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Text File | 1992-05-19 | 28.5 KB | 712 lines

********** B E T A D R A F T ********** ReadBBS/PM - Version 0.97 Written by: Bob Mahan This on-line documentation can be view sequentially by selecting the next message from either the Messages menu, the M> push button, or the Hot Key ' Alt + . ' combination. Message : 1 (Introduction) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Welcome to ReadBBS/PM This program is designed as an off-line reader for electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). It utilizes list boxes along with Menus, Push Buttons, or Hot Keys to navigate through files, conferences, and messages. A large text pane (from which you are reading this message) displayed the contents of either the selected file, conference, or message. The text pane is also used for entering replies. Message : 2 (Introduction) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : ReadBBS/PM On-line Documentation This on-line documentation is presented in message format to allow the ReadBBS/PM software to interact with it. This file can be used to learn and practice the various options that are available. Message : 3 (Introduction) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Supported Bulletin Boards This release supports only the Multi-Net BBS message format. The next release of the ReadBBS/PM software will support other BBS mail format, including the popular QWK format. So send in your registration so I can bribe my wife to keep working on this. Message : 4 (Introduction) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Disclaimer Although this software has undergone extensive testing, no guarantees or warranties are implied or assumed by the use of this product. Any problems that are reported will be addressed and registered users will be notified about the fix. Message : 5 (Introduction) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : Registration This product is distributed as Shareware. If you feel that the ReadBBS/PM product is worthy, a contribution of $25.00 would be appreciated to continue development and support. The $25 will register your current copy of ReadBBS/PM and entitle you to the latest version free. Send a check, money order, or cash (I'm not picky) to the address shown on the welcome or 'About' dialog. Message : 6 (Introduction) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : Enhancements Enhancement requests are always welcome. This product has been designed around personal BBS behavior and usage. Your feedback on ways to improve ReadBBS/PM can be sent to the address shown on the welcome dialog or through various OS/2 BBS's which I frequent. You need not be registered to request enhancements, but it wouldn't hurt the cause any. Message : 1 (Basic Features) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : User Interface ReadBBS/PM is a Presentation Manager (PM) based system with pull-down and pop-up menus, and mouse support. Multiple list boxes are used to display and select drives, directories, files, conferences, and messages. Push buttons for message and ongoing conference discussion (thread) processing are also available. Special 'Hot-Key' combinations have been setup to allow for quick access to various functions. The key combinations are shown to the right of the pull-down and pop-up menu item. Message : 2 (Basic Features) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : Disk and Directory Lister ReadBBS/PM provides generic disk and directory listings in the first two list boxes. Once a directory is selected, a list of all the files within that directory are displayed in the text pane along with size, flags, and date information. When a specific file is selected the file contents are displayed in the text pane. If the file is over 2,000 bytes in size, then only the first 2,000 bytes are displayed by default and the entire file can be shown with the Files->Read Entire File option. Message : 3 (Basic Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : 2 Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Conference and Message Lister By default, lists of conference names and message numbers are automatically scanned for when a file is selected. This feature is controlled by an option on the Conferences menu called Auto Read. If ReadBBS/PM is being used as a general file manager, then this option can be turned off to improve the overall performance of the product. Message : 4 (Basic Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : 3 Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Conference Contents List When a specific conference is selected, the text pane will display a list of all the messages that are found for that conference. The default format for the list is to include the message number, date, and subject. There is an option to have a long conference contents displayed with the addressing (To/From) information as well. Message : 5 (Basic Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Message processing Forward/Backward Message processing can be accomplished in a variety of methods through the use of the keyboard and/or mouse. Forward message processing will display the next unread message by default. So as threads are read they will not be redisplayed. Backward message processing will always display the previous message number regardless of the message skipping option. Message : 1 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Integrated editor An integrated text editor is available from the text pane. This editors' behavior is similar to that of the OS/2 System Editor. Cut and Paste operations are available as well as options for search and replace. Message : 2 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Hyper-Messaging Any message number that is displayed in the header or body of a message can be selected and jumped to automatically. The number can be highlighted by either dragging the mouse over the number or by double-clicking on the number. once the number is highlighted the Get Message menu item found on the Text pull-down and pop-up menus can be used to go directly to that message within the same conference. Message : 3 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Message/Thread Top and Bottom Push Buttons and Message Menu items are available for reaching the top or bottom message in a particular conference or thread. The push buttons are indicated with a single '<' or '>'. Message : 4 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Zoomed Text An option on the system menu allows a user to maximize the text pane so that it uses the entire window. The list boxes and Push Buttons are not available in this mode, but there are Message menu items and Hot Keys to navigate through the mail. Message : 5 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Saved Messages A file can be created in the selected directory that has messages saved in it. The name of the file is MESSAGES.SAV and can be accessed as a regular mail file. This file can be used to archived messages of special interest for later reference. Message : 6 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Automatic reply file generation When replying to a message, the reply file created will be pre-formatted with a header line showing information about the original message, the contents of the original message prefixed with the initials of the author, and the authors first name. A signature file is looked for in the current directory with a name of SIGN-IT.4ME This file will be appended to each message reply file automatically when the initial reply text is created. Message : 7 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : Automatic text re-flow When a reply file is created, the text in the reply file is automatically re-flowed to insure that there are no lines that exceed 72 characters in length. This re-flow helps insure that the reply uploading works as well as possible and maximizes the line utilization. The user also as the ability to request the reply file to be re-flowed to insure that any editing done to the file (ie. adding the response) will not exceed 72 characters. Message : 8 (Advanced Features) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : Index file generation When a mail file is read, ReadBBS/PM will search for an index file with the name of the mail file and a .IDX extension. This index file will improve the performance for mail files accessed more than once. The index file will also keep track of the messages that have already been read and skip over those if the Messages->Skip Read option is checked. Message : 1 (Installation) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.93 Subject : Installation Overview This version of the READBBS/PM program must be installed on an OS/2 workstation and has been tested with version 1.3 and 2.0 GA. The installation is completed by unzipping the files to a directory, and moving two .DLL files to a directory found in the LIBPATH. Message : 2 (Installation) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : 1 Online : Help Panel Version : 0.93 Subject : Packing List Below are the files that should be found in the installation directory after unzipping the package: READBBS.EXE ... The executable module for this product READBBS.ICO ... A simple Icon for .EXE ON-LINE.DOC ... This documentation file ON-LINE.IDX ... Index file for on-line documentation SIGN-IT.4ME ... A sample signature file for replies README.1ST ... Initial documentation file for ReadBBS/PM VPMBAS13.DLL ... Run-time library needed VPMVM13.DLL ... Run-time library needed Message : 3 (Installation) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : 2 Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Installing the .DLLs Once the .ZIP file has been unzipped, there should be a file called READBBS.EXE along with this documentation and a sample signature file. The .DLLs that this program uses are the same ones used by Smalltalk/V PM and READBBS/PM expects to be able to find them in the LIBPATH. If the LIBPATH has ;.; (a good OS/2 practice) and the Invocation is setup as indicated below, then the .DLL files can remain in the install directory. Message : 4 (Installation) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Directory Structure Guidelines It is recommended that a separate sub-directory be established for each BBS that is accessed. This release will use the current directory of the mail to save messages and look for a signature file. Below is a sample directory tree format: x:\READBBS (unzipped files including .DLLs) +-- EEP (a BBS sub-directory) +-- NSC (a BBS sub-directory) Message : 5 (Installation) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : 3 Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Setting up the Program Set up a new program with the following properties: Program Name: READBBS/PM Program Path: x:\(path installed in)\READBBS.EXE Working Directory x:\(path installed in) Type: Presentation Manager Message : 1 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Usage Overview As this is a PM based application, this section will not discuss window manipulation, dialog controls, mouse usage, editing, etc. as such functions are fairly standard. Where differences occur, they will be noted. The Menu Items available from the Menu bar are dynamically made enabled based on the state of the application. For example, the Conference and Messages menu items are disabled until a mail file is selected. Message : 2 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : List Boxes Once the READBBS/PM application has been invoked, the list boxes for drives and directories will be populated with the working directory. As the user selects a item from a list box, the box or pane to the right will be populated with data related to the just selected item. Menus are available to act on items that have been selected. These menus are also available as pop-up menus, accessed by pressing the right mouse button (RMB) normally. Message : 3 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : File display After a drive and directory have been selected, the large text pane will display a list of all the files in the directory along with information such as size and date. Selecting a file to be browsed will display 2k bytes of the file in the text pane and if the file is a BBS mail file, the conferences will be populated in the fourth list box. Message : 4 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Conferences When a conference is selected, the text pane will display one of two listings of the messages that are found in that conference. The short listing will display the message number, date, and subject. The long listing shows addressing information as well. In addition, when a conference is selected, the message list pane will be updated to show a list of all the message numbers. Message : 5 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Messages Messages in a conference can be selected an a variety of ways. One main way is to use the list pane to choose a message with the mouse by number or use the Message push buttons (<M>). A pair of Hot Keys have been established to move forward (Alt+.) and backward (Alt+,) in the messages. Another way available is to highlight a message number in the text pane and use the Get Message option available via the pop-up menu. Message : 6 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : 5 Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Message Push Buttons and Hot Keys Push-buttons found in the middle can be used to navigate through the conference. Below are the push buttons and their meanings: < <M Reply M> > Hot Keys where: < = First message <M = Message Backward Alt + , Reply = Reply to current message Ctrl + R M> = Message Forward Alt + . > = Last message Message : 7 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : 5 Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Thread Push Buttons and Hot Keys Push-buttons found in the middle can be used to navigate through threads. Below are the push buttons and their meanings: < <T Search T> > Hot Keys where: < = First message in thread <T = Thread Backward Ctrl + B Search = Complex keyword search T> = Thread Forward Ctrl + T > = Last message in thread Message : 8 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Additional Hot Keys Aside from the Hot Keys that are available for message and thread navigation, there are keyboard combinations for other functions in ReadBBS / PM. Key combination Action performed Alt + x Exit ReadBBS / PM Alt + z Zoom Text pane to full window Alt + s Save file (name in Title Bar) Alt + a Save As (prompted for new name) Ctrl + f Find/Replace Ctrl + g Find again Message : 9 (Usage) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : Exiting from ReadBBS/PM There are several ways to exit normally from ReadBBS/PM. The first way is to select Close from the Exit pull-down menu. The second way to exit is to press Alt+X. The final way, and probably the easiest, is to click on the CLOSE button found on the tool bar. Message : 1 (Advanced Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Zooming Text An option available from the system menu called Zoom Text (Alt+Z) can be selected, if desired. This will expand the text window to maximum. From there all conference and message navigation can be handled from the menu bar or Hot Keys. The Zoomed mode can be toggled on and off with Alt+Z. Message : 2 (Advanced Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Auto Conference Reading The AUTO READ option on the Conferences Menu is set on by default. If ReadBBS/PM is being used on non-message files, this option can set off to improve the performance of the product for actions such as file browsing, deleting, and copying. Message : 3 (Advanced Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Message Skipping The SKIP READ option on the Messages Menu is set on by default. ReadBBS/PM keeps track of all messages read during the session and will automatically skip any messages already read when the Next Message menu, Hot Key, or push-button is selected. Message : 4 (Advanced Usage) . . . . . Updated : 05/18/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.97 Subject : Thread Processing The Auto Thread Top option on the Messages Menu is set on by default. This option, when checked, will indicate to ReadBBS/PM that when a request to get the next message in a specific thread hits the bottom of the conference, then the thread should be set back to the beginning automatically. If this option is turned off, then a pop-up message will be displayed at the end of the thread to prompt the user to either return to the top of the thread or not. Message : 5 (Advanced Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Text Menu Navigation - Get Message ... When viewing a conference list or message, any message number can be highlighted (double clicked) and retrieved with this option. - Conference List ... When viewing a message, this option will return to the conference list for the selected conference. This works well with Get Message to randomly view conference. Message : 6 (Advanced Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Text Pane Editing Although ReadBBS / PM is intended for use as a BBS off-line reader, the use of an Object Oriented Programming (OOP) language (thanks to Smalltalk), has permitted functionality above and beyond reading. The text pane is a full function editor and can be used as such. This is particularly effective when the text pane is zoomed to maximum. Message : 7 (Advanced Usage) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Text Pane Save options - Save ... Save the contents of the text window in the selected file. Save is not available when viewing conference lists or messages. - Save As ... Save the text contents into a file selected by the user. - Save Msg ... When viewing a message, the message can be saved into an archive file for later reference. The name of the archive file is MESSAGES.SAV and new messages are appended to the file. Message : 1 (Procedures) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Message Header searches Searches within a conference on information such as subjects and addresses (To/From) can be performed using the Conference List. 1.) Selecting the conference to obtain a list of all messages 2.) Highlight the text to be searched for (optional) 3.) Select Edit->Find or Hot Key Ctrl+f. (optional) 4.) Highlight the message number or double-click on it 5.) Select Text->Get Message Message : 2 (Procedures) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Message content searches Searches within the entire mail file can be performed using the Read Entire File option on the Files pull-down menu. 1.) Read the entire mail file into the text pane 2.) Highlight the text to be searched for (optional) 3.) Select Edit->Find (or Hot Key Ctrl+F). Message : 1 (Known Limitations) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : File extension assignment The assignment of reply file names uses the list of conferences to assign the file extension, which may or may not the complete list. The first line in the reply file does show the message number and the name of the Conference being replied to for verification when uploading. Message : 2 (Known Limitations) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Complex Search button inactive The Search push-button does nothing (yet). This button will be used to invoke a prompt for one or more keywords that will be searched for in the entire conference. Message : 1 (Known Problems) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Large Mail files Attempts to read a 4.4 Meg mail file causes a runtime error. Files up to 1.9 Meg have been tested and function properly. Status: Researching size limitation of Smalltalk Message : 2 (Known Problems) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Endless Loops The program has gone into a loop during certain actions that have not been accounted for (yet). Pressing Ctrl+Break will produce a run-time error. Status: Performing a much regression testing as possible to identify problem area. Message : 3 (Known Problems) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : Automatic Reply saving A reply MUST be saved by the user prior to continuing reading. Status: Reviewing event notification problem Message : 4 (Known Problems) . . . . . Updated : 01/27/92 . . Product : ReadBBS PM Refer.. : None Online : Help Panel Version : 0.9 Subject : System Close The System Close option (Alt+F4) is not working properly and does not close the entire application. Please use the Exit menu to terminate execution. Status: Referred to vendor for resolution