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CNFN.DOC
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1996-01-03
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13KB
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315 lines
Has been compiled with PPLC 3.2 so requires PCBoard 15.22+.
This was originally a small PPE written by someone at Clark Development
for use on Salt Air. I have pretty much re-wrote everything but there
are still traces of documentation, so credit is still due
to the original author. Thanks CDC.
=============================================================================
CNFN.PPE
A PPE designed to build a conference join menu on-the-fly. It checks the
user's access (security) level and compares the security level to the
conference's required security, whether its public or private, and if the
caller is registered. It will only display the conference the caller is
allowed to join.
NEW! ENHANCED!
You can now define Conference number blocks via a CNFN.CFG file that
must exist in the same directory as the PPE. This allows callers to view a
subset of the conferences available (for example, one network). I added this
capability because a I had a large block of conference numbers between two
nets reserved for future expansion, (300 empty conferences) and this caused
considerable waits for the user while the original PPE scanned through those
empty conferences. Of course, you can also define a block for ALL conferences
as the blocks can overlap.
Also, any or all of the blacks can also display the conferences that
the user DOESN'T have access to as well (in an alternate color). This is great
for subscription boards so that you can give them a "sneak preview" of what
they are missing out on!!
You can also use a new security feature to limit the display of
selected blocks by security, with the option to still display available
conferences if you have users that you manually registered.
A caller can also search for specific text in conference names by
entering S at the conference block prompt. The search is not case-sensitive.
Finally, all the colors are configurable, and you can set the number
of columns to display, from 1 to 9.
=============================================================================
TO INSTALL:
Just make sure your conference join menu (defined in PCBSetup:File
Locations:Display Files) is named CNFN. If it's not, you can either
rename this PPE or you can change the entry in PCBSetup. Either one will
work. Put the CNFN.PPE file into the subdirectory defined for your
conference join menu. That's all there is to it. You don't have to
enter it into your CMD.LST or anything else. It will act as the
"default" menu for your system. Instead of the CNFN file being
displayed, the PPE will execute.
You might want to place the PPE and accompanying files in a separate
directory and change the directory in PCBSetup to the new location.
NEW! ENHANCED!
The Following files must also exist in the same directory. You can
use the defaults or edit your own. An example is given with discriptions
of each:
CNFN.CFG <--Conference Info Configuration
CNFN.CNF <--PPE specific Configuration
CNTEXT <--Prompt strings file
VER.ID <--PPE version number file.
3 display files - see CNF file description for details
=============================================================================
CNFN.CFG
Edit (or create) the CNFN.CFG file in the same directory as the ppe. An
example would be:
;-----------------
3
Local
0-10;25;50-99
N
Y
FidoNet
100-10000
50
Y
All Conferences
0-10000
N
Y
;------------------
Line 1: The number of conference blocks
Line 2: The displayed name of the first block
*Line 3: The conference numbers in this block
Line 4: Unused but must be present. Leave Blank
Line 5: Security Level for block to display. set to 'N' or 0 for no limits
Entry must exist but is only used if security option is set in
the separate CNFN.CNF file
Line 6: Whether to display unavailable conferences to caller (in alternate
color). Y or N.
Repeat lines 2-6 for each block
*This line has changed in version 2.1 - Multiple Individual Conferences and
ranges can be intermixed. Ranges must have a beginning and ending
value separated by a dash (-), and each entry must be separated
by a space or semi-colon. I don't know the effective limit to
entries for this line; whatever limits PCBoard have on Tokenized
statements...
This will allow you to have non-contiguous conferences in blocks
If the config file is missing, then the PPE will show one option:
"all conferences", and not display unavailable confs.
=============================================================================
CNFN.CNF
Edit (or Create) the CNFN.CNF file and put it in the same directory as
the PPE. Here is an example and a description:
------------------Top of File---------
CH
CBH
N
N
CBL
2
L
-----------------End of File-----------
Line 1 - Header Display file displayed before PPE displays the available
conference blocks. Can have Security, Graphic, and Language
specific files as well.
Line 2 - Header Display File displayed before available conferences are
listed, once the person makes their choice. This may have Security,
graphic, and Language specific versions of the file as well.
Line 3 - Y or N - Use the Security level feature?
If set to Y, the PPE will check the caller's security and compare
it to the security entry for the conference block they choose. If
they don't have enough security (see line 4 for exception) then
they won't be allowed to see the conference list for that block.
Instead they will be told they don't have access and return to
the conference block list to choose another block.
Line 4 - Y or N - Check block for user being registered in conferences before
displaying "insufficient security" message. If the user doesn't
have enough security for the chosen block, but they are registered
in one or more of the conferences, if this is set to yes, they
will have the list of conferences they are registered in.
NOTE - This option will slow down the display somewhat, as each
conference in the block must be checked to see if the user is
registered in any of the conferences before deciding whether
to display a conference list. I have attempted to make the
scan as fast as possible to reduce waiting time. The delay
will only affect callers with insufficient security for a block
and should only be a second or two.
Line 5 - Conference Block Lockout Display File. Displayed if the security
level feature is enabled and the users security isn't high
enough for the selected block of conferences (***Line 4 can
override this if the user is registered in a conference and line
4 is 'Y'). This file can have Security, Graphic, and Language
specific variations.
Line 6 - Number of Columns. Can range from 1 to 9 but I wouldn't
recommend going above 3 or 4. Width of the columns decreases
rapidly with each additional column. For example, with a setting
of 9, you would only get 3 characters of a conference name
displayed in each column!
Line 7 - Either L or R. Sets which part of the conference name will be
displayed if it is too long to fit in the column. Setting this
to R would be especially handy for long Internet conference
names.
ALL Files MUST exist...
=============================================================================
CNTEXT
This is the Prompt file used by the PPE. Each prompt is on a separate
line. This file can have language specific versions. Here is a sample file:
---------
An ERROR occurred in CNFN.PPE! Notify the sysop immediately please!
Which Set of conferences do you want displayed
Invalid Choice, enter a valid #
You do not have access to this block of conferences!
Which set of conferences to search for text
---------
Line 1 - This is the Error prompt displayed to a caller if the PPE
aborts due to not being able to find a file. The specific
problem will be logged in the caller's Log.
78 char. max
Line 2 - Prompt for which block of conferences the caller wants to
display.
60 char. max
Line 3 - Displayed if the caller enters an invalid block selection.
78 char. max
Line 4 - This prompt is NOT USED at present, but must be present in the file.
Line 5 - Displayed if caller enters 'S' to search for specific text
in conference names.
=============================================================================
VER.ID
This is the Version Number ID file. For CNFN.PPE, it isn't currently used.
I am just preparing for future ideas floating around in my head. It must exist
in the PPE directory.
=============================================================================
CNALT
This is an alternate Block List display file. If it exists in the PPE
directory, it will be displayed INSTEAD of the regular available block
List. If you add or remove Conference Blocks, and are using this file,
make sure you edit it to reflect the changes.
This file can only have Language variations at present.
=============================================================================
COLOR.CNF
With this optional file, you can modify the color of just about everything.
If it exists, the color values will be taken from it. The first 16 lines
must be the color definitions (with the full @X designation).
Here is a sample (and the defaults if the file doesn't exist):
@X1A
@X1C
@X07
@X0A
@X0A
@X0F
@X07
@X0E
@X0E
@X0E
@X0E
@X0F
@X07
@X07
@X06
@X06
===============
Color Configuration file - The above entries MUST all exist if this file
exists. The entries are as follows:
1: Progress Indicator Color 1
2: Progress Indicator Color 2
3: Progress Indicator Color Reset - Used after indicator
4: Block number color
5: Block number separator color
6: Block Text color
7: Block color Reset - Used after Text
8: Block Prompt Color
9: Search Prompt Color
10: Conference Number Color
11: Conference number Separator Color
12: Conference name color
13: Conference color Reset - Used after Conference/Unavailable conf name
14: Unavailable Conf # color
15: Unavailable Conf Separator Color
16: Unavailable Conf name color
The Reset values aren't significant unless you are using acolored background.
These will ensure that the proper background is restored after each item is
displayed.
=============================================================================
FINAL IMPORTANT NOTES
Be sure that all the files exist and are in the same directory as the PPE.
For installation, my advice would be to put the ppe in it's own directory
(as I have done), like C:\PPE\CNFN\ , and change PCBSETUP-File Locations
to reflect the new location. By default, PCBoard tends to lump stuff in the
MAIN and GEN directories, making them extremely cluttered. My method will
make finding and updating easier in the future, and will keep those
directories less cluttered.
The Security feature should be thought out. If you use it, you may not
want to use an All Conferences block (think about it <g>) Also, I don't
know how the "registered override" option will work with Conference
Sysops. Make sure that they also have the R flag set in their
users record to ensure this option works correctly for them.
If you find something goofy, LET ME KNOW!!! so I can fix it.
I can be reached in the following ways:
Herbert Bushong
Blackbeard's BBS - (318)-468-3385 USR DS v.34 33.6kbps
Intelec - PCBoard, PPL, CDCSupport, Admin conferences
U'NI-net - Sysops, CDCSupport, Admin, Letter_Box Conferences
FidoNet - 1:19/19
Internet - herbert.bushong@bbread.pecan.com
Newest updates can be obtained via the following methods:
FREQ'd with the Magic Name ECNFN
Log on to my BBS and Join Conf #5.
Files are also uploaded to Salt Air.