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EZCaller v1.00 (c) 1993 Philip Dean.
The Eagle's Nest BBS, Sydney, Australia, 3:714/409, +61-2-451-0535.
Ezycom Recent Callers Database and Viewer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
** EZCaller v1.00 Instructions **
Introduction
------------
* What is EZCaller ?
EZCaller is a replacement for the in-built Ezycom Option 51 Menu Command.
The Option 51 Menu Command allows you to display a list of Today's and
Yesterday's callers to the BBS. Via a combination of a Caller List Database
and two specially designed menus, EZCaller allows you to display the Caller
List from up to NINE days previous. The Caller List Database also contains a
Best Ever Caller List (ie most number of the Calls to the BBS in one day)
which can also be displayed. Finally, EZCaller provides a brief explanation
of the DidWhat? codes used in the Caller List displays.
* Why EZCaller ?
EZCaller was initially developed as RACaller for RA systems. The primary
motivation for RACaller was that RA reset the Caller list at midnight. Hence,
those users who logged on soon after midnight never got to a see a list of the
recent callers to the BBS. RACaller filled the gap by providing support for a
Yesterday's Caller list and, through logical progression, this was extended to
provide support for the Caller lists up to NINE days previous.
Another reason for writing RACaller was to enable the retention and display of
the Caller list from the day with the most ever number of calls to the BBS.
The third reason for RACaller was to make it possible to display the day's
callers without having to logon to the BBS (ie from DOS, or within FrontDoor).
Not long after I got RACaller up and running, I switched my BBS software over
to Ezycom. Although, Ezycom does provide support for a Yesterday's Caller
list, I decided to continue the development of the program, now as EZCaller,
as I wanted to retain the Best Ever Caller list function, support for Caller
lists up to nine days previous and the ability to view the caller lists outside
of the BBS. Also, I felt some explanation of the Ezycom DidWhat? codes would
be helpful and EZCaller provided an opportunity to give such an explanation.
Disclaimer
----------
* EZCaller is copyrighted material, however I am making it available
for people to use without the requirement of paying any fee.
* However, by using EZCaller, you agree to the following licence terms
and conditions.
- You may not alter EZCaller in any way, and you may not decompile,
disassemble, or otherwise reverse-engineer it.
- LIMITED WARRANTY. I do not warrant that the functions contained in
the software will meet your requirements or that the operation of
the software will be uninterrupted or error free. The ONLY Warrant
I give is that EZCaller will occupy space on your disk. The author
will not be held liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or
consequential damages resulting from the use of this program.
Your use of the program constitutes your agreement to this disclaimer
and your release of the author from any form of liability or
litigation.
Installing EZCaller
-------------------
EZCALLER.EXE need not be in the current directory when running EZCaller, but
rather, can be in any directory on your Hard Disk. If EZCALLER.EXE is not in
the current directory, then the directory it is in must be included in your
PATH statement, or alternatively, you must supply a FULL path and filename when
running EZCaller.
EZCALLER.CFG, the configuration file, must be in the current directory when
invoking EZCaller, or else it must be located in the directory specified by the
EZY environment variable. EZCaller checks the current directory first and only
reverts to checking the directory specified by the EZY environment variable if
EZCALLER.CFG is not found in the current directory.
If EZCaller cannot find EZCALLER.CFG in either the current directory or the
directory specified by the EZY environment variable then it will display
the EZCaller information screen and exit.
If you have not set the EZY environment variable (you should have!), then you
must include
SET EZY=C:\EZY
in your AutoExec.Bat file, where C:\EZY is the path to your BBS directory.
The EZCALLER.CFG file is a plain vanilla ascii file that looks as follows:-
BBS Name <=- BBS Name to be displayed at top of Caller list (Max 25 Chars)
* <=- Key to View the Best Ever Caller List.
Y <=- Y or N - Use Page Pausing in EZCaller -L (outside) mode.
Y <=- Y or N - Use Colour on Local Display.
Y <=- Y or N - Add Command List to End of Caller List Files.
Y <=- Y or N - Use Ezycom Colour Codes.
30 <=- No. of seconds EZCaller will wait for Files to become free.
TITLE=15 <=- Colour for Title.
TUNDERLINE=12 <=- Colour for Title Underline.
COPYRIGHT=11 <=- Colour for Copyright Message.
HEADER=15 <=- Colour for List Header.
HUNDERLINE=4 <=- Colour for Header Underline.
CALLERNO=15 <=- Colour for Caller's Number.
NAME=11 <=- Colour for Caller's Name.
LINE=10 <=- Colour for Caller's Line.
BAUD=10 <=- Colour for Caller's Baud.
LOCATION=14 <=- Colour for Caller's Location.
ONTIME=11 <=- Colour for Caller's Logon Time.
OFFTIME=11 <=- Colour for Caller's Logoff Time.
DIDWHAT=15 <=- Colour for Caller's DidWhat.
CMDLINE=12 <=- Colour for End of Display Command List.
DWHELP=11 <=- Colour for DidWhat? Help.
PROMPT=15 <=- Colour for '-L' Mode Prompt.
Use any text file editor to alter these options.
* BBS Name
BBS Name can be anything up to 25 Characters long (anything beyond 25
characters will be truncated).
Make sure there is nothing else on this line other than the BBS Name.
* Best Ever Caller List Key
Key the user must press to view the Best Ever Caller List (Default is '*').
If you change this key, you must use EZYMENU to make a corresponding change
to EZCALLER.MNU. The menu option to change is the one with 'EZCBEST' in the
menu data field. EZCALLER.CFG should just contain the character with NO
quotation marks.
* Page Pausing in EZCaller Local Mode On/Off
This option determines whether EZCaller uses Page Pausing (ie whether to give
the 'More (Y,n), [C]ont :' prompt) when running EZCaller from outside of
Ezycom (ie if you run EZCaller from your Mailer to check the day's callers
without having to logon to the BBS).
* Use Colour on Local Display
Set this option to 'N' if your local display is Monochrome.
* Add Command List to End of Caller List Files.
This option determines whether or not EZCaller adds, to the end of the Caller
List ASL/ASC files, the following line:
[0] Today's Callers, [1-9] Previous Days, [*] Best Day, [E]xplain DidWhat?
I have included this option for those who wish to use their own menus for
displaying the Caller List files generated by EZCaller. By setting this
option to 'N', the above line is not added and you just have a straight file
containing the Caller List. You can then use different hotkeys to display
the different files (rather than 0-9,*,E as indicated by the above line etc).
Or your menu might only offer the option to display the Caller Lists from the
last three days or whatever you like.
* No. of Seconds for EZCaller to Wait.
This defines how many seconds EZCaller will wait for 'in-use' files to become
free, ie how long to wait if EZCaller is in use elsewhere or how long to
wait when trying to upate the Caller List Display files if the those files
are in-use (ie being viewed on the BBS).
* Colour Codes
The Colour for each part of the display can be altered using the following
commands in EZCALLER.CFG:-
TITLE=x - Colour for Title Default=15
TUNDERLINE=x - Colour for Title Underline Default=12
COPYRIGHT=x - Colour for Copyright Message Default=11
HEADER=x - Colour for List Header Default=15
HUNDERLINE=x - Colour for Header Underline Default=4
CALLERNO=x - Colour for Caller's Number Default=15
NAME=x - Colour for Caller's Name Default=11
LINE=x - Colour for Caller's Line Default=10
BAUD=x - Colour for Caller's Baud Default=10
LOCATION=x - Colour for Caller's Location Default=14
ONTIME=x - Colour for Caller's Logon Time Default=11
OFFTIME=x - Colour for Caller's Logoff Time Default=11
DIDWHAT=x - Colour for Caller's DidWhat Default=15
CMDLINE=x - Colour for End of Display Command List Default=12
DWHELP=x - Colour for DidWhat? Help Default=11
PROMPT=x - Colour for '-L' mode Prompt Default=15
Valid Values for x
1=Blue 2=Green 3=Cyan 4=Red
5=Magenta 6=Brown 7=Light Gray 8=Dark Gray
9=Light Blue 10=Light Green 11=Light Cyan 12=Light Red
13=Light Magenta 14=Yellow 15=White
The Caller List Database file (EZCALLER.DAT) and the Database Index file
(EZCALLER.IDX) will be automatically generated when you first run
EZCaller. The current contents of YESTER.BBS and TODAY.BBS will be
automatically placed into the Database, with YESTER.BBS becoming the initial
Best Caller List. Initially, you will only have Caller Lists for Today, 1 Day
ago (Yesterday), and the Best Caller List. The remaining Caller Lists will
emerge over the first eight days of running EZCaller. The ASL/ASC display
files will also be automatically generated.
Now to run EZCaller within Ezycom (replacing the Option 51 Menu Command),
first, place the two EZCaller menus, EZCALLTD.MNU and EZCALLER.MNU in your
Ezycom Menus Directory.
Next, replace the Option 51 Menu Command with an Option 1 (Goto Menu) Menu
Command.
In the menu DATA field, place the following;
EZCALLTD
I provide the (R) Recent Callers option to users in my TOP (main) menu.
If you will be calling the EZCaller menus from some menu other than TOP
then you will need to use EZYMENU to edit the data field of the LAST TWO
lines of EZCALLER.MNU, replacing 'TOP' with the name of the menu which
provides the Recent Callers Option on your system.
You also must add the following line to your BBS Batch file so that just
after each logoff (including local logons) the EZCaller Caller List Database
is updated.
If you wish to use Real Names in the display, add the following line:
EZCALLER -U
Alternatively, to use Aliases in the display, add the following:
EZCALLER -U -A
For example, my batch file looks as follows:
----<snip on>---------------------------------------------
:AFTEREZY
IF ERRORLEVEL 7 GOTO NET&ECHO
IF ERRORLEVEL 6 GOTO NETMAIL
IF ERRORLEVEL 5 GOTO ECHOMAIL
IF ERRORLEVEL 4 GOTO MODEMINIT
IF ERRORLEVEL 3 GOTO FOSSIL
IF ERRORLEVEL 2 GOTO RUNTIMEERROR
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO SETUPERROR
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 GOTO AFTEZY2
GOTO START
:AFTEZY2
CD\EZY
EZCALLER -U <=- **** Here it is ******
EZCALLTL -U
IF NOT EXIST APPLIC.ASW GOTO START
COPY C:\TXTFILES\USERS.ASW + APPLIC.ASW C:\TXTFILES\USERS.ASW
DEL APPLIC.ASW
GOTO START
:NETMAIL
CD \EZY
EZYNET -EXPORT
EZYPACK -VERBOSE
GOTO AFTEREZY2
:ECHOMAIL
CD \EZY
EZYMAIL -SCAN -VERBOSE
GOTO AFTEZY2
:NET&ECHO
CD \EZY
EZYMAIL -SCAN -VERBOSE
EZYNET -EXPORT
EZYPACK -VERBOSE
GOTO AFTEZY2
--------<snip off>----------------------------------------
NOTE: 'CD\EZY' changes the current directory to your Ezycom BBS Directory.
You should alter this as appropriate for your setup.
EZCaller uses '=' and '-' as the default keys to exit the EZCaller menus. If
you wish to change these, then you need to use EZYMENU to edit EZCALLER.MNU.
The options to edit are the Type 1 (Return to <MENU> ) options. If you wish to
have only one exit option, then you can delete one of the Type 1 menu options.
Alternatively, if you wish to have more exit options, you can add more Type 1
menu options. You must also use F4 (in EZYMENU) to edit the Menu Prompt to
reflect at least one of the available Exit options.
Invoking EZCaller
-----------------
USAGE: EZCALLER <Command Line Option> <-A> <-B> <-P>
Valid Command Line Options:
-U Update Caller List Database after Caller.
-L View Caller Lists from Outside of Ezycom.
-S Force Rebuild of ASL/ASC Caller List Files.
-R Force EZCaller to ReIndex the Caller List Database.
-Ddate Force EZCaller to reset the Dates of the Caller Lists.
-Ex Export the Caller List for DAY x to File (Export All Lists x=ALL)
-Ixfname Import Caller List File 'fname' to Day x (Best Ever List x=10)
-? Display EZCaller's Information Screen.
These switches are mutually exclusive, that is, you can only use one of these
three at any one time.
Any attempt to place two or more of these switches on the one command line
will result in only the first one being accepted.
* -U (Update Caller List Database) Command Line Option
Use this command line option to update the Caller List Database after a
caller logs off (as per the installation instructions above).
This is the default mode of EZCaller, thus you actually can omit the '-U'
from the command line and simply use
EZCALLER
If the last caller is the first caller since midnight, then EZCaller will
automatically perform its own maintenance. Hence, you are not required to
do anything for EZCaller Maintenance.
During EZCaller maintenance, the Caller List from nine days ago is removed,
and the remaining Caller Lists are all cycled down one place. EZCaller also
checks to see if the day just passed was a new 'best' day (ie the most ever
number of calls to the BBS in one day) and if so, replaces the 'best' day
Caller List with the new 'best' day Caller List.
Normally EZCaller will delete the previous day's Caller List Database at the
end of the maintenance run. If you wish to retain it, you should be using
the following in your BBS Batch file:
EZCALLER -U -B (Use Real Names)
EZCALLER -U -B -A (Use Aliases)
The previous day's Database will then be retained under the filename
EZCALLER.BAK.
* -L (View Caller Lists Outside of Ezycom) Command Line Option.
This option allows you to view the Caller Lists from outside of Ezycom, be
it from DOS or from within another program such as your Mailer.
eg EZCALLER -L
* -S (Rebuild ASL/ASC Caller List Files) Command Line Option.
This option forces EZCaller to rebuild ALL the ASL/ASC Caller List
Display files. This is done automatically each day during EZCaller's
maintenance, but you can use this option to ensure the Caller List Display
Files are fully up to date.
eg EZCALLER -S
* -R (ReIndex the Caller List Database) Command Line Option.
This option forces EZCaller to rebuild the Caller List Database Index file,
EZCALLER.IDX.
Use this option if your Caller Lists become mixed up, or corrupted.
If you are getting Error #21, Error Reading EZCALLER.DAT, then this option
may be effective in curing the problem.
This option should retain the same Caller List dates. If there is any
problem with the dates then use EZCALLER -D to reset the dates.
eg EZCALLER -R
* -Ddate (Reset the dates of the Caller Lists) Command Line Option.
Use this option, where 'date' is the date to use for the Best Ever Caller
list, to reset the Caller List dates if the dates somehow become corrupted
or incorrect.
If you omit the date, then the current date of the Best Ever Caller list
will be retained.
Date can be of the form 'DD/MM/YY' or 'DDMMYY'.
eg EZCALLER -D23/03/93 (Reset Best Ever Caller List date to 23/03/93)
EZCALLER -D230393 (Same as above)
EZCALLER -D (Don't Alter Best Ever Caller List date)
* -Ex (Export Caller List for Day x to File) Command Line Option.
Use this option to Export a Caller List from the Database to a File, where:
x=0 for Today's Caller List (Exported to EZCTODAY.BBS)
x=1 for Yesterday's Caller List (Exported to EZCDAY1.BBS)
x=2 for Caller List from 2 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY2.BBS)
x=3 for Caller List from 3 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY3.BBS)
x=4 for Caller List from 4 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY4.BBS)
x=5 for Caller List from 5 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY5.BBS)
x=6 for Caller List from 6 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY6.BBS)
x=7 for Caller List from 7 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY7.BBS)
x=8 for Caller List from 8 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY8.BBS)
x=9 for Caller List from 9 Days Ago (Exported to EZCDAY9.BBS)
x=10 for Best Ever Caller List (Exported to EZCBEST.BBS)
Use x=ALL to export All 11 Caller Lists.
eg EZCALLER -E1 (Export Caller List from 1 Day ago)
EZCALLER -EALL (Export All Caller Lists)
* -Ixfname (Import Caller List for Day x from File) Command Line Option.
Use this option to Import a Callers List file into the Database where:
fname = Filename of Caller List file to import.
The import file must be an Ezycom 'TODAY.BBS' type file
(ie not a text file, but a file made up of Ezycom
ONTODAYRECORD records).
The files TODAY.BBS, YESTER.BBS and the files Exported by EZCaller
(EZCTODAY.BBS, EZCBEST.BBS, EZCDAY1.BBS, EZCDAY2.BBS etc) are valid
files for importation.
x = Day in Database to Import this Caller List to.
(x=0 for Today, x=1..9 for 1..9 Days Ago, x=10 for Best Ever Day)
This option, when used in conjunction with the '-Ex' Export option can be
used to recreate your database if it becomes corrupted. That is, if you
regularly export all your caller lists (ie in your daily maintenance), then
if the database becomes corrupted, you can simply delete EZCALLER.DAT, run
EZCaller to initialise a new database, then use this Import command to import
the Caller Lists you had previously exported.
To re-import ALL the Caller List Export files (created by EZCALLER -EALL) in
one pass then rather than repeatedly using '-Ixfname', simply use '-IALL'.
eg EZCALLER -I1YESTER.BBS
EZCALLER -I10EZCBEST.BBS
EZCALLER -IALL
* -? (Display EZCaller Information Screen) Command Line Option.
Use this option to display the EZCaller information screen. The information
screen contains a brief Summary of EZCaller's Command Line Options and
Optional Parameters.
eg EZCALLER -?
EZCaller also accepts the following Optional Parameters:
-A Use Aliases instead of Real Names in Caller List displays.
-B Retain the Caller List Database and Index Backup Files.
-P Pause at the End of EZCaller Operation.
* -P Pause Parameter
The -P switch simply tells EZCaller to pause for 5 seconds after it has
completed its operation in either '-U', '-S', '-Ddate', '-Ixfname' or '-Ex'
modes.
* -B Backup Parameter
When EZCaller is run in any mode other than '-?' (Info Screen) or '-L'
(Outside Viewing), EZCaller backs up EZCALLER.DAT and EZCALLER.IDX to
EZCALLER.DA2 and EZCALLER.ID2 respectively. Ordinarily, these backup files
are deleted at the end of EZCaller's operation.
Use the '-B' switch if you wish to retain these files at the end of
EZCaller's Operation, rather than deleting them.
* -A Aliases Parameter
The -A switch can be used with the -U,-L and -S options.
It is recommended that if you are going to use the -A switch, then you
should use it at ALL times, or else not use it at all. This will ensure the
consistency of the Caller List displays, preventing a mixture of Real Names
and Aliases.
If you do strike trouble with a mixture of Real Names and Aliases, use
EZCALLER -S -A to force ALL Caller List displays to use ALIASES, or use
EZCALLER -S to force ALL Caller List displays to use REAL NAMES.
EZCaller Errors
---------------
If EZCaller strikes an error during its operation it will abort and write
details of the error to the Errors Log File, EZCALLER.ERR
If the error is Error #32, this indicates that EZCaller aborted because the
file EZCALLER.NOW exists.
The file EZCALLER.NOW is used by EZCaller to ensure that two copies of EZCaller
are not running simultaneously. It is created when EZCaller is run in any mode
other than '-?' or '-L' and is removed after EZCaller's operations have been
completed. If a second copy of EZCaller is invoked while a first is already
operating, then the second copy will wait the specified wait time for the first
copy to complete its operation and delete the EZCALLER.NOW file before the
second copy will operate. If the EZCALLER.NOW file is not removed within the
wait time specified in EZCALLER.CFG then the second copy of EZCaller will abort
with Error #32. As most EZCaller operations are brief, an Error #32 will
usually only occur because the EZCALLER.NOW file exists when it shouldn't
(ie it exists even though no other copy of EZCaller is currently operating).
Thus, if you do get an Error #32 then, provided there are in fact no other
copies of EZCaller currently operating, you should delete EZCALLER.NOW
Acknowledgements.
-----------------
* EZCaller is written and complied with Borland Pascal with Objects v7.0
* Ezycom is the copyrighted work of Peter Davies.
Keep up the good work Peter and all those on the Ezycom team.
* Enormous thanks go to Matthew Taylor, Lake Macquarie BBS (3:622/407), for
pointing out the obvious (to all but me) that EZCaller did NOT need to
be a door to perform its functions.
The shift to the Database setup with EZCaller creating ASL/ASC files
to be displayed by Ezycom, eliminated all the problems of Communications
handling, such as high speed modems, locked baud rates, non-standard
com ports, multiple i/o boards etc. It also eliminated the messy copying of
TODAY.BBS prior to each logon (as was required in previous versions of
EZCaller) and the need to run a forced event at midnight to handle EZCaller's
maintenance.
EZCaller is now significantly smaller (since there are no Comms routines) and
the display for users is quicker than dropping to a door.
* Special thanks also go to those who have beta tested EZCaller:
Darren Gibbs, Way Out West BBS, 3:713/888.
Dean Mackin, 500cc Formula One BBS, 3:712/218.
Shane Rampling, OZ One BBS, 3:713/906.
Lloyd Bayley, The RS232 Connection, 3:711/924.
Thanks for all your time and patience, as well as your comments and
suggestions.
End Notes.
----------
As I said at the beginning, you are free to use EZCaller without the need to
register the program or pay any fee, although EZCaller remains copyrighted.
If you do find this program useful, send me a Netmail message to 3:714/409
(FidoNet) as I would love to hear from those who use the program.
Of course if you really love EZCaller and want to send a donation, then it will
be gratefully accepted.
You can send any monies to:-
Philip Dean
PO Box 62
Forestville,
NSW, Australia, 2087.
If you encounter any bugs or problems with EZCaller, then send Netmail to
me on 3:714/409 (FidoNet).
Also if you have any suggestions for improvements, let me know and I will see
what I can do.
Philip Dean.
Sysop, The Eagle's Nest BBS 3:714/409 March 1993.