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Text File
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1989-06-26
|
28KB
|
768 lines
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GT POWER 15.00 Notes |
| Paul Meiners |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
P&M Software Co.
3104 E. Camelback Rd.
#503
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Voice (602) 285-9914
Modem (602) 285-1146
6/20/89
If you are converting from a previous version of GT POWER, it would be
an excellent idea to backup your hard drive(s) before beginning. Care
has been taken and considerable testing has been done, but mistakes
are always possible when upgrading software from one release level to
the next.
PLEASE NOTE: After changing to GT POWER 15.00 remember to remove the
/OC from the command line on the netmail programs.
To migrate from GT POWER 14.03 to 15.00, you must run the SYSOP
program. Select the (I)mport option to convert GTMAIL and GTMESSAG
files to the new format. There will be 1 central user file, which is
called USER.CTL, which has an index file associated with it, called
USER.IDX. In each message area the MESSAGE.CTL file will replace the
GTMESSAG.CTL file, and there will be created a USER_MSG.CTL and
associated USER_MSG.IDX. The USER_MSG files will record information
concerning which messages have been read by a user in each area. Also
these files will enable the new UNjoin command to function. It is
possible that the USER.IDX file might become damaged, if so, the SYSOP
program provides a (C)onstruct user index file option. This command
will go thru and build a fresh USER.IDX file from the USER.CTL file.
After running the SYSOP program to import your GT control files, the
WEEKDAY.COM program must be run to install the day-of-week in the
message bases. Once done, it will be kept up-to-date automatically.
Also, you must convert your phone directory from the old format with
the GT_UTIL.COM program, which is provided. The phone directory has
some added fields - comment entries.
Also, the new external protocol interface requires that the Kermit
batch files be redone. Please read item #56 below for more details.
- 1 -
+----------+
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1. Due to the problem of overlay shells causing a small amount of
memory to be eaten each time a shell is executed, a "QUIT 255" will be
automatically executed after any call that has executed such a shell,
either as a door, external protocol or remote shell. To accomodate
this new feature, the HOST.BAT file should be constructed in the
following manner:
:HOST
GT1500 ...
if errorlevel 255 goto HOST
Other errorlevels and housekeeping stuff need not be changed.
Please note that an 'errorlevel' of 1 is used for many error exits
from GT. It may be trapped and appropriate action taken (like the
reboot of the computer or restart of the HOST.BAT file.
|
+----------+
|
2. A new status line indicator "SCR", shows when a script is
executing.
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+----------+
|
3. New option for BBS files. The ^U, variable substitution line.
You can now begin a line in one of your BBS/CBS files with a Ctrl-U
and then get the following substitutions for the remaining part of the
line.
M ....... Current message base description.
S ....... Current file section description.
Wn ...... Set the width of the following paramter to 'n'
positions.
X ....... Xmit stats. The X alone would show the D/L amount in K.
XF ...... The XF would show the D/L amount in files.
R ....... Recv stats. The R alone would show the U/L amount in K.
RF ...... The RF would show the U/L amount in files.
C ....... The caller number.
F ....... First name of the caller.
H ....... Home of the caller - city & state.
L ....... Time remaining in minutes.
N ....... Caller's name.
T ....... Current time.
D ....... Current date.
n ....... 'n' Number of blank columns.
And quoting, "...", of course! Put any other text within
quotation marks and it will be printed as is.
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+----------+
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- 2 -
4. Two color chat mode. Works only in ANSI graphics mode.
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+----------+
|
5. Variable keyboard timeout in host mode. It is set to default to
10 minutes now, but this parameter, if given on the command line can
override it.
For example: /T8
Would cause the keyboard timeout to be reduced to 8 minutes.
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+----------+
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6. The "Read Global" mode is introduced. This will take you thru
the entire set of joined areas without a break. And you can follow a
thread the whole way!
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+----------+
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7. Due to popular demand, I am introducing an undocumented feature,
against my better judgement (but I am writing this for you, sooo...)
If you specify the '-' with the /V option, the automatic QUIT 255 will
not be done. For example:
/V:ED-
If you used this option, then the QUIT 255 would be eliminated and the
program would consume memory in the same fashion as 14.03 did.
I believe this to be inherently dangerous, hence I do not plan to
document it. However, I will advise anyone who complains about the
QUIT 255 of its existence. So you are NOT sworn to secrecy over its
existence.
(I don't consider the READ.ME file to document these things.) :-)
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+----------+
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8. The dialing directory sort routine has been expanded to a 7th
option, i.e. to sort the directory ascending on the new comment
fields.
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+----------+
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9. The upload/download stats are now being accumulated by GT in the
USER.CTL file. They are displayed on the (Y)our info display for the
caller. This display has been redesigned so that it looks more
organized.
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+----------+
|
10. The (M)essage to sysop function will now insure that the caller
is JOINed to the sysop message base, so the response from the sysop
- 3 -
will be caught by the "Check for personal mail?" function.
|
+----------+
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11. There is a new command line option, the /M option:
/M ..... Suppress the "Check for personal mail?" prompt.
/MN .... Allow the "Check for personal mail?" prompt, BUT default
the caller's response to [y/N] instead of the normal
[Y/n].
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+----------+
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12. Whenever a message is addressed to Sysop, the program will now
replace "Sysop" with the contents of the 3rd line of the SYSOP.BBS
file. Which should now contain the name of the Sysop. The
translation will not occur in netmail areas.
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+----------+
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13. Zmodem auto-download now available. This means that the
terminal mode of GT will now look for the DSZ signature and
automatically drop into ZMRX.BAT whenever detected. The signature is
"rz\x0d**\x18". Of course, if this signature changes, then the auto-
download will not work, and the PgDn method will have to be used.
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+----------+
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14. The Alt-I config has been changed. The pathname setup has been
moved to the top screen, and the CTS, RTS & DTE options have been
placed onto the misc. screen.
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+----------+
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15. More script changes. New built-in variables:
%TIME .... The current time.
%DATE .... The current date.
New command, TDIFF, calculates the difference between two times and
stores the result in minutes in integer format.
For example:
V1 = %TIME
V2 = %DATE
WRITELN "The current date/time is: " %1 " " %2
ONLINE
V3 TDIFF %TIME %1
V4 STR %3
WRITELN %4 " minutes spent ONLINE on this date " %2
The GOTO command has been added to the script language. Here is
- 4 -
an example script:
V1 = 0
:LOOP
V1 ADD %1 1
V2 STR %1
WRITELN "VALUE = " %2
CASE %2
= 100
WRITELN
WRITELN "DONE!"
QUIT
ESAC
GOTO LOOP
Please note the a label must be on a line by itself, and that the
first character of the label must be a ':' and it must appear in
column 1. This loop will add 1 to variable 1 a 100 times, printing
the result of the addition on each loop.
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+----------+
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16. The speed of execution of scripts has been improved. Please
check any timing dependent scripts you have available.
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17. The (L)ocate function of the dialing directory has been expanded
to search the script name entry, the telephone number and the new
comment fields.
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+----------+
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18. The format of the Capture Review window has been altered to
eliminate the vertical window frame lines, thus allowing a full 80
columns to be viewed.
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+----------+
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19. The WELCOME.BBS for use with message bases has been re-worked.
If there is no MBULLETn.BBS file in the area, then the WELCOME.BBS
will not pause after display. If there is a MBULLETn.BBS file, then
there will be a "Press RETURN to continue:" between the two screens,
but after the MBULLETn.BBS is finished, control will transfer directly
to the read sub-menu.
Also, the "A;1;R" command can now be entered as simply "A;1", as GT
will now force an R automatically after a change to an area is
performed. And, although it does not appear on the menu, it is now
possible to perform the (A)read change command from the read sub-menu
(so you don't have to (Q)uit first.
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+----------+
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- 5 -
20. On the (R)ead Messages sub-menu, there is a new item, the "Msg
Area(+,-)" command. This function provides the equivalent function to
"q a 2 r", except that you move +1 or -1 from the current message
area.
|
+----------+
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21. Color bulletins. You may now have colored bulletin files
available from the GTBMENU.BBS! Regular bulletins would be called, as
they are now, simply by the number, for example file '1' would be
bulletin #1, file '2' would be bulletin #2, but the color versions
would be '1.CBS' and '2.CBS', etc.
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+----------+
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22. The Circular Dialing function will now begin dialing from the
point in the phone directory where the lite bar is located. In prior
releases, the Circular Dialing function always began at the beginning
of the phone directory.
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+----------+
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23. The message edit sub-menu has been expanded to include a (R)ead
function. This will allow a caller to quote other messages, and it
will allow sysops to include other documents inside messages.
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+----------+
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24. During the listing of areas available for the (A)rea change or
(C)hange section commands, when a 'More?' appears, it is now possible
to stack input. During message entry, when a message is being listed
thru either the (R)eview or (L)ist options, when a 'More?' appears, it
is now possible to stack input.
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+----------+
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25. During message entry, if the caller enter an .ORIGIN line, the
line will be converted to an *ORIGIN line (which will not be harmful
to the netmail programs).
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+----------+
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26. Another new version of DOOR.EXE is released. It makes some
additional tweaks to the stack length, to improve reliability.
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+----------+
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27. You may now begin lines in screens (such as the bulletins) with
a ^F (ASCII 6) character. Following the ^F character will be the name
of a file to display. This file will be displayed in a nested
fashion, i.e. as if it were a part of the main file containing the ^F
character. A nice way to arrange bulletins, so that multiple CLASSes
can be sent a collection of items to read. Please do not nest screens
more than two deep! For example:
- 6 -
^FC:\GT\FOO.BAR
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+----------+
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28. A time limit to enter the password has been setup. The time
limit is 15 minutes. If the caller cannot get the password entered in
15 minutes he will be terminated.
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+----------+
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29. If a caller calls the system within 10 minutes of a scheduled
event, the system will allow him to "bail out" with no charge against
his daily call limit.
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+----------+
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30. The message headers now contain the "Day of the week". The
WEEKDAY.COM program is provided to convert message bases to the new
format. To run WEEKDAY.COM, the message bases must have _already_
been converted to the 15.00 format.
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+----------+
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31. The new USER.CTL file is indexed for rapid access. And there
will be only one USER.CTL, instead of the many GTMAIL.CTL files that
existed prior to level 15.00.
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+----------+
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32. The system will now request confirmation before aborting the
entry of a message.
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+----------+
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33. Attempts to gain entry to the system, by banned users, are now
logged.
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34. When the sysop enters the local shell (Alt-1) the caller will be
sent a notice telling him the fact, so that he will not wonder why his
keyboard is "locked".
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+----------+
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35. The local shell (Alt-1) is now available from more places,
instead of just at the main menu. However, upon return from the local
shell, the return is made to the main menu.
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+----------+
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36. Private message areas are now possible by placing a '$'
character before the pathname in the GTMDIR.BBS file. This feature
- 7 -
cannot be used with the default message area. A private message area
is an area where only PRIVATE messages are allowed.
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+----------+
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37. Read-Only message areas are now possible by placing a '<'
character before the pathname in the GTMDIR.BBS file. This feature
cannot be used with the default message area. A read-only message
area is an area where no one is allowed to enter message (except the
Sysop, I guess, since he can do most anything).
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+----------+
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38. The (L)ist message command, used during message entry process,
requests the starting line number (which may be stacked ahead of
time), so that the complete message need not be listed.
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+----------+
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39. The (D)elete line command, used during the message entry
process, can now accept a range of lines. It will still accept single
line deletes. For example, both of these are valid syntax:
d;1 or d;2-4
Please note that the range _must_ be specified with the '-' character
as the delimiter.
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+----------+
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40. The message edit function now allows the Topic of the message to
be changed, prior to the saving of the message. Also the Topic is not
automatically converted to uppercase letters, as it was in the past.
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+----------+
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41. The Ctrl-X Sysop command now requests confirmation, prior to
disconnecting the caller.
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+----------+
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42. There are now LAN setup parameters which must be addressed if
you hope to run GT POWER 15.00 on a network. They are:
PID Number ..... Must be a unique number between 0 and 9. GT will
support LANs of up to 10 GT POWER host systems
(PIDs).
PID Name ....... This should be the resource name that this node is
known by on the network.
LAN Path ....... This _must_ be the home directory for GT POWER on the
network server (it need not actually run GT). The
LAN Path directory will contain the USER.CTL,
- 8 -
USER.IDX and PID_FILE.BBS (at the very least). These
are created automatically. It is assumed that these
files will be shared among a number, if not all,
systems on the LAN.
The LAN Path *must* be specified to get file and message sharing fully
enabled. Without a LAN Path, GT will assume that a non-sharing
environment is established (like a regular single node BBS).
File sharing is implemented using the record locking facilities of DOS
3.1+ SHARE. It is recommended that you give this program adequate
facilities to do its job. I have found this command line works well
for me:
SHARE /F:6144 /L:60
If you give SHARE too little trouble is sure to occur!
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+----------+
|
43. New doors!
GTNLOGON.BAT ..... New-user logon door. Runs just prior to the
regular logon door.
GTNLOGOF.BAT ..... New-user logoff door. Runs just prior to the
regular logoff door.
Naturally, if these files are not found in the GTPATH directory, the
doors will not execute.
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+----------+
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44. New message threading option!
You can now specify a textual search thread. The program will display
all messages containing the indicated search string. The '?'
character can be used as a wildcard character (that will match any
character from the text.
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+----------+
|
45. The SYSOP.BBS file now has 3 lines. The 3rd line should contain
the name of the sysop of the BBS. This name will be used on messages
sent to SYSOP. The first two lines on this file contain the (1)
greeting to chat mode and (2) the city-state prompt for new users.
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+----------+
|
46. The KL permission is now available in the GTPASSWD.BBS file. A
CLASS of user with this permission can (K)ill messages, as if he were
the Sysop. This is a handy permission for Assistant Sysops. It
should not be given to the regular callers.
|
- 9 -
+----------+
|
47. The FA permission is now available. It must be granted before
anyone can perform File Attaches from your system. This eases the
overload on the FR permission, which now controls File Requests only.
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+----------+
|
48. Major news! The (UN)join command is now included. This command
must be executed by typing UN at the main menu. A list of conferences
will be presented to the caller, and he may select a conference to
UNjoin. The effect of unjoining will be to eliminate the mail scan
for that conference at the next logon. The (A)rea change command can
be used to re-join a previously unjoined conference.
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+----------+
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49. A macro key can now send the NUL character, binary zero, by
including the following in the key:
{NUL}
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+----------+
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50. Due to the many questions from users, the Modem Speaker strings
will now default to the empty state.
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51. The limit on the number of doors has been raised to 999. The
names of the door files above 99 will be changed to accomodate the
bigger number.
GTDOORnn.BAT ----- Doors 1..99
GTDORnnn.BAT ----- Doors 100..999
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52. Door sub-menus are now possible. For example, if your
GTDOORS.BBS had something like this:
Main DOOR menu
==============
A. Game Doors
B. Database Doors
C. Utility Doors
Then if the caller selected 'A', he would be shown a sub-menu named
GTDOOR-A.BBS, or he if selected 'B', he would be shown GTDOOR-B.BBS,
etc. Whenever the caller made a numeric entry, he would be put into
the selected door. A 'RETURN' will take the caller back to the main
door menu, GTDOORS.BBS.
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- 10 -
+----------+
|
53. New ASCII Transmit parameter adds the ability to specify an end-
of-line delay time in milliseconds.
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+----------+
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54. New flow control option has been added. It is now possible to
specify RTS flow control. This is useful with high-speed operations.
When doing disk I/O during a file transfer, GT should now first lower
RTS and then raise it again afterwards.
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+----------+
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55. New command line parameter, /S, is intended as a selective
override of the "QUIET" mode, so that the Sysop page can be heard (but
nothing else) while the system is in "QUIET" mode.
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+----------+
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56. Parameterized external protocols are now supported. Ten slots
are provided for this purpose. The first five slots come pre-
configured for Jmodem, Kermit, Zmodem, Ymodem-G and BiModem. The
remaining five slots are totally open. Any or all of these slots can
be fully modified. This change has required a change in the interface
to external protocols, so that a consistent interface is employed.
Thus new batch files for Kermit must be installed. They are included.
The interface to the external protocol is as follows:
1. The two character batch file initials are taken from the table
in GT and combined with TX and RX to make the name of the file.
For example, the table shows KR for Kermit, therefore the two
batch files are KRTX.BAT and KRRX.BAT.
2. The command line for the batch file is as follows:
KRTX port speed filename1 filename2 ...
When translated to the command line for the external driver
%1 = COM port number
%2 = Baud rate
%3 and following are the filenames to process.
For example this is my ZMTX.BAT file:
dsz port %1 speed %2 handshake both sz %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
A new program, GTBIMOD.EXE is available to interface with BiModem ---
a super new protocol. To get logging to work properly, with BiModem,
you should:
(A) Install BiModem to do full logging, i.e. both summary and
- 11 -
detail logging must be enabled.
(B) Install BiModem in a separate directory, I have mine in
C:\GT\BIMOD\ and then make sure that the command line for
GTBIMOD includes the correct pathname.
(C) After the transfer is complete, GT POWER will read the
BIMODEM.LOG from the indicated directory and format entries in
the GT POWER style for the GT.LOG. Here are samples of both
logs:
GT.LOG
------
4-20 16:22 BIMODEM LOG
4-20 16:22 TX: GT1500.C 1834
4-20 16:22 TX: OVR5A.C 8122
4-20 16:22 TX: OVR5B.C 9639
4-20 16:22 TX: OVR5C.C 25578
4-20 16:22 RX: ADV.ZIP 51624
4-20 16:22 BIMODEM: 5 FILES 96797 BYTES 0:04.02 TIME 399 CPS
BIMODEM.LOG
-----------
Connected to: ...
17:56:57 S 31402 2:12 237.8 BPS C:\GT\GT1.C
17:59:10 S 1886 8 235.7 BPS C:\GT\GT1500.C
17:59:19 S 9508 40 237.7 BPS C:\GT\GT2.C
17:56:58 R 51624 3:37 237.8 BPS C:\GTBBS\GENERAL\ADV.ZIP
18:00:00 S 11221 47 238.7 BPS C:\GT\GT3.C
18:00:48 S 3023 13 232.5 BPS C:\GT\GTBIMOD.C
Disconnected @ 18:01:04
Please note that the "Overlay" option of the External Protocol table
will not take any effect unless you use the /V:E option on the GT
command line.
The command line for GTBIMOD.EXE is as follows:
GTBIMOD port baud bipath
Where: port ....... the com port in use, you can use %1.
baud ....... the baud rate in use, you can use %2.
bipath ..... the path where to locate the BIMODEM.CFG
and BIMODEM.LOG files.
|
+----------+
|
57. The door interface given in the GTDDIR.BBS file has been altered
to allow for selective overlay of door programs. To enable this
feature the sysop must use the /V:D option on the GT command line,
then use the '&' char to selectively choose which doors are not to be
overlaid. For example:
E [EDLIN_Door_#1] &Enter Filename:
- 12 -
This shows how to setup an entry for a door that is _not_ overlaid.
If there is no prompt string, then you can simply give the '&' char by
itself, as follows:
E [EDLIN_Door_#1] &
Again, the '&' char allows selective override of the /V:D command line
switch.
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+----------+
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58. The phone directory has been redesigned. The structure has been
changed from the ground up, to one that is more conducive for use with
the C compiler now in use and to allow comments to be added for each
entry in the directory.
|
+----------+
|
59. A minimum baud rate is now supported. At this time, it is only
used in connection with the "Dialing Directory", that is it overrides
the baud rates so that no connection should be made below a stated
rate. This functions much the same as the pre-existing maximum baud
rate.
|
+----------+
Best Regards,
Paul Meiners
6/20/89
THE END
- 13 -
