Monster Media 1996 #14/Monster Media No. 14 (April 1996) (Monster Media, Inc.).ISO/bbs_door/atw11.zip/TJHELP.TXT

Text File | 1996-01-26 | 20KB | 525 lines

                    TIPS AND TRICKS FROM T&J SOFTWARE
                    Revised: 10/11/1995


Section I       - Display Problems
Section II      - DigiBoards & Fossil Drivers
Section III     - Overflow Errors
Section IV      - Miscellaneous Errors



──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
                       SECTION I - DISPLAY PROBLEMS
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────




ANSI Control Codes on the LOCAL monitor:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you encounter screen fulls of garbage on the local monitor when
running a T&J Software Door, please follow these simple directions:

NOT RUNNING DESQVIEW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are not running DESQview, you need to add ANSI.SYS to you
CONFIG.SYS file. Do the following:

1. Add this line to your CONFIG.SYS file (placement is not important).
   DEVICE=C:\DOS\ANSI.SYS

2. Reboot the machine.

RUNNING DESQVIEW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are running DESQview, you need to run DVANSI.COM in EACH node
batch file. DVANSI.COM can be found in your DESQview directory. Here's
an example of my CAT1.BAT file:

@echo off
:cat
cd\dv
dvansi
SET WCNODEID=1
SET WCPORTID=2
SET WCIRQID=3
CD \Wildcat
WILDCAT
if exist c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\event.bat c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\event.bat
if exist c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\dropdos.bat c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\dropdos.bat
if exist c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\door.bat c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\door.bat
if exist c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\postcall.run c:\wildcat\wcwork\node1\postcall.bat
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO CAT
REM END
atsend z 2

Note line 3 and 4. That's all you need to do!

ANSI under OS/2 (prepared by Mark Ingenito) - Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OS/2 does not automatically install ANSI support. However, it's
easy enough to add this support, and you can find what you need
to accomplish this in your \OS2\MDOS directory. You need just
one file - ANSI.SYS.

There are two methods you can install ANSI.SYS on your OS/2
system:

 1. This method will enable ANSI support for this particular DOS
    session ONLY:

  - On your desktop, right click on the DOS session icon you're
    using for your BBS node.
  - Left Click on SETTINGS
  - Left Click on SESSION tab
  - Left Click on DOS SETTINGS
  - Left Click on ALL DOS SETTINGS
  - Left Click or move highlight bar to DOS_DEVICE
  - In the text box that will appear to the right, type the
    following:

    "x:\os2\mdos\ansi.sys", without the quote marks, where "x:" is the
                            drive where OS/2 resides.

  - Now, Left Click on SAVE button at bottom of window, ALT-F4 to close
    settings box. Now, when you open this DOS session, you will have ANSI
    support! By the way, a reboot is NOT necessary when using this method
    of adding MDOS device drivers.


 2. This method will enable ANSI support in ALL DOS sessions:

  - From your desktop, Double-Left Click on OS/2 SYSTEM icon.
  - Double-Left Click on PRODUCTIVITY
  - Double-Left Click on ENHANCED EDITOR.(You can use any OS/2
    editor you wish, actually)
  - Open your CONFIG.SYS file and page down to the section of the file that
    contains the device driver lines for DOS sessions. These lines normally
    begin with and follow the line "SHELL=C:\OS2\MDOS\COMMAND.COM C:\OS2\MDOS".
  - Insert the line "DEVICE=C:\OS2\MDOS\ANSI.SYS", without the quotes, on the
    next line following the SHELL= statement.
  - SAVE your changes.
  - Close your editor.

    You will now need to perform a SHUTDOWN and reboot your system for
    this change to take effect.

Garbled Information on Remote
=============================
* If the door seems to operate fine on the BBS end but the remote
  cannot receive or receives garbled information, check and make sure
  you are passing the correct IRQ to the door (if you are running a
  non standard IRQ).

TRIBBS v5.02+
=============
* Color ANSI checking will not work if you use TRIBBS.SYS drop file.
  Set the doors up using the PCBOARD.SYS drop file.

Graphic Cards (general)
=======================
* ATI Graphics Ultra Pro card - do not use the ANSI.SYS driver that
  came with the card. Use the normal DOS ANSI.SYS for the screens
  to show correctly.

* Trident SVGA Cards - You should have a utility disk with a file
  called TANSI.SYS, use this ansi driver instead of the standard
  ANSI.SYS.




──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
                SECTION II - DIGIBOARDS & FOSSIL DRIVERS
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────




SearchLight BBS and DigiBoards
==============================
To set up on a SLBBS with a DIgiboard....

                    E D I T   C O M M A N D

                Press F1 to Change Command Type
  1. Command Name .................. STUD's
  2. Command Key ................... U
  3. Description ................... Become the alltime STUD on the board
  4. Event Logging ................. No
  5. Access Levels & Graphics [...]
  6. Door Command .................. c:\slbbs\door\stud\studs.bat %O
  7. Directory Path ................ .
  8. Communications Support ........ Fossil
  9. Abort Method .................. None
 10. Write Protection .............. No
 11. Parameter File ................ DOOR.SYS
 12. Pause After Door .............. No
 13. Pass Username As .............. Login Name
 14. Pass COM Port As .............. COM1-COM4

REM  ( DFTSR loads in your AUTOEXEC.BAT no other subcommands needed with it,
REM  as long as your Digiboard 4, 8 or 16 starts at 0 for the first channel.)

DFTSR
               This is for multi-node Node 1 below.....

REM ( Batch file called out from BBS door with Node command %O for SLBBS.)
@ECHO OFF
c:
cd \slbbs\door\stud
stud%1.bat
REM ( this would be STUD1.BAT )
DF FOSSIL-LOCK 12     (turns fossil driver on at channel 12)
c:
CD \slbbs\DOOR\STUD
STUDS! studs1.cfg /FD
DF DIGI 12            (turns fossil off so it can return to the DIGIBOARD)
c:
cd \slbbs1

REM  ( This would be STUDS1.CFG )
C:\SLBBS1\DOOR.SYS
The Bart Stop BBS
Bartman
S.

DigiFossil Information
======================

                        DIGIFOSSIL V2.2 - Jun 6, 1995
                        FOSSIL Driver for Digi-Boards
                        & DIGIBOARD Driver for FOSSIL
                        =============================
                                              Technique Computer Systems
                                              Victoria, BC  CANADA
                                              BBS: [phone]
                                              FAX: [phone]
                                            email: [e-mail]

  What is DIGIFOSSIL?
  -------------------
  DIGIFOSSIL is the program (DFTSR) you need  in order to get a huge number
  of applications written for  FOSSIL systems working on  your BBS, if your
  BBS uses  an intelligent  Digiboard (such as  the PC/Xe,  PC/Xi or COM/Xi
  series).  (if you need a FOSSIL for a nonDigiboard system, try either X00
  or BNU, which are available from many BBSs).

  DIGIFOSSIL also  includes a program  (FDTSR) to run  your Digiboard based
  BBS on a non-digiboard (FOSSIL) setup.   This allows you to use a product
  such as Wildcat! IM (where they haven't implemented FOSSIL support).

  Legal Stuff
  -----------
  DIGIFOSSIL is Copyright 1992-1995, Technique Computer Systems, all rights
  reserved.  This product is provided "AS-IS" without warranty of any kind.

RENEGADE BBS
============
* If you are using BNU fossil driver and having problems with the
  doors, try using X00 v1.50+. Several Renegade systems have reported
  problems using BNU with the doors.

WILDCAT
=======
* Wildcat! IM Version Setup using DigiFossil v2.x:

  All of our doors will run on the Wildcat! IM version using DigiFos
  v2.x. I have received TWO different setup routines concerning the
  IM version, here's an example:

  DF LOCK%WCNODEID%            -OR-      DF ON
  CD\WC30\DOOR\STUDS                     CD\WC30\DOOR\STUDS
  STUDS! STUDS!.CFG /FD                  STUDS! STUDS!.CFG
  CD\WC30                                CD\WC30
  DF OFF                                 DF OFF

  Comments on either setup would be greatly appreciated!

The following instructions will help you run these doors on a multi-node
system using a Digiboard card for multi-line capability.

First, you will need a copy of Digifossil, a freeware fossil driver which
was written specifically for use with a Digiboard.  Digifossil can be
found on many BBS systems under the name DFTSR.EXE or can be obtained
from this BBS.

Secondly, make sure that digifossil is in your root directory and in your
autoexec.bat so that it becomes resident at boot-up. Digifossil consists
of two files, df.exe and dftsr.exe, both must be located in your root
directory.

Third, you must edit your doorx.bat or doorx.run file to turn the Digifossil
on and lock the baud rate when the door is accessed. Below is a sample of my
doorx.bat file.

cd\wc30\doors\game   <-------------- The directory where the door is located.
df lock              <-------------- Turn on the digifossil and lock the baud
game game.cfg
df off               <-------------- Turn off the digifossil
cd\                  <-------------- return to the board

Its really that simple. Everything remains the same except for the two lines
that turn the digifossil on and off.




──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
                     SECTION III - OVERFLOW ERRORS
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────




WILDCAT! 4.x
============
* Problems may develop using the DOOR.SYS drop file if you have
  a LARGE number of conferences. I would suggest picking up a copy
  of a file called FDOORSYS.ZIP written by Tim Rider (Tim can be
  reached on The Source BBS at 310-371-3737). Here is what Tim's
  documentation states:

  "WildCat! v4.0 allows up to 32,000 conference areas.  Due to the
   specifications of DOOR.SYS, all the conferences that a user is
   joined to are written to line #23 of DOOR.SYS.  32,000 conferences
   takes up a lot of room, and some SysOps have a DOOR.SYS file that may
   end up to be over 100k.  Some doors have been choking on the large
   DOOR.SYS, so I wrote this small utility to remove that line."

   from FDOORSYS.DOC by Tim Rider

* More recent versions of Wildcat allow you to select the option to
  use the "short" form of DOOR.SYS to correct this problem. This can
  be toggled in MakeWild.

Remote Access v2.0+
==================
* Using DOOR.SYS may result in an OVERFLOW error -- try using a
  different caller drop file such as DORINFO1.DEF. This is currently
  being examined!

Overflow Errors
===============
* Overflows can occur if you are running under DESQview and your tick
  counts are set too low -- try raising the tick counts.

* If you're running Wildcat! v3.9+ and are getting OVERFLOW errors,
  make sure NONE of your security level definitions have the MAXIMUM
  DAILY DOWNLOADS set to more than 32,000 -- anything over that will
  cause an OVERFLOW ERROR in ANY door using DOORFRAME.





──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
                    SECTION IV - MISCELLANEOUS ERRORS
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────






RANDOM LOCKUPS
==============
* If you are getting random lockups with your BBS, check your FILES=
  section of your CONFIG.SYS file. My recommendations would be settings
  this to 45 + 20 for each additional node. This may vary from BBS
  package to BBS package.

RENEGADE BBS
============
* If you are getting out of memory errors. Go into the System Config
  section, [E] System Toggles, then [U] to turn the SWAP FILE 'ON'.

TRIBBS v5.01+
=============
* If you use DOOR.SYS, TriBBS reloads this file and will deduct twice
  the amount of time that was actually used. Try using another drop
  file, or copying the DOOR.SYS to a seperate directory and then
  telling the door to look there for it.

* NOTE: This only applies to doors that you adjust the users time in
        the door such as Bordello, Studs, and Studette.

T&J Raffle
==========
* An ILLEGAL FUNCTION CALL will result if you enter a "closing
  date" that is not valid. If you want the door to lock at the
  end of the month, then put in the first of the month.

Keyboard Timeouts
=================
* If you are operating on a 486 computer and getting a "keyboard
  timeout", you will need to set the following environmental variable
  in your AUTOEXEC.BAT.

  SET NO87=ON

  This will turn off your co-processor and allow the door to function
  properly

DESQview Users
==============
* Make sure you have the MATH COPROCESSOR flagged ON even if you don't
  have a math coprocessor.

Lockups on certain COM PORTS
============================
* If you're running on a non-standard IRQ, be sure you are passing the
  IRQ on the command line!! Example:  STUDS! STUDS!.CFG /5

  Studs! will now run on IRQ 5.

Spitfire BBS's
==============
* If you're having trouble with the doors dropping carrier on exiting
  back to the BBS, switch to using DOOR.SYS instead of SFDOORS.DAT.
  On some Spitfire configurations this will happen when using
  SFDOORS.DAT.

Bulletin PATHS and FILENAMES
============================
* When specifying the bulletin path, be sure to also select a name
  for the bulletin! This could cause lockups when using Bordello,
  Strip Poker, and Video Poker. If you don't want bulletins created,
  simply enter the word NONE for the path and filename.

REGISTERED KEYS
===============
* Distribution of a registered key is against copyright laws, which
  carries significant penalties. If a registered key is found being
  distributed, all keys purchased from us (by the person distributing
  the keys) will be invalidated and the matter will be turned over to
  our attorney's. We do share this information with other shareware
  authors.

SHARE.EXE
=========
* SHARE.EXE must be loaded in order to play the doors on multi-node
  systems. Here a segment of my AUTOEXEC.BAT showing how I load
  SHARE.EXE:

  C:\QEMM\LOADHI /R:3 C:\DOS\SHARE /f:4096 /l:60

SYNCHRONET BBS DOOR SETUP
=========================

Hi Tom,
   Here is the Synchronet config for Money Market. What
follows is a completed entry for it in the Synchronet v2.10
Configuration Program. A few items (those marked with a `*')
are not present in v2.00. If you are setting it up for that
version, just ignore these.

   NAME                         Money Market
   INTERNAL CODE                MONEYM
   START-UP DIRECTORY           C:\SBBS\XTRN\MM
   COMMAND LINE                 MONEYM.EXE MONEYM.CFG
   CLEAN-UP COMMAND LINE
   COST IN CREDITS              0
 * EXTRA MINUTES                0
 * SUSPEND [FREE] TIME          NO
   ACCESS REQUIREMENTS
   EXECUTION REQUIREMENTS
   MULTIPLE CONCURRENT USERS    YES
   INTERCEPT I/O INTERRUPTS     NO
   SWAP BBS OUT OF MEMORY       YES
   MODIFY USER DATA             NO
   EXECUTE ON EVENT             NO
   BBS DROP FILE TYPE           DOOR.SYS
   PLACE DROP FILE IN           NODE DIRECTORY

   Here is a more detailed description of what each entry
does, so that you may have a better understanding when you are
assisting someone in setting up a door on a SBBS system.

NAME: Name of the program to be displayed on-line
INTERNAL CODE: A unique code used by Synchronet to identify
   the program.  May be just about anything.
START-UP DIRECTORY: Directory where door files are located.
COMMAND LINE: Exact command line to execute door. May be a
   batch file if necessary. Also may contain variables to pass
   parameters to the door. Some are as follows:
        %a User Alias/Name
        %d Connect Rate
        %m Minutes left
        %# BBS Node #
        %p Com Port #
CLEAN-UP COMMAND LINE: Executed immediately after door is
   completed. Usually not used.
COST IN CREDITS: Used to charge users additional credits for
   running the door.
*EXTRA MINUTES: Used to give users sxtran time for running
   door (Only in version 2.10).
*SUSPEND [FREE] TIME: Time spent in door does not count
   towards users time online (Only in version 2.10).
ACCESS REQUIREMENTS: Limits who is able to see the door on the
   menu screens. May be set to a particular flag, security
   level, Ansi only, local only, user number, etc.
EXECUTION REQUIREMENTS: Limits who is able to run the door.
MULTIPLE CONCURRENT USERS: Set to yes if door supports
   multiple nodes simultaneously or no if door supports only
   single nodes.
INTERCEPT I/O INTERRUPTS: Allows many DOS programs not
   intended for BBS use to run on SBBS. Always set to no for
   actual door programs.
SWAP BBS OUT OF MEMORY: Frees system memory to run large
   programs. I generally set it to yes although most
   programs don't require it.
MODIFY USER DATA: Will allow changes to user info within SBBS
   to be made based on info within the drop file. If set to
   no, only time online is updated. If set to yes, other user
   stats may be modified, depending on which drop file is used.
EXECUTE ON EVENT: Will allow a door to be executed as a logon,
   logoff, or user birthday event.
BBS DROP FILE TYPE: Select from DOOR.SYS PCBOARD.SYS USERS.SYS
   CHAIN.TXT DORINFO#.DEF EXITINFO.BBS SFDOORS.DAT CALLINFO.BBS
   DOORFILE.SR UTIDOOR.TXT
PLACE BBS DROP FILE IN: Select from NODE DIRECTORY or STARTUP
   DIRECTORY (as entered above).

   I hope that this info is what you needed. If you or any
other users have questions about SBBS, please feel free to
refer the questions to me through e-mail or give me a call. I
will be glad to help any way I can.
                                          Shawn O'Brian

ERROR Codes (general)
=====================
* ERROR #53 - This error means a file was not found. If this occurs
  right when the door is opened, please check the PATH to the caller
  drop file (i.e. DOOR.SYS), or make sure the caller drop file is
  being created properly!

                            QuickBasic Error codes
                      DoorFrame uses the QB error codes.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 2   Syntax Error                       61   Disk full
 5   Ilegal Function Call               62   Input past end of File
 6   Overflow                           63   Bad record number
 7   Out of memory                      64   Bad filename
11   Division by Zero                   67   Too many files
13   type mismatch                      68   Device unavailable
24   Device Timeout                     69   Comm-buffer overflow
25   Device fault                       70   Permission denied
52   Bad filename or number             71   Disk not ready
53   File Not Found                     72   Disk media error
55   File Already open                  74   Rename across disk
57   Device I/O error                   75   Path/File access error
58   File already exists                76   Path not found
59   Bad Record length

     The most common error that you will see is #62.  This is usually caused
by the CFG file not having enough lines.  I have included this list so
that you may be able to fix a problem that occurs with a T&J Software
door.

     Error #75 is usually an incorrect path and/or filename in the CFG
file.