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1993-06-07
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MENUMAX Version 1.0
Brought to you by
The Computer Doctor, Inc.
June 7,1993
Written By :
Shawn Hord
Copyright (c) 1993 The Computer Doctor, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
MenuMax 1
______________________________________________________________________________
A little about the creation of MENUMAX
I decided to program MenuMax to allow Sysops who use the Bulletin Board System
TRIBBS Ver 4.x the ability to enhance their BBSes without having to constantly
update the custom menus that TriBBS allows. We found this task cumbersome and
boring when we updated our systems' menus, having to update the .MNU files and
then update, or re-draw the custom menu. During also there are a couple other
TriBBS BBS Systems in our area and they were impressed by our menus, and wanted
to know how we made our menus so they could adapt this look and feel to their
systems, well the task of manually building menus is not all that fun and can
be boring at times. So I thought to myself, hey I already know what the menu
items are so why not create a program that will enable me to scan the .MNU
files located in the NWORK directory of TRIBBS and let the computer place
the items on the menus for me. It took me a while to get the algorithm
correct but I finally finished them. I wanted a program that was versatile
and easy to use, and I also wanted the program to create the menu screens to
match the security levels of the user that logged into the system. So the
custom menus would not have menu items listed that the user could not enter.
Our system was also getting a little out of hand when it comes to consistency
with each menu. This program will help you keep your menus consistent from one
to the next. I also want to add some optional spice to our BBS system where a
user could have a different menu style everytime they logged back into the
system, so I create a nice little RAMDOM menu style generator that will let
you Randomize the menus every time the user logs out of the system by placing
the MENUMAX /R in the BETWEEN.BAT this will randomize the screens everytime a
user logs out of the system, or change the menus daily by placing MENUMAX /R
in our Nightly.BAT file. I'm sure you will find MENUMAX a beneficial utility
for the TRIBBS Bulletin Board System. For my efforts I am asking you to
contribute $15.00 to this Shareware program if you like it and wish to use it
with your TRIBBS System.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
MenuMax is a copyrighted program being distributed under the shareware
concept. As such you may use MenuMax for a period of 45 days without
registering the software. After the 45 day evaluation period, you must
register your copy of MenuMax or you will be in violation of United States and
International copyright laws.
As a shareware program, MenuMax may be freely distributed through a BBS.
Shareware distributors may distribute copies of MenuMax on disk for a modest
disk duplication charge not to exceed $6 per disk/disc.
WARRANTY
MenuMax is distributed without warranty. In no event will Andy Villers or
Shawn Hord or The Computer Doctor, Inc. be liable to you for damages, including
any loss of profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages
arising out of your use of or inability to use the program, even if Andy
Villers, Shawn Hord, or an authorized representative has been advised of the
possibility of such damages. Andy Villers and Shawn Hord will not be liable for
any such claim by any other party.
MenuMax 2
______________________________________________________________________________
Setup and Installation
To install MenuMax Create a sub-directory on your hard drive, and copy the
MENUMAX.ZIP file to that directory. Using an Unzip utility unzip the file in
the directory.
MenuMax requires you to create a configuration file, this configuration file
is call MENUMAX.CFG. This file contains the path where you have installed
TRIBBS, the Name of your BBS System, and a list of the security levels you
use with your system.
Example:
LINE1: C:\TRIBBS\ {Note the last "\" is required}
LINE2: The Doctors Operating Room : BBS {Name of BBS}
LINE3: 10 {Security Level 10}
LINE4: 20 {Security Level 20}
LINE5 30 {Security Level 30}
...
LINE9: 100 {Security Level 100}
This is a sample of the MENUMAX.CFG file, please note that the words LINE#
are not included in the configuration file, we have used the word Line# to
specify which line you are supposed to enter the data. Use a standard Text
Editor to create the configuration file, make sure you name the file
"MENUMAX.CFG"
Once you have the configuration file created and the program unzipped you can
now begin creating your custom menus.
MENUMAX 3
_____________________________________________________________________________
Using MENUMAX Version 1.0
At the DOS prompt Change to the directory where you installed MENUMAX then
type MENUMAX at the DOS prompt.
MenuMax will display it's introduction screen, press [ENTER] to continue. You
will then be given a menu with a list of different menu topics, use the [UP]
and [DOWN] cursor keys to move the highlighted menu bar to the Menu you wish to
create. NOTE: For every menu you wish to create you must have a .MNU file in
the NWORK directory in TRIBBS for that menu in order for MENUMAX to create the
Menu. Once you have chosen the Menu Topic you want to create, you are then
given Four(4) sample Menu Styles to choose from, use the cursor arrow keys to
choose the menu style you wish to use, then press the [ENTER] key to choose
that style. MenuMax will do the reset. If you choose a Menu Topic that does
not have a .MNU file for it, MENUMAX will prompt you an ERROR explaining it
can not find the .MNU file, check to see if the .MNU file has been created or
is in the correct directory.
Advanced Option for MENUMAX.
If you want to take advantage of the Random Menu Generator, then type
MENUMAX /R at the DOS prompt. You do not have to enter any key strokes if
you choose to let MENUMAX choose the menu styles for you. If you want you can
place the following statements in your BETWEEN.BAT or NIGHTLY.BAT files to
automate this process for you. If you place MENUMAX in your BETWEEN.BAT the
menu styles will be randomize every time a user logs out of your BBS System.
If you place MENUMAX in the Nightly.Bat file, the menu styles will be changed
daily.
Lines to add to either the BETWEEN.BAT or NIGHTLY.BAT
CD\path to menumax
MENUMAX /R
CD\path to TRIBBS
MENUMAX will take about 3 Seconds to generate each screen for each security
level, you have in the configuration file, for each menu topic. A configuration
file with 10 security levels in the configuration file and randomizing all the
menu topics will take about one and a half minutes to complete.
MENUMAX REGISTRATION FORM 4
_____________________________________________________________________________
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ MENUMAX Version 1.0 ║
║ Copyright(c)1993 The Computer Doctor, Inc. ║
║ All Rights Reserved ║
║ ║
║ SysOp's Name : _____________________________________________ ║
║ ║
║ BBS Name : _________________________________________________ ║
║ (the above lines need to be as they appear in the) ║
║ (configuration file for MENUMAX ) ║
║ ║
║ Street Address : ___________________________________________ ║
║ ║
║ Street Address # 2 : _______________________________________ ║
║ ║
║ City : _________________________ State : _________________ ║
║ ║
║ ZipCode : _________-______ ║
║ ║
║ BBS's Phone Number(s) : _______________________________________________ ║
║ ║
║ Maximum Baud Rate : __________________________ ║
║ ║
║ Sysop's Phone Number : ________________________________________________ ║
║ ║
║ How would you like to receive your registered copy : ║
║ ║
║ [ ] 3.5" Diskette [ ] 5.25" Diskette [ ] Uploaded to your BBS ║
║ ║
║ [ ] Downloaded from our BBS ║
║ ║
║ The Registration fee is $ 15.00 U.S. Currency ║
║ ║
║ Please make all checks payable to : The Computer Doctor, Inc. ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
If you checked Uploaded to your BBS in the above form please pre-register
us with your system with enough security level to do so. We will log in under
the name Shawn Hord, with a password of TDOR. I will make changes to the
rest of my information when on-line. We will upload the file on the weekend
following receipt of your registration fee.
Also if you selected downloaded from our BBS you will be able to download
the file two days after we receive your registration fee. This obviously the
fastest way to receive your registered copy so you may want to think about
doing this one.
If you selected a diskette type you will receive your copy in 2 to 3 weeks
after we receive your registration. We unfortunatly can not guarentee any
more speed since we will be relying on the U.S. Post Office to get you the
copy.