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Text File | 1991-11-04 | 24KB | 509 lines

AutoScribe Vs 1.3 Release Version 1.3 Copyright (c) 1991 Gary R. Smith All Rights Reserved DISCLAIMER There is made no warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation, any warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. I shall not be liable for any damages, whether direct, indirect, special or on sequential arising from a failure of this program to operate in the manner desired by the user. I shall not be liable for any damage to data or property which may be caused directly or indirectly by the use of this program. IN NO EVENT WILL I BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY. Borland C++ is a Registered Trademark of Borland International Inc CKIT is a Trademark of Data-Comp Information Systems PCBoard is a Registered Trademark of Clark Development Company If you would like to keep the latest version of AutoScribe on your system, you can download the latest version from one of our Support Boards or your favorite Quality BBS System. Random Access, (Rnbb Support Board) Marietta, Georgia (404) 516-7150 (HST) Features of AutoScribe: o Auto-Registration (Instantly!) for PCBoard 14.5+ systems! (Other BBS Systems may use the Credit Card Features!) o Uses default screens or create your own! o Supports up to 50 different subscription levels o Sysop defined registration levels, costs, tax, and handling charges. o Configurable to accept Visa! MasterCard! or American Express! o Instantly verifies different card types! o Displays in color / non - color modes! o Detects Loss of carrier! o Can operate at speeds in excess of 38400 Baud! o Will automatically log user off after 3 minutes of no keyboard activity! o Can be operated on a Multi-Networked Board! o Written completely in Borland C++! Getting Started: Setting up AutoScribe is a very simple process. If you have set up other RNBB doors then you will have no problems. RNBB doors follow the system standards as setforth by PCBoard. STEP BY STEP ------------ SETTING IT UP - (This example sets up a Single Node PCBoard 14.5 setup. If you are running a different type of BBS software, set the door up according to your BBS specifications. It should be very similiar to this example) /*------------------------------------------------------------------------ Step 1: (Creating a directory) Create a directory from which AutoScribe will run from. This Directory can be called anything you wish that is within the DOS 8 character limit. (This document will assume you have selected C:\PCB\DOORS\AS for the remainder of the examples). /*------------------------------------------------------------------------ Step 2: (Copy the files) Copy or UNZIP all the AutoScribe files into the directory you just created above. ex. COPY AS13.ZIP C:\PCB\DOORS\AS PKUNZIP AS13.ZIP /*------------------------------------------------------------------------ Step 3: (Create the Configuration file, (AS.CNF) or what ever name you like) (for multinodes you may wish to create different files such as AS1.CNF AS2.CNF etc.) Create the AutoScribe configuration file. This file will contain all the external data that AutoScribe will use. Using your ascii editor you will create a text file called "AS.CNF". The name cannot be changed and it MUST be placed in your AutoScribe Directory. If this file is not found a message is written to the screen and the program is exited. The below is a Description of each line required Example - (AS.CNF) Line 1 PCB145 ( BBS Type (Note 1)) Line 2 Random Access ( Bulletin Board Name) Line 3 99999 ( Registration Number) Line 4 The Computer Store ( CC Billing Name (Note 2)) Line 5 0.05 ( Handling Charge Percentage) Line 6 0.00 ( Tax Percentage) Line 7 Y ( Auto Reg (Note 3)) Line 8 Y ( Supports Visa (Y/N)) Line 9 Y ( Supports MasterCard (Y/N)) Line 10 N ( Supports American Express(Y/N) Line 11 Y ( See Note 5 , Which Date) Line 12 WARN ( See Note 6 ) Line 13 GOODBYE ( See Note 7 ) Line 14 SUBDAT ( See Note 8 ) Line 15 NO ( See Note 9 ) Note 1: BBS types - PCBoard 14.5 PCB145 PCBoard 14.2 - PCBOARD WildCat xx.x WILDCAT RBBS xx.x RBBS SPITFIRE x.x SPITFIRE TBBS xx.x TBBS QBBS xx.x QBBS Note 2: Line 4 is to contain the name of the company that will appear on the billing slip. Not necessarily the sellers name. Should be the name of the company holding the merchants number. This name is displayed in the warning screen and the receipt area. Note 3: If you run a PCBoard 14.5+ system and want auto-registration done then place a "Y" on this line. If you do not wish for Auto-Registration (Security Level and Adjusted Expire Date) then place a "N" on this line. All other BBS types place a "N" here since no instant registration will take place. Note 4: Lines 8,9,10 - If you can support the credit card listed on the line then place a "Y" on the line else place a "N". Do this for each credit card that AutoScribe supports. Note 5: Line 11 decides whether you want the door to use the expiration date in the users file to upgrade the users new expire date from or to use todays date. If a "Y" is on line 11 then AutoScribe will use the Expiration Date found in the Users file to upgrade from. If a "N" is found it will use todays date to do the calculation. If an "ASK" if found a question "Is this a new subscription?" will be asked. If the user answers yes then todays date is used for calculation, if no is answered then the current expire date is used. Y - Use Expiration Date N - Use todays date ASK - Use either according to answer Note 6: Line 12 will have a "Y" if you want AutoScribe to use the default warning screen built into AS. If you want to build your own then you must place the correct path and file name on the line. If you want a graphic version of the warning file then create an ANSI file and append a "G" to the name. Ex. WARN is the name of the example warning file (Non Graphic) WARNG is the name of the graphic warning file Note 7: Line 13 will have a "N" if you do not desire to have a logoff file displayed to the user. If you decide to show the user a logoff file then the correct path and name of the file should be included here. The nameing convention for graphic files follows the example above for the warning file. (This could be a thank you file, extra information file etc.) Note 8: File Descriptions. If you would like to show the user a more detailed listing of your subscription levels, you should create a file which describes your levels and place it on line 14. (SUBDAT is an example). If there is a filename listed on this line, then a menu will be presented to the user. The menu has 3 options. 1) View Subscriptions, 2) Subscribe to BBS, 3) Return to main board. If you desire that AutoScribe take its normal course of operation and show the listing in short form then place a "N" on this line and there will be no menu system used. The nameing convention for graphic files is the same as used above. Append a "G" to the graphic version. Note 9: Line 15 decides who will get charged for taxes listed in line 6. One of the following arguments should be entered on line 15. NO = No one gets charged for tax ALL = All users get charged for tax STATE CODE = Enter the TWO (2) letter code here of the state that is to be charged tax. (Only that state will be charged) *NOTE* All filenames must only be 8 characters in length, Including the appended "G". This file is to be placed in the AutoScribe directory. /*------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 4: (Construct the batch file) You now need to construct the batch file that PCBoard will use to call the AutoScribe program. If your running multi-node you may want to use the PCBoard enviornment variables provided by pcboard 14.5+. By creating this batch file you are configuring it so AutoScribe will run for that node. Each batch file you create should be like the following example. (Assuming we are configuring for a single Node) (The Users file in line 3 is only for PCBoard 14.5+ systems) AS - (PCBoard Version) Line 1 @ECHO OFF Line 2 CD C:\PCB\DOORS\AS Line 3 AS AS.CNF C:\PCB\PCBOARD.SYS C:\PCB\MAIN\USERS Line 4 CD C:\PCB Line 5 BOARD AS - (PCBoard Multinode Version) Line 1 @ECHO OFF Line 2 CD C:\PCB\DOORS\AS Line 3 AS.EXE AS.CNF %PCBDRIVE%PCBDIR%\PCBOARD.SYS C:\PCB\USERS Line 4 CD %PCBDIR% Line 5 BOARD AS - (Other BBS Version) Line 1 @ECHO OFF Line 2 CD C:\BBS\DOORS\AS Line 3 AS AS.CNF DOOR.SYS Line 4 CD C:\BBS Line 5 BBS COMMAND Line 1 Turns off the Local Screen Echo (DOS 3.3 and up) Line 2 Changes the directory to where AutoScribe is stored Line 3 (1) AutoScribe Executable Statement (2) The complete path to that nodes PCBoard.sys, DOOR.sys, Generic.sys file (3) If you are using a PCBoard 14.5 system and you have AutoRegistration turned on in the config file, you must put the path to your users file here. (ALL other type bbs's leave blank) Line 4 Changes the directory back to the PCB directory Line 5 Calls the PCBoard program / or your bbs program NOTE: Your AutoScribe batch file should be similar to the example above, Line 3 however, Must contain the path to the pcboard.sys or door.sys type file. * IMPORTANT * Previous version of AutoScribe did not contain the config file to be listed on the command line. You *MUST* now include the config filename as the first argument on the command line after the exe filename. This file is to be placed in the PCBoard or BBS directory. /*------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 6: (Adding AutoScribe to the Doors File) The next step to setting up is to add AutoScribe to your PCBoard Doors file. This is done through the PCBoard setup program. All you need to do once you are in the PCBSETUP editor for doors is place the name of the batch file you just created above in a slot for a door, give it a minimum security level and your all done. /*------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 7: (Editing the AS.DAT file) The AS.DAT file contains the data about your registration process. The data in this file MUST conform to the standards setforth in this document. Each subscription level in the file consists of TWO lines of Data Line 1 is a 50 character limited line that is a description of the registration level the user will purchase such as the following example. (Design your own if you like!) ex. "60 Mins a Day 4 Months 1000K Daily D/L Limit" |----------------- 50 Characters---------------| Line 2 consists of three (3) parts ex. 20.00,120,35 (This example depicts a $20.00 charge for 4 months and the user receives a security level of 35) Part 1 - Price, The cost of the subscription is placed here followed by a comma. Part 2 - Days, The length of the subscription is placed here, such as 120 = 4 months, 60 = two months etc. Part 3 - Security Level, The security level the user will receive is placed here. ENSURE that any security level you put here is also noted by PCBoard. If Not you will get the error "NO SECURITY LEVEL MATCH IN PASSWRD FILE". Your final lines should resemble the following: 60 Mins a Day 4 Months 1000K Daily D/L Limit 20.00,120,35 Without skipping a line you can place your next line of descriptions up to 15. (Unregistered versions will only utilize the first line). ex. 60 Mins a Day 4 Months 1000K Daily D/L Limit 20.00,120,35 120 Mins a Day 12 Months 2000K Daily D/L Limit 60.00,365,55 This file is located in the AutoScribe directory. * if you are using the option to display your own subscription data, ensure that your dat file matches your subscription file! * /*------------------------------------------------------------------------ RUNNING AutoScribe When you first run AutoScribe a 2 functions occur. 1. Your AutoScribe Users file will be created. This is the database file that holds your users information. CREDIT CARD information is NOT stored within any AutoScribe file with the exception of your invoice file. (XX.INV) 2. The Invoice Counter file is created. Each time a user agree's to purchase a subscription an invoice file is created. (The invoice file contains all of the Users information such as Name, address etc.., It also contains the Credit Card Number and type of card used along with the subsciption the user purchased.) These files are written in a numerical sequence such as 1, 2 and have a suffix of ".INV", so your first order would be contained in the file "1.INV" etc. If you wish to start with a higher number, edit the AS.CNT file with an ascii editor and place the number you wish to begin with inside of this file. 3. Next the door begins . First is the opening screen. Then the warning screen, then on to the first look at your subscriptions you have available. (Unregistered Versions will only show 1 subscription available) 4. The user is then asked to enter thier credit card number if they decide to continue. They may quit at any time. Note: If a user has previously filled in the data this information will be re-displayed to the user. A database of user information is kept in the file AS.USR. 5. The Credit Card is checked for validity. If it is valid and you indicated in the config file that you support the card the user will be asked to fill in each of the questions for the database. (If the card is not supported the user is shown a screen informing him of the error) Cards that are supported are listed above the line where the user types in the number. All numbers are redisplayed as dots and are NEVER visible to the screen. (This is for user protection, and a confidence check) 6. Once the user passes the validity check they are once again presented with the options screen. The user selects by number the subscription level they wish to purchase. They are asked to confirm this selection before the information is written to disk. 7. Upon confirmation the user is shown a screen (Receipt) indicating the amount of sale and the option the user selected is displayed. (This screen may be SCREEN CAPTURED for a receipt) 8. After reading the receipt the user (If you have selected auto-registration and your running PCB14.5+) will be automatically upgraded. The only upgrades available at the present time are Security Level and Expiration Date. 9. The user is then presented with the exiting screen and are passed back to the Main Board or BBS system. IMPORTANT ITEMS FOR SYSOPS Your invoice files are created with the title of # and a suffix of .INV, for example, your 21st order will be labeled "21.INV" and will be in your AutoScribe directory. It is not within the scope of this document to describe procedures for processing your invoices. Your credit card merchant should provide this information for you. XX.INV LAYOUT The following is the layout of the xx.inv file. This file was reconfigured for future enhancements. 11/01/91 ;date 15:01:20 ;time Gary Smith ;user bbsname 3 mon - 45 min - 1 Meg/Day - 175 file limit ;type purchase 30.00 ;amount 0.00 ;handling charge 0.00 ;tax 30.00 ;total MasterCard ;cc type 1234 5678 9012 3456 ;cc number 0293 ;cc expire date Gary Smith ;cc name 5012 Olde Mill Drive ;address Marietta ;city/village GA ;state/country 30066 ;zip/postal code 404-xxx-xxxx ;home phone 404-xxx-xxxx ;work phone --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those of you that understand Ports and IRQ settings! NOTE: If you need to specify a non-standard port address and IRQ, then the syntax is PORT:AAAA:X where AAAA is the base address and X is the IRQ. It doesn't matter whether PORT:AAAA:X is the third or foruth parameter as long as it is the LAST parameter passed. PORT is optional, and AutoScribe will default to standard addresses and irqs if it not used based on the port number read from the BBS file. AutoScribe will assume COM1 = 03F8 IRQ 4, COM2 = 02E8 IRQ3, COM3 = 03E8 IRQ4 and COM4 = 02E8 IRQ 3. If you have a different non-standard port address and irq, you could then use the PORT cmd to change the defaults. AutoScribe will also support the use of FOSSIL drivers. The syntax for a FOSSIL driver is: PORT:F:P. The 'F' tells AutoScribe to use a Fossil driver for it's communications. The 'P' following it tells it which port to use for the Fossil. Example - PORT:F:1, tells AutoScribe to use a fossil driver for port 1. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- AutoScribe is Shareware. You are granted a TWO week trial period in which you may evaluate AutoScribe. If you continue to utilize this product you are required to register it with the author. If you do not register AutoScribe within the required time frame allowed, You are REQUIRED to remove it from your board in accordance with the United States Copyright Laws governing the use of Pirated Software. If you register your copy of AutoScribe, you will receive a registration Number to place in your AS.CNF FILE. This number can be mailed to you, or for faster use you can call our support board and download it. (See the registration file for more information.) We accept MasterCard/Visa Registrations. See the REGISTER.DOC file for mail in's or call our Support BBS and register online for immediate satisfaction and use of all features in AutoScribe. To register your copy of AutoScribe, Fill out the form Register.doc and mail it along with $20.00 (U.S. FUNDS) to : Gary R. Smith 5012 Olde Mill Drive Marietta, Georgia, 30066 Make all checks payable to "Gary R. Smith" All checks must be drawn from U.S. Banks...No foreign currency will be accepted. (This includes Canadian) Please include in the Registration form, exactly how you would like your BBS name to appear on the Closing Screen.