Media Share 9/MEDIASHARE_09.ISO/comm/acspg20.zip/ACSPAGE.DOC

Text File | 1992-07-27 | 12KB | 288 lines

                                    ACS Page
                       Shareware version 2.0 - 27 Jul 92
                  Copyright 1991 Affordable Computer Services
                              All Rights Reserved
                          Written by George Steinmetz

DECRIPTION

ACS Page emulates a Motorola AlphaMate (Motorola and AlphaMate are trademarks
of Motorola, Inc.), which is used to send text messages to alpha pagers by
connecting to the alpha pager's company's computer with a 300 baud (or faster)
modem.  ACS Page was compiled with Microsoft BASIC Professional Development
System version 7.0.  A database of users and their pager info is required prior
to operation (see Installation).  The database is made with any text editor.
The database can have a maximum of 100 pagers.


INSTALLATION

Create a text file named ACSPAGE.DAT using any text editor.  Line 1 is the
modem port to use (enter as COM1 or COM2).  The next lines are for optional
commands.  To send a custom modem command, enter /AT followed by the modem
command.  (Example: 9600 bps and higher speed modems should enter /ATN to
disable attempting to connect at a high baud rate.)

The default screen color is white text on a black background.  There are two
ways to change these colors.  The first method is to add SET FCOLOR=n and SET
BCOLOR=n to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  (Replace n with a color code in the color
chart below.)  These environment variables will be used in all future
Affordable Computer Services programs.  The second method is to add /FC:n and
/BC:n in ACSPAGE.DAT.

FCOLOR and /FC set the foreground color; BCOLOR and /BC set the background
color.

Color chart (n = 0 - 15 for foreground, 0 - 7 for background)

 0 Black             4 Red               8 Gray             12 Light red
 1 Blue              5 Magenta           9 Light blue       13 Light magenta
 2 Green             6 Brown            10 Light green      14 Yellow
 3 Cyan              7 White            11 Light cyan       15 Bright white

The next 3 lines in ACSPAGE.DAT is a person's name (7 characters maximum, the
first character must be a letter of the alphabet), their pager ID, and the
pager's computer's phone number.  Repeat these 3 lines for up to 100 users.
Note:  Do not enter any blank lines.

(ACSPAGE.DAT's file structure can also be listed by entering ACSPAGE /?  at the
DOS prompt.  This help screen will also appear if ACSPAGE.DAT is not found.)

ACSPAGE.DAT does not need to be in the current directory, nor the directory
ACSPAGE.EXE is in.  If ACSPAGE.DAT is not in the current directory, enter
ACSPAGE {directory}, i.e. ACSPAGE \COMM\ACSPAGE.


NOTES

This program is for alpha pagers, not digital or tone only pagers.

The phone number required is NOT the number you call to get the paging
company's operator, nor is it the pager's digital number.  It is a number
connected to a 300 baud modem.  The easiest way to see if you have the right
number is to call it.  If you don't hear a modem, you don't have the right
number.  To get the right number, call your pager company, tell them you have a
Motorola AlphaMate and you need the number the AlphaMate should be programmed
to call.  (Don't bother telling them it's really a computer program that works
like an AlphaMate, it will just confuse them.)

To dial rotary (pulse) instead of DTMF (Touch-Tone), enter a P before the phone
number.  If a number is required to access an outside line, enter that before
the phone number.


OPERATION

When prompted with "Enter Pager Name or #", enter a user's name or a pager ID.
If an ID is entered, you will also be prompted for a phone number.  You may
also press ENTER or ESC to exit to DOS.  Enter a message (up to 80 characters)
at the "Message" prompt.  At the "Send, Review, Next or Quit" prompt, enter S
to send the page, R to review the page, N to enter another page (can be to the
same or different pager IDs and phone numbers) or Q to quit.

Four dial attempts will be made to make contact with the paging computer.  To
abort before all four attempts, enter Esc (similar to AlphaMate's Quit key).

When all pages are sent, the "Enter Pager Name or #" prompt will reappear.
Enter more pages, ore press Esc to quit the program.  (To quit automatically
after pages are sent, add the /Q command line option.  Example:  If you
normally enter ACSPAGE \COMM\ACSPAGE to run ACS Page, enter ACSPAGE
\COMM\ACSPAGE/Q to quit after all pages are sent.)


COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

ACS Page's data can be entered from the DOS command line.  This is useful when
running ACS Page from another program.  To page from the command line, ACS Page
needs the message and the name as defined in ACSPAGE.DAT.  Alternatively, a
pager ID and phone number can be entered instead of a name.

ACS Page's command line options are:

/N - user's name as defined in ACSPAGE.DAT
/I - pager's ID
/P - pager company's phone number
/M - message to be sent to pager (enclose message in quotes)
/G - group page (transmit message to all users in ACSPAGE.DAT)
/F - path\file to be sent to pager
/Q - quit after paging
/NOVIDEO - disable video output
/DEBUG - displays serial input/output

These parameters can be entered in any order.  /G can not be combined with /F,
and /NOVIDEO can not be combined with /DEBUG.

Two examples of auto paging (paging without asking for any user input) are:

ACSPAGE /N:GEORGE /M:"THIS IS A TEST"
ACSPAGE /I:5551212 /P:18005551212 /M:"THIS IS A TEST"

If the path of ACSPAGE.DAT is also entered on the command line, it must be the
first item.  Example:

ACSPAGE \COMM\ACSPAGE /N:GEORGE /M:"THIS IS A TEST"

To only prompt the user for a message and to always page the same person,
enter:

ACSPAGE /N:GEORGE
ACSPAGE /I:5551212 /P:18005551212

To only prompt the user for a pager ID or name and phone number and to always
transmit the same message, enter:

ACSPAGE /M:"THIS IS A TEST"

To group page (send the same message to all users in ACSPAGE.DAT), enter:

ACSPAGE /G /M:"THIS MESSAGE WILL BE SENT TO ALL USERS."

Entering ACSPAGE /G will prompt the user for the message, then the message will
be sent to all users.

To send the contents of TEXT.TXT to a user, enter:

ACSPAGE /F:TEXT.TXT

ACSPAGE /G /M:"THIS MESSAGE WILL BE SENT TO ALL USERS."

Entering ACSPAGE /G will prompt the user for the message, then the message will
be sent to all users.

The /Q option is not required when auto paging; ACS Page automatically exits to
DOS after paging when in auto page, group page or file page mode.


ERRORLEVELS

When ACS Page exits, it uses DOS's ERRORLEVEL variable.

Errorlevel Description
---------- -----------
         0 Page successful
         1 Page fail
         2 User error or abort
       255 Program error

Note that errorlevels will only be accurate when auto paging, group paging,
file paging or using the /Q option, as a manual exit will result in an
errorlevel 2 for user abort.


FILE USAGE

ACS Page reads a file called ACSPAGE.DAT.  If you already have a file by this
name, it's name must be changed or the ACSPAGE.DAT that ACS Page uses must be
loaded in a separate subdirectory.


NOTE TO BBS USERS AND SHAREWARE VENDORS

If you received this file from a BBS, the following message should appear when
you use PKUNZIP to extract this program:

Authentic files Verified!   # VBI707   Affordable Computer Services

If this message did not display, then the .ZIP file you received is not the
original.  Call The Other BBS at the number displayed below to download the
original .ZIP file (you can download on your first call).


CUSTOM PROGRAMMING

If custom programming is requested, contact Affordable Computer Services by
mail at the address shown below.


REGISTRATION

If you like this program, please mail a check or money order for $10 (New
Jersey residents add state sales tax) to:

     Affordable Computer Services
     PO Box 969
     Belmar, NJ 07719-0969

Along with the registration fee, please also enclose the following:

o Your mailing address.
o A telephone number you can be reached at in case of any registration
  problems.
o The name and version of the program you are registering.
o Your name or company name exactly as you wish it spelled on your registered
  copy (upper and lower case).

If no voice contact was made prior to mailing your registration, you will
receive a postcard with your registration ID.  The postcard will also state the
current version number and what BBSes the upgrade has been uploaded to.  When
an upgrade is made to the program, a second postcard will be sent to you
describing the upgrade and what BBSes the upgrade has been uploaded to.  To
continue to receive upgrade postcards, send $1 when an upgrade postcard is
received.

You may also register by using the American Express Card.  You may register
with the card by one of the following methods:

o By mail at the above address.
o By voice at 800-929-0110 or 908-449-3836.
o By fax at 800-929-0631 or 908-449-9357.
o Online (The Other BBS) at 908-775-6705.

To process your registration, you must supply the above information as well as
the following information:

o Your name exactly as it appears on the card.
o Your card's account number.
o Your card's expiration date.
o Your card's billing address.

When registering with the American Express card on The Other BBS, you will
receive your registration ID in a private message within 24 hours of your
registration.

Any questions about this program may be addressed to George Steinmetz on The
Other BBS, 908-775-6705 (RIME Echomail ID: OTHER), or write, call or fax
Affordable Computer Services at the address and phone numbers listed above.


REVISION HISTORY

Version 2.0 - 27 Jul 92
o PAGER.EXE and PAGER.DAT have been renamed to ACSPAGE.EXE and ACSPAGE.DAT.
o Esc key aborts page in progress (like AlphaMate's Quit key).
o Page aborts after four dial attempts.
o Page aborts after three bad checksums on a page attempt.
o Page aborts after 15 seconds of no transmission from paging computer.
o Paging can be performed with command line options.
o /G command line option added, sends message to multiple users.
o /F command line option added, sends contents of a text file.
o /Q command line option added, quits program after page.
o /? command line option added, displays command line options.
o /NOVIDEO command line option added, disable video output.
o /DEBUG command line option documented, displayes serial I/O (feature exists
  in earlier versions).
o ERRORLEVEL is set upon exiting.
o Error messages have been expanded.
o /AT option added to ACSPAGE.DAT, sends custom modem command.
o FCOLOR and BCOLOR environment variables added, changes default colors.
o /FC and /BC options added to ACSPAGE.DAT, changes default colors.
o Modem resets when program is exited.
o Modem does not require carrier detect to be forced on (formerly required on
  some modems).
o Invalid pager ID code is now interpreted (acts like page rejected).
o Review feature displays like AlphaMate does.
o Beep is the same frequency as the AlphaMate.
o Registration ID removes shareware notice.

Version 1.1 - 04 Feb 92
o PAGER.TXT renamed to PAGER.DAT.
o Documentation modified - PAGER.DAT contents now listed in correct order.
o Program does not report "Error 62 in 410" if PAGER.DAT file has an incorrect
  amount of lines.  Instead, the current user is discarded and the program
  operates with all previous users loaded in memory.  If no users can be
  successfully loaded, a help message appears.
o American Express Cards can be used to register program.

Version 1.0 - 23 Nov 91
o Original release.