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Software Vault: The Diamond Collection
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The Diamond Collection (Software Vault)(Digital Impact).ISO
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cdr37
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nwsf121.zip
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README.TXT
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1995-03-19
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7KB
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203 lines
NEWSFLSH.PPE is a small PPE to diplay a text file containing date
headers and entries for a specified number of days.
Compiled with PPLC v3.0. Requires PCBoard 15.2+ to run.
To start, this PPE is FREEWARE. If you call my BBS:
Blackbeard's BBS
(901) -925-2503 Zoom 14.4 VFP
and Join Conference #5, there is an on-line registration PPE which will
create your free KEY file and Download it. There are no delays in the PPE,
only an UNREGISTERED message in the banner.
This method will also provide me with a way to see how many people
actually decide to use the PPE (or at least test it).
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|NEW ITEMS|
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Language/Security/Graphic specific Header File
Language specific News File
RANDOM color schemes are now more random and less likely to duplicate
colors in the date and separator fields.
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|Intructions|
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Unzip this PPE and accompaning files to the subdirectory of your choice.
NOTE: You may keep your original NEWSFLSH.CFG file, it will work correctly
with this update, but you might want to edit it to add the RANDOM option.
To install this PPE, Just place it in your NEWS file. You do so by adding
the line:
!d:\pcb\ppe\newsflsh\newsflsh.ppe
in your NEWS file, replacing the appropriate drive and path information.
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|Config File|
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Next edit the config file. It must be named NEWSFLSH.CFG and must reside
in the same directory as the PPE. The config file has 4 lines:
-------------- Sample NEWSFLSH.CFG --------------------
NEWZ
120
4A
0F
0C
;NEWSFLSH.CFG file
;Line 1: NEWS file to display.
Files must reside in the same directory as the NEWSFLSH.PPE
;Line 2: Max # of Days to show news entries in news file
;Line 3: Date Heading @X color attribute without @X
;Line 4: Text @X Color Attribute without @X
;Line 5: Separator Bar @X color attribute without @X
;NOTE-placing the word RANDOM in lines 3-5 will generate a different
; color combination for that item each time the PPE is run. I have
; excluded the hardest to read combinations.
---------------End Sample -----------------------------
All blank lines and lines starting with a ';' are considered comments
The only required entry is the name of the news file to display unless
it is entered on the command line (see CMD Line Options)
The rest of the entries will default to the above values if they are
missing.
*Notes- When RANDOM is chosen, text will be be random forground on black
background. Also, with the lifting of the 78 character line limit
for text entries, I recommend only using black background unless
you make sure each line is EXACTLY the same length.
The same colors will not be used for forground and background for any
color attributes and I have removed the hardest color combinations
to read too.
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|News Entry File|
-----------------
The News file entered in the CONFIG file is a plain text file with the
following format
~~MM/DD/YY
This is news entry #1
~~MM/DD/YY
This is text #2
All date headers must follow the 'MM/DD/YY' or 'MM-DD-YY' format and be
preceded by '~~' without the quotes. The ~~ characters will not be displayed.
Once an entry's date is older than the number of days specified in the config
file, the rest of the news file will be ignored. Do not include @X codes
in the date headers.
After the date is printed, a separator bar is printed in the color
defined in the config file, or the default if none is entered.
Text entries can be any news description you wish, including @X color
codes. The PPE will start each line with the color code in the config file
so any changes you make must be done for each line.
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|Optional Files|
----------------
If the File NFHDR exists in the PPE directory, it will be displayed
prior to the actual news entries. This file should NOT include a @cls@
macro as the PPE will clear the screen automatically before it is displayed.
This file may have Security, Graphics, and Language versions as well
(ie. NFHDR50R.FRE would be displayed to all level 50 Ripgraphics users
using the FRE language. If notfound, the default file will be displayed)
*NOTE - current users may rename their NEWSFLSH.HDR to NFHDR*
If the file NEWSFLSH.KEY exists in the PPE directory, the Registration
information will replace the UNREGISTERED notice before the News is displayed
IF it is a valid key file and contains the correct information.
You shouldn't need to get a new one if it already exists. If you lose it, you
can call my BBS and re-run the Registration PPE (NKEY) in Conference #5 to get
another. No changes were made to the format so you shouldn't need a new one
unless your old one isn't working.
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|CMD Line Options|
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The PPE now supports 2 Command line options- MAINT and a FileName
Filename example:
!C:\PCB\PPE\NEWSFLSH.PPE Filename
If you include the filename (no paths) after the PPE, it will override
the filename used in the config file. With this option you can "do away"
with the config file completely, and use the default values instead!
Langauge specific files for the Filename will be displayed if they
exist.
MAINT examples (used for event processing):
PCBOARD "/PPE:c:\path\NEWSFLSH.PPE MAINT [Filename]"
*Note* The Quotation Marks are REQUIRED for proper execution.
This method is handy for keeping your News File trimmed. It can be
added to your Nightly, Weekly, Monthly...event to keep the file
size limited.
What the MAINT option does is run through the NewsFile and remove
entries older than the number of days in the config file or the default
if no config file exists. It does not check every entry, but rather stops
at the FIRST entry that is older; any entries after that are also removed.
Each line that is kept will be displayed to the local screen.
If a filename is also included after the MAINT option, maintenance
will be performed on that file instead. The Filename MUST come after
the MAINT option for this method to work, and it must reside in the same
directory as the PPE.
The Maintenance option creates a temporary file which holds all the entries
that have been kept. Once the newsfile has been processed, it renames the
temporary file to the original news filename and then deletes the temporary
file.
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|Final Notes|
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This PPE works for me and should work for you. If you have any problems,
I can can be reached at my BBS listed above, or on Intelec or U'NI-net.
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|Planned enhancements|
----------------------
I may add the ability to define multiple news files if someone wants it
and explains HOW they want it to work (by CONF, SEC, whatever).
Any other enhancement you might want? Call and request your Reg. Key
from my BBS and leave the request in your comment. If it's feasible
I'll do it!
The only guarantee is that this program will take up disk space. If it
doesn't work for you, I'll try to fix it. It works for me, and it's free,
so expecting too much isn't recommended.
▌▌ Herbert Bushong
▌▌ Team PCBoard