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┌───────┐ ┌─┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌─┐ ┌──────┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌───────┐ ┌─┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌─┐ ┌──────┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ │ ┌─────┘ │ │ │ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ │ │ ┌──┐ │ │ │ │ ┌────┘ └┐└┐ ┌┘┌┘ │ ┌─────┘ │ │ │ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ │ │ ┌──┐ │ │ │ │ ┌────┘ └┐└┐ ┌┘┌┘ │ └─────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──┘ │ │ │ │ └──┐ └┐└─┘┌┘ │ └─────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──┘ │ │ │ │ └──┐ └┐└─┘┌┘ └─────┐ │ │ │ │ │ └─┘ │ │ │ ┌────┘ │ │ │ ┌──┘ ┌┘┌─┐└┐ └─────┐ │ │ │ │ │ └─┘ │ │ │ ┌────┘ │ │ │ ┌──┘ ┌┘┌─┐└┐ ┌─────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └────┐ │ └────┐ ┌┘┌┘ └┐└┐ ┌─────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └────┐ │ └────┐ ┌┘┌┘ └┐└┐ └───────┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └─┘ └─┘ └───────┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ └─┘ └─┘ Simplex BBS - (c) 1989-91 Chris Laforet Software/Christopher Laforet All Rights Reserved. Chris Laforet can be contacted at: The Programmer's Oasis BBS - Graham, NC - 919/226-6984 The Programmer's Oasis 2 BBS - Graham, NC - 919/226-7136 FidoNet Mail 1:151/401 or 1:151/402 as Chris Laforet CompuServe Email - User ID: 76120,110 Genie Email - User ID: XTX74591 BIX Email - User ID: laforet Programming by Chris Laforet Unauthorized Selling/Renting Prohibited Documentation Title Page/Help Files/Etc by Robbie Foust _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Legalistic Mumbo-Jumbo Legalistic Mumbo-Jumbo _________________________________________________________________ Simplex is copyright (c) 1989-91, Chris Laforet Software and/or Christopher Laforet. This copyright is waived for the distribution of the executable files for Simplex. This means that you are free to distribute the Simplex executables as you wish as long as they are contained in the original form in which you received them. The source code for Simplex is available for purchase from Chris Laforet Software. When you purchase this code, you are granted an exclusive license to modify it for your own use. The executables that you produce must never be distributed in place of the original executables as compiled and distributed from Chris Laforet Software unless you arrange a royalty system with Chris Laforet Software. During the course of your modifications, should you develop a feature which you believe should be a part of the distributed Simplex executables, you may submit the code to Chris Laforet Software for review and for possible incorporation into Simplex, as long as such incorporation does not place Chris Laforet Software and/or Christopher Laforet under any monetary obligations. Your submitted code must include a cover letter indicating that you are freely granting permission to Chris Laforet Software for the incorporation of your code into Simplex. There are no warranties of any kind, explicit or implied, on the Simplex software. Simplex's executables are provided on an "AS IS" basis. What this means is that if you decide to use Simplex, it is at your own risk. In plain English, this means that if you use Simplex and your machine blows up, the developers and distributors of Simplex are not responsible in any fashion. If you use Simplex and it loses all of the files on your disk, once again the developers and distributors of Simplex are not to be held accountable. While these scenarios are rather extreme in nature, they serve to indicate that Chris Laforet Software and/or Christopher Laforet does not warrant, guarantee, or make any other representations regarding the use, or results of use, of Simplex or its documentation in terms of accuracy, reliability, correctness, currentness, or otherwise. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 2 Page 2 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Introduction to Simplex Introduction to Simplex _________________________________________________________________ Simplex is a package created for the running of a Bulletin Board System (BBS). The development of Simplex arose out of Chris' personal gripes insofar as his inability to either fix bugs or add features to other BBS packages. From the outset, Simplex was designed to be an easy-to-use BBS system, with source code available (at a price!) to anyone who might be interested. On the other hand, Simplex's executables are meant to be distributed as public-domain material. There are many good BBSes out there, ones which have cost their SYSOPs (System Operators) lots of money to purchase the necessary hardware. There is no reason on earth why they also have to ante up lots of money for their BBS software. Simplex is somewhat based on the user interface of QuickBBS. It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of praise, and it is in praise of QuickBBS' logical user interface (like P for Pause!) that Simplex emulates certain of its characteristics. Simplex is currently available for DOS or OS/2. It is currently being ported to UNIX also. Simplex is going to be produced in a multiuser version for OS/2 in the future. There are no plans to make the DOS version multiuser, but once it has been ported to UNIX, Simplex should be multiuser there. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 3 Page 3 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Installing Simplex Installing Simplex _________________________________________________________________ DOS users of Simplex will require a FOSSIL driver such as Ray Gwinn's excellent X00 package. A FOSSIL driver is a special program which provides an interface to communications ports. OS/2 users do not have to use a fossil since OS/2 supports communications ports with interrupt-driven drivers. 3.1-Simplex and Answering the Phone 3.1-Simplex and Answering the Phone _________________________________________________________________ Simplex will answer the phone by itself as long as your modem returns string results (like Hayes). In CONFIG you can configure your modem's strings for Simplex to monitor. If you are running a FidoNet node, then you will probably have a front-end mailer answer the phone for you. See below for more details of using a mailer. If you are running Simplex as a simple host program, you might want to use the ringback feature. This feature permits you to use your voice line for your host and not have to worry too much about your modem answering the phone and surprising one of your friends! How this works is that a person wishing to call your host rings the number and allows it to ring less than 5 times. This will then arm the answer feature. They can then call back in less than 40 to 50 seconds and the modem will answer them. After they hang up, the system will be back in an unarmed state. 3.2-Installing A Fidonet Node 3.2-Installing A Fidonet Node _________________________________________________________________ If you want to use Simplex as a Fidonet node, you will need to use some sort of a front-end mailer software such as BinkleyTerm or FrontDoor. This software is needed in order to handle mail -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 4 Page 4 transactions between your node and other fidonet nodes. Whatever mailer you use must comply with oMMM message bundle formatting (unless you choose to write a message handling interface between your mailer and Simplex). Simplex needs a special directory which it uses as an interface to the front-end mailer. Traditionally, this directory has been named the MATRIX directory. This directory is used during the exportation/forwarding of messages from Simplex to other nodes. The format of these messages is the standard FidoNet message format as outlined in their FSC-0001 standard (1.MSG, 2.MSG, etc.). These messages are then taken by mail bundlers such as oMMM or SMP and bundled for the front-end mailer. It is essential that this directory not be used for anything else. Simplex also needs a special directory where inbound bundles and message packets are placed. Traditionally, this directory has been called INBOUND. The front-end mailer will place the inbound bundles in message packets here once they have been successfully received. Simplex's mail utilities will scan this directory for any unpacked bundles or packets which it would proceed to unpack. It is not essential that this area be used exclusively for inbound mail since Simplex searches for bundles and packets based on their file extensions. Simplex requires a special directory which can be used as a "scratch" area. This directory is essential and must be used exclusively by Simplex. It is suggested that you call this directory PACKET since it is used to hold unarchived inbound mail bundles. This directory is essential because once the mail is unarchived, the archives are deleted. If the packets are not unpacked for any reason, they will remain intact until Simplex's mail utilities are run once again. This directory along with the inbound directory is searched for message packets every time Simplex's mail utilities are run. All members of FidoNet are listed in a file called the Nodelist. In order to be able to communicate with other nodes, BBS and mailer software must have access to this nodelist. Simplex is no exception to this rule. It requires that the nodelist be compiled using any Version 6 nodelist compiler (Version 6 nodelists are used by BinkleyTerm, Opus, and many other FidoNet utilities) such as ParseList. Simplex must know exactly where to find the compiled nodelist. Simplex requires a FidoNet node's address. This address uniquely identifies the node during communications with other FidoNet nodes. A FidoNet address consists of a Zone (read continent), a Net, and a Node number such as 1:151/401 which identifies Simplex's "home" node as being in Zone 1 (North America), Net 151 (Eastern North Carolina), and Node 401 in that net. While use of -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 5 Page 5 the Zone number is not absolutely essential at this time and it is perfectly acceptable to list your Zone number as 0, such use should be frowned upon in a network which is worldwide in nature! Hence Simplex does somewhat attempt to enforce the use of the Zone number. 3.3-Setting Up Simplex BBS Paths 3.3-Setting Up Simplex BBS Paths _________________________________________________________________ Simplex should have a special directory for its configuration, message, and userlist files. This directory can be shared with other programs if so desired (for example, with the front-end mailer's configuration files). It also requires a directory for its menu files, a directory which should be used exclusively for these files. Simplex also requires a directory for its screen files. It is advisable to create 3 subdirectories, say \SIMPLEX (for the configuration, message, and userlist files), \SIMPLEX\MENUS (for the menu files), and \SIMPLEX\SCREENS (for the screen files). Simplex and its utility programs respond to the SIMPLEX environment variable (SET SIMPLEX=path of Simplex configuration file). It is advisable to place this set statement in your autoexec.bat file (in DOS) or in your config.sys (in OS/2) so that Simplex and its utilities can always find their home directory. If you are planning to run a FidoNet node with Simplex, you also need an inbound directory where your front-end mailer places files bound for your node. There also needs to be an outbound directory in which your Simplex system will place files for your front-end mailer to send to other nodes. These could be called \SIMPLEX\INBOUND and \SIMPLEX\OUTBOUND and must be set up in both Simplex's configuration as well as your front-end mailer's configuration. Simplex requires two other directories to handle its normal FidoNet mail duties. These are a matrix directory where it tosses mail as standard FSC-0001 message files during exportation/forwarding, and a packet directory which it uses as a scratch area while unpacking inbound mail. These could be called \SIMPLEX\MATRIX and \SIMPLEX\PACKET. Please notice that Simplex maintains its packet directory and thus it should only be used by Simplex itself. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 6 Page 6 3.4-Configuring Simplex with CONFIG 3.4-Configuring Simplex with CONFIG _________________________________________________________________ Configuration of Simplex is rather simple using CONFIG.EXE (in OS/2 it is CONFIG2.EXE). In DOS using some old CGA systems, direct screen writes cause "snow" on the screen. If you run CONFIG and get snow, exit and then run it with CONFIG -S to enable retrace ("snow") checking. Essentially Simplex is a menu-driven program which is straightforward to use with the following exceptions: 1. When you make changes on a text field you MUST hit Enter on the field to keep them. 2. When you change a screen of options, you may hit hit Alt-X, Alt-Q or ESC to exit back to the menu and keep the changes. 3. When editing menus, pressing PgUp, PgDn, or Alt-X will keep the changes. Pressing ESC aborts the changes on the current menu page only. 4. To go forwards to a specific field without affecting the contents of any other fields, press Tab. To go backwards use Shift-Tab. 5. On multiple choice options, you may select the letter/number corresponding to the choice that you wish, hit Enter or Tab to skip past it without making a change, or hit Shift-Tab to skip back to the previous option. 6. On scrolling, light-bar menus, use your Arrow keys to select the option that you wish. You may also hit the first letter of an option to get to the first option matching that letter. Ctrl-PgUp and Ctrl-PgDn move a "page" of options at a time. 7. Always remember that your ESC key backs you out without saving changes! Option 1: You must enter your BBS Name and Sysop Name. If you provide your Sysop name in the same form as your login, messages addressed to Sysop will be directed to you. If you run a Fidonet node, then you must also provide your address and origin line to use in Echomail messages. This origin line will be appended to the bottom of Echomail messages along with your node number unless you have configured a special origin line along with the message area (see option 6). Option 2: This screen allows you to configure your modem parameters. You also can indicate if your modem is slow to respond to commands, and set the minimum baud rate a user has to -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 7 Page 7 have to log on to Simplex and the minimum baud a user has to have in order to see ANSI color screens. Notice that in modem configuration strings the | character indicates Carriage Return and the ~ character indicates a 0.5 second pause. Option 3: This screen allows you to configure Simplex's usage options. Most are self-explanatory. Private BBS operation means that if someone is not on the nodelist they are not allowed to log in. Disable local keyboard means that by default the keyboard is disabled from being active while someone is logged in (this can be toggled on and off with Alt-K while Simplex is running. Option 4: This screen allows you to configure Simplex's paths. Some of the paths are only for FidoNet mail paths and can be ignored if you are not going to run a FidoNet node. Option 5: This screen allows you to configure the archiver command lines for archivers available on your system. This option is only needed for FidoNet nodes. Option 6: This section permits you to edit/add/delete message boards for your Simplex system. Use PgUp and PgDn keys to scroll through each message board. The number of the message board is used in menu options. Message boards may be numbered any value from 1 through 9999, depending on your preferences. The message board name is shown to the user while reading messages. Message board types may be Local, FidoNet Mail (should only be one area for FidoNet mail), Echomail, or Local Fileattach. Message boards may allow messages which are private only, public only, or both public and private. The read and write privilege levels are the minimum user levels to be able to read and post messages on the board. The sysop privilege level is the minimum user level required to have access to sysop's message options like Export and Move messages. If the area is an Echomail area, you can also specify a special origin line to be used in lieu of the default origin line for that area only. Option 7: This section permits you to edit/add/delete file boards for your Simplex system. As in option 6, use PgUp and PgDn to scroll through each file board. The number of the file board is used in menu options. File boards may be numbered from 1 to 9999. The file board name is shown to the user during searches across areas. The search privilege level is the minimum user level needed in order to get access to the file area in searches across areas. The file path is the path to the file area. This area should contain files for the area along with a FILES.BBS file (see description below). In most cases the alternate path to FILES.BBS should be left blank (it defaults to the file area path), it is only included for special systems such -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 8 Page 8 as CD-ROM units which must have a FILES.BBS in a directory on the hard drive separate from the regular file path. Option 8: This section allows you to edit/add/delete events for your Simplex system. The event title will be shown to the user if their online time is going to be cut short by a pending forced system event. You may select the weekdays and time that the event is supposed to occur and the errorlevel that Simplex exits with if the event occurs. You may set an event to be forced or not. In Simplex, an event is "forced" if it will exit even if a user is online. If an event is not "forced", it will only exit if Simplex is sitting idle when the event occurs. Should you wish to temporarily suspend an event without deleting, you may mark it as not enabled. PLEASE NOTICE THAT WHILE EVENTS DO NOT EXIT WITH THIS RELEASE OF SIMPLEX, THEY WILL ACT TO LIMIT A USERS TIME ONLINE AT SPECIAL TIMES OF THE DAY. Option 9: This section allows you to edit/add/copy/delete menu files. Use of this section rather straightforward. Follow the prompts and help information. While the menu editor is convenient for small fixes, the Simplex Menu Compiler (SMC) is more convenient for laying out complete menu systems. Bear in mind that some menu options require data to be provided in the optional data field while others do not. See below for more details on menu types. Two points that must be clarified here are the use of the expert and autoexecute flags in menu lines. A user can toggle expert mode, a mode which should disable the showing of menu options, only showing a list of hotkeys. However, some lines of the menu should still show so that the user knows where they are. One of these should be the menu title line. Hence you can indicate with a "Yes" to the expert mode question when you would like to show menu lines to the expert mode user. Autoexecuting menus options are done when the menu is being shown. Any menu type can be autoexecuting, however some menu types do not make sense if they are automatic. One use of this feature is outlined in the description of the type 49 option below. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 9 Page 9 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Simplex Menu Types Simplex Menu Types _________________________________________________________________ This chapter gives a brief rundown of the types of menu options available for menu development. Some of these require information in the additional data fields, while others do not and merely ignore the contents of said field. Options in square brackets ([]) are optional. Type 0: Show menu line. This option will merely show the contents of the menu line and will not respond to any hotkeys. Hence there is no need for a key value for this kind of menu. It is mostly used to give menu titles and/or blank formatting lines. Additional Data: None Type 1: Call new menu - Add to return stack. This option will show the contents of the menu line and if its corresponding hotkey is triggered, it will attempt to call the menu name specified in the data line. The return is pushed on a stack so that a subsequent call to menu type 3 will return to the current menu. If a password is provided, then the user will be prompted for the password prior to being given access to the system. Additional Data: Menuname [Password] Type 2: Goto new menu - Clear return stack. This option will show the contents of the menu line and if its corresponding hotkey is triggered, it will attempt to call the menu name specified in the data line. The return stack is cleared and the new menu becomes the new base of the stack. If a password is provided, then the user will be prompted for the password prior to being given access to the system. Additional Data: Menuname [Password] Type 3: Return to previous menu. This option pops the current menu off of the stack and returns to the previous menu. Additional Data: None Type 16: Enter a message on board. This option permits the user to enter a message on the specified message board. Optionally the user may be logged off automatically after exiting the message editor by specifying a /L on the data line. THe logoff is exactly as if a type 255 menu option was executed. The message may be forced to a specific user by using the optional /T=user_name option. Please note the "_" (underbar) between the user's firat and last names. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 10 Page 10 This will be exchanged for a space when the message is actually entered. Additional Data: board# [/L] [/T=user_name] Type 17: Read messages on board. This option permits the user to read public messages or private messages to him/her on a message board. If the user's privilege level is greater or equal to the message board's sysop privilege, then he/she will be able to read all messages in the area. Additional Data: board# Type 18: Scan messages on board. This option permits the user to see the headers for public messages or private message to him/her on a message board. If the user's privilege is greater or equal to the message board's sysop privilege, then he/she will be able to see all the headers in the area. Additional Data: board# Type 19: Quickscan messages on board. This option permits the user to see the basic headers for public messages or private message to him/her on a message board. If the user's privilege is greater or equal to the message board's sysop privilege, then he/she will be able to see all the basic headers in the area. Additional Data: board# Type 20: Search userlist. This option permits the user to search the userlist for a user's name and/or list all users on the bbs. Additional Data: None Type 21: Search for Fidonet address. This option permits a user to search for a specific FidoNet node in the nodelist. Additional Data: None Type 22: Generate FREQ to Fidonet address. This option permits the user to generate network file-requests (in *.REQ files) to a specific FidoNet node. Additional Data: None Type 32: List files on file board. This option opens the file board's FILES.BBS and lists the files available in the area. Additional Data: board# Type 33: Upload file to file board. This option permits the user to upload files to the specific file board. Additional Data: board# Type 34: Download file from file board. This option permits the user to download files from the specified file board. Additional Data: board# -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 11 Page 11 Type 35: Raw directory list of file board. This options permits the user to get a raw directory of the files in the specified file board. Additional Data: board# Type 36: Contents of archive on file board. This option permits the user to see the contents of .ARC, .PAK, .ZIP, .LZH, and .ZOO files in the specified file board. Additional Data: board# Type 37: Show new files across file boards. This option searches across file boards for files with dates later then the user's last login or with dates later than a user-defined date. Additional Data: board# Type 38: Search for filename across file boards. This option searches across file boards for a specified file name. Additional Data: board# Type 39: Search for keyword across file boards. This option searches across file boards for a specified keyword in the descriptions. Additional Data: board# Type 40: Delete file on file board. This option permits the user to delete files and description entries in the specified file area. Additional Data: board# Type 41: Read a text file on file board. This option permits a user to read the contents of a file contained in the specified file area. Additional Data: board# Type 42: Download ONE special file from board. This option permits a user to download a sysop-specified file from a specified area. Additional Data: board# filename.ext Type 43: Move file(s) from one file board to another. This option permits the user to move files and descriptions to a different board. Additional Data: source_board# Type 48: Show ascii/ansi file. This option shows the user the specified ansi or ascii file. Do not include the extension, only the base filename. The file will not pause at the end. Additional Data: filename Type 49: Show ascii/ansi file with menu hotkeys. If this option is used as an automatic executing menu option, the file indicated in the data line will be shown to the user when its menu line is being shown however the menu's hotkeys will still be active! This permits you to design free-form menus using an ANSI screen editor. As with a type 48 data line, do not include the exension, just the base filename. The file will not pause at the end, but will continue showing -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 12 Page 12 any additional menu lines until the menu is finished. If someone actually provides a hotkey for this menu type, it will behave exactly like a type 48 (i.e. hotkeys are only active when it is an automatic executing option). Additional Data: filename Type 50: Show ascii/ansi file with pause at end. This option shows the user the specified ansi or ascii file. Do not include the extension, only the base filename. The file will pause at the end and prompt the user for Enter. Additional Data: filename Type 51: Answer questionaire file. This option leads the user through a questionaire file. See below for more info on Simplex's questionaire language. Additional Data: filename Type 64: Change user's city/state. This option permits the user to change his/her city/state. Additional Data: None Type 65: Change user's password. This option permits the user to change his/her password. Prior to changing the password, PASSWORD.A?? is shown (see below). Additional Data: None Type 66: Change user's clearscreen status. This option allows the user to toggle on or off his/her sending of clear-screen codes. These are only sent is ANSI status is on. Additional Data: None Type 67: Change user's MORE status. This option allows the user to toggle on or off his/her screen pausing status. These are only sent is ANSI status is on. Additional Data: None Type 68: Change user's screen length. This option allows the user to toggle on or off his/her sending of clear-screen codes. These are only sent is ANSI status is on. Additional Data: None Type 69: Change user's ANSI status. This option allows the user to toggle on or off his/her sending of ANSI codes. Additional Data: None Type 70: Change user's default editor status. This option allows the user to toggle between using the line editor and the full-screen ANSI editor. The full-screen editor is only entered if ANSI status is on. Additional Data: None Type 71: Change user's novice/expert mode. This option allows the user to toggle between normal menu mode and expert mode (where only option letters are shown). Additional Data: None -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 13 Page 13 Type 72: Change user's home phone number. This option allows the user to change his/her home number. Additional Data: None Type 73: Change user's data/work phone number. This option allows the user to change his/her data or work number. Additional Data: None Type 80: Enter an advertisement in ad area. This option permits a user to enter an advertisement or user-posted bulletin in an "ad" area. Ads are placed in a special file which is indicated in the data line. The days argument indicates the maximum amount of time that the "ad" can remain on the system. The optional /R argument indicates the message board number where replies to "ads" will be posted. If not provided, the user is not prompted to permit replies. Additional Data: filename /D=days [/R=board#] Type 81: Read advertisements in ad area. This option permits a user to read advertisements or user-posted bulletins in an "ad" area. The optional /R argument indicates the message board number where replies to "ads" will be posted. Additional Data: filename [/R=board#] Type 82: Scan advertisements in ad area. This option permits a user to scan the headers of advertisements or user-posted bulletins in an "ad" area. Additional Data: filename Type 240: Run a program from within SIMPLEX. This option permits a user to run an external program. The data line contains the command line to be passed to the command spawn function. This function searches the path for the program to run. The following meta-commands can be used as arguments to the program: $r = user's time left in minutes $d = current date as mm/dd/yy $t = current time as hh:mm $f = user's first name $l = user's last name $a = user's ansi flag (ascii 1 if on or ascii 0 if off) $p = In DOS: comm port number (ascii 1 for com1). In OS/2: comm file handle as a decimal ascii string $u = user's number in userlist as ascii decimal string (0 is first) $b = connect baud rate as ascii decimal string (0 is local keyboard) $* = DOS only: leave fossil hot (do not deinitialize) before calling program (not considered an argument to the program) -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 14 Page 14 $e = stop and wait for Enter after running program (not considered an argument to the program) $## = Passes the pathname for the file board specified by ##. For example, if file board 100 has its path as d:\files\editors, then using $100 would substitute d:\files\editors. Notice that the path name is NEVER backslash-terminated. If the file board specified by ## does not exist, then a blank argument is passed (i.e. a nul-string). Additional Data: program.exe [options] Type 241: Exit to DOS with an errorlevel. This option is not currently implemented. Type 242: Show version/copyright information. This option shows the user information about Simplex BBS. Additional Data: None Type 243: Show user's usage statistics. This option shows the user some information about his/her first connect date, the last connect date and time, upload and download statistics, and time information for this call. Additional Data: None Type 244: Yell for chat with Sysop. This option permits the user to summon the sysop for a chat if the current time is within the configured yell time specified under option 3 in CONFIG. Additional Data: None Type 245: Show current time of day. This option shows the current date and time until the user presses Enter. This is provided for systems with access to exact time. Additional Data: None Type 246: Check for mail. This option checks for unreceived mail addressed to the user. It marks mail for later reading and gives them the option of reading mail immediately. Additional Data: None Type 247: Sysop's user-upgrade option. This option permits the user to access/modify userlist records. It is not meant for anyone other than Sysops. The user must have ANSI enabled to access this option. Additional Data: None Type 255: Logoff/hangup connection. This option logs the user off of the system. Additional Data: None -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 15 Page 15 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Running Simplex Running Simplex _________________________________________________________________ Simplex may be started by merely typing Simplex on the command line (OS/2 users use Simplex2) and pressing Enter in the assigned Simplex directory. However, it is doubtful that such simple use would suffice for most applications of Simplex! Hence Simplex accepts a series of command line arguments that permit you to call it under specified conditions, and it returns with specific errorlevels to indicate that certain events have occurred. The Simplex command line may include any of the following options. A list of these options might be obtained by typing Simplex -? on the command line. Most of these options are meant to be used when spawning Simplex from a front-end FidoNet mailer, but some are even handy for use in simple host applications: -Bxxxx Startup at the specified baud (User is online) -H Do not hangup before exiting -L Startup in local mode (same as -B0) -Pxxx DOS: Use the specified comm port *or* -Pxxx OS/2: Use the specified comm handle -R Do ringback model of call answering -Txxx Set maximum time user is allowed on system -X Exit after carrier is lost or after logoff Hence a mailer program might spawn Simplex with the following command line in a batch file: simplex2 -B%1 -P%2 -X or for a local session, it might use the following: simplex2 -L -X In order to let batch files know what is causing Simplex to exit, it returns different errorlevels. The following errorlevels are currently supported in Simplex. 0 Normal Simplex exit prompted by Alt-X keystroke. 1 Simplex had an internal error. 2 Normal Simplex exit after user was on and -X was on command line. 3 Netmail was entered and Alt-X pressed or -X was on command line. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 16 Page 16 4 Echomail was entered and Alt-X pressed or -X was on command line. 5 Netmail and Echomail were entered and Alt-X pressed or -X was on command line. 6+ Errorlevel generated by an event exit. Errorlevel 2 is especially created for simple Simplex host applications which need to know if to run external utilities such as SRECENT or SUSAGE (see below). Obviously, if you have exited from a waiting-state with Alt-X, there is no need to check to see if the last user has been added to the database. Hence you could have a batch file similar to this: set simplex=d:\host :runhost d: cd \host simplex2 -x if errorlevel 3 goto runhost if errorlevel 1 goto recent if errorlevel 0 goto end :recent srecent 20 susage -G -I goto runhost :end while a FidoNet compatible BBS might have something like: :runbbs simplex -b%1 -x if errorlevel 6 goto recent if errorlevel 5 goto echomatrix if errorlevel 4 goto echo if errorlevel 3 goto matrix goto recent :echomatrix smail -nx -ex goto recent :echo smail -ex goto recent :matrix smail -nx :recent -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 17 Page 17 srecent 20 susage -G -I goto runbbs -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 18 Page 18 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Simplex Ancillary Files Simplex Ancillary Files _________________________________________________________________ Simplex BBS requires a number of files to be provided by the user in order to do its normal work and to present a helpful and friendly interface to the user. The following sections outline the files that Simplex looks for under various conditions. These files are named with extensions for users who are using ANSI and those who are not. If the user is running ANSI, then the user is presented with the contents of filename.ANS. If this file cannot be found, or if the user has ANSI off, the contents of filename.ASC are shown. This means that you can include as many ANSI sequences as you wish in the .ANS file but leave them out of the .ASC. If you use the SANSI compiler, it will automatically prepare the two distinct files for you. 6.1-Files for Help 6.1-Files for Help _________________________________________________________________ The files that present help screens should attempt to be very helpful yet concise at the same time. No user appreciates being swamped with information when they ask for help! These files must be in the configured screen path. DLHELP.A?? This file presents help on the download protocols available on your Simplex system. It is accessed by pressing H at the Download Menu. ULHELP.A?? This file presents help on the upload protocols available on your Simplex system. It is accessed by pressing H at the Upload Menu. NODEHELP.A?? This file presents help on the choices in the Search Nodelist Menu. READHELP.A?? This file presents help on the choices available in the Read Messages Menu. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 19 Page 19 TOPICHLP.A?? This file is shown when a user presses H in the Read Topics Menu. EDITHELP.A?? This file is invoked by requesting help from the Line Editor Menu. It should describe the options available to the user of the Line Editor. ANSIHELP.A?? This file presents help when the user of the Full Screen Editor presses ^K ?. It should present a list of the options available in that editor. QSHELP.A?? This file presents the user with help for using the QuickScan option in a message area. SCANHELP.A?? This file is shown when a user requests help in the Scan Menu of a message area. ADHELP.A?? This file is shown when in read mode while in an Ad/User Bulletin area. 6.2-General Files 6.2-General Files _________________________________________________________________ These files are called upon in certain specific situations during the running of Simplex. They are almost essential for providing a friendly interface between your BBS and the user. These files must be in the configured screen path. TOOSLOW.ASC This file does not have an ANSI flavor since the user's ANSI preference is not known at the time it is shown. It is shown when a user has logged on with a modem slower than your minimum baud rate configured in CONFIG. LOGO.ASC This file is shown before the user is asked for his/her name. Since the user's ANSI preference is not yet known, there is no ANSI flavor of this file. It is not wise to embed ANSI codes in it since it might cause undesirable side-effects on the user's terminal. NOTFOUND.ASC This file is shown after a user enters a name that is not in the userlist, and before the user is prompted if they entered the correct name. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 20 Page 20 PRIVATE.ASC This file is shown only if the user's name is not in the userlist and the BBS is configured for preregistered operation. ANSI.ASC This file is shown after a user has indicated that their name was spelled correctly and it was not in the userlist. It is wise to indicate to the user that they will be asked a few questions which will help to configure the system to their liking, and maybe to explain the meaning of ANSI to them. PASSWORD.A?? This file is sent before the new user enters his/her password into the system, or when a user opts to change his/her password. It should indicate that they must choose a password of at least 4 characters and that it should be easy to remember yet difficult for close friends to guess. NEWUSER.A?? This file is shown to a user after they have finished filling out the new-user questionnaire and before they are provided with the welcome screen. It is a good idea to welcome them to your system and maybe to explain some of the rules of conduct. NEWUSER2.A?? This file is shown to users who have called less than 5 times. It is a good idea to use it to give a few pointers on the use of your system. WELCOME.A?? This file is shown to a user after logging in, or to a new user after NEWUSER2.A??. It precedes the automatic mail check. This is the place to put a splashy logo screen. BULLETIN.A?? This file shows the latest news on the system to a user logging in. It is shown after the WELCOME.A?? and the mail check. NOANSWER.A?? This file is shown after a user has yelled and the Sysop did not answer immediately. It should explain to the user that the Sysop is unavailable and that he/she might break in and chat while they continue using the board normally. TOOMANY.A?? This file is shown after a user has attempted to yell but does not have any remaining yells (as set in CONFIG). NOYELL.A?? This file is shown when the user attempts to yell but it is outside of the yell hours configured in -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 21 Page 21 CONFIG. It should indicate to the user that they should leave the Sysop a message instead. GOODBYE.A?? This is the last file that the user sees after logging off of your BBS. It is shown before the modem is told to hang-up. 6.3-Files Created by CONFIG 6.3-Files Created by CONFIG _________________________________________________________________ The following files are normal in the Simplex home directory and are created by CONFIG. They are not meant to be deleted or edited by any means other than with CONFIG. CONFIG.BBS This file contains the configuration information needed by Simplex and its utilities. This information includes the BBS name, the Sysop name, the paths to different directories, and Fidonet addresses. EVENTS.BBS This file contains the event information used by Simplex. FILEAREA.BBS This file contains the path and file area name information referenced by menus. MSGAREA.BBS This file contains the message area information which is referenced by menus. 6.4-Files Needed by Simplex 6.4-Files Needed by Simplex _________________________________________________________________ The following files are absolutely essential for Simplex's operations and must be in the Simplex home directory. TIMES.BBS This file contains in ascending priority order, the maximum amount of time in minutes per day that allowed for each privilege level. The maximum amount is 1440 minutes (24 hours). The file is plain ASCII text organized like this: -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 22 Page 22 <level> <time> as in the following: 1 30 100 60 200 120 255 180 This means that any user with level 1 through 99 has 30 minutes on the system. Any user with level 100 through 199 has 60 minutes on the system. Any user with level 200 through 254 has 120 minutes on the system, and any user with level 255 has 180 minutes on the system. USERLIST.BBS This file contains the user records. It is maintained by using the USERLIST program or by using the Sysop user-editor from within Simplex itself. FILES.BBS Each file directory needs a FILES.BBS. This file contains the names of the files along with a description line as follows: <filename> <description> The filename should be in all caps and any amount of spaces or tabs may separate it from the description. If a line begins with a hyphen then it and all subsequent lines will be shown in bright white. If a line begins with a space or hyphen, it is shown as is. For example: - My Main File Area ----------------- FILENAME.DOC A description of this file area for my users. SIMPLEX.ZIP The latest Simplex programs. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 23 Page 23 6.5-Files Created by Simplex 6.5-Files Created by Simplex _________________________________________________________________ The following files are found in the Simplex home directory and are created and maintained by Simplex and its utilities. They are best left alone by the user. MSGHEAD.BBS This file contains the header information (such as to, from, subject) for each message in the Simplex system. It contains an offset pointer to the relevant text in MSGBODY.BBS. MSGBODY.BBS This file contains the text of messages in the Simplex system. MSGLINK.BBS This file contains abbreviated information about each message in the Simplex system and is used for quick searching. MSGDATA.BBS This file contains information about the total number of messages in Simplex and in each message area. MSGREAD.BBS This file contains the last-message-read pointers for each user for each message area in the Simplex system. USERINFO.BBS This file contains information about the last/current user for external utilities to use (such as SRECENT). DORINFO1.DEF This file is created by Simplex before running external programs and contains information used by certain games and utilities. 6.6-Files used by Simplex Utilities 6.6-Files used by Simplex Utilities _________________________________________________________________ The following files may be found in the Simplex home directory. They are files that are needed by external Simplex utilities and must be edited with a pure-ASCII text editor. They will not be needed if you do not intend to run Fidonet mail. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 24 Page 24 AREAS.BBS This file is used by SMAIL to Export/Import echomail. It is organized as follows: <msgarea number> <echo-areaname> <destination addresses> The <msgarea number> is the Simplex message area number as defined in CONFIG. The special area "number" P is reserved for "pass through" echomail areas, that is areas which are not on your BBS but which you might be passing on to other BBSes. The <echo-areaname> is the official echo "tag" for that echo. The destination addresses are the addresses which your BBS "feeds". Comment lines in this file begin with a semicolon (;). Here is an example of an AREAS.BBS file: ; This is a sample AREAS.BBS comment! 10 C_ECHO 1:151/401 1:151/403 1:151/404 1:151/1000 11 SIMPLEX 1:151/401 1:151/404 1:151/1000 12 LUNATIC 1:151/401 P WRITING 1:151/404 1:151/1000 P AMIGA 1:151/403 1:151/1000 C_ECHO, for example, is imported to area 10, and is forwarded to the other addresses listed. On the other hand, AMIGA is not imported, but just forwarded to the listed nodes. Note the full use of zone notation. If you omit the zone and net they will default to the same as your zone and net number as configured in CONFIG (e.g. 10 C_ECHO 401 403 404 1000 is the same as above since my address is 1:151/402). SMP.CTL This file is used by SMP to export messages to other systems. It is similar to oMMM's CTL file and uses the following keywords: SCHED <letter> This keyword delineates a schedule. It is used as SCHED followed by a letter of the alphabet, as in SCHED A or SCHED Z. Schedules are handy for doing special actions to outbound mail at certain times of the day. LEAVE <addresses> This keyword will mark any mail to the indicated -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 25 Page 25 destinations in such a fashion that it will not be sent out. e.g. filename.?ut ---> filename.n?t filename.?lo ---> filename.n?o SEND <addresses> This keyword will mark any mail that was previously left with the LEAVE keyword in such a fashion that it may be sent. LEAVE and SEND have opposite effects. e.g. filename.n?t ---> filename.?ut filename.n?o ---> filename.?lo DOCM <addresses> This will mark any continuous mail packets to the addresses that had been left with LEAVE so that they can once again be continuous mail. e.g. filename.nct ---> filename.cut filename.nco ---> filename.clo POLL <addresses> This will create a blank .flo file to the destinations providing there is not already continuous, direct or normal mail addressed to the same address. HOSTROUTE This command is very powerful and its use might have undesirable side-effects if you do not know how to use it. It will look for any remaining .out packets and will readdress them to their respective net hosts. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 26 Page 26 e.g. filename.out ----> file0000.out ARCDIRECT <to> <addresses> ZIPDIRECT <to> <addresses> LZHDIRECT <to> <addresses> ZOODIRECT <to> <addresses> These commands will archive using the specified archiver (as long as the archive command line is specified in CONFIG) the packets bound to <addresses> in a single archive bound to <to>. The archive is then listed in a .DLO file addressed to the respective address. UNDIRECT <addresses> This command will mark any direct mail to the respective addresses as normal mail. e.g. filename.dut ---> filename.out filename.dlo ---> filename.flo NORMDIRECT <addresses> This command will mark any normal mail to the respective addresses as direct mail. e.g. filename.out ---> filename.dut filename.flo ---> filename.dlo ARCHOLD <to> <addresses> ZIPHOLD <to> <addresses> LZHHOLD <to> <addresses> ZOOHOLD <to> <addresses> These commands will archive using the specified archiver (as long as the archive command line is specified in CONFIG) the packets bound to <addresses> in a single archive bound to <to>. The -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 27 Page 27 archive is then listed in a .HLO file addressed to the respective address. UNHOLD <addresses> This command will mark any hold mail to the respective addresses as normal mail. e.g. filename.hut ---> filename.out filename.hlo ---> filename.flo NORMHOLD <addresses> This command will mark any normal mail to the respective addresses as hold mail. e.g. filename.out ---> filename.hut filename.flo ---> filename.hlo ARCCM <to> <addresses> ZIPCM <to> <addresses> LZHCM <to> <addresses> ZOOCM <to> <addresses> These commands will archive using the specified archiver (as long as the archive command line is specified in CONFIG) the packets bound to <addresses> in a single archive bound to <to>. The archive is then listed in a .CLO file addressed to the respective address. UNCM <addresses> This command will mark any continuous mail to the respective addresses as normal mail. e.g. filename.cut ---> filename.out filename.clo ---> filename.flo -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 28 Page 28 NORMCM <addresses> This command will mark any normal mail to the respective addresses as continuous mail. e.g. filename.out ---> filename.cut filename.flo ---> filename.clo -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 29 Page 29 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Simplex External Mail Utilities Simplex External Mail Utilities _________________________________________________________________ This chapter describes all of the external mail utilities for Simplex. These utilities are basically of two types, utilities to maintain Simplex's message base, and utilities to handle incoming and outgoing FidoNet mail. Simplex's message base is contained in a series of files contained in the Simplex root directory. The message files are described above. FidoNet mail is exported from the message base in standard FSC-0001 message format. Incoming FidoNet mail may be either in standard FSC-0001 packed message packets or in archived format. Outgoing FidoNet mail is prepared in standard FSC-0001 packed message packets and then archived by SMP. 7.1-SCLEAN: Simplex Mail Cleaning Utility 7.1-SCLEAN: Simplex Mail Cleaning Utility _________________________________________________________________ SCLEAN.EXE (or SCLEAN2.EXE for OS/2) is a message base maintenance program which cleans out messages from message boards. Messages can be cleaned out completely from message boards, deleted if received, or deleted if older than a specified number of days. SCLEAN has the following options: -dxx Sets maximum days for message killing to xx -kaxx Kill ALL messages on board #xx -kdxx Kill messages prior to maximum days on board #xx -krxx Kill all received messages on board #xx SCLEAN can be used to kill messages older than 10 days on message boards 1, 7 and 12 and kill all received messages on board 8 with the following command line: sclean -d10 -kd1 -kd7 -kd12 -kr8 The -ka option will normally be used to remove a defunct message board's messages from the message base. Notice that SCLEAN merely deletes messages and does not actually remove them from the message base. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 30 Page 30 7.2-SPACK: Simplex Message Base Deletion 7.2-SPACK: Simplex Message Base Deletion _________________________________________________________________ SPACK.EXE (or SPACK2.EXE for OS/2) is a message base compression program. It will analyse the message base and determine how many messages have been deleted, then check file space prior to packing. Packing may optionally be done in-place instead of in duplicate files if disk space is at a premium, however this method is frowned upon since it might be dangerous should a power failure occur. SPACK has the following command line options: -P Pack message base -W Write message base files in place In order to pack the message base, use the following command line: spack -p 7.3-SLINK: Simplex Message Thread Linker 7.3-SLINK: Simplex Message Thread Linker _________________________________________________________________ SLINK.EXE (or SLINK2.EXE for OS/2) is a message base thread linker program which will link messages by topic by message board. What SLINK loads all the message topics for a board, removes all RE's from the topic lines, then links matching message topics into threads. By default, SLINK links ALL message boards, however if a file called SLINK.BBS is located in the root Simplex directory, only the board numbers contained in that file are linked (SLINK.BBS is a series of 16-bit ints with each board number to link). This file is generally created by SMAIL when it is importing FidoNet mail so that SLINK would not waste time uselessly relinking boards that were not imported. There are no options to SLINK. To run it, merely type SLINK (or SLINK2) on the command line and hit Enter. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 31 Page 31 7.4-SMAIL: Simplex FidoNet Mail Utility 7.4-SMAIL: Simplex FidoNet Mail Utility _________________________________________________________________ SMAIL.EXE (or SMAIL2.EXE for OS/2) is a FidoNet mail importation and exportation utility. SMAIL is used to export FidoNet mail and Echomail to other systems after mail has been entered, a situation which can be determined by Simplex's exit errorlevel. Incoming FidoNet and echomail can be imported into the Simplex message base when your front-end mailer detects incoming mail packets. The command line options for SMAIL are the following: -ua unarc inbound mail packets -it import/toss net and echo mail -ib import/toss net and echo mail in bad messages area -nx export netmail to other systems -ex export echomail to other systems -s disable conversion of "sysop" messages to sysop's name -c### clean out signatures over ### days old SMAIL uses the unarchiver command lines from CONFIG's option 5 if you specify the -ua flag. It also uses the packet path from CONFIG's option 4 as the destination directory for the contents of the archived mail. SMAIL handles Echomail signatures, which are files containing data from messages which have passed through the system. These are kept in order to stop duplicate messages from being passed along. These signatures are kept in the Simplex directory in files called SMAILxxx.SIG where where xxx is the Julian date of the year when the signature file is created. These files can be maintained by using the SMAIL -c command. This deletes signature files older then the specified number of days. A reasonable period to keep signatures is between 3 and 10 days. Too short a period might allow duplicates to slip through, and too long a period will slow the system down excessively while loading the files. The best time in your setting will be best left to experimentation! SMAIL, by default, converts any messages addressed to "Sysop" over to messages addressed to the sysop's name as specified in CONFIG. This behavior might be considered annoying by some Sysops and therefore can be disabled using the -s switch on the command line. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 32 Page 32 Here are some sample parts of a FidoNet mail compatible system's batch file which illustrate using SMAIL for exporting entered mail: :runbbs simplex -b%d -x if errorlevel 6 goto runbbs if errorlevel 5 goto echomatrix if errorlevel 4 goto echo if errorlevel 3 goto matrix goto runbbs :echomatrix smail -nx -ex smp -p goto end :echo smail -ex smp -p goto end :matrix smail -nx smp -p goto end :end Here is a sample of a front-end mailer's batch file, demonstrating the use of SMAIL for importing and forwarding incoming mail. :runmailer mailer if errorlevel 2 goto runmailer if errorlevel 1 goto import goto end :import smail -ua -it smp -p goto runmailer :end -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 33 Page 33 7.5-SMP: Simplex Mail Packer 7.5-SMP: Simplex Mail Packer _________________________________________________________________ SMP (or SMP2 for OS/2) is a FidoNet compatible mail router/packer/archiver. It uses the archiver command lines from CONFIG's option 5. Essentially SMP reads the messages in the matrix directory, and based on the rules in the SMP.CTL file (see above), packs the messages in packets and optionally archives them to their ultimate destinations. SMP will delete truncated (i.e. 0-length) files in the outbound directories before it begins packing. Notice that it will not delete truncated files for the current day of the week, only for the other 6 days. SMP's options are the following: -p Pack and route files in matrix and outbound areas -s(tag) Use information for sched (tag) in SMP.CTL where (tag) is a letter from A to Z Use of SMP is demonstrated in the sample batch files under SMAIL above. 7.6-SMAILFIX: Simplex Mail Fixer 7.6-SMAILFIX: Simplex Mail Fixer _________________________________________________________________ Occasionally, systems crash and lock up. That is almost a rule in the world of computing. Unfortunately, these crashes and lock-ups have a nasty habit of occurring at the worst possible moment, and in the case of Simplex, the worst possible moment is when the message base is being manipulated! Since the message base files are so intertwined, any corruption to any of the files could be quite disasterous. Hence the raison d'etre of SMAILFIX. Should your message base appear to have become corrupted, SMAILFIX gives you a chance to attempt to restore/rebuild some of the message files so that you can recover as much of the message base as possible. OS/2 users should ensure that no utilities are able to manipulate the message files while SMAILFIX is running, and both DOS and OS/2 users should ensure that their systems do not shut down or reboot before SMAILFIX is finished. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 34 Page 34 To run SMAILFIX, just type it's name on the command line and hit Enter. Notice that you should be in your Simplex root directory when you do this. SMAILFIX will prompt you if you are sure that you want to run it. Answer Y and it will begin attempting to recover your message base. Once it is finished it will inform you if you need to run SLINK and/or SPACK on the message base. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 35 Page 35 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 8 Chapter 8 SUSAGE and SRECENT: Simplex Screen Builders SUSAGE and SRECENT: Simplex Screen Builders _________________________________________________________________ There are two utilities which can be used by Simplex in order to generate special screens. These are SUSAGE, a utility which generates an hourly usage chart for your system, and SRECENT, a utility which creates and maintains a recent callers listing. In order to take advantage of these utilities, one must have the BBS exit after each user has logged off. Both of these utilities read and utilize the USERINFO.BBS file created when a user logs in. SUSAGE must have the -G option enabled in order to generate usage files. These files are placed in the screens directory and are appropriately named SUSAGE.ANS and SUSAGE.ASC. These files normally use normal 7-bit ASCII characters to build the bar charts, but should you prefer to use IBM 8-bit characters, you can specify that with the optional -I switch. SRECENT must have a numeric option which specifies the number of last callers that you want to keep up with. SRECENT 30 will keep information on 30 users and will build the screens with that information. The resulting screens are placed in the screens directory and are called SRECENT.ANS and SRECENT.ASC. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 36 Page 36 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Simplex Questionaire Language Simplex Questionaire Language _________________________________________________________________ Simplex has a rather simple but powerful questionaire language. A questionaire file is an ascii file with a .QF extension which is placed in the screen files directory. This file can be created using a flat-ascii text editor. The answer file is placed in the same directory and has the same base name as the questionaire file, however it sports an .AF extension. The following is an alphabetical list of questionaire commands. Commands are case-insensitive. Strings are included in double quotes like this "string". ASK (variable) (len) : This will accept up to the maximum length specified of a user's input and store it in the variable specified. After hitting Enter, the system will go to the next line. CHOOSE (variable) (choices) : This will load the variable specified with the choice letter selected from the list of choices. CLS : Clears the screen to the current color. COLOR (foreground) [(background)] : Sets the current color to the specified foreground/background (optional) color. EXIT : Immediately exits the questionnaire file. GOTO (labelname) : Jumps to the label specified. If label is not found, it will exit. IF (variable) = ("string") *or* IF (variable) != ("string") *or* IF (variable) = (variable) *or* IF (variable) != (variable) ENDIF : If the case is true, the questionnaire will fall into the if-endif. If it is not true, it will skip over it. *Warning* Do not "nest" ifs! The != indicates "not equal to". -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 37 Page 37 LABEL (labelname) : Sets the labelname as a point to which the GOTO will jump. If a label is reused, then it will replace the previous use. PRINT ("string") *or* PRINT (variable) : Shows a string of contents of a variable on the screen. Does not go to the next line. PRINTLINE ("string") *or* PRINTLINE (variable) : Shows a string of contents of a variable on the screen. This will then go to the next line. SET (variable) = ("string") *or* SET (variable) = (variable) : Sets a variable to a string value or to the value of another variable. SHOW ("filename") : Shows a file (filename.ans if ansi is on, otherwise filename.asc if it is not. WRITEINFO : Writes the user's name, time and date, and other info to the questionnaire answer file. WRITE ("string") *or* WRITE (variable) : Writes the string or variable to the questionnaire answer file. This does not add a CR-LF pair at the end. WRITELINE ("string") *or* WRITELINE (variable) : Writes the string or variable to the questionnaire answer file. This adds a CR-LF pair at the end. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 38 Page 38 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 10 Chapter 10 SANSI: Simplex Ansi Compiler SANSI: Simplex Ansi Compiler _________________________________________________________________ In order to assist you in preparing your ANSI and ASCII files, Simplex includes a compiler and a high-level language. This system is called SANSI. You can write a single "source" file which includes all of the information for screens which can be compiled into the respective .ANS and .ASC files. The compiler will leave any ANSI statements out of of the .ASC files. The SANSI language will also access to special Simplex features as well as ANSI codes. Special SANSI codes are introduced with ` (forward single quote) in the .ANS and .ASC files (`` is interpreted by Simplex as being a `), however, use of the high- level language is strongly recommended for ease of maintenance. SANSI keywords are encoded in text in curly braces as in {sequence}. Any number of SANSI keywords may be included in the curly braces separated by spaces (like {stopoff cls bell}). To encode an true opening curly brace, simply type two in a row like this {{. Following is a list of SANSI keywords and codes. 10.1-SANSI User's Personal Information 10.1-SANSI User's Personal Information _________________________________________________________________ Code Representation SANSI Keyword ----- ----------------------------------------- ------------- `A User's Full Name name `B User's First Name first `C User's Last Name last `D User's City-State citystate `E User's Home Number homephone `F User's Work/Data Number dataphone `G User's Password password `H User's Privilege Level (1 to 255) priv -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 39 Page 39 10.2-SANSI User's BBS Settings 10.2-SANSI User's BBS Settings _________________________________________________________________ Code Representation SANSI Keyword ----- ----------------------------------------- ------------- `M User's Baud Rate (300 -> 19200 or Local) baud `N User's Ansi Setting (On or Off) ansi `O User's More Setting (On or Off) more `P User's Clearscreen Setting (On or Off) clear `Q User's Editor Setting (Line or Ansi) editor `R User's Expert-mode Setting (On or Off) expert `S Length of User's Screen Page (for More) pagelen `T User's Netmail Credit ($x.xx) credit 10.3-SANSI User's Time/File Information 10.3-SANSI User's Time/File Information _________________________________________________________________ Code Representation SANSI Keyword ----- ----------------------------------------- ------------- `a Date of User's First Call (MM/DD/YY) firstdate `b Date of User's Last Call (MM/DD/YY) lastdate `c Time of User's Last Call (HH:MM) lasttime `d User's Total Daily Time (M mins S secs) totaltime `e Total Time Used Today (M mins S secs) timeused `f Time Remaining for Today (M mins S secs) timeleft `g Time Used During This Call (M mins S secs) timeon `h User's Total Uploads (Number of Files) ul `i User's Total Uploaded Bytes (Kilobytes) ulkb `j User's Total Downloads (Number of Files) dl `k User's Total Downloaded Bytes (Kilobytes) dlkb `l Number of User's Calls to System calls 10.4-SANSI System Information 10.4-SANSI System Information _________________________________________________________________ Code Representation SANSI Keyword ----- ----------------------------------------- ------------- `p Day of Week (Monday, Tuesday, ... Sunday) day -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 40 Page 40 `q Short Day of Week (Mon, Tue, ... Sun) shortday `r Date (MM/DD/YY) date `s Time (HH:MM:SS) time `t Number of Times User Yelled for Chat yells `u Total Number of Users on System users `v Last User on System lastuser 10.5-SANSI System Control 10.5-SANSI System Control _________________________________________________________________ Code Representation SANSI Keyword ----- ----------------------------------------- ------------- `0 Turn [More] Off moreoff `1 Turn [More] back On (If user allows it) moreon `2 Turn [Stop] Off stopoff `3 Turn [Stop] On stopon `4 Pause and Wait for [Enter] to be Pressed enter `5 Clearscreen code (FF character) cls `6 Bell bell `7 Backspace bs 10.6-SANSI ANSI Sequences 10.6-SANSI ANSI Sequences _________________________________________________________________ Representation SANSI Keyword -------------------------------------------- ------------- Set black foreground black Set red foreground red Set green foreground green Set brown foreground brown Set blue foreground blue Set magenta foreground magenta Set cyan foreground cyan Set white foreground white or lightgray Set gray foreground gray or lightblack Set light red foreground lightred Set light green foreground lightgreen Set yellow foreground yellow or lightbrown Set light blue foreground lightblue Set light magenta foreground lightmagenta -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 41 Page 41 Set light cyan foreground lightcyan Set bright white foreground lightwhite Set black background onblack Set red background onred Set green background ongreen Set brown background onbrown Set blue background onblue Set magenta background onmagenta Set cyan background oncyan Set white background onwhite Set blinking characters blink Erase to End of Line erasetoeol Erase to End of Screen erasetoeos Erase to cursor from top of screen erasefromtos Erase screen erasescreen Move cursor up one line cursorup Move cursor down one line cursordown Move cursor left one character cursorleft Move cursor right one character cursorright Home cursor home -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 42 Page 42 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 11 Chapter 11 SMC: Simplex Menu Compiler/Decompiler SMC: Simplex Menu Compiler/Decompiler _________________________________________________________________ In order to speed up development of menus on big Simplex applications, it might be easier to use SMC, the Simplex Menu Compiler. This allows you to use a text editor to build menu source files, and thus be able to use the block-copy and find/replace facilities of the editor to ease the burden of menu development. Keywords are the following: menu "STRING" : This sets the name of the menu file and resets the line number counter. e.g. menu "main" prompt "STRING" : Sets the string as the prompt and all subsequent information before the next "menu" or "line" keywords will refer to the prompt. e.g. prompt "[^$r min^] What is your choice? " line "STRING" : Sets the string as a menu line and all subsequent information before the next "menu", "prompt", or "line" keywords will refer to the new line. e.g. line "<^M^> Go to Message Areas" define DEFINITION NUMBER *or* define DEFINITION "string" : Allows the definition of a constant value, either numeric or string. Later use of the definitions will be substitued for the representative number or string by the compiler. e.g. define WHITE 15 define RETURN "<^M^> Return to main menu" type NUMBER : This is only valid in a "line" clause and sets the type of the menu item to the specified value. For a list of menu types see above or type SMC without parameters. e.g. type 0 /* show a menu line */ priv VALUE : This is only valid in a "line" clause and sets the user privilege needed to see/access the menu item. This value may be between 0 and 255. e.g. priv 255 -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 43 Page 43 color VALUE : This is valid in a "line" clause or a "prompt" clause. It sets the non-highlighted color for either the current line or the current prompt. The value is a normal IBM color value from 0 to 255. See below for a list of color values. e.g. color 10 hilite VALUE : This is valid in a "line" clause or a "prompt" clause. It sets the hilighted color for either the current line or the current prompt. The value is a normal IBM color value from 0 to 255. See below for a list of color values. e.g. hilite 14 key "CHARACTER" : This is valid only in a "line" clause and it sets the value of the hotkey to trigger the option for that menu line. A character is any value >= ASCII 32 decimal. To specify a non-keyed line, use key "" with nothing between the quotes. The character may be upper or lowercase, however when a character is receieved by the menu handler, it is case does not matter (i.e. there is no difference between key "A" and key "a"). e.g. key "A" auto : This is valid only in a "line" clause and indicates that the menu item autoexecutes when its line is being shown. See menu type 49 above for an example of using autoexecution. e.g. auto expert : This is valid only in a "line" clause and indicates that the menu item is shown even if a user has expert mode toggled on. At least menu titles should be qualified with the expert keyword so that a user can know where they are on your system. e.g. expert data "STRING" : This is valid only in a "line" clause. It is used to provide the additional data line needed by various menu types (see above). e.g. data "logoff password" Using the SMC compiler will permit you to use the script language to put together a series of menus (you can have more than one menu in a .SMC file) and avoid the overhead of using the line- by-line menu editor in CONFIG. Should you wish to decompile an already existant menu, you can do it with the command line: SMC /d file.mnu > file.smc -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 44 Page 44 which will redirect the decompiler's output into the required file which can then be editord and then recompiled using the following command line: SMC file[.SMC] Color values in the IBM machine consist of an 8 bit number which is broken up as follows: High | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Low ^ | Background| ^ | Foreground| Blink Hilight The background and foreground colors range from 0 to 7 and represent the following: 0 Black 4 Red 1 Blue 5 Magenta 2 Green 6 Brown (Dark Yellow) 3 Cyan 7 Light Gray (Dark White) The highlight bit refers to the foreground color so that essentially the following color numbers in the lower 4 bits indicate the following colors: 8 Dark Gray 12 Light Red 9 Light Blue 13 Light Magenta 10 Light Green 14 Yellow 11 Light Cyan 15 White The blink bit will make the foreground color blink. Here is a list of all of the possible combinations using a black foreground: 0 Black on black 128 Blink black on black 16 Black on blue 144 Blink black on blue 32 Black on green 160 Blink black on green 48 Black on cyan 176 Blink black on cyan 64 Black on red 192 Blink black on red 80 Black on magenta 208 Blink black on magenta 96 Black on brown 224 Blink black on brown 112 Black on white 240 Blink black on white Using this table, merely add your desired foreground color to the base value given, and you will have the number for that color. For example, light red on white is 12 + 112 = 124! In strings, to encode a literal " (double quote), use the sequence \". For example, "this is a \"string\"" will become: -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 45 Page 45 this is a "string" after it is compiled. In menu lines and menu data lines, the following meta commands are recognized and are substituted accordingly: $$ Dollar sign $r Time left for call (mins) $f User's first name $l User's last name $d Current date $t Current time $a User's ANSI flag $u User's number on system $b User's baud rate $## File board's directory In menu lines the following have special significance: $c As the final two chars of a line means "continue" next menu line without going to next line. ^ Indicates a change of color from normal to hilight or vice versa. ^^ Means show a caret (^) mark. In data lines the following have special significance: $* Shell with hot fossil (DOS only). Do not deinitialize fossil driver before executing program. Note that this option is not passed as a parameter to the program in a type 240 menu option. $e After executing program, pause and wait for Enter before continuing. Note that this option is not passed as a parameter to the program in a type 240 menu option. Here is a sample fragment of an SMC script for a menu: /* Comments are done like this and can span ** multiple lines. */ menu "logoff" /* this begins the menu called logoff */ prompt "[^$r min^] What is your choice?" color 15 hilite 14 line "[ ^Log Off Menu ^ >----------------------" type 0 expert priv 0 color 13 hilite 14 line "" /* blank "space holder" line */ type 0 priv 0 color 7 hilite 15 line "" type 0 priv 0 color 7 hilite 15 -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 46 Page 46 line "<^Y^> Yes, log me off right now!" type 255 key "Y" priv 0 color 11 hilite 14 line "<^N^> No, do not log me off!" type 3 key "N" priv 0 color 10 hilite 14 line "<^L^> Leave a message to Sysop and log off!" type 16 key "L" data "1 /T=Chris_Laforet /L" priv 0 color 12 hilite 14 -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 47 Page 47 _________________________________________________________________ Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Revision History Revision History _________________________________________________________________ Version 1.00: Released Jan 3, 1991. This was the first non-beta version of Simplex. Events are not completed. ANSI editor can have some additional features added. External protocols are not yet implemented. -------------------------------------------------- Simplex BBS A User's Manual Simplex BBS A User's Manual Page 48 Page 48 ____________________________________________________________ Table of Contents Table of Contents ____________________________________________________________ Chapter 1 Legalistic Mumbo-Jumbo 2 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Introduction to Simplex 3 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Installing Simplex 4 Chapter 3 3.1 Simplex and Answering the Phone . . . . . . 4 3.1 3.2 Installing A Fidonet Node . . . . . . . . . 4 3.2 3.3 Setting Up Simplex BBS Paths . . . . . . . . 6 3.3 3.4 Configuring Simplex with CONFIG . . . . . . 7 3.4 Chapter 4 Simplex Menu Types 10 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Running Simplex 16 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Simplex Ancillary Files 19 Chapter 6 6.1 Files for Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 6.1 6.2 General Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 6.2 6.3 Files Created by CONFIG . . . . . . . . . 22 6.3 6.4 Files Needed by Simplex . . . . . . . . . 22 6.4 6.5 Files Created by Simplex . . . . . . . . . 24 6.5 6.6 Files used by Simplex Utilities . . . . . 24 6.6 Chapter 7 Simplex External Mail Utilities 30 Chapter 7 7.1 SCLEAN: Simplex Mail Cleaning Utility . . 30 7.1 7.2 SPACK: Simplex Message Base Deletion . . . 31 7.2 7.3 SLINK: Simplex Message Thread Linker . . . 31 7.3 7.4 SMAIL: Simplex FidoNet Mail Utility . . . 32 7.4 7.5 SMP: Simplex Mail Packer . . . . . . . . . 34 7.5 7.6 SMAILFIX: Simplex Mail Fixer . . . . . . . 34 7.6 Chapter 8 SUSAGE and SRECENT: Simplex Screen Chapter 8 Builders 36 Chapter 9 Simplex Questionaire Language 37 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 SANSI: Simplex Ansi Compiler 39 Chapter 10 10.1 SANSI User's Personal Information . . . . 39 10.1 10.2 SANSI User's BBS Settings . . . . . . . . 40 10.2 10.3 SANSI User's Time/File Information . . . 40 10.3 10.4 SANSI System Information . . . . . . . . 40 10.4 10.5 SANSI System Control . . . . . . . . . . 41 10.5 10.6 SANSI ANSI Sequences . . . . . . . . . . 41 10.6 i Chapter 11 SMC: Simplex Menu Compiler/Decompiler 43 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Revision History 48 Chapter 12 ii