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GT POWER - 14.00 Copyright (c) 1985, 1988: by P & M Software Co. All rights are reserved. Host Mode Documentation April 25, 1988 P & M Software Company 9350 Country Creek #30 Houston, Texas 77036 U.S.A. Voice Phone: (713) 778-9471 Modem Phone: (713) 772-2090 1 Table of Contents ----------------------------------------- Brief Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Installation of Host Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The "Modem Init String" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The "Host Mode: Modem Init String" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The "Modem Answer String" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The "Result Codes" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Hang-up during host mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The "Message base PATH" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The "Default file section" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 DSZ.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 PCKERMIT.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Host Mode Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Forcing the "More?" prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Disable the "More?" prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Disable ^K/^C break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 ANSI graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 GTSYSID.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 GTWELCOM.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 GTPASSWD.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 GTBULLET.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 BULLETx.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 GTMENU.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GTHELP.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GTBYE.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GTBYEx.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GTUSER.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GTDIR.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 GTDDIR.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 GTBMENU.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 GTMDIR.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 GTDOORS.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 GTDOORn.BAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ANSWERn.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 QUESTn.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 PQUESTn.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 GTQMENU.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 PROTOCOL.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 WELCOME.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 MBULLETx.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 SYSOP.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 SCHEDULE.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 FILES.BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Host Mode Control Files and Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Running Host Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 SYSOP COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Command Line Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Host Mode LOG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The Shell to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 COMMAND.COM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2 DOS 2.xx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Using the Shell to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Generic Tool Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Remote Sysop Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Usage of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Logon DOOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Logoff Batch File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 extended ASCII codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 sample ANSI sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 (tm) DESQview is the trademark of QuarterDeck Office Systems. 3 Brief Summary ------------- The host mode provided within GT POWER allows you to run an unattended session with your system. That is, if you expect to receive calls from other computer systems (say from clients or a set of authorized remote users) then you can tell GT POWER that it should automatically answer the telephone for you, verify the caller's credentials, and if found to be valid, to provide that user with a menu of functions that can be performed. All of that, of course, without further intervention on your part. Security is of paramount importance when running in host mode for obvious reasons. Please read the section entitled 'Security Considerations' before attempting to operate this system. Installation of Host Mode ------------------------- The most important thing about host mode is proper installation of the modem control strings and result codes. These strings and codes must not just control the modem, they MUST WORK TOGETHER. For example, if the modem init strings specify "verbose" result codes, then the result code table better have the "verbose" codes in it, not the "terse" codes. There are 11 specific areas that *must* be installed; all of these options and strings are accessible via the ALT-I command. Let's discuss each of these items in turn: 1. The "Modem Init String". The default value is: AT V1 Q0 E0 X1 S0=0 S2=43| Assuming that one wants to use the default string, there is really only one thing that one SHOULD DO to this string: change the Xn command. The most powerful Xn command available on your modem is the one to choose. With a USRobotics Courier 2400 modem, use either X5 or X6. With a normal Hayes-compatible 1200 baud modem, use X1. X4 would be normal for most Hayes-compatible 2400 baud modems. For other modems consult the modem manual. NOTE: Many so called "Hayes-compatibles" are compatible in name only. We get many calls for support from individuals with non-Hayes modems. Please read your modem manual carefully because it is very hard to support all the different modems. 2. The "Host Mode: Modem Init String". This string is found under item #30 of the configuration screen. The default value is: AT V1 Q0 E0 M0 X1 S0=1 S2=255| There are several things one could do to this string. First, one must modify the X1 command to match the value added to the Modem Init String above. Secondly, if one desires the speaker to be heard during host mode, remove the M0 from the string. Thirdly, the S0=1 may be changed to S0=0, THIS IS THE ONLY OTHER VALID 4 VALUE! If S0=0 is used, the modem will not answer automatically, GT will count the rings and command the modem to answer after the 2nd ring (or if the /Rn command line switch is used, after the Nth ring). This is why S0=1 and S0=0 are the only permissible values! Refer to the main GT1400.DOC file for a complete discussion of the available command line switches. 3. The "Modem Answer String". This string is located with the Host Modem Init String under item #30 of the configuration screen. The default value is: ATA| GT will issue this string to the modem whenever the ring count reaches 2 (or the number indicated by the /Rn switch). This string should not be changed, unless GT should not be allowed to answer the modem. For example, one could erase this string and set S0=5, so that the modem would answer on the 5th ring, but I don't advise anyone do this. 4. The "Result Codes". Because the modem init strings above contain V1, "verbose" result codes should be programmed. They can be found under item #29 of the configuration screen. There are 16 possible results. If the modem does not support all of these, simply leave the extra strings in their default state. The program comes with the default result codes set for use with a USRobotics Courier HST modem. Please consult the manual for the modem in use and modify this table to match. Remember, use the "verbose" (word codes), not the "terse" codes. It IS POSSIBLE to use the "terse" codes, but they are not as compatible with such services as PC Pursuit. It is especially important that the result codes for the CONNECT results are correct. GT uses these to determine the baud rate of the incoming call. If they are wrong, then GT will not be able to talk to the incoming caller, because the modem and GT will not be at the same baud rate; they will be out-of-sync. 5. It is highly recommended that logging be TRUE during host mode. Otherwise, all records of the host mode activities will be discarded. 6. How to allow GT to hang-up during host mode. Since the "escape code" must be disabled during host mode, otherwise some caller may crash your system, the normal hang-up string, "~+++~ATH", will not work! Therefore, GT cannot hang-up the modem, unless you set the modem to normal DTR operation. During host mode, GT will drop the DTR signal whenever he wants the modem to hang-up. Most modems come from the factory set so that they ignore the DTR signal - you must reset a switch or, in the case of the Hayes 2400 modem, you must make an entry in the Modem init string to do this. In any case, if the modem ignores DTR, it will not hang up during host mode operations. Some modems which must be setup via the init strings to handle DTR properly use either &D2 or &D3, please consult the manual for the modem in use to determine the correct setting. 7. How does GT determine when a connection is lost? The GT host 5 monitors the carrier detect signal from the modem, when this signal goes low, then GT assumes that the connection has been lost. Most modems come from the manufacturer with the carrier detect signal forced high. "This is like having a telephone with no ringer." Quote by Tom Jennings. Obviously, this must be changed. Some modems have a switch that must be reset to enable a true carrier detect, others require setup via the init string. Many of the modems that require init string setup use &C1, please consult the manual for the modem in use to determine the correct setting. 8. Another option available under the Alt-I, #30, the miscellaneous options section, is the "Message base PATH". This option is to be used to indicate to GT where the main or default message base is located. This is the message base that the user will be initially given access to upon calling the system. This should be an open message base since all callers to the system that pass the logon procedure will have access to this area. 9. Another option available under the Alt-I, #30, the miscellaneous options section, it the "Default File Section". This option indicates to GT where the main or default file section is located. This is the file section that callers will see initially when they access your system. This should be an area with the lowest security access level, as everyone will be able to use it. 10. To designate the directory where the host mode receives files, you should specify the DOWNLOAD directory path. This option is specified under Alt-I, #30, the miscellaneous options section. The user may be confused by the terminology here, so let me stress that the DOWNLOAD directory is where GT POWER *receives* files, whether in host or terminal modes. Further, the UPLOAD directory path only pertains to Terminal Mode, as the host mode file areas are otherwise controlled via entries in the GTDIR.BBS file, described below. 11. To specify the directory where the host mode will save messages to the sysop. These messages are entered with the 'M' command from the main menu. This option is specified under Alt-I, #30, the miscellaneous options section. PLEASE NOTE: The pathnames mentioned above are all found under the miscellaneous options screen #30 of the Alt-I menu. Once the miscellaneous options screen has been selected, then #13 on the miscellaneous menu will bring up a window where all the pathnames may be altered. 6 Security Considerations ----------------------- Many of GT POWER's design considerations were directed towards providing absolute system integrity while in host mode. This section is designed to highlight some of those considerations with the intention of making the System operator of a host mode fully aware of both his protection and his responsibilities in that regard. The fundamental truth about security is that essentially it is YOUR responsibility. GT POWER's first line of defense in your behalf is its password function. Without a preassigned password, a remote caller cannot gain access to the functions provided by GT POWER! Thus, it stands to reason that your first responsibility is to assign those passwords and TO GUARD THEM. Because there are several sets of facilities that you will wish to control and to allow various users to be provided selectively, GT provides several 'levels' of authorization that may be assigned to each password. In this way, all users who log on with the same password will have identical (and only those that are assigned) access to GT facilities. For example, GT POWER provides to users who have a sufficiently high 'level' of authorization, the ability to shell into DOS and, thus, have the ability to execute ANY DOS COMMAND from their remote location! Obviously, you would not casually distribute that password amongst your user community. Most users should NEVER be allowed to Shell to your DOS! (While in DOS a user could, for example, format your hard disk - that would, of course, result in the end of subsequent functionality of the entire system). To these users you would assign a lower 'level' of authority. To do so you would simply change their access level to the new level with the Sysop Tools program. One of the nicest features of the host mode provided by GT POWER are its message data bases. With this feature the users of the system may leave 'mail' for other users and receive mail for themselves. Indeed, there are two kinds of mail: Public and Private. Public mail may be read by any user of the system. Private mail, on the other hand, may be read only by the person sending it or by the recipient. Here, then, is another area of security that you need to be aware of and control. For example, say that you allow your system to be called by clients of your firm and that they are encouraged to leave messages to you in your absence. It is possible that several of your clients are competitors of each other. Thus, it would be improper to allow them to read messages sent by others. This is the reason for Private mail. At this point, I would like to point out that there is no such thing as 'Private' from the Sysop! That is, the System operator may read any message, whether addressed to him or not and whether they are marked Private or not. Finally, lest the earlier remarks did not sink in, any user who has access to the DOS via the Shell command (because of his assigned extremely high 'level' of authorization) can easily read any messages while he is in the DOS Shell! As far as sending PRIVATE messages to the System operator is concerned, any user may do that! There is an 'M' command on the Main Menu that results in messages that only the Sysop may view. These messages are automatically addressed to the Sysop and marked as private. They are placed in the message base specified for sysop messages, they may be read only by someone with the Sysop authorization level. This message 7 base needs to be accessed at least once by the sysop during setup, to insure that a message is entered to create all control files. Otherwise, the system will not be able to process 'M' messages to the sysop. The hierarchy of access 'levels' based on password enables the Sysop to control which directories on the disk those users have access to for purposes of downloading files. However, each caller to the system will be granted access to the "Default file section", which is a config option. So please be sure that this file section contains the least sensitive material on your system. For ease of use, it is recommended that the user construct a batch file to invoke GT POWER, especially host mode users. It should look like this: C: To specify a default drive of C set GTPATH=C:\GT Remember to set GTPATH! GT1400 !xxxx host.scr To invoke GT POWER If the above batch file were called GT.BAT and placed in your system's PATH then you could safely invoke GT by simply typing: GT. It is important to note, that one of the most frequent errors reported to the GT support staff is the incorrect setting of GTPATH. As you will see when you read the next section (about the GTDIR.BBS file), you can allow your users to have access to all directories that have a matching authorization level OR LOWER. Further, you can specify that particular directories are only available to specific authorization levels. Where is all this authorization level information kept within the GT POWER system? In a file called GTPASSWD.BBS. That file, it is unnecessary to say, is the key to the security of your system. One of the subtle security features of GT POWER is that it will not allow that file, even if it is contained in a directory that the user has been authorized to Download from, to be transmitted over the telephone! NOTE: That the external protocols can transfer prohibited files and for this reason, extreme care should be taken when using either DSZ.EXE or PCKERMIT.EXE. Similarly, because the Log file that is optionally maintained by GT contains the user names and passwords of those who have logged onto the system, it may not be transmitted over the telephone either. When running in host mode the screen on the host system shows all keystrokes entered by the remote user (except while he is in the DOS Shell or using a DOOR, should that be allowed). In other words, if the remote user, for example, entered a Private message to another user, or to the Sysop, the text is showing on the host screen as it is typed. If the user were to log off immediately after entering the message then it would be possible that the text of the message remained on the screen. GT POWER erases the screen after the caller hangs up to prevent such a lapse in security. 8 If you are running a host mode system in an environment where others might be able to observe the screen then it is recommended that you turn your monitor off while you are not in attendance. If others may be in the area as you are communicating (chatting) with users and you wish to control the information on the screen you would do well to remember that the Alt-W keystroke will erase your screen instantly. A user-name may be BANned from accessing the system. Note, however, that doing so merely encourages an undesirable to log on with another user name. With the advent of personalized passwords, this provision has become more effective, since one could setup the system password to have a low access level, which would be raised only after validation. Computer time is a resource that you can also control in host mode. Each password may have a designated time limit beyond which the caller will be automatically logged off. The number of calls per day made to your system by an individual caller is also subject to control. One of the more subtle security measures built into the host mode of GT POWER is called a 'Watchdog'. Should an authorized user be in the DOS Shell or out a DOOR, and for any reason he were to drop his carrier (hang-up), the system would then be vulnerable to the next caller as that caller could find the system "in" DOS and he would then have uncontrolled access to do as he pleased to your system. In the situation mentioned, loss of carrier, GT will force your system to reboot and if you setup the AUTOEXEC.BAT file properly, when the system completes rebooting it will invoke GT and put it back in host mode! The same thing would happen, for example, if power were to be lost during host mode. When power is restored the system will automatically return to the host mode of GT POWER. Note, however, that for those systems that do not have a built in clock, the time and date of the system would no longer be correct. As a Sysop of a host mode GT system you must be aware that there are some legal considerations that you may face. For example, should you allow users to place copyrighted programs onto your system and to then allow other users to download those same programs, then you are participating in an illegal activity! Naturally there is no way to prevent a user from sending you copyrighted material, provided he has upload capability. There are many things that you can do, however, to stop others from having access to that material. For example, GT POWER allows you to cause all files that are uploaded to your system to be placed into a special receiving directories, rather than into the directory the user is currently using. It makes good sense to make a receiving directory PRIVATE, in the sense that it is NOT listed as available in the GTDIR.BBS to your remote users. In this way, you may review the files received at your convenience and move them over to the public directories if you are satisfied that they are either public domain or Shareware programs and files. Another reason that you will want to do the above is that there are a few people out in the world that like to send what are called Trojan Horses to BBS's. A Trojan Horse is a program that causes some form of 9 damage when it is run. It would not be at all fair to your users to expose them to such programs. So, when it is safe for you to do so, either run the programs you receive (using BOMBSQAD or a similar program to prevent a problem for you). When you are satisfied that the programs received are safe then you can move them to public areas. And in the event that a user does send you a Trojan Horse or copyrighted code, it is in your best interest to know who did so. GT POWER provides an optional log file function. If that is enabled, which is highly recommended, then the log contains the name of the person who logged on and sent you the file. This section of the document is substantially larger than you may have expected it to be. The reason should now be obvious. We remind you again, YOU are the person responsible for security. It is necessary that you know the previous information and take appropriate actions. 10 Host Mode Text Files -------------------- The following text files must be created and/or maintained with an editor that can produce plain ASCII files. Any of the display type .BBS files may have a DC2, Ctrl-R, character inserted into column 1 of line 1 to disable the "More?" prompt during display of the file, and a DC4, Ctrl-T, character inserted into column 1 of line 1 to disable the Ctrl-K and/or Ctrl-C user break, or a ENQ, Ctrl-E, character inserted into column 1 of any line to force a "More?" pause at that line. +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Ctrl-E ... ENQ ... Insert a "More?" at current location. | | Ctrl-R ... DC2 ... Disable "More?" during file display. | | Ctrl-T ... DC4 ... Disable ^K/^C break during file display. | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Using the Ctrl-R to disable the "More?" prompt is useful when the file contains such graphic or annimation techniques that would be spoiled by such interruption. Except for the GT?DIR.BBS files, every .BBS file can have two versions: (a) a color graphics version or (b) a plain text version. This is coordinated with the ANSI graphics question asked of callers before they logon the system. The .BBS extension is the default used if only one version of the file can be found by GT, the .CBS extension is used to indicate to GT that a graphics version is available. If both versions are available, the .CBS version will be shown to callers who elect graphics, if graphics are not elected by the caller, the .BBS version will be displayed. GTSYSID.BBS This file is displayed as soon as the GT host detects a connection has been established with an incoming call. After displaying this file, GT will ask the user if the terminal program he is using supports ANSI graphics. GTWELCOM.BBS This file is displayed to a caller just before he is asked for his name by the GT host. It should identify the system to callers. GTPASSWD.BBS This file contains the list of passwords that people must know to access the system. The entries in this file are composed of one line per password, and each line contains the following information, beginning in column 1: Lvl ([xx:xx(,n,hh:mm,path)]) Pwd Auth (1st-Name Last-Name Phone-Number) These items can have a variable number of blanks between them, but the "Lvl" must begin in column 1. EACH PASSWORD, "Pwd", MUST BE UNIQUE and from 1-20 characters in length. The () which have been shown around the call time limit, the daily call limit, the daily time limit, the name, and phone number fields, indicate that these items are 11 optional and need not be included in the file. Field descriptions: ------------------- Lvl .... The Access Level assigned to this entry. May be any character from the following sets: 0-9, A-Z, or a-z. NOTE: "0" is the highest level and "z" is the lowest. xx:xx .. The Call Time Limit. This field is optional and is enclosed within [...]. If omitted, it defaults to approximately 24 hours. n ...... The Daily Call Limit. This field is a sub- field within the [...] of the Call Time Limit field. It cannot be specified without the Call Time Limit being specified also. Example: [1:30,2] would grant two calls per day of 1:30 duration each. hh:mm .. The Daily Time Limit. This field is a sub- field within the [...] of the Call Time Limit field. It cannot be specified without the Call Time Limit and the Daily Call Limit being specified also. Example: [1:00,5,2:00] would grant five calls per day, each of up to 1 hour each, but a maximum of 2 hours per day total usage. path ... The upload pathname. This specifies where files uploaded by a particular class of user are to be stored. pwd .... The Password. As said above, the password may be from 1-20 characters in length and must be unique. If this line is a class entry the "pwd" field should contain the word CLASS in capital letters. auth ... The Authorizations given to this entry. They come from the following list: UP : Upload authorized. DN : Download authorized. PR : Private mail authorized. SY : Sysop priveledges authorized. CH : Manual directory change is authorized (in absence of the GTDIR.BBS file). SH : Shell to DOS is authorized. DR : Use of DOORS is authorized. MS : Allows message reading. FR : Allows file request/attach when using the netmail programs. NL : Disable the L)ist directory command at the main menu. 12 NE : Disable the E)nter message command. These authorizations are listed seperated by commas, following the "pwd" field. See examples below. The CH authorization is a "do nothing" authorization in most cases, because most systems use a GTDIR.BBS file. On these systems the CH option may be used as a way to grant no authorization, because a total lack of authorization yields the default authorization set: DN,UP,PR,MS. 1st-Name Last-Name Phone-Number These three fields are present when it is desired to allow the caller "callback" priveledges. In effect, if the caller's name matches the name listed here and he gives the correct password, the system will offer to call him at the listed number. This allows the host to assume the cost of the phone charges for the session. The caller must be prepared to accept the call, that is his modem must be in "auto- answer" mode. Send "ATS0=1|" to most Hayes type modems to set auto-answer mode. The "|" represents a "carriage return". If the conditions are met GT will return the call within 15 seconds, and will retry 3 times before giving-up hope of establishing the connection. NOTE: the password assigned here for the callback, must *not* be the same as the caller's personal password -- the callback password *MUST* be unique. NOTE: It is possible to append a single character to the level indicator. Thus "A1" would be a valid level. This extra character is used to identify a custom bulletin file for this caller. This extra character is optional, but if present MUST BE a character that is legal within a file name. Read about BULLET files below. Examples: A [2:00,100,5:00,c:\goodies] MASTER SY B1 [1:00] FRIEND DN,PR B1 [1:00,4,2:00,c:\up] CLASS DN,UP,PR C [1:30] JOGGER DN,UP,PR,DR MARY ADAMS 1-213-555-1234 A [2:00,10,4:00] CLASS SY C2 [2:00,3,3:00] CLASS DN,UP,PR,DR In version 12.10 of GT POWER, personalized passwords were introduced. When a caller gets his personal password it is stored in the GTMAIL.CTL file, with the other user information. The access level assigned to the password used by the caller on the first call (before a personal password was assigned) will be the access level assigned to the caller until changed via 13 the Sysop Tools program. To provide a time limit, daily call limit, and bullet #, a cross reference of the access level stored in the users record in GTMAIL.CTL file and the GTPASSWD.BBS file is required. This is accomplished by placing CLASS cards for each access level your system uses into the GTPASSWD.BBS file. The format of the CLASS card is the same as a normal password entry, except the word CLASS must appear in uppercase letters. In addition, the CLASS entries cannot be used to provide callbacks, normal password entries must be provided for that purpose. Here are some example CLASS entries: Examples: A1 [2:00,5,3:00] CLASS DN,UP,PR,DR,SH,MS B3 [1:30,2,2:00] CLASS DN,PR,MS K2 [:45,1,:45] CLASS DN,UP,PR,DR,MS The first CLASS entry establishes a class for callers with an 'A' access level, grants them 2 hours of session time, and a daily call limit of 5 calls, 3 hours of time per day, and gives them the authorizations: Download, Upload, Private mail, use DOORS, Shell to DOS, and read messages. The other entries grant lesser time amounts to the 'B' and 'K' classes. The 'B' class is given Download, Private mail, and read messages authorizations. The 'K' class is given Download, Upload, Private mail, use DOORS, and read messages authorizations. Note: if you neglect to setup CLASS entries then once your callers have been assigned their own personal passwords, this is automatically done by GT, then they will have unlimited time access to your system, the default authorizations, and they will not be given a bullet #. +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Remember to give callers the MS authorization | | so they can "read messages". And setup a CLASS | | entry for each different access level in use. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ GTBULLET.BBS This file is displayed for the caller after he/she completes logon. It is useful to leave notes here for expected callers. BULLETx.BBS The "x" may be any character that can be a legal part of a filename. This character must match the character which is found after the level indicator in the password file, to enable custom bulletin files to be displayed for callers. For example: if a caller's level was "BZ", then the program would search for a file named BULLETZ.BBS to display whenever the caller logged onto the program. 14 NOTE: Custom bulletin files are OPTIONAL. If you do not wish to use them, simply use single letters for access level indicators. GTMENU.BBS This file is displayed for callers as the main menu. It may be suppressed by a caller by selecting X)pert mode. GTHELP.BBS This file is displayed for the caller if he/she requests help with the main menu. GTBYE.BBS This file is displayed for the caller when he/she logs off, i.e. selects the G)oodbye command from the main menu. GTBYEx.BBS This is a custom bye file. The 'x' may be any character that can be a legal part of a filename. It comes from the GTPASSWD.BBS file, as the letter following the level indicator. Most commonly a number. See custom BULLETx.BBS files above. GTUSER.BBS This file is created whenever a call comes into the system. It will contain the access level and name of the current caller, or if no call is in progress, the previous caller to the system. The file contains just this 1 line of text. The exact format is: Lvl 1st-Name Last-Name auth baud-rate ANSI-opt last-on limit event time The line is free format with spaces delimiting fields. The "auth" field will contain the authorizations given this caller from the GTPASSWD.BBS file when he logged onto the system. The "baud-rate" field will be one of the following numbers: 300, 1200, 2400, 9600 or the word LOCAL, if the sysop is logged-on. The "ANSI-opt" field will contain "NOANSI" if the caller doesn't want ANSI graphics, or "ANSI" if he does want the graphics. The "last-on" field contains the date the user last called the system. The "limit" field contains the remaining time the caller has left for the current call. The "event" field contains the time remaining until the next event is scheduled. The "time" field contains the current time in "xx:xx" format. The time remaining fields are integer showing time left in minutes. The purpose of this information is to supply needed control information to external programs that run either in the Shell to DOS or DOOR environment. GTDIR.BBS This file contains a list of directories that may be accessed by callers. There are two types of lines in this file: the actual directory lines and comment lines. The comment lines are displayed to the caller when he asks to see the list of directories. The list displayed will contain only those directories the caller is authorized to access. The formats: 15 Comment Lines: Contain a blank in the 1st column, the remainder of the line is displayed for the caller. Directory Lines: Column 1 - access Level. The minimum level required to access the directory. If this column contains an "=" then the actual line is shifted to the right 1 column and the "=" acts to reserve the directory for the indicated access level - which would now be in column 2. (See example.) One or more blank columns follows the level, then the complete DOS name of the directory, including all drive and PATH information. One or more blank columns follows the directory name, then a description of the directory is given. When a caller selects the C)hange directory command, the list of choices will display the descriptions you provide here, so try to be helpful. Examples: This is a comment. (Since column 1 is blank) A C:\DOS\TEST The description goes here. =B C:\LOTUS\DATA This is for "B" level callers only. C A:\ The description again goes here. This example shows three directories, one with an "A" access level, one with a "C" access level. These are the minimum levels that callers must have to "see" these directories. The "=B" directory may only be accessed by a caller with the "B" access level. NOTE: When host mode is started, the then default directory will be made available to all callers, regardless of the contents of GTDIR.BBS. So it is advised that this directory require the least security and that it be the 1st entry in the GTDIR.BBS file. GTDDIR.BBS This file controls access to the GT DOOR system. Its function is much like GTDIR.BBS is for file directories. It serves as a way to add security to doors, document them and pass parameters to them. Each door must have an entry in this file, there are no comment lines in this file. Each line in this file follows the this syntax: Lvl ([comment_here_with_no_spaces]) (Prompt message here:) The () indicate which fields are optional and need not be included in the file. As with the GTDIR.BBS file, the "Lvl" controls the minimum access level required to open the door. The 16 [comment] is optional, but must be enclosed within [...] if it appears and no blanks are allowed within the comment field. If a parameter must be passed to the DOOR, then the optional prompt field must be added. The answer given to this prompt by the caller will be passed to the DOOR as command line argument %3. Examples: B [this-is-door-1] Z [this-is-door-2] Enter filename: S [this-is-door-3] In the example above, the 2nd door has a prompt listed that indicates that this door requires a filename be passed. This could be for example to implement an ARC view type door, where the name of the ARC to be processed might need to be supplied. The caller's response will be passed as command line argument %3 to the GTDOOR2.BAT file in this case. +------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Please note, the order of the lines in this file | | must be 1st door on 1st line, 2nd door on 2nd line, | | etc. The lines must be in 1, 2, 3... order. | | | +------------------------------------------------------------+ GTBMENU.BBS This file is the bulletin menu file. It should list the numbered bulletin files. The numbered bulletin files should be located in the "Default file section", and their file names should simply be 1, 2, etc. This menu file will be displayed as users logon your system and besides the numeric bulletins, two alpha options should be listed: L)ist logon bullets and Q)uit bulletin menu. An example of a GTBMENU.BBS file: 1. Bullet #1 description here. 2. Bullet #2 description here. . . etc. . L)ist logon bullets Q)uit bulletin menu. GTMDIR.BBS This file controls the multiple message bases that GT can support. The format of this file is the same as the format for the GTDIR.BBS file, except that you have 1 additional option for column 1, you may place a '*' in column 1 of an line in this file and then that message area will become a 'by application only' message base. The caller applies for entrance by trying to select the message area via the A)rea change command. GT will inform the caller that application has been accepted and the Sysop must approve. The users name will be placed into the GTMAIL.CTL file associated with the message 17 base, but the BAN bit will be set, the Sysop must use Sysop Tools to reset the BAN bit so that the caller can be admitted. When setting up, the Sysop should insure that all sub-directories listed in GTMDIR.BBS exist, but GT will automatically provide all the control files and message directories, as needed. All message areas must have an entry in this file. The main default message area must be open to all callers and must use the same pathname as the message base pathname in GT's configuration file. The GTMDIR.BBS file must be located with the other .BBS files in GT's home directory. +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | The PATH name portion of the lines in the GTMDIR.BBS | | file may be prefixed with either a ^ and/or a ~ . | | | | The ^ designates a message area that can support | | public messages only. The ~ designates a message | | area that is used as a netmail area(see netmail docs). | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ Examples: Z ^C:\GTBBS\OPEN Public Message Base E C:\GTBBS\GENERAL General Message Base F C:\GTBBS\SPECIAL Special Message Base Z ~C:\GTBBS\PUBLIC Public Netmail Area GTDOORS.BBS This file is displayed for the caller when he selects the O)pen DOORS option from the main menu. It is a pure text file, which should contain your DOOR menu. Each DOOR is assigned a number, 1-99, and should be listed on this menu by the number needed to select the door. GTDOORn.BAT These are the DOOR files themselves. These are batch files, much like the Shell to DOS batch file, but instead of executing another copy of COMMAND.COM, it executes your DOOR program. The mechanism of the DOOR is actually the CTTY commands at the start and end of the file. The CTTY redirects the console to the COM port at the start of the DOOR file, and back to the console at the end. Sample DOOR files are included with the package. Here is a short example: %1 COM%2 EDLIN %3 %1 CON The %1 will become "CTTY" or "REM", and the %2 will become the port number, thru substitution by DOS. The 18 "REM" substitution is used when the DOOR is being run locally by the Sysop to check it out. A DOOR that works in the local mode may not work for a remote caller, because the DOOR program may not use the DOS functions to perform I/O with the console. Remember that the 3rd command line argument is passed from the GT host to the DOOR containing the response from the caller to a prompt you have placed into the GTDDIR.BBS file. In this case, it would have asked the caller which file he wanted to edit. ANSWERn.BBS This file contains the answers supplied by the callers to the 'n' questionaire, that you have stored in the QUESTn.BBS file. The format of this file is as follows: each answer given by a user is written on a separate line to this file, the answers are grouped by placing the users name, from logon, onto the first line of the group, enclosed within << ... >>, following this each answer appears on a separate line and each group is terminated with a line containing a single period. Here is an example: << Paul Meiners >> 9350 Country Creek #30 Houston, TX 77036 713-772-2090 . << Susie Meiners >> 1245 Sunnyside Dr. Houston, TX 77081 713-894-3465 . The example shown above contains two groups of answers. As GT accumulates answers it will continue to append them to the end of this file. If this file does not exist, GT will create it. The Sysop should avoid editing this file, because any attempt to do so may render GT incapable of adding answers to it. QUESTn.BBS This file contains the questionaire for callers to fill out. This feature is optional. The file is in template format, using the [------] construct to indicate where GT should gather answers to questions. For example: [------------] Enter Phone Number: Would direct GT to collect the phone number, showing GT where to collect the answer and the maximum width answer to accept. Each answer can be up to 80 characters long and there may be up to 50 questions per questionaire. After having filled out the questionaire, the caller will be asked if he wishes his answers to be recorded. 19 If he indicates in the negative, GT will discard the answers. The questionaire is optional, and if the user tries to fill out a questionaire that cannot be found, GT will indicate to the caller that there is no questionaire currently available. Date/time stamping can be done automatically by including a special code in the questionnaire file. For example: [%DT] Would cause the current date and time to be recorded in the answer file (no question would be asked here), of course the balance of the questionnaire would be processed in a normal manner. There can be up to 99 different questionnaires for the caller to choose from. The GTQMENU.BBS file is displayed with a list of all available questionnaires. PQUESTn.BBS This file is displayed for the caller immediately after he selects the questionaire he/she wishes to complete from the questionnaire menu. It should explain to the caller the basic purpose of the questionaire and allow him to consider if he wishes to continue to fill out the questionaire. Immediately after this file is displayed, the caller will receive a prompt, asking if he wishes to continue and fill out the questionaire. The PQUESTn.BBS file is optional. GTQMENU.BBS This file is listed for the caller when he selects the Q option from the main menu. It is a menu file that should contain a list (in text format) for the user to choose which questionnaire he wishes to complete. For example: 1. Order form for GT POWER. 2. Order form for Turbo CALC. 3. User poll. This shows only three options, as many as 99 questionnaires may be supported by the system. PROTOCOL.BBS This file contains the protocol menu that will be displayed for the caller if he initiates a file transfer. It is provided so that the Sysop can customize this menu to his own taste. It is pure text format, except for the first line, which contains the list of protocols the Sysop wishes to activate for his system. The format of this activation line is as follows: 20 ;XYZB1TWKMSG Where the ";" appears in column 1 of the line. Each letter activates a specific protocol, as follows: X ... Xmodem Y ... Ymodem Z ... Zmodem B ... Ymodem Batch 1 ... 1k Telink T ... Telink W ... WXmodem K ... Kermit M ... MegaLink S ... SEAlink G ... Ymodem-G By omitting the activation letter from this line, the Sysop may disable the corresponding protocol. For example: ;XYZT Would activate and allow on the Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem and Telink protocols. The other protocols would not be allowed. The PROTOCOL.BBS file is optional, if omitted GT will display a canned protocol menu. WELCOME.BBS Each message base may have a welcome screen. It present, it resides in the directory with the message .CTL files and is displayed for the caller as he enters the message base. It is in the nature of a conference welcome screen. The WELCOME.BBS file is optional. MBULLETx.BBS Each message base may have bulletins associated with it. These bulletin files will reside in the directory with the message .CTL files and will be displayed for the caller after the WELCOME.BBS file has been displayed. The bulletin numbers are coordinated with the regular bulletin numbers in the main GT directory, which come from the bulletin numbers on the entries in the GTPASSWD.BBS file. The MBULLETn.BBS files are optional. SYSOP.BBS This file contains the custom welcome to Chat Mode - the mode that is entered when the Sysop answers a Page. Normally this file contains something like ", here is the SYSOP." It may be changed to reflect the name of the Sysop, or whatever. Using the normal contents, the caller would see: Caller Name, here is the SYSOP. 21 Of course, the actual caller's name will replace "Caller Name". SCHEDULE.BBS The "scheduler" is code within the GT host mode which allows the sysop to schedule events. The format of the SCHEDULE.BBS file is very simple. The file is composed of lines that begin with a time or range of times, then the command to be executed at the specified time. Examples: 03:00 copy file1 file2 03:30 QUIT 5 04:00-05:00 QUIT 6 06:00 maint Based on the above example, at 3 a.m. the GT host will copy file1 to file2 (any DOS command can be executed like this). Then at 3:30 a.m. the GT host will quit execution and set an ERRORLEVEL of 5, the runstream that is controlling GT must be prepared to deal with this ERRORLEVEL, else nothing will be done. Also the user must insure that the GT host is restarted. At any time between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. the GT host will quit execution and an ERRORLEVEL of 6 -- this one is meant to illustrate a quit to the netmail function, which should always be started with a range of times, so that in case it cannot start exactly on the button of 4 a.m. the GT host will start it, even if it is late starting. Again the runstream that is controlling GT must be prepared to deal with the indicated ERRORLEVEL, 6 in this case, and must restart the GT host after 5 a.m. Then at 6 a.m. the GT host will execute the 'maint' batch file. NOTE: when the GT host starts a command like this, it is done via the SHELL mechanism, this requires alot of memory and it is not recommended if you are using multi- tasking software. The netmail documentation includes examples of how this can be setup. A sysop may also add a special line to the SCHEDULE.BBS file which will allow control of the P)age function from the main menu. The OFFICE command allows the sysop to specify when a P)age will be acceptable. If a P)age is attempted outside of the specified time range, then the caller will be notified about the sysop's OFFICE HOURS. Here is the format: OFFICE=08:00-21:00 The hours must be given in 24:00 notation, and please notice that leading zeros, must be supplied. 08:00 is correct, 8:00 is wrong! No embedded spaces are allowed in this format. It must be as shown above. +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | NOTE | 22 | | | Five minutes prior to a external event, GT POWER | | will cease accepting calls and wait for the event | | start time. Callers who call in the vicinity of | | an event will have their time on the system cutback | | so that the caller will be off the system before | | the event is to start. | | | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ FILES.BBS When you create a directory to contain files, either for upload or download, you should include within the directory a file named FILES.BBS. It should contain the descriptions of the files contained within the directory. When the caller selects the "F" option from the main menu, the content of this file will be displayed. The FILES.BBS that is located in the appropriate upload directory will be updated automatically with information supplied by the uploader as follows: Position Description -------- ----------- 1-12 Filename 13 Blank 14-16 File size in kilobytes 17 Blank 18-25 Upload date 26 Blank 27-79 File description 23 Host Mode Control Files and Directories --------------------------------------- During the operation of the GT host mode, two files and one directory will be created automatically, for each message base. The Sysop Tools program must be used to maintain these files, when the need arises. Here is an overview of the purpose of these files: GTMESSAG.CTL This file contains the header information for all messages maintained by the GT host. Such information as sender name, addressee name, date of entry and whether or not the message has been received, are kept here. GTMAIL.CTL This file contains information about the callers to your GT host. Such as their name, where they are calling from, the last message they have read, etc. Also contained in this file are the personal passwords and access levels of each caller. GTMSGS This is a sub-directory where the text of the messages is stored. Each message is stored in a separate file without the header information, which is stored in the GTMESSAG.CTL file. The messages are named with the message number as the main filename and extension of .MSG. These files will be created as necessary by the GT host, they will be created in the directory pointed to by the "Message Base PATH" in the GT configuration, or if that is not used in the home directory and drive from the environment variable GTPATH, or if that variable is not used, in the default directory at program start-up. The program Sysop Tools will perform needed maintenance of these files: for example renumbering the messages, deleting obsolete users, providing reports and listings. HOWEVER, do not run Sysop Tools prior to establishing these files. 24 Running Host Mode ----------------- Once installed, host mode is fairly self-explanatory, but here is a quick once over. Host mode is started by pressing "ALT -". GT will automatically enter "Half duplex" mode. This is so that anything typed on the host console will echo so that it can be seen. Then GT will send the host mode Modem Init String to the modem and wait for a call. While GT is waiting for a call, there are 4 commands available: [Esc], which will terminate host mode, carriage return, which allows the Sysop to logon to GT's host mode from the local console, [Ctrl-L], which turns on the system printer for logging, and [Ctrl-S] to load a fresh copy of the schedule from disk. Note that you must have logging enabled in the GT configuration, via Alt-I, the [Ctrl-L] command merely enables the printer, so that whatever is logged will also appear on the system printer. There also is a command line option to turn on the log printer. If you place "/p" on the GT command line, the printing of the log will automatically be turned on from the very start of the program. Once GT has answered an incoming call, there are several commands available to the operator, as follows: +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | SYSOP COMMANDS | | | | Alt-H List available sysop commands. | | | | Ctrl-D List current schedule on the screen. | | Ctrl-L Toggle log printer on/off. | | Ctrl-N Raise caller's access level while on-line. | | Ctrl-P Sysop initiated chat mode. | | Ctrl-R Reset time limit, gives caller more time. | | Ctrl-S Load new schedule from disk. | | Ctrl-T Terminate after current caller disconnects. | | Ctrl-X Abort the caller. | | Ctrl-Z Terminate chat mode. | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Command Line Usage ------------------ When you start GT, there are several command line switches that are available to you: name You may indicate a script file to be executed upon start-up of GT. /D You may indicate whether or not you wish to have GT drop the DTR signal to the modem when GT exits back to DOS. /C You may indicate whether you are connected via cable to the host computer. 25 /K You may initiate the capture mode from the very start of the program. /P You may enable logging to the system printer. /1 You may configure the port addresses in use by your serial port. The actual port number to be configured, 1-4, is placed after the slash. The new base address of the indicated port is placed after the slash number with an intervening blank. The address must be given with a leading $ sign and be in hex notation, for example $3F1 would be a valid address. Refer to your hardware documentation for the correct address to use. GT uses standard addresses if you do not override with this option. /Rn This option applies to the GT host mode. It specifies the ring number upon which GT will answer incoming calls. For example /R3 would cause GT to answer on the 3rd ring. NOTE: that the host mode modem init string must contain S0=0 to allow this to work properly. /RBmm:nn This option applies to the GT host mode. It specifies that GT should answer the modem after a "ring back". To enable this to work properly, the host mode modem init string must contain S0=0. Once installed properly this option makes the GT host mode answer the phone on the 2nd or 3rd ring after a gap of between 'mm' and 'nn' seconds. If the gap between rings is less than 'mm' seconds or greater than 'nn' seconds, GT will not answer the phone. This allows the use of an answering machine on the same phone line as the computer. The answering machine should be programmed to answer on a later ring, the 4th for example. The 'mm:nn' is optional, and will default to a 9 to 32 second gap. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | This listing of command line switches came from the main GT | | documentation file. Please refer to that document for sample | | usage of these switches. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ 26 Host Mode LOG ------------- A few sections above, I suggested that logging be TRUE, while GT is running in Host Mode. Here is why: during Host Mode operations, GT will log all of the calls received, who called and the password used. A record will also be kept of who tranfered each file, how long it took and the efficiency of the transfer. I consider the gathering of this information to be critical to the operation of a GT Host. The Shell to DOS ---------------- The DOS Shell allows remote callers to operate your computer remotely. When the "Shell to DOS" option of the main menu is selected, GT will shell to the file GTDOOR.BAT. This file will set up for the remote shell by executing the proper CTTY command, then execute a secondary DOS shell and let the user into the system. He will have the console, so be cautious! The caller will be instructed to issue the "EXIT" command to return to GT. While the DOS Shell is active and the caller is out in the system, GT will not be idle. GT will act as a watchdog. If the caller should hang up while the DOS shell is active, GT will force the system to re-boot and will drop the DTR signal to the modem. If commands to start GT are placed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and a script is used to start Host Mode, then GT will automatically recycle. The script command to start Host Mode is simply HOST. NOTE: For this process to work correctly, the COMMAND.COM file must reside in a directory pointed to by the PATH environment variable. In order for this to work on a normal drive C: hard disk, "C:\" should be added to the PATH variable. For example: PATH=c:\dos;c:\lotus;c:\ This will ensure that the COMMAND.COM file can be located for execution by the GTDOOR.BAT runstream. A problem with the DOS Shell has been reported when using DOS 2.xx. This is caused by the fact that DOS 2.xx does not support full pathnames when requesting the execution of a program. To work around this problem, if you have DOS 2.xx, you should place the GTDOOR.BAT file in some other directory besides the GT home directory. If GT finds GTDOOR.BAT in his home directory, then GT will issue an EXEC function with full pathname, otherwise GT will not specify any pathname and will rely on the DOS PATH command. The directory where GTDOOR.BAT is stored must be pointed to by the DOS PATH command in this case. 27 Using the Shell to DOS ---------------------- What can one do, once one is running DOS remote via a CTTY command? Well, one can't use any of the Fn keys or the other special keys on the IBM key-board! One can't run any program that does direct hardware control of the screen or keyboard. All screen and keyboard input must be done through DOS. Well, then what can one do? One can run any DOS command; for example COPY, ERASE, DIR and others, including EDLIN, all work properly. In fact, any program that uses the standard DOS handles for input and output to the console will work. But one still won't have F1 - F10 or the other special keys. Well, that's not quite so...if the Host Mode computer is setup so that the ANSI.SYS device driver is loaded via the CONFIG.SYS file. Just put a line like this one into the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE=ANSI.SYS Naturally, ANSI.SYS must be located in the root directory of the boot disk. After that has been done, re-boot the computer. ANSI.SYS will then be loaded. One can now re-map the keyboard so that the special keys are mapped to Ctrl keys instead. This will enable programs to be run that use these keys; for example EDLIN uses the arrow keys as well as several function keys. How does one re-map keys with ANSI.SYS? The following sequence must be issued for each key that needs to be re-mapped: ESC [ ##;##;##;...p The (...) indicate that the sequence may be repeated as needed, but each sequence only re-maps one key. Once a file containing these mapping commands has been created, they can be sent to ANSI.SYS by TYPEing the file. The "##" in the sequence above indicate the ASCII codes for the keys to be mapped. For example, let's map F3 to the Ctrl-D key. The ASCII codes for F3 are 0,61 and the ASCII code for Ctrl-D is 4. (Note: the special keys have two codes - the first is always 0. These codes are really called extended ASCII codes.) Therefore, the proper ANSI.SYS command to re-map F3 to Ctrl-D would be: ESC [ 4;0;61p Note: Blanks are included for readability only, the "p" must be lowercase, and the symbol ESC stands for the escape character, CHR$(27). 28 Generic Tool Interface ---------------------- The GT Host Mode now supports a Generic Tool Interface. The purpose of which is to allow utility writers to more intimately interface their programs to GT. In this process, GT gives up all of its memory to the tool program, thus allowing much greater access to memory for the tool program. The GTI will be based upon the DOS EXEC function as implemented in the C library function "exec...". This means that GT will be completely overlaid by the tool program and to return to GT, the tool program must invoke GT in the same manner it was invoked. Here is the complete interface description, the nomenclature is that of the C manual, since this is expected to be of use to C programmers only. arg0 .... Name of child program (full pathname). arg1 .... "-exr", indicates remote operations. "-exl", indicates local operations. arg2 .... Name of parent program (full pathname, needed for return). arg3 .... COM port number. arg4 .... Baud rate. arg5 .... Parity. arg6 .... Databits. arg7 .... Stopbits. arg8 .... Flags (for use by GT only). arg9 .... Registration key ("-nokey" is unregistered). Much of this information is included simply to restart GT once the tool program is finished with its work. When the tool program is prepared to return to GT, it should swap 'arg0' and 'arg2' and reinvoke GT via the "exec..." function. If you write a program that uses this interface you will need to inform your users that they can invoke the interface thru a macro key. The {@/} is the macro command that invokes the GTI in GT. The actual coding of the macro key would look like this: {@/}c:\gt\gtexec.exe| Which would invoke a program called GTEXEC.EXE in the C:\GT directory. Naturally, this program had better be prepared for this invokation or it will not return to GT when finished! Remote Sysop Interface ---------------------- This interface is totally user configurable. At the main menu of the GT Host mode, the sysop can enter one of the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0. These numbers correspond to the macro keys Alt-F1 through Alt-F10. For example, if the sysop enters a 1 then the command in Alt-F1 is executed. If he enters a 0 then the command in Alt-F10 is executed. If a non- sysop tries to enter any of these numbers the program will treat them as invalid input. This feature could have many uses, but is intended primarily as a way to remotely execute the GTI (described above). 29 Usage of Color -------------- The GT Host mode now includes color built-in to the various prompts and menus. These colors can be configured. The colors used are of two different sets. The first set is composed of the colors for the "Window foreground and background", and the "Phone directory high lite foreground and background". These colors should be subdued, since they are used for normal informational type displays. For important command line and menu displays, the program will use the colors designated for "Option high lite" and "Option low lite". The user can customize the sysop prompt with these colors, by including the color codes in the SYSOP.BBS file. Here is the code scheme: % ...... Used to kill the meaning of the next character. %% ...... Used to display the % character. $ ...... Shift the pallette to the "Window foreground/background" set. & ...... Shift the pallette to the "Option high/low lite" set (the default). [] ...... High lites whatever is between the [ and ]. ~ ...... Kills the color. Goes back to standard B&W image. For example: $ [SYSOP] John~ here. This would shift pallette to the "Window foreground/background" set, high lite the word "SYSOP" and kill the color after the name "John". Actually, this scheme was only intended to add color to the SYSOP.BBS file and other built-in menus and prompts, but some have already discovered that these colors can be added to the GTMDIR.BBS and GTDIR.BBS files, to add color and emphasis. Logon DOOR ---------- In the GT POWER home directory, it is possible to create a DOOR file, with a special name, that will be executed whenever a user logs onto your system. The file is named 'GTLOGON.BAT' and it is constructed in the same manner as a normal DOOR batch file (shown above). For example: %1 com%2 ...the DOOR stuff here, varies with each application... %1 con The sequence of events goes like this after a user calls your system: 1. The GTWELCOM.BBS is displayed. 2. Then any BULLETx.BBS is displayed. 3. Then the GTBMENU.BBS is displayed. 4. Then the GTLOGON.BAT is executed, if available. 30 Logoff Batch File ----------------- It is possible to have a logoff batch file. This is not a DOOR, but simply a batch file that GT POWER will run, if it is available, whenever a user has disconnected from your system. It may contain any normal DOS command or other processing as required, if enough memory is available. GT remains in memory while this batch file executes in a normal DOS Shell. It can be useful for sysops that want to backup their files if they are using a RAM disk for things like the log file. Please note, this is not a DOOR, that CTTY is not redirected, and that the 'watchdog' is not enabled during the execution of this batch file. 31 APPENDIX -------- Here is a handy list of extended ASCII codes: Key Codes Key Codes --- ----- --- ----- F1 0,59 Right Arrow 0,77 F2 0,60 Left Arrow 0,75 F3 0,61 Up Arrow 0,72 F4 0,62 Down Arrow 0,80 F5 0,63 Home 0,71 F6 0,64 End 0,79 F7 0,65 PgUp 0,73 F8 0,66 PgDn 0,81 F9 0,67 Ins 0,82 F10 0,68 Del 0,83 Here are some sample ANSI sequences! Escape Codes Meaning to ANSI.SYS ------------ ------------------- ^[[4;0;61p F3 -> Ctrl-D ^[[5;0;62p F4 -> Ctrl-E ^[[19;0;77p Right Arrow -> Ctrl-S ^[[1;0;75p Left Arrow -> Ctrl-A With these kinds of mappings, almost any program should be able to run, if it uses the DOS handles for standard input and output. This should make the "Shell to DOS" quite useful. 32 Setting up for Power-Loss-Protected GT Host Mode Operation It is quite easy to prepare a set of files that will allow you to bring GT POWER up into what I should like to call a Power-Loss-Protected Host Mode of operation. First, however, a few concepts: Whenever power is first applied to your system, (or re-applied following a blackout), the system will boot your DOS into memory and that, in turn, will look for two files; CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Finding the CONFIG.SYS, the DOS will tailor your environment according to its contents (such as setting a new maximum number of files and file buffers). Finding the AUTOEXEC.BAT file will cause the system to immediately execute the set of DOS instructions found therein. GT POWER may be caused to run in an unattended Host mode either through GT commands entered at the keyboard (Alt-dash) or via script. The GT command to do so in a GT script is simply: HOST. GT POWER has a built-in 'Watchdog' function that causes a system reset (the equivalent of a re-boot) under the following condition: It is in Host mode and a user has invoked the Shell to DOS function and Carrier Detect is lost while in the DOS Shell (door). Given the above, to set up the system for Power-Loss_Protected Host mode operation of GT POWER you must construct the following files: Your normal AUTOEXEC.BAT A copy of the normal AUTOEXEC.BAT called AUTOEXEC.OLD A new file called AUTOEXEC.GT A new file called HOST.BAT A GT script file called HOST.SCR The first four of these files belong in your root directory while the script file should be placed in the same directory as GT POWER resides. When you want to enter the Power-Loss-Protected Host mode of GT POWER you need only type the single word HOST from any directory. The result will be the invoking of the HOST.BAT file which, in turn, copies the AUTOEXEC.GT file on top of your normal AUTOEXEC.BAT (so that if a re-boot occurs it will get control), it then sets a default directory so that your private directories are not accessible to callers into the system, and then it invokes GT POWER specifying the name and location of the HOST.SCR script file you created. Thus, GT will be given control and placed into Host mode. Upon normal termination, GT exits to DOS which returns to the unexecuted portion of the HOST.BAT file and continues by doing a copy of AUTOEXEC.OLD (a copy of your original AUTOEXEC.BAT) on top of the current one and ending. In the event of a power failure while in Host mode, or loss of carrier while in the DOS Shell, the AUTOEXEC.BAT file that is in place will reset to the default (safe) drive and reinvoke the Host mode of GT POWER. 33 Sample files for Power-Loss-Protected Host Mode operation Original AUTOEXEC.BAT (and AUTOEXEC.OLD!!): Echo off Ver Prompt $p$g Path = C:\DOS;C:\;C:\COMM;C:\FREEWARE Set GTPATH=C:\COMM AUTOEXEC.GT: Echo off Ver Prompt $p$g Path = C:\DOS;C:\;C:\COMM;C:\FREEWARE Set GTPATH=C:\COMM D: CD \EMPTY GT1200 C:\COMM\HOST.SCR C: CD \ COPY AUTOEXEC.OLD AUTOEXEC.BAT HOST.BAT: Echo off Copy C:\AUTOEXEC.GT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT CLS D: CD \EMPTY GT1200 C:\COMM\HOST.SCR C: CD \ COPY AUTOEXEC.OLD AUTOEXEC.BAT CLS HOST.SCR: HOST That's all there is to it. 34 Running GT POWER under DESQview(tm) GT POWER runs quite well as a task under the DESQview(tm) multi-tasking system. There are a few things that should be kept in mind when doing so, however. For example, in order to prevent any 'bleeding' of your GT screens into another task, you must set the BIOS parameter of GT to TRUE. Note that the effect of doing so totally eliminates any use of direct screen writes by GT and that it will substantially increase the time it takes GT to 'open' a window. It does not affect any other function of GT nor does it affect any other aspect of GT performance. Also, you will need to provide enough memory for GT to run while under DESQview(tm). If you do not have to consider KERMIT or ZMODEM then you can run GT in a partition of as small as 330K of RAM. Experimentation has shown that in order to support ZMODEM and the other protocols mentioned above you will need to set the partition size to 440K. GT, as it requires rapid access to the serial port you are using for communications must be the first task loaded in DESQview(tm). And, a performance option of DESQview(tm) (set by invoking the SETUP program) must be set showing the existence of High Speed Communications. Other options that need to be set include the fact that GT is NOT SWAPPABLE to disk and time slices somewhere between 3 and 6 ticks in length per partition. (tm) DESQview is the trademark of QuarterDeck Office Systems. - THE END - 35