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1993-01-16
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Version 1.02/b
Read-Me File
This is a pre-release version of FastChat 1.*. This document lists
any information of grave importance. Please read it carefully.
│ Changes from 1.02/a are listed with the bar in the left margin.
Installation procedure
──────────────────────
You should have received six files in this archive:
FC_INST.EXE - FastChat (installation bundle)
FCMOVETO.BAT - Pre-installation utility
FASTCHAT.DOC - FastChat's documentation
DOCUTIL.EXE - Documentation printing utility
INSTALL.DOC - Installation documentation
READ102.B - This file
Before you install FastChat, be sure to read INSTALL.DOC. It
explains anything of grave importance about the installation
procedure.
Documentation
─────────────
It's here! Real documentation! I spent a LOT of a time writing and
proofreading this documentation. Please read it. Use the DocUtil
program for printing your documentation, as it will result in much
higher quality output (with attributes such as underlining, bold-
face, and italics).
┌ The doucmentation with this version is entirely up to date.
│
│ The new DocUtil allows you to select the printer port to which you
│ want to print. It also allows you to print to disk. If you find
│ any problems with it _please_ report them (I don't have a dot
│ matrix printer so haven't tested that; further I've only tested
│ it on my laser and am not too sure how it will work on another).
│
│ Note that page 1 in DocUtil is really page i of the documentation;
│ the "real" page 1 of the documentation is page 3 in DocUtil. If
│ you need or want to print a particular page, just add 2 to the
└ number before feeding it to DocUtil.
Configuration file changes
──────────────────────────
I regret that the configuration file has changed considerably from the
0.99 versions. There is no way to convert your present configuration
to the new one. Please use this opportunity to explore FCConfig. I
am happy to report that the new configuration file structure is 100%
expandable, so this sort of "stranding" will never happen again.
┌ If you are upgrading from 1.02/a, you must run the "UPGRADE" program
└ that will be extracted into your FastChat directory.
┌ Language files
│ ──────────────
│
│ The FastChat Language files (found in the LANG directory) have changed
│ format. If you know any other languages and would like to do a little
│ translation, I would be most appreciative. Details on how to customize
│ a language file are found in the comments section of ENGLISH.LNG.
│
│ Menu system
│ ───────────
│
│ FastChat now has a set of menus in split screen mode that can aid you
│ in remembering the numerous Ctrl- and Alt- commands that FastChat
│ supports. Simply press F1 to call up the menu (it is a standard vert-
│ ical bar menu like the ones in FCConfig).
│
│ Multitasking
│ ────────────
│
│ FastChat is now internally multitasking. This means that when you are
│ in the menu system, the scrollback buffer, etc., the user is still able
│ to type. This has greatly simplified the way FastChat is coded.
│
│ The multitasker included in FastChat should not interfere with DESQview,
│ OS/2, etc. Note that it does not work when you "jump out" of FastChat,
│ like into the user editor, color editor, etc.
│
│ Multinode enhancement
│ ─────────────────────
│
│ If you run in a multinode environment and someone pages you while you
│ are chatting with someone else, a little scrolling message will appear
│ informing you who paged and what node they are on. I've only tested
│ this locally (since I don't have a multinode system); I'd appreciate
│ it if someone out there in BBSland can test it out in the real world.
│
│ Page bell changes
│ ─────────────────
│
│ You can now select your page bells from the Page Bell Type menu in
│ FCConfig.
│
│ Phantom cursor
│ ──────────────
│
│ FastChat now supports a "phantom cursor" in split screen mode. This
│ is a little underline character that appears in the window without the
│ cursor to remind the owner where his cursor his. This feature can be
│ enabled and disabled on the Options / Misc... menu.
│
│ Phantom SysOp
│ ─────────────
│
│ FastChat now types the "hello" string for you when you enter split
│ screen mode. Previously it just magically appeared, but now it will
│ appear as though it is freshly typed.
│
│ The various hello strings are now configurable in the language file.
│ FastChat will randomly pick one of the ones listed there.
│
│ Scrambled eggs
│ ──────────────
│
│ FastChat now supports a feature I call "scrambled eggs". By pressing
│ Ctrl-Z while in chat mode, you can cause everything the user types to
│ become scrambled-up. Try it in local mode (FASTCHAT /L) to see what
│ I mean.
│
│ RA 1.2
│ ──────
│
│ If you are an RA beta tester, please do not install this version and
└ contact me for the appropriate one.
Thank you for your patience!
Peter