--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Max de Jong, P.O.Box 2160, Rotterdam - 3000 CD, The Netherlands Voice: +31.10-4046529 - Fax/Data: +31.10-4046238 - Fidonet 2:512/16.5 Copyright (c) 1990, 1991 by Max de Jong --------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 14, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v3.02d o ADDED UPLOAD POSSIBILITIES TO MESSAGE-SECTION. Now users can upload a message (ASCII format only!) without typing in a message remotely. Users can pre-type files at home and after logging in, send those message-files (with ASCII-protocol) to anyone listed as a user on the system. This will spare both time and typing mistakes. o In addition to the F9-key which raises the time amount for users I have added the F8-key to lower the amount of time for users. o Due to proper checking for file-matching by uploads, the uploads are now restricted to only one file per upload. The only exception is when using Bi-modem for uploads. File-checking will now be performed on both up- and download sub- directories. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! W A R N I N G !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The TELIX SALT-compiler has a restriction of 64K compiling size. Therefore I had to free some code to let these functions work. You MUST place the file TOOLBOX.ANS in your MAX!BBS-directory to let MAX!BBS work properly. Without this file, MAX!BBS will abort the program, so please take notice of it! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -=0=- September 12, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v3.02c o Due to download-subdirectories I had to expand the strings containing the requested filenames for download. It did appear that the maximum of five files per download could not be captured by MAX!BBS for the string-length was too short to hold more than 80 characters and so was not sufficient enough to hold all five filenames including their originated paths. This has been corrected. o Also the accessibility of each level per file-section had to be adjusted, for MAX!BBS will check all the download-subdirectories to find a match for the file-request and if found would allow the file to be transferred. Now MAX!BBS looks at a user's level first and according to his level scans only those directories he has been given access to. o Added F9-key in the SysOp Help menu (local). This key permits the SysOp to raise the amount of time the user has left during his session. Normally you would have to raise his level to create extra time for the user, but this would also allow the user some privileges according to his raised level than just the extra time. Now you can raise a user's time-level by pressing the F9-key without raising his level and so prevent raising his privileges also. Each press of the F9-key would allow the user 15 minutes extra time. o Problems arised when hitting the 'END'-key to force a user to hang- up. In a strange way MAX!BBS went to look for the mail-section, opened the log-file and error report and waited for a key-press. This also happens when the user was thrown out for lack of activity after 4 minutes. This has been corrected. o When uploading files to MAX!BBS when using any of the INTERNAL protocols like X,Y,Z-modem, all files were uploaded in one area specified by the configuration script (UPLOAD DIRECTORY) and not in the upload-area specified by the user when pointing to a file- section. This problem did not occur with UPLOADS used with EXTERNAL protocols! This has been corrected. All files uploaded with INTERNAL protocols will now arrive correctly into the specified upload area's according to the pointed file- sections. -=0=- September 9, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v3.02b o Added some changes in the scripts that were worthwhile releasing it. The manual and the file MAX!BBS.NEW have been updated with these changes. For details read further below and the manual 'MAX!BBS.DOC'. o To download with Bi-modem you must now go through the download-options. This has been done to control the number of downloads in file-sizes and to update the file-counter. o To force page-breaks in textfiles (e.g. news/bulletins/file-lists) place ASCII-character (4) '' in your textfile. This forces MAX!BBS to prompt with a 'more?' sign and after pressing any key the screen will be cleared for further text. MAX!BBS will automatically use prompts after each 23 lines. -=0=- September 1, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v3.02 o THIS RELEASE SUPPORTS AUTOMATIC FILE-UPDATES & DIRECTORY MAINTENANCE Many requests were made to divide the file-sections into sub- directories for easy maintenance. Up to now all downloadable files were put in one directory only and their seperate descriptions were placed in the title-files: FILE.1 - FILE.9 With the release of version 3.02, this function has been implemented. Now you can put your downloadable files from WITHIN your main 'DOWNLOAD'-directory into sub-directories for easy access. These sub-directories can be named into whatever you think suits your files (that will be placed there) best. These sub-directories MUST BE created by running the 'MAX!CONF'- script (Press 'C' for Configuration within your main Menu). DO NOT! create these sub-directories yourself by means of by-passing the Configuration program. This Configuration program will create all sub-directories automati- cally, just by answering all menu-items in the Configuration Menu. Because of this new (file-)structure, the configuration-file that is created by the 'MAX!CONF'-script has been altered slightly for it has to save now also the different pathnames for the file sub-directories. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! W A R N I N G !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR THIS REASON, IF YOU ARE USING A PREVIOUS VERSION OF MAX!BBS, YOU MUST DELETE YOUR PRESENT CONFIGURATION FILE ('MAX!BBS.CNF') AND RUN 'MAX!CONF' AGAIN TO BE ABLE TO USE ABOVEMENTIONED FEATURES! OR TO BE ABLE TO RUN MAX!BBS IN THE FIRST PLACE! (Sorry for the inconvenience) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Major changes has been done in the 'MAX!CONF'-script to allow these features to work and major changes had to been done to the Host- script ('MAX!BBS.SLC') to work accordingly. Here is a brief summary how to work with the new Configuration program of MAX!BBS: Configuration Menu ================== ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÛßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßÛÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÌÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÛ MAX!BBS 3.02 (c) 1991 by Max de Jong ÛÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÍ͸ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ MAX!CONF - MAX!BBS Configuration Script ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÆÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [1] Shell password : shell ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [2] Shutdown password : shut ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [3] Download directory : D:\DOWNLOAD\ ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [4] Upload directory : D:\COMM\UPLOAD\ ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [5] Message directory : D:\COMM\MESSAGES\ ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [B] Bulletin titles : Titles 1 - 9 ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [F] File sections : Sections 1 - 9 ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [T] Time limits : Levels 1 - 4 ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [C] Connection type : Modem ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [D] Doorways : Doorways 1 - 9 ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [U] Utilities : Editor/Lister/Protocols ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÆÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͵ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [X] Exit without saving changes ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ Îγ [S] Save changes and Exit ³ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎÎÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÎÎÎ ÎÎι Change which option: ÌÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎι F2 do File Updates ÌÎÎ ÎÎÎÎËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËËÎÎÎ 1. FIRST OF ALL!, use option 'U' for Utilities. This option allows you to install your favourite Editor and your Lister. Please type in a full pathname plus filename WITH EXTENSION! e.g. C:\UTILS\Q.EXE for Editor C:\UTILS\LIST.COM for Lister After that your configuration program asks if you will be using external protocols. If so put 'Y' else 'N'. MAX!BBS will look for this answer whether to show the extended ANSI-file with additional protocols or not. ('PROT-I.ANS' shows internal protocols) ('PROT-E.ANS' shows external protocols) The previous ANSI-file named 'PROTOCOL.ANS' has been omitted by now. Please make sure you to put these two ANSI-files in your major COMM- directory where MAX!BBS resides. 2. After that go through items 1 - 5. 3. Choose option 'B' for your Bulletin titles. After having typed in your Bulletin title, your program will try to detect if the accompanying file ('BULL.x') exists. If not it will ask if you wish to create it. By answering 'Y' it will directly drop you into your Editor to create the Bulletin file with the appropiate filename. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR EDITOR IS ABLE TO ACCEPT FILENAMES ON THE COMMAND LINE! (e.g. "Q.EXE filename.ext") If the file was already created, the program asks if you want to either '[L]ist' or [T]ype it or to make changes with '[E]dit'. 4. Choose option 'F' for File sections. The following sub-menu will overlay the menu: ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎÎÖÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ·ÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [1] Wordprocessing.......................... ºÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [2] Spreadsheets............................ ºÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [3] DataBases............................... ºÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [4ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [5³ Communications........................... ³ÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [6ÔÕ Sub-Dir.? ¸ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;ÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [7]³ COMM\.... ³s........................... ºÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [8]ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ;rus checkers................ ºÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎκ [9] Confidential............................ ºÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎÎÓÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄĽÎÎÎÎ ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ D:\DOWNLOAD\FILE.5 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ [E]dit [L]ist [T]ype  ............................... ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎÎ First pick a section number. Type in the title-name for this file-section. The program asks for the name of the sub-directory in which to look for the appropiate files. If the sub-directory does not exist, it will be created automatically. After that it will try to look for the matching file-list ('FILE.x') If it exists, again it allows you to either '[L]ist' or [T]ype it or to make changes with '[E]dit' and if not found it will ask you to create one. The program will first look if any files are residing in this sub- directory. If files were found, it will automatically generate a SORTED! file-list of all the files in that sub-directory. It will then allow you to make any changes in this file-list according to your wishes. IMPORTANT! =================================================================== MAX!BBS GENERATES SORTED FILE-LISTS ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE FILE 'SORT.COM' FROM YOUR (MS)DOS-PROGRAM IN YOUR PATH. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE A 'LISTER' INSTALLED, MUST PUT THE (MS)DOS- FILE 'MORE.COM' IN THEIR PATH. FILES WILL THEN BE 'TYPED OUT' PROPERLY WITH A 'MORE?' PAUSE. ==================================================================== It will also create exactly the same sub-directories in your 'UPLOAD'-directory. This is needed to make uploads from users much easier to find by inviting the user first to point in which file- section his upload is appropiate to place in and after that to give a brief description of the uploaded file. MAX!BBS will place his file in the chosen file-section and automati- cally updates two files called 'UPLOADS.NEW' and 'FILES.BBS' in the same 'UPLOAD'-subdirectory. The file 'UPLOADS.NEW' will be used to update the files: 'FILE.1 - FILE.9' within the 'DOWNLOAD-directory, while the file 'FILES.BBS' will be used to update each 'DOWNLOAD'-subdirectory with its own file: 'FILES.BBS'. This has been done to make MAX!BBS more compatible with most of the file-list generators, used on most Bulletin Board Systems, who are looking for the listfiles 'FILES.BBS'. Though MAX!BBS makes his own file-lists (see section 'F2 - do File Updates'), you could decide to use a professional file-list generator to make complete lists of ALLFILES and NEWFILES. Well, try 'AVAILIST from Edward D. Farmer (highly recommended) and the only thing you have to do is put your download-subdirectories including pathnames in the config-file of 'AVAILIST' et voil…..... 'AVAILIST' will automatically create the files 'ALLFILES.LST' and 'NEWFILES.LST' based on the information of the files: 'FILES.BBS' in all the 'DOWNLOAD'-subdirectories which MAX!BBS has already automatically generated. F2 - do File Updates -------------------- After a period, you can call the 'do File Updates'-function by pressing the 'F2'-key from within the Configuration Menu and your download sections will be automatically updated with the appropiate upload-files and your file-lists ('FILE.1 - FILE.9') will be updated with the names of the newly received files with their descriptions. Also MAX!BBS generates a file-list called "NEWFILES.LST" in the 'DOWNLOAD'-directory with a list of the new uploaded files. If the file "NEWFILES.LST" already exists, it will be overwritten!!! If you want to use 'AVAILIST' as your favourite file-list generator (good choice!) please make sure to call the program after you have fully completed the 'F2 - do File Updates' option of MAX!BBS. After running 'AVAILIST' the file 'NEWFILES.LST' which was generated by MAX!BBS, will be overwritten but that is nothing to worry about for 'AVAILIST' makes an excellent listing of your new files. If you want to use 'AVAILIST', make sure to place and run the program from within your 'DOWNLOAD'-directory so the generated files can be found by MAX!BBS whenever called for. o Due to the fact that pathnames have been implemented, I had to delete some external protocols that did not support pathnames on the command- line. Some newer protocols were added, all supporting pathnames and known for their speed and reliability. These are the external protocols supported by MAX!BBS: Protocol version Copyrighted by: --------- ------- ------------------------------------------------- Bimodem 1.24 Erik Labs HyperP 1.1e Hilgraeve Lynx 3.02 Matthew Thomas MPT 1.10 Matthew Thomas Nmodem 1.67 L.B.Neal Punter 2.00 Data Technology Corporation SZmodem 1.50 Scott M.Baker Tmodem 7.00 á Mike Bryeans (BE AWARE! in this version the command-line switches have been changed! Older versions are not supported by MAX!BBS) Tmodem 6.20 Mike Bryeans ZMax 1.00 Micro Tech Systems Zlynx 1.6b ProToSoft & Micro Tech Systems Zyrion 2.12 ProToSoft o Mail will be 'typed' and after the '-more-' sign (24th line) the screen will be cleared for the next lines to appear. o Minor changes were made in the User Editor ('MAX!ED.SLC'). Now the User Editor allows you to skip the next fields if no information is available yet, by pressing the 'ENTER'-key: 1. ZIPCODE 2. COUNTRY 3. PHONE 4. BIRTHDATE o The file MAXBBS.ANS has been altered! (Main menu screen of MAX!BBS). Now the file MAX!BBS.ANS will replace it. If you are using a previous version of MAX!BBS, please copy this file into your main MAX!BBS-directory. o Now option 'E' calls for the Error Report. The User Editor can now be invoked by pressing the 'F2-key'! o Added Newslist generated by NEWS 1.40à (c) 1990 by änigma Development Center & JLA MAX!BBS will now look for the files "NEWS.ANS" or "NEWS.ASC" and when found show this file after a user has logged in. Of course you don't need the program "NEWS" from änigma Development Center & JLA to make your own news-flashes (handy though!). Just create your own ANSI- or ASCII-file with your favourite editor and give it one of the abovementioned filenames. o Also changed the filename 'NEWFILES.ANS' into 'NEWFILES.LST' to make it more compatible with file-list generators like 'AVAILIST' from Edward D. Farmer. o Also added the option 'A' for Allfiles in the File menu, to allow users to view all available files for download. This file must be named: 'ALLFILES.LST' and should be created in the 'DOWNLOAD'- directory. You can create this file yourself or use a professional file-list generator like 'AVAILIST' form Edward D. Farmer at your convenience (available on most Bulletin Boards). o MAX!BBS will look for 'XU.EXE' in your MAX!BBS-directory and will execute 'WATCHDOG ON' to watch carrier-loss. Your system will reboot automatically if carrier-loss is detected. Make sure that X00.SYS has been put as a device in your config.sys (e.g. DEVICE = X00.SYS) and that the file 'XU.EXE' has been put in your MAX!BBS-directory! Of course end your 'AUTOEXEC.BAT' with a line to call 'MAX!BBS' instantly after rebooting your system. RESUME: ======= MAX!BBS-files to be REPLACED: ----------------------------- 1. MAXBBS .ANS must be replaced by MAX!BBS.ANS; 2. PROTOCOL.ANS must be replaced by PROT-I.ANS and PROT-E.ANS; 3. VERSION .ANS must be replaced by VERSION.ANS (altered!) MAX!BBS-files that have been changed in name: --------------------------------------------- 1. NEWFILES.ANS has been changed into NEWFILES.LST. MAX!BBS-files that have been added: ----------------------------------- 1. ALLFILES.LST (called by 'A' from within the File-option) 2. NEWS.ANS or NEWS.ASC (called when found during log-in session) (MS)DOS-files to be added (must be in your path): ------------------------------------------------- 1. SORT.COM (from your (MS)DOS package); 2. MORE.COM (from your (MS)DOS package); -=0=- June 28, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v3.01 o THIS RELEASE SUPPORTS DOORS! Now you can implement your favourite games, other (fun) programs or spreadsheet programs into MAX!BBS through DOORS! It offers nine Doorways which can be called by the following batch- files: DOOR1.BAT > DOOR9.BAT. MAKE SURE TO CREATE THESE BATCH-FILES IN YOUR MAJOR COMM-DIRECTORY WHERE MAX!BBS RESIDES. Before starting MAX!BBS v3.01 for the first time, it will drops to the configuration program automatically to allow you to implement up to nine Doorways. If you don't want to install any DOORS, just make sure to SAVE the configuration settings ANYWAY, otherwise MAX!BBS v3.01 won't work! Access to DOOR-sections are limited by access-levels only. These limits can not be changed and are fixed in the program. Level-1 Up to DOOR-section 4 Level-2 Up to DOOR-section 6 Level-3 Up to DOOR-section 8 Level-4+ Up to DOOR-section 9 To make DOOR applications work, you need the DOORWAY program by Marshall Dudley. With this program you can even make sub-menu's into one batchfile, so the number of DOORS are not limited to only nine. For a full understanding about installing DOORS, please consult your DOORWAY-manual. o Some minor enhancements were made in the HOST-script file. Corrections were made to some flickering of the cursor in the standby- menu after pressing the Alt-Z key for helpinfo. Now all temporary files and temporary directories are deleted, after a user logs out. Also access-limits to bulletin & file sections according to access- levels were corrected properly, including the approximation of the transfer-time when downloading files. -=0=- June 1, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v3.00 o THIS IS THE FINAL RELEASE OF MAX!BBS...!!! MAX!BBS has been fine-tuned and has now a non-beta status. This release will be placed in the ShareWare market as the official introduction of MAX!BBS. o Small changes has been made to make MAX!BBS more open for evaluation purposes. - The ShareWare-version has not been limited to 5 users anymore. - External protocols are now available also in the ShareWare version. The only differences with a registered version are: - The amount of access-time available for users is limited to only 15 minutes, when logging on to a ShareWare-version. - The ShareWare-message will appear every time a user logs-in and re-appear every time a user logs-out. All these limitations has been disabled in a registered version. -=0=- May 25, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v2.38á and v.2.39á o A small 'bug' was detected concerning the file-update when adding a new user to the password-file "MAX!BBS.PAS" by means of the User-Editor. This has been corrected. o After a user logs-out due to a time-limit, the following user did not gain access to the system at all. The variable, holding this value, had not been reset, so all following users could not enter the system without shutting off immediately. This has been corrected. -=0=- May 20, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v2.37á o This release added 2 external protocols: - PUNTER version 2.00 from Data Technology Corporation. PUNTER is a MSDOS implementation of Steve Punter's original "C1" protocol, well-known amongst Commodore users. This protocol offers a bridge between Commodore and IBM machines. - HYPERPROTOCOL version 1.1 from Hilgraeve. o Some minor enhancements were made in the HOST-script routines. -=0=- May 10, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v2.36á o This release supports the following ARCHIVE types: - PKZIP version 1.0 + from PkWare - PAK version 2.0 + from NoGate Consulting - LHA(RC) version 2.1 + from Haruyasu Yoshizaki - ZOO version 2.0 + from Rahul Dhesi - ARC version 6.0 + from System Enhancements Assoc. - ARJ version 1.0 + from Robert K.Jung Now users can View and Xtract programs archived with above mentioned compression types. The called for archive viewer 'MAD.EXE' is now no longer needed, since this program does not (yet) support the compression program 'ARJ'. Xtracted files from a selected 'ARCHIVE', will now be compressed with the selected archiver and made available for downloads. The temporary compressed file will be named automatically with the proper extension of the selected archiver (.ARJ/.ZIP/.LZH etc. etc.). *NOTE ON ARJ-COMPRESSION* ------------------------- Due to memory limitations, Xtracted files can only be stored with the '-m0' switch, so actually files will only be grouped together in one 'ARJ'-file. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but 'ARJ' consumes nearly 300 kb of memory and that is beyond the 640 kb limit normally on board by most computers (or you must be fortunated enough to have additional memory which can be called for). *REMEMBER* ---------- Do not forget to place these programs in your main communication directory or in your DOS-path to let these options work! o A 'bug' was detected when calling for an 'error-report' in remote mode (sysop-level only). After calling this option, user was hooked off and MAX!BBS immediately returned to stand-by menu. This has been corrected. o Some minor enhancements were made to optimize certain in- and output- routines. Also the download-counter was not updated when Xtracted- files were downloaded. This has been corrected. o Due to memory limitations (again & again!) , I had to replace the main opening menu of MAX!BBS into an ANSI-file, called "MAXBBS.ANS". Please make sure that this file is available in your main communication directory where all ANSI- & script-files of MAX!BBS are located. If this file cannot be called for, MAX!BBS will terminate the program automatically!! -=0=- May 6, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v2.35á o This release has added an extra counter-field in the password-file for tracking the amount of time left, after a user has logged out. When a user tried to log in later (on the same day), he normally would receive the same amount of time according to his level. Now a counter is activated which keep track of his time spent on the very same day. When he logs in again, this counter will set his time-level properly. The field_length of this field is set to [3] and ends with a delimiter (|). ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ field ³size³ ÚÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ ³ 1³ usernr ³ 6³ ³ 2³ username ³ 16³ ³ 3³ city ³ 32³ ³ 4³ password ³ 16³ ³ 5³ level ³ 2³ ³ 6³ realname ³ 32³ ³ 7³ address ³ 32³ ³ 8³ zipcode ³ 8³ ³ 9³ country ³ 32³ ³10³ phone ³ 16³ ³11³ birthdate³ 8³ ³12³ reg.date ³ 8³ ³13³ lastdate ³ 8³ ³14³ downloads³ 8³ ³15³ uploads ³ 8³ ³16³ calls ³ 8³ ³17³ time_used³ 8³ ³18³ time_left³* 3³ * added! ÀÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄ´ ³ Total size 251³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ !!IMPORTANT!! ============= If you wish to use your old password-file, please make sure to add this field at the end of each record, otherwise your password-file will become unreadable! o A 'bug' was discovered when updating the fields of a new user record. Due to a pointer mistake, the user record of the previous caller was mistakenly updated also with the usernumber and username of the first time user. This has been corrected. o The approximately transfer-time of download-files did not function in remote mode as the incoming baudrate was not called for properly to determine the transfer-time. This has been corrected. -=0=- May 5, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v2.34á o This release finalizes the changes in the Password file structure. It has added 5 more fields to it: --------------------------------------------------------------------- last_date[8]|downloads[8]|uploads[8]|calls_made[8]|time_on[8]| --------------------------------------------------------------------- Below you'll find a total display of the fields used in one record- line in the file "MAX!BBS.PAS". ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ field ³size³ ÚÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄ´ ³ 1³ usernr ³ 6³ ³ 2³ username ³ 16³ ³ 3³ city ³ 32³ ³ 4³ password ³ 16³ ³ 5³ level ³ 2³ ³ 6³ realname ³ 32³ ³ 7³ address ³ 32³ ³ 8³ zipcode ³ 8³ ³ 9³ country ³ 32³ ³10³ phone ³ 16³ ³11³ birthdate³ 8³ ³12³ reg.date ³ 8³ ³13³ lastdate ³* 8³ \ ³14³ downloads³* 8³ | ³15³ uploads ³* 8³ * added! ³16³ calls ³* 8³ | ³17³ time ³* 8³ / ÀÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄ´ ³ Total size 248³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ !!IMPORTANT!! ============= If you wish to use your old password-file, please make sure to add these five more fields at the end of each record, otherwise your password-file will become unreadable! o The MAX!BBS User Editor has been completed. Now it shows also the download/upload counters, including the amount of calls each user has made and his total time (hh:mm) spent on your BBS-system. o In the previous version a 'bug' was detected preventing you to search for names in the mailbox-section. Due to this, the system 'hangs up' after typing a name instead of a number. This has been corrected. o With respect to users requests, the 'I'-modem protocol has been replaced with the 'MegaLink'-protocol. For reasons that new protocols are so often introduced and I can not keep track of all of them, please let me know if other (external) protocols should be replaced or added. o For those who hate alarms, can toggle sound 'ON' or 'OFF' by pressing the F6-key from within the main (stand-by) menu. o Changes has been done in the download-option in the file-menu. Now you can type in up to five consecutive filenames to download in one batch. Each file will be checked first if present and after that all filesizes will be shown including their approximately transmit time. Be aware that some protocols are not supporting batch transmissions. Consult first before using batch options. o Due to memory limitations (again!) , I had to get rid of some screen windows that were implemented directly in the main source program. This has been replaced with normal ANSI-files. The added ANSI-files are: "REGISTER.ANS" + "VERSION.ANS". Please make sure that these files are available in your main communication directory where all script-files of MAX!BBS are located. If these files cannot be called for, MAX!BBS will terminate the program automatically!! A list of all files needed to run MAX!BBS properly is given below: ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ FILENAMES ³ DESCRIPTION ³ REMARKS ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ MAX!BBS .SLC ³ MAX!BBS Host Mode script ³ TELIX script file ³ ³ MAX!CONF.SLC ³ MAX!BBS Configuration script ³ TELIX script file ³ ³ MAX!ED .SLC ³ MAX!BBS User editor script ³ TELIX script file ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ MAX!BBS .BAT ³ Batch file to startup MAX!BBS ³ optional ³ ³ RSHELL .BA! ³ Batch file for DOS-shell ³ optional ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ LOGO .ANS ³ ANSI file for BBS-logo ³ user defined ³ ³ WELCOME .ANS ³ ANSI file for Welcome message ³ user defined ³ ³ BYE .ANS ³ ANSI file for Good-bye message ³ user defined ³ ³ NEWUSER .ANS ³ ANSI file for First-time callers ³ user defined ³ ³ HELP .ANS ³ ANSI file for Help message ³ user defined ³ ³ PROTOCOL.ANS ³ ANSI file for Protocols ³ must be unaltered! ³ ³ REGISTER.ANS ³ ANSI file for Questionnaire ³ must be unaltered! ³ ³ VERSION .ANS ³ ANSI file for Version message ³ must be unaltered! ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ MAX!BBS .DOC ³ DOC-file of MAX!BBS ³ recommended to read ³ ³ MAX!BBS .NEW ³ Releases of MAX!BBS ³ additions & changes ³ ³ README .COM ³ Readme COM.file ³ list these files ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ o I hope this release will solve any problems in previous versions encountered so far. If I don't receive any more complaints or requests in the near future, I will consider this version as a completed release of MAX!BBS and will replace this program without the áeta-sign. - ENJOY! - -=0=- April 29, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v2.33á o This release introduces some new features and changes in the Password file structure. o The MAX!BBS User Editor has been added to make changes and appends in the Password file. Due to memory limitations, I was forced to create a new script file to adapt these possibilities. Now you can easily append new users to the file or make changes in any field and makes them permanent or you can browse through all records just by pressing the arrow-keys or 'HOME'- and 'END'- keys. For your convenience, you can use ANY! field to search for a 'match'. Just press 'ENTER' on the field you like to search for and MAX!BBS will find your match. You don't even have to put in all characters to search for. Just pressing some first characters will do the job! - NOW ISN'T THAT EASY! - In order to make these features possible, I had to change the Password file structure. The format of the field names is now changed to: --------------------------------------------------------------------- user#[6]|username[16]|city[32]|password[8]|level[2]|realname[32]| address[32]|zipcode[8]|country[32]|birthdate[8]|regdate[8]| --------------------------------------------------------------------- MAX!BBS will add blanks automatically in the field, if the input is less than the maximum field-length. This not only makes the file easier to read, but was necessary for pointer addressing to make searching on fields much more easier. o MAX!BBS tolerates equal names from different users. New callers will not be refused when typing in names which are already in use by other callers. After a registered user calls in, and has typed in the requested name, MAX!BBS will check if this name is already on file, and if so, offer the caller all corresponding names and let the user decide which name is the appropiate one. Now for those who hate to wait, you can now also log-in with your Usernumber instead of your Username. This will make search & find process much faster than typing in your name. You avoid to force MAX!BBS check for more comparisons with your name after validating you as a known user. Also handy for sending mail to users with equal names, for a user# is unique in contrary to usernames. If you have problems remembering numbers, you can always press '?' for a complete userlist or to search for names or cities before logging in. This option is also available within the MAIN MENU (MailBox). o Due to memory limitations the Protocol window has been left out from the main host script. This has been replaced with the ANSI-file: "PROTOCOL.ANS". This file MUST BE PRESENT in your main communication directory which holds all files of MAX!BBS. -=0=- April 12, 1991 -- Notes on MAX!BBS v2.32á o This release was not to introduce new features but rather to fix a few bugs. o Due to a loss of an Escape character, colors were not reset to their original state. This has been corrected. o The Password-file "MAXBBS.PAS" was not created correct. The first Usernumber was not written in the file, so a continuous error kept occurring when you had logged in for the very first time. This has been corrected. o To prevent losing track of sudden errors in the Password-file, MAX!BBS writes any errors found in a file called "PASSWORD.ERR". This file allows you to allocate the error immediately. The format is: - Linenumber (where the error occurred) - Linetext (what was actually written on this line) - Type of error (indicates the possible mistake) o The configuration of the time levels was not correctly implemented. This was due to a string-to-integer conversion which was not properly set. When users logged in, they were thrown out again immediately, as their level stood on a blank value. This has been corrected. o Many little bugs and glitches have been fixed (including a couple in the MAX!BBS script file). o Some modems over-respond by starting up MAX!BBS immediately, without any carrier detected. Probably this is caused by a default setting of the initialisation of the modem. This causes the carrier detect signal to be asserted at all times (default setting for some modems). If your modem accepts the 'AT &C1' command it will force carrier detect to follow the ACTUAL carrier presence. If your modem can't recognize this command, you'll need to change the proper dip-switch (see your manual for details). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Max de Jong, P.O.Box 2160, Rotterdam - 3000 CD, The Netherlands Voice: +31.10-4046529 Fax/Data: +31.10-4046238 Copyright (c) 1990,91 by Max de Jong ---------------------------------------------------------------------------