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DOORTRAK.DOC
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DoorTrack v.1.0
───────────────
-Shareware by Platypus Programming-
Documentation and Program
Copyright 1993 Platypus Programming
─────────────────
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
─────────────────
DoorTrack is a sysop utility
designed to track the usage of your "doors",
or online programs of any sort. Fully
configurable, DoorTrak enables the sysop
to track door usage in a variety of ways,
including a master listing of all doors used
and individual listings for each door. This
program is SHAREWARE and costs $5 if you
continue to use it past a reasonable evaluation
period
────────────────────
How to use DoorTrack
────────────────────
Most BBS systems use a batch file (or script; this
.DOC will always refer to them as batch files) to run external
programs. Usually a unique batch file is required for EACH
online program. DoorTrack is designed for any BBS type that
runs in this fashion, including PCBoard, WWIV, VBBS and many
others. In a typical door batch file, you will have something
like the following:
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\DENTIST
DENTIST DENTIST.CFG
CD\BBS
BOARD
(note: this last line will vary greatly from software
to software. Some BBS software require you to run a
batch file to get the board back up. Others just let the
batch file end)
DoorTrack fits in in this way (assuming that the
DOORTRAK.COM file is in your PATH):
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\DENTIST
DENTIST DENTIST.CFG
DOORTRAK DENTIST.LOG
CD\BBS
BOARD
You're wondering, "What did that do?" Well, by calling
DoorTrack with DENTIST.LOG as the only parameter, you told
DoorTrack to write the current time to a file called
DENTIST.LOG! When you read DENTIST.LOG (an ASCII file),
you will see all the times that Online Dentist was run!
This is only ONE of the options, though...
1.
───────
OPTIONS
───────
DoorTrack is FULLY configurable through command line
options. The advantage to having the options enabled through
the command line is that each door can have a fully separate
and unique DoorTrack configuration. Here are the options
available:
USAGE: DOORTRAK [I/O] FileName.Ext ["Door Name" {FileTwo.Ext}]
All items in brackets are optional
I - Will mark as being "entered"
O - Will mark as being "exited"
FileName.Ext - REQUIRED - the name of the log file
"Door Name" - in quotes, the name of the door you are running
(note: "Door Name" IS required if you use the FileTwo.Ext)
FileTwo.Ext - a second log file
───────────────────────────────
Detailed Description of Options
───────────────────────────────
These will be explained in the order that they appear on the
command line.
I/O
───
Simply an "I" or an "O" character, indicating whether
this run of DoorTrack is when going (I)n or (O)ut of a door
FileName.Ext
────────────
This is a filename of your choice. What is WRITTEN to
this file will depend on how many parameters are entered
(which is explained in the next section). To be general,
though, the file you name here will contain a list of times
that a particular door or group of doors was entered and/or
exited.
"Door Name"
───────────
Entering the name of your door in "quotes" tells
DoorTrack to use that name when writing to the log file(s).
If you don't specify a door name, DoorTrack will write
"Run at 21:12 on 12/21/92" in the logfile. If you put
"Online Dentist" in quotes, DoorTrack will write
"Online Dentist run at 21:12 on 12/21/92". It all depends
on what you put in quotes! You can enter ANY text
there.
2.
FileTwo.Ext
───────────
Much like FileName.Ext, FileTwo.Ext is any filename you
choose to contain a list of times a particular door was
entered and/or exited. The different usages of FileName.Ext
and FileTwo.Ext are explained in the next section!
─────────────────────────────
Detailed Description of Usage
─────────────────────────────
FileName.Ext
────────────
It will probably be easiest to work our way from the
bare minimum and work our way up! This is the simplest usage of
DoorTrak:
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG
It would fit in our example batch file this way:
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\DENTIST
DENTIST DENTIST.CFG
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG
CD\BBS
BOARD
What you get from this is a file called DOOR.LOG that contains
the time and date that the door was run. It looks like this:
Run at 21:12:00 on 10/18/1992
As simple as this setup is, there are actually TWO ways to
implement it. You COULD put DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG into each batch
file that calls an online program. What you would get from this
is one file called DOOR.LOG with entries generated each time
each online program was run.
The OTHER alternative is to put a unique FileName.Ext in each
batch file. If you have two games, Online Dentist and Online
Cow-Tipping, you could put DOORTRAK DENTIST.LOG in the batch
file that calls Online Dentist. Then put DOORTRAK COW-TIP.LOG
in the batch file that calls Online Cow-Tipping. What THIS will
get you is two separate log files. The one called DENTIST.LOG
will contain ONLY the times that Online Dentist was run, and
COW-TIP log will contain ONLY the times that Online Cow-Tipping
was run.
3.
"Door Name"
───────────
This option allows you to have the actual name of the
door appear in the FileName.Ext file. It is used in this
manner:
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist"
Our sample batch file will look this way:
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\DENTIST
DENTIST DENTIST.CFG
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist"
CD\BBS
BOARD
The entry in DOOR.LOG will look like this
Online Dentist run at 21:12:00 on 10/18/1992
If you would like to keep just one file that contains the usage
of ALL your doors, you will want to utilize DoorTrack in this
way.
FileTwo.Ext
───────────
Using the FileTwo.Ext flexes the maximum flexibility of
DoorTrack (hehe). It allows you to use BOTH of the systems
described above. Use the following command lines (in the
appropriate batch files that call the respective doors):
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist" DENTIST.LOG
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG "Online Cow-Tipping" COW-TIP.LOG
It would appear in our sample batch file this way (this is the
batch file that calls Online Dentist):
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\DENTIST
DENTIST DENTIST.CFG
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist" DENTIST.LOG
CD\BBS
BOARD
The batch file for Online Cow-Tipping would look like this:
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\COW-TIP
COWTIP COWTIP.CFG
DOORTRAK DOOR.LOG "Online Cow-Tipping" COW-TIP.LOG
CD\BBS
BOARD
4.
What you will get from this is THREE files; they will appear like
this:
Online Dentist run at 21:12:00 on 10/18/1992
Online Cow-Tipping run at 21:45:00 on 10/18/1992
(Editor's note-this is in DOOR.LOG)
Run at 21:12:00 on 10/18/1992
(Editor's note-this is in DENTIST.LOG)
Run at 21:45:00 on 10/18/1992
(Editor's note-this is in COW-TIP.LOG)
This allows you to keep a master list of every door run and also
individual lists for each individual door!!
I/O
───
The I and O options can be used with ANY of the above!
Using I and O will give you the time that the door was entered
AND exited so that you can find out exactly how long a user
spends in a door. The command line would appear this way:
DOORTRAK I DOOR.LOG
or
DOORTRAK O DOOR LOG
It would show up in our example batch file this way:
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\DENTIST
DOORTRAK I DOOR.LOG
DENTIST DENTIST.CFG
DOORTRAK O DOOR.LOG
CD\BBS
BOARD
In your FileName.Ext (DOOR.LOG in the above example), you
will get entries like these:
Entered at 21:12:00 on 10/18/1992
Exited at 21:32:42 on 10/18/1992
IMPORTANT: Note that DoorTrack must be run before AND after
the door so that the correct entries are made.
5.
Brain Surgery
─────────────
The most complex usage of DoorTrack would be this:
DOORTRAK I DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist" DENTIST.LOG
And
DOORTRAK O DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist" DENTIST.LOG
WITH
DOORTRAK I DOOR.LOG "Online Cow-Tipping" COW-TIP.LOG
And
DOORTRAK O DOOR.LOG "Online Cow-Tipping" COW-TIP.LOG
They would appear in the example batch file this way (this is
the batch file that calls Online Dentist):
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\DENTIST
DOORTRAK I DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist" DENTIST.LOG
DENTIST DENTIST.CFG
DOORTRAK O DOOR.LOG "Online Dentist" DENTIST.LOG
CD\BBS
BOARD
The batch file for Online Cow Tipping would look like this:
@ECHO OFF
CD\BBS\DOORS\COW-TIP
DOORTRAK I DOOR.LOG "Online Cow-Tipping" COW-TIP.LOG
COWTIP COWTIP.CFG
DOORTRAK O DOOR.LOG "Online Cow-Tipping" COW-TIP.LOG
CD\BBS
BOARD
You would get three files (DOOR.LOG, DENTIST.LOG, and
COW-TIP.LOG) with entries like this:
Online Dentist entered at 22:55:16 on 12/29/1992
Online Dentist exited at 22:56:18 on 12/29/1992
Online Cow-tipping entered at 22:57:19 on 12/29/1992
Online Cow-Tipping exited at 22:59:20 on 12/29/1992
(Editor's Note - this is DOOR.LOG)
Entered at 22:55:16 on 12/29/1992
Exited at 22:56:18 on 12/29/1992
(Editor's Note - this is DENTIST.LOG)
Entered at 22:57:19 on 12/29/1992
Exited at 22:59:20 on 12/29/1992
(Editor's Note - this is COW-TIP.LOG)
6.
Registration
────────────
DoorTrack is not a free product! DoorTrack is
distributed under the Shareware Concept, whereby you are
permitted a period of evaluation of the program BEFORE you pay
for it. If you find that DoorTrack is something you would like
to keep, you are required to register with the authors directly.
Keeping in mind that this is a small utility, we have priced it
at only $5. This not only registers the program, but we will
also send you the Registered Version of DoorTrack, which
includes the additional feature of Total Time: when you use the
I and O options, the total time in the door will be included in
the log automatically! (You won't BELIEVE how great that is...)
You will ALSO recieve the COMPANION to DoorTrak, TrackTrim!
(described below)
Upon reciept of your registration, we will send you a
disk with: the latest registered version of DoorTrack, TrackTrim,
(the DoorTrack companion) and the latest shareware .ZIP of
DoorTrack for you to make available for download on your BBS.
Fill out the form contained in REGISTER.TXT and mail along
with your cash, check, or money order to:
Platypus Programming
P.O. Box 6095
Terre Haute, IN 47802-6095
Don't forget to make your checks or money orders out to
Michael Lerch and enclose them with the order form.
TrackTrim
─────────
TrackTrim is the Companion Program to DoorTrack, the
door usage tracker. TrackTrim trims the data files used by
DoorTrack to a fully sysop-configurable size! Just run
TrackTrim in your nightly event and tell it the largest size
you want the data files to reach. 50 lines? No problem. 100
lines? No problem! TrackTrim can also trim the data files BY
MONTH! At the beginning of each month, TrackTrim will start
your data files over fresh. Best of all, you can mix and match
any size with any data file!
7.
TrackTrim is NOT shareware, and is only available to
registered users of DoorTrack. It will automatically be sent
free of charge when DoorTrack registration is recieved.
History
───────
DoorTrack was originally inspired by Mike, who is the
sysop of Insomnia BBS (812-299-2585). He wanted a way to keep
track of which doors were most popular so he could nuke the ones
that weren't getting played and just for general knowledge, as
well! Doug is a Computer Science major at Millikin and took on
the project. After a couple of months of ßeta testing,
DoorTrack was here!
Version -1.0 - Alpha Version: got time and date and listed them to
a file. That was about it.
Version -.9ß - Added the second file support and the [I/O]
support, but did it with extremely large amounts of code.
Definitely a beta!
Version -.7ß - Totally reconstructed the code to make it much more
efficient. Now it starts to become its small, beautiful
self!
Version .0ß - The version that got the bugs out of the -.7ß
version (like when the output files were first created, it
put the header messages about Platypus Programming into
them, but then didn't list the time, date, or door name!).
Version .AßßA - The same as .0ß, only with a couple of
enhancements and fixes. This was the wide ßeta-tested
version.
Version 1.0 - The version you now hold. If you find any bugs,
please write to us at DOORTRACK BUG REPORT, C/O Platypus
Programming, P.O. Box 6095, Terre Haute, IN 47802-6095.
──────
Thanks
──────
To Phantom, sysop of The Wild Side BBS (812-299-9406, WWIVLink
node @18253), Fireman, sysop of The Star Fire BBS (812-235-9254,
WWIVLink node @18260 and VirtualNet member) and Parapuke, sysop
of The Resource Center (812-877-4342, WWIVLink node @18251) for
Beta testing for us. Thanks to gUs for proofreading the .DOC!
(as well as being a great co-sysop). Thanks to Coffin Man for
picking up some of the slack on the BBS while we were busy!
We'd also like to give a big thanks for the general BBS
community of Terre Haute, IN and Decatur, IL for having the
great BBSs and callers that inspired Platypus Programming and
Insomnia BBS. A specific hats off to Nels Anderson, Dennis
Kreher, and Joe Prosser for their great systems and support.
8.
A big thanks to Koss Headphones and KLH speakers, too, who have
kept me company throughout the .DOC writing process. ("Floyd is
dead, he's nothing but a ripple, 'cause Lilly took that paper
and sliced him on the nipple"). I'm sure Doug didn't mind that
Peter Gabriel and Roger Waters both came out with new albums
while he was coding it, either.
────────────
Availability
────────────
The latest version of DoorTrack is always available on
the following BBS systems:
Insomnia BBS
(812)299-1712
Home of Platypus Programming!
Node @18262 of the WWIVLink Network
Host of Encyclopedia Absurdia
Host of the VGA Planets Players' Pub
)(evious BBS
1-508-875-3618 (node 1 ringdown)
Four Nodes, 1+ gig PCBoard system
* ATI 2400etc/c MNP/v.42 2400 bps on node 1
* USRobotics Courier HST 9600 bps modem on node 2
* USRobotics Courier HST/Dual Standard HST/v.32
modem on node 3
* USRobotics Courier HST/Dual Standard HST/v.32bis
modem on node 4
9.
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Platypus Programming
The difference is in the bill