While 16 characters doesn't sound like a very big buffer, it is often enough for your computer to be busy for several thousandths of a second at speeds up to 38400 baud without any problems. Another very positive effect of buffering is that it can effectively divide that 1650 I/O interrupts a second by up to 16, this allows your CPU to spend less time directly processing I/O. If you have callers that complain about I/O problems, noise or garble with 14400 bps plus modems, ask them if they have a 16550. If they don't have a 16550 tell them why they need one. A 16550A chip by itself should not cost much more than $12, and not much more than $40 if it is preinstalled on an I/O board. The cost is minimal but the results are well worth it. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ The DigiBOARD has to be one of the ³The DigiBOARD XIDOS Solution³ biggest breakthroughs to hit the ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ BBS community. The DigiBOARD Multi Port Serial card series includes boards for 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 port operation. RoboBOARD/FX supports several of the 2, 4 and 8 port DigiBOARDs using the XIDOS driver (supplied by DigiBOARD). We have completely tested RoboBOARD/FX with a DigiBOARD PC/8i. As a testimony of the DigiBOARD edge we tested our PC/8i with a locked port rate of 57600 baud, downloaded a file (with FXTERM) at a modem rate of 14400 baud under DesqVIEW with 4 active DOS tasks open, and we never lost a character or noticed a loss in speed. With a DigiBOARD PC/8i, DesqVIEW and a very fast computer it is conceivable to achieve up to 8 lines per PC. DigiBOARDs (like the PC/8i) come with an onboard 80186 processor solely for the purpose of I/O management. Our PC/8i has 128K of onboard memory for its internal programs and I/O buffering. A driver called the XIDOS driver provides programs like RoboBOARD/FX access to the DigiBOARD through interrupt 14 services. Earlier we mentioned that a 16450 at 14400 baud could cause around 1650 interrupts a second while sending or receiving characters, and that a 16550A could divide that number by up to 16. A DigiBOARD could take the number of Interrupts per second required to operate at 14400 baud down to a number you can count on your hand. This off-loading of I/O can effectively reduce the amount of work your CPU does to far lower than 1% per 1000 characters. Under a MultiTasker this means your CPU has more time to process other tasks, and the result is better service for your users. It should be noted that RoboBOARD/FX requires DigiBOARD Ports to be numbered between 1 and 8, or at least that the DigiBOARD channels you want to use, fall within 1 and 8. Your DigiBOARD should be configured for full hardware flow control with NO software flow control. Also you will want to set the EBIOS option to ON. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± MultiNode Operation & Optimization Con't ±±±±±± Page 100 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ It is very common for a system to grow ³Multi-Line Operation³ beyond the bounds of a single line. Systems ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ often need to be expanded when there is no longer a reasonable hour of the day when users can get on, or when it is very important for users get a line, when they need a line. RoboBOARD/FX is sold in 2, 4, 8 or 255 line versions, and supports three methods of multi-line operation: LAN, DesqVIEW or DesqVIEW-LAN. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ RoboBOARD/FX has been tested, and is known to ³LAN Operation³ operate under several different LAN systems. ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ RoboBOARD/FX uses DOS style record and file locking to avoid file corruption. It is important that SHARE is loaded on each station and the server is configured for DOS file sharing (or has SHARE loaded). On peer-to-peer systems, it is required that all files share, the same directory and drive names. RoboBOARD/FX will not operate if one node sees the BBS drive as "C:" and another sees it as "D:". A dedicated server (even in a peer-to-peer installation) is recommended. If you intend to use standard I/O cards on LAN stations, then we expect you to use 16550A UART chips. An inexpensive yet very effective multi-line system would use PCs with no hard drives in them. Just a Floppy Drive, cheapo VGA, mono VGA monitor, and a LAN adaptor. The Lan software as well as any drivers should fit nicely on a 1.44 meg disk. Even a minimal QEMM 386 instalment to load the LAN drivers high should be no problem. We suggest you set up an individual batch file for each node you intend to operate. This way you can pass the node number to ROBOFX.EXE directly within the batch file using the -NODE ### command line option. The multiple startup batch files will allow for additional customization for each node. NOTE: It is REQUIRED that SHARE IS LOADED and that each node is started with its own node number. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ RoboBOARD/FX has been specially designed to ³DesqVIEW Operation³ run under DesqVIEW and QEMM386. With a ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ DigiBOARD and a hot 486 configuration RoboBOARD/FX can run up to 8 telecommunication lines per PC. With Standard I/O equipment and a fast 486, RoboBOARD should be able to run up to 4 lines per PC. If you intend to use standard I/O cards under DesqVIEW, then we expect you to use a 16550A UART chips on each station. RoboBOARD will automatically activate DV cooperative operation as soon as it detects DesqVIEW. RoboBOARD/FX will force text logging mode, and will operate in memory conservation mode. At any idle moment RoboBOARD/FX will give up its task so that other tasks, will complete their operations quickly. It is likely that the other task will be giving away time slices as well. Well over 90% of the time spent on a BBS is Idle or Low traffic. This is only improved using the Tel-FX protocol. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± MultiNode Operation & Optimization Con't ±±±±±± Page 101 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ We suggest that you set up an individual batch file each node you intend to operate. This way you can pass the node number to ROBOFX.EXE directly within the batch file with the -NODE ### command line option. It should also be noted that DOS SHARING is REQUIRED. To operate RoboBOARD under DesqVIEW a minimum or 450K per node is required, an additional 512K of EMS for each node is recommended, but not required. The following are shots of the DV task configuration screens. These should only be used as references. Please see the digital file DVNOTES.DOC file for additional information regarding DesqVIEW setup. The DesqVIEW "Standard Options" menu is accessed from the (CP) CHANGE PROGRAM command. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Standard Options º º º º Program Name............: RoboBOARD (NODE 1)__________________ º º º º Keys to Use on Open Menu: R1 Memory Size (in K): 450 º ºÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĶ º Program...:ROBOFX1.BAT_______________________________________ º º º º Parameters:__________________________________________________ º º º º Directory.:C:\ROBOFX_________________________________________ º ºÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĶ º Options: Writes text directly to screen.......: [Y] º º Displays graphics information........: [N] º º Virtualize text/graphics (Y,N,T).....: [N] º º Uses serial ports (Y,N,1,2)..........: [1] º º Requires floppy diskette.............: [N] º º F1 for Help F10 for Advanced Options <ÄÙ when Done º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± MultiNode Operation & Optimization Con't ±±±±±± Page 102 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ DesqView "advanced Options" accessed from the (CP) CHANGE PROGRAM command. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Advanced Options º º º º System Memory(in K)...: 0 Max Program Memory Size(in K):500 º º Script Buffer Size...: 0 Max EMS/XMS/VCPI/DPMI(in K): 512 º º º º Text Pages: 1 Graphics Pages: 0 Initial Video Mode: º ºÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĺ º Window Position: º º Maximum Height: 25 Starting Height: 23 Starting Row...: _ 0 º º Maximum Width.: 80 Starting Width.: 80 Starting Column: _ 0 º ºÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĺ º Shared Program º º Pathname..:_________________________________________________ º º Data......:_________________________________________________ º ºÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĺ ºClose on exit(Y,N,blank)..:[ ] Uses its own colors..........:[Y]º ºAllow Close Window command:[Y] Runs in background(Y,N,blank):[Y]º ºUses math coprocessor.....:[Y] Keyboard conflict (0-F)......:[0]º ºShare CPU when foreground.:[Y] Share EGA when forgrnd/zoomed:[Y]º ºCan be swapped (Y,N,blank):[N] Protection level (0-3).......:[0]º º F1 for Help F10 for Standard Options <ÄÙ when Done º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ NOTE: It is REQUIRED that SHARE IS LOADED and that each node is started with its own node number. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ The least expensive way to break the ³DesqVIEW-LAN Operation³ eight line barrier is to network a series ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ of computers together, giving each CPU a few lines multi-tasked under DesqVIEW. With the advent of the DigiBOARD, a fast properly configured 486, and a LAN adaptor without a shared memory region (for example the NE-2000) and RoboBOARD/FX should run up to 8 lines without problems. If you only want to run a few lines per PC then standard I/O cards will work as well. If you opt to use standard I/O cards on a LAN under DesqVIEW a 16550 is REQUIRED, otherwise you will start missing characters at a mad pace. Note: A DigiBOARD requires a 64 k address in conventional memory, which is typically found between D000-DFFF on most PCs. This may be a consideration in your overall system design when purchasing LAN adapters. You may want to check with DigiBOARD for their recommendations. RoboBOARD has been tested with DesqVIEW 386, Lantastic/AI peer- to-peer using an NE-2000 LAN adaptor clone, and a DigiBOARD PC/8i in a 486/33 with 8 megs of Ram. We had no problems with this seemed to slow operation down considerably. Please see the prior two sections on LAN OPERATION and DESQVIEW OPERATION. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± ROBOFX.EXE Command Line Options ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 103 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ The ROBOFX.EXE file may be passed a series of options to alter its behaviour. If RoboBOARD is not passed any command lines it will start up with the communications device you configured in ROBOCFG and wait for calls. -ONLINE - Tells RoboBOARD it is already connected. This is useful if you are passing control to RoboBOARD from a mailer. -UART - Tells RoboBOARD to use a UART, this can also be configured in ROBOCFG. -FOSSIL - Tells RoboBOARD to use a FOSSIL DRIVER, this can also be configured in ROBOCFG. -DIGI - Tells RoboBOARD to use the DigiBOARD XIDOS DRIVER, this can also be configured in ROBOCFG. -TXT - This forces RoboBOARD into text logging mode. -LOCAL - This tells RoboBOARD not to open any I/O ports and startup for a local logon. -NOSOUND - This tells RoboBOARD to run in QUIET MODE. -NOSB - This tells RoboBOARD NOT to use the Sound Blaster -16COL - This forces RoboBOARD into 16 colour mode -H1024 - This tells RoboBOARD to try 1024x768x256 colour mode. -H800 - This tells RoboBOARD to try 800x600x256 colour mode. -BAUD ###### - This tells RoboBOARD that the modem is set/connected at a specific speed. This may be required if you are passing control from a mailer package. This may be configured in ROBOCFG. -LOCK ###### - This allows you to lock your com ports baud rate. This is used by high speed modems and may be configured in ROBOCFG. -PORT # - This allows you to specify an I/O PORT for RoboBOARD. This may be configured in ROBOCFG. -EVENT #### - This allows you to pass how many minutes until the next event to RoboBOARD. This may be required by some mailers. -NODE ### - This allows you to pass the node number to RoboBOARD/FX so it can load the appropriate modem settings, and share files correctly. -SAVER ## - This allows you to pass the number of minutes before the the screen saver starts. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± ROBOFX.EXE Errorlevel Exits ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 104 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ RoboBOARD/FX will exit with special DOS ERRORLEVELs in certain situations. For example, if a user enters a message in an ECHO MAIL area, it will be necessary for that message to be SCANNED and sent to your HUB. To aid in this process RoboBOARD/FX will exit with a special errorlevel to signal the calling batch file to take action. Here are the DOS ERRORLEVELS RoboBOARD exits with. Please consult your DOS manual for help on creating batch files. 0 - Standard Termination, Loop to TOP of batch file and start over. 1 - The RoboBOARD/FX will exit with ERRORLEVEL 1 if you press F10 to EXIT from the answering utility. 2 - ECHO MAIL was entered in a message base 10 - FATAL ERROR, exit batch file. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Trouble Shooting ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Internal Modems. - Internal Modems usually occupy COM1 or COM2. Is there another device also trying to use that port like your mouse? If you have a multi I/O card in your computer you may want check to see if you have the Port you are using for your internal modem ENABLED. CONFIG.SYS. - Have you made these minimum settings in your CONFIG.SYS? FILES=25 BUFFERS=25 SHELL=COMMAND.COM /e:512 /p Fossils - Fossils are not required to use RoboBOARD/FX however if you are running a Front End for mail you may need to use a Fossil. Make sure that your CONFIG.SYS settings match the ones set in RoboCFG. The CONFIG.SYS file needs to include parameters for X00. If you are using a 14.4 modem you may want set your fossil as follows. - The E gets rid of the advertisement banner display. - Set your FIFOS to between 8 and 12. This is about the right setting to avoid 'buffer overrun problems'. - set fossil to 2 ports - set Receive buffers to 3072 - set Transmit buffers to 3072 - Lock Com 2 @ 19200 - set Fifos to 8 ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Trouble Shooting Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 105 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ * NOTE: FOSSIL ports are number from 0-7 not 1-8 Fifos set to 8 ³ Lock Com 2. ³ No Commercial 19200 baud. ³ ³ ³ ³ DEVICE=C:\FOSSIL\X00.SYS E 2 T=3072 R=3072 B,1,19200 F=8 ³ ³ ÀÄÄÂÄÄÄÙ ³ Its in the Fossil Dir ³ ³ ³ If Com 1 ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄ set to 0 2 ports Transmit and receive buffers at 3K (RoboBOARD requires 3K) Modem won't connect. - Is it 100% Hayes compatible? Is it one other modem in particular that it won't connect with or is it all modems? Cable Type. - the cable you purchased for your modem should be a RS232 and not a null modem cable or a parallel cable. UART replacement. - Most I/O cards come with only a NS16450 chip on them. This chip is great for most serial devices like a mouse or a printer but they do not hold up to the rigours of high speed telecommunications. For higher performance it is recommended that you replace this chip with a 16550 UART chip(s). Some I/O cards come slotted for 16550 UARTs so the upgrade is not too expensive, this will depend on your I/O card. Three daughter chips are also required, one 1488 and two 1489 chips. The 16550 UART introduces some significant improvements over the standard 16450 like 16 byte receive and send Fifos and overall throughput is double. We are not the only ones to make these recommendations, in fact every modem manufacturer we have spoken to highly recommends 16550A UART chips. Call Waiting. - Will cause your modem to loose connect every time a call is incoming. Talk to your phone company to find out what the temporary disable code is. Does AT return OK.? - Use AT command set to make sure modem is ready for communications. Type AT and hit enter. Do you get OK? If not check your COM Port, cabling, connections and modem. Serial Ports. - There are many System Information utilities which will find and display the number of active ports on your system. This information is often displayed on bootup in the BIOS statistics. Out of memory. You can use DOS MEM to check for available memory. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Trouble Shooting Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 106 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Out of Harddrive space. - You can use DOS CHKDSK to test for the available harddrive space, by typing CHKDSK at the DOS prompt. CHKDSK can be used to eliminate lost clusters by typing CHKDSK /F Maintenance. Run DOS CHKDSK /F first to eliminate any lost clusters and DEFRAG secondly to defragment your harddrive. It is a very good idea to back your system up regularly in the event of hardware failure. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ The following are hardware notes which may be ³Hardware Notes³ helpful to you when setting up your modem and ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ computer. COM Port Addresses: COM1 = IRQ4 = ADDRESS 03F8h COM2 = IRQ3 = ADDRESS 02F8h COM3 = IRQ4 = ADDRESS 03E8h COM4 = IRQ3 = ADDRESS 02E8h The following table describes the 9 pins used in carry signals. Mnemonic Name Source Comment TXD Transmitted Data PC Data from PC to modem RXD Received Data Modem Data from modem to PC RTS Request To Send PC Flow control CTS Clear To Send Modem Flow control DSR Data Set Ready Modem Flow control SG Signal Ground CD Carrier Detect Modem Active when connected DTR Data Terminal Ready PC Active when ready to place call RI Ring Indicator Modem Active when ring is detected Standard 9 pin modem cable. COMPUTER MODEM CONNECTOR CONNECTOR ÚÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ ³ GND ³ 1 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 1 ³ GND TxD ³ 3 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 2 ³ TxD RxD ³ 2 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 3 ³ RxD RTS ³ 7 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 4 ³ RTS CTS ³ 8 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 5 ³ CTS DSR ³ 6 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 6 ³ DSR GND ³ 5 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 7 ³ GND DCD ³ 9 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 8 ³ DCD DTR ³ 4 ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ 20³ DTR ³ ³ ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÙ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 107 ±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ This Glossary of terms is provided as a service to RoboBOARD/FX SysOps. Definitions are based on their application to RoboBOARD/FX. Access Level, the numeric value assigned to a User and a Menu Command. A users access level must be greater than or equal to the access level of the Menu Command in order to gain access. Access Tag, the alphabetical letter(s) assigned to a User and a Menu Command. A users access tag(s) must equal the access tag(s) of the Menu Command in order to gain access. Access Profiles. RoboBOARD/FX supports up to 1000 Access Profiles, from 0 to 999. An Access Profile consists of Required file ratio, Kilobyte ratio, Daily files allowed, Daily kilobytes allowed, and Daily time fields. Access Profiles are numbered and for reminder sake are also named. Rather than typing these fields in for every user, an Access Profile can be assigned instead. This makes changing the access level of a group or an individual very quick. Alias, an assumed name or another name a user goes by. ANSI, American National Standards Institute. The standard used by most textual BBS software packages to create screens and menus. ANSI allows for cursor location and colour. ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange. The ASCII character set is 256 characters in length from 0 to 255 and includes all the typeable characters on the keyboard. The Tel-Fx protocol uses 7 bit graphics or the ASCII character set from 0 to 127 to send vector graphics. RoboBOARD/FX uses 8 bit ASCII when it sends data that is compressed and decompressed in realtime. Seven bit transmission is generally speaking more stable than eight bit transmission so RoboBOARD/FX uses 8 bit only when the data is packeted and its integrity is checked by the protocol. Asynchronous Communications, are low speed serial data transfer, such as the type of data sent over Modems. Data inside a computer is in parallel form (synchronous) and is converted to serial(asynchronous) form to be sent over telephone lines. ATDT, for modems that use the AT (Hayes) command set. ATtention Dial Tones. Tells the modem attention we are going to dial using tones. If you have a pulse phone the sequence would be ATDP. This command is usually typed directly to your Hayes modem or compatible by you or your software. AT commands. Refers to the Hayes Command Set, the standard that the computer industry uses for modem communications. Auto Answer, is a feature of modems, in which the modem will receive incoming calls unattended without intervention. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 108 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Auto Dial, is a feature of most modems, in which the modem will continually dial a number until it gets a connect. Front End software uses this feature at a software level, when sending Echo Mail to another mail node. AUTOEXEC.BAT, This is the second file that DOS interprets immediately after the CONFIG.SYS file on bootup. It is intended to define the characteristics of your DOS system. You can load drivers, define your prompt, set system path etc. to fully optimize your DOS system. Auto Logon, FXterm will let users automatically logon to your system, by providing their Name and Password to RoboBOARD/FX at connect time. This information is stored in the FXterm dialling directory. Bandwidth, refers to the information carrying capabilities of a communications line. Bandwidth is measured in hertz (cycles per second), that a com line is capable of before serious degradation occurs. Faster modems require more bandwidth then slower modems. Baud Rate, is actually a measurement of modulation rate. Normal telephone voice lines can accommodate up to 2400 signal changes or modulations per second. Modems accomplish higher speeds by encoding at least two data bits in each signal change using advanced encoding algorithms. To calculate Bps = (2400 modulations * encoded data bits) ie: 2400 x 6 = 14,400 BBS, Bulletin Board System. Bisynchronous, both ends of a connection simultaneously send and receive data. Bit Text, is exactly the same as the Standard DOS Text. RoboBOARD uses three Bit Fonts of our own design. A tiny font, a narrow font and a standard sanserif font. Block, (data block) Carrier Protocols for modems and most File Transfer Protocols send blocks of data or packets, which are groups of characters sent between modems ie: 1024 bytes. Carrier Protocols, take care of their own error checking and packeting and as a modem user you will be unaware of resending of packets due to line noise unless your modem has LEDs or LCDs to indicate. During a File Transfer you will sometimes get the notice Bad Block when a data block failed integrity testing and is being sent again. Most graphical protocols are flow through and they do no packeting, and thus are prone to line noise which is displayed as anything from missing or extra characters to strange looking graphics. In theory with error correcting modems there should be no such thing as line noise, however line noise occurs between the modem and the I/O card or at the I/O card. The Tel-FX protocol by Hamilton TeleGraphics Inc. upon which RoboBOARD ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 109 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ is based, does packeting where practical. For example icons, menus, buttons and JPEGs are packeted. Not only is sending packeted data more efficient, especially when using I/O devices like DigiBoards, it also insures the integrity of your graphical data. Bps, means Bits Per Second and refers to the rate at which data can be transferred, for example a 14,400 modem can get up to 14,400 Bits Per Second which equates to 1,440 characters per second when start and stop bits are considered. Modems often accomplish higher Cps (characters per second) throughput using compression techniques employed by some Carrier Protocols. Bps should not be confused with Baud Rate which has a different meaning. Buffer, is an area of memory used to by the modem or computer to temporarily store data, until it can be sent or processed. These are often called Transmit and Receive Buffers and play an important role in Asychronous communications. Bulletins, can be textual or graphical. Screens like NEWS and WELCOME are graphical only meaning they are created in FXdraw. In keeping with the original concept of the Bulletin Board System the only limit to the number of Bulletins is hard drive space. Users are given a window and scroller to roll through the available Bulletins. Bulletin Board System (BBS). RoboBOARD/FX is a bulletin board system, designed to be run on an IBM or compatible clone. RoboBOARD/FX is the Host software and receives calls from the terminal or remote end usually using FXterm. Button, a primitive of the Tel-FX GUI based Protocol(a designated area assimilating a push button or indenting toggle switch). A user clicks on a Button with their mouse and a command is sent to the Host (SysOps end) which triggers an RoboBOARD/FX Menu Command. Call Back Verifier (CBV). The Call Back Verifier automatically calls up a nonverified user when they logoff your system and asks them to type in their Password. If the CBV is successful the users access is automatically upgraded to Verified User Access. This is an optional feature included with RoboBOARD. Carrier. Modems communicate using carrier signals which are usually established by standards committees and modem manufacturers. These are audible tones which have a very specific frequency. Modems use these tones to communicate and carrier is lost if the audio tone is lost or goes dead. CCITT. International Consultive Committee for Telephony and Telegraphy. This is a committee which sets standards that most modem manufacturers remain compatible with. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 110 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Chat, realtime interaction between the SysOp and users, or between multiple users on a multinode system. Realtime chat has become very popular recently with users even doing it in coffee shops. RoboBoard/FX supports 2 line split screen SysOp chat and multinode chat. Coordinates, used in FXdraw as a drawing aid and to track movement of the cross hairs. COM, can have two meanings both of which are relevant to the Online Community. COM is short for COMMAND files which are executable files. COM also refers to Asynchronous Communications, which is a PC based interface known as RS-232 and commonly referred to as a PC Port or Serial Adapter. The original IBM specifications defined COM1 on IRQ4 and shortly after added COM2 on IRQ3. Command Mode, allows you to type directly to your modem and change its settings. Command mode is very useful since you can use it to configure your modem or receive results back from the modem. Command Mode can generally be avoided by finding the correct Init string for your modem. Communications Parameters. The Tel-FX protocol uses No Parity, 8 Data Bits and 1 Stop Bits as its Communications Parameters. These settings are used to determine how RoboBOARD/FX will read incoming data and how it will transmit data. File transfer protocols have their own parameters. Communications Software. (see RoboBOARD/FX) Computer Port. (see COM) Conference. (see Forum) CONFIG.SYS Is the first file DOS interprets on bootup. It is used to load installable drivers and reserve memory space. Conference Chat. Used on multinode chat boards for a group to break away from the main group, on a different topic. Connect, is the message that is echoed to the screen upon connection of two modems. The connect string can be turned off or modified to include various levels of statistics. Configuration is very modem specific. Connect Time, refers to the duration of time two modems remain connected. CPS, means Characters Per Second and refers to the number of characters transferred per second. For example a noncompressing 2400 Bps modem can send up to 2400 Bits Per Second which equates to 240 characters per second when start and stop bits are considered. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 111 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ CRC, refers to Cyclic Redundancy Checking which is a method of calculating a unique value (fingerprint) for every block of data or data entity. RoboBOARD/FX makes extensive use of CRC calculations throughout, for example FXterm uses CRC values to determine if an icon should be transferred in realtime. If CRCs match, the users end already has the icon, so don't send that one again. Cross Hairs, are used in FXdraw as a drawing aid. When used with Grid Lock they are very helpful in drawing straight lines and to line up entities. CTS, signal means Clear To Send and is part of flow control. It is usually one of the LEDs or LCDs found on the front of compressing modem. RoboBOARD/FX relies on the CTS signal to know when to send data to the terminal. Daily Files, the maximum number of files a user can download on a calender day. Daily Kilos, the maximum number of Kilobytes a user can download on a calender day. Daily Time, the maximum amount of time a user can spend on your system on a calender day . DCD, Data Carrier Detected signal indicates that the modem on the either end of the connection is ready to communicate. DCE, signal means Data Communications Equipment. A modem falls into this category of communications hardware. Demodulate, converts a modulated (analog) carrier tone sent by a modem into a digital form or Demodulated form that can be processed by a computer. Disconnect, termination of the connection between two modems. Download, the term used to describe sending files from RoboBOARD the Host system to FXterm the terminal system. Download Access, the minimum access level a user must have in order to download files from a file area. Download Tags, the Tag(s) a user must match in order to download files from a file area. DTE, Data Terminal Equipment. Modems are DCE, Data Communications Equipment. DTR, Data Terminal Ready signal indicates that the communications software is loaded and the modem is ready to communicate. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 112 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ DSR, Data Set Ready or Modem Ready signal indicates that the modem has communicated its status as connected and is ready to communicate to the computer. Duplex, RoboBOARD/FX uses a Full Duplex system to handle some of its communications. Menus, Graphical Bulletins, Icons and JPEGs are packeted to insure data integrity. Full Duplex works as follows: When a user types into the message editor or clicks on a button FXterm will communicate the character to RoboBOARD/FX where it will either be trapped and cause a command to be invoked or it will be returned to the terminal where it will be displayed on the users monitor. Echo, is part of the AT command set. E0 = Local echo OFF. E1 = Local echo ON. If you have Local Echo on you will see the characters you type echoed to the screen in local mode, otherwise you see nothing. Echomail. RoboBOARD/FX supports Echomail built around Fido technology like FidoNet and WorldNet. Generally speaking one or more systems in a local area will act as a HUB through which SysOps send and receive mail packets and files. Echomail is very topic specific and different topics are called Echoes. Message bases can be tagged as Local or Echo in RoboCFG. When users reply to messages that are in an Echo message base their replies are packeted up using a standalone packer/scanner and sent to the HUB as a mail packet. The scanning and packeting process can be run manually or as a daily time event. When the mail reaches the HUB it is repacked and sent towards its destination. Ellipsoid. One of the primary drawing functions of FXdraw. The ellipsoid Tool in FXdraw drops four edit nodes on the screen and lets you drag and stretch the ellipsoid into any elliptical or circular shape or size. E-mail, or Electronic Mail sent between two or more systems. External Modem,is a self contained unit separate from the computer connected through the computers serial port. The status LEDs are very helpful in knowing the status of the modem at any given time. Expiry Access, expiry access is the access level a user receives if their account expirers. Expiry Tags, expiry Tag(s) are the access Tag(s) a user receives if their account expirers. FidoNet, Tom Jennings started FidoNet in 1983 as BBS software. FidoNet has grown into a large echomail system having over 26000 members. RoboBOARD/FX requires that a Front End is used in order send and receive mail packets. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 113 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Field, is a blank area in a template intended to be filled in by a user or the SysOp. Fields are used by RoboBOARD to store system data into the file structure. Fifo, first in, first out. 16 byte buffers found on 16550A UART chips. File Area, is a directory, subdirectory or drive where a group of files are stored. File Ratio, is the ratio of files a user must upload in order to be able to download files from a system. This setting is optional. A typical setting would be 1 to 5. Flow Control, is a software method of controlling the flow of data between two modems. There will be commands to start sending data and commands to stop sending data. Flyout, menus are used in Fxdraw as a convenient method of grouping similar commands. When you click on a flyout button, an icon menu of buttons will flyout and wait for selection of a drawing Tool. Forum. RoboBOARD/FX has 999 Forums which are sometimes referred to as conferences. They are an area of the BBS set up that has separate File Areas, Message Bases, Bulletins and DOORs that are topic or client specific. Fossil, Fido, Opus, Seadog Standard Interface Layer. Fossils such as X00 by Ray Gwinn for example, are used to manage I/O between the BBS software and the Modem. Fossils are a very good idea if multitasking RoboBOARD/FX under DesqVIEW or OS/2. Front End. If you want to do Echomail with RoboBOARD/FX you will require a Front End, based on Fido technology. A Front End will pick up the line and determine if the caller is Human (one of your users) or if the caller is a modem wanting to drop off mail. Human callers are redirected to RoboBOARD/FX and Mail is placed in a directory you specify until you toss it into your message bases. A Front End will also take care of exporting scanned mail to your HUB. Full Duplex, see Duplex. FXdraw, or Tel-FX Draw is the polygon based 256 colour SVGA drawing and design package included with RoboBOARD/FX. Fxdraw is used to create graphical bulletins, draw menus, draw icons, assemble JPEGs and assign keys to buttons. FXterm, or Tel-FX Terminal is the terminal package supplied with RoboBOARD/FX. You can distribute FXterm to your users free of charge provided that you agree to the terms of the Tel-FX Terminal End User Licence Agreement. FXterm is a 256 colour SVGA full graphics terminal. It is light weight yet powerful and also supports, ANSI mode, UART, Fossil and DigiBoard. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 114 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Global, are variables defined in RoboCFG that effect the entire system, like BBS Name and Sysop Name. GIF, Graphical Information Format defined by Compuserve. GUI, Graphical User Interface. RoboBOARD/FX is built around a GUI that conforms to the expectations of GUI users. Inexperienced users will be able to logon to a RoboBOARD/FX BBS and navigate the system productively on their first call. Grid Lock, is used in FXdraw as a drawing aid. Grid Lock forces the drawing cross hairs on to grid points as set by the Grid Lock. Grid Locks are definable from 1 to 30 drawing units. Handle, is a users Pseudonym used on BBSs similar to an Alias, but seen predominantly in messaging, chat and Door systems. Handshake, refers to how hardware devices or communications based software systems exchange information about their communications requirements. Handshaking always occurs as modems synchronize with each other and often manifests itself as a high pitch warbling squeal. Protocols also require handshaking. Hayes Compatible, means that a modem is using the Hayes AT command set. Host System. RoboBOARD/FX is the Host system. A user logs onto the Host from the remote terminal end. Icons, are used throughout RoboBOARD/FX and drawn in the FXdraw icon editor. Icons are placed on top of buttons to create recognisable pictographs that spread across the boundaries of language. Initialization string, is a group of commands that set up your modem for a communications session. These commands are passed to the modem in the form of a string of ASCII characters. FXterm stores the users choice of Initialization strings in the Settings Template. I/O, Input/Output. I/O cards are hardware cards that handle communications between the computer and serial devices. They also handle communications between the computer and parallel devices Interface. RoboBOARD/FX has a GUI or Graphical User Interface that gives users a familiar environment which gives them access to the programmed and configured Objects that make up the power of a RoboBOARD/FX system. IRQ, the DOS Interrupt Request are as follows. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 115 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ COM1 = IRQ4 = ADDRESS 03F8h COM2 = IRQ3 = ADDRESS 02F8h COM3 = IRQ4 = ADDRESS 03E8h COM4 = IRQ3 = ADDRESS 02E8h JPEG, Joint Photographic Experts Group. RoboBOARD/FX sends realtime photographic images using the JPEG standard. The JPEG group was formed and worked under the auspices of three major international standards groups: ISO (International Organization for Standardization), CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee, IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). JPEG technology uses algorithms that simplify colour and images compressing them to a size which can be sent over the high speed modems in a reasonable length of time without a major loss in image quality. Kilo Ratio, is the upload to download ratio in kilobytes a user must maintain on your system. Kilo Ratio is an option; if chosen a common ratio would be 1-5. LAN, Local Area Network. RoboBOARD/FX can be run as a multinode system across a LAN. Line Noise, Line noise is encountered using telecommunications devices like modems. Compressing modems correct for line noise between modems but line noise still happens between modems and computers. Line noise can be a serious problem when using a graphical protocol and will be displayed as anything from a few extra or missing characters to a complete lock up. RoboBOARD/FX packets critical data so that if line noise is encountered and a packet does not pass the integrity test, it will be re-sent. Local Logon. RoboBOARD/FX allows for Local Logon which lets you logon to your system from your own system bypassing the modem completely. This is an ideal mode to use when testing menus and security on your system and can be accessed for this purpose from RoboCFG the complete BBS design environment. Logoff, lets a user disconnect from RoboBOARD/FX the Host system. Logon, is the process a user goes through in order to access your system. This includes connecting, handshaking, typing in name, typing in password and clearing security. Mark. Users are allowed to mark files for download, and using RoboCFG files can be marked for editing. Menus, are screens created in FXdraw complete with buttons and key assignments. Using RoboBOARD/FX every button has a Menu Command attached to it which is executed when clicked providing a user has sufficient access. Menus are the Primary Interface used to access your BBS. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 116 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Menu Commands. RoboBOARD/FX has around forty menu commands which are primary BBS functions that are assigned to buttons. These commands range from page SysOp to Upload file, and are all subject to security clearance. When a button is drawn using FXdraw you have to provide a Key to represent that button. Using RoboCFG you can assign a Menu Command to a Key and thus attach a Menu Command to a button. When a user clicks on a button the appropriate Menu Command will be executed providing that the user has sufficient access. Message Base, is a grouping of messages by topic on a BBS. Multiport I/O, are hardware cards that provide the ability to manage multiple communications devices like modems through one Serial Port. These cards provide very high throughput of data. On good multiport I/O cards, any bottleneck is the computers inability to process data fast enough to supply the nodes in a crisp and fluid manner. DigiBoard is the most well known of these cards and both RoboBOARD/FX and FXterm have direct support for them. Modem, MOdulator/DEModulator. Modems act as translators between Digital Data which is used by a computer and Analog Signals which are used by telephone devices. In the Tele- communications Community Analog Signals refer to the acoustical sounds that are processed by the Modem, based on their qualities of Loudness, Tone and Duration. Moderator, is some who presides over echo conferences by keeping people on topic, setting rules, and enforcing the rules. Modulate, converts a digital signal sent by a computer into analog form or Modulated Form that can be sent over telephone lines. Mondo Font, is a primitive of the Tel-FX protocol, used in FXdraw and displayed on FXterm by RoboBOARD/FX. Mondo Fonts are large fillable polygon based fonts that can be stretched into any rectangular shape. Mondo Fonts are composed of arcs, lines, tie lines and ellipses that are drawn in a continuous manner. Mondo Font files are formatted using ASCII which makes them completely readable for further examination. MR, see DSR. Netmail, is sent directly between systems and is the carrier route for Echomail. Node, has a few definitions. FXdraw: Nodes are the points placed at the ends of polylines and at the closure point of polygons. In Edit Mode Nodes are placed at the insertion point of all entities or at the endpoints of all linear entities. RoboBOARD/FX: Node refers to the number of telecommunications lines being served by one Bulletin Board ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 117 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ System. In the world of Fido Technology Echomail: 1:125/111.0 is the address of Fido Software. ZONE1:NET125/NODE111.POINT0 Null Modem, refers to a cable used to directly connect two computers via their serial ports. The computers can then send and receive data as if they were using modems. Offline, refers to the state of not being connected to another system. Offline Mail, RoboBOARD/FX supports Offline Mail, messages prepared in a TEXT EDITOR at the users end and uploaded to a message base as if it were a file. OOPs, Object Orientated Programming. RoboBOARD/FX is written using OOPs code as are the powerful new operating systems and GUI based software systems. Orphan, is a command found in the RoboCFG file editor. Orphan refers to removing a file listing from a file area listing without physically doing anything to the file itself. Packet, See Block. Parity, refers to a parity bit used immediately after the data bits in telecommunications transfer protocols to insure that characters were properly sent. Password, is the word a user must type into the logon template, that when compared to the password in the Userbase will pass or fail. Users can change their password if you create a user Settings Menu button on one of your menus. Path, gives DOS and RoboBOARD/FX directions on how to get to a file location. Polygon, a closed multisided shape created using a group of lines, arcs and splines strung together in an end to end manner. The Tel-FX protocol is based on polygons and Mondo Fonts are an example of the use of polygons. Polyline, is a group of lines, arcs and splines strung together in an end to end manner. Point, In the world of Fido Technology Echomail: 1:125/111.0 is the address of Fido Software. ZONE1:NET125/NODE111.POINT0 Points are hubbed to by nodes and do not make it into the official Fido Node list. Popup, refers to a style of menus or input templates that Pop Up on the screen when using RoboBOARD/FX. They pop down when the user has completed using them. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 118 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Port, see COM. Profile, see Access Profiles. Protocol. A protocol like the Tel-FX protocol defines a set of rules that are used by communications software packages when communicating. Using these rules the Host end knows what has to be sent to the Terminal end, and the Terminal is able to listen to the Host end. Protocols like Zmodem are file transfer protocol and Tel-FX is a graphics transfer protocol. Read Access, the minimum access level a user must have in order to read messages. Read Tags, the access Tags a user must have in order to read messages. Realtime. The Tel-FX protocol is a realtime graphical protocol. This means users will receive graphics as they request them. Tel-FX Realtime graphics are by far the most user friendly graphics in the industry and also track modern software expectations. Remote System, see Host System. RI, Ring Indicator signal tells you that the modem has detected an incoming call. RD, Receive Data signal indicates that data is being received by the modem. RTS or RS, Request To Send signal indicates that the computer has asked the modem if it is okay to start sending data. RS-232, standard serial connector. Scroll. RoboBOARD/FX makes extensive use of scrollers using the Tel-FX protocol. Scrollers are placed on the side of file and message listing windows. A user can roll the contents of the window up and down using the arrows buttons or by pulling on the scroller thumb. Serial Communication, see RS-232 and COM. Transmission of data between two serial devices like modems in a linear manner, one bit at a time. Serial Port. See RS-232, IRQ, and COM. DOS recognises two serial ports, COM1 and COM2. Serial communications are done through these Serial Ports. Spline. Spline Curves are a composed of end to end line segments that are calculated and positioned in a manner that represents a curvilinear figure. Splines are also referred to as B-Splines and Beziers. The Tel-FX protocol supports the ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 119 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Spline as a primitive. In FXdraw when you pick the Spline Tool you are asked to show the beginning point and the end point of the spline. A straight line is dropped onto the screen with four edit nodes that can be dragged around to create a spline shape. Start Bit, the first bit in a set of data bits. This bit is used to tell the software that data follows. Stop Bit, the last bit in a set of data bits. This bit is used to tell the software that data has been sent. String, a group of ASCII characters concatenated to form words, numbers or both. Synchronous Communication, is a system used to transmit data that is very dependant on precise timing and synchronization of sending and receiving data. They are characterized by continuous high speed data transfer. The Tel-FX protocol is an Asynchronous Communications protocol. SysOp, System Operator. This is the term that is used to refer to the person who does the BBS setup and maintenance. SysOps have control over who can logon and what parts of the BBS they can access or use. Telecommunications, generally speaking means the transfer of digital data using modulation and demodulation devices over telephone lines. Tel-FX, the Professional Graphical Telecommunications Protocol developed by Hamilton TeleGraphics Inc. The Tel-FX protocol couples a high level of design with a powerful command set in a manner that is comfortable and enjoyable for users, while adhering to modern Graphical User Interface expectations. Template, is made up of input fields. RoboBOARD/FX make extensive use of templates in both graphics and text mode. In fact RoboBOARD/FX comes with a templating command set that gives SysOps complete control in creation of templates, including size, numerics, text only, colour, and highlights. Templates are mode independent, written in readable ASCII, will append to a file for database integration and/or will write to a printer as in the case of an online ordering template. Templates are accessed using buttons on menus, through the RoboBOARD/FX Menu Commands. Terminal. FXterm is a "smart" software terminal and thus takes advantage of the users CPU and system resources to do the majority of the work. This offloads much of the work from the SysOps CPU which in all probability will be much busier then the users terminal end. Time Bank, is an option that if turned on allows a user to bank a certain amount of their unused daily time. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 120 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ TD, Transmit Data signal is a request to send data to the remote. UART, (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) chip is the standard interface between the computer and the modem. Most I/O cards come with a NS16450 chip on them. For higher performance it is recommended that you replace this chips with a 16550 UART chip(s). The 16550 UART introduces some significant improvements over the standard 16450 like 16 byte receive and send Fifos and overall throughput is double. Upload Access, this is the access level a user must be greater than or equal to, in order to upload files to a file areas. Upload Tags, these are the access Tag(s) a user must have, in order to upload files to a file areas. User Note, is a field in the bottom of the User Editor template, that lets the SysOp type in a comment regarding a user. Verified User. This is the term applied to a user who has been checked out by the SysOp personally or by the Call Back Verifier. Most systems have an access for Unverified Users that is upgraded to Verfied User access when they have cleared your level of verification. Verified User Access, is the access level a user is upgraded to when they have cleared your level of verification whether by voice or CBV. Verified User Tag, is the access Tag(s) a user is upgraded to when they have cleared your level of verification whether by voice or CBV. VGA, Video Graphics Array. RoboBOARD/FX, FXterm and FXdraw support 16 colour VGA and 256 colour SVGA modes at a resolution of 640x480. RoboBOARD/FX and FXterm also support resolutions of 800x600 and 1024x768. WildCard, refers to wildcard searches users can perform on file areas. *.* will find everything, *.TXT will find all files with a TXT extension, *.T?? will find all files with an extension that starts with T. Window. RoboBOARD/FX, FXterm and FXdraw are built around the Tel-FX protocol, which is graphical protocol that supplies a window primitive. RoboBOARD/FX and its related products are software products written for DOS that follow a windowed philosophy. Write Access, is the access level a user must be equal to or greater than in order to write messages in a Message Base. Write Tags, is the Tag(s) a user must have in order to write messages in a Message Base. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³±±± Glossary of Online Terms Con't ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± Page 121 ±±³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Zone, In the world of Fido Technology Echomail: 1:125/111.0 is the address of Fido Software. ZONE1:NET125/NODE111.POINT0 Zone 1 is North America and Zone 2 is Europe.