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1993-09-01
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June, 1992
******************************************
* Changes/Enhancements for version 6.00C *
******************************************
List of new features, bug fixes & enhancements since v5.xx
/============================\
< MAGNUM BBS - VERSION 6.00C >
\============================/
(C)Copyright 1989, 1992 Gilmore Systems - All Rights Reserved
/==============\
< ANNOUNCEMENTS: >
\==============/
Welcome to the next generation of "Magnum BBS" for OS/2. As usual, this
new release is packed with many new features, enhancements, and some fixes.
First, we have several announcements to make:
- The most significant NEW feature of this version is AMMO - Automated
Magnum Mail Option. We also call this RMAIL - Remote Mail. We use the
two terms as follows: AMMO refers to the link layer (low level) and RMAIL
refers to the user layer.
With AMMO, any Magnum BBS system can call any other Magnum BBS system
and exchange messages with it! With RMAIL, your users can enter and respond
to messages to users on other Magnum systems. All of Magnum's mail features
are supported with AMMO/RMAIL too (ie: receipt, CC, Fwd, etc).
Refer to Chapter 15 in the 6.00C user manul.
Minimum Recommended hardware:
# Dialup Minumum CPU speed Minimum RAM LAN (if used)
-------- ----------------- ----------- -------------
1 12 Mhz 4 Mb Ethernet
2 16 Mhz 6 Mb Ethernet
3 20 Mhz 8 Mb Ethernet
4 20 Mhz 8 Mb Ethernet or Token Ring 4 Mb/sec
8 25 Mhz 12 Mb Token Ring 16 Mb/sec
12 33 Mhz 16 Mb Token Ring 16 Mb/sec
16 33 Mhz 16 Mb Token Ring 16 Mb/sec
- LAN USERS: Starting with this release, we have discontinued "local logon"
modules!! These have been replaced with "pipe modules". If you currently
have one or more "local logon" modules, you will receive an "OS/2 pipe
module" to replace your old "local logon" modules with when you download
a beta or commercial release of Magnum as it becomes available on our
system. The OS/2 "pipe module", like your "local logon" modules only runs
on OS/2 workstations. "DOS pipe modules" are available for purchase for your
DOS 5 workstations. Although the "OS/2 pipe modules" are available for
purchase, they will be provided free of charge to those who previously
purchased one or more "local logon" modules.
/======\
< NOTES: >
\======/
- If you have a copy of CMD.EXE in your EXTERNAL DIRectory, then remove
it! As long as CMD.EXE is in your PATH statement (prior to starting
MBBS.EXE), Magnum will find it! Having a separate copy of CMD.EXE
in your EXTERNAL DIRectory is not only a waste of space, but a potential
hazard when upgrading to a new version of OS/2 or applying a CSD unless
you remember to replace the CMD.EXE in your EXTERNAL DIRectory as well!
It's much simpler to just remove CMD.EXE from your EXTERNAL DIRectory!
- With this version especially, you should have the pathnames of your
EXTERNAL and PROGRAM DIRectories in your OS/2 PATH statement PRIOR to
starting Magnum. You can do this with the SET PATH= statement in your
CONFIG.SYS file.
/================================\
< VER6_00U.MEX (new .MEX program): >
\================================/
- This is the .MEX file needed to initialize the new fields in the USER
database prior to starting your version 6.00 system. This .MEX program
is only used if you're installing over the 5.02C version of Magnum.
/================================\
< VER6_00M.MEX (new .MEX program): >
\================================/
- This is the .MEX file needed to initialize the new fields in the MSG
database prior to starting your version 6.00 system. This .MEX program
is only used if you're installing over the 5.02C version of Magnum.
/===========================\
< SPLITKEY.EXE (new program): >
\===========================/
- This is a new program which prepares the new USER.KEY and USER_?.KEY
files for this release of Magnum.
- After initially running this program as per the installation instructions,
save this program for later use. In the event your *.KEY file(s) become
damaged (or lost) for any reason, running this program will re-create
all of your *.KEY files from the USER.DAT file. Before using this program
for re-creation, however, you must back up your *.KEY files!!
- The SPLITKEY.EXE program will reject all LastName's not starting with one
of the following characters:
- alphanumeric (A-Z, a-z, 0-9)
- underscore ( _ ) character
- dollar ( $ ) character
If the last name of any record does not start with one of these characters,
the record for this file will not be rebuilt into a key file, but the last
name will change to ERRORxxxxx (where xxxxx is the ID of that user account).
- Note: If you change someone's LAST NAME, whether with MBBSEXEC.EXE or via
the Sysop menu, you'll need to rerun SPLITKEY.EXE, however, you can
save time by running it with the first initial of the user's last
name (before & after). For example, if you change one of your user's
last name from DOE to SMITH, you would run SPLITKEY twice as follows:
SPLITKEY D
SPLITKEY S
This causes the SPLITKEY program to rebuild USER_D.KEY and USER_S.KEY
files.
/=============\
< MBBSEXEC.EXE: >
\=============/
- When processing the FILE database, the keyword @DATELAST was being
confused with the keyword @DATE instead. This has been corrected.
- Corrected possible flaw in handling @SENDNULLS and @FILELIST_PREF keywords
in USER database.
- Seven new keywords added for USER database:
(b) @REUSE - Y/N or TRUE/FALSE to indicate that this ID (record)
can or cannot be reused if deleted. Note that in
order for this to be reused, the REUSE_DEL keyword
in your STARTUP.n file(s) must also be set to Y.
(n) @MSGGROUP - For those using the extended MsgBase module, you
can now assign a MsgGroup to your users. The default
MsgGroup is 0. More explanation on this later.
(n) @FILEGROUP - For those using the extended FileBase module, you
can now assign a FileGroup to your users. The default
FileGroup is 0. More explanation on this later.
(c) @TYPE - In preparation for Magnum-to-Magnum remote mail,
there will be two record types. U for USER (the
default), and M for MAIL. More on this later.
(n) @FILEBASE - The LAST FileBase the User was in, or the default
FileBase to jump to the next time the user logs on.
(n) @MSGBASE - The LAST MsgBase the User was in, or the default
MsgBase to jump to the next time the user logs on.
(b) @RMAIL - Y/N or TRUE/FALSE to indicate that this user can or
cannot use the remote mail system. If TRUE, the user
can enter a message to another user on another Magnum
system supported by the Sysop. If FALSE, the user
cannot enter (or reply to) a remote mail message.
- Two new Keywords added for MSG Database:
(c) @MSGMILC - The MILC character used for this message.
NOTE: This field is meant to be used when the serial#
of the destination system is not the same as
the serial# of the sending system.
(b) @ECHO - Y/N or TRUE/FALSE to indicate that this message
is echoable to other systems on the network. If
it is not, the message is sent as store/forward
only.
NOTE: This field is ONLY valid if the serial# of
the destination system is not the same as
the serial# of the sending system.
- For Extended FileBase Users: You may now specify the following new
database statement:
#DATABASE: FILE*
The * after the word FILE tells MBBSEXEC to process ALL of your
file database 'data' files. This is useful for those having filebases
in other than FILE.DAT. If all of your file databases are in FILE.DAT,
then you will not need the * character.
- For Extended MsgBase Users: You may now specify the following new
database statement:
#DATABASE: MSG*
The * after the word MSG tells MBBSEXEC to process ALL of your
message database 'data' files. This is useful for those having msgbases
in other than MSG.DAT. If all of your msg databases are in MSG.DAT,
then you will not need the * character.
- The appearance of the }ELSE{ statement in .MEX programs seems to throw
off the readability of these source files. Starting with this version,
you can use the word ELSE instead of }ELSE{. When MBBSEXEC.EXE reads your
source .MEX program, it will automatically convert these ELSE statements
to the }ELSE{ statements it expects. Example:
The 'old' style:
IF(@DELETED == TRUE) {
LOG("Deleted Record")
}ELSE{
LOG("Active Record")
}
can still be used, however the new format is easier to read:
IF(@DELETED == TRUE) {
LOG("Deleted Record")
ELSE
LOG("Active Record")
}
You still need the { after the IF() statement, and you need the closing
} on a line by itself. Note that you can have as many statements as you
want between any given IF/ELSE statment, and as many statements as you
want between and given ELSE and close } character. As always, indentation
is only important for readability and has no bearing on how MBBSEXEC.EXE
interprets your code. Your code can still be as nested as you wish:
IF(expression1) {
.
.
ELSE
IF(expression2) {
.
.
ELSE
IF(expression3) {
IF(expression4) {
.
.
}
}
}
}
/=========\
< MBBS.EXE: >
\=========/
- The number of stored ACE commands has been increased to 300 (formerly 100).
- Five new "Command => " commands:
x ONHOOK ................. Sends ONHOOK sequence to modem on node x
x OFFHOOK ................. Sends OFFHOOK sequence to modem on node x
* RMAIL node:userid ........ Starts remote mail (see Chapter 15 of the
6.00C user manual).
x CALLS MAIL ............... Allows only MAIL accounts on node x
x CALLS ALL ................ Allows ALL calls (USER and/or MAIL) on node x
- The 2nd help screen has been filled, and a 3rd help screen added. You can
peruse the different help screens by entering "* help" for the next
consecutive help screen.
- Note that the syntax of the RMAIL command has been changed from the 5.03B
beta release to:
* RMAIL NODENUM:ID
Note that the use of the comma (,) separator in the 5.03B beta version
was causing problems when used in your MBBS.ACE file. This has now been
changed to the colon (:) separator instead.
- New "Command => " Command:
* LOGOCOLOR x
where 'x' is a number ranging from 1 to 15. The color value of this number
is the same as the values of the * COLOR statement. This command changes
the color of the logo appearing at the top of the screen. The purpose of
this command is because the default color does not show up on monochrome
screens.
- New "Command => " Command:
* FRAMECOLOR x
where 'x' is a number ranging from 1 to 15. The color value of this number
is the same as the values of the * COLOR statement. This command changes
the color of the frames appearing around the node displays. The purpose of
this command is because the default color does not show up on monochrome
screens.
- The Serial Number of your MBBS.EXE program is now displayed on the screen
to the right of the "Magnum BBS (r)" trademark. Both the trademark and
serial number are displayed in white.
- The indication of the node numbers which currently have someone online
(located on the right side of the screen on the same display line as
the date & time) has been changed to realtime. MBBS no longer waits to
update this display at the old 60-second interval.
- It's possible that MBBS.EXE was not freeing allocated memory between
sessions. We've applied corrections to this.
/============\
< MSGLIST.EXE: >
\============/
- Omits (excludes) messages addressed to Magnum Serial#'s other than your
Magnum BBS system.
/=============\
< MAKEMBBS.EXE: >
\=============/
- New Keyword FILEMENU_UTILS: now added. This should go along with the
rest of the FILEMENU_xxxxx: keywords. If you allow your users access
to this function, the file menu will present the user with the same
utility they would ordinarily get by choosing [U]tils in response to
the -More- prompt during file listings. This functionality has been added
for convenience and for those who got frustrated because they couldn't
mark any files towards the end of a file list due to the -More- prompt
not appearing at the end of a file list.
- New optional Keyword MILC_CHAR: now added. The parm you supply for this
keyword will override the default MILC command character of '@'.
NOTE: characters with decimal values of 0 to 32 (hex 0 to hex 20) will
not be accepted. Alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) and
punctuation characters will NOT be accepted: !,.?"':;()
CAUTION: If using someone else's MILC command file, chances are very
high that they're using the @ character; you must be sure to
change this to the MILC command character you define for your
system.
If you'll be overriding the MILC command character, use extreme
caution in selecting a new character! Avoid the use of characters
which may appear within a normal message (ie: %$#*[]{}\/<>+-&).
Try to pick a not-so-common character such as the ~ or ^ character.
- New optional Keyword SHOW_CALLERNUM: now added. If you supply Y to this
keyword, Magnum will function as usual. If you supply N to this keyword,
Magnum will suppress the "You are the nth caller on node x" message.
- New optional Keyword SHOW_DLS: now added. If you supply Y to this keyword,
Magnum will function as usual. If you supply N to this keyword, Magnum will
suppress the information on the number of Downloads on each file during
any file listings.
- New optional Keyword REMOTE_MAIL: now added. If you don't plan on using
remote mail, you should either supply N to this keyword, or leave the
keyword out alltogether (default is N). This field applies only to NEW
(first time) users. This is where NEW users get their RMAIL field in their
record from (see RMAIL in MBBSEXEC.EXE and in MSESSION.EXE); in other words,
if you want new users to be able to use the remote mail facilities
immediately, supply Y to this keyword. NOTE: Existing users on the system
will be unaffected by this field. Write a .MEX file for bulk update of
existing users.
- New (optional) keyword can be added to your STARTUP.x file(s):
CONFIRM_NEWRESP: N
The CONFIRM_NEWRESP: keyword accepts a Y (yes) or N (no) response. The
default is N. If you supply N (no), Magnum will not confirm new user
logon responses with the "Is this correct (Y/N) => " prompt when new users
respond to the prompts of address, city, state, zip, country, telephone
numbers, etc. Instead, the new user will have a chance to update their
responses at the end of all of the new user logon questions. If you supply
a Y (yes) as the parameter, Magnum will operate as before. We recommend
the default of N. This keyword exists only for compatibility with previous
Magnum versions for the sake of those callers with automated scripts being
used with their telecommunications programs.
/=============\
< MSESSION.EXE: >
\=============/
- On all multinode Magnum systems, only 3 new users were allowed to log
on as NEW (1st time) users concurrently. This has been increased to
the number of nodes your version has.
- Large Magnum systems (greater than 10,000 users) were taking too long
at logon to find an existing user who enters his/her name (instead of
ID), or to find that a name doesn't yet exist in the database. This
version now takes (in our tests) approximately 1.2 seconds average
on an HPFS system to search systems with 22,000 user records as
opposed to 24 seconds with the old method. After you install this
version of Magnum, you'll notice many USER_c.KEY files in your SESSION
DIRectory in addition to the USER.KEY files which make this speedup
possible.
- The "[N]ew Files" function within the files menu did not accept a valid
02/29 (or 29.02) date. This has been corrected.
- When uploading a file, Magnum checks the BADUPLD.LST file (if it exists)
to determine if the Sysop disallows uploads matching certain criteria in
the upload filename. A bug in this checking presented itself such that
(by way of example) if PMGIF.* were in the BADUPLD.LST file, then Magnum
would mistake this to be PMGIF*.* instead of PMGIF.* which was incorrect.
This has been fixed.
- During NonStop File Listing (ie: User supplies N to the -More- prompt
to signify nonstop scrolling) Magnum would ocassionally produce the
-More- prompt when displaying a matching FDIR*.BBS or FDIR*.SCR file.
This has been corrected.
- If logging on locally (via the Sysop console), the screen would not
clear when you saw the "Good Morning" (or afternoon or evening) message
if your color settings were set to N (off). This has been corrected.
- We've received several complaints that the file COMPRESS.LST was not
functioning correctly. This was due to sysops who've inserted TAB
characters into the file. To correct this problem, Magnum now strips
out (ignores) these TAB characters.
- We've received several complaints about deleted users being informed
by Magnum that they're account "has been deleted" if they attempt to
log on after their account was deleted. This will no longer happen.
- Chat mode would slow down all other sessions! This bug appeared in
version 5.02C and has been corrected in this version.
- The [U]ser Search function from main menu now has significant speed
improvements when searching for someone by last name.
- During File Listings, if there's no Expiration date for a file, the
"EXPIRES: No Expire." text is no longer displayed.
- Message receipts are now generated in the same conference area and
MsgBase as the message for which the receipt was requested.
Other system-generated messages will still be placed in the PRIVMSG_AREA
as designated in your STARTUP.n file(s).
- When REUSE_DEL: in your STARTUP.n file(s) is set to Y, Magnum reuses
deleted ID's. Starting with this release, the way ID's are reused are
now subject to three criteria:
1) The REUSE_DEL: field of STARTUP.N file(s) must be set to Y.
2) The new REUSE field of each user's record is checked. If the
record (ID) is deleted, the record will only be reused if the
REUSE field is set to Y.
3) With the new algorithm for fast lookup, the only records checked
for reuse are those which start with the same first letter of
the new user's last name. For example, if John Smith is logging
on as a new user, only those deleted records who's last names
starting with S are checked for reuse. Note that if you have
deleted records, but no one with a last name that starts with
S is deleted, the new user (Smith) will be assigned a NEW ID
instead of a reused ID.
- The caller number (ie: nth caller for node x) is now logged to the
ACTIVITY.n file(s).
- The activity log(s) will now report what FileBase or MsgBase the user
is in when they enter the [F]ile or [M]essage sections of the BBS.
- The prompt "- More - (C)ontinue, [S]top, [N]onstop, [U]tils => " during
a Files listing (the [U]tils portion) has been enhanced such that the
user can review/modify the list of files s/he has marked.
- New functionality has been added to the file menu. The same utilities
available at the "- More - (C)ontinue, [S]top, [N]onstop, [U]tils => "
prompt (the [U]tils portion) during a file listing is now available as
its own menu selection from the file menu. See FILEMENU_UTILS: under the
first paragraph of the heading MAKEMBBS.EXE above.
- The [E]nvironment section of the main menu (where users can change
their system/personal paramters) is now configurable by the Sysop as
to which parameters may/may not be changed. If you wish all parameters
to be changeable (as before), then do nothing! Otherwise, create the
file NOCHANGE.LST in your SESSION DIRectory. This file is an ASCII
text file which contains the numbers (1 thru 24 in this release)
of which parameters you do NOT want your users to be able to change!
For example, if you don't want users to be able to change System
compression type (choice 1) or their birthdate (choice 11), then the
file NOCHANGE.LST would contain the two menu numbers as follows:
1
11
The format of the file is one menu number per text line.
- The display of the PREDOWN.BBS file (prior to downloading) has been
changed such that it will ALWAYS display regardless of whether the
user has a default protocol selected or not. It has been changed so
that it will ALWAYS display even if command-stack-chaining has been
used. If you do not wish this file to display when a default protocol
has been chosen, you may test to see if one has been chosen with MILC
commands and then act accordingly. The purpose of this is to ensure
those sysops who rely on MILC commands within this file (to invoke
an external program, for example) to always be able to execute these
commands under any circumstances.
- The USER database area of the SYSOP menu now accomodates the 7 new fields
in each user record: REUSE, MSGGRP, FILEGRP, TYPE, FILEBASE, MSGBASE, and
RMAIL.
The REUSE and TYPE fields appear near the top of the screen (after STREET1)
and the FILEGRP and MSGGRP appear near the bottom (after FILE_L_AREAS and
MSG_R_AREAS).
Note that FILEGRP, MSGGRP, FILEBASE and MSGBASE apply to those sysops using
the extended FileBase and/or Extended MsgBase modules.
Note that TYPE applies to those sysops using the Magnum Remote Mail option.
The RMAIL field indicates whether the user can enter a message to a user on
a remote Magnum system. The default is NOT to have this capability, however
you may change this default for any/all users either individually in the
User Database area of the Sysop Menu, or in bulk with a .MEX program.
- After entering a new message on the BBS, when prompted for a CC, your users
may now enter a CC address (ie: $ssssssssss/idnum where $ indicates another
Magnum BBS system is to be the destination of this CC, ssssssssss is the
serial# of that Magnum system, /idnum is the ID of the person on that system
to receive the message). Note that these types of CC's are not acceptible if
the Sysop has not given the user RMAIL capability. Also note that the serial
number is checked for validity against your AMMO.MAG file.
NOTE: See Chapter 15 of the 6.00C user manual for an explanation of how to
set up and use Remote Mail.
- After reading a message addressed to you, you can now FORWARD the message
to a user on a remote system by supplying their address in $ssssssssss/idnum
format as explained above for message CC's.
- When a NOTEPAD is used for a list of CC's as recipients to a message, you
can now also specify a remote user (on a different BBS) as a recipient of
a CC. Unlike normal recipients (as many /ID entries per text line as you
wish), a remote user entry is one per line. An example CC list ala a
notepad might look like:
/10 /55 /32
$1989070000/0
$1989110006/195
/34 /404
The above would generate CC's to ID 10, 55, 32, 34 and 404 on your BBS.
It would also generate CC's to the Sysop (/0) of the Magnum system having
a serial# of 1989070000 and to ID /195 of the Magnum system having a serial#
of 1989110006.
- The USER DATABASE area of the Sysop menu now displays the field names of
mail accounts in RED (you must have your color set to Y).
- The USER DATABASE area of the Sysop menu now allows a MATCH for mail
accounts.
- The PRINT USER records area of the Sysop menu now allows printing of
mail accounts.
- When a node has been designated as "mail only" (see MBBS.EXE above), you
may optionally have a file NOTMAIL.x (where x is node number) in your
PROGRAM DIRectory which is an ASCII text file of a message you prepare.
This file, if it exists, will be displayed to your users who attempt
to log on to a node in "mail only" mode. Magnum will disconnect the call
after this display. Note that if this file does not exist, Magnum will
display a message to the user stating that the node is in "mail only"
mode. Note that "mail only" mode allows calls from mail accounts only.
- New MILC Commands added:
@?x - File Existence. This command tests for the existence of a file.
The filename ([d:][path]filename[.ext]) to test is in @Zx. The
result is placed in @N0 (1=exists, 0=does not exist).
Example:
@Z5="d:\magnum\testfile.ext";
@?5
@b1(n0=1); The file does NOT exist!
@c16
@p1 The file DOES exist!
NOTE: Like the @$x, @&x and @!x commands, this command is only
available to the Sysop or the System. Users other than
the Sysop do not have access to this command!
@E2 - Send File. This command transmits a file that is NOT in the file
database to the remote caller. @Z0 holds the filename. Upon return
of the transmission, variable @N0 holds the result (1=success,
0=failure). If the user does not have a default file xfer protocol
chosen, s/he will be prompted for one. The function also determines
whether the caller is on remotely, locally or via pipe module and
acts accordingly.
This function provides a means of file xfer unrelated to the BBS.
No upload/download ratios are checked, remaining time is not
checked, the file is not counted as a download, etc.
Example:
@Z0="d:\magnum\somefile.zip";
@E2
@B1(N0=1);
File Transmission Unsuccessful!
@C16
@P1 File Transmission Successful!
@E3 - Receive File. This command receives a file from the remote caller
and does NOT update the file database. @Z0 holds the filename. Upon
return of the function, variable @N0 holds the result (1=success,
0=failure). If the user does not have a default file xfer protocol
chosen, s/he will be prompted for one. Note that if the file
exists, the function will delete the file prior to receiving it.
The function also deletes the file if the file transfer fails.
The function also determines whether the caller is on remotely,
locally or via pipe module and acts accordingly.
This function provides a means of file xfer unrelated to the BBS.
No upload credit is given, remaining time is not checked, the file
is not integrity checked, upload/download ratio not adjusted, etc.
Example:
@Z0="d:\magnum\somefile.zip";
@E3
@B1(N0=1);
File Reception Unsuccessful!
@C16
@P1 File Received Successfully!
@E10 - Disable output. Suspend all output to modem or screen. All output
sent following this command will be discarded (ignored) until the
@E11 command is issued.
@E11 - Enable output. Negates @E10, resumes output.
@T"string" --\
or > This command writes to the ACTIVITY file. There are two
@Tx ---------/ ways of writing to the ACTIVITY file (via examples):
The following example writes the text appearing within
the double-quotes to the ACTIVITY file:
@T"This is a sample text line"
The following example writes the contents of variable
@Z5 to the ACTIVITY file:
@T5
@U71 - Returns Y or N depending on whether the user's ID is reusable.
@U72 - Returns user account type (U or M). U=user, M=mail.
@U73 - Returns Y or N depending on whether the user can use Remote Mail.
@U74 - Returns the MSG GROUP assigned to this user (0-255).
@U75 - Returns the FILE GROUP assigned to this user (0-255).
- The new user logon procedure has been modified. When a new user logs on for
the first time, the first character of their last name must be one of:
- alphanumeric (A-Z, a-z, 0-9)
- underscore ( _ ) character
- dollar ( $ ) character
The SPLITKEY.EXE program (above) will also be consistent with these rules.
- When a new user logs on for the first time, if your system is configured
to ask for areas of personal interest, the old text used to read:
Magnum OS/2 BBS software stores your personal areas of interest.....
It will now read:
"Your BBS Name" stores your personal interest areas....
where "Your BBS Name" will be replaced with the name of your BBS.
- New MILC commands added:
@E12 - Disable Timer. This command comes in handy when someone is about
to run out of time on your system, and you want them to have more
time. For example, suppose you run a subscription service or offer
an 'online order' menu in which users can place credit card orders.
We've seen users get logged off by Magnum because they ran out of
time, yet they were in the middle of trying to place on online
order! When you use the new @E12 command, this will no longer
happen. The timer is temporarily suspended with this command,
until you issue an @E13 command to reactivate the timer.
NOTE: If you forget to negate this command with the @E13 command,
the timer will not reactivate! Therefore, we've built in
a safety measure. If you use this command, Magnum will
automatically issue an @E13 command internally after a
period of 5 minutes.
@E13 - Enable Timer. Negates @E12.
- All prompts asking for a filename or filenumber (#nnnnn) can now be answered
as follows:
Filename[.ext] ie: somefile.ext
#nnnnn ie: #1860
Filename[.ext][:bbb] ie: somefile.ext:2
#nnnnn:bbb ie: #1860:0
In other words, if you append the colon character (:) followed by a number,
that number indicates the filebase you're referring to. This comes in handy
when you want to access a file in a FileBase other than the one you're
currently in. This applies to sysops running the extended filebase module.
- Just to get things straight between upgrades, you can verify which version
of MSESSION.EXE you have by entering MSESSION.EXE /V (You can also do this
with MBBS.EXE).
- Corrections to AMMO/RMAIL (if upgrading from 5.03B):
- Receipts generated from remote systems stated "Your Message to 'username'"
was received. The 'username' portion was in error. This has been corrected.
- Messages originating from your system targeted to another system were not
readable on your system (unless you're the sysop and went into the message
portion of the sysop menu). This has been corrected.
- When a MsgBase other than 0 (main) was specified in your AMMO.MAG file,
messages received would fail (they would be place in MsgBase 0 instead).
This has been corrected.
- When AMMO gathers mail, any messages longer than one screen page would
wait for keyboard input in response to a 'More' prompt (not visible).
This has been corrected such that this prompt is bypassed.
/====================================================\
< FOR EXTENDED FILEBASE AND/OR EXTENDED MSGBASE USERS: >
\====================================================/
- The new fields FILEBASE and MSGBASE indicate the LAST FileBase and MsgBase
the user was in. The next time the user logs on, Magnum will automatically
change to these bases.
- The new fields FILEGRP and MSGGRP in every user's records add even more
flexibility to the extended MsgBase and extended FileBase modules.
Until now, access to certain File and Msg Bases were determined solely
by security level. With the FILEGRP and MSGGRP fields, each user can be
assigned to a File Group or Msg Group (think of these groups as profiles).
By way of example, let's suppose that you set up John Doe (ID: /10) such
that his FILEGRP is 3 (you can do this by pulling up record 10 of the
User database area of the Sysop menu when logged on as Sysop and changing
his FILEGRP to 3; or you can write a .MEX program to perform bulk updates).
Regardless, assuming that John Doe (ID: /10) is assigned to FileGrp 3. This
means that Magnum will look in your SESSION DIRectory for a file by the
name of FILE3.GRP and if it finds it, the contents of this ASCII text file
will override the security levels imposed by the FILEBASE.EXE program when
you set up your FileBases. If Magnum doesn't find FILE3.GRP, Magnum will
act as it did prior to this version: it determines access to the different
FileBases by means of security levels set by the FILEBASE.EXE program.
Assuming that the file FILE3.GRP exists, the contents might look like the
following:
;
; Definitions file for File Group 3
;
; Users assigned to File Group 3 have access to these File Bases
; regardless of Security Level.
;
1 RWL ; Los Angeles Area OS/2 User Group.. Override Read/Write/List Access
2 RL ; OS/2 2.0........................... Override Read/List Access
38 L ; California Real Estate............. Override List Access
224 ; New York Real Estate................ No Override
As you may have guessed from the above sample file, the semicolon (;)
denotes the beginning of a comment. A comment starts with a semicolon
and lasts until the end of that text line. Blank lines are ignored.
The above sample allows all users who's FILEGRP field is set to 3 to
have access to FileBases 1, 2, 38 and 224.
The comments (ie: New York Real Estate) are merely comments and
may or may not have anything to do with the content of the actual
FileBase denoted by that number.
If R appears, READ (or download) access will be given to this FileBase
regardless of the READ security level set with the FILEBASE.EXE program.
If W appears, WRITE (or upload) access will be given to this FileBase
regardless of the WRITE security level set with the FILEBASE.EXE program.
If L appears, LIST access will be given to this FileBase regardless of
the LIST security level set with the FILEBASE.EXE program.
Likewise, the MSGGRP field works in an identical fashion except that
it expects to find its information in MSG3.GRP if 3 were assigned to
the MSGGRP field of a particular user.
NOTE1: The FILEGRP and MSGGRP fields override the ability to ACCESS
FileBases and MsgBases which the user would not ordinarily have
access to. Furthermore, the .GRP file containing the definitions
of a group, can override READ(download), WRITE(upload) and LIST
security levels. Note that if a dependency on MEMODATE1 or MEMODATE2
exists within a particular FileBase (as set by FILEBASE.EXE), these
parameters will override it!
NOTE2: Although you don't need to use groups at all, the use of such groups
will definitely demonstrate a speed increase in the presentation of
the different FileBases and MsgBases for the user to choose from.
NOTE3: For those Sysops running the type of board where each user represents
a different company for example, they might want to set up their BBS
such that these users only have access to one particular FileBase and
one particular MsgBase. Let's suppose that users of XYZ Corp are
assigned FileBase 5 and MsgBase 8. The Sysop could then assign 5 to
their FILEBASE and 8 to their MSGBASE. Furthermore, the Sysop could
disable the "[F]ileBase Change" and "[M]sgBase Change" menu selections
by raising the security level of these menu choices to one higher than
these users. This, in effect, insures that users of XYZ Corp will only
see (and know about) FileBase 5 and MsgBase 8.
==============================================================================
End.