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1994-10-10
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13KB
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259 lines
B B S C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
BBS Access version 2.01 (BBS201.ZIP)
Copyright (c) by Jim Hass 1990-1994
MicroFox Company
Post Office Box 447
Richfield OH 44286-0447
USA
BBS is a simple communcations program written specifically to contact
electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs). It works with Hayes compatible
modems with transmission speeds from 1200 BPS to 115200 BPS. File upload
and download protocols supported include ASCII, Kermit, Xmodem, Ymodem,
Zmodem, 1K Xmodem, 1K Xmodem/G, and Ymodem/G. The program has full mouse
support and automatically handles the ANSI screen characters that most
bulletin boards use to display text and graphics. It also has the ability
to capture all screen activity to a file and to scroll back to see the
last eight BBS screens.
if you downloaded or were given a zipped file (BBSnnn.ZIP), you must first
unzip the file with PKUNZIP (or another unzip utility) before installing.
To install the BBS Access communication program, run the INSTALL program.
If there are multiple programs to install, choose BBSnnn.INS from the list.
INSTALL will suggest a directory (C:\BBS) to install to. You can change
this if you want. The directory will be created (if it doesn't exist) and
the files will be decompressed and copy to the directory.
To run the BBS communication program, change to the BBS directory, and run
the BBS program like this: C:
CD \BBS
BBS
These are the files used in the system: BBS.EXE (communication program)
BBS.DOC (program documentation)
BBS.CFG (created configuration)
CAPTURE.BBS (screen capture file)
After starting the program, a screen is displayed that can list up to 300
bulletin boards with their phone numbers and communication parameters. If
this is the first time the system is used, the list may be blank. The list
of information is stored in the BBS.CFG file, the file will be created if
it does not exist.
The first thing to do is press F4 to specify your modem settings. There
are only three fields to enter information, first is the letter T or P to
indicate Tone or Pulse dialing, second is the communication port which is
a number from one to four (COM1-COM4). The final field, IRQ Number, is
normally left blank. The only reason to change it is if your modem is
connected to a port that uses a non-standard Interrupt Request line. Press
F2 to save your modem setting or Esc to cancel the changes.
If your modem needs a specific initialization string sent to it whenever
you call a BBS, you can set it up or change it by pressing F7. A window
opens with one field that allows you to enter or change the initialization
string. Press Enter to save it or Esc to cancel the changes.
Press F1 at any time to display a help screen. This will tell you what is
available and what keys are active at the present time. F6 will change the
screen colors and F8 will let you choose an output dirctory for files you
download and for the screen capture file. If you have already called a BBS
and have not left the BBS Access program, F9 will be able to scroll back
the previous eight screens from the last BBSs connected to. F10 will pop
up a reminder menu with these functions listed for your convenience.
To add a bulletin board system to the list, press the Insert key. This
will insert the new record before the one that is currently highlighted.
To delete a BBS from the list, highlight its record and press the Delete
key. To change a record in the list, highlight its record and press F2.
Adding or changing a BBS will display a window with the following fields:
Name of Bulletin Board System (enter up to 24 characters).
Phone number of Bulletin Board (use up to 20 characters).
Baud rate (Bits Per Second). Enter a number from 1 to 9.
1 = 1200 BPS
2 = 2400 BPS
3 = 4800 BPS
4 = 9600 BPS
5 = 14,400 BPS
6 = 19,200 BPS
7 = 38,400 BPS
8 = 57,600 BPS
9 = 115,200 BPS
Parity (enter N, O, E, M, or S)
N = None
O = Odd
E = Even
M = Mark
S = Space
Data bits (enter 7 or 8 for number of bits per character).
Stop bits (enter 1 or 2 for number of bits to signal end of data).
After making the changes needed, press F2 to save the new or changed record.
To dial a bulletin board, highlight the one you want to call, then press
the Enter key. To highlight a record use the up and down arrow keys, the
PgUp and PgDn keys, or press the first letter of the bulletin board name.
Pressing a letter key moves the highlighter to the next entry that starts
with that letter. The highlighter will wrap around back to the top of the
list and stop at the first entry with that letter when no more entries
match that letter. If there are no entries that start with the letter
pressed, the system will beep. Some information will be displayed about
the highlighted BBS record on the second last line. This includes the last
date called and the amount of time spent online during that call.
While waiting to access the modem or for the dialing to take place, you
can cancel the call by pressing the Escape key. Once there is a connection,
you must press F6 to hangup the modem before the program will return to
the BBS phone list. To quit the BBS Access program, press the Escape key
from the BBS list or press F3 at any time.
WHILE YOU ARE ONLINE
Once you are connected to a Bulletin Board System there are several things
that can be done. If you want to capture any screen information to a text
file, press F2. The screen currently displayed is the first one written to
the capture file. All subsequent information written to the screen is also
written to the file until F2 is pressed again. If the CAPTURE.BBS file
does not exist, the BBS Access program will create it. If it does exist,
you will have the option of appending to it or overwriting it. You will
see "cON" or "cOFF" on the bottom line indicating the capture file status.
If you just want to see the previous screens instead of writing them to a
file, you can press F9 to view up to eight of the last screens displayed
from the BBS. Use the up & down arrow keys and the PgUp & PgDn keys to
scroll through the screens. This scroll back feature is also available
after you disconnect from the bulletin board and are at the BBS phone
list, but once you quit the BBS Access program, these screens are gone.
The program keeps track of how long you are connected. The elapse time is
displayed on the bottom line. You can get help about what is currently
available by pressing F1. You can quit the BBS Access program at any time
by pressing F3. If you are online at the time, the line connection will be
broken, the modem will hangup, and you will exit to DOS. To hangup and
break the conection without leaving the BBS Access program, press F6.
You can temporarily shell out to the DOS prompt while online by pressing
F4. You may want to do this to run an external protocol. To return to your
online session, key in EXIT at the DOS prompt and press Enter. F10 will
pop up a reminder menu with these functions listed for your convenience.
To upload or download a file, you must go to the file section of the BBS
you're connected to and follow their instructions for file transmissions.
Then press the PgUp key to upload a file or the PgDn key to download a file.
A window will pop up with the available file transfer protocols. Highlight
the one you want and press the Enter key or press Escape to cancel it. You
can also simply press the letter key representing the protocol wanted:
X = Xmodem
O = 1K-Xmodem
F = 1K-Xmodem/G
Y = Ymodem
G = Ymodem/G
Z = Zmodem
K = Kermit
A = ASCII
If you are downloading using a batch protocol (like Ymodem or Zmodem) the
transmission should start immediately. Non-batch downloads (Xmodem) will
ask for the file name before it starts. Uploading will always ask for a
file name and will allow you to press F4 to pop up a list of files to
choose from. Batch protocols will accept wild card characters in the file
name to upload multiple files.
When you are finished with your online session, disconnect from the BBS.
Most bulletin boards have a menu choice to say Goodbye to the system.
Finally, press F6 to hangup the modem and break the phone line connection.
The program then returns to the BBS dialing screen and records the date
and the amount of time connected to bulletin board.
BBS was written by Jim Hass of MicroFox Company. <ASP>
Member: (STAR) Shareware Trade Association and Resources
and (ASAD) Association of Shareware Authors and Dealers.
This program is produced by a member of the Association
of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure
that the shareware principle works for you. If you are
unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP
member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able
to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute
or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide
technical support for members' products. Please write to
the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-
9427 or send a Compuserve message via CompuServe Mail to
ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, SUGGESTIONS, & PROBLEMS
Send electronic mail to CompuServe 73057,3113
or via Internet to: 73057.3113@compuserve.com
or Write to:
MicroFox Company
P.O. Box 447
Richfield OH 44286-0447
U.S.A.
BBS Registration & Order Form
MicroFox Company Date __________________________
Post Office Box 447
Richfield OH 44286-0447 Telephone Orders (216) 659-9489
U.S.A. CompuServe Mail: 73057,3113
BBS Registration: $29.00 U.S. each Quantity _____ Amount __________
Multi-User Licenses: (check one) (All Prices are U.S.)
10-User 100-User 500-User 1000-User Unlimited Amount __________
$100 ___ $300 ___ $500 ___ $700 ___ $900 ___
Please include Shipping Charges: $2 USA, $3 Canada, $5 Others __________
Ohio residents:
SubTotal __________ 6.25% Sales Tax ________ TOTAL __________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
VISA or MasterCard (EuroCard/Access) Number _______________________________
Expiration Date ________ Signature:_______________________________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name ___________________________________________ Phone ____________________
Address ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
NOTE 1. All prices shown are in U.S. Dollars.
2. Remember to include shipping charges on all orders.
3. Ohio residents, add the state sales tax to the total amount.
4. If paying by credit card, specify the expiration date and sign it.
5. if paying by check, make it payable to MicroFox Company.
USA or Canada: Make checks in U.S. Dollars or equivalent Canadian
Dollars. Other countries: make cheques in your own currency equal
to the U.S. amount. Do -NOT- send cheques in U.S. Dollars if they
not drawn on a U.S. or Canadian bank.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Comments or Suggestions
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________