The Information Door V1.0b Written By Gary Pfeffer

Copyright (c) 1992 Gary Pfeffer
P.O. Box 464 Perry Hall, MD 21128

THIS PROGRAM IS SHAREWARE


It is not crippled in any way and the user does not even see those
annoying UNREGISTERED messages. Nor do they see my name (you will see
my name and copyright notice but the caller will not) or any other
time consuming screens. If after using the program for 30 days, you like
it enough to keep it on your system, then you must pay for it. The cost is
only $5.00. Not bad for a program that can be run from one directory
and really be a multitude of different information doors.

I go out of my to keep the price reasonable and to make the product
blend in with your system (ie, no adopt-a-door or other delay screens
employing awkward color schemes and patterns), so I hope you will
appreciate this effort and register soon.

WARRANTIES

THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES
WHATSOEVER. BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY OF CONDITIONS AND HARDWARE UNDER
WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE USED, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE IS OFFERED. THE USER IS ADVISED TO TEST THE PROGRAM THOROUGHLY
BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE
PROGRAM.


Send registration fee of $5.00 to:

Gary Pfeffer
P.O. Box 464
Perry Hall, MD 21128

and provide the following info:

Name ___________________________ ADDRESS _______________________________

Phone __________________________ ADDRESS _______________________________

BBS Name _______________________ CITY STATE ZIP ________________________

As new versions of the program become available, you will be able to
download them from my BBS. To do so, You will need to establish an
account in advance by providing me with the following.

NAME AS YOU WISH TO KEY IT IN (NO ALIAS) ________________________________

PASSWORD _______________ BIRTHDATE __________

The Exchange BBS
P.O. Box 464
Perry Hall, MD 21128

Phone (410) 529-1716


This program has been tested on door.sys BBSes and works fine.

MAKE SURE THE ZIPS COMPLETE


Name of File: MANU100B.ZIP

Contents:

Length Method Size Ratio Date Time CRC-32 Attr Name
------ ------ ----- ----- ---- ---- ------ ---- ----
34239 Implode 21377 38% 07-22-92 11:49 56ffed14 --w MANUAL.EXE
234 Shrunk 177 25% 07-22-92 11:52 95e5ccd7 --w DOOR.SYS
11086 Implode 4252 62% 07-21-92 15:56 67a8a2e4 --w BBSBOOK.DAT
34 Stored 34 0% 07-22-92 09:47 9338af06 --w RUNMAN.BAT
8986 Implode 3740 59% 07-22-92 11:54 ed4a101e --w MANUAL.DOC
------ ------ --- -------
54579 29580 46% 5

If this stuff doesn't check out do me a favor and notify my BBS that the
package is incomplete.


The Exchange BBS
P.O. Box 464
Perry Hall, MD 21128

Phone (410) 529-1716

Leave your number and usual bbs and I'll make sure you get a good copy
of the file.



Purpose: To allow you to customize manuals or other information in a
menu selectable format without the hassle of custom programming. The
major use of this door will most likely be as an instruction manual
which can teach your callers the specifics of your board. The included
sample BBSBOOK.DAT can be modified to meet your needs. Keep in mind
that this program can be used to display any .DAT file in the proper text
format which is discussed in the section after "Usage".



Usage:

MANUAL SYSFILE BOOK ?????.DAT [LE ###] [EXCEPT ##]

[] represents options. Everything else is mandatory.
(Don't type the brackets.)

Breakdown of command line:

MANUAL

This is the name of the program and, of course, must come first.

SYSFILE

The Door file name with path (ie, door.sys c:\bbs\door.sys c:\pcb\pcboard.sys)
It must be the first argument passed.


BOOK ?????.DAT

This is for specifying the name of the manual you wish to display. The
argument following this one MUST BE THE .DAT file containing the data
you want displayed. The ?????.DAT represents the Data file. For example
a manual on the use of a BBS (like the example provided) would be
BBSBOOK.DAT.

[LE ###]

LE stands for "Less than or Equal to" and ### is to be replaced with a
security level. The purpose for this command is to allow you to run
this door from a logon Batch file. By specifying a LE ### you will
cause the door to run only for callers that are less than or equal to
the specified security level. For example, if your new users and
callers on trial validation are security level 5 and 10 then you could
say LE 10. That way the door would only execute for levels less than or
equal to 10.

[EXCEPT ##]

This means the program will run for all levels EXCEPT ## (where ## is a
security level that you don't want this door to run for). The reason I
developed this is for people who want to use the door in a logon Batch
file, but must be sure that it does not interfere with mail runs that
use script files to call into your system. If you don't want your mail
run security level to have this program run, then simply use the EXCEPT
command. For example, I have my mail run callers set up as level 6. So
I can say EXCEPT 6 and this program won't run for mail run callers.
This option can be used in conjuction with the LE option.

EXAMPLES OF USE


AS A DOOR:

BAT FILE WOULD READ
D: rem make sure you are on the appropriate drive
cd\bbs\manual rem make sure you are in the manual directory
MANUAL C:\BBS\DOOR.SYS BOOK BBSBOOK.DAT
C: rem change back to bbs drive
cd\bbs rem change back to bbs directory

AS A LOGIN PROCEDURE

LOGIN BAT FILE WOULD READ
D:
CD\BBS\MANUAL
MANUAL C:\BBS\DOOR.SYS BOOK BBSBOOK.DAT LE 20
C:
CD\BBS

In this example the program will run for security levels of 20
and under.

AS A LOGIN PROCEDURE

LOGIN BAT FILE WOULD READ
D:
CD\BBS\MANUAL
MANUAL C:\BBS\DOOR.SYS BOOK BBSBOOK.DAT LE 20 EXCEPT 15
C:
CD\BBS

In this example the program will run for security levels of 20
and under with the exception of 15 as 15 is being used for
mailruns or something else that this program would get in the
way of.

LOCAL TEST MODE

A DOOR.SYS is provided with the zip file which will allow you to run it
from the DOS prompt to test it out. Just run RUNMAN.BAT which is also
included.

CREATING YOUR OWN .DAT FILES

Use the BBSBOOK.DAT as an example.

The first line is the title and should be centered based on 80 characters
width.

.C entries are what display on the menu and should not exceed 30
characters. a solitary decimal should be placed at the 77th position on
every .C line. This character is needed for proper formatting.

Freestyle text that falls after the .C line makes up the article
associated with the above .C title. If you wish to leave blank lines the
lines should begin with .S Each line beginning with .S will print as
a blank line.

.E entries should be at the end of the text for each .C entry. So a
sample of a short book would be as follows:

This is the title
.C This is a selection .
This is the text that will be displayed for the above selection. If I
wish to use a blank line I do it like this.
.S
Then I continue typing. When I am done the text for this selection, I
end the section with a .E like this.
.E

Thats all there is to it.
You are allowed 20 selections per .DAT file.

Future Enhancements:


1. .D will be added after which you will be able to specify a list of
free download files with paths and comments.

2. A download option will be added which will allow the user to select
from multiple protocols and download files on the .D list.

3. Available protocols will be established by a control file which has
the proper commands necessary for each type of protocol you wish to
offer. A sample control file with X Y Zmodem and HSlink will be
included.

4. .L will be added so that you can specify the name of an ascii file
that you would like displayed. The .L can be place anywhere between the
.C and .E and will display the file as if it is part of the text in the
file. Of course, the filename will have to be keyed in after the .L.
The purpose for this command is to allow you to maintain seperate lists
of data (ie, BBS lists, Door lists, etc) in others parts of your system
and have them be included in this door without the need to update the
text every time those lists change.

BUG PATROL


I don't think you'll find any that aren't related to improper formatting
of text inthe .DAT file but if you do, please report them by mail or
E-mail to the following address (BBS):

The Exchange BBS
P.O. Box 464
Perry Hall, MD 21128

Phone (410) 529-1716


Thank you and enjoy the program.
Gary Pfeffer