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Text File | 1992-09-18 | 31KB | 666 lines

SF ROM DOOR Version 1.13 Released Sept 18, 1992 Copyright (C) 1992 Mike Robinson The Soft Parade Shelton, Connecticut, USA 203-924-5603 ------- OVERVIEW ------------------------------------------------------------ SF-Rom Door is a file access door designed for use on Spitfire BBS. It can be used to access file areas on a CD-ROM disk, a "normal" magnetic disk, or both. It provides browsing, text search and download capabilities from within the door. It can even track the number of files/bytes downloaded, enforce daily limits, and then record this information in the main Spitfire database. A Spitfire SFFILES.BBS type of file list is required for each file area. The door can be run from the door menu or any of the menu extensions. Nothing in this world ever seems to go fast enough. Right from the beginning this door was designed and optimized for speed. And it is FAST. I know of no other door that even comes close. A file search of a 500 megabyte CD-ROM disk takes only a few seconds. Speed is especially important to those who run multiple nodes and/or multiple CD-ROM drives such as the Pioneer DRM-600 "six pack." Considerable time and energy was spent working around the speed limitations of today's CD-ROM drives. Actual CD-ROM drive hardware access time has been minimized by: 1. Maintaining the file lists on the magnetic drive. This is optional. If the CD-ROM itself contains file lists, these can be be accessed directly by the door in order to save hard drive space. 2. Copying the file to a holding directory on the hard drive and downloading it from there. This is also optional. You can configure the door to download directly from the CD-ROM drive. 3. Careful design of the the door logic. The CD-ROM drive hardware is accessed as rapidly as possible and only when absolutely required. ------- WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 1.10 ------------------------------------------ ■ Batch downloads and file tagging of up to 20 files! ■ Multitasker aware. When idle the program releases it's clock ticks to applications running in the other windows. Automatically recognizes and supports DESQview, Windows, OS/2 (DOS window), DoubleDOS, TopView, TaskView, Omniview. ■ Reads DAILYLMT.DAT to determine allowable downloads per day. ■ Several new configuration options: Optional logoff after transfer. Optional time penalty for dropped carrier. Configurable number of lines displayed per page. Can now specify the character used in determining which lines in a file list contain a valid file for tagging and display purposes. ■ DSZmodem is now "trapped" inside a window so that data does not scroll up off screen as download progresses. ■ The door will recognize caller connect speeds of 0, 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 7200, 9600, 12000, 14400, 16800, 19200. It will use the value passed by Spitfire in SFDOORS.DAT line 5 to calculate the estimated download times. Note that sometimes this value is incorrect. Some systems connect at 12000, 14400, or 16800 but "lie" and tell Spitfire that the connect is 9600. The good news is that the door now factors in a speed increase due to error correction. ■ Now runs locally inside of Spitfire (where baud rate = 0). ■ New local keyboard command ALT-K throws the caller off the BBS. ------- FEATURES ------------------------------------------------------------ ■ Number of files/bytes downloaded is recorded in the Spitfire main database and daily download limits are enforced. (This feature is NOT available in unregistered versions.) ■ Caller time in door is limited to remaining time allowed on BBS. (This feature is available in ALL versions.) ■ Complete logging of all caller activity. (This feature is NOT available in unregistered versions.) ■ Download from within door using Xmodem, Ymodem or Zmodem. A copy of DSZ.COM or DSZ.EXE by Omen Technology Incorporated is required. Zmodem MobyTurbo is supported. ■ Up to 1000 separate file areas. ■ Very rapid text search of both file names and descriptions. Matches are highlighted in color. ■ File sharing and locking for multinode and network operation. All file lists, menus, data files and logs may be shared. DOS version 3.0 or higher, with DOS SHARE installed, is required for proper operation of file sharing and locking. ■ Multi-colored file lists just like seen in Spitfire 3.2. ■ Run as a door or menu extension using SFDOORS.DAT, SFFILE.DAT, SFMESS.DAT or SFMAIN.DAT. ■ Automatically uses Spitfire's communication port settings. Comm port speeds to 38,400 bps with hardware or software flow control. Uses Spitfire's configured port speed, data bits, stop bit, parity, comm port, I/O port and interrupt. Handles any UART. Does not require or use a FOSSIL driver, but is compatible with a FOSSIL if one is installed. ■ Detailed status line visible on top of local screen at all times. Shows caller name, statistics, time left, etc. ■ Detailed status screen displayed during download. Shows caller's entire download/upload history and more. ■ Sysop local keyboard controls same as Spitfire: ALT+C --- Chat Mode On/Off ALT+D --- Drop To DOS (local sysop only) ALT+J --- Drop To DOS (local sysop only) F6 ------ Take Five Minutes From Caller F7 ------ Give Five Minutes To Caller F10 ----- Exit The Door ALT+F1 -- Exit The Door ALT+F2 -- Exit The Door ALT+K --- Kill. Throw the caller off the BBS NOW ■ Carrier detection. Resets the BBS if caller drops carrier. ■ Inactivity timeout configurable from 1 to 10 minutes. ■ ANSI color or plain ASCII text modes. Initial mode is the same as passed by Spitfire. Caller can toggle ANSI on/off from within the door. Door contains its own ANSI driver and can show ANSI graphics on the local screen even if DOS ANSI.SYS is not loaded. ■ Sysops can design their own (optional) custom screens. Door will display WELCOME.CLR or WELCOME.BBS before it runs. Door will display GOODBYE.CLR or GOODBYE.BBS after it runs. Place these in the same directory as SFROM.EXE. If ANSI is on then the .CLR files will be shown, otherwise the .BBS file will be shown. ■ Low memory requirements. Only uses about 180 kilobytes, which includes the memory required for the DSZ external protocol. ------- UPGRADE FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF SFROM ----------------------------- This version 1.13 is a drop-in replacement for versions 1.03 beta, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12. No changes are required. Just copy the new SFROM.EXE over the old one. There are a few new optional configuration keywords as explained below in the section on SFROM.CFG. ------- SETUP --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Unzip this archive into one subdirectory. This will be the SFROM home directory. 2. Modify the included SFROM.CFG file to meet your needs. Any line in SFROM.CFG that does not begin with a letter is ignored. The lines that begin with semicolons, for example, are used for comments and ignored by the program. See detailed instructions for each line of SFROM.CFG below. Keep this file in the SFROM home directory. 3. Modify the included AREALIST.CLR and AREALIST.BBS to meet your needs. These two files are the main program menu and are mandatory or the program will not run. Try to keep these to under 21 displayed lines or the top may scroll off the screen. You can also create a multi-page AREALIST.CLR/BBS. In this case, put all the pages in one file. Each page should be no more than 21 displayed lines long and there should be 4 blank lines between each page. The door will pause at the end of each page and allow the caller to select a command or scroll to the next page. See AREALIST.CL1/BB1 included with this package for an example of a multi-page list. Keep these files in the SFROM home directory. 4. Make sure a copy of DSZ.COM or DSZ.EXE is somewhere on your DOS path or in the SFROM home directory. 5. (OPTIONAL) Place custom screens WELCOME.CLR, WELCOME.BBS, GOODBYE.CLR and GOODBYE.BBS in the SFROM home directory. The door will display these files if they exist. 6. Run the program using any ONE of these command lines: COMMAND LINE ------------ SFROM C:\SF\SFDOORS.DAT ( doors menu ) SFROM C:\SF\SFFILE.DAT ( file menu extension ) SFROM C:\SF\SFMAIN.DAT ( main menu extension ) SFROM C:\SF\SFMESS.DAT ( message menu extension ) SFROM LOCAL ( local test mode ) The complete path and file name must be specified except for local mode as shown. Spitfire creates one of the above files whenever the door menu or one of the menu extensions is executed. (OPTIONAL) All of the above examples assume that a configuration file named SFROM.CFG is in the SFROM home directory. You may also specify a different configuration file on the command line like this: SFROM C:\SF\SFFILE.DAT C:\SF\CDROM2\MYCONFIG.FIL ------- SFROM.CFG ----------------------------------------------------------- SFROM.CFG is the main configuration file which supplies the door with the information it requires to run properly. It should be placed in the SFROM home directory. The program reads each line in this file. If the line begins with a keyword then the configuration is modified according to the information that follows the keyword. If a line begins with anything other than a letter, it is ignored. The explanatory comments below are all on lines beginning with semicolons. The order of the lines is generally not important except for the file areas. The keywords are NOT case sensitive, but they must be spelled correctly. DiskName So Much Shareware ; This name is used in the local status bar display on the top of ; the screen and in the door log entries. HoldDir C:\SF\CD-HOLD ; This is the holding directory where the files are copied to if ; CopyToMag is ON. The program also stores the batch download file ; list here in all cases. ; The program takes care of its own housekeeping and deletes the ; copied files after the download. Just the copied files are deleted. ; Any other files that exist in this directory will NOT be deleted. ; The default holding directory is the root directory C:\. LogName C:\SF\CALLERS.TMP ; Registered versions only. ; Gives the name of the caller activity log file. ; Default is CALLERS.TMP in the Spitfire home directory for this ; node as defined in SFFILE.DAT or equivalent. Share ON Share OFF ; Turns file sharing and locking ON or OFF. ; File sharing is generally not required on a single-node BBS. ; This program will run much faster with Share OFF. ; The default is Share ON. TimeOut 180 ; This is the caller inactivity timeout delay in SECONDS. ; If no keystrokes are received for this length of time, the door ; will exit and return the caller to the BBS. ; Values from 60 to 600 seconds are allowed. ; The default value is 180 seconds (3 minutes). ScrollDelay 3 ; This is the delay in milliseconds between display of each line. ; You should probably not mess with this. ; Values from 0 to 30 are allowed. ; The default is 3. Debug ON Debug OFF ; Most program error conditions are logged to SFROM.LOG if Debug is ; turned on. The program may load a bit faster if you turn this off. ; If you are experiencing difficulties, leave Debug ON. ; The default is Debug ON. DirectVideo ON DirectVideo OFF ; With DirectVideo ON, all local screen writes will done directly to ; video memory instead of through the BIOS. ; The default is DirectVideo ON. This seems to work fine on most ; systems. CheckSnow ON CheckSnow OFF ; CheckSnow ON enables "snow checking" when using DirectVideo ON. ; It has no effect if DirectVideo OFF. ; Some older CGA monitors may requires this. It should not be a ; problem on most monochrome, EGA or VGA video systems. ; Some systems may run a bit faster with CheckSnow OFF. ; The default is CheckSnow ON. BiosScroll ON BiosScroll OFF ; If BiosScroll OFF, then a special scrolling routine is used that ; suppresses snow and flicker on systems with any kind of color ; graphics. However, BiosScroll ON is a bit faster. ; The default is BiosScroll ON. CopyToMag ON CopyToMag OFF ; New in version 1.10. ; If CopyToMag ON then files will be copied to the magnetic hard ; drive just before downloading. These files will then be erased ; once the download is completed. ; If CopyToMag OFF then the files will be downloaded directly from ; the CD-ROM drive. ; Default is CopyToMag ON DropPenalty 300 ; New in version 1.10. ; Number of SECONDS to penalize the caller if carrier is dropped ; when in the door. This time will be subtracted from the callers ; time allowed during the next call that day. If the caller does ; not call back until the next day, then this penalty will have no ; effect. ; Values from 0 to 7200 seconds (0 to 120 minutes) are allowed. ; The default value is 300 seconds (5 minutes). AllowLogOff ON AllowLogOff OFF ; New in version 1.10. ; If AllowLogOff ON then the caller will be offered the option to ; select unattended automatic logoff after each download. ; If you allow logoff then you can place a copy of your desired ; logoff display screen(s) in the SF-ROM home directory. This is ; optional. If this screen exists, it will be shown only after an ; automatic logoff. I use my normal BBS GOODBYE.BBS/CLR. ; Default is AllowLogOff ON LinesPerPage 21 ; New in version 1.10. ; Determines the number of lines shown for each screen page when ; the caller is scrolling through the file lists. ; Values from 5 to 30 lines per page are allowed. ; The default is 21 lines per page. TagChar 26 - ; New in version 1.10 ; This determines the line position and character used to determine ; which lines in a file list contain a valid file for tagging and ; display purposes. Lines which contain this exact character at ; this exact position are colorized and assigned a tag letter. ; Lines which do NOT contain this character at this position are ; assumed to be header lines or extended description lines. ; This option allows the use off many different styles of file ; lists. ; The default is a dash at position 26 as shown below: ....+....1....+....2....+....3....+....4....+....5....+....6....+....7....+ SFROM110.ZIP 71,527 09-05-92 Spitfire CD-ROM Door 1.10 by Mike Robinson ^ character at position (column) 26 is a dash ; Examples of common file formats: ; TagChar 26 - (tag lines with a dash at position 26) (default) ; TagChar 28 - (tag lines with a dash at position 28) ; TagChar 26 / (tag lines with a forward slash at position 26) ; TagChar 28 / (tag lines with a forward slash at position 28) ; TagChar 18 , (tag lines with a comma at position 18 ) ; ; Only one character and position may be designated as the TagChar. ; If multiple TagChar are specified in SFROM.CFG then the last ; TagChar specified is used. ; The following defines your file areas. This is VERY IMPORTANT. ; These must be one area per line on consecutive lines. ; The first line is file area number 1 and the rest follow in order ; until you reach the end. ; The list MUST BEGIN and END with the keyword "Areas". ; The list MUST BEGIN and END with the keyword "Areas". ; Each line has two entries separated by at least one blank space. ; The first is the path to the file area on the CD-ROM. ; The second is the full path and filename of the associated file ; list. The list can have any filename, it does not have to be ; sffiles.bbs. ; Areas E:\ASM C:\SF\CDROM1\ASM.LST E:\BUDGET C:\SF\CDROM1\BUDGET.LST E:\CLIPART C:\SF\CDROM1\CLIPART.LST E:\CPROG C:\SF\CDROM1\CPROG.LST E:\DATABASE C:\SF\CDROM1\DATABASE.LST E:\DEMOS C:\SF\CDROM1\DEMOS.LST E:\DESKTOP C:\SF\CDROM1\DESKTOP.LST E:\EDUCATE C:\SF\CDROM1\EDUCATE.LST E:\FINANCE C:\SF\CDROM1\FINANCE.LST E:\GAMES1 C:\SF\CDROM1\GAMES1.LST E:\GAMES2 C:\SF\CDROM1\GAMES2.LST E:\GENERAL C:\SF\CDROM1\GENERAL.LST E:\GIFS C:\SF\CDROM1\GIFS.LST E:\GRAPHICS C:\SF\CDROM1\GRAPHICS.LST E:\HOBBY C:\SF\CDROM1\HOBBY.LST E:\LASER C:\SF\CDROM1\LASER.LST E:\MODEM C:\SF\CDROM1\MODEM.LST E:\MUSIC C:\SF\CDROM1\MUSIC.LST E:\PASCAL C:\SF\CDROM1\PASCAL.LST E:\PROG C:\SF\CDROM1\PROG.LST E:\QB C:\SF\CDROM1\QB.LST E:\SOSGIFS C:\SF\CDROM1\SOSGIFS.LST E:\SWIMSUIT C:\SF\CDROM1\SWIMSUIT.LST E:\UTIL1 C:\SF\CDROM1\UTIL1.LST E:\UTIL2 C:\SF\CDROM1\UTIL2.LST E:\WIN1 C:\SF\CDROM1\WIN1.LST E:\WIN2 C:\SF\CDROM1\WIN2.LST E:\WORD C:\SF\CDROM1\WORD.LST Areas ; ; The file lists can be located on a normal magnetic hard disk or ; on the CD-ROM (if they exist on the CD-ROM). The door will run ; much faster if you locate the file lists on the normal magnetic ; hard disk. Note that you can also use this door to access normal ; file areas on your hard drive. You can mix normal file areas with ; CD-ROM areas in the same door. The file areas do not have to ; reside on the same drive letter or same physical drive. If you ; have a network, you can access file areas on a different machine. ; You could even put ALL of your Spitfire file areas in one or more ; of these doors. For example, you could put adult files in one ; door and restrict access to adults only. Or you could have ; special file doors reserved for privileged, contributing or ; subscribing callers. ; The example above is also used in the sample SFROM.CFG supplied ; in this package. It is for the "So Much Shareware #1" CD-ROM disk ; first published in late 1991. The file lists are resident on the ; CD-ROM as SFFILES.BBS in each subdirectory and can be easily ; copied to a hard drive. Style 1 Style 2 Style 3 ; New in version 1.12 ; Choose one of the style commands shown above. Determines the ; style of the download line in the caller activity log entries in ; registered versions only. Has no effect in unregistered versions. ; Some third party utility programs read the callers log and count ; or log downloads. These programs require certain download log ; entry styles which are similar to those created by a normal ; Spitfire download. ; Three styles are now offered. More will be added if requested. ; Only one style may be used in each configuration file. ; If multiple styles are specified, then the last one ; specified is used. ; ; For Style 1 a typical log entry looks like this: ; 1800LIST.TXT 2,276 Listing Of 1-800 BBS Systems ; This is the default style and is the same as all previous ; versions of SF-Rom ; ; For Style 2 a typical log entry looks like this: ; Downloaded E:\MODEM\800LIST.TXT ; Note that this is the path to the file on the CD-ROM. ; ; For Style 3 a typical log entry looks like this: ; Downloaded C:\SF\CDROM1\800LIST.TXT ; Note that this is the file name appended to the path ; to the file list that contains the file. ------- REGISTRATION -------------------------------------------------------- This is SHAREWARE. You may use this program for a free 30 day trial period. After that, you must register it or stop using it. You may give away free copies of this entire unmodified package, but you may not sell it. I retain all rights to this program. As an incentive to encourage registration, the following features are ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE REGISTERED VERSION: ■ The *** UNREGISTERED *** message on the first screen is replaced by your name and your BBS Name. ■ Spitfire's daily download file and byte limits will be enforced by the door. The door will also record all downloads and add the number of files and bytes downloaded to the main Spitfire data base. So the caller's total daily downloads (sum of downloads inside the door and normal Spitfire downloads) will never be more than allowed by Spitfire in DAILYLMT.DAT. These limits are correctly tracked in any combination, even if the caller enters and exits the door several times. If Spitfire says a caller can only grab 10 files per day, he will only be able to grab 10 files total per day. example: A caller is allowed 10 downloads per day. He downloads 3 files in this door. He is then only allowed 7 more downloads when he returns to Spitfire. In the unregistered version, only the caller's daily time limit is enforced. In the unregistered version, downloads are not recorded and file/byte per day limits are not enforced. ■ Full logging of all caller activities in the door to CALLERS.LOG or any file you choose. These log entries are designed to blend nicely with the normal Spitfire log entries. Here is an example from the CALLERS.LOG on my BBS: ----------------------------------------------------------------- John Smith called at 14:34:37 on 09-05-92 using Node 1 at 2400 baud. Error Correction Connection. Entered So Much Shareware SF-ROM Door at 14:35:51 1800LIST.TXT 2,276 Listing Of 1-800 BBS Systems GOVTBBS.ZIP 3,781 List Of Gov't BBS Numbers WHATPORT.ZIP 9,044 Handy To Find Conflicting COM Ports Begin Zmodem at 14:39:20 Estimated Time: 1.1 Min. End Zmodem at 14:40:26 Actual Time: 1.1 Min. Updated download records +3 file(s) and +15,101 bytes. Exited So Much Shareware SF-ROM Door at 14:41:05 John Smith logged off at 14:43:02 ----------------------------------------------------------------- In the unregistered version, only error conditions are logged. No caller activity log is created in the unregistered version. Registration is $15 (fifteen) dollars in US funds. Personal check, bank check or money orders are acceptable. Registered Sysops are entitled to free program support, free upgrades to all future versions, and free access to all files and features on my BBS. Support is available from me on my BBS, in CircuitNet and in FidoNet. Suggestions for future improvements from registered Sysops will receive careful consideration. In order to register the program, you will have to call my BBS and download your personal registration key and instruction file. This key will work for all future versions, so there will be no need to download any specially compiled versions of the executable program itself. If you do not yet have access to my BBS, please be sure to send along a password and birthdate with your registration. Then I can set up your logon account in advance. Please be sure to specify your name and your BBS name exactly as you would like them to appear on the first door screen. Your personal registration key and instruction file will be ready for you to download on the day I receive your check, usually by 19:00 eastern time. Registrations will not be mailed. ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- SF-Rom 1.13 Door REGISTRATION FORM Your Name: (40 characters maximum) BBS Name: (40 characters maximum) BBS Phone Number: (xxx-xxx-xxxx) Password to use on Mike Robinson's BBS: (14 characters maximum) BirthDate to use on Mike Robinson's BBS: (mm-dd-yy) Your Address: Send this form and $15 (fifteen) dollars in US funds to: Michael Robinson 9 Richard Boulevard Shelton, CT. 06484 Personal check, bank check or money orders are acceptable. ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ╔═══════════════════╗ ╔══════════════════════╗ ╔═══════════════════╗ ║ The Soft Parade ║ ║ Sysop: Mike Robinson ║ ║ 1200 to 16800 bps ║ ║ Shelton, CT. USA ║ ║ Spitfire version 3.2 ║ ║ HST V.32bis ║ ║ 203-924-5603 ║ ║ Open 24 hours 7 days ║ ║ MNP 5 V.42bis ║ ║ FidoNet 1:141/485 ║ ║ CircuitNet 203004 ║ ║ USR Dual Standard ║ ╚═══════════════════╝ ╚══════════════════════╝ ╚═══════════════════╝ Latest version of the SFROM Door may be File Requested (freq'ed) by any Fido compatible mailer 24 hours a day using the magic name: SFROM 24 hour crash mail & file requests of any file listed in FILES Magic Names: FILES SPITFIRE NODEDIFF SFTS BINKLEY ABOUT BBSLIST NODELIST DOGFIGHT BNU SFROM PMEISTER CATCHEM Special thanks to the beta test team: Bill Arlofski, Dave Clark, Barry Connolly, Don Hutson, David Hamel, Joseph Hayes, George Hyden, Tom Lehner, Mike MacAfee, Steve Newman, Joseph Revolta, Doug Ward, Arleen Winegar. Legal Stuff: Use this program at your own risk. No guarantees of any sort. "Spitfire" is a registered trademark of Buffalo Creek Software. File sharing and locking implemented via BCSHARE Beta Version 0.7 Copyright (C) By Mike Woltz 1990 Buffalo Creek Software. SF ROM Revision History Version 1.00 - May 31, 1992 - Initial Public Release Version 1.03 - Private Beta Test Version. Version 1.10 - Sep 05, 1992 - First Public Upgrade Version 1.11 - Sep 17, 1992 - Local mode bug fixed. Version 1.12 - Sep 18, 1992 - Configurable tag character now applied to text search. Version 1.13 - Sep 18, 1992 - Fixed Xmodem command line bug. Drop-in replacement for vers 1.03, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12. ZIP archive security notice for this archive should read: Authentic files verified! # ACO784 The Soft Parade PKZIP (R) FAST! Create/Update Utility Version 1.1 03-15-90 Copr. 1989-1990 PKWARE Inc. All Rights Reserved. PKZIP/h for help PKZIP Reg. U.S. Pat. and Tm. Off. Searching ZIP: SFROM110.ZIP - Length Method Size Ratio Date Time CRC-32 Attr Name ------ ------ ----- ----- ---- ---- ------ ---- ---- 2528 Implode 1520 40% 09-18-92 13:13 e34caa1a --w AREALIST.BB1 1208 Implode 506 59% 09-18-92 13:13 fb652a06 --w AREALIST.BBS 4323 Implode 1830 58% 09-18-92 13:13 35fd77f0 --w AREALIST.CL1 1490 Implode 669 56% 09-18-92 13:13 b88b4e6b --w AREALIST.CLR 182 Shrunk 164 10% 09-18-92 13:13 1214716c --w FILE_ID.DIZ 1472 Implode 664 55% 09-18-92 13:13 fe6ae744 --w SFROM.CFG 31283 Implode 10886 66% 09-18-92 13:13 --w SFROM.DOC 56166 Stored 56166 0% 09-18-92 13:13 29385521 --w SFROM.EXE 1057 Implode 450 58% 09-18-92 13:13 99ee351b --w WHATSNEW.113 ------ ------ --- ------- 99709 72855 27% 9