home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Night Owl 6
/
Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso
/
034a
/
pchat2b4.zip
/
PROCHAT.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-09-08
|
13KB
|
243 lines
ProChat - The Ultimate Chat Door for PCBoard 14.x
A ProKit based door by Matt Messier
(c) Copyright 1990 Matt Messier
ProChat is a full featured chat replacement for PCBoard's internal chat.
It allows users to page others while in PCBoard, and also while in ProChat.
It also has many features not found in PCBoard's chat.
Config File
-----------
Prochat uses the standard prokit door config file format. The first line
must be the com driver type. This can be one of the following:
INTERRUPT - The best, fastest
BIOS - if interrupt fails to work
Prochat also uses several lines after that. The format of the config file is
as follows:
Line 1 - Com driver type (See above)
Line 2 - Path & name of your usernet.dat file
Line 3 - Path & name of the prochat data file - this will be created by prochat
the first time it is run.
Line 4 - Path & name of the prochat chat data file - this will also be created
by prochat the first time it is run. The format is VERY different
the format used by PCBoard itself, so do NOT use it in conjunction
with PCBoard's chat mode!
Line 5 - # Chat channels available for users. You can have up to 65535 chat
channels, or none at all. You will probably want no more than 5
channels since no system is large enough to make use of every channel.
Line 6 - Path & name of the welcome file to Prochat. This file is displayed
after the user chooses his handle. A 'g' is appended for a graphics
version if the user is in graphics mode. PCBoard's @command@ commands
are also available in the text file.
Line 7 - Flush method to use. This is a number 1, 2, or 3. 1 is the best &
fastest. If this does not work, try 2. It is slower but should work.
If ALL else fails, use 3. This is the slowest method but WILL work
since it closes and reopens the file when it writes to it.
Line 8 - [REGISTERED VERSIONS ONLY] This is the name of your BBS. It must be
typed exactly as you are given when you register the program.
Line 9 - [REGISTERED VERSIONS ONLY] This is your registration number. It is
used in conjunction with line 8 to make sure the program is actually
registered. Lines 8 and 9 are not necessary if you have not
registered Prochat.
Line 10- Number of nodes to support. This should be the highest node number.
If it is not here, it will default to 9 nodes. If you have not
registered ProChat, leave lines 8 and 9 blank and fill this one in.
Line 11- Name and location of the help file. If this is blank, CHTHELP will
be used as the default name and expected to be residing in the current
directory.
Line 12- [2.0ß2] place a "-1" (without quotes) here to allow the use of
handles. Anything else will disable handles. Absence of this line
will disable handles.
Line 13- [2.0ß2] place a "-1" (without quotes) here to allow the word "SYSOP"
to be used in users' handles. Absence of this line will disallow
users to use the word "SYSOP" in their handles.
Line 14- [2.0ß2] place a "-1" (without quotes) here to allow users to use the
same handle twice (ie. user on node one has the handle Matt. If this
flag is turned on, no one else may use the handle Matt while the
original Matt is still in ProChat)
Line 15- [2.0ß2] place a "-1" (without quotes) here to allow the word "SYSTEM"
to be used in users' handles. Absence of this line will disallow
users to use the word "SYSTEM" in their handles
Line 16- [2.0ß2] UNUSED. RESERVED FOR FUTURE VERSIONS
Line 17- [2.0ß2] place a "-1" (without quotes) here to have the users' calling
location displayed in the PCBoard node scans (/PA and /PC commands).
This is the same thing as the flag in PCBSetup "Include city field in
node scan".
CHTSETUP - Configuration Utility For ProChat 2.0ß2+
---------------------------------------------------
Starting with ProChat v2.0ß2, there is a program called CHTSETUP.EXE in
the distribution ZIP file. This program is meant to be a MUCH easier way to
edit your configuration file for ProChat. ProChat's configuration file is
growing rapidly and becoming more and more of a pain to edit with a text
editor. CHTSETUP is very simple to use. Simply run it with one command line
parameter. The command line parameter is the name and location of your ProChat
configuration file. For example, CHTSETUP PROCHAT.CNF will edit the file
PROCHAT.CNF. If the configuration file that you specify does not exist, it
will be created for you. Press ESC to exit editing. It will save your changes
automatically. Use the up and down arrows, enter, tab, and shift-tab to move
around the screen.
DOORS.DAT Modification
----------------------
Be sure to modify your PCBoard DOORS.DAT file to reflect the new door.
For example, adding "CB,,10" to your file would allow users in a 14.5 environ-
ment to have access to a new "CB" command at the main menu. With modification
to your PCBTEXT file(s), ProChat will seem almost transparent to your users.
Users can be paged while on the main board, etc, just like PCB Chat.
Note: Please do not raise the CHAT security in PCBSetup. This will disable the
"Paging" feature of ProChat. PCBText modifications (See below) will inform
the users of the new facility.
Batch File
----------
ProChat also uses the same batch file as most prokit doors. Your batch
file should look something like this:
@echo off
c:
cd\prochat
prochat chat.cnf c:\pcb
cd\pcb
if exist event.bat event
board
Notice line 6. This line is crucial if you have events that run. ProChat will
recognize the fact that a scheduled event should run and will run it if it is
necessary after the caller logs off. Failure to add this line and if an event
is scheduled to run, the event will NOT run.
Modifications to your PCBTEXT file(s)
-------------------------------------
Once you get ProChat up and running, it is recommended that you make
some changes to your PCBTEXT files(s). These changes will make the door
appear to be a normal part of PCBoard. Please customize these suggestions
for your board, here are some sample modifications:
Record# Text
122 Please type Q to quit back to the main board.
156 Please hit <ENTER> and type CB to enter CHAT.
225 wants you in ProChat/CB, @FIRST@.
226 At the Command line, type CB to chat with user
227 To Chat, type CB at the main command line. Please Press (ENTER)
228 To Chat, type CB at the main command line. Please Press (ENTER)
231 THE PCB Chat facility is no longer used-
234 Please enter (q) and then type CB to chat. Thanks!
248 PCBoard CHAT has been replaced with CB.
304 Available for CB
307 CB Request Sent
311 Chatting in CB
Handles
-------
When a user is in chat, they are allowed to use handles. When the door is
first opened it displays the copyright notice, and asks the user for a handle.
The default is the user's first name. Once in chat, the user can change his or
her handle with the "/HA" command. No two users can have the same handle in
chat. Prochat will not allow it. The word "SYSOP" also cannot be anywhere in
the handle. This was done so users could not pretend to be the sysop.
Who is on
---------
There are 3 different methods of determining who is on the system. First,
the user can type /PC for a PCBoard style node scan. This will display who is
on the system and what they are doing, just like PCBoard's WHO command. The
caller can also type /NO to see who is in Prochat. This will tell the user
what channel everybody is chatting on, who everyone is (full name & handle),
baud rate connected at. Finally, the user can type /FR to see who is chatting
on the same channel is him/her.
Paging users
------------
The caller can type /PA to page a user. The PCBoard style node scan is
displayed to the user, and then the node number to page is asked. ProChat
will automatically determine which method to use to page the user. If the user
is not in Prochat, then the user will be paged via the normal PCBoard method.
If the user is in Prochat, then the user will paged within ProChat. If the
user is paged in PCBoard, the user can only be paged once until the request is
received. If the user is paged in ProChat, the user can be paged any number of
times.
Private Messaging
-----------------
Users can also send a private message to another user on any channel.
This is achieved by typing "/SE". The node number to send the message to will
be asked of the user, and then the caller will be asked to type the message.
This only works when a both users involved are in Prochat. The private message
will go to any chat channel or squelch value. No matter where the receiving
party is in Prochat, the message will be received.
Private Chat
------------
Users can also have a private chat between two or more people. This is
accomplished by typing "/SQ" and choosing a "password". The password can be
up to 12 characters in length and case is not important. Pressing enter with
no input will return the user to public chat. If the user is in private chat,
referred to as SQUELCH, and pages a user that is in Prochat, the user will be
told what squelch value to use.
Channels
--------
This can be turned off in the config file by setting the number of chat
channels to zero (0). Users can move around the various channels by typing
"/CH" to change channels. When a user in prochat is paged, the chat channel
is also given to the user.
Monitoring
----------
Users also have the option of choosing up to 5 channels to monitor in
addition to the channel he or she is chatting on. If any text is sent on a
monitored channel with the same squelch value, the message will be displayed
with the channel number in front of who the message is from. The caller can
select the channels to monitor by typing "/MO" and entering the channel numbers
to toggle.
If the caller is chatting on channel 2, monitoring channels 1 and 3, and
switches to channel 3, channel 3 will be removed from the monitor list because
the user is chatting on that channel. The old channel that the user was
chatting on will NOT be added to the monitor list, however.
Chatting
--------
Prochat is basically the same as PCBoard chat. It displays the user's
handle, and then the user is allowed to type his/her message. Word wrap is
also used so enter is not necessary to type a message longer than 56
characters. Pressing enter will send the text on the current line, however.
There are two editing keys available to the caller in chat. Pressing
CTRL-A will delete the word in back of the cursor. In other words, pressing
CTRL-A will delete the last word typed. Also, pressing CTRL-X will delete
the line currently being typed.
If the caller tries to send a message and nobody is listening to the user
on the current channel/squelch value, the caller will be told that nobody is
chatting on the same channel, and the text will not be saved to the chat data
file.
Registration
------------
Registration for Prochat is a mere $20. If you are running more than 5
nodes, please contact Matt Messier for pricing information. Charging the same
amount for all sizes is no fair to those with smaller systems since they're
paying for the bigger systems. To register Prochat, send a check to "Matt
Messier" at the following address:
Prochat Registration
c/o Matt Messier
3 Loring Drive
Lincoln, RI 02865-1623
Registering Prochat will eliminate the log-in message saying the door is not
registered and will tell the user who the door is registered to. When you
register the door, your registration number will be sent to you within a week
of receiving your check. Please also tell us what the name of your BBS is and
how you would like it displayed on your system. Upper/Lower case IS important!
Thank you for your support!
Also, if you should need online support - or have suggestions, I (Matt Messier)
can be reached at 401-726-3859 (Data).