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Telix 3 Tools - (C) 1988 Robert Hoffmann 76-53 271 Street New Hyde Park, NY 11040 Note: this file is not set up in pages. You may wish to run it through a word processor and page it out before printing it. The author can be contacted by mail, or via the White Tiger PCBoard BBS at 1-718-962-2628 (PCPursuit via 212 node). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The legalities -------------- As far as I know, this set of programs does exactly what I claim it will do. However, I am definitely NOT guaranteeing that. You are using the package entirely at your own risk. If it does cause problems that appear to be program related, contact me at the BBS number above. Please cage and forward any error messages or other manifestations of the errors. My address is supplied at the beginning and end of this document. This is NOT a free, or public domain, package. This is shareware. In order for you to be using the package legally, you must register the program with me. The registration details are explained later in this document. No changes, revisions, deletions, or additions to this package may be made by anyone but the author. If you have an idea on how I can make this package better, write me. Don't patch files. I will not be responsible for, nor can I support, other people's modifications. Third-party shareware distributors (BBSes, user groups, etc.) may distribute this package freely, as long as they do not charge a fee which is more than their cost of distribution. The author is the only person authorized to make a profit on this package. I retain all copyrights to this program. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The package ----------- ...consists of five short executable programs. They are: T3DARWIN.EXE - program to adapt Darwin BBS lists to Telix 3.xx. T3EDIT.EXE - program to edit Telix 3.xx dialing directories. T3GLOBAL.EXE - program to globally change all entries in a Telix 3.xx dialing directory. T3PRINT.EXE - program to print some or all of the data in a Telix 3.xx dialing directory. T3SORT.EXE - program to sort a Telix 3.xx dialing directory on one of several key fields. There should also be two other files in the package: T3TOOLS.DOC - which you are now reading. $TOC - which is a PKUNPAK (tm) view of the Telix 3 Tools package. If you suspect you have a corrupted (or illegally modified) archive, run PKUNPAK -v and save the output. Then send me both your output and $TOC. I can use the two files to verify your copy of the package. It's designed for IBM PC's and close compatibles. It uses the DOS and CRT units of Borland's Turbo Pascal 5.0 (tm). If your computer cannot run TP5 programs, these won't work, either. Otherwise, you should have no problems. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assumption ---------- If you do not have Telix 3.00, 3.10, or 3.11 (tm) (and if you have any, it should be version 3.11), this package is useless to you. Therefore, I am going to assume you have Telix 3.xx, and know a little about it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usage ----- I have tried to make the programs as self-documenting as possible. Entering the program name alone (or with only the /H switch) on the command line will give you a short help screen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Syntax InFile -- the input file for that program. OutFile -- the output file for that program. [stuff] -- bracketed selections are optional. stuff -- non-bracketed selections MUST be provided or the program will abort. <key> -- the keyboard keys to hit when needed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. T3PRINT Command line: T3PRINT [/op] InFile [OutFile] [/op] - A slash, followed by up to five option letters from the following list: [DEFAULT: Standard data shown. See 'OutFile' below for what is displayed and its format] H - show help screen [must be only option, remainder of command line is ignored]. A - use all extra options [must be only option]. C - show date of last call and number of calls. P - show passwords. This is optional so that you don't accidentally give all your passwords to your best friend when you give him/her your list of numbers. T - show the settings for the five (or four in Telix 3.00) toggle switches. The output in this column is a 10-character string. Decoding the toggle string: Option: 1 2 3 4 5 True: HiDlNoLfFd False: --BsDe--Hd 1 - Strip High Bit: 'Hi' means high-bit stripping is on. '--' means it's off (for Telix 3.00 directories, this should always be off). 2 - BS key sends: 'Dl' means Delete (ASCII 127). 'Bs' means Backspace (ASCII 8). 3 - BS translation: 'No' means non-destructive (cursor left), 'De' means destructive backspace (backspace key). 4 - Add line feeds: 'Lf' means line feeds are added. '--' means they're not. 5 - Local echo: 'Fd' means Full Duplex (local echo off). 'Hd' means Half Duplex (local echo on). S - show linked script names for each BBS. M - show the default terminal type for each BBS. InFile - the Telix 3.xx dialing directory you want printed. InFile must exist, and exactly as shown. If you are running T3PRINT from a different directory than the .FON file, specify a full enough pathname for the program to find it. If the dialing directory cannot be found, the program will abort. [OutFile] - the file which will receive the list. If not specified, it will be 'standard output' -- which means the output could be redirected to another program. For example, you could use Vern Buerg's LIST (tm) to view the output as part of a pipe: T3PRINT /A TELIX.FON | LIST /S would allow you to see a full printout of TELIX.FON without permanently tying up disk space. If OutFile is a disk file, and it exists, it will be appended to. Otherwise, it will be created (if possible). The output file format, without any options, shows the dialing directory entry number, name, phone number, baud, data bits, parity, stop bits, default transfer protocol, and dialing prefix across the page from left to right. The additional fields are added from left to right in the order shown above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. T3SORT Command line: T3SORT [/op] InFile [OutFile] [/op] - A slash, followed by up to two option letters from the following list: [DEFAULT: /A] H - show help screen [must be only option, remainder of command line is ignored]. A - sort the InFile by BBS name, in A-to-Z (ascending) order. C - sort the InFile by last call date, most recent going first and the ones you've never called going last. The secondary sort key is the total calls field. D - sort the InFile by BBS name, in Z-to-A (descending) order. L - sort the InFile by the BBS's 7-digit local number, in ascending order. The program skips embedded long distance prefixes. For this option to work correctly, numbers outside your area code must start with the sequence '1-xxx' (where xxx is the other area code) or a long distance prefix. N - sort the InFile by the Phone Number field. This will sort based on whatever the first character of the phone number is. T - sort the InFile by the total number of calls made, in descending order. The secondary sort key is the BBS Name field. F - the OutFile will be overwritten without confirmation if you use this switch. If you leave this out, and the OutFile exists, you will be asked at run-time to confirm that you really do want to do this. If you choose not to overwrite the OutFile, you can specify another filename -- which will also be checked and verified if necessary. InFile - the Telix 3.xx dialing directory you are sorting. See the 'InFile' entry under 'T3PRINT' above for pathname rules. [OutFile] - the sorted Telix 3.xx dialing directory you are creating. If an OutFile is not specified, the InFile will also be the OutFile. See the 'F' switch above for how the OutFile is handled if it already exists. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. T3EDIT Command line: T3EDIT [/H] [/F] InFile [OutFile] [/H] - show help screen. Do not enter any other command line data, as it is ignored. [/F] - force OutFile to be overwritten regardless of its prior existence. InFile - the Telix 3.xx dialing directory you are editing. See the 'InFile' entry under 'T3PRINT' above for pathname rules. For this program, however, a non-existent InFile yields a one-blank-entry OutFile. This allows you to create new dialing directories with T3EDIT. [OutFile] - the edited Telix 3.xx dialing directory. If OutFile is not specified, it is assumed to be InFile. If OutFile already exists, and you don't force an overwrite with /F, you will be asked to confirm that you really wanted to do that. What to do when the program is running: The menu and display is all on one screen. The top line shows the number of records in the file, as well as the number of the current record. All commands and menu entries are one-key entries. That's why the menu letters down the left side of the screen jump around a bit -- the commands are designed to be as obvious as possible. Requests for data or keystrokes are displayed on line 24 of your screen (one line above the bottom of a CGA/MDA screen). The valid choices for T3EDIT are the letters A to S, X to Z, and the <#> key: [NOTE 1: I have not been able to design a good interactive edit in Pascal. Therefore, you'll have to completely re-type any entries that require text. Sorry about that, Chief (oops). I hope to have this fixed for future Telix Tools releases.] [NOTE 2: Items A to J, and the <#> key, can be aborted by pressing the <ENTER> key immediately when asked for data on line 24. The field will then be left unchanged.] [NOTE 3: You will be asked to confirm that you want to leave no matter which flavor of exit command you use. This is for your own protection. Confirmation prompts take <Y> or <N> only.] <A> - BBS Name: You then type in the new name for this BBS. There is a 25-character limit. - Number: You then type in the phone number. You can enter long distance prefixes and postfixes, if you wish. There is a 17- character limit. <C> - Settings: You'll see a menu across line 24. Unfortunately, I had to abbreviate baud rates due to space limitations. From left to right they are: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200 baud. Hit the number key corresponding to the baud rate desired. Then key in the data, parity, and stop bit information (<8><N><1>, for example). <D> - Password: You then type in a new 14-character-or-less password. <E> - Script: You then type in a new 12-character-or-less logon script name. <F> - Last Call: You then type in the date of your last call. It MUST be in the format 'MM/DD/YY' (or whatever order you use). There must be numbers in positions 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 in the 8-character field. <G> - Total Calls: Enter the number of calls made. <H> - Terminal: Select the terminal type from the menu on line 24. - Protocol: Enter one character for your default protocol. The character is not checked as I don't know your external protocol situation. <J> - Dialing Pre: Enter a number from 1 to 3 for the dialing prefix you are using. <K> - Strip HiBit: This is a toggle for the Strip High Bit setting. TRUE means Strip High Bit is ON, FALSE means OFF. <L> - BS/Delete: This is a toggle for the BS Key Sends setting. <M> - BS Trans: This is a toggle for the BS Translation setting. <N> - COMMAND: Next Record: Moves you forward one record in the file. If you're on the final record, you circle around to record #1. <O> - Add LFs: This is a toggle for the Add Line Feeds setting. TRUE means Add Line Feeds is ON, FALSE means OFF. It is the letter <O>, not the numeral <0>. - COMMAND: Previous Record: Moves you back one record in the file. If you're on the first record, you circle back to the last one. <Q> - COMMAND: Quit without changes: Allows you to leave the file unchanged. Use this if you really screw up the works and want to try again. <R> - Duplex: This is a toggle for the Local Echo setting. 'Full' duplex means Local Echo is OFF, 'Half' Duplex means Local Echo is ON. <S> - COMMAND: Save without deleting: Allows you to save the entire file whether or not you have tagged anything for deletion. The delete markers are not saved, so use this only if you're sure you want to keep deleted fields. <X> - COMMAND: Exit and delete: Saves all records except those you mark for deletion (see <Z>). Deleted records cannot be recovered once you end the program. <Y> - COMMAND: Add a record: Appends a blank record to the file, and places you on it for editing. <Z> - COMMAND: Mark for deletion: If FALSE appears here, the record will be kept. If TRUE appears here, and you end the program with the <X> command, this record will be erased. Delete flags are not saved at exit. <#> - COMMAND: Jump to number: You'll be asked to enter the number of the record to move to. An out of range number will be corrected to the nearest end of the file. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. T3GLOBAL Command line: T3GLOBAL [/H | InFile] [/H] - show help screen. Do not include a filename if you are asking for help; it will be ignored. InFile - the Telix 3.xx dialing directory you are updating. See the 'InFile' entry under 'T3PRINT' above for pathname rules. What to do when the program is running: Once the program is going, you get a simple menu screen with lettered choices. Hitting the letter on the keyboard activates a choice. Whatever information you need will be shown on line 24 of your screen (the next-to- last line of a standard CGA/MDA screen). If 'No change' appears next to an entry, that means T3GLOBAL will not change that area of any directory record. If anything else appears, ALL of your directory records will be changed to that setting. If you have set a global change, and you'd like to delete it -- hit the same letter key again. If you are asked for more information, hit <ENTER>. This will (eventually) clear away any errant settings. The valid choices for T3GLOBAL are the letters A through L, and Q: <A> - Line settings: When you hit <A>, a one-line menu pops up on line 24 -- hit the number key indicating the baud rate you wish to change to, or the <ENTER> key to clear a previous setting. If you choose a baud rate, you'll also have to choose global settings for data, parity, and stop bit information. You cannot change the baud rate globally without changing the remaining line setting information. - Call data: This is a toggle between 'No change' and 'To be cleared'. If 'To be cleared' appears here, the date of your last call and the total number of calls made will be erased in every record of your dialing directory. <C> - Password: Similar to , for Password field. <D> - Script: Similar to , for Logon Script field. <E> - Term Type: The menu that comes up on line 24 shows the available terminal types. Hit the number key corresponding to the global terminal type you want, or <ENTER> to reset the field. <F> - Protocol: You then enter one character as your global protocol choice. <ENTER> clears away a prior choice, otherwise the character is not checked as I don't know whether you have any external protocols set up. <G> - Dial Pref: You then enter a number from 1 to 3 as your global dialing prefix, or <ENTER> to reset the field. <H> - Strip Hi: A three-way toggle for the Strip High Bit field. It can say 'No change' (which leaves the field alone), 'forced TRUE' (which sets the field to TRUE for all records), or 'forced FALSE' (which sets the field to FALSE). Hitting the <H> key several times will cycle through the toggle until you reach the one you want. - BS or Del: Similar to <H>, for the BS Key Sends field. <J> - BS Trans: Similar to <H>, for the BS Translation field. <K> - Add LF: Similar to <H>, for the Add Line Feeds field. <M> - Duplex: Similar to <H>, for the Local Echo field. 'Full' Duplex is equivalent to Local Echo OFF, 'Half' Duplex to Local Echo ON. <Q> - COMMAND: Quit: Processes all global changes. There is no confirmation, so check the screen VERY carefully before hitting <Q>uit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. T3DARWIN Command line: T3DARWIN [/H] [/F] InFile OutFile [/H] - show help screen. All other command line information is ignored. [/F] - force OutFile to be overwritten without confirmation. InFile - must be a valid Darwin BBS text file. This program was written based on the format of USBBS54.LST (November, 1988 edition). OutFile - will be a Telix 3.xx dialing directory. If OutFile exists, and you have not specified /F (force) mode, you'll be asked to confirm that you want to overwrite the OutFile, or change the name of the OutFile. What to do when the program is running: Due to the enormous size of the Darwin list, some screening is required to get the dialing directory down to a manageable size. There are three criteria used to screen the list. The program accepts them from standard input, which means you can redirect the input from a text file (it's recommended you use the /F switch so that your redirection script doesn't get loused up). 1. Area code: Enter (one at a time) each area code you want included in the OutFile. Hit <ENTER> on the first request to skip area code processing. 2. State: Enter (one at a time) each 2-letter Post Office state abbreviation you want included in the OutFile. Again, hitting <ENTER> on the first request skips this screening section. 3. BBS Type: Enter (all on one line) the single-letter codes for the BBS types you want included. Hitting <ENTER> on a blank line again skips this section. If you skip all three sections, the program aborts. Otherwise, it will run through the Darwin file, showing you the current line count and current OutFile entry count in the center of the screen. This process will take some time, and if it yields too large of a file, you will be asked to do it again... screening it a little more tightly this time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usage notes ----------- Due to the fact that most of the processing in these programs is done in memory -- and the fact that the data segment of a Turbo Pascal program is limited to 64KB -- the largest dialing directory that Telix Tools can handle is 710 entries. If you have more than that, consider splitting the directory into two or more smaller ones. If enough registered users ask, I'll write a program to do just that. You can abort the programs (using Ctrl-Break or Ctrl-C, whichever usually works with Turbo Pascal programs) at any time before you get a "Writing FILENAME.FON" message without losing any files. Once the program begins writing, however, you have to let it finish... or else the output file WILL be trashed. As always when working with data you consider important, you may wish to backup each dialing directory you process before you start. This is to insure that (1) you don't make a fatal mistake and (2) that I didn't. When you consider that the passwords contained in a Telix dialing directory are almost irreplaceable, you really can't be too safe. If you're using DOS 3.00 or higher, the help screens will begin with a "command line" that shows the actual filename of the program. This way, you can rename your program to something less finger-twisting than my names and still have a sensible help screen. Command-line filename reading began with DOS 3.00. If you have DOS 2.11 or lower, you'll get my name for the program on your help screen instead of yours. That's not my fault... but DOS's. With DOS 4.0x out, it may be time to upgrade. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Registered users ---------------- If you're not yet a registered user of Telix, do that first (the information is in the Telix package). Then, you become registered for the Telix Tools by sending $10.00 to the address shown below. Registered users will receive support as needed, bug fixes as they are released, and notification of major changes in the Telix Tools. At this time, no major changes are planned unless Telix 4.00 comes out. However, your registration will allow you to keep up with the Telix Tools until the next overhaul. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author ------ Robert Hoffmann 76-53 271 Street New Hyde Park NY 11040 White Tiger BBS (my home BBS) 1-718-962-2628 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other products by the author ---------------------------- GupList - a support program for the PCBoard door 'Card Guppies'. It produces a text file (bulletin) after every run of 'Guppies', so that the game's players can check their scores without re-loading the game. TimedAsk - a batch file program, similar to Norton's ASK, which times the user's response and sends default results if there is no response within the desired time. Useful for batch files which run unattended... sometimes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Release history --------------- Version Date What it did ------- ---- ----------- 1.0 11/28/88 First public release. Program and documentation (C) 1988 Robert Hoffmann. Telix 3.11 (and earlier versions) (C) 1988 Exis Inc. and Colin Sampaleanu. Turbo Pascal 5.0 (C) 1983-88 Borland Inc. PKPAK 3.61 (C) 1986-88 PKWare Inc. LIST 6.4A (C) 1983-88 Vernon Buerg. Documentation updated as of Mon 11-28-1988 1:01 pm.