QTIME 1.5
By Joseph Sheppard
Sysop, The Ledge PCBoard (818) 352-3620


This program is a quick easy way to create a file telling when a
function last occured. It is written with BBS Sysops in mind, and
often used to report the date and time of Echo Mail tranfers, but has
other uses as well.

It will write your personalized message followed by the the current
time, day and date. Depending on how you set the program up, it
produces either ASCII and ANSI files or a single PCBoard @x color code
compatible file.

Useage is:

QTIME

Example:

QTIME C:\PCB\QTIME.CNF

The .CNF file can have any valid DOS name and extension. This allows
you to use Qtime to stamp several different files with variable
messages. The .CNF file must look like this:

C:\PCB\GEN\NEWS
ANSI
This Version of Qtime was Released at

Descriptions:

Line 1: Path and name of time/date stamped file to create
Line 2: Color method. ANSI for ANSI codes, PCBOARD for PCBoard
compatible @x codes.
Line 3: Message to write before time and date stamps.


This .CNF file would cause Qtime to produce ASCII and ANSI files named
NEWS and NEWSG in your C:\PCB\GEN directory that look like this:


This Version of Qtime was Released at 3:25 pm, Sunday, July 1, 1990


If the word PCBOARD were placed on line 2 of the .CNF file, then a
single PCBoard @x color code compatible file would be produced. Only
one file is produced because PCBoard automatically strips out color
codes when callers are in non-graphics mode.

It is also possible, through clever use of the copy command to append
the file produced by QTIME to the top of your main board NEWS and NEWSG
files.

I run QTIME as part of my event, inside of my Qnet Qmodem Script.
If the mail run is successful I use the Qmodem DOS command to run QTIME
right inside of the script. If it's not, then QTIME dosen't get run
and I know something got screwed up when I wake up the next morning to
find that there has been no mail run for the last couple of days.

HOW TO GET THE TIME FILE AT THE TOP OF YOUR NEWS FILE:
------------------------------------------------------

Okay...this is a little hard to explain, but I'll give it a shot.
In order to get the files produced by QTIME to the top of your
news screen without duplicating it every time you have a mail
transfer, do the following:

1. Tell your news editor program to edit a file called NUZ (or
whatever you want, just not the same name your BBS uses for it's
NEWS file).

2. Assuming that your bbs uses a files called NEWS and NEWSG as
the news display screens, run the following batch file:

QTIME NETNAME QTIME
COPY QTIME + NUZ NEWS
COPY QTIMEG + NUZG NEWSG

What this does is keeps a QTIME free file for you to put your real
news in, then copies a fresh QTIME file on top after each
transfer.

If you add news between transfers then you should run a batch file
with the last two lines of the example above to update your news
file with the latest available QTIME file.

It's wierd, but it works.

I can be reached via the Shareware Conference that is featured on many
of the fine InterLink boards or Compuserve 73175,623, GEnie J.SHEPPARD
and of course, my BBS which is listed at the top.

Qtime is released as a free program. I ask for no contributions for
use of this product. I also assume no reponsibility for it's use or
misuse. Please use this program at your own risk.