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ES-NEWS Login News Manager
Extensions Software Corporation
Operations Guide Table of Contents
----------------------------------
Ombudsman Statement................................ 1
Shareware Note..................................... 2
Disclaimer Agreement............................... 2
Copyright Notice................................... 2
Trademarks Notice.................................. 2
Introduction....................................... 3
Requirements....................................... 4
Help System........................................ 4
Installation....................................... 5
Initial Setup...................................... 6
News Files......................................... 7
User Access........................................ 7
Admin Access....................................... 8
Technical Support..................................11
Ombudsman Statement
-------------------
Extensions Software Corporation is 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:
_______
____|__ | (r)
--| | |------------------- ASP Ombudsman
| ____|__ | Association of 545 Grover Road
| | |_| Shareware Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA
|__| o | Professionals 616-788-2765 FAX
-----| | |--------------------- 70007,3536 CompuServe
|___|___|
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 2
Shareware Note
--------------
This program is being distributed as shareware or try-before-you-buy
software. You are granted a temporary license to use and evaluate the
program, but continued use after the initial testing period requires
registration with Extensions Software Corporation.
This unregistered shareware version contains the following limitations
and/or characteristics:
- The maximum number of users allowed is 5.
- A license reminder screen is displayed at program end.
Registration of this software provides users with the following:
- Serialized diskettes (dual media) of the latest ES-NEWS Login News
Manager software (without license reminder screen)
- Desk-top-published laser-printed operations guide
- Technical support via mail, phone, FAX, BBS, or CompuServe
- Notification of major software upgrades
- New product announcements
Disclaimer Agreement
--------------------
Users of ES-NEWS Login News Manager must accept the following
disclaimer of warranty:
THIS SOFTWARE AND OPERATIONS GUIDE ARE SUPPLIED AS IS. EXTENSIONS
SOFTWARE CORPORATION DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. EXTENSIONS SOFTWARE CORPORATION ASSUMES NO
LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, EITHER DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY
RESULT FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
Copyright Notice
----------------
The ES-NEWS Login News Manager software and ES-NEWS Login News
Manager operations guide are copyrighted(C) 1994 by Extensions
Software Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Trademarks Notice
-----------------
Novell and NetWare are trademarks of Novell, Inc.
Banyan, VINES, and StreetTalk are trademarks of Banyan Systems, Inc.
IBM and PC DOS are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp.
MS DOS is a trademark of MicroSoft Corp.
All other product names and/or trademarks used within the software or
operations guide are the property of their respective companies.
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 3
Introduction
------------
The ES-NEWS Login News Manager from Extensions Software Corporation is
a low-cost, easy-to-use, simple-to-maintain network software product
that allows flexible display of company news, bulletins, and
announcements to network users.
ES-NEWS provides 26 different user profiles and 99 different news text
files so that information can be selectively displayed to different
departments and groups.
ES-NEWS features include the following:
* Use of standard ASCII text news files
* Read-Only subdirectory access for news files
* Configurable as a network login utility or as a shared application
* Selectable profile (A through Z) per user
* Selectable news (01 through 99) per profile
* News display effective and expiration dates
* News display maximums per day
* Automatic display timeout
* News printout option (LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, or disk file)
* Built-in history log
* Built-in administration system featuring System Information, User
Management, Profile Management, News Management, History Log, and
Database Summary
* Online help system
* Network-aware of Banyan VINES(R)
* Network-aware of Novell NetWare(R)
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 4
Requirements
------------
For Standalone PC Use:
* IBM or 100% compatible computer with 384K available memory
* Floppy disk drive (5.25" 360K or 1.2M, or 3.50" 720K or 1.44M)
* Fixed disk drive
* Monochrome or color (CGA/EGA/VGA) display
* Parallel printer (if printouts are desired)
* MS or PC DOS 3.10 or higher
For Network Use:
Multi-user network operating system which utilizes MS/PC DOS file
and record locking calls (ie, Banyan VINES(r), Novell NetWare(r),
etc.) and workstations that meet the standalone PC requirements
listed above. Note, however, that workstations do not necessarily
require a floppy or fixed drive.
Help System
-----------
Throughout most ES-NEWS activities, on-line user-help is available by
pressing the [F1] key. This help normally consists of a scrolled
display containing a text description for the activity from which help
was called. Text help screens are available for the following ES-NEWS
activities:
* News Display (User)
* Administration Menu (Admin)
* System Information (Admin)
* User Management (Admin)
* Profile Management (Admin)
* News Management (Admin)
* History Log (Admin)
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 5
Installation
------------
The ES-NEWS diskette (or archived file) contains the following files:
ES-NEWS.EXE ES-NEWS executable program
README.??? changes that may have been incorporated since the
printing of this guide
GO.BAT sample batch file that invokes the ES-NEWS display
system
GO_ADMIN.BAT sample batch file that invokes the ES-NEWS
administration system
The ES-NEWS.EXE file can be copied to any network file service or PC
subdirectory and then executed from the DOS prompt.
The example explained below, however, offers maximum security benefits
for installation on a computer network. Note that you must have ADMIN
or SUPERVISOR rights to all specified subdirectories in order to
install and initially run ES-NEWS.
To install ES-NEWS:
A) Create three subdirectories on your network file server per the
following example:
Subdirectory Contents User Access
------------ ---------------------------- ----------------
\NEWS The ES-NEWS.EXE file Read-Only
\NEWS\DATA The database and index files Read/Write/Modify
\NEWS\TEXT The news text files Read-Only
B) Copy the ES-NEWS.EXE file from the floppy diskette to the \NEWS
subdirectory.
Note that since ES-NEWS.EXE is an overlayed executable file,
network file attributes must be configured for shared file use. For
example, in Banyan VINES installations, the command:
SETATTR +S -E ES-NEWS.EXE
...will set the executable file ES-NEWS.EXE for shared use.
C) At the DOS prompt, type ES-NEWS followed by the data
volume/subdirectory name plus the news volume/subdirectory name.
For example, assuming that drive volume N: is the network drive,
the syntax to start ES-NEWS would be as follows:
N:\NEWS\ES-NEWS N:\NEWS\DATA N:\NEWS\TEXT
Typically, this DOS command line syntax would be included in a
batch file which is subsequently called by a Banyan VINES POSTLOGIN
command or by the Novell NetWare SYSTEM LOGIN script.
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 6
Initial Setup
-------------
If ES-NEWS has been installed on a Banyan VINES or Novell NetWare
network, the user login name is obtained directly from the operating
system. For example:
Fred@Applications@Ext Soft
For other network installations, a DOS SET command may be used to
store the user name. For example:
SET ES_USER=Fred
Otherwise, the user name is obtained from the login screen.
Note that the DOS command line option NETLOGIN can be used to vary the
priority order in obtaining the user name as follows:
* When NETLOGIN is included in the program's DOS command line
syntax, the priority order in obtaining the user name is:
Network name (NetWare or VINES)
Environment variable SET ES_USER=NAME (if any)
Login screen name
* When NETLOGIN is NOT included in the DOS command line syntax
(default mode), the priority order in obtaining the user name is:
Environment variable SET ES_USER=NAME (if any)
Network name (NetWare or VINES)
Login screen name
So, following the previous installation example, the ES-NEWS command
line syntax might typically be as follows:
N:\NEWS\ES-NEWS N:\NEWS\DATA N:\NEWS\TEXT NETLOGIN
Access to ES-NEWS built-in administration requires that the DOS
command line option NETADMIN be used ... typically as follows:
N:\NEWS\ES-NEWS N:\NEWS\DATA N:\NEWS\TEXT NETLOGIN NETADMIN
Note that you must also have ES-NEWS admin access in order to access
the administration menu.
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 7
News Files
----------
News text files in ES-NEWS Login News Manager must be named
NEWS_01.TXT through NEWS_99.TXT thus corresponding to news entries 01
through 99 in the ES-NEWS Login News Manager database files.
Each ES-NEWS Login News Manager news file should not be greater than
64 Kb in size (approximately 800 lines of 80 character per line text).
Note, however, that PC workstations which are marginally low on free
memory while running ES-NEWS Login News Manager may not have
sufficient memory to display large news text files.
User Access
-----------
News files are displayed to users in ascending numerical order (ie, 01
through 99). The following criteria must be met in order for a news
file to be displayed:
* The news file (NEWS_nn.TXT) must actually exist
* The news file must be included in the profile for the user
* The current date must be equal to or later than the effective date
(if specified in ES-NEWS administration)
* The current date must be equal to or less than the expiration date
(if specified in ES-NEWS administration)
* The maximum number of news display times per day (as specified in
ES-NEWS administration) for the current day of the week must be
greater than 0 (ie, 1 through 8, or always)
* The number of times a user has accessed the current news file must
be less than or equal to the maximum number of displays per day
(as specified in ES-NEWS administration) for the current news file
News file screens are displayed for the amount of time (as specified
in ES-NEWS administration) or until the user presses one of the
following action keys:
* [Up] or [PgUp] to view the previous screen
* [Dn] or [PgDn] to view the next screen or next entry
* [Home] to view the first screen
* [End] to view the final screen or next entry
* [Esc] to exit to the next news entry
* [Alt+P] to print the current news entry
* [Other] to advance to the next page or news entry
Each news screen consists of a maximum of twenty (20) lines of the
news file text. Once all news files which meet the criteria listed
above have been displayed, ES-NEWS will return the user to the DOS
prompt.
Note that ES-NEWS automatically tracks which news files have been
read by each network user.
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 8
Admin Access
------------
Access to the built-in administration system is granted on a
user-by-user basis through ES-NEWS administration's user management.
If a user attempts to access ES-NEWS administration (through the
command line NETADMIN option as described in Initial Setup of this
operations guide) but has not been granted ES-NEWS admin access, then
that user will automatically be placed into standard user (news
display) mode.
Administration Menu
-------------------
ES-NEWS Login News Manager ADMINISTRATION MENU provides access to
software maintenance and monitoring functions. Administration Menu
options are described as follows:
* SYSTEM INFORMATION to specify the system setup parameters and
options.
* USER MANAGEMENT to maintain user settings and profile/group
access.
* PROFILE MANAGEMENT to maintain news profile/group information.
* NEWS MANAGEMENT to maintain news files and parameters.
* HISTORY LOG to view the history log which monitors user
activities.
* REBUILD INDEX FILES to remake all ES-NEWS Login News Manager index
files.
* DATABASE SUMMARY to display a summary of all ES-NEWS Login News
Manager database files.
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 9
System Information
------------------
Displayed are SYSTEM INFORMATION options for this ES-NEWS Login News
Manager installation.
Press letter keys (A through G) to change a system parameter. Press
the F10 key to save the displayed information or press the ESC key
to cancel all changes.
System information parameters include the following:
* ADMIN COLOR which toggles the color display on or off for
administrator access.
* DATE FORMAT which sets the displayed date type to ANSI, British,
French, German, Italian, or American format.
* TIME FORMAT which sets the displayed time type to 12 hour (AM/PM)
or 24 hour format.
* HISTORY LOG which toggles the history logging function on or off.
* BUFFER FLUSH (DOS) OPTION which enables/disables the DOS memory
flush to disk right after database records have been added or
changed. Note that on some network systems, disabling this buffer
flush activity can speed up software performance.
* NEW USER ADMIN, the default setting for new users.
* NEW USER PROFILE, the default setting for new users.
User Management
---------------
The USER MANAGEMENT activity allows you to add, change, delete, and
print users and information. User information includes the following:
USER NAME
PROFILE
ADMIN ACCESS
LAST DATE/TIME
TOTAL LOGINS
Note that new users are automatically added whenever they access the
system for the first time. Therefore, it is not necessary to add new
users manually.
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 10
Profile Management
------------------
The PROFILE MANAGEMENT activity allows you to change, delete, and
print profiles that determine which users (by profile) are presented
with which news files. Profile information includes the following:
PROFILE CODE (A through Z)
PROFILE DESCRIPTION
NEWS (01 through 99)
During profile change, you will be allowed to choose news files for
the selected profile.
News Management
---------------
The NEWS MANAGEMENT activity allows you to change, delete, and print
news files entries. News file information includes the following:
NEWS CODE (01 through 99)
NEWS DESCRIPTION
DISPLAY DURATION (from 10 to 90 seconds)
EFFECTIVE DATE (optional)
EXPIRATION DATE (optional)
SUN MAX DISPLAYS (0-8 times/day or always)
MON MAX DISPLAYS (0-8 times/day or always)
TUE MAX DISPLAYS (0-8 times/day or always)
WED MAX DISPLAYS (0-8 times/day or always)
THU MAX DISPLAYS (0-8 times/day or always)
FRI MAX DISPLAYS (0-8 times/day or always)
SAT MAX DISPLAYS (0-8 times/day or always)
History Log
-----------
The HISTORY LOG records (if activated by System Information) all user
activities for ES-NEWS Login News Manager. History log information
includes the following:
USER NAME
DATE/TIME
NEWS
Rebuild Index Files
-------------------
All ES-NEWS database files may be reindexed in the event that they are
accidently erased or become corrupted. Note that this activity is not
normally required, but should not be performed while users are
accessing the ES-NEWS system.
ES-NEWS Login News Manager Operations Guide - Page 11
Database Summary
----------------
A summary of ES-NEWS database files may be displayed.
Technical Support
-----------------
Limited technical support by mail, phone, FAX, BBS, and CompuServe is
provided at no cost to UNLICENSED ES-NEWS Login News Manager users
during the initial software evaluation period.
Continued technical support by mail, phone, FAX, BBS, and CompuServe
is provided at no cost to LICENSED ES-NEWS Login News Manager users.
For technical support, please contact:
Extensions Software Corporation
224 Thompson Street #165
Hendersonville, NC 28792-2805 USA
704-692-0887
704-692-8879 FAX
704-693-0339 BBS
72007,571 CompuServe