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Text File | 1991-05-22 | 23KB | 460 lines

┬─┬─────┐ │ │ │ │ ├───┬─┘ ┌┬──┐ ┬┬─┐ ┌┬──┐ ┌┬──┐ ┌┬──┐ ┌┬─┬─┐ ┌┬─┬─┐ (tm) │ │ │ ││ │ │├─┴┐ ││ │ ││ ││ │ ││ │ │ ││ │ │ ┴─┴ ┴── └┴──┘ ┴┴──┘ └┴──┘ └┴──┘ └┴──┘ ┴┴ ┴ ┴ ┴┴ ┴ ┴ The ultimate tool for unattended ┌──┬┐ ┌┐ BBS communications. ──┤│ ││ └──┴┘ o └┘ ------------------------------------------------------------- This document is designed to assist experienced Robocomm users in coming up to speed with the new version quickly. The following is a list of new and enhanced features in Robocomm version 3.1: -------------------------------------------------------------- o Added a configuration option to the "General" configuration screen that controls Robocomm's behavior when it connects with a BBS at a speed slower than is configured on the BBS screen. If "Allow connects at lower speed" is set to NO then Robocomm will hang up if it connects at a speed slower than it expected. The default for this setting is YES. NOTE: "CONNECT 9600" (and above) messages are accepted whenever the configured speed for the BBS is set at 9600, 19200 or 38400. NOTE: For this option to work, your modem must be configured to report the connect speed as part of its CONNECT message. o Added a configuration option to the "General" configuration menu that controls the time stamp that is applied to the files Robocomm downloads using its internal protocols. IF "Keep BBS file's time stamp" is set to YES then the file on your disk will have the same time/date stamp as the file on the BBS. If it's set to NO, then Robocomm will apply the current system date/time to the file. o Added "Filter Words" menu option to the configuration menu. You can now enter up to 10 words which will be compared against new file listings as they are imported. Any file which contains one or more of the filter words in its file name and/or description will be bypassed, rather than imported. For example, to get rid of GIFs in your file listings, specify .GIF (note the period) as a filter word. If you're not interested in Windows related files, then you might enter words such as WINDOWS and WIN 3.0 to the list. This feature uses a straight text comparison, no wildcard expansion is supported. o Added "Preference Words" menu option to the configuration menu. When Robocomm imports files listings, any file which contains a preference word in its name or description will automatically be tagged with "Keep" status. o Changed status log entries to indicate preference files and filtered out files when parsing new files lists. o Added routine to allow updating of help screens through automatic upgrade procedures. o Fixed cursor weirdness experienced on some systems when shelling to DOS. o Enabled the XON-XOFF handshaking option. o Fixed problem where you could not do a YMODEM-G download when downloading mail from a QWK door. o Changed the default on capture commands to APPEND mode instead of overwrite mode. o Fixed QWK packet download routines to alleviate the erratic behavior experienced by some users on the "Do you want to receive this packet" prompt. o Modified online "V" message to display the registered user's name. o Changed verbose log routine so Robocomm status messages will always appear by themselves on a line. o Added a 3 second "Clearing" period after any unsuccessful dial to alleviate "failed call" problems caused by USR Dual Standard modems which send a NO CARRIER after sending a BUSY. o Fixed problem in the qmail download routines where the "No packet to receive" message would be repeated many times. o Modified the comm routines to allow non-standard IRQ and base addresses for com 3 and 4. -------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a list of new and enhanced features in Robocomm version 3.0: ------------------------------------------------------------- o Changed Robo's internal Ymodem protocol to Ymodem Batch (not Xmodem-1K) which is compatible with PCBoard's Ymodem. If you have been using Ymodem (pretty unlikely, eh?) then make sure you change the protocol in PCBoard. o Added ZMODEM and YMODEM-G as internal file transfer protocols. o 16550 UART FIFO buffer support - automatically detected and used when appropriate. o 4800 baud now supported. o Greatly improved response time while performing automated operations. o Internal ANSI driver added. Ansi graphics can be on for the entire agenda. Robo displays them properly in its agenda and ANSI terminal screens. ANSI codes are stripped out from prompt processing and log files. No ANSI driver is required in your CONFIG.SYS file. o Created the following RPD files: 145&Q40.RPD -- Qmail 4.0 - No extended prompts needed 145&MARK.RPD -- All versions of MarkMail 145&PRO.RPD -- ProDoor DEFAULT.RPD -- The prompts used when a new system is added. Same as 145&Q40.RPD. Please step through all of your BBS systems and import one of these files for each of your systems that doesn't require a cutomized prompt set. o Added two new command line options. Robocomm can now be started as follows to configure your system for minimum memory requirements or maximum operation speeed: Typing "ROBOCOMM SMALL" at the dos prompt sets Robo in its minimum memory usage configuration. If you have less than or approximately 512K free, use this option. Typing "ROBOCOMM FAST" sets Robo up to run as quickly as possible. Don't use this option unless you have at least 512K free. Probably o Added the ability for Robocomm to use expanded memory for its index file buffers. If you have at least 64K of expanded memory available you can specify a ROBO environment variable as follows: SET ROBO=Ennn Example: ROBO=E128 to use 128K. Where nnn is the amount of expanded memory to use for index file buffering. Robocomm's performance is significantly enhanced by using expanded memory for index file buffers. Be aware that any EMS allocated for index buffers will not be available for Robocomm swapping routines. The minimum allowable value is 64K and the maximum is 1024K. o Implemented a "Keep" flag in the new files directory. "Keep" status can be toggled from within the file directory using the "K" key. The "Z"ap command was modified so that it deletes all file listings not marked as "Keep." Keep status is marked by a diamond on the file line in the directory and also by the word "Keep" in the file status area. o Implemented tagging of files in the "New files" directory. Use the spacebar to tag/untag files. If you tag files in the new files directory, Robo will ask for permission to automatically create download agenda items for all the tagged files when you select the "D" command on the agenda screen. You may also tag files when zoomed to the new files dir via the F10 key. o Files to be uploaded may now be tagged with the SPACEBAR in the downloads directory. When used in conjunction with tagging of BBS systems to upload to, you can make a whole mess of agenda items in a hurry now. To use this feature, press F10 when prompted for an upload file name, then tag any files you want to upload. Press Enter and you will be returned to the agenda screen to specify the BBS system(s) to upload to. If you want, you can press F10 at the BBS prompt to tag one or more BBS systems to upload to. o Added a "PCBoard File Directory to Update on Downloads" configuration option, which is primarily intended for Sysops who grab files for their BBS during their event. This will append a standard-format PCBoard file listing entry to the file name you specify after every download, using the description from your "New Files" directory. o Added the /I command line switch. You can now import a PCB format file list into Robocomm's downloads listing using this command line switch. For example, the event on my BBS now does this every night: ROBOCOMM /IJ:\PCB\MAIN\DIR0 This scans through the uploads listing for Group One and adds any files uploaded by callers to my Robocomm downloads list. This makes it easy for me to test and view the new files and also to upload them to other BBS systems later. o Added a 5 second confirmation sequence when a loss of CD is detected. This is mostly for high speed modems that don't report CD properly until a few seconds after negotiating the connection parameters. o Added two new tagging commands to the file directories. The + key will TAG a file and flag it with keep status. The - key will remove a tag and remove the keep flag. o Increased the maximum number of descriptions lines that will be imported per file to 25. o Changed the PCB Mail reading menu option so that it runs your configured compressed file viewing utilty against the selected file. If the batch file READPCB.BAT exists in your Robocomm directory, it will be used instead. o The "Z" command in the file directories now operates differently. All files not marked keep will be marked DELETED. If you want to remove them from the list immediately, you will need to use the "C" command after the "Z" process has completed. o NOTE: WITH THE ADVENT OF ROBOCOMM'S NEW FILE FORMATS IT IS NOW IMPOSSIBLE TO RUN TWO OR MORE PEOPLE SHARING SOME OF THE DATABASES (Several systems were developed using batch files to do this) DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS ANY MORE. YOU WILL CORRUPT THE ROBOCOMM.DBV FILE AND YOU WILL HAVE TO USE THIS NEW COMMAND LINE SWITCH TO FIX THINGS: ROBOCOMM /KILLDBV This switch will erase all references to the corrupted DBV file from robocomm's data files and also delete the corrupted DBV file. You will loose all BBS statistics and extended file descriptions when you use this switch! o Added a "Remain online" function. During agenda execution, you can press F10 to toggle the remain online status on and off. When on, Robocomm will wait until it has attempted to complete all of its agenda items, then it will jump to terminal mode. If you don't show up withing 1 minute, it will jump out automatically, log off and move on to the next BBS. NOTE: IF you use this option on a BBS accessed through PC Pursuit, make sure that you go to a main board or mail door command prompt and press Alt-X to exit terminal mode when you are done with the BBS. Let Robo issue the "G" or "BYE" for you so it doesn't get lost if the PC Pursuit DISCONNECT message scrolls by while you are in terminal mode. o Greatly improved the internal file listing utility. Specify INTERNAL on the general configuration screen under file viewing utility to use it. o The general configuration screen now contains an option for setting the personality of the sounds made by Robo. Toggle the settings between SILENT, SUBTLE and PUSHY. o Changed file import routines so that all descrtion text after and including the words UPLOADED BY in a description is filtered out. o The "I" import routine now works in either the downloads or the newfiles directories. When importing into the new files directory, a file will be addedd if it doesn't already exist for the specified BBS in the downloads directory AND if it doesn't exist for any BBS in the downloads directory. When importing into the downloads directory, the file will be added as long as it doesn't already exist for any BBS in the downloads directory. o Added a PCBoard format file output routine that will operate on all tagged files if any are present in the current directory. If no files are tagged then the currently highlighted file is written. A window will pop up asking for the output file name. You can send the output to your printer by overriding the default file with PRN. This option is activated with the "W" key in either file directory. o All DBT files used in the system have been replaced with a new type of file called a DBV file. One DBV file is used to hold BBS statistics as well as upload and download file descriptions. The technoloy employs "variable length fields." What this means for you is that you should see substantial speed increases in file clean ups, and the size of the DBV file will be significantly smaller and will not continue to grow upon your hard disk as more files are added. o Robo will now respond "N" to the over-write query from PCBoard when a sysop tries to upload a duplicate file. Also, an appropriate log notation is made. o Modified conference changing routines. Robo will now recognize PCBoard 14.5's default main board and conference command prompts even if the prompts are set up incorrectly in the BBS's prompt defintion. Also, conferences may now be specified by name or by number throughout the program. o Significantly updated the ANSI terminal mode interface. See F1 help screen for details. o You can now import file listings into both the newfiles and downloaded files databases. o Implemented ability to shell to a batch file after all file downloads - to insert a special comment, do an immediate virus scan, etc. The batch file is called FIXFILE.BAT. The default looks like this: pkzip -z %1 <comment.txt If you use the default comment.frm file, which looks like this: ═════════════════════════╡ Robocomm Download Information ╞═════════════════════ Downloaded By: {USER} Downloaded from: {ID} - {BBS} File name on BBS: {FILE} Download date: {DATE} ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── {DESCRIPTION} ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Robocomm will do a little merge for you when it creates the comment.txt -- You can modify the file however you like. Robo will replace appropriate text in the curly braces. o Enabled the "Run Program" agenda item. With it, you can tell Robo to execute an outside program while still connected to the BBS. You can include any necessary command line parameters in the space provided. The field scolls to allow up to 100 characters to be input. Robo can execute .COM, .EXE or .BAT files (also .BTM if you use 4DOS). Robo will free up as much RAM as possible for the "spawned" process. Also, your called program will find the following environment variables waiting for it in an expanded _copy_ of the environment that existed before Robo started: BBS=<The ID of the currently connected BBS> BAUD=<The baud rate of the connection> DOW=<The day of week, i.e. MONDAY, TUESDAY, etc..> MAILUP=<Your REP Directory> MAILDOWN=<Your QWK Directory> FILEUP=<Your Uploads Directory> FILEDOWN=<Your Downloads directory> NOTE: Obviously, the process you initiate with this agenda item needs to return control back to DOS so that Robo can regain control. It's up to the BBS to hang up on you if you get hung up out in DOS during the agenda. o When editing an agenda, the Enter and Backspace keys will now jump you to the next/previous BBS system in the agenda. o Changed "jump to terminal" agenda aitem so that if the warning siren is not answered within 60 seconds, Robo will return to the agenda and attempt to complete it. o Totally recoded the PC-Pursuit dialing routines. All PC Pursuit systems are now grouped together, and are accessed through a single call to the indial. The Pursuit Session is executed once all non-pursuit systems have been removed from the dialing queue. Robo now bounces between the various outdial citys on your agenda without the need to hang up and re-dial the indial for each BBS. These routines also act the same way as the normal dialing routines, in that robo will honor the "number of dials before cycling" configuration option, as well as the maximum redials setting. "Failed Calls" (except when first dialing the indial) are not tracked. o Added ability to edit file descriptions from the file directory screens. Press "E" with the file highlighted in either file directory to edit the listing. Once in the editor, Ctrl-Enter will save and Esc will abort. o You can now specify the mail doors names or a numbers on the BBS directory screen. o You can still use DSZ for auto-downloads in terminal mode if you want. To do this, copy your ROBORZ.BAT file to a file called ROBOAUTO.BAT and place it in your Robo directory. Make sure that DSZ and your Robocomm directory are in your path! o Added a "# of failed calls to allow" option to which will remove a BBS from the agenda if the specified number of NO CARRIER or TIMEOUT dial attempts are made. o Added a display of total, available and used memory to the RoboStatus window. o Command line switches can now be specified in any order. Added a switches help screen. Look at it with: Robocomm /? o Added new command line parameter /O which causes robo to put the modem off-hook before quitting to DOS. This option will probably only be useful for Sysops who are running Robocomm during an event. o Added support to specify the language # to use at login. Many BBS systems are now offering "Standard" prompts as one of their langauge choices at login. Robo will now select the language you want it to use when it is asked by the BBS. o Changed format of the log entries. All now include date and time stamps. o You can now schedule as many DOWNLOAD mail agenda items as you like in your agenda for a BBS. NOTE: Robocomm will only extract NEWFILES.DAT from the last QWK packet downloaded. If you will be doing multiple downloads in the mail door and want to make sure that Robo gets all the new files, you should add a New Files Scan agenda item as well. o Fixed incompatibilities with some HIMEM drivers. Particularly with Windows 3.0. o Added the ability to send a Password to open a door on the "Mail Run" agenda item. If the network mail door requires a password, you can now enter it as you create the MAIL RUN agenda item. o NEW AGENDA ITEM - The "P" command on the agenda screen will create a "Download PCBoard Mail" agenda item. Robo will issue a R;A;Z command from the main board on PCBoard 14.5 systems only. This command translates to: "Read new messages in all SELECTed conferences, zip up the resultant CAP file and download it." Robo will use your configured "download file" protocol to do the transfer. The packet will be re-named as it is downloaded to <BBSID>.PCB and will be placed in your configured QWK directory. Robo renumbers these PCB packets in the same way as QWK packets. o Added awareness of the "Do you wish to Re-Receive your previous packet question" in the NetMail door. The answer will always be "N". If you need to re-receive a packet, you will need to do it manually.