Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/BBS_UTIL/ZROM006.ZIP/Z-ROM.DOC

Text File | 1994-02-13 | 9KB | 204 lines

Z-Rom v0.30b (Beta version)
CD-Rom Door for VBBS (ONLY!)
Copyright (c) 1993
Zee Data Systems
All rights reserved
Kevin C. Zee, Author

Things you should know BEFORE you install it:
1.  You MUST have DSZ.COM in your main VBBS directory
2.  You MUST have DSZLOG set in your CONFIG.SYS file
      (check you DSZ manual for further info.)
3.  Only DSZ Z-Modem is used for this version, if you want other protocols,
    please notify me
4.  This is a BETA copy of the program, I have tested it on my system
    and it seems to work fine, however, there is no way for me to
    test it under all situations - therefore, it is IMPERATIVE that
        you BACK UP your HARD DISK before using this program. The files
        that it WRITES to are :
             USERFILE.DAT <== User account file for updating user stats.
             STATVBBS.DAT <== BBS statistics file for updating VBBS Stats.
        You have been warned!
5.  I give NO guarentee with this program. I will NOT be held responsible
        for damage caused by (Directly or indirectly) this program!
6.  If there is a problem with the protocols, make SURE that in VConfig, when
    you setup your protocols, you put in the WHOLE path to the protocol EXE or
    COM file!!!

With that out of the way, lets install the program...

Quick Installation (Down and Dirty)

In the archive, you will have the following files:

    ZROM.EXE      <== The main exe file.
    ZROM.BAT      <== Sample batch file for running the door.
    ZROM.CFG      <== Main configuration file.
    SAMPLES.ZIP   <== Sample CD configuration files.
        ZROM.DOC      <== This file.
        ZROM.REG      <== Registration form.

The Config File (ZROM.CFG)
==========================
The config file was rewritten to be very easy to setup. The CFG file requires
four lines, each described below :

1 - PATH TO YOUR MAIN VBBS DIRECTORY
2 - BBS name of registered BBS
3 - Serial Number of Registered BBS
4 - Registration Code for this BBS
5 - Use FOSSIL driver? put a No in this line!!!!!!

Sample config file :

C:\VBBS
F.Y.B.I.T.S.
1234567890
12345678
No

That is it for the main config (simple, Huh?).

Calling the door...
===================

Calling the door is simple, too. All you have to do is change to the directory
in which Z-Rom is in and run ZROM.EXE with ONE parameter. This command line
parameter will be the name of the DORINFOx.DEF file you want to use as a drop-
file. The ONLY door dropfile used in Z-Rom is DORINFOx.DEF. This makes setup
much easier. Since it is for VBBS ONLY, there is no problem with this...

Sample Batch file to call Z-Rom would be :

CD DOORS\ZROM
ZROM C:\VBBS\DORINFO1.DEF
CD\VBBS

Thats all there is to it. The door will automatically load in all of the VBBS
system paths and all other info it needs directly from the VBBS fileset.

The sample CD configurations (SAMPLES.ZIP)
==========================================

Now, you have to setup your CDs. This is pretty easy too. Unzip the SAMPLES.ZIP
into your ZROM directory. There is setups for 2 CDs supplied with ZROM.
  Night Owl 10
  Gameware Collection

Each CD can have 3 files associated with it...
  CD_Name.CDF  <== This is the main CD info file.
  CD_Name.MNU  <== This is the Heart-Code (VBBS Standard) menu file.
  CD_Name.BAD  <== This is a BAD file list file. (See below.)

CD_Name is a filename that would typically describe the CD for which it is used.
For example, OWL-10 would be Night Owl 10, STORM2 would be the Storm II CD.

The files are pretty much self explainatory except for maybe the CDF files, but
each of them are described below :

.BAD files are lists of files that you want marked as OFF-LINE. The reason for
this is because there is a file on Night Owl 10 which contains a virus (I have
checked and verified that the virus DOES exist). Each line (Unlimited number of
lines) has one filename on it - with NO path! NOTHING can be on the line but
the FILENAME.EXT (If there is an extention)!

.MNU files are just like the typical VBBS Heart-Code MNU files. The only limit
to these files is that it cannot be more than 79 chars wide, and, if it is more
than 24 lines long, there will be NO pause.

Now, on to the Meat of the CD Configuration...

.CDF files contain all info about access rights to that cd and the day(s) in
which it is on-line, etc.

Following is a line by line explaination of the .CDF files :

1. Name of the CD. This can be anything you choose. This will be the name that
   is reported to the user on the second screen of Z-Rom and is also used for
   WFC.COM (See Notes on the Extended WFC.COM program) to report to the SysOp
   the name of today's cd.

2. The Day(s) in which this particular CD is active. This would be numbers from
   0 to 6 (0=sunday) with NO spaces! An example would be ==>024
   This would mean that the CD is available on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
   If there is a day where no cd is available, the user will be notified that
   there is no CD available.

3. Security Level that user must be to be allowed access to this CD. If the user
   is not at least this level, the user will be notified that s/he does not have
   access to this CD and to check back when the CD changes.

4. Flag(s) that the user must have in order to access this CD. The user will be
   notified with the same message as in line 3 if he does not have access. The
   flags can be anything. If, however, there are no Flags required, put a ; in
   column One of the line.

5. Points per K of download. This is just like VBBS's. But, I wanted to make it
   so that each cd can have it's own point cost. This might be good for using
   different points for Adult / Non-Adult CDs.

6. Ratio Exempt allowed (Y/N). This option, if set to no, will NOT ALLOW ratio
   exempt users to be Ratio Exempt on THIS cd.

7. Path & Filename of file to check for. This is the file that determines if the
   correct CD is in the CD-Rom Drive. If this File is not found, the user is
   told to tell you that the wrong CD is in the drive. There is also a log entry
   made that says this, too. (More on log entries later)

8. Path and filename of Master List for this CD. This file will be available for
   download if the user tries to download when there is nothing marked in the
   batch queue. NOTE that this will be a free download! If you do not wish to
   make the Master List available, or, there is no master list, leave this line
   blank.

9. Reserved for future enhancements. This line should be left blank. This is so
   that if I need to add another option, all you will have to do is drop the
   info into this line.

10. Number of file sections on this CD.

11 - ?? At line 11, the file looks for each sections paths. Each section will be
        comprised of 2 lines.
           1. The path & filename of the filelist to show. This file can be any
              type of description file found on most CDs. I use the PCBoard
              files myself, but, you can use anything you like.
           2. Path to the files in this section. This is pretty much self-
              explainatory.

Well, you should be ready to roll.

The VBBS log entries...
=======================

At times, there will be entries made into the log file of VBBS (BBS.LOG). There
are alot of different situations that would make a log entry. Try it out.

The User's Manual...
====================

 The program is pretty self-explainatory as far as the user's go. The only thing
that may be a problem is the Master List command. But, believe me, most users
will find this feature their first time they use Z-Rom.

Registering Z-Rom...
====================

The future of Z-Rom depends on how many people register. I will continue to up-
date the software. But, if there are few registrations, you might just as well
get used to this version because there won't be another one. Nuff' Said.

Contacting Psycho (Kevin C. Zee)
================================

I can be reached in the following ways...

 1@1219000 - VirtualNet - E-MAIL ME! (If you post, I may miss it!!!)
 1@21900   - RushNet    - Ditto!
 Look for the VirtualNet sub to be added soon (I hope) => VBBS & CDRoms
 F.Y.B.I.T.S. - [phone]
 Voice [phone] (Obviously, I will NOT accept collect calls.)
 For a mailing address, see the ZROM.REG file.

 If you have any questions, suggestions, complaints or bitches, feel free to
contact me at any of the above...