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1991-12-27
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7KB
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141 lines
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The BBS Information Door - (C)Copyright 1991, Brian Pirie (1:163/264)
This is a brief manual describing the process for setting up
and running BID on your BBS system. BID is *very* easy to use,
and there is almost nothing involved in setting it up (thus
the small size of this manual.) Since it is often the most fun
to setup new software by trial and error, feel free to skip
this manual, and jump right in! Do come back to the manual
afterward, though, as there are some elements of BID that
might not be obvious.
┌─ WHAT IS BID? ─┐
└────────────────┘
Welcome to the BBS Information Door - "B.I.D."! This BBS
door is intended to help new users on your BBS get a head start
at BBSing! Most people who are new to BBSing have a great deal of
difficulty learning about how to use BBSes - and will often not
call back simply because they don't know what's available to them
on the BBS. This simple door will introduce new users to BBSing,
teach them about messages, files, doors, and let them know what
they should and shouldn't do on your BBS. The door will also
allow users getting started on BBSes to download some key files,
such as compression utilities, your BBS membership form, etc. for
free (ie, it won't count against their ratio.) You can setup BID
and get it running "as is" in a matter of only a few minutes.
Alternatively, you can customize some or all of the text that BID
displays to users, to make the door specific to your BBS.
Also, you'll be happy to hear that BID is... get this...
ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!
What???? ABSOLOUTELY FREE!!!
Afterall, I didn't write this software in a desperate attempt to
make a few bucks from other sysops who are probably equally poor
as myself. Instead, I wrote the software because I, as I expect
is the case with yourself, really enjoy this fantastic hobby of
electronic communications, and wanted to make my own little
contribution to the hobby. So, if you like this program, or like
my philosophy of REALLY GOOD FREE SOFTWARE, (or even if you
don't), drop me a message and let me know! It would be great to
hear from you!
┌─ SETTING UP BID ─┐
└──────────────────┘
To get BID setup and running on your BBS, you need only
follow these steps:
1.) Simply UnZip BID and place it in the directy you
wish it to run in. This may be either your BBS
system directory, or a seperate sub-directory.
(note that if you use a seperate sub-directory,
you must change into this directory prior to
running BID.) Then add BID to the menu new users
will access it from, and setup your BBS system to
load the door as you would any other door. You
will probably want to do everything you can to
help and encourage new users to use the BID door.
2.) Alter the BBSLIST.TXT file to contain a list of
BBSes in your area, for use by new BBS users.
3.) If you wish to allow users to be able to download
a few files from within the door, you must:
A.) Be sure a copy of DSZ is either in the
BID directory, or somewhere in your
"PATH".
B.) Alter the FILES.BBS file to list the
names and desciptions of the files that
should be available for download. The
user will only be able to download files
that are listed in the FILES.BBS file. If
you wish the user to be able to a file in
another directory other than the BID
directory, simply include the full path
and filename of the file you wish to
allow them to download.
┌─ CUSTOMIZING BID ─┐
└───────────────────┘
You may customize some or all of the information
displayed by the BID system. The main menu can be altered by
editing the files BIDMENU.ASC, BIDMENU.ANS and BIDMENU.AVT. The
text displayed by BID is divided into up to 10 different
sections, each section accessable from the menu by using the
number keys 1-0. Each section is divided up into one or more
individual screens, numbered from 000 to 999. Thus, the filenames
containing this text are formed as follows:
BIDTEXTx.yyy
where x is the section, and yyy is the individual screen. Thus,
the first file displayed would be BIDTEXT0.000, followed by
BIDTEXT0.001, etc. Each of these files may contain from 1-19
lines of text. The rest is up to you!
┌─ A QUICK PLUG FOR OPENDOORS ─┐
└──────────────────────────────┘
BID was written in only a few hours (although the text
BID displays took considerably longer to write), using
"OpenDoors". If you program in Turbo C, Turbo C++ or Boland C++,
and are interested in writing doors or other utility programs
for BBSes, you may request ODOORS*.* from 1:163/264 for the
newest version. OpenDoors automatically handles almost every
aspect of programming doors, and is not only very powerful, but
very easy to use! And, beginning with version 3.00, OpenDoors
also provides you with a complete set of routines for
manipulating BBS system, configuration, user files - plus a full
message base engine! This only scratches the surface of what
OpenDoors actually is - if you want to find out more, pick up a
copy!
┌─ CLOSING WORDS ─┐
└─────────────────┘
Yes! That's all you need to know about BID! Easy, isn't
it? :-) If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about
BID, please feel more than free to get in touch with me at
1:163/264 in FidoNet. Also, special thanks Dennis Matney for his
help in reading through and fixing up the BBS Information text.