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1993-01-28
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What's new with Qmail 1stReader?
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
DATE: 01-28 23:00
This release coincides with the 7th anniversary of
the STS-51L "Challenger Accident". Dick Scobee,
Michael Smith, Judy Resnik, Ron McNair, El
Onizuka, Greg Jarvis and Christa McCauliffe.
Routines added to the 01-27 release would cause the
carrier to drop if you downloaded twice during
the same call. Fixed.
Thanks Page Hite
If you tried to call a system without mail packets on
file or basically do *anything* to a system
that didn't have mail packets on file, the
system wouldn't work right producing anything
from messed up screens to lockups. Fixed.
Thanks Bart Flint, Sue Moore and Matt Waldron
If you tried to delete a BBS the system would hang.
Fixed.
Thanks Bart Flint
When the reader encounters a message containing ANSI
graphics, it will now display a dialog box and
ask you if you wish to display the message as
a picture. If you click on YES then the message
is displayed as picture, otherwise it is
displayed as a message.
This new feature kind of does away with the
"ANSI message display" switch but I added it
because many users were complaining that there
is no easy way to know who the ANSI art message
is from. Introducing the dialog box gives you a
'pause' that lets you inspect the message header
before you view the message.
If this isn't a good idea I'll remove the
feature, but consider the benefits of seeing who
the message is from when thinking about it.
Included a new ETUNZIP.EXE that checks to see if the
archive was created using PKZIP 2.04. If so
then ETUNZIP will display a warning on the
screen and ask you to press any key to return
back to 1stReader.
DATE: 01-27 20:00
You can now tag multiple systems to call from the
opening menu. Just press the SPACE BAR while
the system is highlighted in the menu and a
"" character will appear to the left of the
system. To untag the system just press SPACE
BAR again. When you press ENTER or select "Get
new mail" with systems tagged 1stReader will
call these systems in order for you
automatically.
DATE: 01-27 12:00
This release coincides with the 26th anniversary of
the Apollo One fire. Astronauts Gus Grissom,
Ed White and Roger Chaffee died in 1967 when
their Apollo One spacecraft caught fire during
a countdown demonstration test that was deemed
"non-hazardous". Their deaths were not in vain
but rather allowed Project Apollo to get back
on track and accomplish the lunar landing in
1969.
You can now select "Get new mail" and "Call" from the
opening screen instead of having to go to the
mail packets screen to select them. This makes
it a bit easier to call a system by peforming
fewer keystrokes.
The ANSI screens were not getting initialized with the
correct display attribute. This meant that if
the last file you displayed as blinking text,
the next file you viewed would also blink.
Fixed.
While in terminal mode you can press ALT+S to send a
file, ALT+R to receive a file, and ALT+L to turn
logging capture ON or OFF. ALT+C will also
clear the screen for you.
DATE: 01-26 21:00
So much has been changed in this release that 1.02 just
doesn't cut it. I've renumbered this release
to 1.10 since many new features have been added
and the new release number indicates that to
users.
A new QSZ.EXE is included in this release. The code
has been modified so it will pick up filenames
from the Zmodem stream rather than from the
command line.
You will need to make changes to the QSZ
commands used by 1stReader. At the 1stReader
main menu select "SETUP" and then "COMM".
Change your Zmodem commands so they read:
Zmodem download command: QSZ portx %4 rz %3
Zmodem upload command: QSZ portx %4 sz %3
Enter these commands *exactly* as shown.
Thanks Rob Kittredge
Added "phone books" to the system. You can now group
your systems into phone books and save different
setups with a seperate phone book for each
setup. For example, I keep a LOCAL.SET handy
here for local QWK systems that I call and
1ST.SET keeps the national systems in its own
phone book.
You can enter the name of the phone book by
selecting "SETUP" from the opening menu and then
select "EDITOR" from the setup menu.
Added support for the "/FON" command line switch. If
you wish you can override the phone book
specified in the setup file by using this
command. Example:
1ST /FON: LOCAL.FON
Massive number of additions made to the ANSI emulation
commands. 1stReader can now use the following
commands from inside text files *or* messages
to do the following commands. Use only one
command per line.
$BLINK ON/OFF - $BLINK OFF will let 1stReader
use high intensity backgrounds
in ANSI messages. $BLINK ON turns this
capability off and turns blinking back on.
$MUSIC ON/OFF - Turns music ON or OFF. Note
that this switch DOS NOT change
the switch in SETUP that controls ANSI music.
That switch MUST be turned on for these
commands to work. These commands reset the
internal ANSI emulator's music flag so if the
user pressed ESC to turn music off the file
can reset the switch, or turn it off.
$TOP xx - These commands set the top,
$BOTTOM xx bottom, left and right margins
$LEFT xx for ANSI screens. Note that
$RIGHT xx you must not exceed the margins
for the physical screen.
$LSET xx <string> - These commands will
$RSET xx <string> take <string> and set it
$CENTER xx <string> into a blank string that
is xx characters long.
$LSET will set <string> to the left side of
the blank string. $RSET sets <string> to the
right side of the blank string. $CENTER will
center <string> into the blank string.
$LOCATE row,col - Positions the cursor to
row,col on the screen.
Added support for PC-Pursuit. Copy the file $$PCP.SCR
into your \1ST\SCRIPTS subdirectory and you will
need to create a text file named PCP.CFG inside
the \1ST subdirectory. This text file contains
the following information:
Local PCPursuit access number
Your PCPursuit user ID
Your PCPursuit password
This file will be created by the installation
routine but for now you must create it. This
release also adds a "PC Pursuit ID" field for
each bulletin board system. It is in this field
you need to enter the City ID for the the BBS.
For example, if the BBS is located in Atlanta
you need to enter "GAATL".
If you do not use PC Pursuit then you do not
need to use this feature.
Added support for the #1TUTOR text file. If 1stReader
detects that the user is using 1stReader for the
first time, it will display #1TUTOR. The reader
will look for #1TUTOR.CLR (for color systems) or
#1TUTOR.B&W (for monochrome systems). If
neither is found then #1TUTOR is used.
1stReader can now display VERY long messages. If the
reader finds that a message is longer than 200
lines in length it will display the text 18
lines at a time and pause for a keystroke to
continue. This means 1stReader can handle
messages as large as 32,640 bytes in size.
Added support for @x?? in the reader. If "??" is used
then 1stReader uses the current color attribute
on the screen at the point where the text is
going to be displayed.
DRASTIC changes have been made in the ANSI emulator.
You'll find that the terminal mode in 1stReader
can now keep up with your keystrokes. No longer
will the system drop characters between
keystrokes.
Also, when 1stReader played ANSI music and you
pressed the ESC key to stop the music, it would
take a few seconds for 1stReader to recongize
the keystroke. Now, 1stReader responds
instantly to the keystroke and stops the music
from playing.
When view ANSI messages the reader will pause
every 24 lines and display a "More" prompt.
Also, while viewing ANSI messages inside the
reader, you can press the '4' key and get 43
character ANSI mode. The '5' key will switch
you to 50 character ANSI mode (of course, your
system must be EGA (for 43 line mode) or VGA
(for 50 line mode) in order to work. The '2'
key switches you back to 25 line mode.
NOTE! Messages are still read in the 25 line
mode.
1stReader, like DeLuxe², responds to ANSIART
(in brackets) to automatically display ANSI.
This release also adds support for ANSI43 and
ANSI50 (enclosed by brackets). These keywords
work just like ANSIART but tell 1stReader to
switch automatically into 43 or 50 line mode.
Changes were made in the way 1stReader opens and closes
the serial ports.
Removed support for the internal archiver utility. With
PkZip 2.04 already out it doesn't make much
sense to keep the code internal. If you wish to
use PkZip 2.04 or another archiver, 1stReader
still includes the code for the archiver and it
must be 'carried around' even though it is not
used.
Starting with this release, we'll be including
an external PKZIP 1.10 compatible system
licensed from EllTech named ETZIP. If a user
wishes to use PKZIP in its place then all they
need to do is to change "ET" to "PK" in the
command line arguments for the packers. In
order to do this select "SETUP" from the opening
menu and "Pack" from the setup menu. Change
"PKZIP" to "ETZIP" and "PKUNZIP" to "ETUNZIP".
This new archiver also lets 1stReader unzip
archives created with PKZIP 1.02 or before,
something the internal archiver could not do.
Removed the "ANSI Emulator" switch inside 1stReader
since the requires requires too much information
from the emulator to work with DOS ANSI.SYS.
Instead, this switch now determines if the BBS
names should be sorted in order by those having
mail packets on file, alphabetically, and then
the other systems without mail packets on file,
alphabetically.
If this switch is turned OFF then system names
are sorted in alphabetical order, but no regard
is given to place those with mail packets first.
Since we've removed support for the internal archiver
that switch now control a "Terminal alarm" that
is sounded when you connect to a system or after
you finish a Zmodem file transfer.
Thanks Daniel Diachun
Added support for the NEWS.LST file in 1stReader. After
displaying the BBS news, 1stReader will look for
this file and read it. The file contains other
filenames that should be displayed to the user.
It can also contain DOS commands if the entries
begin with the string "DOS:".
This works well for new user setups - the sysop
can even include programs that give the user a
guided tour of their system automatically using
Qmail Door.
You could not delete a mail packet that was sitting in
the FILES subdirectory. Fixed.
If you used the F7 key to call up $$1ST.CMD (a menu
file) and you called up multiple items from that
menu, the menu box would grow out two characters
at a time. Fixed.
If there were more than one screenful's worth of mail
packets on file the mouse cursor would be
positioned against the right side of the screen.
The cursor is now positioned in the middle of
the screen.
If you pressed CTRL+ENTER while at the mail packet
screen (or you had no mail packets on file and
selected READ) the reader would ask you if you
wanted to insert a bookmark when you quit.
Fixed.
You can now clear out all keyboard entries on a screen
by press the CTRL key first, and while holding
it down pressing the ESC key too. This feature
was added so it is easy to clear out existing
keyword phrases in the ZIPPY scan screen, but it
works everywhere.
You can now display xxxx.BIN and .B1N files when popping
up menu files (pressing the F7 key). The files
must use the same name as the CMD files
themselves (for example, $$1ST.BIN is displayed
when $$1ST.CMD is loaded). This lets OEMs
customize menu screens inside 1stReader.
Made a change in the way 1stReader restamps the date and
time of a mail packet after reading it. We've
had reports from European users that the mail
packet dates get changed to MM-DD instead of
DD-MM. This release changes the method used and
it should retain DD-MM.
DATE: 01-13 18:00
Changed the way 1stReader handles SuperShell. Let's see
if this helps out those having problems with
SuperShell.
1stReader now consults the serial port base addresses
internally to make sure they are correct.
Since we're starting to get more customers who are using
TBBS' new QSO module this release of 1stReader
is a bit more compatible with QSO. 1st now
correctly interprets the %color variables used
by TBBS.
We're using a new internal ANSI emulator that fixes
certain display problems some TBBS users have
reported. It also speeds up keyboard entry in
the terminal section of the program. The next
release should include internal ANSI music in
the driver itself and if so that will speed up
the terminal section by QUITE a bit.
You cannot select the Folders conference if you do not
have folders on file.
1stReader will now locate QWK mail packets that have
been downloaded into the FILES subdirectory.
Usually, this happens when you manually download
the mail packet by pressing the PgDn key.
Added support for the $$CHECK.BAT file. This batch file
is used to run any virus checking software you
might like to use when you unpack a file from
the file manager. Only one argument is passed
to the batch file from 1stReader - the location
of the subdirectory containing the unpacked
files.
1stReader would find mail packets for SBBS.QWK and
HSBBS.QWK for the same system even though they
came from different systems. Fixed.
Thanks Kerry Hanson
If 1stReader detects a packet or ZIP created using the
new PKZIP 2.04 system it will default to
external unpacking no matter what. So you need
to make sure you have updated to PKZIP 2.04 so
you can handle packets created by the new
release.
We've included a new QSZ.EXE module for 1stReader. This
is QSZ 1.04 and it should work better than the
1.03 included in the previous beta.
The autoZmodem download string has been moved from the
code to record #309 inside the 1STTEXT file.
This lets you change the string to work with
HS/Link (or any other protocol) you wish.
DATE: 11-12 18:00
Added support for two command modifiers to be used in
the DOS shell calls. "/NULL" tells 1stReader
to add ">NUL" to the DOS command line so that it
will not echo to the screen. "/NONULL" does the
exact opposite - it will remove any ">NUL" added
to a DOS command. This lets you shell to
programs that use BIOS output and lets you see
the output.
Added support for the DOS command line 'include' files.
The syntax to use is:
1ST @<filename>
If <filename> is found then 1stReader will load
the *first* line of the file and use it for it's
command line switches. Great for commands that
require more space than DOS allows or for 'front
ends' to 1stReader.
Thanks Mark Devlin
You can press CTRL+ENTER when you are at the list of
mail packets on file and 1stReader will
immediately go into the reader section of the
program without unpacking a mail packet. This
works just like selecting the 'Read' button
without having mail packets on file.
Expanded the number of taglines on file from 200 to 1000
taglines.
Added support for the "/CURSOR_OFF" DOS command
modifier. This command can be used inside *.DOS
files to change how 1stReader shells to DOS. If
found, 1st will not turn the cursor on when
shelling to DOS.
Added support for the "/DISPLAY" DOS command line
modifier. This command can be used inside *.DOS
files to display a dialog box while shelling to
a program from 1stReader. Any text following
this switch is displayed inside a dialog box on
the screen as you shell to DOS.
1stReader now leaves 'Fido-compatible' taglines if you
reply to a message that contains a Fidonet
address in the tagline. No longer do you have
to set the Fido tagline switch or use the #FIDO@
variable unless you wish to use them when
replying to a Fido message.
Of course, you *do* need to use these features
when you ENTER a new message into a Fido
conference.
This release of 1stReader now supports the automatic
Doorway codes as defined by Marshall Dudley.
Thanks Marshall Dudley
DATE: 11-03 18:00
This is *the* final private test release of 1stReader
before we go 'wide-beta' tomorrow night. I've
included a brand-new NEWFILES.EXE system that
is completely finished. Give it a shot - you
can make a download request of any file here on
this system.
If you tried to view a 'UUENCODED' message from Usenet
inside 1stReader it would lock up. Fixed.
Thanks Rick Sheridan
The USENET.HDR file wasn't working 100% of the time due
to the way 1stReader was identifying a Usenet
sourced message. Fixed.
Thanks Eduardo Torres
DATE: 10-27 00:00
This release makes major changes to the way the file
requests are handled. The reader will look for
ATTACHED.LST and automatically edits the file
to remove files included in the mail packets and
removes files requests that were in error on the
BBS.
This archive also contains an updated NEWFILES
program that will process the requests.
You need this release to handle file requests on
our system. We'll be going wide-beta with 1.02
before full release, but I want full release by
Friday!
DATE: 10-16 02:00
Added support for five new script commands. These are:
#API$(xxx)="value"
#API&(xxx)=value
#API(xxx)=value
#SWITCH(xxx)=value
These commands let the scripts modify the
1stReader API. The basic reason behind it is to
begin work on support for PCPursuit, although
1.02 is not expected to support PCPursuit in
this release.
Added support for #API(156). If this switch is turned
OFF then 1stReader will not use $$DIAL.SCR even
if it is on file. It's a good way to disable
$$DIAL.SCR once it has completed it's job.
Added enhanced support for #FIDO@. Now you can even
include this variable in your taglines. If you
maintain multiple taglines or signatures, this
works great!
If you are inside a script you will need to press the
ALT+X keys in order to exit the script. The
ESC key will now function normally in a script.
Required for systems that use 'front-ends'.
Thanks David Pottier
If you were using an external editor and entered a
message, then used "Ooops" to return back and
delete the last two lines of the message, when
you returned back to 1stReader, you would still
see the previous two lines. Fixed.
Thanks Mark Devlin
DATE: 10-14 00:00
This release marks the initial test of 1stReader 1.02.
1.02 will be a 'minor' release but it contains
two rather signficant changes. First, the stack
space in this reader has been doubled (due to a
bug in the RTLink linker that has since been
fixed by Pocketsoft) and string space has been
increased by 2k as well.
Second, this release also lets you make file
requests to a Qmail Door system. File requests
are moved up to the door through the reply mail
packet and the files are included in the QWK
packet as it is bundled up. The reader will
then automatically move the attached files into
the FILE download area where they can be
examined by the 'MANAGE' function.
BTW, this method is also 100% compatible with
TBBS' new QSO offline mail door so we'll work
with them as well.
I know that predicting the time needed to work
out a release is an art, not a science. But I
think we could aim for release of this code by
October 23rd.
A new HELP.DAT and 1STTEXT file has been included to
provide for prompts and help when moving
attached files.
Ooops! The TRANSMIT; command never worked. Fixed!
Added support for the /MLIST command line switch.
If this switch is used then whenever you join a
conference 1stReader will immediately place you
in the list messages screen.
Thanks Douglas Howell
A new QSZ has been provided by Rob that fixes mostly
cosmetic items. It will not die if an invalid
path is specified in the DSZLOG environment
variable.
Thanks Rob Kittredge
Included the NEWFILES file tagging system. It's not
mouseable right now, but give it shot. BTW, you
CAN tag and download new files listed here on
this system.