Conference Menu v1.5 Copyright (C) 1995, by Cutting Edge Online All rights reserved. Programming and Documentation by John Marx Cutting Edge Online (318) 537-7089 Voice 6372-B Kucinski Street (318) 537-7746 BBS Fort Polk, LA 71459 Hayes Optima 28.8k U.S.A. FidoNet: 1:3817/9 Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- System Requirements The requirements for using this PPE are as follows: a. PCBoard 15.21+ (This program was created with PPLC v3.0 and will not work with any version less than 15.21.) b. Enough space on your hard drive for installation of the program. c. It's not needed but placing this PPE and all your PPE's into different subdirectories is helpful. This allows you to more easily update or remove a PPE with it's accompanying files. Plus if you place more than one PPE in a directory you may run into the program trying to use a file it shouldn't. This is all that is needed to run this program. Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Program Overview This program is a replacement to PCBoard's "(J)oin Conference" command. This program allows for an unlimited number of conference categories and can be installed in minutes. The program comes with a CMS.EXE which is short for "Conference Menu Scanner" which scans all of the conferences for you and creates the necessary data files. When you use our CMS.EXE utility to create the data files you will be able to have complete control and use of all 30 @variables@. Our program will give you the most configurable and user/SysOp friendly conference menu that you will never need to look for another. Every possible variable has been implemented in this release. No other program on the market today can say this. We do it quickly and efficiently with little interaction from you, the System Operator. Some of the many features of this program are: ž 100% multilingual and we MEAN it! Headers and Footers can be changed automatically for this is the way we designed it. ž All commands, colors, etc are 100% SysOp definable. ž No NAG-me-to-death screens. This is a risk we're taking on our part to make the program available to you and we hope that if you use it you will support the shareware concept. ž All displays are configurable and you may choose whatever your want displayed in the bulletin which is created. We use a @variable@ coding scheme similar to that of PCBoard's @X color scheme; which you may use as well. Over 30 @variables@ are available for your customization into your conference menu. ž Backwards compatible, in most regards to the CW ConfMenu PPE. This program as of v5.9 and before has a known trojan horse in it which is set to destroy your entire system. This is the main reason this program came to existance. ž RIPscrip capabilities built-in. ž Screen display is determined by the users page length and not the System Operators screen size as in most programs. The program believes 11 lines to be used for headers, footers, and prompts. If a user had his screen set to 23 lines he would be displayed 12 lines of available conferences per screen. If a user had 50 lines he/she would be shown 39 lines of available conferences. ž Truly Fast and we mean it! We've done speed comparisons of the best (J)oin replacements out to date so far and are either as fast or faster in every regards with more features. ž Online help built-in to most areas of the system. ž Ability to join the next conference if it's available. ž Ability to join the previous conference if it's available. ž Support of long PCBoard conference names. ž Support for an unlimited number of categories. ž Ability to clear message waiting flags. ž Accepts all of the standard PCBoard command line parameters as well. ž Multiple header/footers for each conference ž Each conference may have it's own look-and-feel ž Easy Installation ž Lightbar support for conference selection ž Ability to add conferences using a text file with options defined by you. ž Ability to remove conferences along with their associated news, messages, and introduction files. ž Ability to set registered / unregistered conferences for users by category or start/stop conference number. Just follow the step by step instructions below and you will be running in no time. Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Program Installation To install this program you will need to do the following: 1. First unZIP the archive into its new subdirectory. 2. Goto the new subdirectory and create your configuration file. I've included a SAMPLE.CNF which is commented and gives an example of what the configuration file should look like. The configuration file must bee called CM.CNF 3. You will probally want to make the following files suite your systems color specification so we suggest you use PCBEDIT and edit the following files to your taste. (NOTE: You don't need to do this step if you want to just start out and keep the default color scheme.) The files which you may wish to edit are: a. PROMPTS -- PROMPTS definition file. This file, along with the other files here are multilingual, graphic, and security aware files. For information on what %variables% are available to your you will need to reference the following page which contains a listing of the %variables% currently supported by this version. b. FOOTER -- Footer file which gets displayed at the end of each screen of information. c. HEADER -- Header file which gets displayed at the beginning of each screen of information. d. MENU -- This is the Main Menu file. This is a security, language, and graphic specific file. e. SAMPLE.CNF -- This is the sample configuration file provided. You will need to edit this file to your own needs and desires and than save it as CM.CNF. Inside of this file is a line-by-line description for each line of information needed. f. CM.TBL -- This is where the program will find out which conference network to display when the user enters 1, 2, 3, etc at the Main Menu. Each entry requires three lines of input and the number of networks does not matter. The layout for this file is as follows: Line 1: Network Name Line 2: Filename of the data file to call to gain further information if the user presses this number Line 3: Width of the Conference name Line 4: Prompt for the above conference Line 5: Header for the above conference Line 6: Footer for the above conference ... Repeat the above as often as needed. g. DISCLAIM -- This is the disclaimer which is displayed to you before using the ADD and DEL commands. h. ALLOWED -- This is a listing of who are allowed to use the ADD and DEL command line parameters. Only one name per line and the case doesn't matter. 4. You will now need to edit a CMD.LST file. To edit this file you will need to do the following: a. Load PCBSETUP.EXE b. Type B for File Locations c. Type B for Configuration Files d. Press the down arrow until you're ontop of the CMD.LST file e. You should now be ontop of a file called D:\PCB\GEN\CMD.LST or something similar. This is on the line that says: f. Press F2 edit g. Add the following line Command Security PPE/MNU File -or- Keystroke Replacement ======= ======== =========================================== J 10 [drive]\[path]\CM.PPE NOTE: The paths will most likely be different from my system to yours so your will need to make the appropriate changes. 5. You will now need to run the CMS.EXE file so that your appropriate data files are created. For more information on this program see the CMS.DOC file. That's all there is to it! Enjoy! Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below are a listing of the available @variables@ for use with this program. Along with these variables you may use any combination of @variables@ which PCBoard supports, this may either be color, variables or positioning. It is strongly suggested that you refrain from using @more@, @wait@, etc within the PROMPTS file but are easily implemented within the headers and footers. The reason for this is simple. In a network environment this could reck havok by making it so that the file cannot be read/written to. The variables which are available to you are: Variable Width Description ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ÄÄÄÄÄÄ ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ @PROGNAME@ 10 Program Name @VERSION@ 3 Program Version Number @CONF@ * Conference Name @NETWORK@ 1-??? Network name as described in the CM.TBL file @CONFNUMBER@ 1-6 Conference Number being displayed@ @MINSEC@ 1-3 Minimum security level to access the conference @FILESYN@ 3 Are files in this conference available (long form) @DOORSYN@ 3 Are doors in this conference available (long form) @ECHOYN@ 3 Is this conference echoed (long form) @BLTSYN@ 3 Are bulletins in this conference available (long form) @PRIVYN@ 3 Is this conference private available (long form) @MSGSYN@ 3 Are messages in this conference available (long form) @FILESSHRT@ 1 Are files in this conference available (long form) @DOORSSHRT@ 1 Are doors in this conference available (long form) @ECHOSHRT@ 1 Is this conference echoed (long form) @BLTSSHRT@ 1 Are bulletins in this conference available (long form) @MSGSSHRT@ 1 Are messages in this conference available (long form) @AUTOREJOIN@ 3 If the user logsoff the system in this conference will they rejoin into this conference @VIEWCONFMEMB@ 3 Is the user allowed to view the conference member @FORCEPVTUPLD@ 3 Are uploads be forced to private @FORCEPVTMSGS@ 3 Are messages forced to private @ADDSEC@ 1-3 Additional security for joining this conference @ADDTIME@ 1-3 Additional time for joining this conference @NEWSFILE@ 3 Is a NEWS file available for viewing in this conference @FILEAREAS@ 1-??? Total number of file areas available in this conference @BLTSTOTAL@ 1-??? Total number of bulletins available in this conference @DOORSTOTAL@ 1-??? Total number of doors available in this confernece @SCRIPTSTOTAL@ 1-??? Total number of scripts available in this conference @MSGBLOCKS@ 1-3 Total number of message blocks @FORCEECHO@ 3 Force echo of all messages @READONLY@ 3 Is the conference readonly @NOPRIVATEMSGS@ 3 Allow no private messages @PRMPTROUTING@ 3 Prompt for routing information @ALLOWALIASES@ 3 Allow aliases in this conference @SHOWINTROONRA@ 3 Show intro on Read All (R A) @REQLEVEL@ 1-3 Required level to enter the conference @ACTIVEMSGS@ 8 Number of Active Messages @LOMSGNUM@ 8 Low Message Number @HIMSGNUM@ 8 High Message Number @MSGSTOTAL@ 8 Total Messages * - The width may be changed in the configuration file NOTE: If no width is specified than the width is not fixed and may changed based on the information that the user has. We've tried our best to provide you with a range of what can be expected in the width area. We suggest that your separate each % with an @pos:##@. PCBoard @x color codes make no difference in the width of the character as they are automatically taken care of by PCBoard. Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following information, even though it is not needed by you is a description of the data files which are made by the CMS.EXE so that you will know all that is going on within the program. The layout is as follows: Odd Number Lines: Conference Name Even Number Lines: Data for the above conference. The information for each piece of information is separated by a semi-color (;) and is the same for all records stored in this file. If there is a 1 it will usually mean TRUE or YES; if there is a 0 it will usually mean FALSE or NO. The structure is as follows: - Conference Number - Required Security to Enter Conference - Files Available - Doors Available - Echo mail in this conference - Bulletins Available - Public Conference (The above is the minimum information provided and is meant to keep compatibility with the CW_ PowerPack CMSEARCH.EXE. The reason for this is you might want to use a feature specific in this program over ours. The following additional information is provided along with the above in our CMS.EXE.) - Auto Rejoin Conference - Allow viewing of Conference Members - Force All uploads to be private - Force All messages to be private - Additional security the user receives when entering this conference - Additional time the user receives when entering this conference - Is a NEWS file available for viewing - Number of DOORS available in this conference - Number of Bulletins available in this conference - Number of File directories which are available in this conference - Number of script questionaires avaiable in this conference - Number Of Message Blocks - Force Echo of all mail - Is the conference Read Only - Allow no private messages - Prompt for routing information? - Allow aliases in the conference - Show intro on Read All (R A) - Required level to enter the conference - High Message Number - Low Message Number - Active Messages - Total Messages Available NOTE: This file will continue to be updated so that we might continue to provide you with as much information as we can so that you can make the program always perform the way you desire. If we've left something out and you would like to see it added let us know and we'll make sure it gets added immediately. Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a list of the available command line parameters which are available in this program: # This is any valid conference number. If a conference number doesn't exist or the user doesn't have access to the particular conference which is chosen than it will not allow them access. The same as would happen if you were using plain PCBoard. N This joins the next available conference if the conference exists and if the user has access to this conference. P This joins a previous conference if the conference exists and if the user has access to this conference. ADD This gives you the ability to ADD conferences to the system without having to do it manually. The program will prompt you with the following questions: 1. Starting conference number 2. Text file to input as the conferences. This file must have one conference per line. 3. The path to the messages file. This may or may not have a trailing \. The prompt should look something like: E:\PCBMAIL\FIDO\ All you need to do is add the subdirectories for the rest will be added by the program. If you added the above and the first line in the text file was: A Conference Description then the following messages file would be created if you were adding it to conference 1000: E:\PCBMAIL\FIDO\A\MSG1000 a. The \A\ came from the first letter in the conference name b. The MSG1000 came from being in conference 1000 4. The users BRDM filename and path 5. The System Operators BRDS filename and path 6. The introduction file for the INTRO file 7. The NEWS file which is associated with this group of conferences 8. The file attach subdirectory for this group of conferences 9. The conference type. Valid types are: 0 - Normal PCBoard Conference 1 - Internet Email (Import and Export) 2 - Internet/Usenet Junk (Import Only) 3 - Usenet Moderated Newsgroup 4 - Usenet Public Conference 5 - Fido Conference DEL This command will allow you to remove conferences which have already been added to the system. If a persons name exists in the ALLOWED text file and they type J DEL then they will be prompted for a start and a stop conference. The program will then erase those conferences and the NEWS, MSGS, and INTRO files attached to this conference. USER This command will allow you to either add or remove a user from a conference category or a range of conference numbers. Only users who are listed in the ALLOWED file will be allowed to use this command option. To use this command all you need to do is type J USER and then answer the questions when prompted. Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Possible Error Codes There are several reasons for error codes. The main reason is something went wrong in the program. Even though all efforts have been made to remove any and all possible errors there still may be some configuration we haven't thought of. As such we've included extensive error checking in all of our programs to eliminate any and all possible errors. Errors will be shown to the caller on the screen explaining what went wrong and why if the program can determine without a doubt what it was. All errors will be logged to the callers log! This allows you to correct any problems that your users might not tell you. A lot of times when an error occurs the users like "that's nice." We feel that even as nice as it would be for the user to explain to the SysOp what they were doing when such errors occur, we know not to expect it so we've added this to the code as well. When it logs this information to the callers log it also logs the exact saying that it gave to the user. This gives you the most complete information we can. You may also wish to check out the "Frequently Asked Questions" at the end of this document for it may cover a question you are currently having about PCBoard and PPE's. Conference Menu v1.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contacting the Author I can be reached on either my BBS or through my home phone number at any time. If I'm not home and you receive the answering machine just leave your name and number with a short explanation, if you can, of the problem. I WILL call you back as soon as I can and if you gave me a description of your problem will more than likely have an answer for you when I do call you back. When you do call us with information about a bug in the program please give us the following information. This information will help us determine what the problem is: 1. Program name and version number. 2. Type and brand of computer, hard disk, plus any peripherals. 3. Version of DOS plus any TSRs or device drivers in use. 4. Explanation of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. 5. Description of what is in memory from the MEM command (DOS 4 and above users only) or a similar utility. 6. The exact problem you are having. Please be as specific as possible. Having a printout of the screen and/or being at your computer will be helpful. The Cutting Edge Online BBS operates 24 hours a day, is using a Hayes Optima 28.8k modem, PCBoard 15.2/10 and the number is (318) 537-7746. You will be able to download if you wish on the first call. There are no callback doors. We do use CALLER-ID for just this purpose. I personally don't like callback doors and am sure many others feel the same. We've recently upgraded the system bringing the system to 13.2 Gigs online with 5 CD-ROMs. I'm available also on the PCBoard Support BBS, Salt Air. I only call once a week, normally on Saturday so the replies won't be as quick as you may like. I'm also in the FidoNet PCBoard, PCB-Net conferences. Our FidoNet address is 1:3817/9. If you have a problem, suggestion, comment, download or just wish to talk please call and we will be more than glad to serve you. We're not happy until YOU are happy so let us know if we're doing something wrong. If we're doing it right tell your fellow PCBoard SysOps, if not tell US!