Files Online will make a list of the files currently on your BBS. Unlike a disk catalog program it will only include those files uploaded onto Hermes. Also unlike a disk catalog program it will include the file descriptions that you worked so hard to include on all those files.
Installing it.
----------------------
Files Online includes both a sysop and user external. To use it simply drag it into the externals folder and restart Hermes. It has no other files associated with it.
Setting it up.
----------------------
You *must* run the sysop external before using the user external. To make sure you do I have set the security level to 256 and a restriction of W. Reset these to what ever you would like. For now I recommend only letting sysops have access to it because of some of the problems I will list below. I have included access to the idle loop variable. This box is currently checked but can be turned off if you do not want the external to be called during each idle loop. The only real advantage to having the idle loop set is that you can access the external from the main menu. Because I know that externals sometimes conflict I thought some might have a reason to turn this off. There shouldn't be any reason that I know of that you can't leave it checked however.
Next you *must* set the path on which to save the file list. Click on the path box and it will give you a standard file save dialog. Select that path and name for the output file and hit save. Once you have set the security level and path you can use the external to create a file list.
Perspectives.
----------------------
The only other setting is an optional one. It is the Set Perspective button. Use this button to set the user perspective from which you would like the list to be created from. In other words, the list will look just like if a user with the download security level and restrictions you mark was to go through the transfer sections. Sections which have security level higher than that you set or have restrictions that aren't marked will not be included in the file list. This is particularly nice if you have sections that only certain users have access to. You can make separate lists for each group of users.
Running it.
----------------------
Right now running Files Online is very simple. You don't have many options. To start either type //FILELIST from the main menu(if you have the idle loop option set) or invoke Files Online from the externals menu. If neither of these work, make sure you have set the correct security level and restriction to allow yourself access. Files Online will give you the option of generating five types of lists as described below. The only feedback you will get once the list is started is a "Processing" prompt followed by a series of periods. Each period represents one directory. This is simply to let you know that it is working correctly because it will take some time to go through all the directories, particularly if you have a large file section. When it is done it will confirm the number of directories it processed and total number of files listed.
List types
----------------------
Five types of lists are currently produced by Files Online. The last four are only available to registered users.
1. Descriptive list--This is similar to what a user sees when listing files in the transfer section. It lists filename, size and description.
2. Short stats list--This list has the file name, size, upload date, number of downloads, date of last download and the name and number of the uploader. All of this information is on one line.
3. Long stats list--This list is a combination of the first two. It produces a record for each file similar to that seen when downloading a file from Hermes. The only additional information is an approximation of the time it takes to download the file. Since this list uses eight lines per file it is very long.
Both the long and short lists have directory and list summeries including total number of files, total size, average file size, total downloads and average downloads per file.
4. Recent files list--This list is the same as the descriptive list except files can be included according to the amount of time since they were uploaded.
5. Popular files list--This list is also the same as the descriptive list except files are included according to the number of time they have been downloaded.
Limitations, problems etc
----------------------
I strongly recommend that you limit access to the external to a co-syops only. There are several reasons for this. First Files Online is limited to one user at a time. I saw no real reason to go to the trouble to make it otherwise. Also without access to the sysop external I'm not sure what use it would be to anyone else anyway. The biggest reason however is that Files Online is a CPU hog. It is repeatedly reading and writing to disk and will appear to freeze up other nodes if the number of files listed is very large. I recommend only using it when users are not on line or at least after any users have been warned.
Future features
----------------------
The only reason I even made Files Online a users external is that I am toying with the idea of making the file list generation automatic. You could set it to make a list each night and automatically insert it into the transfer section. I didn't do this because I wasn't sure if anyone would want to use that feature. The biggest problem I see is that the file wouldn't be compressed but if you were willing to live with that or had some sort of automatic compression utility it might be useful. Anyone interested let me know. If anyone else has any other ideas I would be interested to hear them.
The plea.
----------------------
Files Online is SHAREWARE. I think this is a really useful product. I am more than willing to support it but new versions are of course dependent on interest and interest is dependent on feedback and the best feedback is registration. I have written a few shareware applications and it is getting discouraging not to mention financially hard to justify all the time. If you use it please register your copy. I feel that shareware has fallen into the same trap as the commercial system it is supposed to be an alternative to. Authors ask for such large fees because so few people actually send them in. This in turn causes fewer people to send them in, which makes authors feel they need to ask for more, which…you get the picture. I have intentionally made the price so reasonable you don't have any excuse not to pay the shareware fee. If you don't think the external is worth $5 then DON'T USE IT.
Registration info
----------------------
To register send $5 *and* the name of your BBS as you want it listed on reports(limit 30 characters) to Chris Owen, PO Box 1471, Garden City, KS 67846. Registration will unlock certain features (such as putting the BBS name/date on file lists, compiling stats lists) and get rid of all my annoying reminders that your copy isn't registered. The fee will also cover future versions as they come out.
If you have any questions or comments about Files Online, I would appreciate hearing them. I can be reached on Olympus or at the numbers below.
