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1992-01-27
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Headline NewsRoom Version 1.10
News File Generator for
BBS System Operators
User Manual
Copyrighted (C) Oakwood Software 1992
by Scott Null
Find this and other Oakwood Software products first on
Radio Daze AM & FM BBS (219) 256-2255 and
L & L NET National Echo
HNR Documentation Page 2
TABLE of CONTENTS
-------------------
General Information............................. 3
Getting Started................................. 4
The Main Menu................................... 5
The News Menu................................... 5
The Config Menu................................. 7
The Message Editor.............................. 10
Registering Headline NewsRoom................... 11
HNR Documentation Page 3
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
General Information
_________________________________________________________________
HNR (Headline NewsRoom) was created to fill a gap and allow BBS
Sysops the ability to easily create professional looking news
screens to be displayed to users at logon. I will make the
assumption that you the Sysop are familiar with the purpose of
the news file in the following documentation. I hope that this
program will allow you to easily generate and maintain an
impressive news display to keep your users informed and take up
less of your time. Several programs of this type have come and
gone and I have tried to take the best features of the myriad
along with direct input from hard working Sysops to create what
I hope proves to be a valuable tool.
Some of HNR's features include;
* A full screen news message editor with keystrokes/control
found in popular word processors (line wrap, cursor control,
etc ..)
* Allows usage of BBS hostware control codes
* Up to 64K bytes per message for the Sysop with alot to say
* Up to 100 active messages
* Pull down 'Smart' menus
* Multiple output styles ; PrinterPaper, NewsPaper, Marquis,
Banner, DriveIn, ThreeDee and Simple
* ANSI and ASCII output files with full color control
* Ability to import text files from disk to be used in the news
message
* Headlines and automatic Time/Date stamping to news messages
* Multi-tasking and DesqView aware
I hope that you enjoy HNR as I know that it will save you
countless hours when communicating with your callers.
HNR Documentation Page 4
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Getting Started
_________________________________________________________________
To set up HNR you must simply copy HNR.EXE to the directory you
want to run it from. The first time you run HNR it will
automatically create the support files that it needs to run.
These files will include HNR.CFG which contains the setup
configuration and HNR.DAT which stores the message text used to
create the output news screens. Once you run HNR for the first
time, you can then call it up from anywhere as long as it resides
somewhere in your PATH and HNR will find it's support files
automatically.
It is recommended that you have ANSI.SYS installed from your
CONFIG.SYS file at boot time (the reason for this will be
explained later -- see 'View ANSI')
This is all there is to it! I am from the school of thought that
believes and operates as follows ...
* UNZIP the thing
* Find the '.EXE' file
* Run it!
* When all else fails, read the '.DOC's (a really good program
shouldn't force you to do this step just to run!)
If you are like me then you won't even read this documentation
unless you run into problems or have got the thing running and
wonder if it does anything else that you haven't already discovered.
HNR Documentation Page 5
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
The Main Menu
═════════════
1. News
2. Config
3. Exit
_________________________________________________________________
You can use the cursor keys or type the first letter of the item
to get where you want. 'News' contains the message editor and the
rebuild and view output files options. The 'Config' contains user
customizable setups and configurations.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
The News Menu
═════════════
1. Add New Message
2. Edit
3. Delete
4. Import Text
5. Rebuild Output
6. View ANSI
7. View ASCII
_________________________________________________________________
Add New Message:
This option allows you to enter new news messages into your news
file. HNR creates a file called HNR.DAT which contains the text
for each individual news message. When you select 'Add New Mess-
age', you will then be prompted to enter a Headline. You can
then enter up to a 40 character title to be used for the new
message. After entering the Headline you will pop into HNR's
message editor (see Message Editor) and can enter your message
text.
_________________________________________________________________
Edit:
This option allows you to edit/change news messages that already
exist in the HNR NewsRoom file called HNR.DAT. After selecting
'Edit' a list of all of the Headlines for all messages currently
in HNR.DAT will pop up. You select the message you want to edit
by cursoring down to the Headline for that message and pressing
enter when the Headline you want is highlighted. You can then
edit the Headline and the message. (see Message Editor)
HNR Documentation Page 6
_________________________________________________________________
Delete:
This option allows you to delete messages from the NewsRoom file.
Selecting 'Delete' will cause a list of all of the Headlines
currently in the NewsRoom to pop up. You can cursor down to the
Headline that represents the news message you wish to delete.
After highlighting the Headline, press enter and type 'Y' to
confirm the delete. The NewsRoom file will then be updated with
the unwanted message removed.
_________________________________________________________________
Import Text:
This option allows you to read any text file from disk into a
NewsRoom message. After selecting 'Import Text' a box will pop
up showing all files in the current directory. The box will also
contain directories. You can either highlight and select a file
or highlight and select a directory to change directories.
This option is especially useful for quoting from a user's
message, bringing in a document, importing a bulletin, or anything
that would be a hassle to re-type by hand that already exists
in a file somewhere on your harddrive. The HNR NewsRoom has a
limit as to the length each line of text can be so in some cases
where you import a file with long text lines the re-format
command in the message editor should be used to clean up the line
lengths. (see Message Editor) The file that you import must also
be less than 64k bytes in size.
_________________________________________________________________
Rebuild Output:
This option is the heart of HNR. It allows you to generate the
ANSI and ASCII news screens using contents of the current NewsRoom
message file. After selecting 'Rebuild Output' choose 'Center'
or 'Left justify' to determine how text will be formatted in your
output file. Your ANSI and ASCII news screens will be re-created
in the directory you have selected for output with the current
style and colors you have chosen. (see Output Path in Setup)
_________________________________________________________________
View ANSI:
This option allows you to view the current ANSI color news screen.
In order for this option to function correctly you need to be
sure you have installed ANSI.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file. (see
your DOS manual) HNR will look for the filename you have chosen
for your ANSI screen in the drive/path you have chosen for output.
You can abort the viewing by pressing the <Esc> key at any time.
_________________________________________________________________
View ASCII:
This option allows you to view the current ASCII news screen.
The ASCII screen contains no colors and is the 'monochrome'
news screen. HNR will look for the filename you have chosen
for your ASCII screen in the drive/path you have chosen for output.
You can abort the viewing by pressing the <Esc> key at any time.
HNR Documentation Page 7
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
The Config Menu
═══════════════
1. Output Style
2. Setup
3. ANSI Colors
4. Register <see Registering Headline NewsRoom on page 10>
The 'Config Menu' allows you to customize HNR. The configuration
information is stored in a file called HNR.CNF.
_________________________________________________________________
Output Style:
This option allows you to select the style used when rebuilding
the output news files. Seven different output styles are
available to the user.
* PrinterPaper
* Marquis
* NewsPaper
* Banner
* DriveIn
* ThreeDee
* Simple
HNR Documentation Page 8
_________________________________________________________________
Setup:
Selecting 'Setup' will display the following data entry box;
╒═════════════════ SetUp - <Esc> when done ═════════════════╕
│ │
│ BBS Name: Radio Daze AM & FM BBS │
│ Sysop Name: Michael Shannon │
│ Output Path: C:\PROJ\PAS\ │
│ ANSI File Name: HNR.ANS │
│ ASCII File Name: HNR.ASC │
│ Initial Code: 111 │
│ Control Code 1: 222 │
│ Control Code 2: 333 │
│ Control Code 3: 444 │
│ Refer to your BBS hostware manual for the definition of │
│ the control codes that will work with your software. │
│ Current Style = THREEDEE │
╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
* BBS Name: Enter the name of your BBS
* Sysop Name: Enter your name
* Output Path: Enter the full drive:\path where your BBS
software expects to find the necessary news display files.
* ANSI File Name: Enter the filename that your BBS software
uses for the color news file.
* ASCII File Name: Enter the filename that your BBS software
uses for the mono news file.
* Initial Code: You may enter a control code to be inserted at
the very beginning of your news display files. See your
BBS software manual for a list of the codes that you can use.
* Control Codes 1-3: You may enter up to 3 control codes to be
inserted in between each news message in the display files.
The current output style is also displayed for your information.
Once you have entered all of the information you can press
the escape key to leave 'Setup'. When you leave 'Setup', the
configuration file HNR.CNF is automatically updated with the
new setup information.
The ability to insert control codes is a new feature. A Wildcat
Sysop, for example, could add @PAUSE@ and @CLS@ to pause, then
clear the screen after each news message.
HNR Documentation Page 9
_________________________________________________________________
ANSI Colors:
This option allows you to customize the colors used in the ANSI
news file. You may select the colors used for ...
* The Border Color
* The Sysop/BBS Lines
* The Date/Time Line
* The Headline
* The first alternating message line color
* The second alternating message line color
Once you have selected which color you wish to change, a box
will pop up allowing you to select from the color palette
with the cursor and enter keys. Say you have selected 'Border
Color', you would see ...
╔═════════════════════ Select Border Color ══════════════════════╗
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ***************************************** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ***************************************** ║
║■■■■ The ■■■■■■■ *** BBS/Sysop Name Here *** ║
║■■■■ Color ■■■■■ *** 10/12/1991 at 12:01:01 am *** ║
║■■■■ Palette ■■■ *** ╔════════════════════════════╗ *** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ *** ║ Headline News Extra !!! ║ *** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ *** ╚════════════════════════════╝ *** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ *** This is the first text line *** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ *** This is the second line *** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ***************************************** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ***************************************** ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ <═══ ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Use the cursor keys to move to the ║
║■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ color you want, Press <Enter> to select ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
At this point you can use the cursor keys to move around the
palette and watch the example output screen update as you move.
When you have found the color you wish to use press enter to
select it. If you press escape with out pressing enter, the
color will not change from what it was previously.
HNR Documentation Page 10
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
The Message Editor
_________________________________________________________________
The message editor uses many keystrokes found in popular word
processors. The following commands are available ...
<The Ctrl-Key is shown using "^">
^-Key or Key Combination = Effect
═════ ═══════════════ ══════
^A ^Left Cursor word left
^C PgDn Page down
^D Right Cursor right
^E Up Cursor up
^F ^Right Cursor word right
^G Del Delete character
^I Tab Tab right
^M Enter New line
^S Left Cursor left
^X Down Cursor down one line
^R PgUp Page up
^M Enter Start new line
^QD End Cursor to end of line
^QS Home Cursor to start of line
^QE ^Home Cursor to top of window
^QX ^End Cursor to bottom of window
^QR ^PgUp Cursor to start of message
^QC ^PgDn Cursor to end of message
Keys = Effect Keys = Effect
═════ ══════ ═════ ══════
^B Reformat paragraph ^OI Toggle auto-indent
^W Scroll up one line ^P[^?] Insert Ctrl char [^?]
^Z Scroll down one line Alt-R Reformat entire message
^Y Delete current line ^T Delete word right
<F2> Save message ^QL Undo
^QY Delete to end of line ^OW Toggle word wrap
Esc Quit editor
HNR Documentation Page 11
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Registering Headline NewsRoom
═════════════════════════════
If you find yourself using Headline NewsRoom on a regular basis,
you must register your copy. Headline NewsRoom can be registered
by filling out the registration form included in HNRREG.DOC and
sending it along with $10.00 US to ...
Scott Null
Oakwood Software / Microdyne ONLINE
306 West 8th Street
Mishawaka, IN 46544
[Make checks payable to Scott Null]
Or register by sending only $5.00 US and proof of membership to
Radio Daze AM & FM BBS. (Home of Headline NewsRoom)
In order to qualify for the reduced rate you must be a PAID
subscriber to Radio Daze AM & FM BBS.
Registered users will receive a personal registration number.
This number can then be entered into the 'Register' option
under the 'Config' menu. This number will eliminate the
appearance of "**UNREGISTERED**" in the output news files.
Registered users will also be automatically registered for
future versions of Headline NewsRoom. Registered users will
receive free/unlimited on-line techical support via Radio Daze
AM & FM BBS or any BBS that carries the (L&L Net) Oakwood
Software conference.
Registered users will also receive that good feeling associated
with supporting shareware development.
<Remember - Shareware keeps BBSs in business too!>
Also remember to call Radio Daze AM & FM BBS at (219) 256-2255
* Multi-Node 12/24/96/19.2
* 1.75 Gig -- thousands and thousands of files!
* World wide Echos and Conferences
* Forums / SIGs / Doors / ONLINE store and more!
* HNR Online Technical support for registered users
_________________________________________________________________