Programmer 7500

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Programmer 7500 / MAX_PROGRAMMERS.iso / PROGRAMS / UTILS / COMMUNIC / ROBO20_B.ZIP / ROBOCOMM.HST < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1990-02-25 | 25.3 KB | 520 lines

ROBOCOMM REVISION HISTORY 02/22/90 ====================================================================== 2.0 o Released 02/22/90 2.0-ß6 o Added a graceful exit from the PC Pursuit dialing routines. You can now press the ESC key and Robo will end the current Pursuit dialing routine properly and move on to the next BBS in the agenda. You will be asked if you want to remove the BBS from the agenda queue for this pass. o Added "Upload" and "Download" menu options to the file transfer menu. You can use Robo's internal YMODEM (PC Board's Xmodem-1K) or an external protocol launching program. 2.0-ß5 o Added a "T" command to the DOWNLOADS directory. This command runs a batch file called TESTFILE.BAT o Added PUMA auto-downloads to the terminal mode. To do a PUMA d/l all you need to do is have ROBORP.BAT and PUMA.EXE in your path. HAVING THESE FILES IN THE ROBOCOMM DIRECTORY WILL NOT WORK (unless, of course, you robocomm directory is in your path). The reason is that Robo switches to your download directory before starting the file transfer. o In the "Downloads" directory, pressing "O" with an "offline" file highlighted will move that file back online. The file will be copied from the diskette in your configured "Offline" drive and you will be prompted wether you want to delete the source file. o You should now get a litsing in your downloads directory whenever you d/l a file from a Robocomm agenda. If no matching file is found in the newfiles directory, Robo will make a record in the downloads database with a blank file description. You can fill in this description when creating an upload agenda item. o Robo won't loose it's place in the downloads directoy when adding multiple "upload" agenda items. o Added a new option to the PC Pursuit configuration wondow which allows you to specify the contents of a X.3 Pad setting string. Do not include the SET command as part of this string. Also, DO NOT include a "1:0" set command, as this will disable Robocomm's abaility to break back out to the network via the "@ <CR>" sequence. The recommendation for this setting to maximize Zmodem throughput over Pursuit is: 4:10,5:1,7:8,12:1 Robo will break back out to the network and issue this SET command after connecting with the outdial city and before switching the outdial modem into Racal-Vadic mode to attempt the dial. o Changed main menu routines to pull-down menus. o Changed file clean-up routines. They should be a bit faster and more reliable now. o The key to move agenda items in the agenda editing screens has been changed to TAB and SHIFT-TAB. o Robo will send a Ctrl-E to uncork the PCP outdial modem if it doesn't respond to the ATZ command. If that fails, a @<CR> is sent to get back to Telenet control. 2.0-ß4 o Added a "Start Date" to the go later menu. Under the new system, if the start date & time has passed when you enter them, the agenda will execute immediatey. The corresponding command line parameter is the "/d" parameter for date. So, the following would run an agenda at 12 noon on Feb 20th: ROBOCOMM /Aagenda /T12:00 /R /D02-20-90 2.0-ß3 o Added error checking too recover if Robo is unable to open the NetMail/PCRelay/MegaMail door. o Added a "BBS Type" field to the BBS screen. Toggle the values by highlighting the field and pressing enter. Choose the BBS type that is most appropriate for the system you are calling. You need to use this field to specify boards that are running PCBoard 14.5 if you want to be able to upload to the BBS. o Changed file upload routines so that multi-line decriptions can be entered if the system is PCBoard 14.5. If it is a PCBoard 14.5, an extra <CR> is sent after the last file description line. o Some improvements to redial screen display and logic. 2.0-ß2 o Changed the default file specification for the pop-up directory (Shift-F10) during upload agenda item creation to "*.*" instead of "*.ZIP" Don't forget that you can type in any filespec you want before hitting Shift-F10 and that filespec will be used to filter the files shown in the pick list. o Added support for the new MEGAMAIL door, from Kip Compton. Use the "PCRelay/NetMail/MegaMail" menu option on the agenda screen and answer the questions asked. For the OUT batchfile, I use: MEGAUL.BAT ========== DSZ port %1 speed %2 pB4096 sz f:\mega\up\%3.ul IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO END COPY f:\mega\up\%3.ul f:\mega\up\%3.old del f:\mega\up\%3.ul :END for the IN batch file, I use: MEGADL.BAT ========== IF EXIST F:\MEGA\DOWN\%3.DL DEL F:\MEGA\DOWN\%3.DL DSZ port %1 speed %2 pB4096 rz f:\mega\down\%3.dl ───────────┬────── └────────┐ Notice the way that I have done up the filename to │ send/receive ──────────────────────────────────────┘ This menu option works on any door that immediately expects an upload after the door opens and then immediately processes the download. The %3 parameter is the BBS ID. o Added an integrated PC Pursuit Dialer. To use PC Pusuit with Robo, fill in all of the information on the new "PC Pursuit Configuration" screen and then go into your BBS directory and input the "Outdial city" of each BBS that you want to use Pursuit with. Remember to set your baud rate for the BBS to 1200 or 2400 baud and also take the area code out of the phone numbers. Robo automatically maintains a timer of your billable PC Pursuit usage. It is displayed on the "F2" pop-up "RoboStatus" display at the main menu. To reset it, go int your Pursuit config screen and edit the counter back to zero. Robo will not dial a BBS through Pursuit during "prime time" unless you set the "PRIME TIME" configuration option to YES. o Added configurable prompt definitions for ProDoor and ProLogon/DDoor. o Added an option to set the speed of exploding windows on the general config screen. 1 is the fastest speed and 1000 is the slowest. I prefer 137. o Added and option to the bouncing "Waiting until" box so that pressing [Enter] will start the scheduled agenda immediately. o Robo will now "Remember" the last agenda that was run between sessions. NOTE: you will still need to "SET" the agenda if you want Robo to automatically reset all "DONE" itmes to "TO DO" status. o Added a "Read ZIPMail" option to the read menu. For now, this option shells to DOS and calls a batch file called "READZIPM.BAT" (you make this file yourself). A ZIPMail reader is in the works. o Added code to prohibit the use of the dial command from within the ANSI terminal if you got to the terminal by pressing the [Esc] key while the agenda was running. o If the file ROBOAUTO.BAT exists in the robocomm subdirectory, it will be used for the Zmodem auto-download feature in the terminal mode. If it doesn't exist, ROBORZ.BAT will be used. The parameters sent to the batch file are the same as always: %1 Port # %2 Comm Link Speed (Not always properly detected by DSZ!! - especially at 38400 baud -- There is no reason to leave this parameter out, so use it!) %3 The full path and filename of the file being sent. o Fixed offline drive configuration option so that any drive letter can be used. o A record will be appended to the "downloads" database after a successful download even if a matching record can't be located in the "New Files" database. Since no description is found, it will read "None". o Changed the key to switch an agenda item's status between permanent and temporary to the "-" key to accomidate the new agenda item "TextView Download" which is now assigned to the "T" key. Also modified the ToDo/Done toggle key to also respond to the "=" (non-shifted "plus") key for people who are not using the plus key on their numeric keypads. o Revised QMail Upload routines so that only 1 attempt is made at uploading the packet. This is to keep a problem in the upload batch file from reporting an errorlevel that causes a double upload. o Changed the conference navigation routines to make them a bit smarter. Robocomm may now elect to ignore your request for an ANSI mail packet if it is currently in a ProLogon or DDoor front end where the graphics command isn't available. Does this upset anyone? Sorry about that. o The insert cursor should now be working always with all monitors. If this isn't so, please let me know! o Added support for TextView Door downloads. Use the "T" command on the Agenda modification screen to create an agenda item. Many people will use this command to download NewsBytes, USA Today or any other allowed file from a BBS without incurring a download charge. FYI, Joe Sheppard, the author of TextView, uses several different TextView Doors on his system, The Ledge. If you haven't taken a look at the daily USA Today file and offline reader available there (and many other BBS systems), you should. Very nice work. o Fixed file directory so that the file viewer you specify in the configuration is called, instead of being forced to SHEZ. o Fixed Mail Run routines so that errorlevels returned from DSZ atfer a failed mail download will not cause a critical error. o Fixed the prompt which asks to re-build index files so that it will not pop-up if running from command line switches. o Improved ZIPM caputre and download routines properly diagnose instances when no mail is found to capture. o Changed the file import routine to also check the "Downloads" database when importing new files. That way you won't get a "NEW FILE" listing for files you've already downloaded, or files you uploaded to a BBS. 2.0ß o Changed redial routines to respond quicker. Also, a "Modem Status" indicator has been added to display the dialing commands sent to the modem as well as responses back from the modem. o Changed a watch for "NO DIALTONE" during the dial routines to "NO DIAL" to accomidate a difference between Hayes and USR result messages. o Made Robo smarter about when it opens doors. If your system is set up with Qmail conference = 0 and ANSI Graphics off, Robo will open the mail door from the ProLogon prompt if the current agenda item is a mail function. o You can speed up Robo's performance substantially by letting it use some expanded memory for data buffers. The default is to use none. Use the ROBO environment variable to set this up. For example: SET ROBO=E250 │ │ └─┴───── NO spaces before or after the = sign, please. Use a capital "E". would tell Robocomm to use 250K EMS as data buffers. Take note, however, that this EMS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE for swapping when robo tries to run outside programs, so Robo might have to resort to disk swapping tomake up the difference. The choice is yours.... NOTE: If you get "Internal Error" messages or your system hangs when using this option, then Robocomm's (Clipper's) expanded memory routines are not compatibe with your EMS drivers. In this case, delete your .NTX (Index files) and re-start Robocomm without the ROBO environment string active. o All capture commands are forced to be done in PCBoard. This is because ProDoor doesn't always obey the ";NS" suffix when reading mail. Also, many people use the "T;?" capture command to set their transfer Protocol and that command doesn't work in ProDoor. The "Get ZIPM" command on the agenda creation screen is available if you want to capture messages using ProDoor. o Added a configuration option to control wether or not Robo uses exploding windows to the bottom of the general configuration screen. o Added prompt definitions for the necessary ProDoor prompts. The default prompts will work with the 3.1 and 3.2 prompts as supplied by Sam Smith, but they may need to be changed if your Sysop gets creative. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE "MAIN BOARD" PROMPTS FOR PCBOARD AND PRODOOR ARE DIFFERENT. This is necessary so that Robo can tell if it gets dumped into ProDoor by a ProLogon system. o Added a new directory of DOWNLOADS, files which Robo has downloaded. When uploading, you can press F10 to select from this list and the description will be provided for you. In this screen, the 3rd sort option is now on "Status" which will group the listing as follows: 1) Downloaded files currently in your defined download directory, sorted by name. 2) "Offline" files which have been moved with Robo's new "O" command will be listed alphabetically by VOLUME name of the disks they reside on. 3) Previously "Offline" files which have been copied to download directory to be uploaded will be shown with the status "Pending U/L" o Pressing "V" while in the downloads directory will call the compressed file utility you have specified in the utilities configuration screen to view the compressed fie. The default utility is SHEZ (which is excellent, you should grab a copy if you haven't already). If SHEZ is somewhere in your path, you don't need to change a thing to use this facility. This might be useful to people who want to use SHEZ to check for a dreaded virus. The files in the download directory are sorted with the most recent downloads at the top by default. o If you press [Del] while in the download directory, you will be prompted to delete the file also. Answer yes or no to delete the file from your hard disk. o Added support for 5 line descriptions in the NEW FILES directory and the download directory. The five line descriptions can be edited when creating an UPLOAD agenda item o Added "Import" command to the files directory. Press "I" in the file directory, and you will be prompted for a file name and a "Source" BBS name. The file should be an ASCII file in PCBoard file directory format. Any lines in the ASCII file which are not a PCBoard format file line will be ignored. For example, this will allow you to do a capture command for a keyword on the BBS, then import the "CAP" file into your "downloadable files" directory. o Added command to "offload" a downloaded file to a diskette. After pressing "O" while viewing the "Uploadable Files" directory, Robocomm will ask for the drive to offload to, and will allow for setting the volume label if there isn't one. The volume label of the diskette containing a file will be diaplayed in the bottom window if a file has been offloaded. If you select this file to be uploaded, Robo will prompt you to insert the diskette so it can be copied back to the hard disk. o Changed shell to DOS in the terminal so that it gets as much memory as possible, not just a maximum of 512K. o Added spaces for 2 alternate phone numbers for each system. If one or more of these fields are filled in, Robo will cycle through the numbers as it attempts to dial. After Robo connects with a BBS, it will reset itself to the first number specified the next time it dials. o Added a counter to "R"e-enter the login ID up to 3 times if the BBS can't find the Login ID as received. o Added automatic Zmodem downloads to the terminal mode. If you are in terminal mode and Robo sees the Zmodem header, it will change directory to your specified download directory and fire up your ROBORZ.BAT file to start the download. ROBORZ.BAT MUST BE IN YOUR PATH SO ROBO CAN FIND IT ONCE IT HAS SWITCHED TO YOUR DOWNLOAD DIRECTORY !!!!!! o Added a /P command line switch (should be the last switch in the command line) which will force Robo to clean up its databases when quitting. This is for use by people who use Robo exclusively from command lines (sysops?) o Added the NetMail and PCRelay mail run options to the agenda screen. Robo will ask for the name of a batch file to run to send your OUT packet as well as the name of a batch file to use to receive your IN packet. You must supply Robo with the DOOR # to open in the "Mail Run" dialog box. o Removed the "Y"our Mail option from the agenda creation screen. The option is still functional. It just doesn't show up on the agenda menu. 1.09ß o Changed upload routine so that "Upload" agenda items are removed from the agenda in the event the file already exists on the BBS. Previously, they were retained with a "!" o Full ProDoor support. To make Robo do all its work through ProDoor, just specify the ProDoor DOOR # on the BBS data screen for the BBS. Robo will pick ProDoor from ProLogon or DDoor or OPEN ProDoor from PCBoard. I haven't tested with a version of ProDoor before 3.0, so if someone runs into one of these, could you let me know if you have any problems? Here's some hints for a happy honeymoon between Robo and ProDoor: - Indicate the ProDoor DOOR # on the BBS directory screen for each system that you want to use Robo on. - Set your Page length to 0 with the "P" command in PCBoard and ProDoor. - Set your transfer Protocol with the "T" command in PCBoard. - Set Expert mode ON, with the "X" command in ProDoor or PCBoard. - Make sure ProDoor's "Hotkeys" are set off. Use the "H" key in ProDoor to toggle this opotion. o Added new "Z" command to the agenda building screen that will cause Robo to go into ProDoor and do a ZIPMail download. You will find the downloaded ZIPMail packet in the same directory that your downloaded QWK packets reside, and Robo will use your "Download Qmail" Protocol to do the download. The packet name will be BBSID.ZPM. The packets are re-numbered in the same fashion as QWK packets as they are downloaded. - Set the conferences that you want to scan in the ZIPMail scan with the "J A" command from the ProDoor Main Board prompt. - Make sure to set your high message sin each of the conferences that you want to ZIPM, or you'll most likely get a bunch of old messages that you really don't want. o We now have an "insert" cursor that should work whenever you are typing in a data entry field. When you are insert mode the cursor will be approx 5 scan lines tall. Please let me know if the insert cursor doesn't work on your hardware setup. o Just FYI, the "Mail Run" agenda item indicated below will work for either NetMail or PCRealy mail runs. o Fixed exit routines so that Robo will leave DTR alone if it hasn't been asked to do anything that requires access to the COMM port. o Added the ability to specify a password for file downloads 1.08ß o Added a configuration setting on the renamed "Data & Logs" configuration screen that allows you to specify the number of Log file lines to display on the screen (from 1 to 12). The other lines will be dedicated to the online display. o Fixed recursive calling of several pop-up lists (by pressing F10 while in a pop-up list. 1.07ß o Fixed the notorious "lost clusters" bug which occured when the modem could not be initialized. o Fixed the bug which would cause command line switches to stop working for no apparent reason. o Fixed problem with the [F9] .CAP file viewing key only working once per trip to the main menu. o Fixed the MARKMAIL.RPD file. o Fixed timer display after exiting terminal mode during an agenda. o Fixed timeout message during downloads and added ability to recognize when a password is required for downloading. o Added the ability to recognize ProDoor and QUIT if Robo somehow manages to get into ProDoor (Some ProLogon systems go straight to ProDoor). o Pre-scanned packets in the Qmail 3.0 door are now properly handled. o Added a Bulk Erase option by BBS ID, and added AND/OR logic capabilities. Now, the following types of deletion conditions can be created: GROUPONE AND Before 07/01/89 GROUPONE OR Before 07/01/89 GROUPONE Before 07/01/89 o Added the ability to tag multiple systems when uploading files. To do this, just press [F10] when Robo asks for the system ID to upload to. Then highlight the systems to send to and press the space bar to tag/untag systems. NOTE: the conference to join will automatically be assigned according to your setting of the default files conference on the system directory screen. (See below) o Agenda items can be in any order! (Done "√" items are always listed at the bottom for each system). You can move agenda items within a board's sub-agenda using the TAB/SHIFT-TAB keys or Shift+Up Arrow and Shift+Down Arrow. HINT: If you have a 101 key keyboard, put your numlock on. Then, the arrows on the numeric keypad will move agenda items and the dedicated arrows will move the highlight bar. o Added append/overwrite mode to Command Captures. This will allow you to send a T;Z to change your protocol prior to downloading, for example. o Added a default "Files" conference slot on the systems directory screen. This value will be the default conf when uploading or downloading, and will always be used when "Broadcasting" a file.