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Menu Master (Tm)
Version 3.00
The Ultimate Menu Editor
For Remote Access
Copyright 1993 by Pegasus Software
Fido : 1:2613/477
Documentation Copyright 1993
by
Pegasus Software
Benjamin Schollnick
and
Rick Luquette
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Real Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Setting Up Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ANSIMode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
AutoMode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Default_Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Default_Sec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
FlagA, FlagB, FlagC, and FlagD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
HotKey_Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Linenumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
MultiPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Path1, Path2, and Path3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SecurityLevel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ShowData . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Status_Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Swap1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Swap2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SwapToEms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
TopMenu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
WordWrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Status Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Menus and Speed Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Add [Alt-A] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Copy [Alt-C] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Copy Menu [Ctrl-C] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Delete [Alt-D] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Delete Menu [Ctrl-D] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Edit [Alt-E] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Global Change [Alt-G] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
HighLight [Alt-H] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Insert [Alt-I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
List [Alt-L] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
New Menu [Ctrl-N] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
OS Shell [Ctrl-O] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Prompt [Alt-P] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Rename Menu [Ctrl-R] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Save Menu [Ctrl-S] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Settings [Alt-S] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Write To Menu [Ctrl-W] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Enhanced Menu Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Extended Path Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Editing the Help File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Speed Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Introduction
Welcome to Menu Master, the Ultimate Menu Editor for Remote
Access. If you've used prior versions of Menu Master then you want to
get ready for possible culture shock. Many things have changed since
v1.20, but just as many have stayed the same.
Menu Master is well named. It's a Menu construction utility -- a
fully functional and ready to run Menu tool kit. It gives you a user
friendly environment to work in while you work on your menus. Menu
Master is a quantum leap forward when compared to the Menu Editor that
comes with Remote Access, with it's very simplistic and frequently
awkward controls.
One of Remote Access's most attractive features is its configura-
bility, thanks to the ability to customize the Menus. Your users will
spend most of their time using your menus. A good design will impress
them, while a poor one will confuse or bemuse them.
Menu Master won't design the menus for you. but it certainly will
make it easier for you to discover the "one" style of menus which you
will like. The Remote Access Menu Editor is often awkward, sometimes
difficult to use, and doesn't have a fully developed simulation mode.
Menu Master will simulate menus and let you see exactly what the users
will see when they are logged in.
The Real Basics
Menu Master should run on any IBM compatible computer system. It's
been tested on various 80x86 based computers including 8088 and 386
based systems. In fact, most of the development has been done on a 8088
based machine so performance should be more then adequate on those
machines.
No special changes should be necessary on your system, although
you should have SHARE installed. Menu Master will automatically detect
the RA environmental settings and use them to locate your configuration
files.
Setting Up Menus
Menu Master can take its setup information from an optional
configuration file called MM.CFG. This file sets the defaults that will
determine how Menu Master displays menus on startup. Since it is a text
file, you can create it with any standard text editor. (A sample is
included in the release archive.) If you choose not to create MM.CFG,
Menu Master will use its internal defaults which can be changed within
the program.
MM.CFG consists of keywords followed by the value you wish to
assign to that option. It's important to remember that MM.CFG only
controls the Simulation mode settings when you first run Menu Master;
it has no effect on the menus your users will see. Any of the options
in MM.CFG except the paths for the MultiPath function can be changed
from within the program for the current session only. Keywords may be
placed in any order and are not case sensitive, so they may be in all
upper case, all lower case, or any combination. If a keyword or the
entire configuration file is missing, the default will be used (shown
in brackets in the list below). Any line which begins with a semicolon
or a carriage return will be considered a comment; anything else that
is not a valid keyword will cause an error message.
Here is a list of available keywords:
ANSIMode [On]: Determines the status of ANSI mode in your simula-
tion.
AutoMode [Off]: Determines whether [Ctrl-A] commands will be
activated by the simulation.
Default_Prompt [Command:]: Sets the default prompt for new menus
Default_Sec [5]: Sets the default security level to be used in the
Insert and Add commands.
FlagA, FlagB, FlagC, and FlagD [--------]: Controls simulated flag
settings.
HotKey_Edit [Off]: Determines the setting of the AutoEdit function
at startup.
Linenumber [On]: Determines whether Line Numbers will be visible
on your simulation screen.
MultiPath [Off]: Determines whether Menu Master will allow Extend-
ed Path Switching.
Path1, Path2, and Path3 [No Defaults]: Sets paths for Extended
Path Switching.
SecurityLevel [5]: Determines the Security Level you will simu-
late.
ShowData [Off]: Determines whether command type explanations will
be shown.
Status_Line [On]: Determines whether the status line will be
displayed at the bottom of your screen. When turned off, the
menu will look exactly like it will be displayed to your
users. If a Type 40 ANSI/ASCII menu screen is displayed, then
ANSI_Mode must also be turned ON.
Swap1 [No default]: Specifies the command to be run by pressing
[Alt-F1]. This function might be used to run an ANSI drawing
program to edit ANSI menu screens.
Swap2 [No default]: Specifies the command to be run by pressing
[Alt-F2]. This function might be used to run a text editor to
edit ASCII menu screens.
SwapToEms [On] : Enables swapping to EMS when shelling to DOS with
Ctrl-O.
TopMenu [TOP.MNU]: Identifies the first menu to be loaded when
starting Menu Master.
WordWrap [Off]: Determines whether WordWrap will be ON or OFF.
To use Menu Master, simply change to your Remote Access directory
and type MM. After the opening screens, you'll be placed in the main
editing screen and shown TOP.MNU (or the menu identified by the TopMenu
keyword in MM.CFG), and the status line will appear across the bottom
of the screen if the Status_Line keyword in MM.CFG is set to ON.
Status Line
If activated, the status line will show the following options in a
two line display that is too wide for the printed page (the settings of
the options will be determined by MM.CFG):
Line 1
F1:ANSI ON
F2:Data Mode OFF
F3:Numbers ON
F4:Ctrl-A Mode OFF
F5:Hot Edit ON
Line 2
TOP.MNU
S:32000 A:XXXXXXXX B:XXXXXXXX C:XXXXXXXX D:XXXXXXXX
On the first line, the status of options is shown by the word On
or Off, as set in MM.CFG or by the defaults. Also, if your video system
supports it, options that are on are in bright white text, while
options that are off are not highlighted. You can toggle the options to
the opposite state by pressing the indicated function key.
F1 Toggles ANSI or ASCII mode. Shows how your screen will appear
to users with and without ANSI capability.
F2 Toggles Data mode, which gives you brief information about
each menu option instead of the display text. Data mode is
very useful if you are making menus featuring text file menus
activated automatically by [Ctrl-A].
F3 Toggles line numbers, which help you to pick the correct line
to edit.
F4 Toggles Ctrl-A mode. In Ctrl-A mode, the simulator will
display a text file used as the display for the menu. Also,
it will automatically load Type 1, Type 2, or Type 4 menus
with a Ctrl-A if this option is ON. If you need to Edit a
menu in which you're using a Ctrl-A to call up another menu,
turn this option OFF and you will stop at the first menu and
be allowed to edit the options in it.
F5 Toggles Hotkey Editing. If ON, you'll automatically move into
command edit mode when you press an activation key.
F6 Allows you to change the security and flags that are being
simulated, and other configuration items.
The second line shows the menu you are now editing and the securi-
ty level and flag settings you are simulating. [F6] allows you to see
how the menu will appear to users at various security levels and flag
settings, and also to change some of the options in MM.CFG. Changes to
the MM.CFG settings are in effect for the current session only; to make
permanent changes, edit MM.CFG with any text editor.
When Hotkey Edit is turned off, moving around from menu to menu is
as easy from within Menu Master as it is on the BBS itself. You can
move from one menu to another by pressing the same key that would call
up the secondary menu on your BBS. Some menu types, such as Type 7's
and Type 15's, will not activate but instead will display a data line
telling you the key's function. If Hotkey Edit is turned on, you'll
automatically move into command edit mode by pressing the activation
key.
Menus and Speed Keys
You can bring up the menus within Menu Master in several ways.
Pressing [ESC] will give you the Main Menu. You can reach the File menu
by choosing File from the Main Menu, or by pressing [Alt-F] from the
simulation screen. To the left of each menu option is an Alt-Key or
Ctrl-Key combination (Speed Keys) that will activate that function
without bringing down the menu. Also, once a menu is shown, you can
press the first letter of an option to activate it, or move the high-
light to that line and press [Enter]. If you're using a mouse, a click
on the mouse key will pull down the Main Menu, and a click on the
proper line will activate that option.
When the main menu is activated, the following will be displayed:
╒══════════MenuMaster═══════════╕
│ File Settings Edit Utility │
╘═══════════════════════════════╛
The file menu presents the following display:
╒══════════MenuMaster═══════════╕
│ File Settings Edit Utility │
╘═╒═════════════════════════╕═══╛
│ New Menu │ <Cntl-N> │
│ Save │ <Cntl-S> │
│ Save As │ <Cntl-W> │
│ Rename Menu │ <Cntl-R> │
│ Copy Menu │ <Cntl-C> │
│ Delete Menu │ <Cntl-D> │
│ Quit │ <Alt-X> │
╘═════════════════════════╛
On either menu, a highlight bar marks the current option. The file
menu can be called by pressing [Alt-F] from the simulation screen, by
pressing F from the Main Menu, by moving the highlight bar to the File
line, or by bringing up the Main Menu and then using your mouse to
click on the File line.
The four methods of choosing an option are functionally equiva-
lent. At the beginning, you'll probably call up menus and choose your
options, but soon you'll be using the Speed Keys like a pro!
Here is a detailed explanation of each option in the Main and File
Menus. They are listed alphabetically.
Add [Alt-A]: Allows you to add a command to the end of your menu.
If you want to add a command in the middle of the menu, use Insert or
Copy and then Edit. Pressing [Alt-A] brings up the Add/Edit screen:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Editing Entry #: 13 │
│ 1 2 3 4 5 6 │
│12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678│
│····································································│
│ │
│Optional Data: │
│····································································│
│ │
│Menu Type....>0·· │
│Security.....>0···╓──────────────────────Keys In Use───────────────╖│
│Key..........>? ║?0?H012CGP? ║│
│ForeGround...>7· ╙────────────────────────────────────────────────╜│
│BackGround...>0· │
│A Flags......>--------╔════════════════════Shift-FKeys═════════════╗│
│B Flags......>--------║ This information reproduced below because ║│
│C Flags......>--------║ of space limitations on the printed page ║│
│D Flags......>--------╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝│
│ [F4] Extended Security Options │
│ [F10] To Finish And Save Changes │
│ [ESC] To Abort Changes To This Entry │
│[HOME]-Beginning of Line, [END]-End of Line, [INS]-Toggle Ins Mode │
│ [F2]-Center Display Line, [F1]-Menu Type Help │
└─────String To Appear On Menu, ^String^ Makes String Highlighted────┘
TEST.MNU S:32000 A:XXXXXXXX B:XXXXXXXX C:XXXXXXXX D:XXXXXXXX
╒════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
│ F1-┌ F2-┐ F3-└ F4-┘ F5-─ F6-│ F7-├ F8-┤ F9-┴ F10┬ │
│ (Use PgUp & PgDn To Change Char Set) │
╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
Adding menu options is as easy as filling in the blanks. The top
line is the display line. Anything you type here will display on the
menu. If you leave it blank, the menu will show a blank line. Normally,
each text line is followed by a carriage return, but adding a
semi-colon (;) at the end of the line will eliminate the carriage
return. A line containing only a semi-colon will not affect the menu
display at all.
The numbers above the line are to aid you in placing items on the
screen. Be sure to note the editing keys shown at the bottom of the
screen. [F2] will center your data, [F3] allows selection of the
graphics character set palette, [Home] moves you to the beginning of
the line, [End] to the end of the line, and [Ins] toggles between
Insert and Overtype mode. Including an up-carat (^) on the line toggles
between regular and highlight mode. In the following line:
This is a ^display line^ in the menu
the words "display line" would be highlighted. The words "This is a"
and "in the menu" would both take on the foreground and background
colors specified on the Add/Edit screen.
Be careful when using the highlight (^) character in text lines.
It will appear to take a character position on the edit screen, but
will not use a space in the actual menu display. Also, using the
highlight (^) character can produce some interesting effects. If you
have your foreground set to white and your background to blue, this
line will have a blue background beginning all the way at the left
margin, and ending immediately after the last character:
This is a display line in the menu
On the other hand, this line will show the blue background only behind
the letters:
^ ^This is a display line in the menu
If you want the blue background to cover the entire line, use the first
example but pad it with spaces all the way to the end of the line.
Other special purpose keys in Add/Edit Mode include [Ctrl-Enter]
and [F10], either of which will save your work and then return you to
Simulation Mode (if you're in Edit Mode), or give you another blank
command screen (if you're in Add Mode), and [Esc], which aborts the
changes on the current command screen and returns you to Simulation
Mode. [F1] also has a special function, described under "Menu type"
below.
Pressing [PgUp] or [PgDn] flips through 100 special characters you
can include on the text lines of your menus, or you can choose from a
list by pressing [F3]. Use the shifted function key to include the
graphics character in your menu's text line. Remember that users
without IBM compatible equipment or that do not have a suitable graph-
ics card might not be able to display characters that are above 126 or
below 28 on the table of ASCII characters. Characters below 28 and
character 127 are control characters that control various communica-
tions functions, or in some cases trigger the display of special
information by the BBS.
@ Displays the current file area
` Displays the current message area
Menu type defines which one of the available options will be called by
this command. A complete, detailed list of Menu Types are detailed in
the Remote Access instructions, but by pressing [F1] you will be shown
a complete list of all available menu types.
Security and A-D Flags determine which users will have access to
this command. A user must have a security level at or above the speci-
fied limit AND the specified flags to use this command. As a sysop,
system security should be your most important concern, so a thorough
understanding of security levels and flags is necessary. By default,
Menu Master places you in Insert mode, but this can be a problem when
changing flags. Since a maximum of eight flags are allowed on each
line, and all eight are already set to [-], you won't be able to "add"
an [X] character to toggle a flag on. Delete the [-] character or press
the [Insert] key to change to Typeover mode, and you'll be able to make
the changes.
Key is the character your callers will use to select the menu
option. Alphabetical characters will automatically convert to upper
case if necessary. Your users can use upper or lower case.
Remember that many computers that are not IBM compatible may not
be able to generate all of the characters on the IBM-style keyboard, so
characters such as the brace ({}), the bracket ([]), the tilde (~), the
vertical line (|), and the backslash (\) should be avoided on commands
you intend for public access. Often characters such as these make good
choices for restricted access commands, such as menus or special read
commands for your co-sysops as many users will not even be able to
generate them.
Keys in Use shows you which keys already have a function in the
current menu. Once you understand what you're doing you can use the
same command more than once and let it have different effects for
different users. For example, you might want to install two different
time banking programs. The first might allow users to borrow online
time. You probably won't want to let new users do that. The second door
might not have that function, but will still allow users to save their
own time for later use. You can use the [B] command for both choices as
long as you follow three simple rules:
1. The most restrictive command must come first. Users who meet
the security level and flag restrictions will select the
first command and never get to the second.
2. The less restrictive command must come after the first.
3. Only include a text line on the least restrictive command.
Simple enough? If you set the first command at security level 10,
and the second command at security level 5, a user with a security
level of 10 will activate the first command, while a user with a
security level of 5 will activate the second. If you place the lower
security level first, the user with the higher security level will
trigger the first command and never make it to the second.
Foreground and Background set the colors that users who have
access to the command will see when the text line displays on their
screen. This applies only to users who have chosen to use ANSI graph-
ics. Colors can add interest and excitement to your system, but they
can also make it unreadable, especially if you use certain color
combinations such as dark gray on black. Any combination that does not
produce a high contrast will be useless on a monochrome system. Some
colors produce underlined text in monochrome, while others blink! If
you don't have access to a monochrome system yourself, your best bet is
to ask a user you trust to let you know if there are any areas on your
menus that are useless to her/him. You'll need to print out a list of
your commands first since your user won't be able to report invisible
commands!
Here is a list of available colors:
Black . . . . 0 Dark Gray . . . . 8
Blue . . . . 1 Light Blue . . . 9
Green . . . . 2 Light Green . . . 10
Cyan . . . . 3 Light Cyan . . . 11
Red . . . . . 4 Light Red . . . . 12
Magenta . . . 5 Light Magenta . . 13
Brown . . . . 6 Yellow . . . . . 14
Light Gray . 7 White . . . . . . 15
Only colors 1-7 can be used for background colors. If 8 is entered
for the background color, the command will blink; if 9 is entered, the
command will blink in reverse colors.
Copy [Alt-C]: Allows you to copy or move commands from one place
on your menu to another. Pressing [Alt-C] gives the following display:
╓───────────────────────────────────────╖
║ Copy Range Start Entry:1· ║
║ Copy Range Ending Entry:1· ║
║ Copy Range Before What Entry:1· ║
║ Delete Source Entries?Y ║
╙───────────────────────────────────────╜
If you enter 1 as your start entry, 5 as your ending entry, and 10
as your destination entry, and answer No to Delete Source Entries?,
menu items 1-5 will become items 10-14, and previous #10 will move to
#15. If you answered Yes to Delete Source Entries?, then previous items
6-9 will become 1-3; previous items 1-5 will become 4-9, and item 10
will remain in place, as will any other items that follow. To add an
item to the end of the menu, enter a destination entry one higher than
the last line on your menu. So if your menu has 10 lines, entering a
destination before line 11 would copy the entry to the end of the menu.
Copy Menu [Ctrl-C]: This command allows you to replace one menu
with another or create a new menu as a duplicate of a previous menu.
You'll be shown the standard file display box (see page 65). Select the
file you want to copy (or type in the name including the .MNU exten-
sion, or another extension if appropriate), and you'll be prompted for
the destination name:
╓────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╖
║Destination Menu Name: (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║
╙────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜
While it is necessary to type in the extension for the source
file, it is not necessary to enter the extension for the destination
menu name. This allows you to copy backup menus or create "core" menus
for later use in creating new menus. A core menu contains the shell of
commands you will use on every menu. As an example, suppose you wanted
every menu to have this basic structure:
Menu Master v3.00
Menu Title Here
(Individual menu commands go here)
<G>oodbye Menu <Q>uick Bye
<-> Return to Previous Menu <T>ime Remaining Online
<S>earch Userlog <R>eturn to Top Menu
Time remaining: 9999 minutes Enter your command:
You could create a special menu named CORE.MNU and duplicate it to
create all your other menus. This will save you lots of time in creat-
ing new menus. For additional protection, you might want to rename
CORE.MNU to CORE.COR or CORE.!!! or some other name so Menu Master and
Remote Access will ignore it except when using the copy function.
Delete [Alt-D]: Allows you to delete a command. Use this option
with caution as there are no second chances.
Delete Menu [Ctrl-D]: Allows you to delete unwanted menus and
their backup files. Choosing this option brings up the File
Display Box. As always, you can choose the menu to be deleted
from the display, or type in the filename and extension
yourself. Use this option with caution as there is no second-
ary prompt to ask you if you're sure. Once you delete a file,
it's gone forever! (Not really ... if you know how to recover
deleted files through DOS, you can retrieve it as long as it
hasn't been overwritten.)
Edit [Alt-E]: Allows you to edit an existing command. You'll be
shown the following display:
╔═══════════════════╗
║Edit Which Entry?1·║
╚═══════════════════╝
Enter the line number you want to edit. You'll go to the Edit
screen so you can update the menu. Remember to press [F10] to
save your work. See the section on Adding menu options for a
complete discussion of Add/Edit Mode. Remember that it's not
necessary to press [Alt-E] if AutoEdit is turned on.
Global Change [Alt-G]: Allows you to make changes to several or
even all of your menus at one time. Pressing [Alt-G] or
choosing Global from the menu will present these choices:
╒Choose What to Change╕
│Visible Text │
│Optional Data │
│Menu Type │ ********* NOTE **********
│Security Level │ * The Flags can be *
│HotKey │ * accessed by scrolling *
│ForeGround │ * Down farther *
│BackGround │ *************************
│Hi-ForeGround │
│Hi-BackGround │
│Prompt-ForeGround │
│Prompt-BackGround │
╘═════════════════════╛
This function is similar to the Global Search/Replace func-
tion of many word processors. If you choose Display Text,
you'll be shown this display:
NOTE: On String Searches, Only An Exact Match Will Be Replaced.
╓Enter The Display String To Search For:────────────────────────╖
║·······························································║
╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜
╓Enter The Replacement Display String:──────────────────────────╖
║·······························································║
╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜
After entering the search string, you'll be shown the re-
placement string menu. Menu Master will search through the
text lines on all of your menus and replace them according to
your instructions. If you have the following line on all of
your menus:
<^G^>oodbye -- Logof the system
you can use this feature to correct your spelling error!
Enter the incorrect line under "Enter The Display String To
Search For," and the corrected line under "Enter The Replace-
ment Display String." Only exact matches will be replaced, so
if you leave out a character (including the highlight (^)
character), the replacement will not be made.
The next screen will be file display box, by using the
[Space] bar, mark those menus you want to have searched.
Other menus will be ignored. Menu Master will search through
the marked menus, making replacements as warranted.
All other options are almost the same, varying only slightly
in the display. For example, if you choose HotKey, you'll be
asked for the menu hotkey rather than the display text.
HighLight [Alt-H]: Allows you to change foreground and background
colors of highlight text.
Insert [Alt-I]: Inserts a command into a menu. You'll be shown the
following display:
╓───────────────────────────╖
║Insert Before What Entry?1·║
╙───────────────────────────╜
Enter the line number you want the new command to precede,
and you'll be brought to a blank Edit screen so you can enter
the new command.
List [Alt-L]: Lists the commands that make up the menu. First, you
must decide whether you want to print the list:
╓──────────────────╖
║List To Printer? N║
╙──────────────────╜
If you say [No], the list will display on your screen. If you
say [Yes], the list will be printed on the printer. Pressing
[Esc] will abort the printout. Either way, it will follow
this format:
1 Str:<^P^>ost Messages in Current Area ;
Menu Type:27 Sec:0 Key:P Foreground:4 BackGround: 7
DATA:
FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:--------
2 Str:<^R^>ead Messages in Current Area ;
Menu Type:23 Sec:0 Key:R Foreground:4 BackGround: 7
DATA:
FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:--------
3 Str:<^D^>etail Scan of Current Area ;
Menu Type:24 Sec:0 Key:D Foreground:4 BackGround: 7
DATA:
FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:--------
4 Str:<^B^>asic Scan of Current Area ;
Menu Type:25 Sec:0 Key:B Foreground:4 BackGround: 7
DATA:
FLAGS> A:-------- B:-------- C:-------- D:--------
This condensed format may seem confusing at first, but it
presents all of the information shown on the edit screen for
each command. In this case, nearly all commands have their
security levels set to 0 and flags are all reset because
access is determined in the individual message bases rather
than at the menu level.
New Menu [Ctrl-N]: Calls up a new menu for you to simulate or
edit. You'll be shown a list of all available menu files,
from which you can select the one you want, or you can type
out the name. The menu list will resemble this one:
╒═════════════════════ D:\RA\MENUS\*.MNU ════════════════════════╕
│ │
│ [C:] LOBBY.MNU OLGAMES2.MNU REPORTS.MNU │
│ [E:] MCITY.MNU OLGAMES3.MNU S-VERM.MNU │
│ [F:] MCSGAME.MNU OLGAMES4.MNU SYSOP.MNU │
│ ..\ MCSMENU.MNU OLGAMES5.MNU TERM.MNU │
│ COMBINED.MNU MESSAGES.MNU OLGAMES6.MNU TOP.MNU │
│ DL-QBBS.MNU MULTINOD.MNU OLGAMES7.MNU TOP_1.MNU │
│ DOORS.MNU NET_MAIL.MNU PEGASUS.MNU TOP_2.MNU │
│ FILES.MNU OLGAMES.MNU QMX.MNU │
│ LIBRARY.MNU OLGAMES1.MNU │
│ │
╘Select File or Type <FileName>═══<Space> to Change Display Mode═╛
Pressing the space bar will give a more detailed display
╒═════════════════════ D:\RA\MENU\*.MNU ════════════════════════╕
│ [C:] OLGAMES1.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │
│ [E:] OLGAMES2.MNU 4/20/93 7:00a │
│ [F:] OLGAMES3.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │
│ ..\ 9/ 8/92 9:08a OLGAMES4.MNU 4/ 6/93 8:17a │
│ COMBINED.MNU 3/18/93 8:11p OLGAMES5.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │
│ DL-QBBS.MNU 5/ 2/93 9:20a OLGAMES6.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │
│ DOORS.MNU 3/18/93 10:04p OLGAMES7.MNU 3/18/93 8:11p │
│ FILES.MNU 4/ 1/93 9:14a PEGASUS.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │
│ LIBRARY.MNU 3/18/93 8:11p QMX.MNU 3/18/93 8:12p │
│ LOBBY.MNU 6/16/93 5:30p │
╘Select File or Type <FileName>═══<Space> to Change Display Mode╛
Use the up and down arrow keys to scroll the list if its too
long to fit on the screen at one time.
Select the menu you want to simulate or edit by moving the
highlight over the desired menu, or click on it with your
mouse, or type in the menu name. If you enter a name that
doesn't exist, you'll be asked if you want to create it from
scratch, which is usually not a good idea.
OS Shell [Ctrl-O]: Allows you to drop into DOS. Handy for renaming
files to an extension other than *.MNU. This function re-
quires about 307 KB of available memory, so if you're using a
multitasker or have shelled from Remote Access and don't have
that much memory available, it won't work.
After dropping to DOS, you'll see a display like the follow-
ing:
Menu Master v3.00 Shell Active. Type EXIT to Return.
Microsoft(R) MS-DOS(R) Version 5.00
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1981-1991.
[MenuMaster v3.00 Shell]
D:\RA>
Menu Master will swap out of memory, but you still might not
have enough memory left to do heavy duty work. Your display
will show information on the version of DOS loaded on your
system. To return to Menu Master, type EXIT and press [En-
ter].
Prompt [Alt-P]: The Prompt is the line at the bottom of the menu
that you use to tell callers to enter their command. This
function allows you to change the prompt's text and colors.
Rename Menu [Ctrl-R]: First you're asked for the new name:
╓───────────────────────────────────────────────────╖
║Rename What Menu? (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║
╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────╜
If you press [Enter], you'll see a file display box, that
will allow you to select the menu that you want to rename.
After selecting the menu to be renamed, you're prompted for
the new name:
╓───────────────────────────────────────────────────╖
║Rename What Menu? (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║
╙───────────────────────────────────────────────────╜
╓─────────────────────────────────────────────────╖
║Enter New Name: (.MNU Extension Assumed) ········║
╙─────────────────────────────────────────────────╜
Enter the new name without the .MNU extension, which will be
added automatically.
Pressing [Esc] aborts any option in Menu Master until the
menu is actually saved. As an extra precaution, Menu Master
stores the previous version of your menu with the extension
.BAK. Once you're sure the menu is the way you want it, you
can delete the .BAK file.
Save Menu [Ctrl-S]: Saves the menu you're working on.
Settings [Alt-S]: Brings up the main menu with Settings highlight-
ed. Pressing [Enter] brings down the Settings menu:
╒══════════MenuMaster═══════════╕
│ File Settings Edit Utility │
╘═══════╒═══════════════════════════════╕
│ Ansi Mode │ F1 │
│ Data Mode │ F2 │
│ Line Numbers │ F3 │
│ Autoexec Mode │ F4 │
│ Hot Key Editing │ F5 │
│ Change Configuration │ F6 │
│ Redraw Menu │ F7 │
│ MultiPath Control │ F8 │
│ Change Language │ F9 │
│ Edit Help File │ <None> │
╘═══════════════════════════════╛
As before, you may either choose an option from the menu,
click on it with your mouse, or use the Speed Key (in this
case, the function key). Speed keys work even if the menu is
not showing, so they really do speed things up.
Pressing [F6] will allow you to change the simulated security
level and flag settings, and the system configuration:
╒════════════Menu Master Global Settings══════════════╕
│ General Configuration Settings │
│ │
│ Emulated Security Level? 64000 │
│ Emulated Flag A: XXXXXXXX │
│ Emulated Flag B: XXXXXXXX │
│ Emulated Flag C: XXXXXXXX │
│ Emulated Flag D: XXXXXXXX │
│ │
│ Other Settings │
│ │
│ Menu Data is Shown? N Ansi Mode is On? Y │
│ Autodisplay is On? N Line Numbers is On? Y │
│ MultiPath is On? N Word Wrap is Active? N │
│ Swapping to EMS Memory? Y Status Line is Shown? Y │
│ Edit by Hotkeys? Y │
╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
The information on the top half of the screen duplicates the
settings on the status line, while the bottom half allows you
to edit settings in MM.CFG (see page 53).
Write To Menu [Ctrl-W]: After you have loaded a menu into Simula-
tion/Edit mode, this option will allow you to save it under a
different name. You can add any extension you like. If you
don't put an extension, Menu Master will add .MNU for you.
There are no safety precautions, so it's easy to make a
mistake and overwrite the wrong menu. It's safer to copy the
menu to the new file first, and then edit it under it's new
name.
Command Line Options
There are two command line options available for use with MM.EXE:
-D: This is the "Directory" Command, it causes Menu Master to
begin by displaying the Ctrl-N directory listing.
-Q: The "Quick" Command, it allows registered users to bypass the
opening screen.
These options may also be set with an environmental variable:
SET MM=DIR QUICK
using either one or both options, if you're a registered user.
Enhanced Menu Displays
Once you have your BBS running successfully, you may want to
become more creative and design customized menus to display to your
users. This is most often done with automatically executing Type 40
menu commands, although Type 5 and Type 45 could also be used.
All three of these commands display a *.A?? file to the user, who
actually sees a file with the extension of ANS if he/she has ANSI
graphics enabled, and a file with the extension of ASC if ANSI graphics
are disabled. The advantage of the Type 40 command over Type 5 is the
availability of Hot Keys. When menus use hot keys, commands take effect
immediately without forcing the user to wait for the entire menu to be
displayed. This is especially appreciated by long distance callers when
the sysop chooses to use elaborate animated menus, which can take a
relatively long time to draw. If a Type 40 command is used, the display
will be interrupted if the caller enters any valid menu command.
In contrast, a Type 5 display may also be used, but the caller
will be forced to view the entire menu before making a selection. The
Type 45 command, which forces the caller to press [Enter] at the end of
the display, is not very useful for menu displays. The rest of this
section will assume that you will use Type 40 displays.
In order to create customized displays, you will need to either be
extremely familiar with ANSI color and positioning commands, or use an
ANSI editor such as TheDraw. You can be as creative as you like, but
remember that animation and color changes will slow your menu displays,
especially for users calling at slower baud rates.
The technique for using enhanced menu displays with Remote Access
is a simple one. As the first command on your menu, create a Type 40
command using [Ctrl-A] as the activation key, and with the menu name on
the optional data line. This will automatically display the named file
each time the menu is accessed. Create ANSI and ASCII versions of your
menu and store them in your Text Files directory. You must have both
ANSI and ASCII versions, or callers who have ANSI displays toggled off
will not see any display at all!
Now that you have created your menu, you must eliminate the
built-in menu displays. Edit each command and delete any text in the
display line. Insert a semi-colon [;] as the only character, indicating
that you don't even want a carriage return. Don't forget to edit your
Prompt to eliminate text displays.
When creating your ANSI menus, keep in mind that commands on the
menu will be displayed to everyone even if they don't have access to
the command. Using the technique described, you can have more than one
command using the same activation key, or commands which do not appear
on the menu at all. You can even create more than one menu display and
control which users see which menu with flags and security levels, or
use the language function to control displays. Be careful because the
more elaborate your security gets, the more likely it is that someone
will "fall through the cracks" and end up seeing no display at all!
Enhanced menu displays involve a lot more maintenance than regular
menu displays. Each time you modify your menu, you must use Menu Master
to edit the *.MNU file, your ANSI editor to edit the *.ANS file, and a
text editor (or your ANSI editor) to edit the *.ASC file. Forgetting to
edit any of these will prevent your users from taking advantage of
changes to your system, since they won't know about them. Enhanced
displays can create an atmosphere for your system through the use of
"theme" menu displays, or provide additional assistance for your users
through the use of highlights, blinking text, etc.
Extended Path Switching
MM.CFG includes this function for sysops who run Remote Access in
a multinode or network environment. Extended Path Switching, which is
activated with the MultiPath keyword, allows you to edit menus residing
in multiple directories identified with the Path keywords.
The menu path listed in RACONFIG.EXE in your main Remote Access
directory or in the directory in which you started MM.EXE is the
standard directory in which Menu Master looks for your menu files. If
MultiPath is set to On, up to three other paths can also be used. Each
path must be identified in MM.CFG with the keywords Path1, Path2, and
Path3. Use the [F8] key to choose alternate directories.
MultiPath can be toggled from within Menu Master, but it must be
set up in MM.CFG for Extended Path Switching to be available, and all
paths not listed in RACONFIG.EXE must be identified with Pathn state-
ments.
MultiPath functions like the directory setting in many word
processors. If you change paths and then save your menu, you will
either save the menu to the wrong directory, or perhaps even replace an
existing menu that you did not want to change. Menu Master will obedi-
ently follow your instructions even if it causes the replacement of
valuable data, so if you activate Extended Path Switching, be sure to
use it with caution!
Editing the Help File
Pressing [F1] while adding or editing menu commands brings up a
help screen of available menu types. First, you are given a list of
menu types grouped according to function, and then a sequential list.
Menu Master allows you to edit the menu types, choose the groups
to which it belongs, and specify default settings.
Choosing Edit Help File from the Settings menu will give you this
display:
╒════════════════════════════Entry # : 0════════════════════════════╕
│ │
│ Shown from Help Display │
│ │
│If Chosen, Import Data into Menu? N │
│Help Description: Text Line (Not Considered a Command)· │
│Help Options : None································· │
│Which Groups....: -------- │
│ │
│ What will be Imported if Chosen │
│ │
│Display.......: ···················································│
│Optional Data : ···················································│
│ │
│Security Level: 0···· │
│ForeGround....: 0 │
│BackGround....: 0 │
│A Flag........: -------- │
│B Flag........: -------- │
│C Flag........: -------- │
│D Flag........: -------- │
╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
Use the [PgUp] and [PgDn] keys to move from one menu option to
another, and the [Tab] or arrow keys to move around the edit screen.
Here are the available options:
If Chosen, Import Data into Menu? If set to Yes, data from the
bottom of the screen will be set as a default if this menu type is
chosen.
Help Description: The information that will appear on the left of
the help line, next to the menu type number.
Help Options: The information that will appear on the right of the
help line.
Which Groups: Specifies grouping of menu types for the help dis-
play. Each command can belong to more than one group; simply
set the flag for the group(s) you wish to use.
Display: The default display line if this menu type is added.
Optional Data: The default optional data if this menu type is
added.
Security Level: The default security level if this menu type is
added.
ForeGround: The default foreground color if this menu type is
added.
BackGround: The default background color if this menu type is
added.
A/B/C/D Flag: The default flag settings if this menu type is
added.
Grouping
Remote Access uses a concept called Grouping, which allows you to
customize the display of file and message areas while running the BBS,
and menu types within Menu Master. The Grouping concept is the same in
all cases.
Grouping of menu types serves a slightly different function, since
it allows you to group menu types according to function. There is no
benefit to your users at all; in fact, since the menu type grouping
applies only to MenuMaster's help function, your users won't even know
it exists. Within Menu Master, you can group message commands, file
commands, user status commands, etc. The menu types are shown grouped
when you press [F10]; a list in numerical order follows the grouped
list.
To accomplish grouping, Remote Access uses binary math, which is
the "ones and zeros" that make up the nuts and bolts of computers. In
binary ("base 2"), the decimal number 1 is represented as "00000001", 2
is "00000010", three is "00000011", etc. A group of eight binary digits
("bits") is called a "byte"; 1024 bytes are a "kilobyte" (Kbyte, KB, or
just K); and a thousand kilobytes are a megabyte (Mbyte, or MB). One
megabyte is not a million bytes, but actually 1024*1000=1,024,000. That
also explains why 640K is not 640,000 but actually 1024*640=655,360.
And that concludes the math lesson.....
Speed Keys
The following Speed Keys are active in Simulation Mode:
Alt-A Add a command
Alt-C Copy/Move commands
Alt-D Delete a command
Alt-E Edit a command
Alt-F Access File Menu
Alt-G Make Global changes
Alt-H Change Highlight colors
Alt-I Insert a command
Alt-S Change Settings (Flags & Security Level) being simulat-
ed.
Alt-L List menu commands
Alt-P Edit Prompt string and colors
Alt-X Exit Menu Master
Ctrl-C Copy a menu
Ctrl-D Delete a menu
Ctrl-N Edit a different menu
Ctrl-O DOS Shell
Ctrl-R Rename a menu
Ctrl-S Save the current menu
Ctrl-W Write (save) to a new name
The following speed keys are active in Edit mode:
F1 Finish and Save Changes
F2 Center Display Line
F3 Select from graphics palette
F10 Menu Type Help
END Move to End of Line
ESC Abort Changes To This Entry
HOME Move to Beginning of Line
INS Toggle Insert Mode
Index
*.ANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
*.ASC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
*.MNU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 20
Add [Alt-A] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
ANSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 11, 18-20
ANSI Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 19
BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10, 19, 22
Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 20
Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 22, 23
Background colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 12, 14
Monochrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 16
Ctrl-A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7
Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 10, 21, 22
Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Display Files
ASCII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 10, 19, 20
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
DOS Paths
Menu Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
DOS Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
EXIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 17, 23
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 4, 6, 7, 19, 20
EMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 18
Environmental variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
File area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Grouping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21, 22
Hot keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Insert [Alt-I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Line Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 15
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-18
Menu Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 20
TOP.MNU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 16
Menu Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Message area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Multinode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Other Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
ANSI Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 19
Pegasus Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 9-11, 14, 15, 18, 20-22
Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 22
SHARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 10, 14
> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 13
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6, 18, 22
Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
System security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Flags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 22
Security Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10, 15, 20
TopMenu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Types of access
Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sysop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 16, 19
Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 23