The AMUG BBS has over 4200 files available for downloading by AMUG members. Many of these files are known as "shareware" programs. Shareware files are copyrighted, but the authors/publishers expressly authorize the copying and distribution of such files. After you try the software, if you decide to use it, you are asked to mail the shareware fee to the author/publisher. AMUG urges you to do so. Not only is it the fair (and legal) thing to do, it is also the best way to insure the continued availability of some excellent software, normally at a quite reasonable price. Only files that are in the public domain, or are otherwise authorized for distribution should be on the BBS. Since we do have lots of files on the board, it is possible that an unauthorized file could appear, despite the best efforts of the Sysops to spot them. Do not upload files to the BBS unless you are sure distribution is authorized. And If you see any files on the you think shouldn't be there, leave E-mail notifying the Sysop immediately.
The files are separated into a number of categories. Shown below is the Main File Transfer Section:
************* AMUG MAIN FILE TRANSFER SECTION ************
If you type <F>, you will immediately start a listing of all files uploaded within the last 21 days. Since there have been as many as 200 files in this section, be prepared for a few seconds of scrolling To download any of these files, go to the New Files section. You will probably find yourself in this area more than any other, at least after you have "caught-up" by browsing through the various category sections. Once you do "catch up", you will probably want to come to this section each time you log on and type <N>, for new. This will list all files added since the last time you logged on.
FILE CATEGORIES
After a file has has been on the board 21 days, it will no longer appear in the new section. You can go to the specific file category to list the files or search for specific files. If you are not sure of the category, you can type <+> to get to the Master Download Section. Here all the files available for download are listed, and you can download any of them from this section. Since there are over 4200 files (!), doing a list or search in this section is a bit slow. Still, this may be the quickest way, if you don't know the category in which a file you are interested may be. Also, The category may not be obvious. For example, is a desk accessory that is a communications program under DAs or Telecommunications?
SEARCHING FOR FILES
There is a search command in all the file areas, including the New Files area. If the file is not a new one, you will have to go to the category in which you think the file may be (or the Master Download area described above) to start your search To start a search, enter a full or partial "string" of characters you think are in the filename. The more characters you use, the surer you should be of the filename To give yourself the best chance to find the file quickly, use the smallest number of characters that will keep you from getting too large a list.
TIME LIMITS
Your on-line time is limited to 30 minutes, and you may log on only twice a day Those who contribute to the BBS by posting messages or uploading files may be given more time. In either case, you will not be dumped off the board in the middle of a download (or upload for that matter). To make best use of your time, it is recommended that you make a text file of the list of new files (or those of any download section you are interested in). That way if you do get bumped, you can get prepared off-line by reading the list with your wordprocessor and knowing which files you want. You can make such a list by turning the file capture feature of your software on just before listing the files. Or, if your software allows, you can scroll back to read or capture the list off-line. If some text is lost "off the top" when you try to use the scroll-back feature of your software, you probably just didn't have enough RAM memory. If you think you really do have enough memory, the problem may be that you have the disk Caching size too large. Try turning it off, or lower the size from the control panel desk accessory.
SETTING THE BAUD RATE
You can download at 300, 1200, or 2400 BAUD. You may wish to make sure your modem is set (by the software you are using) to the maximum speed of which it's capable (up to 2400 BAUD). To save yourself logon time, before logging-on set your communications software for the protocol you plan to use for downloading. This article will not attempt to explain the various error-checking protocols. Normally you would set MacBinary, or Xmodem. Occasionally the particular phone link you may be on could have extraordinary line noise. In such cases you may wish to try at a lower BAUD rate. The symptoms of this would be that the file starts to download, then errors are encountered. After a number of errors, the file transfer might be terminated due to too many errors (usually your software can set the number of errors before this happens).
PLEASE NOTE: This is unlikely to be your problem. We have not had any reports of such problems. So don't lower the BAUD rate unless all else fails. If you do so unnecessarily you will be wasting your time, and your on-line time is limited to 30 minutes. You will also be keeping the board tied-up so that other users may be inconvenienced.
STARTING THE DOWNLOAD
Before attempting to download, make sure you are in the correct download area. If the file is "New," i.e. has been placed on the BBS within the last 21 days, you can download from there. If in doubt, do a search. If the file is an older file you will have to move to the appropriate file type category section or to the Master Download Section. To download, type "D", then enter the file name. If you get a "file not available" message, check to see if you entered the name correctly (cutting and pasting helps reduce typos!) and are in the right download area. Sometimes a period of extra space will find its way into a filename, so watch for that. If all attempts fail, leave mail notifying the SYSOP that the file cannot be found. Tell him where you looked.
After you enter the name, you will be given 2 choices of the transfer protocol, or 3 choices if the file is a plain text file. Starting with the latter possibility, choosing "3" will not download the file, but will display it on the screen. If the file is not too long, this can be a good choice, since you can see if you need the file, and, if not, save some download time. If the file is too lengthy, reading it on-line will waste your time, and tie-up the BBS unnecessarily, so just download it.
If the file is not a plain text file, your choices will be:
1) XMODEM-CRC (best for Red Ryder users)
2) XMODEM-Checksum (best for non-Red Ryder users)
Which one (1 or 2)?
If you use Red Ryder, make choice 1, otherwise choice 2. Actually, I use Microphone and either choice works (but for uploads I have to use the suggested choice). After you enter your choice, you will have 60 seconds to start the download process. This is started from your software. In MicroPhone, a pull-down menu allows me to start the download. Your software should be similar.
If you change your mind after the BBS says: "You have 60 seconds to begin,", but before you start your the download, you can just set there for 60 seconds, and will be return to the BBS control If you have already started a download, stopping requires your software to send the stop already signal. Usually your software download screen will have a "Stop" or "Abort" button to press. Pressing that is suppose to send the stop signal. At this point, the host may not recognize the stop, and you will get funny stuff on your screen. Not to worry. Just sit there, and when the host gets enough error messages the procedure will stop.
STUFFED OR PACKED FILES
Many files on this board are in "Stuffed" format. To use these files it is necessary to unstuff them. These files often have a ".SIT" suffix in their filenames. However, due to the limited number of characters for filenames, this suffix is often not there, or gets truncated into a ".si" or ".s". Stuffit files can be recognized on your desktop by the icon that looks like a small vice or clamp. "Stuffing" files compresses them by up to 40 percent, which not only reduces diskspace on the BBS, but reduces the time you need to download them. It also allows combining all needed files into one package, which also saves download time and makes sure no needed file is overlooked.
To unstuff these files you will need to download the file "STUFFit151". The file "STUFF1.5.DOC" explains its use. Some of the older files have been "Packed," instead of "Stuffed". These should be identified by the suffix ".pit". In case this is overlooked, you can identify a packed file by its icon, which looks (appropriately enough) like a generic icon with 3 other icons inside it. The Stuffit utility will unpack these files. Just select "Unpack" from the "Other" pull-down menu. Alternately, you can download the file "Packit III" and use that.
PROBLEMS WITH DOWNLOADED FILES
Downloaded files may have the generic document icon, and when you try to use it by double-clicking on it, you may get an error message saying there is no application for the file. Do not be alarmed (yet). The most common problem is that the file is stuffed or packed as described above. Assuming that is not the problem, and you know what kind of file it is, first launch the application that uses it, then try to load the file. Chances are it will load fine. When you quit the application you may find the file now has its normal icon. If you don't know application the file is used with, try shutting down, then starting again. This will allow the Finder to update the (invisible) Desktop file. Your mystery file may locate the applicable icon information. If that doesn't work and you have a utility that will identify the File Type and Creator, and you know how to use it, do so. If not, you may now become alarmed. Your best bet is to leave a message in the general section of the board giving the file name and asking if anyone knows what its application is. This is better than leaving E-mail for the Sysop for two reasons. One is that as hard as it is to believe, the Sysop doesn't know everything! Maybe someone else does. The other reason is that if you are having problems, maybe others are too.
Well, Good Luck. If you kinda stumbled onto this file, note that there are three other help files on this Bulleting Board in the Telecommunications Section. They are:
"AMUG-About" - A little introduction to the BBS for beginners only.
"AMUG-TIPs - Some help on how to best navigate around the BBS, including how to get validated, how to keep from getting bumped off, etc.
"AMUG-Posting" - How to post and upload messages, and a few other tips as well. This file need some updating, but the information is still valid.
