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1996-09-09
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598 lines
** = ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE REGISTERED VERSION
SLOVAS Productions
presents
BUEd/2 v1.20
BBBS User Editor for OS/2
Documentation
-------------------------------------------------------------
What is BUEd?.......................................1.0
System requirements for BUEd........................2.0
Installing and setting up BUEd......................3.0
The BUED.CFG file................................3.1
The BUED.BZ file.................................3.2
Using BUEd..........................................4.0
The interface....................................4.1
Using the keyboard...............................4.2
Using the mouse..................................4.3
The keys.........................................4.4
Changing values..................................4.5
Entering numeric or string values.............4.5.1
Selecting values from a pick list.............4.5.2
Toggling values...............................4.5.3
The MD5 checksums................................4.6
Known bugs..........................................5.0
Registering and contacting the author...............6.0
Credits.............................................7.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard disclaimer:
LIMITED WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS (INCLUDING
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE) ARE PROVIDES "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
KIND. FURTHER, THE AUTHOR DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY
REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE, OF THE
SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIA-
BILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS
AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU. IF THE SOFTWARE OR
WRITTEN MATERIALS ARE DEFECTIVE YOU, AND NOT THE AUTHOR, ASSUME THE
ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.
THE ABOVE IS THE ONLY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THAT IS MADE BY
THE AUTHOR, ON THIS PRODUCT. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE
GIVEN BY THE AUTHOR, DISTRIBUTORS OR AGENTS SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR
IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY AND YOU MAY NOT RELY ON
ANY SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE.
NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE
CREATION, PRODUCTION OR DELIVERY OF THIS PRODUCT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES
FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS
INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE
SUCH PRODUCT EVEN IF THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGES.
<pfjuh>
Copyright notice:
BUEd is COPYRIGHT (c) 1996 by Snorre Lovas. You
may distribute it freely, as long as no charge is
made for it. You may not in any way change the
program. BUEd is E-Mail/NetMailware, which means
you have to send the registration form to the
author to register the program, and get your reg-
istration key.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.0 What is BUEd?
=======================
As a BBBS sysop you will have noticed that you often have to change
the profile of your users. This can be difficult to do within BBBS due
to the program's limited search facilities and ease of use.
BUEd is designed to help the Sysop to ease this task of maintaining
his user record. It provides search facilities, a powerful bulk (multi user)
processing and a mouse and keyboard driven interface, while maintaining
the BBBS look.
BUEd also incooperates a database where you can enter notes
about your users for additional information. Ideal if you have a new-user
form that the users have to fill out.
2.0 System requirements for BUEd
======================================
BUEd's requirements:
* PC 386
* Minimum 350k free conventional memory.
* BBBS 3.14.95 ->
* OS/2 Warp
3.0 Installing and setting up BUEd
=======================================
Installing BUEd is quite straight forward. Just unpack the archive
in a directory (e.g. C:\BUED) and edit the configuration file BUED.CFG.
3.1 The BUED.CFG file.
---------------------------
BUEd needs some input values to function properly. The first is your
BBBS directory pointing to the BBBSTXT. and the EXTERNAL.BBB file.
(Don't worry.... BUEd only reads values from these files!)
The second input value is your BBBS MAIN directory where the BBBSUSR.DAT
resides.
Third it needs to know the location of your favourite ASCII editor, such
as EDIT or Q. The %f indicates where the program should place the filename.
(Use %f, not %F)
To compute the right checksum for the userprofile BUEd needs the
registratinnumber of your BBBS. Enter the number belowe the header
[BBBSRegistrationNumber]
BUEd can release time slices to the operating system when doing heavy/
lengthy processing or is waiting for input from the user. This option
slows BUEd insignificantly down, and makes the program cooperate better
with multitasking OSes. Therefore if you're using DOS set the value below
the header [ReleaseTimeSlice] to NO. If you're using OS/2, WinNT, DV etc.
you can set the value to YES if you want BUEd to release time slices to the
OS.
A sample BUED.CFG may look like this:
--------CUT ON----------
[BBBSDIR]
c:\bbs
[BBBSMAINDIR]
c:\bbs\main
[EDITOR]
c:\dos\edit %f
[BBBSRegistrationNumber]
0
[ReleaseTimeSlice]
Yes
--------CUT OFF---------
Do not use trailing backslashes... (NOT c:\bbs\)
3.2 The BUED.BZ file.
--------------------------
If you want to run BUEd from within your BBBS you can edit this file,
place it in your BBBS directory and compile it.
The only line in BUED.BZ that needs editing is the system-command.
Edit this to reflect where BUED.EXE resides.
After compiling you can use the 'RUN BUED' command within BBBS to use the
editor. You may also edit ERROR.BZ (refer to the BBBS documentation)
IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You CAN NOT edit a user that is currently on-line!
4.0 Using BUEd
===================
Many people don't like reading documentation (me included), so start
the program and try figuring it out. It should mostly be self explanatory,
but after messing around a bit please read on.
4.1 The interface.
-----------------------
I have used the BBBS userprofile interface in this program, since it is a interface
most BBBS sysops are familiar with. But in addition I have included two
menu lines and a second screen.
The menu lines at the top and bottom show the available keys and actions,
and the second screen adds a few options that BBBS utility menu don't have.
(use RIGHT ARROW to look at the second screen)
4.2 Using the keyboard.
----------------------------
The available keys are displayed on the menu lines, but in order to change
any values you have to use the UP and DOWN arrow to move the marker
(the yellow diamond) to highlight the option you want to change. Press ENTER
to change the value.
For an explanation on every available key and how to change the values,
refer to section 4.4 and 4.5.
4.3 Using the mouse. === NOT AVAILABLE IN BUEd v1.20 FOR OS/2!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Point and single click :) You can click on the menu lines and on the
option VALUES (not the option names).
4.4 The keys.
-------------------
Here comes an explanation on every key that is used in the program
Function keys:
F1 - HELP : Displays a help screen with an overview of
the available keys.
F2 - USERLIST : Displays a list of all the users on your BBBS. Use
the UP and DOWN arrow or the mouse to highlight the
one you want to display/change and press ENTER
/LeftMouseButton.
F3 - SEARCH : Use this function to search for a user. Enter the
search string and the program will search the fields
NAME, ADDRESS, POSTAL CODE/CITY, PHONE NUMBER and
BIRTH for matches. Then it will display the matching
users in a list similar to the USERLIST function.
You can use boolean operators in the search string:
ie: 'kattem and (thomas or kristian)' will display
users that have the word 'kattem' and either 'thomas'
or 'kristian' in their record.
If the search string is to complicated the program will
beep and return to the previous screen.
F4 - EXPORT : This function exports the userrecords to a ASCII text
file. Just enter a valid filename.
F5 - BULK PROC : This is a very powerfull feature. Here you can select
an unlimited number of users and then change a value
in their userrecord.
There are several ways to initiate which users that
are selected:
1. Select from list
Select the users from the userlist by marking them
using the SPACE button.
** 2. Select all
Selects all the users in the userlist. You can
deselect some by toggling them with the SPACE button.
** 3. Select by search.
Selects all users that match the search string. Same
search method as F3-Search (see that section for
details). You can select/deselect additional users
by using the SPACE button
When you have selected the desired users press ENTER
to move on to the option list. Select the option you
want to change, and then select the appropiate value.
WARNING: This is a powerful feature and use it with
care. There is nothing stopping the program from killing
every user on the BBS if you tell it to.
F6 - DUPE CHECK: This function makes a report containing users that
look similar. That is - they have some of the same
information in their name/address/city/phone/birthday
fields. This may indicate that one of the compared
users are fake or a duplicate that isn't used.
First you choose the level of the report, by choosing
how high the possibility has to be before the
users are logged. Setting this number to 1 will log
users with one similar value as the same first name.
The possibility is calculated as illustrated in the
table below.
Second you choose the filename to which the report will
be written.
Similar first name -> Possibility increase by one.
Similar second name -> Possibility increase by one.
Similar word in
address -> Possibility increase by one.
Same phone number -> Possibility increase by two.
Same birthday -> Possibility increase by two.
** I : Show the note on the current user.
BUEd has an internal database where you can store
notes about your users. Ie. their membership type,
references, your new-user question form and so on.
The maximum size of the note is 2048 bytes.
** ALT-I : Edit the note on the current user.
Here you can edit a note or make a new one.
1. Edit user note: Use your favorite editor to make
or edit the note on the current user.
2. Import user note: Import a user note from a ASCII
TXT file.
3. Delete user note: Delete the note on the current
user.
4. Clean up BUED.DAT: Use this function to erase notes
on users that no longer are in the BBBSUSR.DAT.
(Killed users that are in the userrecord will
still have their notes intact until they are removed
from the userrecord with BBBS BPUS)
Movement keys:
PgDn : Displays the next user.
PgUp : Displays the previous user.
Home : Displays the first user. (Probably you)
End : Displays the last user.
RightArrow/
RButton : Displays the second option screen.
LeftArraw/
RButton : Displays the first option screen.
DownArrow : Moves the option marker one step down.
UpArrow : Moves the option marker one step up.
Action keys:
Enter/LButton : Allows you to change the value of the marked option
Space/RButton : This is only used in the sysop access option and the
bulk processing. It toggles the highlighted value
in the list on/off.
Delete : Sets the current user's status to KILLED.
Insert : Sets the current user's status to ACTIVE.
ESC : 1. In the second option screen -> Return to the first
option screen
2. In the first option screen -> Exit program
3. In changing a value -> Abort change
4.5 Changing values
-------------------------
There are three ways of altering values in BUEd:
1. Entering a string or a number directly.
2. Selecting a value from a pick list.
3. Toggling values.
4.5.1 Entering numeric or string values.
--------------------------------------------
To change values as address and lines in screen just select the
option and enter the value. The program will not allow you to enter
an illegal value.
To avoid the change press ESC
4.5.2 Selecting values from a pick list.
-------------------------------------------
To change values like grabfile format and terminal emulation you
select the option and you will be presented with a pick list with the
current value highlighted.
Use the arrows or the mouse to select the new value and press enter
to select it. If you don't want to change the value press ESC.
In most pick list you can only select one value, but in some you can
choose several using the SPACE button. These two are the sysop access
option and the bulk processing. (For an explanation on how to use the
bulk processing refer to section 4.4 - F5. )
4.5.2.1 The sysop access value.
-----------------------------------
When you select the sysop access option, you will be presented with
a pick list with 8 options. Here you can grant and revoke sysop rights to
users by toggling the options with the SPACE key, or the right mouse
button. The appropriate value will be calculated when you end the selection
with ENTER or the left mouse button.
At the time of release there are two undefined sysop access levels.
4.5.3 Toggling values.
--------------------------
In options as conference status at login and menu level there are only
two possible values, and you can toggle between them by selecting the
option and press ENTER or use the mouse to click on the option value.
4.6 The MD5 checksums
-----------------------------
As a security routine BBBS has an internal test of the userrecords.
This MD5 routine check the userprofile against a checksum and if the
profile doesn't match the checksum BBBS revoke the user's sysop
priveleges.
The problem has been apparent in every BBBS usereditor I have tried,
and results in nasty messages as this one:
******** WARNING: TAMPERED USERREC WITH SYSOP ACCESS (xxxx xxxxxxx)*******
There is no danger in this message if it is YOU who have altered the
profile, but if not.....
THESE FALSE WARNING MESSAGES DOES NOT LONGER APPEAR IN BUEd IF YOU
HAVE SET THE SYSTEM UP PROPERLY AND HAVE A REGISTRERD VERSION OF BUEd!!!
----------
My thanks to the author of BBBS, Kim Heino, for allowing me to use BBBS'
MD5 routine.
5.0 Known bugs.
=====================
There are some known bugs in the program that can't easily resolved:
* You can not edit a user that is currently on-line.
If you find any other bugs, or have comments/suggestions to improvements
please contact the author at the addresses below.
6.0 Registering and contacting the author.
================================================
BUEd is E-Mail/NetMailware and is free of charge. The reason I want
you to register, is that I then will have an idea if my program is
being used by anyone. If people register I'm more likely to be
encouraged to improve the program and provide you with updates.
Registered users will get updates sent to them by E-Mail.
So if you want to get rid of the silly delay just fill out the
registration form and send it to:
E-Mail : slovas@sn.no
snorre@skribenten.bbs.no
FidoNet : Snorre L¢vås 2:212/24
Remember to include a return address so I may send you the registration
key.
Use the same addresses if you have comments/suggestions/bug reports, or
just want to get in touch with me :)
(Will be greatly appreciated)
7.0 Credits.
==================
I wish to thank the following people:
My beta-testers, Kristoffer Resellmo and ¥yvind Hallsteinsen.
Morten Vold for helping me...
Thomas Johnsen for helping me with implementing the MD5 checksums,
and for porting BUEd to OS/2.
Kim Heino for making the BBBS system, and revealing to me the dark
secret of BBBS MD5 routine.
-- end of document --