Monster Media 1996 #15

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>--------------------------------------------------< > >--------------------------------------------< < > > < < > > S H O W C A L L 3.25 < < > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ < < > > (C) 1994,95 Visionlink Software < < > > All rights reserved. < < > > < < > >--------------------------------------------< < >--------------------------------------------------< For use with: Wildcat! 4.xx Bulletin Board System "The professional caller display generator with an inviting and friendly appearance!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***** DISCLAIMER & AGREEMENT ***** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BY USING OR DISTRIBUTING THIS SOFTWARE YOU HEREBY AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS: THE AUTHOR OF THIS PROGRAM SHALL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OCCURRING AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM OR THE FILES DISTRIBUTED WITH IT. IN NO WAY IS THIS PROGRAM GUARANTEED TO BE FREE OF ANY PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. THERE IS NO WARRANTY ON THIS PROGRAM EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AND THE USER OF THIS PROGRAM ASSUMES FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PROBLEMS WHICH MAY ARISE AS A RESULT OF ITS USE. 1. The unregistered version of Show Call may be used on a trial basis no longer than twenty (20) days past the date of its original installation. 2. This software is to be distributed "AS IS" in its original form with no alterations made to the SHOWCALL.EXE, SCSETUP.EXE, SHOWCALL.DOC and other included files. 3. Show Call is to be distributed as SHAREWARE and not sold for profit, without the written consent of the author, by any party other than the copyright holder. The KEY file used to enable the registered features may not be distributed by anyone other than the author. It must not leave the possession of the original registered user. 4. The Show Call name and expressed design are under the ownership of Visionlink Software. Those individuals who do not comply fully with copyright laws are subject to copyright infringement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Section: 1.0 ............................ Features 2.0 ............................ Installation 2.1 ........................ Non-Network Installation 2.2 ........................ Network Installation 2.3 ........................ Installing Over Older Versions 2.4 ........................ Tips and Hints 2.5 ........................ SCSETUP Configurations 3.0 ............................ Upgrading to Registered Version 4.0 ............................ Files and Operation 5.0 ............................ Questions and Answers 6.0 ............................ Registering Show Call 7.0 ............................ Updates and Support 7.1 ........................ Contacting the Author 1.0 == FEATURES =========================================================== STANDARD FEATURES: * Multi-node/network compatible * System lock-up prevention with timeout * Displays real names or aliases * Activity Log auto-deletion option * Screen clearing option * Escape codes or @-codes * Show local logon option * U.S. or European date format * Show caller once option * Subscriber indicator * Exclude caller option * Detailed error-levels * Automatic field adjustment * Automatic upgrading from version 3.xx * Three status detection sets: 1 - STANDARD: Drop Carrier, Time Expired, Forced Off, New User, Restricted, Normal 2 - USER ACTIVITY: Door Player, Uploader, Downloader, Reader, Writer, Browser 3 - STATISTICAL: Messages, Uploads, Downloads * Three display modes: 1 - CONTINUOUS 2 - PAGE BREAK 3 - X CALLERS * Does NOT contain annoying delays or pointless detail :) REGISTERED FEATURES: * Customizable colors * Customizable title * Customizable status prompts * Built-in "who-called yesterday" generator 2.0 == INSTALLATION ======================================================= Thank you for downloading Show Call! Installation should be very quick and easy. Even for mult-line and networked systems. Please refer to section 2.3 and section 2.4 for additional help and tips. 2.1 ===== NON-NETWORK INSTALLATION A. Setting up SHOWCALL is fairly straight forward. First make sure DOS's SHARE.EXE is loaded, then copy the following files to your Wildcat home directory: SHOWCALL.EXE SCSETUP.EXE SHOWCALL.KEY (if registered) B. Then, you must type SCSETUP to configure Show Call for use with your system. Quit and save your settings when finished. Please see section 2.5 for help with configuring the settings. C. Now add the following 2 lines to the beginning of your preferred logoff batch file. You MUST invoke the SHOWCALL.EXE before any other utilities are invoked to ensure a clean retrieval of the DOOR.SYS and ACTIVITY.# file. POSTCALL.RUN - Add these two lines to all the POSTCALL.RUN(s) CD \WILDCAT SHOWCALL C:\WILDCAT\WCWORK\NODE1\DOOR.SYS *** Line #1: CD <Wildcat! home directory> *** Line #2: SHOWCALL <complete DOOR.SYS path using appropriate node #> *** NOTE: You need to modify the (maintenance node) POSTCALL.RUN file as well. POSTCALL.BAT - Add these two lines to your single POSTCALL.BAT CD \WILDCAT SHOWCALL C:\WILDCAT\WCWORK\NODE%WCNODEID%\DOOR.SYS *** Line #1: CD <Wildcat! home directory> *** Line #2: SHOWCALL <complete DOOR.SYS path using a node environment variable> Note: If you use the POSTCALL.BAT then be certain that you are using AUTONODE or SET statements to assign the correct node numbers to the %WCNODEID% environment variable. The Wildcat user's manual will provide complete details. D. This last step is optional. You may set up an event to invoke Show Call at midnight (00:00) to clear the caller display file. 1. Log onto your system and go to the sysop menu. Select Event Management and add a new event to RUN A BATCH FILE. You may name the batch file anything you want and place it in either the Wildcat home directory or the BATCH directory. Set this event to run on a DAILY basis and select "E" for every day of the week. This option MUST be considered a HARD event. 2. Edit a batch file with the name you have chosen and put the following two lines in this file: CD \WILDCAT SHOWCALL -NEWDAY *** Line #1: CD <Wildcat! home directory> *** Line #2: SHOWCALL <"-NEWDAY" command line parameter> E. THAT'S IT! Show Call is now ready for your next caller. If you would like to use the %WCNODEID% environment variable with the POSTCALL.BAT file, you are welcome to but there is a chance that complications may arise. 2.2 ===== NETWORK INSTALLATION A. If you are running a network that contains all of the node work directories on one machine then you need only follow the instructions in Section 2.1. In other words, IF you have your entire Wildcat! system on one [C:] drive (one machine) then you only have to follow the instructions in Section 2.1 above. Most networks are set up in this manner for ease of installation and operation. B. If you are running a network that has node work directories on different machines or different drive letters then follow these instructions. 1. Copy the SHOWCALL.EXE and SCSETUP.EXE files to each Wildcat! home directory. If Show Call is registered then copy the SHOWCALL.KEY file to each home directory as well. 2. Run the SCSETUP program in each home directory and enter the appropriate settings. You MUST enter the server's Wildcat! home directory in the "Wildcat Home Directory" field. This type of network setup is faster and more efficient due to less traffic and piping through the network. Also, because there will be a SHOWCALL.INI file on various clients, you must change the settings in each SCSETUP program, not only on one machine or on the network server. You can simply change one SHOWCALL.INI and copy it to the other home directories. 3. Now add the following three lines to the POSTCALL.RUN file in each node work directory. Example: CD \WILDCAT SHOWCALL C:\WILDCAT\WCWORK\NODE3\DOOR.SYS COPY C:\WILDCAT\DISP\HELLO9.BBS F:\WILDCAT\DISP\HELLO9.BBS * Line 1: CD <WC home directory on current machine/drive> * Line 2: SHOWCALL <complete path to the DOOR.SYS file> * Line 3: COPY <client ANSI path> <server ANSI path> 4. THAT IS IT! Show Call is ready for your next caller. If you would like to use the %WCNODEID% environment variable with the POSTCALL.BAT file, you are welcome to but there is a chance that complications may arise. You may also include the feature in Section 2.1, Part D. 2.3 ===== INSTALLING OVER OLDER VERSIONS A. If you are installing Show Call over version 2.00 or higher then you must copy the new SHOWCALL.EXE and SCSETUP.EXE over the old ones and delete the SHOWCALL.INI and SHOWCALL.DAT files. Then run SCSETUP again and make the appropriate changes. If you are installing over version 1.x then you must remove all traces of Show Call 1.x first and perform a new installation. B. Version 3.00 and higher use similiar data structures and process files in the same manner. If you encounter problems or what you think to be "bugs" then please notify the author. 2.4 ===== TIPS AND HINTS A. In addition to the Exclusion of Security Levels, you may exclude individual callers from the display file by placing their real names in an ASCII text file called SHOWCALL.EXC. This feature is similar to Security Level Exclusion except with this feature, you may exclude one or only a few names rather than an entire security level. Each name should be left-justified on its own line and there is no limit on the number of entries. Remember to place the SHOWCALL.EXC file in the same directory(s) as your SHOWCALL.EXE. In other words, your Wildcat! home directory(s). B. A similiar feature exists for the inclusion of individual users rather than entire security levels for the Subscriber Indicator feature. You may mark a user as a subscriber by simply placing his or her name in an ASCII text file called SHOWCALL.SUB. Put this file in your Wildcat! home directory(s). C. To increase the speed and performance of Show Call, you should delete your ACTIVITY LOG files every so often. Since Show Call scans through them for information, it is more efficient to keep them small because the time required to process them is reduced. You can have Show Call automatically delete the Activity Logs whenever they grow longer than 5000 lines. You may turn this option on in SCSETUP. If you use WCPRO or some other Activity Log scanner, then you should leave this option set to NO. D. Since the subscriber prompt, subscriber symbol, and subscriber levels are fully customizable, you might consider using them to mark your users for other purposes. In other words, you can mark the users on your system who leech files or a more practical use is to mark your netmail accounts/users. You may mark the netmail accounts on your system, it is recommended that you place their account names in the SHOWCALL.SUB text file. Remember, each name must be left-justified on its own line. E. Depending on the brand modem you own, you may have to change the following settings in Makewild: Determine ringing using : Ring Result Determine baud rate using : Result Code 2 If you find that the correct baud rates are being displayed with your current settings then use them. This is not a problem with Show Call. Rather, some modems may not display the correct baud rate unless result codes are used to return values. F. DO NOT call (run) Show Call from a SHELL statement within a .WCX program. Logical errors will most likely occur. Please use the POSTCALL.RUN or POSTCALL.BAT file(s). G. Selecting Wildcat @-codes for the type of Color Coding is highly recommended. 2.5 ===== SCSETUP CONFIGURATIONS A. Type of identification - This toggle instructs Show Call to show REAL NAMES or ALIASES in the display file. B. Output display mode ---- Choose one of three file display modes with this toggle. CONTINUOUS mode shows all callers for the current day using a pause prompt only to separate multiple pages. PAGE_BREAK mode will display 14 callers, a header, and a footer on each page. X_CALLERS will only display the the X most recent callers while calcu- lating statistics based on all callers for the current day. C. Type of color code ----- This toggle allows you to choose one of two types of color codes to use when Show Call creates the display file. It is highly recommended that you select Wildcat's @-CODES. If you prefer to use ESC CODES, which are faster, remember that the display file will look like garbage for the callers who don't have color ANSI support. D. Caller status set ------ The status set is a set of prompts that are used to characterize each of your callers' activity on the system. *** STANDARD set of prompts: Drop Carrier - caller dropped carrier Time Expired - caller ran out of time and was logged off New User ----- caller is a new user on your system Logged Off --- caller was kicked off your system Restricted --- caller is denied access to a particular node Normal Call -- normal logon and logoff *** USER ACTIVITY set of prompts indicates what the user did most on your system: Door Player -- played online games or used other doors Uploader ----- uploaded files/message attachments Downloader --- downloaded files Reader ------- read messages/bulletins Writer ------- wrote messages or emails Browser ------ caller looked around and did none of the above *** STATISTICAL set of prompts displays the the number of Downloads, Uploads, and Messages written by each caller. E. Auto-kill activity log - When set to YES, this toggle will tell Show Call to automatically delete the activity.x log file if it exceeds 5000 lines. The purpose of this feature is simply to speed up processing. If you use WCPRO or some other activity log processor then you should most likely leave this option set to NO. F. Screen clearing -------- This toggle turns screen clearing on or off. You are encouraged to set this toggle to YES if using PAGE_BREAK mode. G. Show local logons ------ With this toggle you may select NO to have Show Call ignore all local logons. This means that all logons with a baud rate of 0 will not be included in the display file. H. Date format ------------ Select U.S. to display the date in the form MM/DD/YYYY. Select EUROPEAN to show the date in the form DD/MM/YYYY. I. Highest node number ---- On this line you must enter the highest node number on your system including any maintenance or local nodes. Please enter an integer value only. J. Wildcat home directory - Enter the full path of the Wildcat home directory on this line. Network users MUST enter the path of the server's Wildcat home directory. K. Display file path ------ Here you should enter the complete path and name of the display file-HELLO#.BBS or BULL#.BBS. Network users MUST enter the local path if multiple Wildcat home directories exist. L. Yesterday display path - REGISTERED FEATURE! Here is where you enter the complete path and name of the display file to create for your log of yesterday's callers. Network users MUST enter the client/local path if multiple Wildcat! home directories exist. M. Sysop security level --- Enter the sysop's security level on this line. This value can be a verbose string or integer. You may type the word SHOW to have the sysop show up on the display file. N. Title of display file -- REGISTERED FEATURE! You may enter your own title in this blank. For example, an appropriate title would be the name of your BBS. Your entry MUST not exceed 35 characters. O. Subscriber prompt name - Rather than showing the default prompt of "$ = Subscriber" when utilizing the subscriber indicator, you may enter any prompt you like on the blank. It may It must not exceed 16 characters. This prompt will not appear on the display file if all of the Subscriber Security Levels are set to NONE. P. Subscriber symbol ------ The character you enter in this blank will be used to indicate which users on your system are subscribers. Q. Show callers only once - Set this value to YES if you would like to show a caller only once per day, no matter how many time he or she calls on that day. This feature is useful for sysops running very large/busy systems. The CALLS column will now reflect the number of times a user logged onto your system on a given day rather than the user's total number of system logons. R. Subscriber levels ------ To have a Subscriber Symbol appear next to your subscribers' names you need to put their security levels in the blanks provided. Only verbose strings are acceptable. You may enter up to ten levels. S. Excluded security level- The security levels you enter in these blanks will be ignored by Show Call. In other words, users with these security levels will not be shown on the display file. Enter the word NONE to reset an entry. You may enter verbose strings only. To exclude individual callers, please see the Tips and Hints Section 2.4-A. T. Redefine prompts ------- REGISTERED FEATURE! This editor allows you customize all of the status prompts to say whatever you want. Each prompt may contain a maximum of 12 characters. U. Customize colors ------- REGISTERED FEATURE! You may use this editor to customize the colors of all the various fields shown in the display file. V. Print registration form- Choosing this option will lead you thru a serious of questions and then print a registration form for you to send in so you can obtain the registered version. Print-out is spooled to LPT1. 3.0 == UPGRADING TO THE REGISTERED VERSION ================================ If you are upgrading to the REGISTERED version of Show Call then you have to put the SHOWCALL.KEY file in the same home directory as the SHOWCALL.EXE file. Quite simply, place the key file in your Wildcat home directory(s). You may then run SCSETUP and customize the look of Show Call and enable the who-called yesterday generator. Also, keep a backup copy of your SHOWCALL.KEY in a safe place. 4.0 == FILES AND OPERATION ================================================ A. Show Call only reads the DOOR.SYS and Activity Log file(s). B. The following are all the files associated with the Show Call program. SHOWCALL.EXE - This is the heart of Show Call. SCSETUP.EXE - This is the menu-driven Show Call setup utility. All settings and configurations must be made in this utility. DO NOT make any attempt to modify the SHOWCALL.INI with a text editor. SHOWCALL.INI - This initialization file containing configuration settings is created when you run SCSETUP for the first time. This file must reside in the WC home directory or directories if running a network. SHOWCALL.DAT - This file is created the first time Show Call is run. It contains a record for each caller of the current day. If this file is missing an error will not occur. Rather, all caller records preceeding the time of its removal for that day will be lost. It must reside in the Wildcat home directory or WC! server home directory if running a network. SHOWCALL.ONE - This file is created when the SHOW CALLER ONCE feature is enabled. It contains a single record for each caller of the current day. The location of this file is the same as the location of the SHOWCALL.DAT file. In other words, it will reside in the Wildcat home directory or WC! server home directory if you are running a network. SHOWCALL.KEY - The presence of this file will enable the special features of Show Call. It is not required but highly recommended that you obtain this file so that you can personalize the colors of the ANSI file to your liking, exclude security levels, customize the title field, and enable the who- called yesterday generator. It must reside in the WC! home directory or directories if running a network. SHOWCALL.TMP - This file is created when Show Call executes and erased when Show Call terminates. It is used to prevent sharing violations on networks and multi- line systems. You will never even see this file unless your system shuts down while Show Call is running. SHOWCALL.EXC - You may create this ASCII text file and put names of users whom you would like to be excluded from the display file. SHOWCALL.SUB - You may create this ASCII text file and put names of users whom you want to mark as subscribers. SHOWCALL.NEW - This is a temporary work file that is created and deleted during program execution. SHOWCALL.ERR - This file is appended to when a run-time error occurs and it contains useful information in determining the problem. REGISTER.FRM - Fill this form out right away and have your own personalized key file mailed to you immediately. WHATSNEW.### - This file contains information about every update made to Show Call. It also contains information about upgrading to a newer version. SHOWCALL.DOC - Show Call manual. You are reading this file now. C. If execution is successful, a display file will be created. You may select ESCAPE codes or Wildcat @-codes. This file MUST have a .BBS extension. D. If any errors occur a file called SHOWCALL.ERR will be created. 5.0 == QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ============================================== A. Why doesn't SCSETUP automatically read in security levels and other system information? The answer is quite simple. Compatibility. If and when MSI decides to change the file structure of their data files, Show Call will continue to work fine because it does not rely on MSI maintaining consistent data structures. Show Call only relies on the DOOR.SYS and ACTIVITY files. Therefore, it is impossible for Show Call to alter or corrupt any database or index files. B. If a user adds color @-codes to his FROM, ALIAS or NAME field, what will happen? The Auto-Field Adjustment feature was developed to handle this sort of situation. This feature will detect the use of color @-codes and resize and realign the user's field to accommodate the user's customization. This feature prevents the display file from appearing awkward while still allowing the user to keep his color changes. C. If a caller logs on before midnight and logs off after midnight, why isn't he/she displayed on the list? Well, technically, the person called before the new day so he or she won't be shown in the display file. D. Why does "New User" show up in the status field even when I have USER ACTIVITY selected as my Caller Status Set? The "New User" prompt indicates that the caller is new to your system and this fact takes precedence over the more trivial prompts. Basically, Show Call will ignore the status set you have selected and display "New User" if the caller has never called your system before. 6.0 == REGISTERING SHOW CALL ============================================== A. All registration fees should be forwarded in the form of a MONEY ORDER or PERSONAL CHECK. Cash is still accepted but the author will not be held responsible for registrations lost in the mail. Personal checks may delay registration due to clearance with the bank. Personal checks must be made out to VISIONLINK SOFTWARE. Please see the REGISTER.FRM or the "Print Registration Form" option in SCSETUP. B. A registration fee of only fifteen U.S. dollars ($15) plus three ($3) for shipping entitles registered users to a life-time key file which will enable the following features: 1. Ability to customize the colors in the display file. 3. Customizable title field. 4. Built-in "who-called yesterday" generator. 7.0 == UPDATES AND SUPPORT ================================================ A. You can download the latest version of Show Call from the MSI HQ BBS (the phone number is in your manual) or one of the support boards. If you have access to the Internet then you may send a request for the latest version. A UUENCODED update will be sent to you. Show Call will always be compressed using Pkzip(R) and be named SCALL###.ZIP. ### represents the version number. B. If you are a registered user of Show Call then you need only log onto the MSI HQ BBS or a support BBS and download the latest version. You do not need a new key file. Your current one will work. If your current key file doesn't work with the new update then contact the author for a new key. 7.1 ===== CONTACTING THE AUTHOR You may contact the author by writing to the following address but using email will expedite the process. Internet addresses: Visionlink@msn.com christma@monet.vill.edu Address: Visionlink Software c/o Jason S. Christman 6668 PA Route 873 Slatington, PA 18080 USA