home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The World of Computer Software
/
World_Of_Computer_Software-02-386-Vol-2of3.iso
/
b
/
bfx200.zip
/
BFX.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-12-02
|
15KB
|
529 lines
BFX
Copyright (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill
Richard D. Fothergill
the Oak Hill BBS
141 Oak Hill Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Data/FAX - (413) 499-7245
WHAT IS BFX?
When I purchased my ZyXEL U-1496 Modem/Fax I wanted an easy way to be
able to accept fax and modem calls on the same line. This would allow
me to continue to operate my BBS software and be in a position to
receive faxes. I tried BinkleyTerm and FrontDoor. Both excellent
programs, but way more than I needed or wanted, not having a need for
network mailers or a built in terminal program. I wanted something
simple, small, easy to setup and maintain that could take advantage of
the capabilities of the ZyXEL. Thus the beginning of BFX. BFX may
work with other Fax/Modems however it has only been tested with the
ZyXEL.
WHAT CAN I DO WITH BFX?
You run BFX instead of your BBS software. BFX will answer the phone,
decide what the incoming call is and exit with an errorlevel which you
can use in a batch file for subsequent operations. A BBS call will
also create a batch file to call your BBS software. In addition you
can program up to 10 events with a preset time of execution and exit
errorlevel and up to three configurable menu items that will appear as
selections on the pop-up menu within BFX. When BFX encounters one of
these it will exit with your predetermined errorlevel. Again, you
control further processing in your batch file. BFX will also monitor
the ability to communicate with the modem. If BFX detects a loss of
the ability to communicate with the modem it will halt execution with
an errorlevel of 5 and return control to your BBS.BAT batch file.
REQUIREMENTS
Fax/Modem capable of generating a FAX connection string and BBS / Fax
software capable of executing after a connection has been established.
Configurable Menu Items and CallerID logging are only available in the
registered version. If you would like to receive the registered
version, send your name and address along with a check for $25.00 US
to:
Richard Fothergill
141 Oak Hill Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Please specify either 5-1/4" or 3-1/2" disk size.
Support is available on the Oak Hill BBS - (413) 499-7245 running a
ZyXEL U-1496S.
DISCLAIMER
IN NO EVENT WILL I BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY
LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE BFX, OR FOR ANY
CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY.
I would like to express my thanks to Bill Derrer, Laura Fiorilla, Tony
Sharp and George Vandebunte for their assistance in testing BFX.
BFX -1-
Copr (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill
INSTALLATION
There are two files that you must create to run BFX. They are BBS.BAT
and BFX.CFG. I have included in this archive samples of each that you
can modify with any ASCII text editor. I will discuss these
individually. First a few rules regarding errorlevels.
ERRORLEVELS
Errorlevels 0 - 30 are reserved for use by BFX. There are five
hardcoded errorlevels assigned in this version of BFX.
0 - Terminate
5 - Modem Error
10 - Local Logon
20 - DATA Connection
30 - FAX Connection
Errorlevels 31 - 255 can be assigned by the user to events or
configurable menu items.
BFX -2-
Copr (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill
BBS.BAT
This batch file is the heart of your BBS/FAX system. It controls all
activity and execution. You do not have to use the name BBS.BAT, it
can be any name of your choosing. The following is the BBS.BAT file I
use.
@ECHO OFF
:LOOP
f:
cd \sf
cls
bfx
if errorlevel 70 goto EVENT0
if errorlevel 50 goto CFG2
if errorlevel 40 goto CFG1
if errorlevel 30 goto FAXCALL
if errorlevel 20 goto DATACALL
if errorlevel 10 goto LOCAL
if errorlevel 5 goto MODEMERR
if errorlevel 0 goto END
:EVENT0
call sfmaint
goto loop
:FAXCALL
rcvfax 1 f:\sf\fax
goto loop
:DATACALL
call bbsexe
sfchkup
goto loop
:LOCAL
spitfire 0
goto loop
:CFG1
e:
cd \gt
call gt
goto loop
:CFG2
e:
cd \dosfax
dosfax
goto loop
:MODEMERR
echo A problem with your modem exists!
:END
The loop: label is where execution of the batch file will return to
after any activity other than a normal exit or modem error. BFX is
started and awaits a caller. If a call is received, a scheduled event
occurs or a configurable menu item is selected, BFX will exit with the
corresponding errorlevel. Be sure to complete each errorlevel exit
with a goto loop so that control will always return to this batch file
and if you are starting a BATch file use the DOS CALL command.
BFX -3-
Copr (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill
BFX.CFG
This is the configuration file you setup to inform BFX of certain
parameters it needs to function. The following is a sample
configuration file.
PN=2
PB=38400
PP=N
PL=8
PS=1
PC=ARQ
MI=ATM0V1E0S2=1H0X7#B1+FCLASS=6
MA=ATA
MY=ATH0
MN=ATH1
MR=ATZ
MD=3
BB=SPITFIRE
BS=
BP=/C
BE=/E
GR=2
GT=120
GM=>> BFX >> logging on to...
GC=NO
GV=C
FP=F:\ZFAX\ZFAX.COM
FC=4
FS=F:\SF\FAX\*.*
C1=GTPowerComm,40
C2=Dosfax,50
E0=DAILY MAINTENANCE,03:00,70
There are no spaces allowed in this file between the parameter and
either side of the = sign. The items should appear in the sequence
listed but it is not required. It is required that all parameter
identifiers be upper case.
The parameters and their definitions are as follows:
PN The communications port you have your modem on.
PB The baud rate to initialize your modem to.
PP Parity
PL Data length
PS Stop Bits
MI Your initialization string for modem/fax reception. Please
include E0 and V1 in your init string so that modem responses will
display in the status window correctly.
MA Modem answer string.
MY Modem onhook string.
MN Modem offhook string.
MR Modem reset string.
MD Modem delay. Sets the no. of ticks to delay before sending
commands to the modem. If you experience Modem Failure errors you
can try increasing or decreasing this value.
BB The name you would like placed in the BBSEXE.BAT file.
BFX -4-
Copr (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill
BS The text you would like to preceed the connect speed parameter in
BBSEXE.BAT
BP The text you would like to preceed the baud rate parameter in the
BBSEXE.BAT file. Spitfire requires that the parameter read
/C<comport>. Check your BBS software.
BE The text you would like in BBSEXE.BAT to notify your BBS software
that an error correcting connection has been made.
GR The number of rings on which you would like BFX to answer the
call.
GT Sleep time out seconds. This is the amount of time BFX will wait
before blanking the screen. A display of the program name and
current time will appear at random locations to remind you of the
program running. If ST=0 then screen blanking is disabled.
GM Log on message. This is sent to the caller just before BFX exits
on a data connection.
GC* Tells BFX whether CID logging should be active. If NO then CID
information will appear in the status window only. If YES then
the CID information will be written to the BFX.LOG file right
after the connection information. BFX will also generate a plain
ASCII text file containing the current callers ID information in
the event you have a program that can make use of it. The name of
this file is CALLERID.DAT.
GV Tells BFX which color set to use. Normally BFX will determine the
correct color set, either Monochrome or Color, on start up. If
you have a paper white VGA monitor or for some reason BFX selects
an incompatible color set you can override that by setting GV=M
for monochrome or GV=C for color.
FP The full path and complete file name of your Fax Viewer.
FC The command line paramters your Fax viewer needs to startup.
FS The full path and search parameters for your Fax file directory.
C1 - C3*
These are configurable menu items. The format for each line is:
Description (20 chars. max.),Errorlevel. The description will
appear in the pop-up menu and when selected BFX will exit with the
assigned errorlevel. This can be used to run your communications
program or send fax software as an example.
E0 - E9
Up to 10 events that you can execute at a specific time. The
format for each line is:
Description (40 chars. max), Time, Errorlevel
The description will appear in the log file when the event occurs.
The time to execute the event must be in 24 hr. format. The
errorlevel is the value BFX will exit with. In the event someone
is online when an event is scheduled BFX will run the event once
they log off and control is returned to BFX.
* Only available in the registered version.
BFX -5-
Copr (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill
FILES CREATED BY BFX
There are four files created by BFX. A discussion of each follows.
BFX.LOG
If this file is not found at start-up BFX creates a new one. Each
time connection is established, an entry is written to this file. The
entry will consist of the date, time, description of activity and
either the errorlevel for an event or the CONNECT string for a modem
connection. Local logons are not recorded in the file. This file has
no interaction with your BBS log file. A modem connection may be made
and control passed to your BBS software and the user might hang up
with out logging on. In this case, there would still be a record of
the connection in the BFX.LOG but in all probability, not in your BBS
log. In the registered version CID information may also be logged to
this file. The log file has a limit of 2000 lines. You may reset
this file at anytime.
BFX.STS
This used strictly by BFX. Each time BFX releases control back to
DOS, BFX writes control data to this file. You do not have to
recreate this. BFX will create a one if an existing file is not
found.
BBSEXE.BAT
When a BBS call is received, BFX will create a batch file which
contains the name (BB), followed by the baud rate prefix (BS), baud
rate, com port prefix (BP), com port and the error correcting string
(EC) . The parameters you specify in the configuration file allow you
to construct an entry that will start your BBS software. The format
of the line in BBSEXE using the configuration parameters is:
[BB] [BS]<baud rate> [BP]<comport> [EC]
SPITFIRE 14400 /C2 /E
CALLERID.DAT
If you have CID available in your area and you have CID logging
enabled with GC=YES in BFX.CFG then this file will be created each
time a data or fax connection is made. This file will contain up to
three lines of caller id information, depending on the service you
have in your area, in plain ASCII text. Available in the registered
version.
BFX -6-
Copr (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill
MENU AND HOT KEYS
From the Waiting for Caller screen you have three possible key
strokes. Alt-X will close BFX and execute a normal exit. Alt-A will
display the copyright information, version no. and registration
information. Alt-M will bring up a pop menu with the following
selections available:
Activity Log
Local Logon
Drop to DOS
View Fax
Reset Stats/Log
Terminate BFX
Within this menu your mouse will be active to locate the highlight bar
or you can use the arrow keys. Either press the left mouse button or
the enter key to make a selection. Pressing the right mouse button or
the Esc key will return you to the Waiting for Caller screen.
Activity Log - This selection will pop up a window and display the
BFX.LOG file. Press the Esc key or the right mouse button to return
to the menu.
Local Logon - This will exit the system with an errorlevel of 10.
Drop to DOS - Self explanatory. The DOS prompt is amended to remind
you to EXIT back to the BFX menu.
View Fax - Presents a selection of fax files meeting the search
parameters you specify in BFX.CFG. After selecting a file it executes
the viewing software you specified passing it the selected file name.
Reset Stats/Log - You are given the option of resetting the [S]tats,
[L]og, [B]oth or returning without any update.
Terminate BFX - Same as the Alt-X key press. Executes a normal exit
back to dos.
Configurable Menu Items - C1 > C3. They appear on the menu in the
sequence they appear in BFX.CFG. These may be selected as you would
any of the above items. Available in the registered version.
BFX -7-
Copr (c) 1992 Richard D. Fothergill