home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
OS/2 Shareware BBS: 2 BBS
/
02-BBS.zip
/
ppage105.zip
/
PROPAGE.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1995-08-22
|
25KB
|
494 lines
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE (tm) │
│ │
│ V1.05 22 August 1995 │
│ │
│ Copyright 1995, J Hepburn. │
│ (All rights reserved worldwide) │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
┌────────────────┐
│ INTRODUCTION │
└────────────────┘
Pro Page is the ONLY choice when your looking for the ultimate pager utility
for an Adept bulletin board. With its built-in configuration system, Pro Page
offers a level of control and flexibility far beyond the basic paging functions
in Adept. Pro Page was first to offer SysOps the paging features they really
needed, and this latest version surpasses all previous achievements. Among the
many new innovations for V1.05 are full colour logging, improved configuration
editor and better security features!
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - AN OVERVIEW │
└──────────────────────────┘
Pro Page provides two paging periods per day, one of which can be limited to a
minimum security level, whilst weekend paging periods can be defined seperately
from weekday paging periods. Priority users can page at any time without being
prompted for a reason. Maximum page attempts are catered for and use the
setting defined in Adept's configuration automatically. Options exist to limit
paging for first time callers and by user age.
The SysOp can be alerted either audibly, visually, audiovisually or a mixture
of both depending on the time of the page. Audible alerts can be via the
speaker, built-in or external multimedia support. Full colour logging of page
attempts, including abortive ones, is maintained and can be easily viewed or
deleted by the SysOp.
Pro Page automatically recognises and supports ASCII, ANSI and AVATAR and
utilises a 3D window, which overlays on top of the screen being displayed at
the time, to inter-act with the Sysop and user. This provides for a consistent
interface and minimises the level of configuration work for the SysOp, not to
mention eliminating all those (otherwise) additional ASC/ANS/AVT files clogging
up valuable hard disk space. The interface is pleasant on the eye and designed
to blend in, with nothing more than a discreet logo displayed.
Configuration is automatic and built-in, along with error checking at user and
SysOp level. Every aspect of Pro Page's settings is handled by the integral
configuration utility. There are no additional external files requiring manual
editing. The SysOp can configure Pro Page either locally or remotely whilst
logged on from another computer.
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - FILES YOU SHOULD HAVE │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
The Pro Page archive should contain the following files:-
Propage.erx - The Pro Page program in Adepts extended REXX format.
Propage.doc - The user manual (your reading it!).
Propagev.exe - The visual, WPS PM, alert program.
Qplay.exe - An external, hidden, multimedia player (*).
Fm2play.exe - An external, WPS PM, multimedia player (*).
History.txt - Text file describing historical changes to Pro Page.
File_id.diz - Archive management file often used by BBS's.
During use, Pro Page will create Propage.log and Propage.cfg, which are the
logging and configuration files respectively.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - REQUIREMENTS AND INSTALLATION / UPGRADING │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
In order to use Pro Page you must be running OS/2 V2.1 (or higher), with REXX
installed, and a copy of AdeptXBBS V0.97h (or higher). You do not need any
additional REXX dll's. To make use of the multimedia features you must have a
sound card and MMPM/2 installed.
Extract Propage.erx and Propagev.exe to your Adept directory. If you want to
use the multimedia features you should copy your favorite WAV or MID file to
the same directory, and extract Qplay or Fm2play as well if you want to use an
external multimedia player. Add the following line to each of your menus from
which you want to activate Pro Page, not forgetting to amend the line to use
the key letter (Y) that you want, and also the correct location of Adept:-
Y ,10 ,pro page,d:\adept\propage.erx,0
Log on locally, using your SysOp account, and run Pro Page by pressing the key
you previously specified. Pro Page will start up and create a default
configuration file, then prompt you to edit the configuration.
----------
If you are UPGRADING from an earlier version of Pro Page, extract Propage.erx
and Propagev.exe to your Adept directory, overwriting the older versions.
Log on locally, using your SysOp account, and start Pro Page. Your original
installation will be recognised and the configuration file automatically
upgraded whilst saving your current settings. Don't forget that *.erx files
remain in Adept's memory so you MUST shut down and restart Adept after the
upgrade has completed, or before logging on locally to start the upgrade!
Three new options have been added to Pro Page v1.05 and will be initially
configured to their default settings. They are:-
[K] Minimum security level to allow normal hours paging - default is 1.
[N] Bar users under * years old........................ - default is 1.
[O] Paging allowed on first call....................... - default is yes.
You should enter configuration mode if you want to modify any of these new
settings. Otherwise, Pro Page v1.05 is ready for use.
┌────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - CONFIGURATION │
└────────────────────────────┘
The configuration menu shows the current settings and a number of letters in
enclosed [brackets] which, if pressed, display a brief explanation of the
setting and allow you to enter a new setting. After making any changes you
should press [S] to save, or [Q] to quit without saving the new configuration.
A detailed explanation of the settings is as follows:-
[A] & [B] are for the start and finish times of the paging hours which will be
available to all users on any day between Monday and Friday inclusive. The
time must be entered in 24hr (military) format with the hours and minutes
seperated by a point (.).
The start and finish time must be within the same calendar day and can be any
length between 1 minute and 23 hours,59 minutes.
[C] & [D] are for the start and finish times of the paging hours which will be
available to all users on Saturday and Sunday inclusive. All other information
is as for settings [A] & [B].
[E] & [F] are for the start and finish times of the extended paging hours which
will be available to all users with a minimum security level matching that
specified in [L], and on any day between Monday and Friday inclusive. The time
must be entered in 24hr (military) format with the hours and minutes seperated
by a point (.).
The start and finish time must be within the same calendar day and can be any
length between 1 minute and 23 hours,59 minutes.
Extended paging hours are in effect, a second paging period for the same day.
During these hours Pro Page will display additional information to the user,
though this can be disabled via [L]. If extended paging hours overlap normal
paging hours, then normal paging hours take priority. That is, if you set
normal paging hours to end at 22.00 and extended paging hours to commence at
21.00 then between 21.00 and 22.00 the page will be treated as a normal hours
page.
You will probably want to configure extended paging hours for late night or
early morning extensions available to your special users (subcribers perhaps?).
If you want to 'wrap' around midnight then set normal hours to end at 23.59 and
extended hours to start at 00.00.
[G] & [H] are for the start and finish times of the extended paging hours which
will be available to all users with a minimum security level matching that
specified in [L], on Saturday and Sunday only. All other information is as for
settings [E] & [F].
[I] & [J] are the settings to determine the length of the page attempt before
the user is informed the SysOp is unavailable. Pro Page displays an increasing
line of stars (*) to the user during a page, where each star indicates one
second. Enter the duration in seconds, perhaps using a lower value for [J] if
your extended hours are at a time when a shorter page duration would be
preferable.
The user can abort a page at any point during this duration but will not be
prompted to leave a message unless the page duration completes. Keep this in
mind when setting these values.
[K] is the minimum security level a user must have in order to be able to page
during normal paging hours. This number is matched against the number stored
in Adept's User Editor file, known as 'Sec Level 1'.
If a users security rating is less than this setting, they will be told the
SysOp is unavailable and returned to the BBS. Unlike unsuccessful pages, they
will not have the option to leave a message which makes this an ideal way to
bar twit users!
[L] is the minimum security level a user must have in order to be able to page
during extended paging hours. This number is matched against the number stored
in Adept's User Editor file, known as 'Sec Level 1'.
To disable the extended hours messages just append this setting with a star (*)
ie: 20*, and reduce the security level to a low number, perhaps the same as
that for your normal users or less. Extended hours will then respond as a
second 'normal hours' period which is ideal for use in a commercial environment
where you need to suspend paging during a lunch break perhaps.
[M] is the minimum security at which 'privileged' paging is allowed. This is
also matched against 'Sec Level 1' and will allow the user to page at any time
of day or night, without prompting for a reason. Ideal for your Co-SysOp!
[N] is the minimum age for users to be allowed to page the SysOp. In the
absence of a SysOp's setting, this defaults to the 'minimum age of user on BBS'
setting in Adept's configuration. Any users whose age is below this setting
will be informed the SysOp is unavailable and returned to the BBS. Unlike
unsuccessful pages, they will not have the option to leave a message
[O] determines whether callers (new users) can page the SysOp during their
first call to the BBS. If set to NO then users can only page on their second
or subsequent calls. Otherwise, paging is available on every call.
[P] Pro Page normally displays the SysOps name as a full name unless it
contains greater than 15 characters, in which case it is truncated to the first
name in order to avoid character displacement in the Pro Page window. If you
want your users to see a more personal touch, select 'first name only' to
truncate your name irrespective of its length.
[R] is the number of the message area you want any messages placed in. If the
SysOp is unavailable, or the page is not answered, the user is prompted to
leave a message for the SysOp. You should choose a local message area,
probably your 'SysOps Office'.
[T] is where you decide what sort of alert you want. There are 4 options:-
Audio - Whatever the time of page, Pro Page will alert you by
making a noise, either via the internal speaker or by
playing a multimedia file.
Visual - Whatever the time of page, Pro Page will display a
dialog box alerting you to the page. The dialog will
display for 30 seconds before closing. You must have
the propagev.exe file available or this setting will
default to audio during a page.
Audio & Visual - is a mixture of the two. A page will result in the
dialog box displaying, and an audio alert as well,
whatever the time of page.
Audio normaly, - will alert you with audio during normal paging hours.
else visual. and visually at all other times. This is ideal for
the nocturnal SysOp not wishing to disturb the peace!
The above settings apply to all users at the respective times, irrespective of
their security level.
[U] is where you decide the type of audio alert to use, and relates to the use
of multimedia . There are 3 options:-
Off (Speaker) - Multimedia is in-active and the computers speaker or
beeper will sound a warble every second of the page.
On (Internal) - Multimedia is active and Pro Page will play the file
specified in [R] using its own internal player. This
currently has one disadvantage in that the file must
play completely before control is returned to the
user or SysOp. Use a short file, say 10-15 seconds,
if you enable this option.
On (External) - Multimedia is active and Pro Page will play the file
specified in [R] using an external player (such as
Qplay.exe * ). Enabling this option will display a
second screen where you must enter the name of the
media player file to use. During a page, Pro Page
will spawn a seperate session with the command
'mediaplayer soundfile' and return control to the
user or Sysop straightaway. You may specify any
media player which uses that format to play a file.
[V] is where you specify the sound file to play during a multimedia page. The
internal multimedia supports both MID and WAV formats, whilst the external
multimedia support is dependent on the media player you use. Qplay and Fm2play
also support MID and WAV formats. Enter the file name exactly as it appears,
including any spaces and the file extension (ie: wm_tell.wav).
[W] allows you to specify a string of text, up to 56 characters long, to
display to the user when you press the F key in response to a page. Known as
the FUN KEY, you can use this feature to send the user a humerous (or perhaps
offensive) message. Pro Page terminates after this message is displayed (for a
few seconds).
NB: Qplay is a background media player which once started, will play the whole
sound file with no option to abort. Fm2play displays a PM dialog with options
to pause, resume or abort playing. Both programs run independent of Pro Page.
┌─────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - IN USE │
└─────────────────────┘
We have dealt with setting up Pro Page and its features. Now lets summarise
how it works, both for the user and the SysOp.
NORMAL HOURS: When a user pages you, Pro Page will prompt for a reason unless
the user has sufficient security to bypass the reason prompt or is barred from
paging via one of the configuration settings. If no reason is entered the page
will abort. If the reason is less than 5 characters, or contains multiple
matching characters (ie: KKKKKKK or KGKGKGKG), the user is prompted to enter
a proper reason. Pro Page will then alert the SysOp according to its
configuration. Whilst the SysOp is being alerted the user is displayed an
incrementing line of stars (*), one every second, for the duration of the
page. The user can abort the page at any time by pressing the spacebar key.
The SysOp may respond by pressing the TAB key to inform the user he is
responding, or the F key to send the FUN KEY message instead. Pro Page closes
following one of these actions. If the page goes unanswered, the user is
informed of the SysOps unavailability and can either display the paging times,
leave a message or quit. If the user pages in excess of the maximum page
attempts, Pro Page will inform them and offer the option to view the paging
times or leave a message. No subsequent paging will be allowed until a new user
logs on.
EXTENDED HOURS: Exactly as above but only available to users with sufficient
security clearance unless extended hours have been configured as available to
all users.
SYSOP USAGE: After its initial configuration, subsequent use by the SysOp will
display a menu prompting a choice of either running Pro Page, viewing the log
file, deleting the log file, editing the configuration or quiting. If Pro Page
is run it will display a header indicating it's in SysOp mode. Keep in mind
that the SysOp will (or should) be treated as a 'privileged' user due to their
high security level and are also exempt from maximum pages. To see how Pro Page
works with other users, just edit your settings to temporarily reduce your
security level or log on using a spare account (recommended).
LOGGING: Pro Page maintains a log file containing the date, time, user and
reason for paging. Colours are used for easy identification of the different
paging reasons, which comprise red for aborted pages; dark grey for pages by
privileged users; and green for successful pages. These colours are assigned
to the reason column only, whilst date, time and user have consistent colours.
The log file is viewed one page at a time, with a static header to ensure easy
identification of the different columns. Viewing of multiple pages can be
aborted at any page. A brief summary is displayed at the end of the file.
Nb: Dates are in the European format - dd/mm/yy
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - REGISTRATION & WARRANTY │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Pro Page is Shareware. You may use this program for a period not exceeding 30
days in order to evaluate it, after which you must register it. To register
Pro Page, complete the form found at the end of this document.
After careful consideration I decided NOT to build any form of crippling into
Pro Page. That is, it will continue to function as supplied whether you
register or not. I ferverently believe in the honesty of users and accept that
use beyond the evaluation period may occur for reasons other than dishonesty.
I also have a strong distaste for the current trend to cripple software with
time bombs and feature withdrawals. However, please remember that many hours
of work went into producing Pro Page and dishonest use is not only illegal, but
also deprives an impovrished SysOp of his rightful revenue.
Registering Pro Page not only gives you peace of mind but also a copy of the
visual alert program with no 'unregistered' markings. Support, via my BBS, is
only available to registered users.
Pro Page is supplied 'as is'. There is no warranty implied or supplied. It
works for me, I hope it works for you. If it doesn't - bad luck (but tell me)!
The current price of Pro Page is:-
Single user version, none commercial ....................... $10.00 (US)
£ 5.00 (UK)
Single user version, commercial ............................ $27.50 (US)
£15.00 (UK)
Single user means one copy per user, licensed for use on one machine at any one
time. Commercial means use in any environment designed to make profit. Please
contact the author if you require pricing for multiple site/machine usage.
If your paying in a currency other than US or Sterling then please convert the
UK price to your local currency, at prevailing business rates, and send the
equivelent amount.
Payment may be either by cheque or cash/postal order made payable to:-
"Jon Hepburn"
Cash may also be sent but is entirely at the senders risk and must be sent via
registered post whereby a signature of receipt is required from the recipient.
Claims of mislaid cash registrations will not be entertained where this method
is not adhered to.
┌───────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS │
└───────────────────────────────┘
Recognition is afforded to Mark Kimes for his kind permission to include Qplay
and Fm2play in the Pro Page archive. Both are part of Mark's FM2UTILS package
which along with FM/2, a superb file and utility manager, is worthy of
inspection by anyone using OS/2.
Adeptsoft for producing AdeptXBBS and thus making it possible to release Pro
Page - nice work lads, keep it up!
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - MISCELLANEOUS FOOTNOTES │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Shareware vendors wishing to redistribute Pro Page are welcome to do so
providing they do not modify the archive contents in any way, shape or form
other than permissible repackaging to a different archive format. Vendors may
charge for the distribution of Pro Page but must not levy a charge for Pro
Page itself.
Distribution of registered versions of Pro Page is via the author only. No-one
else is authorised or allowed to distribute or redistribute registered copies.
Pro Page may not be modified, reverse-engineered or otherwise dissasembled.
The author of Pro Page can be contacted by one of the following ways:-
Letter to: Jon Hepburn E-Mail to: Jon Hepburn
P O Box 2485 Galaxy-Ten BBS
Maldon +44 1621 850032
Essex (2:257/88.0@FidoNet)
CM9 7FZ
United Kingdom Internet: jon@galaxy10.dungeon.com
Comments, suggestions and questions from users are welcomed via one of the
above methods or can be placed in the FidoNet Adept echo which I read.
┌────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRO PAGE - REGISTRATION FORM │
└────────────────────────────────┘
To register Pro Page, complete the following form and mail it to the above
address enclosing your payment. Applications must be received postage paid or
they will be declined (not returned).
Please register ___ copy/s of Pro Page to the following person/organisation.
Name: _______________________________________________
Company: _______________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________
Town/City: _______________________________________________
County/State: _______________________________________________
Post/Zip Code: _______________________________________________
I enclose a payment of _______ , drawn on ______________________ (currency).
I have read and understand the terms under which Pro Page is supplied and agree
to them without modification. I also agree not to distribute the registered
version unless expressly agreed to in writing with the author. I agree that
this registration is valid for one whole version level of Pro Page and the cost
of obtaining updates will be borne by myself.
Signed: ____________________________ Date: ________________
The following information is optional:
BBS name: _______________________________________________
BBS number: _________________ Voice number:_______________
E-mail
addresses: _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
<END>