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Text File | 1994-01-24 | 18.4 KB | 501 lines

Oracle¿ 1.4 for STalker GEnie Version by Paul Lefebvre Copyright ½1993 Paul Lefebvre Software Delphi : PLEFEBVRE GEnie : P.LEFEBVRE U.S. Mail : 78 Winter Street Portland, ME 04102 On GEnie, visit the BB in the Atari ST RoundTable Oracle Topic : Category 17, Topic 22 This software is provided as-is. There are no warranties, expressed or implied. PAUL LEFEBVRE SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ALL SUCH WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED. NEITHER PAUL LEFEBVRE SOFTWARE NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE EVEN IF Paul Lefebvre SOFTWARE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL PAUL LEFEBVRE SOFTWARE'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF CLAIM. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. Some states do not allow the exclusion of the limit of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Maine and shall inure to the benefits of Paul Lefebvre Software and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a STATE or FEDERAL COURT of competent jurisdiction located in Cumberland County, Maine. The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts. What's it all about? I have been a member of GEnie for almost 2 years now and have been a user of Aladdin for most of that time. With the appearance of MultiTOS and Geneva, Aladdin loses some of its usefulness because it will not multitask. On a Falcon, Aladdin will only work if you use Keith Gerdes's LoadAlad SHAREWARE program. Therefore, I have decided that something else needed to be done. The result is Oracle, a large and powerful BackTalk script that will automate GEnie access. Of course, this means that you will need to own STalker 3 to be able to use it (STeno is also useful). STalker 3 is an excellent terminal program and I would recommed it even it it was not required to use Oracle. Features : - At each logon, Oracle checks for mail. If there is mail, it is saved to a file so it can be read and responded to offline. - BB messages from any RoundTable are saved to a file so they can be read and responded to offline. - Built-in mail/message reader/text viewer with reply capability (STeno required to do replies). - Automatic downloading of any number of files from any RoundTable library. - All function can be set to start at a certain time or after a specified delay. - Mail and BB messages that were composed offline can be sent automatically - Falcon030 compatible! SHAREWARE? Yes, that's right. Oracle is SHAREWARE. After providing Atari users with many FREEWARE programs throughout the last two years, I feel justified in requiring payment for the use of Oracle. Oracle is a unique and incredibly useful program which could easily save you many times its purchase price. If you use Oracle, you must register. Registration includes : - Latest version of STalky, the type-ahead buffer for STalker - Latest versions automatically sent via email - Free online support There are two ways to register : 1.) Fill out the enclosed registration form and send $15 + $2 shipping to : Paul Lefebvre 78 Winter Street Portland, ME 04102 2.) Send a GEnie Gift Of Time (type GIFTOFTIME at any GEnie prompt) in the amount of $15 and I will email you the latest registered version. Although not required, I ask that you please email me the completed registration form as well. I wish to thank in advance everyone that takes the time to register Oracle. Packing List Included in the ZIP archive are the following files : G_ORACLE.BTK The Oracle 1.4 BackTalk script - GEnie version G_ORACLE.DOC Oracle owner's manual - GEnie version REGISTER.DOC Registration form Setting Things Up 1.) Copy G_ORACLE.BTK to your BackTalk directory. 2.) Set your BackTalk script buffer size to at least 50K. (Mine is set to 64K) 3.) Go to the GEnie terminal settings menu (page 900, option #3) and set these items : (These are the same settings that work with Aladdin, so if you have used Aladdin, you won't need to make any changes.) - 2) Break = 3 - 8) Length = 0 - 9) Command Mode On 4.) You must also set up one of your autodialer entries so that it automatically dials and logs on to GEnie. Name this entry "GEnie". Mine looks like this : System Name Menu # Phone Number $/hr Limit GEnie 1 7756593 3.00 4.00 And my logon sequence looks like this : 1:_____________ 1:1/2 H 1/2 H 1/2 H 2:_____________ 2:1/2 1/2 xyz12345,password<cr> <cr> = control-M, 1/2 = insert 5.) Install Oracle in your BackTalk drop-down menu as well as assigning it a function key (I use F1). To assign it a function key, select 'Function key settings ...' from the 'Settings' menu. Under the F1 key, type : [shift-clr/home]g_oracle.btk Now click OK, and save your configuration. To invoke Oracle, just press F1. How to use it When Oracle is first activated (by pressing F1), it will attempt to load its configuration file (G_ORACLE.DAT) from the BalkTalk directory. If G_ORACLE.DAT doesn't exist in the BackTalk directory, a file selector is displayed. Click on "Cancel" since you haven't yet created a G_ORACLE.DAT file. The Oracle Menu is now displayed : (special thanks to Al Fasoldt for finding menu colors that are suitable for all Atari resolutions.) +========= GEnie Version ====================+ | | | Get [M]ail Set/Save [C]onfig | | Get [B]B messages [D]ownload files | | [V]iew messages [S]end Mail | | Send BB msg [R]eplies [G]oto RoundTable | | Get list of [N]ew Files Perform [A]utopass | | Log [O]ff GEnie [Q]uit Oracle | +======SHAREWARE Unregistered SHAREWARE======+ | | | Don't [H]angup when finished | +============================================+ Change Round[T]able : st Your choice >> Select 'c' to set the configuration. Use each file selector to tell Oracle where the appropriate data file will be. I keep all my data files in a folder called 'GENIE', but they can be placed anywhere. The BB messages are saved to a file with the format : GRTmmdd.TXT in whatever directory that is specified. (The 'GRT' is replaced with the first 3 characters of the current GEnie RoundTable. With 'st' as the selected RoundTable, the filename would be st_mmdd.TXT.) The configuration is automatically saved to G_ORACLE.DAT in your BackTalk script directory after the last file selector is completed. A Quick Test Press 'h', so that the bottom of the menu changes to "[H]angup when finished". Now select 'b', select 'Start Now' and watch. If all goes well, Oracle will dial GEnie (via your autodialer), save your mail (if you have any) to INMAIL.TXT, and save your BB messages to the directory you specified, and then disconnect from GEnie and hangup. After Oracle has finished, it will redisplay its menu. Press 'r' and then use the file selector to find INMAIL.TXT or ST_mmdd.TXT. Now you can sit back and read your messages without worrying about online charges. About Delayed Logon If you are online when a task is selected, it will be performed immediately. If you are offline when a task is selected, Oracle will present an alert box with three buttons : +-----------+ +-------+ +--------+ | Start Now | | Delay | | Cancel | +-----------+ +-------+ +--------+ - 'Start Now' will immediately logon and do the selected task. - 'Cancel' aborts the selected task. - 'Delay' button presents a prompt : Wait for clock [T]ime, [E]lapsed time, or [Q]uit ? - [T]ime waits until a specific time to start the task. The time must be entered in 24 hour format. - [E]lapsed will delay for a specific number of hours and minutes before starting the task. The delay must be entered in 24 hour format. Change Round[T]able The default RoundTable name is displayed after the 'Change RoundTable' option. The preset default is 'st' for the Atari ST RoundTable. This RT name is saved along with the rest of your configuration when you select [C]onfiguration. To enter a new RT, select 't' and then type in the RT name after the prompt. If you press RETURN without typing anything, the RT name will not be changed. Remember to use the correct format : To install the Comics RoundTable, use 'comics', to install the Atari 8-bit RoundTable use 'atari'. Get [M]ail Get [M]ail goes to the mail area and saves any new mail messages to the INMAIL.TXT file. Remember that all other functions that logon to GEnie will also check for mail and save any new mail messages before they begin. Any messages that were in the INMAIL.TXT file are copied to INPUT.TXT before they are overwritten with new mail. Get [B]B messages This selection will logon to GEnie, if there is mail, save to INMAIL.TXT. Go to the BB in the default RoundTable and save all the messages using the appropriate command. You can choose from the same commands as Aladdin : 1.) RAM NOR 2.) READ ALL NEW 3.) USER DEFINED The name of the BB message file is based on the date. The format is : XXXmmdd.TXT, where XXX is replaced with the first 3 letters of your default RoundTable (if there are less than 3 letters, then the 3rd X will be replaced with an '_'). If a file with this same name already exists, new data is appended to the end. As an example, all Atari ST RoundTable messages would be stored in "ST_mmdd.TXT". [V]iew messages At the file selector, select a text file to display. Special processing is done for mail and BB message files. For normal text files, the file is displayed one page at a time, until the end of file. For mail or BB message files, only one mail/BB message is displayed in the window at a time. BB messages will have the topic header displayed in the window bat. If the message is more than a page, then it will pause after a page. The screen is cleared between messages. The prompt displayed between messages and pages is : [C]ontinue, [N]ext topic, [R]eply, [Q]uit : - Select [C]ontinue to go to the next message/page. - Select [N]ext topic to skip the current topic. - [R]eply requires that STeno be loaded in memory as either a desk accessory or a program. It will invoke STeno, passing it the Category and Topic line of the BB message that you are currently reading, or the name of the person to reply to if you are reading mail. If you are not reading BB or mail messages then this command will do nothing. - [Q]uit will return to the file selector. Select 'Cancel' from the file selector to return to Oracle. - New Feature : Select 'S' to skip to the next message. Very useful if you want to skip a message that is more than one screen. Send BB msg [R]eplies This function sends any BB messages that you have stored in OUTBB.TXT to the default RT BB. This feature is quite useful, so be sure to read these instructions carefully. Use this format for the text file : Category XX, Topic XX Text (as many lines as needed) -*- (Messages separator) Here is an example : Category 17, Topic 19 This is a reply to the Geneva topic. -- Paul -*- Category 17, Topic 3 This is a reply to the STalker topic. -- Paul There is no limit to the number of reply's that can be in the OUTBB.TXT file. If you have more than one reply, be certain to separate them with '-*-'. The last block does not need to end with '-*-'. After the messages have been sent, Oracle will append OUTBB.TXT to OUTPUT.TXT and then delete OUTBB.TXT. If you have STeno, and are viewing a mail or BB message, be sure to take advantage of the [R]eply feature (see [V]iew Messages). Log [O]ff GEnie If you are online, this command will disconnect from GEnie and hang up. Set/Save [C]onfig At each of the six file selectors, locate where you want the appropriate file to be stored. Remember that BB messages are named according to the current RoundTable and date, so it would probably be best to put the incoming BB messages in their own folder. The current RoundTable name is also saved in the G_ORACLE.DAT file as is the current hangup setting. I keep all my Oracle related files (INMAIL.TXT, OUTMAIL.TXT, OUTBB.TXT, DOWNLOAD.DAT and UPLOAD.DAT) in a folder called (surprise!) GENIE. I keep all the incoming BB messages in a folder called BB that is inside the GEnie folder. [D]ownload files At last! Now you can download all the great files in your favorite RoundTable library automatically at any time! First, you will need to set up the DOWNLOAD.DAT file : Library file number[,Library file number,...] Here is an example : 30338,30318,25000,26784 The above file will download the four files from the default RoundTable library automatically. Be certain that the last file number end with a carriage return or problems could occur. You can place up to 20 file numbers (each separated by a ',') on a single line. If you need multiple lines, don't end lines with a ',' : 30338, 30318 25000, 26784 If you want Oracle to hang up after it has finished downloading your files, be sure the Oracle menu says "[H]angup when finished". Now that you have set up your DOWNLOAD.DAT file with the names of all the files that you want to download, select 'd' from the Oracle menu. After selecting when to logon, you can walk away from your computer with full confidence that it will do what you have told it. [S]end Mail This function works similarly to [R]eply/Send BB messages. It will send all the mail messages in your OUTMAIL.TXT file. The format for that file : To - The mail address of the person who will get this message Subject - The subject of the mail message Text (as many lines as are needed) -*- - Mail separator Here is an example : p.lefebvre Oracle I just downloaded Oracle and used it to send you this message. The check is in the mail! -*- There is no limit to the number of mail messages that can be in OUTMAIL.TXT. If you have more than one reply in OUTMAIL.TXT, be be absolutely certain to separate each block with '-*-'. The last message does not need to end with '-*-'. After the messages have been sent, Oracle will append OUTMAIL.TXT to OUTPUT.TXT and delete OUTMAIL.TXT. If you want to send carbon copies, use this format : p.lefebvre Testing CC *CC,p.lefebvre,secondperson,thirdperson This is a test message that will be cc'd to the above list. -*- Other useful mail commands : *TO,address1,address2,... Replaces the "TO:" list with these new GE Mail addresses. *ATO,address1, address2,... Add to TO:Lets you add people to the "To" list by entering additional addresses. [G]oto RoundTable This command will take you to the main menu of the default RoundTable. The RoundTable Bulletin is saved to the file XXX_BTN.TXT in the same folder as the BB messages. (XXX is replaced with the first 3 characters of the default RT.) Get List of [N]ew Files This command will go to your default RoundTable library and get the listing of all new files in your library. This is saved in the file XXXFILES.TXT in the same folder as the mail messages. (XXX is replaced with the first 3 characters of the default RT.) When XXXFILES.TXT becomes large, it can take a while for Oracle to return to the main menu. To eliminate this problem, either delete or rename XXXFILES.TXT when the delay becomes unacceptable. Perform [A]utopass This command will perform the following functions, in this order : 1.) Get mail (if any) 2.) Send mail (if OUTMAIL.TXT exists) 3.) Get BB messages 4.) Send BB messages (if OUTBB.TXT exists) 5.) Get list of new files 6.) Download files (if DOWNLOAD.DAT exists) [Q]uit Oracle Exit from the Oracle script. Use this option when you need to type commands directly to GEnie. Also, if Oracle should appear to be frozen or non-responsive, type SHIFT-UNDO to abort. Don't [H]angup When Finished / [H]angup when finished This is a toggle that determines if Oracle will remain online after it has completed its task. If Oracle is remains online, its menu will be displayed when it has finished the current task. To exit from Oracle so that you can type commands to GEnie, select [Q]uit from the menu. This setting is saved with the rest of the configuration.