Magnum One

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Magnum One / Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso / d19 / pcbfv10.arc / PCBFV.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1990-07-18 | 26KB | 530 lines

------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | | | | | | | | | PCBFV Version 1.0 | | | | PCBoard F V Compressed File Viewer | | | | | | For | | | | PCBoard Version 14.5 | | | | | | * Seamless Interface - Looks Like Part of PC Board * | | | | | | Allows Text File Reading On-Line | | | | Allows Selecting Files For Individual Downloads | | | | Puts Caller's Name On The Status Line | | | | Uses New PCBoard-Style Color Macros | | | | Runs Like A Mini-Door - All Nodes May Use One .EXE | | | | Follows Caller's Graphics Mode - Follows F9 Display Toggle | | | | All Options Are Sysop-Configurable | | | | | | | | PCBFV Version 1.0 | | | | (C) Copyright 1990 Yandell Computer Services | | | | 12121 Little Rd. Bldg. 303 Suite 212 | | Hudson, FL 34667 | | | | DATA -- (813) 842-8099 (All nodes HST) | | | | July 19, 1990 | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------- PCBFV -------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ----------------- ---- INTRODUCTION ------------ 1.0 What Is PCBFV 2 1.1 PCBoard Version Compatibility 2 1.2 Multi-Node Guide 2 INSTALLATION ------------ 2.0 Setting Up PCBVIEW.BAT 3 2.1 Running FVSETUP and Creating .CNF Files 3-5 2.2 PCBFV.HLP Help File (Macros, Color, Etc.) 6 2.3 Managing Caller-Created Compressed Files 6 MISCELLANEOUS ------------- 3.0 Disclaimer and Warranty 6 3.1 Technical Notes 6 3.2 About The Author 6 3.3 Sample Configurations 7 REGISTRATION ------------ 4.0 Registering PCBFV 7 PCBoard is the registered trademark of Clark Development Co. Inc. 1.0 What is PCBFV ------------------ PCBFV is a PCBoard BBS utility for use in the F V (File View) shell process. PCBFV displays the contents of .ZIP, .ARC, or .PAK files. PCBFV will optionally allow a caller to (R)ead text files contained within a compressed file. PCBFV will also optionally allow a caller to (F)lag a compressed file's members for individual downloading. Text (uncompressed) files in a download path may be read by PCBFV. The Sysop has full control over which features of PCBFV are enabled on their system. The underlying theme and motivation behind PCBFV's development was to make the caller's interface to the F V process to appear as "seamless" as possible. Great emphasis was placed on making the prompts and appearance of PCBFV to appear as similar as possible to those in PCBoard. 1.1 PCBoard version compatibility ---------------------------------- The special features of PCBFV have been made possible because of code changes in PCBoard beginning with the 07/13/90 16:29 beta release of version 14.5. PCBFV will not run with any version of PCBoard prior to the 7/13/90 release of PCBoard 14.5. 1.2 Multi-node guide --------------------- Pertinent multi-node information is highlighted by *MULTI-NODE*. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 3 PCBFV Page 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.0 Setting up PCBVIEW.BAT --------------------------- The first line of your PCBVIEW.BAT file(s) should be echo off or @echo off, depending on the version of DOS you are using. You will need to decide if you are going to run PCBFV from a location other than your \PCB root. On Multi-Node systems, a separate location is recommended. In your text editor, load PCBVIEW.BAT. The calling syntax for PCBFV is out-lined below. The second line of your PCBVIEW.BAT file(s) M:\PCBFV\PCBFV.EXE PCBFV.CNF %1 ------------------ --------- -- \ \ \__ PCB will replace this with \ \ the compressed file's name. \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \___ The .CNF file (discussed below) \ for this node. File NAME only. \ NEVER place a location with name. \ *MULTI-NODE* you must indicate \ a unique .CNF file for each node \ if you use a common PCBFV.EXE \ \___ The executable file name. You MUST place it's location in-line as shown above if you are not calling PCBFV.EXE from your \PCB root. *MULTI-NODE* Remember, you will have to feed PCBFV a different .CNF file for reasons discussed below. NOTE: PCBFV.EXE, PCBFV.HLP, and ALL PCBFV.CNF files must be located in the same location. 2.1 Running FVSETUP and creating .CNF files -------------------------------------------- Enclosed with PCBFV 1.0 is a file called FVSETUP.EXE. This file allows you to easily and quickly configure your PCBFV configuration files. If you run a single node installation, simply use the PCBFV.CNF file which came with PCBFV and modify it using FVSETUP to your needs. If you run a *MULTI-NODE* installation, you will need to create a .CNF file for each node and modify each of them with specific node information as outlined below. To start FVSETUP.EXE, enter FVSETUP PCBFV.CNF at your dos prompt (PCBFV.CNF would be the appropriate node .CNF file). The following pages detail the information required in each .CNF file. Section 2.1 continues on the next page -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4 PCBFV Page 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1 Running FVSETUP and creating .CNF files (continued) ------------------------------------------------------- Idle keyboard limit (and why there is one in PCBFV) --------------------------------------------------- Allows Sysop to set keyboard time out independent of PCBoard's. If a caller has abandoned their terminal, a time-out will occur in PCBFV and then return them to PCBoard. PCBoard's timer will then start ticking. If you have a large time-out set in PCB, it might be a good idea to have a lower one in PCBFV. If the caller is not coming back to the terminal, they will have the combined PCBFV and PCBoard time-outs occur before PCBoard drops them. * Disable CTS ------------- Always answer NO unless you know for a fact that answering Yes is better for your configuration. NEVER answer no on nodes running high speed or error correcting modems. * Loc. of PCB root ------------------ The full drive and directory location of THIS NODE'S \PCB root. * Disable R)ead option ---------------------- Allows the Sysop to disable the R)ead text function of PCBFV. If disabled, (R) will not appear in PCBFV's prompt to the caller. * Maximum lines in text ----------------------- Enter 0 for no limit, or a limit up 9999. This will limit the number of lines in EACH text file a caller can read. Some Sysops would rather caller's not read entire text files on-line. Less scrupulous callers might use the read function to screen cap text files and avoid file or byte download ratios which may be in effect. When setting this, remember that some authors don't get around to describing what the software does until 10 or 20 pages into their documentation. Between 400 and 500 is a good MINIMUM limit. * Disable F)lag option ---------------------- Allows the Sysop to disable the F)lag individual file function. If disabled, (F) will not appear in PCBFV's prompt to the caller. * Loc\Name new d/l file ----------------------- If Flag is allowed, enter the location AND name of the file which will be created and will contain the individual files the caller selects for downloading. The location MUST be a drive and path which are listed in your DLPATH.LST!!! The .EXT you place on the filename determines the compression method used by PCBFV to create the In a *MULTI-NODE* environment, the file NAME in the above parameter MUST be different in each node's .CNF file. Section 2.1 continues on the next page -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 5 PCBFV Page 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1 Running FVSETUP and creating .CNF files (continued) ------------------------------------------------------- * Maximum extracted size ------------------------ The maximum uncompressed file size allowed to be extracted for BOTH R)ead and F)lag commands. If the file's uncompressed size is larger than what you specify, it may neither be R)ead if it is text NOR F)lagged for download. You may enter 0 for no limit, however this is not recommended, especially if you are selecting a RAM drive for the location of the work directory (see next parameter below). * Loc. of extracted file ------------------------ A "work" location of extracted files for both the R)ead and F)lag command. Whenever a caller R)eads or F)lags a file, that file is extracted to the location you specify here. If you have a lot of RAM drive space, it is the ideal place for this parameter. In a *MULTI- NODE* environment, you MUST create a different "work" directory for each node and indicate that node's directory here. In *ALL* environments, do not use existing directories with data in them for this parameter. If a file already exists in this directory, and a caller attempts to read or flag a member file of the same name, PCBFV will not attempt to extract the file for the caller. * Path to compress util ----------------------- Enter ONLY the path of your compression utilities. Do NOT enter a file name in this parameter. This parameter allows PCBFV to go directly to your compression utilities, rather than search your path for them. This results in faster overall extraction/compression response time. Again, DO NOT ENTER A FILE NAME in this parameter, ONLY a drive and directory location. PCBFV will expect to find the following compression utilities - PKZIP and PKUNZIP (ver 1.10) for ZIP files. PKPAK and PKUNPAK (ver 3.61) for ARC files. PAK (tested with ver 2.01) for PAK files. Of course, if you never have one or more of the types of compressed files listed above on your system, PCBFV will naturally not need to access it's respective compression utility. * Registration number --------------------- This is the registration number you will receive when you register PCBFV. All functions are enabled in an unregistered version. Registration causes the PCBFV [ EVALUATION COPY ] which appears at program termination to disappear. It is NOT replaced with your board name or anything else. The whole line completely disappears for a true, seamless, "looks like PCBoard" F V session. (See ORDER.FRM) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 6 PCBFV Page 6 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.2 PCBFV.HLP help file (macros, color, etc.) ---------------------------------------------- PCBFV.HLP is a very important part of PCBFV. It is very likely that every caller will want (H)elp, at least the first time they use PCBFV. There are two very important @macros@ used by PCBFV.HLP. These are PCBFV's own macros and are described below. @FILENAME@ Whenever this appears in PCBFV.HLP, PCBFV will replace it with the file name that is currently being viewed. @FLAGFILE@ Whenever this appears in PCBFV.HLP, PCBFV will replace it with the name of the compressed file which will be created when a caller Flags files for separate download. This feature is especially helpful for *MULTI-NODE* systems, since a different compressed file name is mandatory for each node. @FLAGFILE@ will be replaced by that node's file name as it appears in that node's .CNF file thereby creating the need for only one help file. PCBFV.HLP allows color by utilizing the color macro scheme devised by PCBoard 14.5. In fact, actual ANSI graphics will not work in PCBFV.HLP. Since PCBFV is part of a PCBoard shell process, it was desirable to keep PCBFV as small as possible. ANSI capabilities in the external help file were intentionally omitted. The PCBFV.HLP file which comes with PCBFV has been designed to be similar in appearance to the help files which come with PCBoard. This contributes to the seamless, "looks like PCBoard" intent of PCBFV. If you need to make changes to the existing file you should keep this intent in mind. PCBFV.HLP must reside in the same location with PCBFV.EXE. 2.3 Managing caller created (flagged) files -------------------------------------------- Each time PCBFV runs it checks for the presence of an old caller created flagged file and deletes it. However, what do we do about a caller created file until PCBFV is run again? There are two things you may do to assist PCBFV in its housekeeping duties. In each node's BOARD.BAT and/or EVENT.SYS, you may place the following command : if exist c:\location\filename.ext del c:\location\filename.ext (Replace C:\LOCATION\FILENAME.EXT with the appropriate information you have assigned to this node with FVSETUP) If you decide to put this in BOARD.BAT, place it BEFORE PCB145.EXE in the batch file. In a *MULTI-NODE* environment, you will have assigned each node it's own unique file name for caller-created files. That same file name must be located in the correct node's BOARD.BAT or EVENT.SYS if you elect to do this. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 7 PCBFV Page 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.0 Technical notes -------------------- Carrier is monitored by PCBFV. Should a caller drop carrier while in PCBFV they will be returned to the PCBoard, which will detect the "no carrier" status and cycle appropriately. PCBFV works with com ports 1 through 4. COM1 uses addr 03F8 IRQ 4. COM2 uses addr 02F8 IRQ 3. COM3 uses addr 03E8 IRQ 4. COM4 uses addr 02E8 IRQ 3. PCBFV will NOT allow a caller to choose .EXE, .COM, .ZIP, .PAK, .ARC .ZOO, .LZH, .GIF, .DBF, .WK* and several other types of extensions for reading. PCBFV always checks all files before displaying them to see if they are binary files or contain any unprintable characters. PCBFV tests text file input (if Read is enabled) for ANSI characters and form feeds and strips them out before displaying the text. PCBFV follows the F9 display toggle from PCBoard. If the display is turned off, PCBFV will honor that and will not write anything to the local screen. Pressing F9 will toggle the screen on and off, but PCBoard will follow this switch as it was set last in PCBoard. 100K of memory is needed after PCBFV loads for calling compression utilities. PCBFV will "turn off" Flag and Read if memory drops below this level. 3.1 Disclaimer and warranty ---------------------------- PCBFV is a shareware product. PCBFV may be uploaded to BBS systems as long as copyright notices are not removed and no changes are made to the program. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, for unregistered copies of PCBFV. Sysops who install PCBFV on their systems assume any and all liabilities for anything which may result as a consequence of running PCBFV. For registered copies of PCBFV, Yandell Computer Services warrants that PCBFV will perform as described in this documentation. In the event that PCBFV does not perform as specified, then Yandell Computer Services may elect to rectify the problem or refund the amount paid, if notified within 30 days of registration. Yandell Computer Services' liability is limited to the registration price paid. Under no circumstances shall Yandell Computer Services or the author of PCBFV be liable for any incidental or consequential damages, nor for any damages in excess of the registration price. 3.2 About the author --------------------- L. Brent Yandell has been involved in telecommunications for over four years. Many Sysops will be familiar with BBSQBASE, a popular door which has been in existence, supported, and updated for over three years. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 8 PCBFV Page 8 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.3 Sample configurations -------------------------- Single node configuration C:\PCB ------ PCBVIEW.BAT - contains PCBFV.EXE PCBFV.CNF %1 PCBFV.EXE PCBFV.CNF PCBFV.HLP You may prefer this alternate single node configuration C:\PCBFV -------- PCBFV.EXE PCBFV.CNF PCBFV.HLP C:\PCB ------ PCBVIEW.BAT - contains C:\PCBFV\PCBFV.EXE PCBFV.CNF %1 *MULTI-NODE* configuration (sample is 2 nodes and server) M:\PCBFV (M: is on server) -------- PCBFV.EXE PCBFV-1.CNF PCBFV-2.CNF PCBFV-3.CNF PCBFV.HLP C:\PCB (node 1 root) ----------------------- PCBVIEW.BAT - contains M:\PCBFV.EXE PCBFV-1.CNF %1 C:\PCB (node 2 root) ----------------------- PCBVIEW.BAT - contains M:\PCBFV.EXE PCBFV-2.CNF %1 M:\PCB (node 3 root) ----------------------- PCBVIEW.BAT - contains M:\PCBFV.EXE PCBFV-3.CNF %1 The sample configuration is only a guideline. As you can see, PCBFV is very flexible and will allow you to install it in a number of ways. 4.0 Registering PCBFV ---------------------- Refer to the enclosed file ORDER.FRM for all registration details.