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!WHATS.NEW
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1990-06-27
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What's New In ProDoor 3.2?
--------------------------
Important new features:
* New extended conference system increases the conference limit
to 2040, giving you up to 2000 extended conferences.
* Added a new system of quick file location, drasticly speeding
download file searches on large networks and CD-ROM systems.
* Added new upload/download ratio system. This allows total sysop
control over byte and file ratios, with instant and integrated
ratio checks during uploads and downloads-- no more need for
event based ratio systems.
* New "Optional Features" screen in CONFIG program replaces
environment variables for control of the following features:
Insert "Uploaded by:" for all uploads?
Insert blank line after all uploads?
Expand macros in message texts?
Display users CITY in message headers?
* New "arrange conferences" function allows you to completely
redefine the order of conferences, as well as totally delete
CONFINFO entries.
* Added an optional "upload duplication check" file, PRODUP. If
present, it will be used as a list of all additional
directories to check during uploading to prevent filename
duplication.
* Added new output message translation system. This can be used
to change any prompt or message in ProDoor.
* Added an option to force all messages to '(ECHO)' status
without prompting the user.
* Added an option to disables all PRIVATE messages, making the
conference entirely PUBLIC.
Detailed Listing of Changes
---------------------------
New extended conference system increases the conference limit to 2040,
giving you up to 2000 extended conferences. Your current EXTUSER and
CONFINFO files are still good, but you will need a copy of EXTADJ11.ZIP
to expand the EXTUSER file beyond 255 conferences. The file EXTADJ11.ZIP
also contains notes for third-party developers on how to access extended
conferences over #255.
Added a check for SECURITY LEVEL specific display files and menus. All
text file displays now check for the SECURITY LEVEL in the first three
letters of the filename. For example:
PROMENUG ;default graphics menu
015MENUG ;graphics menu for security level 15
100MENU.NOR ;non-graphic menu for security level 100 and
;.NOR language
Added 'A' option to the 'Echomail in conference' prompt in PROSM. This
option forces all messages to '(ECHO)' status without prompting the
user.
Added 'A' option to the 'Make all messages private' prompt in PROSM.
This new option disables all PRIVATE messages, making the conference
entirely PUBLIC.
Added a new system of quick file location. See BLTLIST.DOC and
BLDLIST.EXE for details.
New "Optional Features" screen in CONFIG program replaces environment
variables for control of the following features:
Insert "Uploaded by:" for all uploads?
Insert blank line after all uploads?
Expand macros in message texts?
Display users CITY in message headers?
New "arrange conferences" function in PROSM. This function will allow
you to completely redefine the order of conferences, as well as totally
delete CONFINFO entries. It's not finished yet, but I'm interested in
your feedback on how it addresses the problems with thousands of
conferences.
Added an optional "upload duplication check" file, PRODUP. If this file
is present in the ProDoor directory, it will be used as a list of all
additional directories to check during uploading to prevent filename
duplication. The format is the same as your DLPATH.LST file (one
directory per line).
Added new PROTRNS(.LNG) output message translation file. This file can
be used to change any prompt or message in prodoor. See PROTRNS.DOC for
an explanation of the new "output translation" system in prodoor 3.2
betas.
Added new upload/download ratio system.
See the new data file PRORATIO for file format details.
Two new messages are possible:
Download file ratio exceeded! Please upload!
Download byte ratio exceeded! Please upload!
Changed "door # to open" prompt to allow door NAMES in addition to door
numbers.
Added "%1" to PROSM command line in CONFIG.BAT. This allows you to
use the format
CONFIG /PACK
to perform an event-based EXTUSER pack function.
Added /PACK option to PROSM to allow unattended packing of the EXTUSER
file.
Added SYSOP-only display of message sender userlevels.
Added a caller log entry when a caller is auto-registered into a private
conference via the "minimum security to auto-register" setting. The
translation is:
Auto Register: @INCONF@
Added a check for carrier loss immediately after a transfer to insure
that the modem is placed off-hook without delay.
Added a check in the INSTALL procedure to verify that the main board
"doors listing" and "doors menu" filenames have been entered through
PCBSETUP.
Added a check to allow upload operation when a proper UPSEC file does
not exist.
Added a check to verify that the receiver of a new message is a member
of the current conference.
Added a new caller log entry when attempting to access a conference
number higher than that allowed by current EXTUSER file allocation:
Error: EXTUSER file not allocated for conferences over ($5W$)!
If you get this message you need to run EXTADJ to increase the
conference allocation in your EXTUSER file.
Added a new environment to control data file access under large
networks. When present the statement
SET RETRY_COUNT=10
will cause the Pro* programs to retry failed file opens the specified
number of times before signalling a fatal error. The default retry
count is 5.
Added a new prompt under (F)ind-user to allow conference memberships to
be altered.
Added additional COM port definitions:
Channel I/O Port Interrupt
COM1 $3F8 4
COM2 $2F8 3
COM3 $3E8 4
COM4 $2E8 3
COM5 undefined (anybody know what DSZ
COM6 undefined does with these two?)
COM7 $2E8 5
COM8 $3E8 5
These definitions should be compatible with recent versions of DSZ,
eliminating the need for SET COMBASE and COMIRQ on systems using these
common COM ports.
Added additional error checking in download directory specifications.
Added additional logic to bypass new bulliten scan when joining a new
conference which uses the same bulletin list as the current conference.
Added an error check for missing or invalid playpen/scratch directories.
This prevents erroneous door operation under some networks which refuse
to create scratch directories.
Added dynamic allocation logic to further reduced memory needs during
upload posting.
Added logic in PROFREE file processing to allow pathname specifications.
This allows entries like:
FILE.ZIP ;this file is free, regardless of directory
D:\UTIL\*.* ;all files in D:\UTIL are free
Added logic in PROSM's PACK function to remove faulty EXTUSER pointers
within the USERS file. This will prevent the "Attempting to recover
..." message once you PACK the EXTUSER file.
Added logic to PgUp key to properly display conference registrations
when more than 70 conferences are defined. Pressing PgUp multiple times
will scroll through all available conferences.
Added logic to allow command stacking at any "More:" prompt. For example,
the response
N J 60
at most any 'More' prompt will stop the current listing and then perform
the 'J 60' command.
Added logic to check for the command translation file PROXENTR[.lng] at
the "message entry command" prompt.
Added logic to consult PCBNDX files for [find user] function in PROSM's
extended user editor, resulting is MUCH faster operation.
Added logic to create the special ENDPCB file if a caller logs off
inside prodoor with the ALT-X flag pending. See PROLON.NEW for details
on how this makes the ALT-X function possible in spite of the use of
PCBSETUP's "exit to dos after each call" option.
Added logic to force conference NEWS display when the user's last-read
pointer is 0.
Added logic to force the name of conference 0 to be "Main Board". This
is required because PCBOARD 14.x rejects anything else as an invalid
CNAMES file format.
Added logic to handle lower case conversion of some foreign language
characters within user names.
Added logic to help in writing new language translations. When you are
running in an alternate language, AND you use ALT-F or have the
environment
SET PRODEBUG=ON
active, any message that can be translated, but that is NOT matched by
your translation file, will be output with "{....}" added so you can see
exactly what still needs translation.
Added logic to preserve original colors after a "more" prompt, provided
those colors where generated with $...$ macros.
Added logic to recognize the "disable disk free space check" option from
PCBSETUP. When this option is active, ProDoor will assume that
sufficient disk space is always available.
Added logic to scan actual bulletin files for "bulletin updated since
last call" message on joining a conference.
Added new "Earned K bytes" edit prompt in (F)ind-user and F6(update)
functions.
Added new "Max. level to auto-register" in conference definitions. If
non-0, this entry provides an upper limit on security levels that may
automatically enter private conferences. NOTE: other third-party
utilities (MegaMail, MarkMail, NetMail, etc.) will not automatically
recognize this limit, so use it with caution until new versions are
available to support it.
Added new $ macro to display the contents of a text file. The format
is:
$DISP-d:\path\filename$
This can be used in output translations (via PROTRNS) and in other
display files. For security reasons, it is ignored in the message
bases. The FSEC file is also checked before any file is displayed.
Added new $CONFNUM$ macro to return the current conference number.
Added new $NOMACS$ macro. If this macro appears on a line by itself,
all macro expansion is disabled for the remainder of the current display
file. A second line with $NOMACS$ will toggle macros back on again.
Added new $lastmsgno$ macro to return last message number in current
conference.
Added new (J L)ocate-conference command. This command allows a keyword
search of the CNFN file to locate a particular conference name or topic.
Added new (P)rotect command at Message Entry Command prompt. This
function toggles the RECEIVER ONLY protection status off and on.
Added new F8 [global] function in conference definitions editor. This
function will copy the current field value to the corresponding field in
ALL conferences. It can be used to globally assign a different upload
directory, for example.
Added new RESET command to directly reset the last-read pointer in the
current conference. Format is RESET <n>; you will be prompted for the
message number if none is stacked.
Added new code to automatically detect and enable 16550AN chips when
present.
Added new logic to allow PROSM to access USERS records that do not have
corresponding EXTUSER file entries. Previous versions were unable to
access these records.
Added new macro:
$IFMEMBER-nnn$
which returns YES or NO if a user is a member of the specified
conference number.
Added new macro:
$PLAY$
which returns the PLAYPEN directory name for the current node. This can
be used with DSZ and other upload protocols to restrict received files
to the playpen directory (re: telemate bug causing DSZ to access A: or
B: during upload).
Added new security code in PROSM and PRODOOR to control the minimum
security level required to perform a "public" uploads. Users with lower
levels who are allowed to upload will have all uploads posted as
"private".
Added the following new macros:
$RED$ ;standard ANSI color codes - RED
$GREEN$ ;GREEN text
$YELLOW$ ;YELLOW text
$BLUE$ ;BLUE text
$MAGENTA$ ;MAGENTA text
$CYAN$ ;CYAN text
$WHITE$ ;WHITE text
$GRAY$ ;GRAY text
$DEFAULT$ ;the "default color" according to PCBOARD.DAT
$YES$ ;the word "YES" aids in translation
$NO$ ;the word "NO"
$NONSTOP$ ;display in non-stop mode
$PAUSE$ ;cancel non-stop and prompt 'press enter to continue'
$CLS$ ;clear screen
$CLREOL$ ;clear to end of line
$LASTMSGNO$ ;high message number in current conference
$MSGCOUNT$ ;active message count in current conference
Brought back the PROUSER display file and associated logic. PLEASE
ERASE YOUR 'PROUSER' FILE IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND OR DESIRE THIS OPTION
IN YOUR SYSTEM!
Changed "earned K bytes" logic to use up the "earned" bytes BEFORE
dipping into the free daily limit supplied by pcboard.
Changed "hotkey" prompt to use ANSI codes to reposition cursor instead
of backspace codes, since some TERM programs erase while they backspace.
Changed (E)nter, (C)omment and (Q)uick commands to return to main
command prompt if they were not called from the read mail prompt.
Changed (H)otkey command to (HO)tkey so (H) can be (H)ELP.
Changed (J S)tatus command to NOT scan the actual message files. This
again makes the function useful for quickly checking on which
conferences are available, and what the last-read pointers are. The (J
N)ew and (J Y)our functions continue to scan the actual message files
for more correct information.
Changed (RE)ply to act like (REPLY) when there is no "current message"
available for a reply.
Changed PROSM command line format to require the directory location of
your PCBOARD.DAT file instead of the full pathname to the USERS file.
This allows the utility to correctly identify the proper CNAMES and
PCBNDX file locations. PLEASE UPDATE YOUR 'CONFIG.BAT' file with this
change.
Changed PROSM to automatically reduce number of INDEX blocks in a
conference definition that has over 64K bytes allocated to the index
file.
Changed message taglines to use "■ Via" instead of "* Via".
Changes on OPEN command logic to operate correctly when door scripts are
not in the pcboard "system" directory.
Corrected screen display when the ALT-I function is used in the visual
edit function. Note: if you want to cancel an active ALT-I function,
all you have to do is press ALT-I a second time!
Deleted the "minimum/maximum security to auto-register" prompts from
PROSM's conference definition screen on PUBLIC conferences, since these
entries only apply to private conferences. This should reduce confusion
over what these entries do.
Eliminated automatic CNAMES update after renumbering conferences; please
use the F10 [update CNAMES] menu selection under the "Edit Extended
Conference Data" function.
Found and removed a hardcoded limit of 8000 user records.
Implemented @numcalls@ variable.
Implemented F2 (lockout) sysop key to change the current user's security
level to 0.
Implemented F6 (update) sysop key to activate an online user record
update.
Internal changes to better handle large disk partitions.
Introduced two new (optional) display files: The file PROULM is now
displayed immediately before UPLOADS are processed. The file PRODLM is
likewise displayed just beore DOWNLOADS are processed. Use these files
to give your users and reminders or warnings that you see as
appropriate.
Made 'press ENTER to continue' logic a little bit smarter.
NOTE: Command translation files have been renamed. Please verify that
you have the proper file names.
PROMAIN.XLT is renamed to PROXMAIN (.LNG optional)
PROMAIL.XLT is renamed to PROXMAIL (.LNG optional)
Note: Do not use semicolons ";" in your command translation files!
Please use SPACES instead. This is required because recent betas allow
COMMENTS on the end of all lines. Anything following a semicolon is
ignored because it is taken as a comment.
Re-enabled the (F)ind-user function for user records other than #1.
Instead of limiting access to this function, it now refuses to work on
users with security levels that are now less than the current users
level. Of course, the function is also restricted to sysop records with
security 100 and greater.
Removed (U)ploads option from directory scanning when private uploads
are in effect.
Speeded hotkey response from 1 second to 3/4 second.
The 'scan for personal mail' prompt is now bypassed if the user appends
'Q' or 'NS' to the join command.
The (J)oin command now prompts the user for scanning of personal mail.
If the user says YES, a (Q Y) scan is automatically performed. This
prompt is turned off by PCBSETUP's "disable message scan prompt" option.
The (J)oin command will now match a conference if the first few letters
are given followed by a '*'. For example,
J SU*
will join the first conference starting with "SU".
The ALT-F/PRODEBUG feature to aid in language translation was
accidentally being activated even when an alternate language was not
specified.
The new bulletin scans are now disabled when the quick logon or quick
join options are used.
Updated PROSM utility in configuration editor to list "time factors" and
"byte factors" ONLY on those functions that actually use the factors.
Updated PROXZIP module to prevent a user from adding too many files to a
scratch zipfile.
Upload directory space reported to users is now reduced by the specified
"minimum K bytes free to allow uploading" value from PCBSETUP. This
gives users an idea of how much of the total space is actually allocated
for uploads.
When a user's time left is < 5 minutes, the DOWN ARROW function now
subtracts by 1 instead of by 5.
When attempting a duplicate upload, the message " - Ok" has been changed
to " - Duplicate" for better clarity.