Night Owl 6/Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso/001a/tomcht25.zip/README

Text File | 1991-11-14 | 19KB | 552 lines

╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║          Thank you for trying TomChat, custom chatmode for Telix.           ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝



                 ╔═╦═╦═╦══════════════════════════╦═╦═╦═╗
   ┌─────────────╨─╨─╨─╨──────────────────────────╨─╨─╨─╨────────────────┐
   │                                                                     │
   │  If you like this program and intend to use it, please register it  │
   │        Registration is only $12.00, please sends checks to:         │
   │                     ┌──────────────────────┐                        │
   └─────────────╥─╥─╥─╥─┤      Tom Breton      ├─╥─╥─╥─╥────────────────┘
                 ║ ║ ║ ║ │    BR Enterprises    │ ║ ║ ║ ║
                 ║ ║ ║ ║ │      PO Box 71       │ ║ ║ ║ ║
                 ║ ║ ║ ║ │  Norwood, MA  02062  │ ║ ║ ║ ║
                 ║ ║ ║ ║ └──────────────────────┘ ║ ║ ║ ║
                 ╚═╩═╩═╩══════════════════════════╩═╩═╩═╝





        This file is to explain TomChat features and to help install it.



The first thing you need to do is to type

INSTALL

on the command line.  After you do that, everything else will happen
automatically.



You will be taken inside Telix to set TomChat up exactly the way you want.
(An explanation of the options follows later in this file. )


It will first ask you whether you want to be led through the options or not.

If you answer "Yes," you will be led through a series of questions about your
usual settings and the options you want.

If you answer "No," you will be shown a menu from which you may select what
to change and what not to.

  To control the menu, either:

   1) use the arrow keys to move the cursor ('>') up and down and hit <Enter>
   when it's pointing to the option you want to change,

or 2) type the letter or symbol that appears before the option you want to
   change.




When the install program finishes leading you through the options, or when
you hit '!' in the menu mode, a file called TOMCHAT.SLC will be written. This
is the actual, compiled script that runs the exact TomChat chatmode you have
specified.

After you have done this, you can start TomChat any time you are in Telix,
just by pressing Alt-G and replying 'TomChat' to the "What scriptfile to
run?" prompt.

(Also see option "y" for an even easier way to invoke TomChat)




         ╒════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
         │        Accessing Telix function while in TomChat       │
         ╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛


All you need to do to use any Telix function is to hit the usual key for
whatever function you want _twice_ instead of once.




                    ╒═══════════════════════════════════╕
                    │            Line Recall            │
                    ╘═══════════════════════════════════╛


One very useful feature that TomChat adds to Telix is line recall. The last
several lines that you typed are stored in memory, and may be recalled by
pressing Ctl_Pgup (Holding down the Control key (Ctrl) and simultaneously
pressing the PgUp key on your keypad.)
        > See options "x" and "L" for ways to customize this feature. <

Doing this will scroll through lines you recently typed. It will eventually
come back to your current line if you continue pressing Ctl_PgUp.

You can also use Ctl_PgDn to scroll forward instead of backwards. This means
that you will start at the earliest line TomChat remembers you typing, and go
forward.

You can adjust the number of lines TomChat will remember with option "L"




                ╒═════════════════════════════════════════════╕
                │    Creating macros from the command line    │
                ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════╛


Another feature of TomChat that may make your online life a little easier
is instant macro creation.

Macro are frequently typed strings of text that are typed when you hit a
simple key combination. They are very useful for frequently typed phrases.


If you have just typed something that you want to turn into a macro, simply
scroll back to it and press Ctl_RightArrow.
        > See option "x" for a way to customize this feature. <

TomChat will prompt you to press the key to assign the macro to. After it
has done that, any time you press that particular key combination, the text
you had on the lowest line of the screen at the time you made the macro will
be sent.


If you press <ESC>  or Alt-K, TomChat will not assign the macro.
[Alt-K is Telix's normal macro-menu key, and to reassign that key would make
it impossible to undo the assignment, which could be very frustrating ]


TomChat does *NOT* save your macros for you.  This is so that a single
keystroke does not wipe out any macros you may have saved on disk!

You can permanently save macros you make yourself if you wish, by hitting
Alt-K  R  S

If you have no keyfile loaded, Telix will prompt you for the appropriate
name, otherwise it simply requires a Carriage return to confirm the keyfile
name.



                  ╒═══════════════════════════════════════╕
                  │          Options Explained            │
                  ╘═══════════════════════════════════════╛



a) "Where will the status line (if any) be?"

The status line normally looks something like this:
───────────────┬──────────┬───────────────┬──────┬───┬──────────┬──────────────
Alt-Z for Help │ VT102    │  1200∙N81 FDX │      │   │ TOMCHAT  │ Online  00:05
───────────────┴──────────┴───────────────┴──────┴───┴──────────┴──────────────

Obviously, if it's at the bottom of your screen, select "bottom," and so
forth.



b) " Do you want a permanent line between windows?"

If you answer yes, TomChat will reserve one line on your screen to seperate
the incoming and outgoing text.




c, d, e, f) "Foreground [/Background] color of incoming [/outgoing] text:"

The colors you want TomChat to show your text in when you are online.  You
can make incoming and outgoing text different colors, though this is not
neccessary.

*Important*: The first line of instructions/copyright notice will be a
different color.  If you ask for a permanent line between incoming and
outgoing text, this differently-colored line will remain on your screen.

If you ask for a bright background color, your screen will blink.  The
TomChat install program will warn you that this will happen, but will permit
you to actually do this if you insist.


g)  "When do you want your outgoing text to be sent?"

If you choose "Immediately", what you type will be sent as soon as you type
it.

If you choose "On <Enter>",  TomChat will keep what you type until you hit
<Enter>,  giving you a chance to backspace over anything you regret writing.

If you choose "On two <Enter>s in a row,"  TomChat will hold what you type
until you hit <Enter> twice in a row, allowing you to send multiple lines at
one time.

  Note that hitting <Enter> three times in a row will send <Enter> to the
  remote system twice, four times will send it three, and so forth.



h) "Is your screen 80 x 25 characters? (Normal IBM screen)"

If you say "No," it will ask you how many lines and columns your screen
actually has.  If not, TomChat will assume you have an 80 x 25 screen.

If you use Telix in EGA or VGA mode with more columns and lines on the
screen, answer "No" and set it to your actual screen dimensions.

Anything between a tiny 16 x 40 screen and a huge 40 x 128 will be accepted.



i)  "How long [tenths of a second] should the function window stay open?"


How does TomChat allow you to use normal Telix function while intercepting
all incoming and outgoing keystrokes to create a split-screen chatmode?
By the trick of changing back to normal mode whenever you type special keys.

Then hit the same key AGAIN, a second time, and Telix will do whatever the
key you typed is normally supposed to do. (Unfortunately, except for macros
there is no way around this requirement in Telix 3.15)

After a few seconds TomChat changes back to split-screen chatmode so that
you can continue conferencing.


You can tell TomChat how long you want it to hold open the window, which is
what this option is for.

If you choose an excessively long time, your screen will tend to become
sloppy.  If you choose a very short time, you will have to type very fast to
get access to normal functions.  I recommend a setting of 10.


The maximum time is 40 tenths of a second (4 seconds). The minimum is 1 tenth
of a second.  (TomChat automatically adds one more tenth of a second for an
actual range of .2 to 4.1 seconds.)

(See also option k)



j)  "How large should the outgoing text window be? [ 2 to 20 lines]"

The larger a number you type here, the more of your screen will be used to
show you what you have typed, and the less of it will be used to show you
what you are receiving.



k)  "Want a function window that's audible instead of visual? "

Normally, when you type a special key that requires normal Telix mode,
TomChat pops up a box that freezes your screen until some time has elapsed
(See option i) and tells you to hit the key again.

As an alternative to having a box pop up, you can have TomChat play a scale,
up and down, while the function window is open.

*Please note*: using this tends to make your screen sloppy if too much
happens in that period, either in text you type or in text you receive from
the remote system.



l)  "How many lines should the recall buffer hold? [3 to 50]"

When you type while using TomChat, what you type goes into a recall buffer.
You can recall it with Ctl_PgUp - or any other key you like better. (See the
discussion at the beginning of this file and option "x")

This option tells TomChat how many lines of text to remember.



x)  "Set which special key(s)?"


TomChat uses three key-combinations to invoke its' special functions (recall
and macro-writing)  They are normally assigned to Ctl_PgUp, Ctl_PgDn, and
Ctl_RightArrow.

This option lets you change any of them to different keys, if you want to.
You do *not* have to use this option. TomChat will be completely functional
without invoking it.


You will be prompted to press the key combination you want. The install
program will use that precise key-combination when it creates TomChat.


                 The four sub-options under this option:

  "l: Line Recall key" changes the key_combination used by the recall
  feature (see option "L" and the discussion at the beginning of this
  file). It is normally Control_PgUp.


  "u: Line Unrecall key" changes the key_combination used by the recall
  feature to unscroll so you can get back to your original position. It is
  normally Control_PgDn.


  "m: Make_a_macro key" changes the key_combination used by the command
  line macro creation feature. (See the discussion at the beginning of this
  file) It is normally Control_RightArrow


  "f: Finished setting keys"  will return you to the main menu, whether you
  have made changes or not.  Any changes you have made will be remembered and
  used when creating TomChat.




y)  "Shall I assign the new chatmode to Alt-Y? "

Alt-Y is the key Telix normally uses to enter chatmode.  CHATDATA can assign
that key to your new chatmode.

If you don't know the name of the macro/ key redefinition file you usually
use, you may not be using one, in which case you should answer "No" to this.



If you answer "Yes" to this question, you will be asked for the name of your
usual key definition file.

**Important**:

If you don't specify exactly the same name that you usually use for a key
redefinition file, Telix will have no way of knowing that you want the key
Alt-Y to invoke TomChat.



If the file you specify does not exist, Telix will mention that it is not
there, and a file with that name will be created.

If you specify a filename without an extension, the extension .KEY will be
used.  For instance, if you answer
"PD"
The install program will look for a file called
PD.KEY

If it can't find a file by that name, it will create it for you.




z) "Special: Make keypad send numbers when numlock is on?"


This option will probably not affect you at all.

However, if you sometimes use your keypad to enter data while online, you
may want to use this option.

If it is not used, TomChat will treat your keypad like any other special
keys, opening a function window and waiting for you to hit the key again.

When it is used (on your usual key definition file, as in option "y"), the
TomChat installation program places the appropriate output characters as
macros in your keypad.

If you have done this and you have your usual key definition file loaded when
running TomChat, it will appear as if the keypad is operating normally, and
(when NumLock is on, of course) you can enter numeric data easily.



!)  "Create new chatmode according to your specifications?"

The big question.  If you answer "Yes," CHATDATA will create a script called
TOMCHAT.SLC, which will be a chatmode according to the settings you
described.  If you answer "NO," nothing will happen.




?)      [The Help option]

You can print this README. file from the main menu of the TomChat
installation program by typing '?'




                      ╒═══════════════════════════════╕
                      │       Aborting  TomChat       │
                      ╘═══════════════════════════════╛


To abort TomChat, Hit <ESC> and answer Y[es]. Any other key will return you
to TomChat.



When TomChat is running, your status line will look something like this:

───────────────┬──────────┬───────────────┬──────┬───┬──────────┬──────────────
Alt-Z for Help │ VT102    │  1200∙N81 FDX │      │   │ TOMCHAT  │ Online  00:05
───────────────┴──────────┴───────────────┴──────┴───┴──────────┴──────────────

Otherwise, it should look like:

───────────────┬──────────┬───────────────┬──────┬───┬──────────┬──────────────
Alt-Z for Help │ VT102    │  1200∙N81 FDX │      │   │          │ Online  00:05
───────────────┴──────────┴───────────────┴──────┴───┴──────────┴──────────────
                                                          ^
Note that there is no scriptfile name in this box ────────┘

                ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════╕
                │         What's new in version 2.5         │
                ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════╛


==> A variable number of lines in the recall buffer

==> Able to assign recall, unrecall, and make_macro to almost any
        key_combination

==> Wordwrap in the outgoing window



                    ╒═══════════════════════════════════╕
                    │         License Information       │
                    ╘═══════════════════════════════════╛


TomChat is not, nor has it ever been, public domain or free software. You may
try TomChat for 30 days before registering.

You may give unregistered copies of this to friends. You may also post
TomChat on BBS's and similar shareware distribution systems, provided that:

    1) No special payment is required to get TomChat to try it out.

    2) All TomChat files are included (README, INSTALL.BAT, & CHATDATA.SLC)



═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Many thanks to P.D. Crowe, who beta tested this and found many bugs and
insisted on a nice, easy-to-use program, and to Peter Ziebel, who brought a
particularly bad bug in an earlier version to my attention.

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
TomChat,  (c) 1991 by Tom Breton  Registration is only $12.00

Please send your check to:
Tom Breton,  BR Enterprises,  PO Box 71,  Norwood, MA  02062
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════


Also by the same author:


                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        ~~~~~~~ Magic Wilderness ~~~~~~~~
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A shareware computer adventure game, plus!

This program does so many things, it's hard to list them all.



First, Magic Wilderness is a fascinating adventure game:

  The unregistered version comes with a few interesting .MW modules,
  for a swords-and-sorcery genre game.

  The registered version allows you to use any .MW module at all.
  And it's not limited to swords-and-sorcery either! Forthcoming modules will
  create games in several science fiction genres, and more.

  And it's not limited to fixed scenarios. Most modules are never the same
  twice. Even after you've played a module over and over, it can surprise
  you!


  It uses an improved role-playing system, where experience is gained for
  what you do, not what you kill. Much more satisfying than hack-and-slash
  systems.

  The monsters are smart.

  The game is smart too. It will present you with the most likely options
  first, for easy play. But you can reject them and go as wild as you like!


Second, Magic Wilderness is an adventure creator:

  You can easily create your own .MW adventure modules with it.

  It's not much harder than playing the game normally. You simply walk
  through the game as if you were playing it, creating an adventure as you
  go. Then you save it to disk, and there you are!

  It is completely programmable. No matter how complicated you want your
  monsters or devices to be, you can do it. Every effect in the game is
  available to be used by you.

  You have as much control over random and non-random encounters as you want.
  Or as little. If you want to simply say, "Put a lot of trolls here," Magic
  Wilderness can do it.


Third, Magic Wilderness is a DM's helper:

  It provides complete computerized help for games with your friends. Invite
  them over for a game, and let the computer handle the drone-work. *You*
  handle the fun!

  It will take care of every technical detail you allow it to. Not just
  dice-rolling, but:
        The passage of time
        Random encounters
        Skills
        Experience
        Travelling
        Pursuit by monsters and/or NPC's
        Random treasure generation
        Random dungeon  generation

  In fact, *anything* that the solo game handles, you can let the DM mode
  handle too!

  You can even undo recent events if your own judgement tells you to. If Joe
  just got killed by a lucky blow from a troll, it's up to you whether that
  stands!


Miscellaneous features:


  A forthcoming edition, which will be available to registered users, will
  allow you to play with others via modem.

  It will have the capacity to support all graphics modes, from text-only to
  animated VGA.