Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/TAG/TAGLOG20.ZIP/TAGLOG.DOC

Text File | 1994-01-12 | 10KB | 198 lines

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                                                      By Alex McNeilly  1/94

TAGLOG is a utility for sysops and cosysops. If you've done a search looking
for something in your sysop logs, you'll know that it can be time consuming.
Even if you are using a utility with a search command, you must know the
exact string you are searching for.
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TAGLOG eliminates almost all of these tedious searches. It has many built-in
search routines, but it also has two configurable commands so that you can
add something that is either unique to your system or something that I never
thought of.
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QUICK START! :

OK, you want to get this up and running and look at the docs later. First,
build your config file - TAGLOG20.CFG (or edit & rename the sample provided).
The length of the file is dependent on the number of nodes on your system.

line 1    -    3        Number of nodes
line 2    -    14        max number of logs (ie - Sysop14.log)
line 3    -    Y        Y-enable Toggle Printer, N-No printer usage
line 4    -     c:\bbs\gfiles    path to sysop logs (1st node)
line 5    -    d:\bbs\gfiles\    path to sysop log #2 (if exists)
line 6    -    e:\bbs\gfiles   Remember, # of paths dependent on line 1
line 7    -    Door Usage                    configurable command 1-A
line 8    -    External program activated         configurable command 1-B
line 9    -    External program completed         configurable command 1-C
line 10    -    Y                                  configurable command 1-D
line 11 -    RESERVED                           configurable command 2-A
line 12    -    NULL                   configurable command 2-B
line 13    -    NULL                   configurable command 2-C
line 14 -    N                                  configurable command 2-D

If you only have one node, you wouldn't include lines 5 or 6 - delete them.
Ending the paths in "\" is optional.
For now, leave the configurable commands as-is. More about them later.
OK, execute TAGLOG. The arrow keys switch you to different days and nodes.
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"THE REST OF THE DOCS" :

As long as you have the config file set up properly and run the program,
you now have a feel of what TAGLOG can do. Now, some details...
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SHAREWARE REGISTRATION FEES :

There are none - this is FREEWARE. Want to pay me back? Send me netmail at
1:2410/278 informing me that you're using it. That's all.
Note : All flames to the bit bucket!
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WARRANTY :

You didn't pay for it, so there's no warranty. Use it at your own risk.
Make note, however, that this is a read-only utility - it won't write to your
logs or any other file. I know *I* sleep better at night knowing that.
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FUNCTIONALITY :

When this version of TAGLOG was written, TAG 2.6f1 was king of the hill. I
make no guarantees that it works with any prior or future version. As the
TAG Team make changes on what goes into the sysop log, it could cause an
effect on the usability of TAGLOG.
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PRINTER :

Output can toggle between video only and video/printer. Unlike TAGLOG v1.1
(released March 1991), this version does NOT check the status of the printer
port before trying to send data to the printer. The reason is that a few
people (namely me!) use a LAN and checking for a "printer ready" status
doesn't work the same.
Since you may want a cosysop to use this utility remotely, you can optionally
disable any output to the printer. Line 3 of the config file, if set to
anything but "Y" will not allow printer output.
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COMMAND LINE PARAMETER :

TAGLOG's config filename defaults to "TAGLOG20.CFG". You may specify another
filename instead. This is handy, for example, when you wish to allow remote
cosysops to use TAGLOG without access to the printer output command. Now
you can have one config file for you and another for your remotes.
Example - "TAGLOG20 TAGLOG20.REM" will use the file TAGLOG20.REM as it's
config file. You may even specify a different path for the config file if
you wish.
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CONFIGURABLE COMMANDS (C.C.) :

You have two configurable commands available for your use. You can use one,
both or neither of them.
If you choose not to use either command, the first line of data dealing with
the command in the TAGLOG20.CFG file must have "RESERVED" (no quotes) in it.
In the above example, line 11 starts C.C.#2. It therefore shows "[2] RESERVED"
on the program's menu and the command is disabled.

To use a C.C., you must specify (1-A or 2-A) the command as seen on the menu.
Next, specify a start search string (1-B or 2-B). The search string must be
EXACTLY as seen in the log ("Executed external" is NOT the same as "EXECUTED
EXTERNAL" - upper/lower case must match!)
The End Search String (1-C or 2-C) specifies the ending string search. The
same precaution on upper/lower case must be observed. Once set up, the
command looks for the start search string and keeps displaying until it finds
the end search string.

One optional End Search String can be used - Let's say you're looking for a
single-line string. There is no end string to search for. In that case,
use "NO_END" as your End Search String. This tells TAGLOG that only the
Start Search String is to be used and it will only display the lines that have
the specified start string.

The final parameter for a C.C. (1-D or 2-D) tells TAGLOG whether to display
the current user (Y) or not (N).

TAGLOG comes with the 1st C.C. already set up for you. Feel free to RESERVE
it or use a different search parameter - it's there only as an example.
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LOG SCAN :

The log scan is colorized (OK, call me Ted Turner) to help find specific data
at a glance.  Currently, the colors are hard-coded but sometime in the future
I may allow them to be sysop-configurable.
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OTHER KEYS :

Besides the arrow keys, I allow the "[,],+,-" keys to be used for switching
nodes & days. This is to allow remote cosysops to use TAGLOG under Doorway
without the remote cosysop having to worry about "Doorway Mode" comm
programs. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it,
just be aware that the additional keys are functional.
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USING DOORWAY :

Listed below is a sample batch file to enable TAGLOG for your remote
cosysop's use. You may have to tweak the parameters for your system,
(and your version of Doorway) but it will put you in the ballpark.

@echo off
drwy205.exe  COM1 /M:15 /G:ON /B:X /O:T /v:D^U /p:D:\BBS\TAGLOG20.EXE
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MAX LOGS :

If you have a multinode system, you should specify TAG to keep the same
number of logs for all nodes. If you don't, you must specify within
TAGLOG20.CFG what the MINIMUM number is. Example, Node 1 has up to
SYSOP14.LOG but node 2 only goes up to SYSOP10.LOG. Line 2 in TAGLOG20.CFG
must be 10 and not 14. You therefore lose your ability to scan 4 logs on
node 1.
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SHARE :

I am one of the few people in the world who feels that SHARE is, shall we say,
less than useful (I'm being diplomatic here!). Despite that opinion, TAGLOG
is SHARE compatible.
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FUTURE FEATURE(S) :

The next version should have "Global Days" - similar to the "Toggle Mode"
feature. Right now you can search on all nodes for one day.
The next version will also allow you to search from the newest to the oldest
logs for the target information as well.
If you have a recommendation for a new feature, send it netmail or post it in
the TAG DOORS echo.
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BUGS :

If you find a reproducible bug, I would appreciate being informed as to the
nature of the bug and details on how to reproduce it.
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BETA TESTING :

Thanks to Joe McElmeel, Kevin Bentz and Jason Remisoski for beta testing this
version. If a bug slipped through, however, we'll hang THEM. That is, after
all, what they got paid the big bucks for  :-)

A special thanks goes to Bill Sutton who found a major bug just before I
shipped this out to the world (He runs SHARE -ack!).
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TAGLOG HISTORY (yawn) :

Feb 1991 - TAGLOG 1.0 is born. (7 pounds 6 ounces)
Mar 1991 - TAGLOG 1.1 bug fix - no new features
Apr 1991 till Dec 1993 - Alex sits on his duff, plays chess and goes bowling.
Dec 1993 - Alex looks at the code for TAGLOG 1.1 and is astounded at how bad
           it looks. Rewrote TAGLOG 2.0 from scratch. Alex is astounded at how
           bad the new code looks. Oh well...
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Alex McNeilly
Sysop, The Chessplayer's Forum BBS  1:2410/278  [phone]

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