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1992-03-31
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The News At Ten version 3.01
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Copyright 1989-1992 by Tim Kilgore
Protected Under Missouri Copyright Laws
1:289/5 (314)443-0319 HST/DS
The News at Ten (TNAT) is possibly the most powerful ANSI-
ASCII BBS newsletter generator currently available. A wide
array of elegant output formats coupled with advanced
document control and easy configuration make it a favorite of
users and sysops alike.
What it Does -
In a nutshell, TNAT uses near-standard ASCII text files and
converts them into formated newsletters in both ANSI and
ASCII flavors with options to insert BBS-specific control
codes into the resulting file. It also maintains your input
files, deleting excessive news bulletins as needed.
Setup & TNATCFG
TNATCFG is utility program designed to allow you to quickly
and easily configure TNAT. Every menu item has help
available for it. Just press F-1 for each menu item and
context-sensative help window will ride to the rescue.
Before you run TNATCFG, you'll need an overview of how TNAT
works. Having a firm understanding of how the program
functions will make setting it up a lot easier.
How it Works
TNAT.EXE is a commandline orientated program. This means
that it requires absolutely no user input and it can be
operated from a batch file as part of a maintainence event.
TNAT reads all of it's setting from a configuration file
created by TNATCFG or a standard ASCII editor. The
configuration file used is determined from the commandline.
If none is specified, TNAT will attempt to use TNAT.CFG as a
configuration file.
TNAT [personal.cfg]
or
TNAT NEWLET1.CFG
Finding Files to Process -
As part of the configuration process, you tell TNAT which
subdirectory it will find all text files to use as input.
You also specify a valid file EXTENSION to process.
INPUT PATH: C:\TNAT │ Tells TNAT to process
EXTENSION : DOC │ C:\TNAT\*.DOC
All other files will be ignored. This allows you to store
multiple bulletins in single subdirectory PROVIDING that the
extension used is different. This also means that
executables and other data files can safely reside in the
subdirectory that TNAT uses for input.
KILL TNAT, KILL!!!
I hope I have your attention. As a part of bulletin
maintenance, TNAT will DELETE excess data files, keeping only
the most recent files for processing.
The NUMBER OF BULLETINS settings controls the number of
matching files (see FINDING FILES TO PROCESS, above) that
TNAT will use as input. It sorts these files by date and
time (which it inserts into your newsletter) and will,
without any chance to abort, KILL any files that exceed the
total that you have set.
In the past, a user pointed TNAT into his word processing
subdirectory and accidently deleted hundreds of documents.
DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
Input Rules -
TNAT will process ASCII text files that play by TNAT's rules.
They are -
1. The first line CANNOT exceed 30 characters.
This line contains the TITLE for the news blurb.
2. ALL other lines cannot exceed 63 characters.
Your text will be placed into boxes and the like.
TNAT doesn't yet do word wrap, so each line can
only be 63 characters or less in length.
3. Text files in excess of 200 lines are not allowed.
This is NEWSLETTER generator, folks. Online novels
are a no-go.
If you break these rules, TNAT will beep and complain about
it. It will also tell you where it encountered a problem.
Here is an example of these limitations in action -
WORD-DEFECT 5.1 for DOS ───────────────────────────────────
0 1 2 3 || 5 6
1234567890123456789012345678901234567||45678901234567890123
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Line One is for your TITLE!!!!
All other lines are limited to 63 characters in length and
can continue for up to 200 lines. Anything after this point
will be ignored.
Have a look at 1.TXT, 2.TXT, and 3.TXT if you'd like more
examples.
PAGE STOP -
I'm proud to say that TNAT really blows-away the competition
when it comes to document control. Chances are that TNAT can
provide your BBS with a really sophisticated newsletter with
a minimal amount of work.
The best control option that you have available is PAGE STOP.
Most BBSes today examine the text file that they are
displaying and will stop a display if they encounter the
appropriate control code.
REMOTE ACCESS uses an ASCII(1) or CONTROL-A to indicate that
the display must stop. WildCat! uses @STOP@. Your BBS
system may also have a PAGE STOP CODE that will temporarily
stop a display.
If your BBS system has such a code, use it! Turn on PAGE
STOP and enter your PAGE STOP CODE. It will enhance the
display greatly.
A PAGE STOP will allow your display to stop immediately after
each news item. This means that the newsletter will display
a news item and then wait for user input. It adds a natural
flow to the bulletin and keep the user from 'peeking' ahead
to the next news item.
CLEAR SCREEN -
If PAGE STOP is active, you can activate the CLEAR SCREEN
option. If activated, several things will happen.
First, TNAT will attempt to center each news item. You can
enhance the effect by trying to keep your news items to 15
lines or so.
After a PAGE STOP occurs, TNAT display will clear the screen
and center the next news item. The news never looked better!
Oh yeah, as an extra, you can also specify a CLEAR SCREEN
MESSAGE. You can put whatever you want into it, but I
recommend that you tell the user how he can about the
display. Mine reads -
Press SPACE to ABORT (WildCat!)
It might help those users that get 'trapped' in a newsletter
and don't feel obligated to read it very often as a result.
Think about it.
PAGE BREAK -
A PAGE BREAK is very different from a PAGE STOP. A PAGE
BREAK is used on BBS systems that have no other way to stop
the display of text, even if the text would scroll off the
user's terminal. (PHOENIX RCS falls into this category.)
The PAGE STOP method is preferred. If your BBS supports PAGE
STOP codes, skip this section because you don't need it.
If a PAGE BREAK is needed, TNAT will add the needed code
every X number of lines. The NUMBER OF LINES setting allows
you to control this. I recommend 23 lines which will allow
most DOS terminals to read your newsletter with ease.
If you need PAGE BREAK CODES, do NOT activate PAGE STOP. You
don't need it.
Personalizing TNAT -
TNAT allows you to personalize your newsletter by using
HEADER files. The header should be reasonably brief so the
user doesn't dread your newsletter. (A friend of mine calls
newsletters ANSI TORTURE DEVICES because 90% of the BBSes
that he calls make their newsletters LONG and UNABORTABLE.)
The header is also an excellent way to inject global document
control codes. If you need an unabortable display, here is
your opportunity to add the codes needed to make sure that
the bulletin cannot be aborted. If you can define a page
length, a prompt type, or whatever, this is your ticket.
About TNATCFG -
This document doesn't provide too much specific information
because most of the specifics are contained in TNATCFG's help
system. Just highlight a menu option that you have questions
about and press F-1. !!POOF!! Instant help.
TNATCFG allows you to use a mouse. Enjoy.
TNATCFG will accept the name of a CFG file as part of the
commandline. Thus, the program can be invoked as -
TNATCFG MY.CFG
Unlike TNAT, TNATCFG will NOT default to TNAT.CFG.
Disclaimer -
The use or misuse of TNAT.EXE and TNATCFG.EXE are strictly
YOUR responsibility. The author, Tim Kilgore, CANNOT be help
responsible for ANY damages, real or imagined, that the
aforementioned program cause. Your use of these program
indicates your complete agreement with these terms.
Registering THE NEWS AT TEN -
The News At Ten is NOT free! You are granted a 90 day period
to determine if TNAT suits the needs of you and your BBS.
Remember, your newsletter is the voice of your BBS and it
will probably be one of the first things that a new user will
look at. An abundance of UNREGISTERED or EVALUATION notices
speaks poorly of your system and makes it difficult to get
support from callers.
The News At Ten's registration fee is $25. Registrants will
receive a key file via their BBS by voice. See REGISTER.DOC
for complete details.
Release History -
TNAT 1.0 was released in 1989. It was the author's first
attempt at a program and it was relatively primitive with one
whole output format. It faired poorly, but was a moral
victory.
TNAT 2.0 followed just a few months later and introduced
TNATCFG and several new output formats. This release of the
program was very successful as the number of BBSes using TNAT
2.0 will attest.
Work on TNAT 3.0 began in the fall of 1990. Other
programming projects, a new job, and other complications
delayed it's completion. The main executable was finalized
in the summer of 1991. All that remained was TNATCFG and it
took a vacation to finally complete it. Having a 9-5 job
certainly cramps your style.