HPAVC/HPAVC CD-ROM.iso/DROPDOS1.ZIP/DROP2DOS.DOC

Text File | 1994-09-18 | 18KB | 294 lines

               Drop 2 DOS Door v1.00 Copyright(C) 1994 Steve Doss


                  DISCLAIMER

The author of Drop 2 DOS Door (D2DD) has extensively tested, checked, and
rechecked D2DD to make it safe during operation. The author of D2DD will NOT be
held responsible for anything that may happen to your computer system as a
result of using this product. The user assumes full responsibility for the
correct operation of this software package, whether harm or damage results from
software error,hardware malfunction, or operator error. NO warranties are
offered, expressly stated or implied,including without limitation or restriction
any warranties of operation for a particular purpose and/or merchantability.

License Agreement:

The D2DD main program, configuration program, and documentation are copyrighted
products of Steve Doss.  Steve Doss reserves all rights to these products. This
is protected by the United States of America (USA) and International Copyright
Laws. In no way shall the components of the D2DD software package be reproduced
or modified in any form or method without prior expressly written permission
from Steve Doss.

Tampering with or altering the contents or integrity of the D2DD software
package is prohibited. No fee may be charged by any agency other than Steve
Doss beyond the cost of distributing unregistered copies without prior
expressly written permission from Steve Doss.

I have used Brian Pirie's OpenDoors communications library for the
communications and interrupt handling, and this part of the software remains
copyrighted by him.

D2DD is distributed under the Shareware concept. You are allowed to view this
program for a reasonable amount of time after which you may decide to register
this program. After a reasonable amount of time, you must either register D2DD
or discontinue its use.
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REGISTRATION

Registration of D2DD is expected if you wish to continue using D2DD past the
trial period. The unregistered demo mode of D2DD allows only the use of mkdir,
rmdir,dir, and cls functions. The registered versions allows the use of all the
commands listed in the command list part of the program..type ? to get the
listing.

Registration for this program is $20 U.S. funds. This can be sent by money
order, check (drawn on a U.S. bank). Do NOT send cash. Once I receive your
money, you can obtain your registration key code one of two ways: Either by
calling my support board (The Oasis BBS) or by  conventional mail.The fastest
way to get your registration is to call my support board. If you are planning
on getting your key code on the board, call before you fill out the order form.
You need to write on the order form what name you used to call my board with,
and what password. Try to use your real name. If someone is already on by that
name, choose something close. What I mean is, if your name is John Doe, and
there is already someone on by that name, then use Johnathan Doe..etc. Either
way, write that information down in the appropriate section of the order form.
When I receive your payment, I'll immediately send you a private message with
your registration key code, and all the information required to register this
door. The telephone number of the support BBS is [phone]. This BBS is
located in Atherton, California. The Sysop is Stuart Cianos, and the CoSysop
is me, Steve Doss.

By registering this program, you will receive free technical support by using
the support forum on THE OASIS BBS. You will also be entitled to free software
updates, or bug fixes (if and when these occur). These updated versions (if
any) can be obtained on THE OASIS BBS in the Drop 2 DOS support file area. You
will not be notified of software updates. You must call THE OASIS BBS on a
periodic basis in order to receive these files.

Instructions on how to register the program once you receive your secret code
will be given to you when you register the program.

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Sysop Instructions:

Drop 2 DOS Door supports the following bulletin board systems and their drop
files: Pc-Board, Wildcat, RemoteAccess, QuickBBS, Maximus, Opus, WWIV, Spitfire,
SuperBBS, Telegard, RBBS-PC, TriTel, Gap, Renegade, and others.

Take the following steps for proper installation:

1) Put all of the files contained in the dropdos.zip file into a subdirectory
   of your choice. The best place is one level below your BBS directory. Name
   this directory whatever you want, use DROP if you can't think of one. For
   example, if your BBS path is c:\bbs, then go into the bbs directory by
   typing "cd \bbs" at the DOS prompt. Once inside, type mkdir drop (or
   whatever you chose as a directory name.) Then place all the files in the
   dropdos.zip file into this directory. Then, follow the directions in your
   BBS manual on putting BBS doors up. I tested this on a demo copy of PcBoard,
   and it requires that a batch file be created with non extension. My drop2dos
   door files were located in the directory c:\pcb\drop   So, my batch file was
   called drop.
   Inside were the following commands:

    @echo off
    cd \pcb\drop
    drop.exe c:\pcb
    cd \pcb

This door requires that you pass on a command line the path where the BBS drop
file is placed. In the example batch file above, my drop file was placed by
the bbs into the PCB directory. Find out where yours is placed in your BBS
package (consult the manual, or ask the author(s) ). Then just put that after
the drop.exe part. Then, following the BBS manual's instructions, tell the
board you have this new door (usually in a BBS configuration program) and
your ready to run the door. Try the door locally to test it out first. If
you don't have the batch file set up properly and the drop 2 DOS door cannot
find your BBS drop file, it will print an OpenDoors error on the screen. If you
see this, check your batch file again to see that it's set properly.

2) Download copies of both Pkzip(Tm) and DSZ (Tm). Unzip both of these into a
   directory listed in your path statement. Most people have a path statement
   to their DOS directory. You can put Pkunzip Pkzip and DSZ in there if you
   wish. The path statement is located in your autoexec.bat statement. If you
   do not have one there, consult your DOS manual on how to create one. This
   program also uses ANSI, so be sure to load up ansi.sys in your config.sys
   program. You probably already have ansi loaded on your system already.

3*) This might be an optional step for you. For those sysops that are running a
    multi-node system, then you'll want to have a copy of share.exe loaded
    first. Most BBS software requires share to be loaded anyways, so you might
    not have to. Share is used so that my program can tell if you are trying to
    use a file that another person on another node is accessing. This could
    cause problems for the file system. For Those sysops that are running a
    single-line board, there's no need to run share because noone else will be
    online at the same time as you.

4) Be sure your BBS package knows you have this door. Read the instructions
   regarding your BBS software to determine how to install a new door. If you
   have the option to set the level of security to enter this door, I'd suggest
   you set it at the Sysop security level. That way noone else will be allowed
   in the door. Then run the door locally. You can do this either from within
   your BBS package, or by using the dorinfo1.def file that is included in the
   drop2dos archive. That's it...ENJOY!!

5*) MULTI-LINE SYSOPS: This is not required for those sysops that have a single
    line BBS. For those with more than one node, read the contents of the text
    file called multline.doc. This will give you information on setting up this
    door with PCBoard in a multi-line setup. For those with other BBS packages,
    read this file, you might be able to apply the example to your board.
    Consult your own BBS package for instructions on setting up a door on a
    multi-line system.

6)  Be sure you have a fossil driver installed, as this door requires one.
    This will be changed in future versions.

7) This isn't an installation step..but, everything that occurs in the Drop 2
   DOS Door is logged in a file called Door.log  This file is located in the
   directory of the Drop 2 DOS Door itself. You can view this at any time in
   DOS by typing TYPE DOOR.LOG  Or use any text editor to view it. Do NOT try
   to view the DOOR.LOG file while you are in Drop 2 DOS Door. This could cause
   file corruption since the program is updating the DOOR.LOG file constantly.

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Note on using commands:

        You will notice that the commands react exactly the same as those in
DOS.  This was done on purpose. There is one important thing to remember when
using the Drop 2 DOS Door commands. Do NOT use any command line switches. Such
as copy /y or copy /a, or any other switch. I did include in some commands
certain command line switches that I felt were useful. For instance, for the
PKZIP command, I included support for the -a and -d switches. These are
important. A description of PKZIP and PKUNZIP can be found in the documention
for those programs. The switches that I did include can be found in the online
help section. Also, you'll notice a command listed when you type ?   that looks
like X:  This is used to access different drives that you may have in your
system. If you are on drive C and you want to change to drive D, or E you would
type D: and press ENTER, or type E: and press ENTER. You'll notice that if you
type either A: or B: and press ENTER that you get a warning. The warning is
there because if drives A and B in your system are Floppy drives, some systems
when you log onto the floppy drive and you do not have a disk inside you will
get a prompt saying drive not ready. If you are calling from remote to use this
door and that would happen, you would be locked out. If you know that you have
a disk in there, or they aren't floppy drives, then answer Yes to the warning
prompt to continue to log onto those drives. It's just a safety measure.
        One other important item that must be mentioned is that you cannot type
a drive letter in the source filename. For example, if you were on drive C and
you wanted to copy a file named test.exe from D drive to C drive, you would
normally type copy D:test.exe C:   This won't work. You must log onto the D
drive and go into the directory where test.exe is. Then copy it to whichever
drive and directory you want. You could type this with no problem:
        Copy test.exe e:\pcb\files   Drive letters and paths are allowed in the
destination, just not in the source. This is not an inconvenience, because 99%
of the time, you will be in the drive and directory of the source file anyways
when you are copying. You'll also notice in the copy command and others, when
you are overwriting a bunch of files like copy *.exe c:\board, it will tell you
that you are overwriting a file and if you wish to continue. You can answer
Y/N/A/X. Yes will overwrite the file, No will not overwrite the file, All will
overwrite this file, and will not prompt you again for the others. X will abort
the copy process and return you to the DOS prompt. Everything else is
self-explanatory. If you need more help, either check your DOS manual, or use
the online help feature in Drop 2 DOS Door by typing HELP and then the name of
the command you need help with.

Also, do NOT use the wildcard ? in a file. Like copy te?st.txt. This is not
included in the Drop 2 DOS door because I felt its use is not widespread. Using
the wildcard * works fine though.

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INTRODUCTION:


    This door was created for those sysops that wish to "drop 2 DOS" from
a remote location to check on their board, move files, etc.  At first glance,
it appears to be a dos shell. It's not. It's a "simulated" DOS environment
with all of the normal DOS commands that you are used to already. In most
cases (unless otherwise stated) you are not to use any of the dos command
line switches that you might use in a "normal" dos shell. For instance, with
my dir command in this door, you don't need to type dir/p to pause the page.
I've included the ability to pause the listing by simply pressing any key.
Pressing any key again resumes the listing. The listing can be aborted
immediately by pressing the letter x. Since this is not the usual "drop 2 dos"
that is normally included in every BBS package, this has full capability as
a door to rebound from a dropped carrier. You don't need any "watchdog"
programs with this drop door. If you've ever selected drop 2 dos on your
sysop function screen of your BBS software, and your line was suddenly
dropped, you know what a problem it is to have to go back to the location
of your BBS and manually exit out of the shell. The only thing you cannot
do with this door is run other programs. I don't feel a need for this,
since most work done while "dropping to dos" is that of maintenance.
Moving, copying files, renaming files, etc.
    For those sysops out there that feel a little paranoid about having
the ability to "drop 2 dos" built into their BBS software, this door is the
perfect choice. If you have the "drop 2 dos" ability turned on in your BBS
package, and someone were to hack your sysop account and log on under your
name, they could drop 2 dos and cause serious problems for you and your users.
With my door, not only will noone ever know you have it, or even see it on the
door menu (just don't list it there), I've also included a startup password of
your choice to get into my door. So for those of you out there that want a
secure board, AND want to do remote "drop 2 dos" you have your answer. Just
turn the option off in your BBS package, install my door, and you're set.  The
demo version distributed in the main archive available for download on BBS's
only allows you to use MKDIR, RMDIR, DIR, and CLS. All of the other commands
have been turned "off." They can be turned "on" by running the configur.exe
program and entering your registration key (after your register the door.)
    I've also included the ability to use Pkzip and Pkunzip. With those
two functions you can compress, remove files, add files, or view archive
contents at will. Two other handy functions were also included. Download and
Upload. Download and Upload use DSZ (Z-modem external protocol program from
Omen Technologies) for all transfering.  This allows you to update ANSI files,
BBS news files, bulletins, whatever. You can upload and download any file
completely bypassing the board's normal uploading and downloading routines.
Just upload files right into the directory you're currently logged onto.
Get the latest version of Pkzip and Pkunzip (available on every BBS, probably
even yours) and put them somewhere in your PATH statement. Your path statement
should be in your autoexec.bat file. It should say something like path=c:\pcb;
c:\dos; etc..etc. Your drive and paths would be different of course. Just put
pkzip and pkunzip into one of those directories. Also, download DSZ (Zmodem
protocol from Omen Technologies---also available on every BBS, probably even
yours) and put that in one of the directories in your path statement. If they
are set right, you should be able to go into any location on your hard disk
and type pkzip, pkunzip, or dsz, and have it load up. If it says "file not
found", you know you don't have the path set correctly. Check with your DOS
manual on how to do this if you are still unsure. I'm not including
documentation on all the dos commands I support in my door. You probably
already know how to use them already, and if not, the online HELP command will
give you detailed instructions on using the dos commands. I enjoyed writing
this program, and I hope you enjoy using it.
    Full instructions on obtaining your registration key are available in
the file called register.doc contained in the main dropdos.zip file.

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Special Thanks:

I would like to thank Stuart Cianos (Sysop of The Oasis BBS) for allowing me
to use his board as the support board for my door. He shares my enthusiasm,
and has high hopes for this door. He is also a very gifted programmer, as well
as a very friendly sysop who enjoys his board and the people that use it.


Miscellaneous Info:

In case you're wondering, I wrote this door in C. Using the OpenDoors toolkit
library, which is the finest shareware C communications library I have ever
used. It was written by Brian Pirie. The latest version of this library can
be obtained from both The Oasis BBS, and from Brian Pirie's OpenDoors support
board in Canada at [phone]. At the latest compile time, this program was
over 4000 lines of code. 300-400 of which were used for the copy command alone.
This extreme programming was done to give full DOS functionality in a simulated
"shell" environment.

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DSZ (C) by Omen Technologies.
Pkzip and Pkunzip (C) by PkWare Inc.
Share.exe (c) by Microsoft Corporation